Few comments to everyone next to the individual review replies I sent out earlier:

Yes, this one is shorter (at least in number of chapters), but I MIGHT consider continuing it later, not yet sure. For now, this is the final chapter. As I mentioned before, I wanted to give you a little goodie before you all jump from a bridge out of frustration about “If Love Would Be Easy” ;-)))

Why M-rated? Because it has two chapters, not just one.

Features the song “If Tomorrow Never Comes” by Ronan Keating – even if you don’t know it, don’t skip the lyrics when reading, they are an essential part of the story.

And last but not least: I’m a vegetarian – neither do I want lamb chops, nor do I wanna be lamp chops! ;-))

Your turn – please review! Oh – okay… You may read first and then review ;-)

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Chapter 2

It was about 3:30 a.m. and Mac was still awake. He was lying on his back, his head leaning against the headboard of the bed. He looked down to his right side. Stella was sleeping peacefully, her head trustingly resting on his chest, his right arm protectively wrapped around her body. When she had returned from work, she had insisted that he would take the bed and when he had kept refusing, she had decided that the bed would be big enough for both of them and she hadn’t accepted his objections.

At some point when she was fast asleep, she had started huddling up against him. Now more than ever before he couldn’t find any sleep.

Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping

She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark

And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart

His mind wandered back to the events of this day. He couldn’t explain why he had been drinking, but he knew well enough why he ended up at Stella’s place when he didn’t see another way out. She was the one person that made him feel safe, whom he knew was always there for him, no matter what.

He smiled when he felt her stretching at his side. He softly caressed her check with his thumb which caused her to moan in her sleep.

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one

And if my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last

If tomorrow never comes

He knew that their jobs as CSIs weren’t less dangerous than those of the Marines overseas. They were totally different, the risks were others, but still in both cases there was a permanent danger involved. Any day could be the last – and even if you weren’t working in a dangerous field, life could be over so quickly.

And then it would be too late.

Sadness came over him when he remembered the last morning with Claire. They had been arguing because of his work, she was mad because he rarely had time for her and he had forgotten an appointment for a dinner she had planned for them and some of her colleagues. He had planned to make up for it in the evening, wanted to surprise her with flowers and a romantic evening.

And then the attacks had changed his life and the world – and had taken away the chance to say sorry forever…

'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed

So I made a promise to myself

To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance

To tell her how I feel

He made a decision. There was no way that something like that would happen ever again. No more excuses, no more adjourning.

“Stella?” he softly asked while he tenderly moved his fingers up and down her right arm which was wrapped around his chest.

First she didn’t respond, but then she suddenly jumped up.

“What?! What is it, Mac? Is everything okay, are you alright?”

She looked around, momentarily confused, until she realized that she was more or less lying in his arms. She blinked a few times before she looked into his eyes.

“Hey there…” he smiled. “Relax, everything’s fine with me. It’s just – I need to tell you something. It’s important and it can’t wait until tomorrow.”

Stella didn’t wonder anymore. As she had figured before, she had to wait until he was ready to open up. And if this was in the middle of the night – so be it…

“Okay…” she curiously encouraged him to go on.

His eyes locked with hers, he softly took her face in his hands and took a deep breath.

“I know it isn’t nice to wake you up in the middle of the night and tell you something like this without prior warning and I know that if you wanna kick me out right away, you have every right to do so…”

“I won’t, I promise…” she quietly interrupted him, sensing that this had to be a very special moment.

“Stella, I … I love you. I was always so scared to tell you because I was too afraid you wouldn’t feel the same. But today… I can’t explain it, but when I got the news about this attack, I just thought that he never had a chance like this. He never met a woman he deeply loved and even if he would have, probably never would have told her before going back. And then it was too late… And it reminded me so much of the day Claire died and that I never had a chance to tell her I’m sorry… I just had to wake you up and tell you now, I didn’t want to risk another minute…”

Stella waited a moment, she didn’t want to interrupt him. When she was sure he had said all he wanted to say, she lifted herself up a little and pressed a soft kiss on his lips.

“For something like this, you can wake me any time you want,” she breathed with a tender smile.

She leaned her back against his chest, feeling his body close to hers. Mac started tenderly moving his fingers along her cheek, down the side of her neck, slowly focusing on her cleavage.

BRRRRRRR…

Stella sighed and reluctantly grabbed for Mac’s hand. She carefully took it out of her cleavage and placed it next to her on the mattress before turning around to get her cell phone.

“Guess you just set off the alarm,” she whispered teasingly.

“Hey, Danny… No, it’s okay – I told you I’m on call and you could reach me any time, right? So, what is it? … Uhum. Anything special I need to know? … No, I think you can handle this one alone. You can brief me tomorrow, just follow protocol. … Mac? No, why should he mind? For now I’m in charge, just go ahead…”

Mac smiled at her while she talked to Danny. No, he certainly didn’t mind that she told Danny to process alone so that she could stay.

“Where did we stop?” she asked expectantly after she had ended the call.

He leaned in to kiss her passionately, his hand moving up her thigh to rest on her hip as the kiss increased in intensity. She felt a need start to build... a need for him... Her fingers moved lightly across the small of his back, the touch eliciting a moan from him.

He moved his hands to her face, running his fingers across her cheeks before winding them in her curly hair. She moved a little away from him, making it easier for him to undress her. Then she rolled over onto her back, while his fingers wandered up and down her stomach, every now and then lightly brushing against the bottom side of her breasts. Stella’s eyes closed instinctively.

Mac shifted his body to his right side and started planting little kisses from her collarbone down to her belly button, causing her to shiver and moan softly. His hands wandered sensually over her body, carefully exploring every part of it, almost shyly working their way down to lower regions.

Stella was overwhelmed by the attention he was showing her. She grabbed the sheets with both hands while he teased her by touching and caressing her thigh for what felt like hours before his hand finally moved to the place where she wanted it most. He touched her in ways that made her quake beneath his caresses. He smiled as he heard his name on her lips, whispered in passionate pleas when he briefly left her body to finally undress himself. He wanted to make sure that she knew how much he loved her and he wanted to show her every moment from now on.

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one

And if my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last

If tomorrow never comes

He carefully moved himself on top of her, his hands still fondling her, loving her, while his eyes were searching for approval to go on. When he removed his hands and let his lips and tongue take over, she gasped in a mixture of pleasure and surprise. It made him dizzy with desire, and he knew as much as he was enjoying teasing her, that he wouldn’t be able to control himself much longer.

“Mac! Please!”

He moved back up and gathered her into his arms, starting to softly suck the tender skin between her shoulder and neck as they found a rhythm. Her sounds of pleasure fueled his hunger for her... He was close and he could feel that she was, too. Suddenly he felt her arms tightly wrapping around his hips, pulling him closer to her.

“Stella, I can’t…” he warned hoarsely while she pressed her lips together to suppress a moan.

“Don’t, just let go…” she breathed heavily. He didn’t need anything more, he was too close to the edge to go back.

XXXXX

They listened to the wild thumping of the other's heart as they stayed melded together, both trying to regain control over their breathing. Mac pulled back just enough to look at her. He watched her for a moment, before he kissed her... sweetly... lovingly... longingly…

So tell that someone that you love
Just what you're thinking of

If tomorrow never comes

He felt overwhelmingly intoxicated, kissing her deeply and cravingly, feeling her body so close and responsive. He felt the warmth and softness of her skin under his exploring hands. Her touch, her sighs, her body arching against his, her passionate and tender kisses…

It felt so good - so right.

The End

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xxxlittlesheepxxx