Her fingers were beating a steady tattoo on the steering wheel as she sat in the minivan at the light. She was waiting to turn left onto the access road that would take her to the airport and a rendezvous with her husband.

As she sat in nervous anticipation, she felt the stab of lust and pressed her right hand between her legs in an attempt to quell the fire that was raging there.

Just as the light changed to green and she turned onto the road, she looked up and saw a jetliner descending to the nearby runway. It had the markings of the airline her husband was flying in on, and she couldn't stifle a cry of frustration that she might be a few minutes late.

Sharon Schalke had hoped to be at the airport much earlier, but she had run into road construction on the highway into the city, then she had to quickly stop at the motel and secure the room where she and her husband would be spending the night.

She was going to take the time to enjoy her husband in a way she hadn't been able to do the last time she'd seen him, some 10 weeks earlier, after nearly two months apart.

They had only had four days together that time, and their three children had been along. They had been able to get a little bit of time together alone, but not nearly as much as they'd wanted.

This time, he was home for two weeks and two days, time enough for Sharon to give him plenty of loving to store up for the upcoming stretch that would have them apart for at least seven, maybe eight months.

Just the thought of what she was going to do over the next two weeks had her excited beyond anything she could recall in recent memory.

Even as the sensations of lust swirled through her body, Sharon willed herself to calm down. It wouldn't do to have a wreck now, when she was so close to her destination.

She finally got the minivan parked and walked briskly into the airport terminal, ignoring the looks on the faces of the men as they turned to stare at her as she passed.

By now, Shannon had inured herself to the reaction men had when they saw her. It had been going on since she'd reached puberty and she'd learned to ignore them.

Truth is, you would have to either be gay or blind not to be dazzled by Sharon Schalke.

She was tall, with a regal bearing, and a body that was filled to just the right proportions in just the right places, and not a hair more.

But as stunning as her body was, it paled in comparison to her face. She was simply gorgeous, with big brown eyes, an unobtrusive nose, and a slightly larger than average mouth, framed by lips that looked like they could suck a bowling ball through a fire hose. It was all topped by soft honey blond hair, styled to just past her shoulders.

What really made Sharon so appealing, though, was the inner beauty that she always projected.

Although she was probably among the prettiest, sexiest woman in the town where she had grown up and still lived, she was friendly, never conceited and a committed Christian who had married her high school sweetheart and given him three wonderful children.

She and Don had married right out of high school, so neither of them had gone to college, but they were successful in spite of that.

Don had made a career with the local electric company and was now in management, and Sharon was a real estate agent.

They had been married about two years when Don came to Sharon with an idea of joining the Army National Guard. He wanted to serve his country in some capacity, and they could use the extra income.

At the time, the thought that he might have to go to a war zone was the last thing on their minds, but events had overtaken them.

After almost 10 years in the service, Don had risen to become a master sergeant with his unit, an engineering battalion. Through a quirk of fate, Don had managed to avoid being called to active duty up to that point.

The unit he had been in during the early phases of the Iraq War had not been called up until 2005, and he'd gotten a pass that time because their home area was in the hurricane zone following Katrina and it was deemed that his civilian duties with the power company were of greater need.

Not long after that, he'd transferred to his current unit and they had gotten their orders to mobilize late in the previous year.

While he didn't relish being away from Sharon and his children, Don was ready to go. The combat points would help toward his retirement, and he felt like it was his turn to go.

They had left home in late March for two months training stateside, then they'd gotten their four days of leave, and the family had driven to see him. After that, the unit had left in mid-June for an 11-month tour, where they were stationed outside of Baghdad.

Every soldier who serves in theater gets two weeks leave, plus travel time, during their deployment, and Don had decided to take his in mid-August.

Fortunately, things were a lot calmer in and around Baghdad now, and where they were stationed was well back from the firing line and a long way from the hot zones. Still, it was a dangerous place and the soldiers needed to be cautious at all times.

As Sharon got to the terminal, she made her way immediately to the baggage claim area, but didn't see her husband among the few stragglers still waiting for their luggage.

She made her way up one level to the exit and entry ramps and still didn't see him. She decided then to make a quick pit stop at the ladies room. She hadn't wanted to take the time to stop earlier, but she really needed to go.

After ducking into the ladies room, she pulled up the skirt of her summer dress, and as she pulled her panties down, she noted that they were wet from arousal.

She felt another jolt of lust and quickly pressed a hand to her hungry sex, then gritted her teeth and did her business. Soon, she told herself, soon she would get what she needed down there.

Just about the moment she was finishing up, with the toilet paper in her hand, her cell phone rang, and she frantically wiped herself in hopes of getting to her purse. She almost cried in frustration as she saw the flashing red light that told her she'd missed the call.

As she put herself back together and flushed the toilet, she flipped the phone open and hurriedly dialed Don's number as she dashed out of the facility.

She was just headed back out the entrance to the rest room when she heard Don's voice on the phone asking where she was, and seconds later she looked out over the railing to the lower level and saw him.

She squealed and dashed down the stairs, as he came bounding up two steps at a time, and they met halfway in an embrace that had everyone around them smiling.

Don and Sharon were oblivious. They were kissing deeply and hugging each other like they might never come apart. Don picked Sharon up, sweeping her off her feet, much as he had when they'd first met back in ninth grade.

"Oh, baby, I've missed you so much," she said, the words tumbling out in a huge rush.

Don just held his wife, burying his face in her fragrant hair, soaking up the moment. Finally, they came back down to earth and headed back down the stairs to the lower level.

"Do you have any luggage?" Sharon asked.

"Nope, just this," Don said, pointing to the backpack that hung off his shoulders. "You did bring me a change of clothes, didn't you?"

"I did," she said. "I packed you some stuff in my overnight bag, but you're not going to need them for awhile. As soon as we get to the motel, I'm going to get you out of those fatigues, and I'm not letting you get dressed until I've had my way with you."

"Yowza, yowza, yowza," Don said with a laugh.

As they walked to their car, Don talked about the journey home. He had actually left Baghdad more than two days earlier, taking an Air Force transport jet to Kuwait, where he had sat in the airport for almost a full day before getting his flight orders.

He had finally flown commercial to Leipzig, Germany, then after a five-hour layover, he'd flown non-stop to Atlanta and from Atlanta on to the city where he had just arrived.

"Poor baby; I'll bet you're exhausted," Sharon said, putting her head on Don's shoulder in commiseration.

"Actually, I got a few hours shuteye in Kuwait and I slept on the plane from Leipzig," Don said. "Besides, I'm still running on adrenalin and the feeling of being home with you."

It didn't take them long to get to their motel. Sharon had gotten a room fairly close to the airport, because she didn't want to waste any time in transit.

Don wanted to get a quick shower once they got their stuff loaded into the room, and while he was in the shower, Sharon got herself prepared.

As he came out of the bathroom, Don stopped short at the vision that assaulted his senses. Standing next to the king-size bed in a provocative pose was his wife, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Sharon had quickly done her makeup, brushed out her honey-colored hair, brushed her teeth and did a quick clean-up between her legs.

Then she put on her surprise, a sheer black peignoir with matching thong and a pair of four-inch come-fuck-me heels, before turning down the bed. As she watched Don staring, her big brown eyes were glistening with love and lust for her man.