by Brook Greene
“Are you scared of him Eno?” I cock my head to the side smiling at the big man.
He looks down at his combat boot, ‘tell ya the truth,’ his boyish grin is enduring, ‘a little.”
“Especially when it comes to you, Avery.” Beeker interjects nodding his head Eno agrees with a bob of his head.
“Okay so you guys are not going to tell me anything?” I look at them both as they shake their heads no, ‘okay what if I talk and if I get something right you nod?”
“Sorry Avery no can do.” Eno goes back to making me food.
I stand, ‘you know what I am not hungry, I am just going back up to bed.” I relent knowing I am fighting a losing battle and I was going to get nowhere with these two, dejected I climb the stairs one at a time. My body numb and my head full of stupid notions.
I throw myself back onto the bed and curl up into a ball wrapping my arms around my legs; a small tear blanches on the pillow under my cheek as I drift off into a nightmarish sleep replaying the events of the past two days in horrific detail.
****
The dip of the bed stirs me from a restless sleep, I am tugged back into the cradle of warmth and the hot breath tickles my neck, ‘Avery baby.” He whispers as he grinds his hips into my rear.
I reach my hand back to feel the stubble on his face, ‘Leo.”
“He will never touch you again.” He grinds out through his gritted teeth.
“What did you do?” I arch backwards into him.
“What I had to,’ He tucks his head deep into my hair, ‘Avery I am so sorry for this,’ he pauses as he breathes me in, ‘if I had known.” He stops before he finishes pain fills his eyes and compassion makes his body almost soft against mine.
I turn to look at him his face is bathed in the moon light seeping through the bay window of the bedroom, ‘if you would have known you would have what, left me alone?“
“No, that was never an option, obviously look how many times I have tried,’ he rolls us so I am on the bottom and his weight presses me into the mattress. His thumbs stroke my temples as he looks into my eyes, ‘I would not have let you go to work again, kept you away, told you everything so you would have known the dangers.”
I raise my hand to his cheek as he leans into it, ‘you can't control everything Leo.” His eyes are sad and the inner turmoil has his face twisted up, ‘no permanent damage done, I am not some china doll. I am stronger than you give me credit for.” I rise slightly and kiss his lips and thump my head back down on the pillow.
His mouth lowers to mine and gently makes a pass, ‘I know but it doesn’t make things easier for me.” He leans his head down and places his lips on mine again. His tongue begs entrance as my mouth falls open he kisses me as if it is the last time. My heart clenches at the thought with dread for some reason. His hands dig into my hair tilting my head back for a better angle.
“Avery I need this from you tonight.” It is more a demand than a question. I nod for there are no words because I need him as much as he needs me.
I arch my back offering up my body to his veracious sexual appetite. He tugs my shirt over my head as his lips find purchase on the receptive skin of my shoulder. He kisses across my chest stopping only to lave affection on my budded breasts. Sucking each up into his mouth letting them go only when the blood has been almost painfully brought to the surface.
‘Are you ready for this Avery or do you want to wait?” Wait what the hell is he talking about I am always ready for him.
“I want you more than you will ever know Leo.” I mewl as my hands are caressing the taut muscles of his back as they flex under the skin.
“You read my mind woman.” He groans as he rubs his hips into me.
He shifts his weight to throw the towel he had around his waist loose leaving nothing between us. I feel his heated skin against my thighs that have fallen open begging him in. I press my head back into the pillow giving him the skin at my neck, his lips dance across them accompanied by wet strokes of his tongue.
I moan my appreciation of his affection, ‘oh Leo.” His hand has traveled down my thigh and his deft fingers are mussing the skin at my hip. He is nipping at my ear lobe as his other hand is pulling the hair at the nap of my neck. His hand has started to traverse lower to my wet and ready entrance inserting a finger into me.
“Ohh.” I arch into him giving him permission to do whatever he wants to me. He adds another thick finger as he presses in and then retreats. His mouth leaves a trail hot liquid fire kisses down my breast and then my belly laving his tongue around my belly button before continue on. Finally his tongue has joined the fray of my pleasure flicking and then sucking my swollen clit into his capable mouth. My blood has turned to pure lava under his ministrations, my body aches for release and revels in the slow burn he is coaxing from it.
Suddenly the cool air against the hot folds makes me jump as he stills me with a hand on each hip, ‘baby I need you, to be in you now.” His voice is strained and he is struggling for each breath of control.
He runs his hands over his head looking down at me, ‘shit Avery,‘ he has set up and I feel the bed shift under his weight, ‘I can't wait any longer I have to be in you.” He stalks up the bed his large body hovering over mine. I watch down my buffeted torso as he rests his hips in the v of my legs, as if we were two pieces of the same puzzle the fit is perfect. I moan as the pressure of his body presses me into the mattress.
The warm safe feeling I had longed for only hours ago is back with full force as Leo is claiming what is his, and I am a willing object. The head of his cock rubs against my sensitive cleft, I press my feet into the mattress serving my hips up and offering my body for his taking and when he does it is not gentle but hard and fast. He seats himself deep pushing all the air from my lungs. When he is filling me completely he holds still letting me adjust to him.
“Shit Avery.” He hisses through clenched teeth.
“Oh Leo.” My hands caress him up his back then I grasp his upper arms as he begins to rock into me then recedes. I feel has his arms are trying to hold him up but are quivering under the strains.
“Just let go Leo, I want to feel you.” He releases his restraints and I feel the full pressure of his large body on me. It is sheer bliss the intimacy of this is what I crave, Leo on me, making love to me slow and hard. My hands travel down his lean body and feel the muscles contort with each thrust. I have two hands full of his fine ass kneading it with each stroke pushing him harder into me as my body rocks up into him.
“Wrap your legs around me.” His voice is strained, ‘you have got to stop fucking moving Avery or this isn’t going to last long.” His motions slow as I take my legs up from the bed and surround his waist. His hand has left my hair and is gripping my thigh. His breath is heavy and hot on my neck as his teeth pull at the skin.
We intertwine our other hands as they drift up over my head, he has me stretched out under him. He has started slowly rocking back into me with control measures. With my legs around him I had less control over my own pleasure, ‘I want this to last.” His groan shudders through me.
I writhe under him as he grinds down into me. We roll against each other as we dance through the throws of passion. His hard against my soft, my legs around him, I am at his mercy. The feeling builds against him. I roll the feelings from my head down through my shoulders arching out my chest rolling my hips out and down the best I can with the angle I am at.
He continues his tortuous grinding down into me filling me with each movement upward as our hands are stretched above my head. My legs leave his hips and travel down his taunt thighs to hook my ankles at his knees. Finally I can move again. I roll my hips upward as he drives down. I roll my hips as he glides up, ‘fuck Avery, I can't-” He doesn’t finish his words but our bodies do the rest as a shudder moves through me I feel him convulse on his last pound into me.
“Oh fuck Leo.” I gasp as the last tendril of the rubber band twist me up and then all of a sudden break loose and s
ets free the orgasm of the year. I contort and writhe under him as he moves slowly through our release. Finally he slumps down giving me his full weight, I heave air out of my lungs. Amazing, simply amazing.
Tracing circles around his shoulder blades as we both wrangle in our heart rates, ‘Leo?”
“Yeah babe?” His voice is muffled as he has his mouth buried in my neck.”
“When are we going to have a talk?” He rolls taking me with him, tucking me snuggly under his arm and resting his head back into his pillow settling for the night.
“Avery can I promise you it will be in the morning, will that be enough for you to let me get a descent night’s sleep?” he rest his arm over his eyes heaving out a long hard tired breath.
Wetting my lips at the sight of his bared tattooed arm I smile at him, ‘tomorrow then?” I begin to trace the intricate details of each scene of ink on his chest waiting for him to answer me. His breath has evened out and I feel as his chest rising and falling in a steady cadence. Extricating myself from under his heavy arm I lean up on my hand and look down at his sleeping face. His tense features have relaxed and the lines surrounding his eyes are not as noticeable. Lifting my finger I trace around his eye and down his strong chin, he reflexively leans his face into my open palm. I feel his hot breath tickle my arm making the hair raise, sending a zinger down my body. I smile softly down at him as his boyish face relaxes even more with my petting, ‘oh Leo you are a very complicated man but I love you.” I lean in and gently place a kiss on his slightly parted lips.
I clean up in the bathroom and climbed back into bed with Leo. He raises his arm for me to nestle back down into the place I had previously occupied. Settled I let the peace of the silent room take me over and I drift off to sleep wrapped in my warm and safe haven.
****
I wake to an empty bed and wonder if last night with Leo was a dream, until I hear the mumble of two very deep voices out in the hall turns my head in curiosity. Creeping off the bed I tip toe over to the somewhat ajar door. I peeked through the door and saw two very large shadows facing each other, they were engaged in a conversation.
“Leo you need to tell her some things but if you tell her all of it , the case might be blown out of the water plus the boss with kill you.” Eno pleads with his hands on his hips.
“Eno if I don’t tell her and I have to leave, I will have nothing to come back to,’ he pauses and does his signature move by running his hand over his head, ‘and if she does decide to leave me after this I can't quite blame her.”
Eno reaches out a hand and steadies it on his bothers shoulder, ‘brother, she is worth the fight?”
Leo shakes his head, ‘I would give up my life for her brother,”
“Then it is settled.” Eno pushes back from his stance and turns towards the guest bedroom. I duck quickly out of sight, ‘tell her everything or not your choice but do what you need to keep her.’ I hear the door click shut behind Eno, leaving Leo alone in the hall. He sighs heavy and slumps down to rest on the floor with his back against the wall. I twitch to go to him but I can't risk him knowing I was eves dropping on his conversation with Eno.
His shoulders slump as if he can no longer bare the weight of them, I feel the tear streak down my cheek and catch in the corner of my mouth filling it with the salty liquid of regret for not being less nagging and more supportive of what he has done for me.
He stands and turns for our room. I quickly tip toe back over and jump into the bed and cover acting as though I am asleep, as he climbs back in the bed tucking me neatly into his side. His body is rigid and tense from the conversation with Eno or it may be from the conversation he has yet to have with me.
I try to absentmindedly roll stretching my leg out over him and encircle his waist with my arm nestling my nose into his chest. He strokes my hair, “god Avery I am so sorry for what has happened to you in the past month,’ I fight to keep the tears burning the backs of my eyes from falling, ‘I wouldn’t change the fact we met, ever.” He is speaking into the darkness of the room. I lay perfectly still so as not to tip him off that I am awake and hearing all his confessions.
“And I don’t regret the fact you have taken my heart and my breath away. So please when I tell you tomorrow what I have to tell you, you will understand why I have to leave.” He places a soft kiss on the top of my head and pushes his head deep back into his pillow letting out the breath he had been holding, I am struggling with all my being to keep from just letting him know I wouldn’t change anything either. I love him too and the past month has been a journey to happiness.
The room falls silent once more as his words float on what he thinks are deaf ears, but I heard them, absorbing every syllable. My heart is on the verge of bursting with the love I have for him and aching at the same time for the guilt he feels for my treatment. I didn’t realize that those two emotions could co-exist in an organ.
I find sleep elusive as I trek through my mind trying to piece together a puzzle that spans the length of a month and a half. What does he mean he will have to leave? I pinch my eyes shut ruling the thought out of my head and away from me. Leo wouldn’t leave, unless he had too and in that case I would go with him. The most wonderful thing about the profession I had chosen, is the mobility of it.
Feeling comfortable with the short conclusion I had come to I drift back off to a fit full sleep holding on to Leo for dear life.
****
The morning light comes into our room to soon as I feel him shift away from me and hear the bathroom door shut behind him. The shower starts as dread washes over me for some reason. My joints are sore and my head has yet to ease off from the effects of the drugs I was given.
I hear the water turn off and roll expecting the sight I will get to see when he exits the door, I wait for longer than I should before getting up and peeking in. He is sitting on the side of the garden tub with his elbows on his knees cradling his head.
I rush over to him and kneel, ‘Leo?”
His sleepy eyes lift and take my breath away, ‘hey beautiful,’ he tangles his hand in my hair, ‘did you sleep good?” His face is awash with worry and his frame is rigid.
I lay my cheek on his leg to let him pet my back as I close my eyes and take him in, ‘I guess.”
“Well are you feeling up for a trip?” He is trying to lighten his voice for me.
Looking up a little too eager, ‘a trip, where?”
Slightly laughing and shaking his head, ‘just a day trip baby,’ he stretches his legs out in front of him and slides to the floor next to me, ‘to get away from all this shit, ya know be alone, actually just the two of us for once.”
A warm smiles spreads my face, ‘that sounds wonderful.”
He tucks me into his arm, ‘I figure we can get away from here and I can answer a few questions for you,’ his smile is comical but weak as he is being ginger with his lip, that is being held together with a butterfly bandage.
“Sounds even better, I can pack a picnic lunch.” I rub my hand down his glistening stomach.
“We won’t have room for it.” His sly smile is erotic by itself, throw in him sitting in a towel with water from his recent shower making his ripped body glisten and you have my utopia.
I tilt my curious eyes up at him, ‘and why not?”
“Cause we are taking the bike.” His eyes are alight with happiness and his smile is boyish.
Sitting up and rubbing his patched up side, ‘are you sure you can handle riding?”
“Baby there is nothing more healing than sitting on a bike with the open road ahead of you,’ tugging me back into him, ‘and having your gorgeous legs wrapped around me is like primo physical rehab, don’t worry you’ll see.”
Knowing once he has made his mind up there is no arguing with him, ‘okay if you say so.” I snuggle down into him and smell his clean skin.
An hour and half later we are cruising down the road on his Harley. I just encircle my arms tighter around his waist and bury my face in his b
ack. He takes a hand from the grip and holds my hand up to his lips and kisses it. He cocks his head around to me for only a second but I can see my reflection in his aviators, his smile matches the width of mine.
He takes a turn off the road and travels down a small asphalt drive. It winds and it weaves us up the side of a slight hill then down the other side. We are joined by a small creek to the side as we round the last hill I see where the stream empties, into a majestic lake scene like you would see in one of the scenery coffee table books.
He pulls the bike to a stop still on the pavement and steadies it by putting his feet down, ‘Leo this is beautiful.”
“Yeah it is, I use to come up here a lot,’ he pauses, ‘ya know to think. Basically get away from every fucking thing.” I feel his shoulder tense up under my palms. Rubbing them it eases a little but not much. He uses his hands to pull my knees in tighter around him, ‘anyway I thought it would be a great place for us to spend the day.”
I hung him close, ‘it is absolutely perfect baby.” I bury my face in his back.
I feel as the motorcycle roars to life and is tilted back up and we take off down the hill for a few more minutes longer, when he comes to a final stop I look over his shoulder. In front of us is a little cabin looking to be in considerably good condition.
It isn’t much bigger than Leo’s master bath in his bedroom back at the mansion-cabin. The front porch angles forward slightly making the nails holding the floor boards to the posts visible. The old wood has seen its better days between the holes and faded color. The old screen door hangs loosely on the hinges and looks to fall off any day or just one more time being opened.
Leo pauses as I hesitate to get off the bike, ‘Avery you can’t sit there all day.” He offers me his hand again and this time I take it.
“This place belonged to my old man, he brought me and Eno up here for fishing weekends when we were kids.” He stops right before climbing up on the porch, I watch the memories from a happy past glaze his eyes. A genuine smile crosses his lips as he places his booted foot up on the rotted boards followed by the nostalgic second. I stand back and let him go through the memory alone but always on the ready to run to his side if he needs me.