by Sylvia Ryan
“Yeah, okay.” Van put his hands out in front of him as if blocking physical blows. “Jeez.” He laughed.
“Sorry. I’ve gotten kind of pushy since I met Sarge. Sometimes I feel that if I don’t push back, who I am as a person, my fundamental nature, could disappear altogether with him.
He continued to rub her back as they sat side by side on the back steps. The quiet stillness of the early morning enveloped them. Together, they watched the first pink rays of the sun peek over the tall backyard fence. It warmed Grace’s skin and melted her frustration away.
“It’s hard to believe all this is happening sometimes,” Grace said softly. “I guess I still haven’t fully adjusted. There’s a part of me that keeps expecting it to be over so I can go back to my normal life.”
“This is our normal life now.”
She looked over at Van. “I guess it is.”
Grace shifted, leaning her back into Van’s chest as they both turned a little to face the sunrise. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and for long moments, they watched the pink-and-orange spectacle that lingered in the morning clouds on the horizon.
Grace broke the silence. “Why do you think we get shot at?”
“Probably for our guns, maybe because Sarge killed their dogs, maybe to get their hands on you.” Van shrugged. “Who knows?”
She shook her head and paused to gather up the right words to express what she was feeling. “Sometimes the savageness of the human race shocks me. The things people do just because they can, because they know there’s no one around to stop them. God, Van, all three of us could have been killed pinned down in the street like we were. It makes a person think about the important things. Brings your life into perspective, you know? The things that worried me or bothered me a month ago aren’t even on my radar now.”
Grace felt Van nodding his head. “I feel the same way. I’m sure a lot of people do.”
She closed her eyes and smiled as the air from his words brushed across her hair and sent electric tingles down her spine. She felt safe in Van’s arms. Not just safe from the outside world, but safe to loosen up and lower the walls a little, trust a little.
They fell into companionable silence. Grace noticed the birds’ first melody of the morning, welcoming the sun. Van pulled her closer to him.
“What do you miss the most?” he asked.
She was silent for a long time, mentally running through the long list of conveniences that she had taken for granted and now no longer had. There were so many it was hard to choose. “Running water, a hot shower, a toilet that flushes.” She laughed.
“I’m glad you didn’t have running water.” She turned around to look at Van. He was smiling warmly at her. “If you did, I wouldn’t have met you. And, Grace, I’m so glad I met you.” He said those words in a way that made her heart burst with emotion. A delicious feeling of attraction and intimacy grew inside her.
“I’m glad I met you, too.” She turned back toward the sunrise that seemed to paint a show of colors just for them. They relaxed into each other, as if where they were and what they were doing was the most natural thing in the world.
Van slid his hand around Grace’s body and over her stomach, and then moved it over the underside of her breast. The touch was so light. It was merely a breeze that whispered itself up and over the peak of her nipple. Oh God. He was so tender and gentle with her. Grace’s breath hitched at the touch. As his large hand continued to tease her nipples, his other hand moved toward the juncture between her legs.
She felt the vibration of his groan against her back and heard the faint sound of it whisper from his lips into her hair.
“I need you, Grace.”
Van’s arms wrapped tight around her as he stood up, bringing her with him, and then he turned her to face him. Grace tilted her head so she could look into his gorgeous green eyes as he loomed over her.
“Grace?” He stood there waiting for her to answer.
She’d promised herself she would stay neutral.
She wavered. At first, she didn’t know how to answer his need. And then she did.
Grace reached out with an almost tentative motion and pulled the waistband of Van’s shorts down over his cock, and then his ass, until they pooled onto the floor. When the shorts fell, so did she. From her knees, Grace glanced up at him. His imposing presence, coupled with his sizzling expression, made her breathless. The sweet, gentle man whom she had been getting to know had vanished.
Grace turned her attention to the thick cock in front of her. Her mouth watered at the thought of sliding her tongue over the tip, of tasting him. She wrapped her slim fingers around the base and guided the smooth crown toward her lips, darting her tongue out just to tease. She glanced up again and found burning lust in the face of the man looking back at her. Then she surrounded the entire crown of his cock with her hot, wet mouth and rolled her tongue over and around, giving every curve and ridge of that tip special attention.
Van moaned, and the sound soothed her. She loved giving pleasure to a man, especially being on her knees, sucking his cock. It satisfied the small part of her nature that didn’t want to be in charge, that didn’t want to think or worry, that just wanted to give. She dipped her head, taking in as much of him as she could, until the silken crest that she had given so much attention to butted up against the back of her mouth.
Grace created a rhythm between the movement of her head and hands and concentrated fully on immersing herself in her task. She moved a hand over him and caressed the smooth skin of his ass, finding the muscles underneath surging forward and releasing to the pace she’d set. Allowing his cock to the back of her throat as he pumped into her, she breathed in his scent. The slight musky smell of him had her body responding, preparing the way for him to be inside of her.
“Stop,” he said under his breath. He held her still. “Just stop for a second.”
Grace looked up at him, disappointed, but then she smiled. “Perfect timing,” she said as she unbuttoned her pants and slid them onto the ground. “Sit.” She pointed to the steps.
The corner of Van’s mouth tilted upward when he looked from the steps back to her with his heavily lidded eyes. He sat, and she straddled him. He guided her over his cock and pulled her down on top of it. His strong hands kept her still. They were cheek to cheek, his lips right at her ear. She listened, rapt with attention, to the quick, short pants that Van released while her body adjusted to the sudden fullness.
“I’ll do all the work,” he whispered into her ear.
Van began to move her in small circles, guiding the movements with his big hands at her hips. The movements were not so much in and out, as round and round. Her clit ground into him with every little circle he drew with her body.
Van took his time arousing her, building her euphoria in infinitesimal increments. She relished their connection. It was like a Sunday afternoon, lazy and slow. For a while, she pulled back, separating their bodies a bit so that she could look directly into his eyes. He didn’t flinch from the intimacy, and neither did she. And it was intimate, having him move inside her and allowing her to see inside him at the same time.
Van smiled at her. “You’re tightening around me. Fucking hell does that feel good.”
Grace placed both hands on the door he rested against and leaned into him. She sealed her lips over his as she began a faster back-and-forth motion with her body, pumping and grinding them together with force.
They moaned into each other’s mouths as the sweet friction escalated between them, leaving her on the brink of climax.
When the first contraction of her orgasm tightened and quivered around Van’s cock, Grace broke the kiss and threw her head back with a long, soft wail. She felt the first of the streams of Van’s cum boiling inside of her, slicking the friction between them. His hands dug into her flesh while his body rocketed up into her, leaving a blazing, blistering trail of destruction in its wake.
“Oh God
, Van. More. Yes,” she keened softly until his forceful pumps into her abated.
Grace laid her cheek against Van’s chest, and they rested there together, gripping each other, breathing hard, and covered with a sheen of sweat. After their bodies settled, Grace lifted herself off of Van’s softening cock and ran her fingertips over his washboard abs as she swung her leg around and stood from the straddling position she’d been in.
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious, she deliberately diverted her mind and feelings away from the man sitting in front of her. “It’s going to be hot today,” she murmured as she got dressed. “I’m going to help Luke finish the backyard since you and Sarge are still pretending you’re injured and aren’t doing any work.”
Van didn’t seem to want to go there though. He stood and captured her in his arms, not letting her pull back and put distance between them just yet.
“I’m glad we had this time to spend together,” he murmured softly into her ear.
Grace smiled. “So am I.”
“Getting shot seems like the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you,” he said as he released her.
His sweet words melted her into a hot bundle of unsure emotions and thrilling sensations. And that reaction gave her a good indication of just how much shit she’d already stepped in.
Chapter 15
Luke chuckled as he made his way back down into the shelter.
“Are they out there?” Sarge asked him.
“Oh, they’re out there.”
Sarge narrowed his eyes. “What’s the dumbass grin about?”
“Our beautiful Grace is busy giving Van’s cock a stellar workout.”
Luke watched Sarge’s face grow dark and cold, like the warning of an impending storm. “You said you guys weren’t together.”
“We’re not, at least not as far as she’s concerned.”
“So what’s with the lethal look that just crawled over your face?”
Luke watched more emotions play over Sarge’s face before stone-cold indifference landed there. “No look.”
“Huh.” Luke wasn’t fooled. There was a look, and Sarge did care. “Okay, I guess I saw something that wasn’t there.”
They sat in silence as Luke worked out the dynamics of the situation within his head. Eventually, Grace would have a preference of one man over the others. Apparently, Van was the frontrunner. Then he felt the lethal look crawl over his own face. Luke, like Sarge, would have a difficult time being the guy not getting the only woman available to them.
His inner thoughts were disturbed by the cubby door being removed at the top of the stairs. Van stepped in and replaced the door behind him.
“Where’s Grace?” Sarge snarled at Van.
Luke looked over at Sarge, who was waiting for an answer, and working on grinding his teeth down to nubs in the meantime.
“She stayed out. She wanted to start digging before it gets too hot.”
Van reached the bottom of the stairs and pulled a chair from the table and sat down.
“We need to talk,” Van said.
“I’ll go up and help Grace.” Luke attempted to leave the two men alone, wanting nothing more than to stay out of whatever was going to explode between them.
“No. You need to stay,” Van piped in. “This involves all of us.” Van paused for a moment when he saw the leer that Sarge was throwing him. “I caught Grace trying to leave this morning. She was halfway over the fence when I pulled her back over to our side.”
“Oh hell no,” Sarge thundered. “She promised me she wouldn’t leave by herself anymore.” Sarge was livid with a dash of the stone-cold chill that had been forming before Van had come down to the shelter. His savage expression was more intimidating than the one that had Luke wanting to leave just moments before. “She’s been pulling this shit since she got here.”
“I tried to talk to her about it, find out where she was going, but she clammed up.”
“Yeah, I heard how you two were talking,” Sarge spat.
Van looked at Sarge for a good long time before he spoke. “She told me you slept together.” Van shrugged. “She also told me she gave you the same spiel about not wanting a relationship as the one she gave me.”
Sarge scrubbed his hand over the top of his head and sighed. “Yeah.”
“It’s her choice. I respect that. I expect the two of you will also?”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Sarge snapped.
“It means that I’m going to do my best to make this situation as comfortable for her as possible instead of putting her between us in a tug-of-war that will hurt her.
“He’s right,” Luke piped in.
“Fuckin’ A, I’m right,” Van said.
“Seems like she doesn’t know what she wants,” Luke said. “She’s sampling the treats, trying to find out which one she likes best.” Luke gave the men his widest and most wicked grin.
“You planning on offering up your treats, too?” Sarge seethed.
Luke met Sarge’s angry stare. “I’d be an idiot not to.”
The three men regarded each other in silence.
This woman had everybody’s blood boiling. They were like three angry roosters ready to fight it out, clawing and scratching each other, for the privilege of mating the female. Testosterone hung thick in the air, and it was unspoken but crystal clear that all three men sharing the small space with her wanted her to be his in the worst way. It sounded ludicrous, but now after the EMP, a woman at a man’s side, in his bed, was rare and valuable.
“Well, it seems like we’ve said everything there is to say,” Luke said. “I’m going up to work. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.” He snickered as he lifted himself from the chair and headed out.
Luke studied Grace as they worked side by side at the fence line for the entire day. She was different, complicated, but still he learned a lot about her during that time. She didn’t seem to care that she was filthy and sweaty from working in the hot sun and dirt. She didn’t care about breaking a nail or what condition her hair was in. She spent the hours on her knees, burying stakes after he pounded holes into the ground, without a complaint.
He had been instantly attracted to her, maybe because she wasn’t all girly lace and “how’s my lipstick.” Plus, she had made a first impression, topless and armed, that would never leave his mind’s eye. Once in a while, she sat back on her heels and looked up at him, waiting for him to finish a hole. It didn’t take long for Luke to imagine her pale blue eyes looking up at him while his cock was in her mouth. His blood surged through his veins, and his cock spasmed with want as his mind groped for a way to make her his.
She had absolutely no idea how fucking sexy she was, and that made her even sexier. She didn’t flirt, and she maintained her personal space. She did a great job of making him feel like she was looking right through him. Not just that he wasn’t on her radar, more like he didn’t even exist. He wondered how easy it would be to find a chink in her cool armor of disinterest.
“It’s been all day. Aren’t you going to make your move?”
Luke’s thoughts snapped back to the present. He looked down at her, amused. “Do you want me to?”
She shrugged. “Not particularly. I just figured it was only a matter of time and since we’re sleeping together tonight you’d try to feel me out before then.”
He laughed. “Well, no game playing with you is there?”
She snorted. “Nope.”
“So in the spirit of the no-game-playing approach, I guess I’ll just ask. What if I lay down next to you tonight with more than just sleeping on my mind?”
Grace stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. Her eyes squinted into the direct sunlight at his back. “I’m not psychic, so think what you want.” She returned to the stake she was burying.
Think what you want? He chuckled. She was slick. She’d caught him off guard with her original question an
d was keeping him off balance. He had tried to throw her off with an answer that would rattle her right back, but it didn’t. He liked that. Luke was learning that she was a woman who did what she wanted, when she wanted, with no apologies.
She communicated with the world in a vaguely combative style. She didn’t know it yet, but she was at a disadvantage with him already. Luke was a master with words, at interpreting human behavior, and even better at bringing out the thought processes of someone else.
“What’s wrong, Grace? Did some prick break your heart?” He tested her façade. She showed people only what she wanted them to see, and he wanted to see how good she was at it.
“Leave it alone, Luke.” She knelt there calm and relaxed as if she were talking to him about the weather.
“I would never break your heart, Grace.” He tested her again.
“You’d have to have my heart in order to break it.” She didn’t even bother to look up at him this time.
Nice. She’s very good at this.
Okay, he would have to have the verbal firepower of a Sherman Tank to finesse his way past her defenses, but he was willing to bring out the big guns if he needed to. “Your dad said that you go to college.”
“Yeah.”
“What major?”
“Nursing.”
“That explains the good patch-up jobs you did on Sarge and Van.”
She nodded.
“What did you do before the EMP? Oh, let me guess.” She held up a hand to stop him from talking. “You do something type A personality, cop-soldierish, like the other two.”
Luke laughed. “Nothing as dramatic as that.”
She glanced up at him waiting for him to tell her. “Well?”
“I have a master’s degree in psychology, but I don’t work in that field anymore. I own a bar.”
She looked up at him. “Why would you do that? It doesn’t make any sense to go to school for six years, rack up the student loans, to just pitch the whole profession.”