by Sylvia Ryan
“What’s going on?” he asked as his hand retraced its path up her body and rested in the valley of her waist.
Julia was silent for a long time. “Everything just hit me today. I…” Julia wasn’t going to tell him about the body she’d found. She didn’t want to reinforce his presumption that he could mandate to her, even though, as it turned out, it was exactly what she needed. “I just don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I fucking celebrated when I found school supplies to use as toilet paper for God’s sake.
“I’m living in your world, and I just realized that it’s my world now, too. There’s no other option. I’m completely on my own with no safety net, except for you.”
“Is that so bad?”
Julia didn’t answer at first. “I’m just not used to it.”
He continued to trail his fingers up and down her body. “I’m going to help you feel better tonight, Julia.” Arden slowly lowered his lips to her neck and kissed her. He lingered for a heartbeat as if giving her the opportunity to refuse him. Then his mouth returned to the sweet spot where her neck met her shoulder. With deep, sucking pulls, he marked her as his strong hand ran over her breasts. He pulled her toward him and ground her into his hard body behind her.
Julia’s mind raced, and her heart beat faster. Her pussy wept in response to his invasion of her senses. She wanted this right now, even though her thoughts this afternoon had taken her to a logical ending that wasn’t happily ever after for them. She would have to deal with that later, because all she wanted right now was for Arden to love her. She wanted him to love her enough that maybe the hollowness in the pit of her stomach would be filled by him.
Her nipples hardened underneath his palm as he attended to one breast, then the other. Gently, he rolled her onto her back and looked into her eyes. “You’re so beautiful, so tempting. It’s been hard for me to resist you.” Arden’s jagged drawl shredded the remainder of Julia’s armor, the self protection she had spent so much time forging.
He leaned over and brushed a soft kiss to her lips. The way he looked and the need reflected in his eyes made her realize that he had been holding himself back. His eyes traveled down to her breasts. Both nipples were hard and begged for more of his attention. He dipped his head and lightly bit one, then the other.
Julia wasn’t expecting the bite, and her surprised suck of air told him so.
He smiled at her. “You liked that?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He dipped his head again and took possession of one of her hardened peaks in his mouth. He sucked it, raked it with his teeth, and flicked it with his tongue
Julia arched up to meet him, a gasp hitched in her throat. Arden turned his attention to Julia’s other breast, while his hand passed over her abdomen, brushing her lightly and stopping his hand to rest on the area between her navel and her core. He neglected the place that Julia wanted him to touch the most. The place where she was wet for him. Aching for him.
* * * *
Arden ran his hand down her inner thigh and then parted her legs wide. He moved so that he was kneeling in between them.
He savored her body with his eyes in the faded light of her room. She was exquisite. Her face and body no longer showed the evidence of her near-death adventure. From her head to her perky, pink nipples down to where his palm rested on the mound of flesh between her legs, everything about her was flawless.
Their eyes met as he leaned over her and kissed her. His tongue opened her mouth to him, and an unexpected groan rose out of his own throat in response to her tentative lips yielding beneath his.
His restless mouth couldn’t stay at her lips. He needed to taste the rest of her. He moved on to her neck and slowly breathed soft, barely-there kisses over her breasts. He trailed his tongue from one nipple to another and then down the center of her, leaving a trail of moist heat on her pale flesh. He stopped at her tattoo, circling it with his tongue.
He lowered his head between her legs, kissed her clit softly, and then ran his tongue downward toward her opening. He moaned at the taste of her pure and drugging slickness.
Arden felt Julia’s hesitation dissolve. She surrendered herself to him. Her legs fell open to him. Her breath caught at the swipe of his tongue and the rake of his teeth against her.
Julia moaned. It was a deep, guttural sound he wouldn’t have expected from the tiny body his mouth controlled. He thrust his tongue inside her, then explored, withdrew, and explored again and again. She tasted like manna. A blessing from heaven. An unearned gift.
Her body seemed to plead for more than his tongue. She was wet, so ready for his cock to glide into her. Without a word between them, he knew how badly she wanted his cock inside her, wanted him to fill every part of her.
He raised his lips to her red, swollen nub and took it between his teeth. He nibbled her clit with his lips and teeth then grazed it again and again with fiery swipes of his tongue.
Arden was having trouble maintaining control. He wrapped his arms around Julia’s thighs, holding them open for him. His grip tightened as his control continued to slip. He growled as his tongue and teeth assaulted her. Tasted her. Teased her. Her bare flesh against his lips nearly sent him careening unchecked over the edge of reason. His cock screamed for her. Her taste was sweet and creamy. Luscious.
Oh, God, help me.
Julia cried out in pleasure as he continued his rough probing, sucking treatment of her. He tormented her, knowing he was bringing her close then backing away and starting over. Finally, he let his mouth linger on her clit as he pushed a finger and then two inside of her. Her silky, wet entrance took him and was so tight he wasn’t sure he would fit inside her when the time came.
But not tonight. Tonight was just for her.
He thrust his fingers in perfect rhythm with his mouth‘s possession of her.
With a cry, Julia grabbed his hair, gripping it forcefully.
Arden returned the force with his tongue and fingers in response.
She shifted her whole body toward him, as if trying to coax as much pleasure as she could from each brush of his tongue and penetration of his fingers.
Her writhing against his lips and fingers stretched the limits of his control to almost breaking. His erection was painful in his jeans, straining to get out. His need to take her grew exponentially.
“Yes, Arden, yes.” Her body tensed.
Arden gazed up Julia’s body as she closed in on her ultimate pleasure, her face flushed red, arms now flung over her head, framing her face, eyes closed, lips parted. His name was on her lips with another cry of approval wrenching from her lungs.
Then it was as if time stopped for her. Her back arched, eyes closed, her pleasure hit her with surges and tremors that took control of her body. Julia wailed his name as he continued to summon another shuddering wave of her orgasm with his mouth. She rode the torrent of sensations he continued to coax from her, continuing even when he thought there could be no more.
Arden watched Julia panting, trying to catch her breath as she shuddered one last time. She lay there motionless with her eyes closed. Limp.
“I knew I could help you feel better,” Arden murmured against her wet, satiated sex.
Julia moaned again and took a breath in an obvious attempt to still her racing heart. She cracked her eyelids open. “When did it get so dark in here?” she drawled.
Arden chuckled. “You should get some sleep now.”
Julia’s eyes were closed when Arden forced himself from the bed and left, closing the door gently behind him. His senses were reeling.
There was a side of her he hadn’t seen before. Uninhibited. Wild. Sexual. It was just a taste of what else remained unseen, and he was dying to explore more. He wanted to go back and take her ten different ways. Tell her that he loved her, caress her skin and run his fingers through her hair. All night. Every night. But he forced himself to walk away—this time.
Chapter 5
From the slant of the sun shining in her be
droom window, Julia could tell it was later in the morning than when she normally got out of bed.
As she lay there, her mind immediately wandered to the night before.
Arden.
She smiled as the mental review of the night’s activities replayed in her head. But he’d left without shedding one article of clothing. That was a first. In her experience, a good oral orgasm had always been a prelude to a guy fucking her without having to worry if she got off or not.
Julia heard the playful bark of a dog coming from outside. She looked out her window and didn’t see Arden or a dog. She threw on her jeans and T-shirt and padded down the stairs.
Julia looked through the front window and was surprised to see a horse-drawn buggy at the end of the drive. An Amish man sat in the seat, controlling the horse’s reins, and a dog cavorted around the buggy as though purposely trying to irritate the harnessed horse.
The Amish man, dressed in denim with a hat covering his head, was looking down and talking seriously with two other men. One of the men was Arden. The other, a tall, dark-haired man, was someone Arden was obviously well acquainted with. They stood close together, shoulder to shoulder.
As the men finished their conversation, Mr. Tall-and-Dark picked up a small duffle at his feet and walked with Arden toward the house.
Their height was about the same, but the similarity ended there. The man next to Arden was all sizzle, powerful, intense. He had brown, almost black, wavy hair that fell forward onto his forehead like two parenthesis and dark eyes that were piercing, even from across the expanse of the yard. The country boy aura that infused Arden like sunshine on a spring day did not spread to this stranger.
As the buggy turned around in the road, Arden grabbed Mr. Tall and Dark’s shoulder as if to ask him to wait, and he jogged the few steps back toward the buggy to talk again. She saw Arden point toward the house as they spoke. The Amish man nodded, reached for something, then stooped over for a moment in his seat looking like he was writing something down.
With a nod and a wave, Arden joined his friend, and they walked together toward the house. She could hear muffled conversation as they walked up the house’s side to get to the back door. She stepped into the kitchen as the men entered. Arden flashed a smile at her and then turned to look at the man who was following him in the door.
“Julia Costa, Ben Manning,” Arden said with a hand wave between the two. Their eyes met, and the smoldering up-and-down look Ben gave her inspired a rush of warmth between Julia’s legs.
My God, he was gorgeous. His intense, steely features gave him an air of power and danger. He was broad across the chest with his black T-shirt just tight enough to leave no doubt there was a nice piece of real estate underneath it. The cut definition of his arms prowled menacingly under his skin when he moved. He didn’t smile.
Arden had talked about Ben before. Julia mentally put the pieces together. Ben was the son of the older couple that was killed next door during the raids. The grave look on his face was fitting for the news he’d, no doubt, just received. Julia felt a surge of compassion for him.
“Julia.” He nodded his head toward her and dropped his duffle on the floor.
“We’re going to head over to the Manning farm next door,” Arden said. His tone was serious. “We’ll probably be gone a while.”
* * * *
Arden and Ben turned and retreated out the door. As they walked side by side, Arden clapped a hand around Ben’s shoulder and gave a squeeze.
“You know it goes without saying that I expect you to stay with me. We’ll get your house rebuilt eventually, but until then, my house is your house.”
“Thanks, man.”
The men approached the burnt-out remains of the Manning farm. Ben’s jaw clenched, and his eyes betrayed the rage and despair he felt. He moved around, scanning the area, trying to make sense of what happened there.
“Never found my dad?” Ben’s voice cracked, overflowing with emotion and barely audible.
“No. I tried, but I couldn’t find him under all the rubble.” Arden raked his hand through his hair. “I buried your mom over there.” He nodded away from the black skeleton of the house. The two men walked over to the grave site marked with a makeshift cross. “I’m sorry, man. I should have watched out for them more.”
“It’s not your fault. I should have been here. I was taking my time coming back to help Dad with the harvest. Shit, I don’t even know why.” Ben broke down, openly shedding tears in the grass next to the grave. “It was good that they died together. Neither one would have made it long without the other,” he choked out.
It was true. Bill and Sue Manning were a special breed of lovers and friends. After almost thirty-five years of marriage, they never failed to show their devotion to each other. The lifelong lovers frequently met each other’s knowing eyes as if having a conversation without words and touched each other when they thought no one else was looking. It wouldn’t be uncommon to see Mrs. Manning tear through the back yard squealing and laughing with her husband chasing her not far behind. It was amazing to watch them. They were true role models when it came to doing it long term. Both Ben and Arden hoped for what Ben’s parents had found and were able to keep all those years.
Even though it had been a long time since they’d seen each other, it seemed as if no time had passed at all. There would always be an indelible connection between them. Growing up, they had spent so much time together they could communicate with each other accurately with just a look or gesture. They were best friends and brothers, by choice if not by blood.
Now, the two sat together in the grass through the morning and early afternoon, grieving, making plans, and renewing their bond of friendship.
Before they left, Ben wanted to take stock of his root cellar.
He descended into the cold hole in the ground and found it stocked to the rafters. He grabbed a hunting rifle, his pistol, and ammo to take with him.
Ben picked up his mom’s wedding ring after Arden pointed it out to him.
“I thought you’d want something of your mom to hold on to, since everything else is gone."
Ben’s throat constricted. He looked at it in the dim light of the cellar then stuffed it in his pocket.
“All right, I’m done here. Let’s go.”
Silence settled between them as they began their walk back toward Arden’s farm together. Arden was trying to leave the sadness and guilt behind him, and he supposed that Ben was trying to do the same.
“I know her,” Ben said after Arden’s farmhouse came back into view.
“I thought you might,” Arden answered, fully knowing that Ben was talking about Julia.
Chapter 6
Ben glanced over at his best friend. “Does she know about me?”
“No, and it didn’t look like she recognized you.”
“Shit, no. Prison is a little like high school. The authority figures only really get to know the troublemakers. But, oh man, I recognized her right away. Eye-fucking her was like the national pastime out there, a regularly scheduled program of eye candy and a hard-on.”
Arden burst out laughing. “I’ve been getting reruns of that program myself.”
“You hit it yet?” Ben asked with a wry smile.
“No, man. She was almost dead when I found her on the trail. She’s just recently healed up to the point that it doesn’t look like she’s going to break.”
“Break?” Ben paused with a snort. “Man, we must not be talking about the same woman.”
Arden turned his head and looked at Ben curiously.
“That small and sweet-looking exterior of hers covers a heart of stone and a no-bullshit attitude.” Ben glanced over at Arden shaking his head. “She’s smart too. Has a mind like a steel trap, always sharp, always ready to spring. She didn’t miss anything. No one tried to manipulate, scam, or disrespect Miss Costa. She had a reputation for being brutal with those who tried.
“She could stand toe-to-toe with anybody. She wa
s fearless. Shit, with just a glare, she made gangbangers, who would just as soon shoot you as look at you, slink away looking at their toes. And she has the vocabulary of a hard-core thug.” Ben laughed. “She was so quick on the comeback. Verbal castration is the only way to describe it.” He smiled to himself.
“She dominated her unit, COs and inmates alike. It was sexy as hell,” Ben said, still smiling. “I would love to feel my dick having its way with her.”
“Me too. My tongue’s been up close and personal, but like I said, I didn’t want to break her.” The men’s eyes met. Silently, the wheels turned, working out possible future scenarios.
“We called her kitten, behind her back, of course. Don’t know how it started, but my guess it was because of the regular discussions of what petting her little pussy would be like.”
Arden glanced over at Ben with a wicked, knowing smile spread over his face. “It feels tight and bare.”
Ben just groaned at Arden in response. “Man, you’re killing me.”
* * * *
Julia was in full Martha Stewart mode when they returned. She had made tortilla chips from her ground corn and rendered animal fat, fresh salsa, and had arranged a plate of jerky, vegetables and apples for the three of them. Ben ate everything offered as he described the riots, looting and death near the populated areas he passed following the electromagnetic pulse.
“It was like a perverted Darwinian experiment, survival of the meanest and most armed,” he said between bites.
“The stench of rotting bodies began filling the air about a week after the EMP, and there was no relief from that smell until shortly before I arrived in Holmes County.
“There was military here and there, but they were mostly doing clean up, digging mass graves. They didn’t have any water or food to give out.
“Money is worthless. Food and ammunition are the new currency.”
Ben reached out to snag the last piece of apple then continued. “Screams and yelling woke me up a lot during the day. Gunshots rang out on a regular basis, and seeing fires at night was common.”