The Mountains Trilogy (Boxed Set)

by Phoebe Alexander

  She spent several minutes teasing the head of his cock against her pussy lips, not because she was trying to torture him, but because she had been closed up tight for so long. She would push her hips down on him and be met with resistance, so she’d go back to rubbing him against her, gently easing his passage inside her.

  After five minutes of painstakingly patient work, a full two or three inches were snugly enveloped by her sex. Unable to control himself any longer, James grabbed Sarah’s hips and shoved the remaining length of his shaft inside until he finally reached the depth of her. She cried out, the sensation was so intense. She felt as though she’d just been invaded in the best way possible. Pleasure spiked with pain.

  She began to move against him, her pelvis pushing into his as her hips rose and fell, sliding herself up and down his thick, rigid tool. It took every ounce of control he had not to cry out and explode inside her. He tried to let her do the work of pleasuring him.

  He pulled her down on top so that their bodies aligned from head to pelvis. Her lips found his, and she felt as though she were consuming his sex-starved soul, quenching it in her own fountain of lust and love. They were a masterpiece, a well-oiled machine, their gears grinding against each other in perfect rhythm. They fit together so exquisitely and moved as if they were made of the same flesh, with the ability to physically perceive each other’s needs and wants as though they were borne inside their own bodies.

  Sarah felt as though she was slowly building a climax, exercising muscles that had begun to atrophy from lack of use. She was laying one brick at a time, constructing a wall that she would soon leap over, sailing through clouds of ecstasy. But James was struggling to keep up the pace, he kept forcing her hips into a slower rhythm like a music box winding down. Detecting his frustration, she finally offered, “Go ahead, baby, it’s been too long. Just let go, come inside me.”

  “I want you to come first,” he moaned.

  “No, it will take me a bit. I want to make you come. I want to see your face as you explode inside me.” She didn’t need to say another word before she saw the tell-tale grimace spread across his face and then heard his trademark primal grunt as he released his seed deep inside her.

  She waited for him to stop throbbing, and then she dismounted, feeling his semen drip out of her and down her thigh. Something about that, the way he’d just marked his territory, turned her on so much that she laid in his arms and began to touch herself, feeling the warm, sticky fluid between her fingers. James rolled over onto his side and took one of her nipples into his mouth. “There you go, baby, come for me,” he commanded softly.

  Something about being filled with him and hearing the deep tones of his voice vibrate against her ear sent a thrill up through her spine. Suddenly she was right back at that wall she had been building. It was quickly becoming a tower off which she would leap into a purple oblivion, releasing her parachute at the very last minute.

  The spasms of her orgasm slowly faded, but the rest of her body continued to quiver as she laid in her special spot in the crook of James’s arms. She had not felt so safe or so satisfied in weeks, perhaps months. Which is why it caught her off guard the next morning when James was gone and she was in the bed alone. It was the first night she had slept without waking since the miscarriage.

  She reached for her phone, but grabbed his off the nightstand instead. The first thing she saw was a notification from a random Maryland number. It had popped up on the screen which she’d illuminated to check the time. It said only three words: See you soon.

  ***

  Chapter Eleven

  Rendezvous

  I awake with a start, still cradled in the deep green beauty of the lush forest. There is a man standing over me in a park ranger uniform. He tells me that I cannot camp by the stream. It's forbidden, he says. I'll need to move along. "There are campsites over in that area that can be reserved at the Ranger Station," he informs me, pointing toward the rocky outcrop visible over the canopy of trees. It looks like a looming, inhospitable cliff from my half-awake vantage. He helps me to my feet.

  "Aren't the rocks more dangerous than the river?" I ask him, confused.

  "The river floods easily. This whole part here is a flood zone," he explains. "Not only is the higher ground safer, but we have facilities and infrastructure to support safety and well-being." He sounds like a commercial, I think to myself.

  I look longingly at the fertile moss carpet that lines each side of the riverbanks. It gently slopes and curves around the bend like a soft, green skin. I've only been there for a few hours, but I feel genuinely heartbroken to leave as I follow the ranger out of the forest. It seems so unfair that I can't be where I want to be, that I would be forced to climb the rocks. It makes me want to rebel.

  It never failed to make Abby smile when her phone lit up with her Uncle Adam’s face on the screen. She hadn't spoken to him since Christmas and they were well on their way into the new year. "Hello!" she gushed.

  "Abby-Boo!" came his deep, chocolatey voice. "How's my favorite girl?"

  "Oh, I'm pretty good. Classes just started back up. Could've used another week off, you know!"

  "I hear you. My holiday vacation went way too fast. Now Brandon and I have to buckle down if we're going to take a two week trip to Europe for our honeymoon."

  "Gotcha. Did you guys set a date?" Abby inquired.

  "Actually, yes. We decided to move the wedding up till July, and we're doing it out here in Seattle. We thought about a destination wedding but we didn't want to put anyone out financially. Traveling to

  Seattle is cost-prohibitive enough.”

  "Okay. I guess since there aren't going to be babies coming in June, you can get married in the summer," Abby rationalized.

  "I did speak to your mother about it, and she was very insistent we choose whatever date we wanted. She knows how excited we are to get married, and how badly we want everyone there to celebrate with us," Adam explained. He paused for a moment before shifting the subject. "I wanted to ask you about your

  girlfriend," he said. "How is that going?"

  Abby tried to stifle the giggle that erupted when she realized a blush was reddening her cheeks. "Oh, she's great! We're great!"

  "I'm so glad to hear that. Did you ever talk to your dad about it?" he asked.

  Her smile faded. Does thinking about it a lot count for anything? She wondered. "Um...not yet." She sighed with a mixture of guilt and frustration.

  "You sound…somewhat ambivalent," he recognized. "Everything okay?”

  "My dad is dating this Über Bitch," she explained. "They're both religious fanatics, you know. She regularly makes comments about the horrors of homosexuality. She has no clue that I’m gay, and my dad has definitely not clued her in that my uncle is. As much as I want her to get a freaking clue, I'm really afraid I'm going to get disowned if I come out to them."

  "Ah. I see." Abby could practically hear the wheels turning in his head over the phone line. "In my experience, people who hate gays and lesbians usually don't know any, especially not any in their close circles. Take Brandon's family for instance. They're pretty traditional, conservative - not necessarily religious - but still, same mind-frame. It has taken them a while to accept our relationship, but I think when push comes to shove, they finally realized that I'm a great guy and it's either deal with us or Brandon is no longer a part of their lives."

  "I get that," Abby replied. "And I’m really glad it worked out for you guys that way, but I wasn't in my dad's life or my sisters' lives for years. I think it would be pretty easy for them to just go back to a No Abby Zone. I feel like my sisters need me, though, especially with Über Bitch in their lives. God, you should have

  heard her slut shaming Emma the other day for wearing a skirt she thought was too short. With leggings, mind you. She was totally covered. It was completely ridiculous!"

  "People like that are usually so unhappy with themselves that they have to find fault with those around them to make thems
elves feel better," Adam advised.

  "I know. But Emma doesn't get that."

  "I hope things get easier for you," he offered. "It sucks to not be accepted over something that is so personal and integral to who you are as a person, not to mention something that doesn't affect any of your

  loved ones. It's not like you're taking anything away from your dad or your sisters. You're just trying to live your life."

  "Maybe I should talk to James. His family is super conservative and kind of religious. Maybe he could give me some pointers for talking to my dad," Abby suggested.

  "That's a great idea! James is a good guy. Your mom is a lucky woman!"

  "I know. Thanks for calling me, Uncle Adam. I always appreciate our talks."

  "Me too, my Abby-Boo. Talk to you soon, okay?"

  "You got it," she agreed, hanging up the phone. He'd made a good point: why is it so hard for people to accept others' choices, especially when those choices aren't hurting anyone? She just didn't understand.

  ***

  Sarah never learned whom the see you soon text was from on James's phone. It had been two weeks and they had settled back into a routine of dinner together, then Sarah cleaned and kitchen and graded papers while James read or played video games. They would reconvene in bed around eleven o'clock, typically spending five or ten minutes snuggling before drifting off to dreamland.

  Sarah was going through the motions of spring semester. Her classes had started, she was delivering lectures and students were dropping by during office hours with questions. She still thought about Esther Thompson daily and wondered if she would appear in any of her classes, but she never saw her.

  Sarah considered auditioning for the spring play at the community theater. Her colleague Xavier had practically begged her to go out for the title role in Mary Poppins, but her heart was not in it. Her heart didn't seem to be in a lot of things since losing the twins.

  James was preparing for another long work trip, some sort of training in Texas. Sarah’s eyes generally glazed over after the second acronym. It didn’t seem possible to hold a discussion regarding the military without using at least four to five of them. He was going to be gone for two weeks this time.

  "I think we should schedule an appointment with Dr. Kapoor for as soon as I get back," he said. "You know, get the ball rolling." It had been nearly a month since the miscarriage. Sarah told him she would call the doctor’s office to see if a time slot was available, but she "forgot."

  Her family seemed to be doing well, even if she had been less than present or available than she should have been. Owen had backed off his mission to move in with his father in Colorado. Sarah had broken down in tears telling her son that she couldn't handle both of her children being over fifteen hundred miles away in her home state without her there too. "You're all I've got now, Owen," she had sobbed. She hated pulling the maternal guilt card, but it was true. She already felt like she was walking the fine edge between sanity and madness. She was only a misstep away from falling into the murky pits of despair.

  Fortunately, Abby seemed to be adjusting well to college and was finding herself, just like an eighteen-year-old should. Sarah was relieved that she had made a smooth transition. She wasn’t sure if her daughter was truly a lesbian, but she was happy she felt free to experiment. She was certain Abby had a good head on her shoulders. Her first semester’s grades were certainly evidence of it: all A’s and B’s with a 3.6 average. Not shabby for a first semester over fifteen hundred miles away from home. Of course, she did have her father there for support, but from what Abby had told her of Matt and his new lady friend, he might have been more of a hindrance than a help.

  And then there was her mother. Kathy Lynde had lost nearly twenty pounds since her heart scare shortly before Thanksgiving. She had incorporated more organic fruits and vegetables into her diet, eliminated red meat, reduced other animal sources, and had been exercising regularly. Dale kept her active with nearly constant weekend getaways, hiking, bike rides and other miscellaneous excursions. She had always been a happy and active person before meeting Dale, but now she projected a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that Sarah was overjoyed to witness. If anyone deserves that kind of happiness and abundance in her life, it’s my mother, Sarah thought.

  The one person in Sarah’s life that she worried about, besides herself, was Rachel. After the conversation during their recent spa day, Rachel had blown up at Jack regarding his porn viewing and his refusal to talk to Sarah’s psychologist colleague in Baltimore. He insisted he had the issue under control.

  Sarah even asked James what he thought about the situation shortly before he left for Texas. He shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t see anything wrong with the occasional video, but if it’s causing problems between them, they should probably get it worked out with professional help,” he said.

  “Rachel’s been looking for a friend with benefits,” Sarah shared. “Even though Jack doesn’t want her to.”

  “Well, you gotta do what you gotta do,” James said. “It’s not like they don’t have an open relationship.”

  “Yeah, but if they haven’t agreed to it, it’s not right,” Sarah protested.

  “Look, if she’s told him repeatedly ‘if you continue to do x, then I’m going to do y’ and he’s still doing x, then it’s his own fault if she does y. I’d say she’s just being consistent.”

  “I did not expect you to take her side on this!” Sarah laughed.

  “Well, I like Jack. He’s a cool dude, but those musician types, you know how they are. They can be all creative and artistic, but it comes at the expense of them being completely wrapped up in themselves.”

  Sarah shrugged. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” She hadn’t thought of it that way. Rachel was trying to do everything possible to work things out and not resort to going against Jack’s wishes. But if he wasn’t willing to meet her halfway, then how could she be expected to sit idly by and do nothing?

  James glanced down at the watch on his wrist. “Shit, it’s nine o’clock. I better get to sleep. That flight tomorrow is going to kill me. Gotta be there at five AM.”

  Sarah couldn’t hide her disappointment as she watched him slide out of his clothes and into the bed wearing only his boxer shorts. “Goodnight,” he said softly as he turned toward the wall.

  No kiss? No goodbye sex? she thought. What’s the deal with that? He’s going to be gone two weeks. Rather than slip into bed beside him and try to persuade him into a quickie before departure, she went downstairs to grade papers and lose herself in endless funny cat videos on the intrawebz. Sometimes she just didn’t have the energy to put in any more effort than was physically or mentally required of her. For once, sex was a bonus, not a requirement.

  ***

  Sarah had tried to plan some special meals and activities for herself and Owen to enjoy while James was in Texas. The first day she picked him up from school and took him bowling and then out for pizza. The second day she took him to the movies. For the third day, they went shopping for the new sneakers he had been wanting. And on the fourth day, she left work early so she could go grocery shopping to prepare his favorite meal for dinner that night.

  She was browsing in the produce department, thoughtfully weighing the merits of white potatoes versus Yukon gold potatoes when she heard a voice coming from above her inquiring, "Sarah?" She looked up into the piercing evergreen eyes of Garrett Stone. Her heart nearly jumped out of her ribcage. It had been a long time since she'd seen her former lover. After their serious falling out over his dishonesty and lack of disclosure about other partners he was seeing, she hadn’t wanted to communicate with him other than on stage during Chess, where she didn’t have a choice.

  "Hey, it is you," he smiled. He had more creases around his eyelids than she remembered him having. His shock of red hair was tamer than in the past, but still unkempt and sprawling.

  "Hi, Garrett," she answered, trying to rein all her feelings in tight so she could appear to
be a normal, civilized human being. The lines she’d sung about his character in Chess echoed in her mind: Sadly she realized she left him behind, and sadder than that, she knew he wouldn't even mind.

  Despite the bad blood between them, Sarah was positive Garrett had wasted no time returning to his modus operandi: being a charismatic and charming young man – a seemingly stable and genuine one - only to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with no regard for whom he might hurt or the consequences of his actions.

  Still, there was no doubt he had great talent, what with his pure, evocative tenor voice and his ability to smoothly oscillate between cockiness and self-deprecation. And then there were the deep green eyes; the fire-red hair; the tall, lean, muscular body, and the legendary cock. Sarah still used memories from their first time together in the green room of the theater to fuel her most intense masturbatory interludes. There were times she wondered how much fun she could have if only it were possible to detach his monstrosity of a cock along with his skill in using it and retrofit it to a kind, thoughtful man who leaned less toward the sociopathic end of the spectrum.

  "You still look stunning as ever," he said, cranking up that renowned charm a notch for her benefit.

  "Thanks, you look great, too." Better not feed his ego too much, she thought. She was about to turn and proceed down the aisle, but he grabbed her by the arm, impeding her progress. "Sarah, I need to tell you something."

  "Okay?" she answered, almost breathless at the power he still held over her emotions and desire. No matter how strongly she resisted, her muscle memory hadn't been purged of how incredible it felt when he took control of her. He could dominate her in a way that James couldn't. She remembered the BDSM party she'd attended with him and the way he'd commanded her while she hung on the St. Andrew's cross. She hadn't had another experience like that since. And she likely never would.