Base

by Cathleen Ross

  If he’d rolled her on her back and gone down on her, she would have been prepared. She would have clenched her pelvic floor. She knew the sensations that entailed, but this was different. This was a sensual assault. Here, on her elbows and knees she was so utterly bared and unprepared.

  She tried to bring her knees together, to lock out the sensation as his tongue flicked back and forward over her clit, but he forced them even wider with his forearms. There was something weirdly kinky about his nose being so close to her arse. God, she hoped, he wouldn’t lick it. Just when she fought for mental control, to ease the heavy sensation building in her lower abdomen, he speared her again with his tongue, deep this time, so that she swore he found her g-spot. How was that even possible? There it was again. Ruth groaned. Pure sensation heated inside her, making it impossible to ignore. ‘Oh God, Jack, stop. Let me catch my breath.’ He’d reduced her to begging.

  She tried to claw her way up the bed so that she could climb onto her hands, so she wouldn’t be so exposed to his seeking tongue. The hot wet sexiness seemed everywhere. Inside her. Over her clit. His merciless tongue swirling over the sensitive bud, until she thought she would lose it.

  A moan left her lips. Every bit of her body seemed attuned to his touch. Her breasts hung down within his reach and he reached up and tweaked each of her nipples. His touch was not respectful, it was hard and it hurt, but not enough to register as real pain. Instead he rubbed his fingers and thumb over her nipples until they tightened unbearably.

  She didn’t know how much more of this she’d be able to take.

  She didn’t want to respond but her will defied her. No man had ever wanted to eat her in this position but Jack licked her like a man possessed, like a man who adored pussy and didn’t want to waste any of the juices. He was a man who loved the scent of pussy and wanted to devour her. His tongue wove a ring around her entrance before entering her again. Jack’s tongue impaled her, flicking her inner walls as she clenched and unclenched, knowing she was going over the edge whether she liked it or not. He withdrew his tongue to skim it lightly over her arsehole. The shock of it made her clench her butt cheeks together, arching her back to try and get away from his crude invasion. She wiggled her hips from side to side but he pinned her with his big shoulders while keeping one of his hands flat on her back forcing her to expose her cleft to his mouth. It was impossible to escape. He consumed her like she was a rare delicacy, sucked on her clitoris like a freshly discovered pearl in an oyster. Her sex throbbed and though she fought not to, her hips rocked back and forward to meet his rhythm.

  He pinched her nipples, hard this time.

  When she came it was with a roar that flooded her whole body. Jack mouthed her sensitive clit and sucked, his tongue oscillating over the top. Ruth screamed as the rush of the most intense orgasm she’d ever had, hit her, zinging up her spine, flooding her mind as well as her sex, until she saw stars. Just as it subsided, Jack pushed his tongue deep inside her and she clenched around him, groaning, wanting him deep, deep inside.

  Finally, he withdrew. She couldn’t see or hear him, not above her own panting, but she knew he was there. Her whole body rippled with tension knowing he was about to claim her.

  A slap rang in the air. Ruth’s butt stung and her whole body jerked in shock. ‘No.’ She couldn’t believe he’d spanked her like in some cheap porn movie. The weird thing was although it hurt it was pleasurable too.

  He paddled her backside with the flat of his hand and just when she thought she couldn’t bear it anymore, he rubbed his hand over her bottom in large round motions so the sting faded to a warm glow.

  Her body relaxed.

  Then he drove himself into her, deep.

  He leaned over her back, his breath blowing in hot pants against her nape as he thrust into her. His huge thighs encased hers and he kept her in position by gripping her hips. His rhythm was fast and hard and so deep she gasped every time the head of his cock stroked over her inner walls. She didn’t expect to come again. She’d thought he’d wrenched that out of her. She was wrong. This time it was a deep internal draw that started inside her and seemed to resonate outward taking over her whole body so that she groaned and bucked, any idea of fighting him, totally obliterated by his domination.

  His deep growl and jerky hip motion signalled he was just about there with her. When he came with a harsh exhalation, he held her tight for a long moment, before he finally released her and allowed her to slump forward. Dazed, she tried to catch her breath. If she had any fight left in her body, he’d knocked it out of her. Every part of her tingled and seemed sensitive and swollen at the same time.

  A big, fat tear rolled down her cheek.

  Jack had succeeded in what he set out to do.

  The captain had made her his.

  Chapter 10

  When the alarm went off the next morning, Ruth woke expecting to find Jack’s arms around her. Eyes still closed, she reached out to find he wasn’t there. Disappointment resonated in her body and she told herself to get a grip. She was not going to enter into some weird Stockholm syndrome relationship. At least Jack hadn’t cuffed her last night, which was a first, though he had drawn her into his arms and fallen asleep, his steady breathing tickling the nape of her neck. What was it about him that he could do things to her body that other men couldn’t? A vague memory of him tenderly kissing her cheek that morning as he left, came to mind. She rubbed her cheek where his touch still lingered.

  Last night had changed things between them and she hadn’t had time to process it. His scent, his touch, the taste of him still lingered. Her body ached with a pleasant reminder of what they’d shared. It hadn’t been the desperate user sex she’d expected of Jack. It had gone far beyond anything she’d experienced.

  The alarm sounded louder. She reached out to turn it off and found a still warm cup of coffee complete with milk, next to her on her bedside table. She felt past the cup and slammed her hand down on the alarm. Time for a shower.

  An hour later she heard the expected knock on the door of the house. ‘Come in, Vassar.’ Come in, grump. She was just getting used to Jack’s chief guard dog, though she supposed he had good reason to be miserable given the state of his brother, Mike.

  She knew better than to try and open the door herself. Despite plundering her body last night, Jack didn’t trust her. The truth was, she didn’t trust herself. Everything had changed since last night. She wasn’t angry at Jack about her loss of liberty. She should be. Instead, she felt like she’d entered a club where people who loved sex were members. She’d never understood why people, intelligent people, the same people she admired, would get so excited about the subject. But the lovemaking she’d experienced in the past had never been passionate like Jack’s. Totally all consuming. Don’t be fooled, she repeated mentally as she stood by the door waiting for Vassar to unlock it. This was not a normal relationship. Oxytocin was a tricky hormone.

  When the front door opened, Vassar greeted her with a nod. Although he had dark marks under his eyes from lack of sleep, he smiled at her with real warmth. ‘Hi, Ruth. Ready for work? The guys are doing much better since you came. The orderly said they had a good night.’

  What had happened to the grump? ‘Hi, Vassar. How’s Mike?’

  ‘He hasn’t turned. He ate his whole dinner last night.’

  Ruth grabbed her medical bag and looked at her watch. ‘Let’s go there first. I need to take blood for Lea.’ She left the house conscious of the warmth on her face and the brilliant blue of the sky. Even the air had lost some of the rotting smell since Jack had cleared Balmoral slopes.

  ‘Do you think Mike has a chance? Have you ever had a bitten patient eat after the fever set in?’ Vassar strode up the hill towards the cells beside her.

  ‘Some would take fluids but all desire for nutrients ceases when the fever kicks in. So for Mike to eat and a whole dinner…’ She stopped walking and stared at him. ‘He ate everything?’

  ‘Smothered with our farm
’s truffle oil,’ Vassar added, his voice proud. ‘Mike loves it.’

  She shook her head slowly and started walking again lost in thought. ‘This is unparalleled, but it’s too early to tell. Maybe they make you Tasmanians differently. There were no reported outbreaks on the island.’

  ‘That’s because we checked everyone who came in. You’d be surprised how protective Tasmanians are of their island.’

  No she wouldn’t, but she kept that thought to herself. Tasmanians were a very sensitive lot. ‘That’s a whole bunch of Australians unaffected by this virus. How could that be? It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘For a moment there I thought you were going to make an inbred remark.’ Vassar’s face held the cloudy expression she was more used to seeing.

  ‘It crossed my mind but I bet you’ve had a gut full of stupid inbred jokes. There has to be something else going on though in Tasmania, besides border control. When you were home, did you hear of anyone getting bitten who didn’t turn?’

  Vassar scratched his cheek and Ruth noticed he was sunburnt. ‘I was on duty until we were recalled. I only knew what I saw on the Net. My parents wrote and told me there was an incurable disease on the mainland. Told me to get home. But it wasn’t just at home. I saw braindeads in the Middle East, too. World’s gone to shit.’

  ‘I can’t believe that we medical people haven’t combated this. A vaccine…something. Pity you don’t know more about the medical situation in Tasmania, first hand. In every case I saw at the hospital, no one got better. If the antiviral helps Mike, I need to find out why.’

  Vassar tuned the corner onto the narrow road towards the cells. ‘I think Mike’s fever’s down.’

  She rubbed her hands together with excitement. ‘I need to check Mike’s temperature. It didn’t seem to matter what we gave the patients, once that fever started, it only got worse. I knew my patients would turn, so I pumped up their pain relief.’ Ruth wrung her hands and glanced over at him. ‘It was all I could do for them.’

  Vassar looked over at her as they crossed the green to the cellblock. ‘We navy men, we’re loyal. I remember a debt.’

  Ruth watched as he took out his keys, unlocked the sliding door of the cellblock and slid it back.

  Vassar walked into the block and over to his brother. ‘Hey, Mike. I’ve brought the doctor you met yesterday. Jack’s woman.’

  Jack’s woman. That’s how Vassar saw her. That’s how all the men saw her. She approached the cell, eyeing Mike through the bars. The cell had a funky smell but Mike didn’t have the pallid look of a man close to death. ‘He isn’t cuffed?’

  Mike Vassar opened his eyes and raised his head. ‘Hi, Ruth.’ He gave her a grin.

  Vassar unlocked the door. ‘Mike quits responding, I’ll restrain him. I promised my folks I’d look after him when he joined the navy.’ Vassar’s voice dropped. ‘See that stake in the corner? I know my duty. I told you before, my brother won’t become a monster.’

  Her throat swelled. The honour these men had for one another made her want to cry. She came and sat by Mike’s side. ‘It’s good to see you’re still with us. Can I take your temperature and some blood?’

  Mike nodded.

  She inserted the thermometer under his tongue. When she took his pulse, she noticed it wasn’t as rapid as yesterday. The thermometer sounded and she studied the reading. She looked over at Vassar. ‘You’re right. It’s down.’

  Hope blossomed on Mike Vassar’s face. ‘That’s unusual, right?’

  ‘I haven’t seen it before.’ She shone her torchlight into his eyes. ‘No trauma, either.’ Yet.

  Vassar hovered, watching everything she did. ‘Come on, Mike. You have to fight this thing.’

  ‘What do you think I’m doing?’ Mike said to his brother. ‘I’m going to be the first man to beat this thing.’

  ‘That’s the spirit,’ Vassar said.

  So many people had turned into braindeads that blood relationships were rare. Loved ones were special. She was lucky to have Sue and Lea. Jack’s face came to mind. She frowned. Oxytocin, the bonding chemical, lasted longer in a woman’s body than a man’s, which explained her floating-on-air mood earlier. She’d been flooded with it and yet, she respected that he’d achieved so much in terms of safety, when others had failed. ‘Mike, I’m going to take some blood now.’

  ‘Sure,’ Mike said.

  Vassar watched his brother, a fond expression on his face, while she prepared the syringe. ‘That day we found you, Sue and Lea, I thought you were a difficult, stuck-up bitch.’

  Ruth inserted the syringe into Mike’s vein, watching as it began to fill with blood, then glanced over at him. She arched a brow. ‘Thanks, Vassar. Don’t hold back.’

  Vassar ran his hand through his short reddish hair and gave her a long stare. ‘But Jack didn’t think that. He said you were brave.’

  She gave a short laugh. ‘Me? No way. What you guys do everyday is brave. These braindeads terrify me. I made sure all patients were secured before I treated them. Guess my cautious nature kept me alive.’ She pulled out the syringe from Mike’s arm.

  Vassar gave her that penetrating gaze she’d come to know before studying a random spot on the ground. ‘Jack respects you. He liked the way you stood up for your friends in front of the men. Don’t leave. We need you. Jack needs you too. You, Sue and Lea give us a reason to keep fighting.’

  When he looked up she caught the depth of his decency. She wondered if that was the longest personal speech Vassar had ever made. For a moment, the back of her eyes felt hot and she thought she was going to cry. With Jack, he was so combative she could slam back a smartarse reply to anything he said. But all Vassar had to offer was raw truth that was so deeply candid, real old-world Australian honesty, that it hit her hard. No wonder Sue liked him. Her throat felt dry. ‘I’ll think about what you’ve said today. I’m still coming to terms with things. Sue always tells me I’m slow to accept new relationships into my life, that I like…liked intellectual jerks.’

  Vassar nodded. ‘Yeah, she said that about you. She also said you were a great friend. That you learn from your mistakes.’ He motioned to her with his hand. ‘Come on. I’ll lock up here. I need to get you to the hospital. Some of the commandos sustained injuries when they came off rotation.’

  ‘Bites?’

  ‘No. They’d be locked in here if they were.’

  ‘Thank God for that.’ Ruth gave Mike one last look. She stoppered the test tube of blood, stood and followed Vassar out into the sunshine and stood there blinking as he secured the cellblock roller door. ‘Here. This needs to go straight to Lea.’ She handed Vassar his brother’s blood sample.

  ‘Thanks. I’ll drive it down to Lea now.’ He took it from her and they walked across the green.

  Parked on the street was an open top, army issue Land Rover. Vassar opened the door and climbed in.

  ‘Wait? Are you going to escort me back to the hospital?’ What happened to her prison guard?

  Vassar inserted his keys into the Land Rover then looked up at her. ‘You know your way to the hospital. I’ll radio Sub-Lieutenant Carter to let him know you’re on your way.’

  ‘What? You mean you’re going against orders and actually letting me go somewhere by myself?’

  Vassar let out a long sigh. ‘I don’t hold with keeping a woman prisoner, not that Jack didn’t have good reason to keep an eye on you. You don’t know how to defend yourself. That old lady braindead you fought off, I could crush her skull with my bare hands if I had to. A big braindead the size of my brother Mike could grab a little woman like you and tear out her throat with his teeth. You wouldn’t have a chance.’

  ‘Thanks, Vassar. Nice image to leave me with.’ Ruth looked up and down the street with a new sense of alarm. Birds twittered and she saw a bush rabbit run under one of the military huts.

  Vassar got out of the jeep, opened the back door and reached inside. ‘Here, I made this myself.’ He handed her a metal stake.

  She went
to take it.

  He pulled it back. ‘Wait a sec, Ruth. You grip this in the middle, right where I’m holding. See how it runs flat before the pointy end?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’ve sharpened it into a blade like a sword. If you get chased by more than one braindead, use it to decapitate them.’ Vassar moved back onto the green grass and demonstrated with a sweeping motion, his large body becoming a fluid-fighting machine.

  ‘I hope I won’t have to do that.’

  ‘Never let one get close. You don’t have the strength to hand fight one off. Remember, you don’t have to drive the stake right into the eye socket; you can ram it up under the chin and into the brain. That’s the best angle for a short woman to use.’ He demonstrated with a sharp jabbing motion.

  Ruth decided not to retort to the short comment, instead she gingerly took the stake examining it. ‘Thanks, Vassar. I feel good about this.’ Not.

  ‘You’re welcome. I made one for Sue too. I even engraved her name on it. Think she’ll like it?’

  Ruth raised her eyebrows. ‘Knowing Sue, she’ll see it as a cool gift.’

  Vassar grinned so Ruth actually saw his teeth. ‘I like that. You’re okay, Ruth, you know that?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m just great.’ She gave him a wave as he drove off. ‘Sheesh.’ She was so out of her depth. Maybe she should have paid more attention to sport instead of hiding in the library at school. She marched up the hill past what had been her favourite cafe dragging the stake like a javelin along the road, as she used to when forced to do sport at school. In the distance, she could hear rock music playing from the Balmoral Beach side of the base. Jack and his men must be clearing the braindeads from the slopes again. She imagined walking along the beautiful roads of Balmoral, enjoying the mix of the huge Edwardian and modern houses. Would she ever be able to do that again?