Stirred Cinders (Fallen Ashes Book 1)

by M. J. Reed

  “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling alright about leaving.” His smile faded, just a little. “What are you planning to do now?”

  “Whatever I want,” I answered with a grin and a cocky attitude. “I’ve never had so many options in front of me. I want to do, and try, everything I can.” I paused, the fluttering of a million butterflies in my stomach was overwhelming. “Hopefully, I’ll get to try a few of those things out with you.”

  He smiled and kissed the top of my head, appeasing the butterflies.

  “And, since you brought it up, how do you feel about what happened in your dad’s study?” Wyatt asked with a crooked grin.

  “I liked it. I’ve just never done anything like that before.” I was embarrassed by the admission. I hope he doesn’t think I’m naive, or frigid, or something. “I just wanted my first time to be special.”

  He wrapped an arm around me and nibbled on my neck. “I could make it special.” His warm breath against my neck and the gravel in his voice made me tingle. “That is, if you want to give it another try?”

  I ran my fingers through his hair. “Yes.” I breathed, losing myself in the moment.

  I was so focused on every touch that I could feel Wyatt’s lips smile against my skin. He cupped my breast and kissed his way from my jawline down to my collarbone. Then he started undoing my shorts.

  “What are you doing?” I asked with a giggle, surprised by how deftly he unfastened my buttons.

  “Making it special.” He looked up and smirked mischievously at me. “Do you want me to stop?”

  I shook my head and grinned back at him. “No. I want to keep going.” I answered, a bit too eagerly.

  It was thrilling, watching Wyatt as he undressed me. I felt myself clench and slicken at the thought of him entering me. He slipped my panties off, and gently pushed my legs apart. I squeaked involuntarily, feeling exposed.

  “Relax.” He whispered.

  Wyatt gently kissed my abdomen and the soft interior of my thighs. I laid back onto the blankets, but I was having trouble relaxing. The anticipation was killing me. With each kiss, my muscles tightened in anticipation.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Wyatt parted my cleft and started working on me in earnest.

  He licked up and down the length of my slit. With every pass, Wyatt’s tongue spent a bit more time teasing my clit. I was trying to be quiet, but I felt low moans escape my throat. Wyatt slipped a finger inside me and fluttered his tongue against my sweet spot. I tightened around him and let my hand rest on the back of his head.

  “More.” I panted.

  Wyatt slipped another finger inside me without ceasing his tongue-lashing.

  My toes curled, my back arched, and I could hardly catch my breath. I whimpered as I inched closer and closer to my release. I felt dizzy. My skin was on fire. Muscles in my thighs twitched, and I bucked my hips involuntarily.

  I covered my mouth with my own hand to muffle my screams. I shuddered and shook and came completely apart. Nothing in the world mattered except how happy I was.

  Wyatt traced slow, lazy circles around my clit until he was sure I had finished. But when his mouth left me, and his fingers withdrew, I still wanted more. When he met my eyes, his expression was full of joy, lust, and more than a little ego. The look was masculine and powerful, and it made me want him all the more.

  I pulled my shirt off over my head and reached for Wyatt’s belt.

  His hands wrapped gently around my wrists. “I meant what I said earlier. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “This is something I want to do.”

  Wyatt let me unbuckle his belt before sweeping me up into a kiss. The rest of our clothes came off in a flurry of kisses and caresses. Strong arms framed my body. Reality melted away, leaving only the two of us in its wake.

  He positioned himself between my legs. “Are you sure?”

  “I want this.” I panted. “I want you.”

  He kissed me and plunged seamlessly inside me. I expected pain, but instead, I gasped with pleasure. His thick cock stretched and filled me. My every nerve was electrified.

  I’m not going to last long.

  Wyatt pulled back from our kiss, putting just enough distance between us to allow him to rub my clit again. “I want to watch you finish.” He whispered, moving his hips in time with my own.

  I came unraveled. I screamed in ecstasy. Every muscle in my body spasmed. I clutched at the blankets beneath me and lost myself in complete bliss.

  As my own orgasm dwindled away, I locked eyes with Wyatt. The flush of his cheeks and the glint in his eyes made him look even more handsome than usual. I bit my lower lip and pulled Wyatt’s head down to meet my nipple. He sucked eagerly, and I let head roll back as a second, smaller, orgasm swept through me.

  As I came again, I felt the muscles in Wyatt’s core clench. He groaned, and I felt him reach his own release inside me. Once we were both satisfied, Wyatt and I lay together, entwined and panting on the bed until we fell asleep.

  Chapter 27

  I woke up this morning with my gun still in my hand. I was covered in a thin layer of dew, and my entire body was sore. It took me a moment for me to remember where I was, and everything that had happened the day before. Dr. Ward’s dead and I’ll never see my father again.

  I sat up straight and looked around. I was supposed to be on guard duty. I must have fallen asleep. I peered out of the window of the ruined second floor, and that’s when I saw what had woken me.

  “Shit!” I hissed, glad I had my gun at the ready.

  Outside were half a dozen people who had made their way up to the house. The little group was armed with makeshift clubs, axes, and rocks. At least they don’t have guns. It seemed odd that a raiding party would have such shabby weapons, or would be so noisy sneaking up on us.

  I didn’t have time to dwell on it. “Stop right there!” I commanded from the gap in the second story wall.

  The group raised their weapons as if they expected me to charge downstairs and melee them with my gun. I had been keeping my head down in case one of them had a concealed firearm, but seeing their reaction to me increased my certainty that none of these people had ever touched a gun.

  The people around the house had made their way almost to the front door, and they didn’t look like particularly gracious guests. They halted at the sight of my gun, but they’re still too close for comfort.

  “Put the gun down, girl!” The old man at the front of the group shouted back. He didn’t look spry enough to hurt anyone, but his jaw was set in anger. “There’s no way you know how to handle a weapon like that. Drop it, and we’ll let you leave in peace!”

  He has no idea what I can and can’t handle! I turned and fired, shooting the top off of a crooked fencepost in the front yard. Pffft… And my dad said I would never need weapons training. I aimed my gun at the man at the front of the pack. “Instead, how about you turn around and walk away, and I’ll let you leave in peace!” I countered with just a tinge of arrogance in my voice.

  From inside the house, I heard Wyatt and Cora scrambling awake after the sound of a shot being fired. Good. A show of force might be precisely what we need to resolve this situation. They stumbled up the stairs with a characteristic lack of subtlety. Cora’s hair was a disheveled mess, and Wyatt hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt.

  At least they had a good night.

  The man at the head of the group held his ground, even with a gun pointed at him. “This is our home! Everything we have is in there. Shoot me if you want, but I’m not starting all over again because of another thug with a gun!” A woman, as old and gray as he, moved to stand beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of support.

  It was then that I finally stopped to register the obvious. The people in front of me couldn’t be from one of the ruthless gangs that Wyatt seemed so afraid of. Ragged clothes, messy hair, and shabby weaponry. These people live here! This is their home.

  “Sad
e, what’s going on!?” Cora asked, ready to jump into the fray, even without a weapon.

  She’s no fighter, but I like her spirit.

  “I think we might be assholes,” I answered, surprised that after only one day away from Departure I had already become a villain. “This is their house. We ate their food.”

  “You gangsters have been chasing us from place to place for years now! We aren’t putting up with it anymore!” Yelled a woman near the back of the group.

  “We aren’t raiders!” Wyatt called. “We just didn’t have anywhere to go.”

  It was then that I realized what I needed to do. We ate their food. We scared these people. I sighed and relaxed my grip on the gun. It’s just like everything else that’s happened lately. What’s done is done, and now all I can do is try to make it better, and move on with my life. Dr. Ward would have wanted me to be happy.

  I plastered on a more friendly face to address the crowd below. “We still don’t have anywhere to stay,” I called, turning to the angry crowd and holstering my weapon. “We already ate your food, but if you let us stay, maybe we can earn our keep somehow, or at least pay you back for the trouble we caused.”

  “This place isn’t very well fortified. I might be able to rig up some defenses in case a real gang shows up to harass you.” Wyatt offered.

  There was a murmur amongst the group below, and it wasn't a happy murmur. These people have obviously dealt with outsiders before. It’s not surprising that they aren’t ready to trust us. I was contemplating drawing my gun again when a voice broke through the din.

  “Look, the lights are on! They must have gotten the generator running.” Piped a man whose clothes looked like they were three sizes too big.

  The murmuring began anew.

  “Is this true? Did you fix the generator?” The angry old man at the head of the group asked.

  “I did!” Wyatt called, moving to stand in an opening in the broken wall. “And I can fix more things around here if we stay.”

  Cora peeked around Wyatt. “I can help.” She said, with the confidence and optimism of someone who has never repaired anything before.

  “And, maybe I can show a few of you how to swing those weapons like professionals,” I added, hoping sweetening the deal would make up for my lack of charm.

  The angry old man at the front of the group nodded to the rest of his troupe, and they all relaxed their grip on their makeshift weapons. “Let’s go.” He said, heading into the house with the others in tow. “The day is young, and we have a lot to do.” He gave us a pointed look as he crossed the threshold of the house. “All of us.”

  Chapter 28

  It’s been another day of hard labor here, not that I mind. We’ve more than worked off the food we ate when we first arrived but seeing how much this place has improved with a little elbow grease has been incredibly gratifying. It’s been about two months since we settled here, and the lower part of the building has been mostly repaired. The second story has a roof again, though the walls still need patching in places. We’ve built a small watchtower, another storage shed, and we’ve started making a fence around the perimeter of our settlement.

  I spend most of my free time either with Cora or out here in this shed. Even when I’m not with Cora, she’s all I think about. Here, surrounded by the tools Sade and the other settlers collected for me on their last scavenging mission, she is at the heart of my latest project.

  It’s not quite right. I turned the tiny metal object I’d been working on, examining it. It’s even in thickness now, and polished, but I have no idea how I’ll attach a gem to it. Of course, my difficulty making the ring wasn’t the only thing wrong with my plan. Even if I could get this thing perfect, proposing is a bad idea.

  Things with Cora have been amazing. In a short period of time, she’s become my best friend. We spend our evenings talking, sharing secrets, laughing at nothing, or just sitting together in comfortable silence. And we spend our nights doing everything but sleeping. I thought, letting a private grin cross my face. I’ve never been surer that I want to be with someone, forever, but I need to wait to be sure she feels the same way.

  She seems happy with me, but it’s still new. I frowned. After leaving the Unseen Company behind, I had wanted to spend some time living alone, not attached or beholden to anyone. Instead, I’ve found someone amazing, and all I want to do is make her mine.

  I turned the ring over and over again in my hand. I need to stop fantasizing and try to keep things casual between Cora and I. At least until we both have time to sort out our feelings. There’s no need to rush. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. I banished the smile from my face and tucked the ring into my pocket, resolving to dispose of it later.

  “Wyatt!” The footsteps quickened as Peter West spotted me and rushed over.

  Ordinarily, I would have welcomed a visit from Peter. He’s been a good friend to me since I arrived here, and he’s been helpful in repairing house we’ve been staying in. Today though, I could hear an edge of fear in his voice.

  “We need you at the watchtower.” He panted, without offering me any greeting or explanation. Any thoughts I had of proposing to Cora were temporarily banished from my mind. I turned and raced after him, afraid of what I would see from atop the watchtower.

  Charlotte and her husband Mike stood at the base of the wooden tower. The Wilsons are the most influential, and the oldest, couple living with us. Both were white-haired and crooked with age but were no less fierce than anyone else.

  Mike was the man who shouted Sade down after our first night here, and he hasn’t warmed to us much since then. As I reached the base of the watchtower, Mike shoved a spyglass toward me with a glare. Some people just can’t be won over. Mike has been adamant that trouble would follow us here if we were allowed to stay. I brushed past him and climbed the ladder to the top, worried that he might be right.

  “Look East,” Charlotte called after me.

  It didn’t take me long to spot the problem. “Fuck.” I hissed under my breath. From my perch I could see six people on the horizon, coming our way. Even from this distance, I could tell it was an Unseen Company scouting party. They must have been tracking me for a while. Now they’re going to find me. “Fuck!” I repeated, climbing back down.

  “So, what should we do?” Peter asked as soon as my feet touched the ground.

  “This is a community matter. We’ll discuss it as a community.” Charlotte replied.

  Charlotte Wilson is stubborn but fair. She has a decent head on her shoulders, and even in her venerable age, the people here look to her for leadership.

  “Round up the others.” She commanded, before taking her agitated husband by the hand and heading back to the house.

  We assembled quickly, gathering in our newly remodeled living room. The room is meant to be a comfortable communal area, but tonight everyone in the room is tense. Cora and I settled onto what was once the back row of seats in a long-abandoned truck, but which we had converted into a couch. Sade perched directly across from the Wilson’s loveseat, like a cat about to pounce. Peter stood with his arms crossed, looking troubled. Thomas Garcia and his very pregnant wife Perlo huddled together on a pile of cushions that we had gathered into a makeshift couch.

  “What are we going to do?” Peter began.

  Mike snorted in disgust. He said nothing, but we all knew what he thought of the situation. To him, we’ll always be outsiders.

  “We knew something like this might happen when we agreed to let you stay, but we wouldn’t have survived this long without sticking together,” Charlotte said. “We’ll just have to run. We’ll carry what we can and rebuild once they’ve left.”

  “We can’t do that,” I said, shaking my head. “I know those people. They’ll never stop hunting us. Besides,” I said, looking to each person in turn. “This is our home.”

  “Hunting you, you mean.” Mike huffed. “We should just hand you over to them and be done with it.”

/>   “We’re not doing that.” Charlotte chided.

  “Even if you did, they’ve seen the house by now, and they’ll know there’s loot here. They aren’t likely to pass up a chance to raid this place.” I answered coolly.

  “I’m scared,” Perlo whispered. Her husband put one arm around her shoulders, and one on her stomach, to comfort her.

  “We’re all scared,” Cora answered sympathetically. “But we can’t let fear shut us down. We have to do something!”

  I smiled at her. My brave girl.

  “Cora’s right,” Peter said. “We can have her-” He said, jerking his head towards Sade. “Hang out on the second floor and try to get some shots off. We should be able to shore up our defenses before nightfall. I think we could make a stand here.”