by Ellis, J. J.
“I could experience pain and fear. But nothing good. Now I feel joy, love, and happiness. I’m content for the first time since I was nineteen.”
Emily pulled him close and rested her cheek on his chest. “It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?”
Russell pulled back from her and tipped her chin up so their eyes met. “Thank you.”
Their lips met urgently and he picked her up, heading to the bedroom.
Russell put her down just inside the door and took his hoodie off.
“You should thank your mother for inviting you home, not me,” she said quietly, her eyes leaving his for only a moment to wander across his perfect torso.
“I’d rather thank you,” he murmured, while watching her slip out of her little green silk robe. “I’d rather not think of my mother at all right now.”
Emily giggled and one by one, she slid the spaghetti straps of her nightgown down her arms. The skimpy piece of emerald satin fell quickly down over her heaving breasts and to the floor.
Russell hurriedly kicked his shoes off and dropped his sweat pants to the floor.
Emily’s breath caught and she moved closer to him.
“Are these important to you?” he asked, looping his index fingers through the sides of her panties and pulling her up against him.
“No, they were a gift from…an old friend.”
“They’ve got to go,” he whispered in her ear and maneuvered them off, not caring if he tore fabric from her body. “Now that’s better, right?”
“Yes,” she breathed, looking into his eyes.
Their lips met in a slow, searching kiss and Emily found herself flat on her back on the bed with Russell next to her. His hand burned a path up her side to her breast. His fingers teased her nipple to a taut peak. “You feel so good to me.”
Emily smiled at him. And reached out to run her hand down his chest to his taut stomach. “You’d feel better inside of me,” she said softly.
Their lips met again and Russell moved over her as she shifted underneath him to allow access. Gasping at the intrusion, she then moaned with the pleasure of the first exquisite movements.
“This is incredible,” he groaned. “I can feel everything. The passion nearly takes my breath away.”
“You take my breath away,” she whispered as her mouth once again met his.
Slow, searching movements soon gave way to fast, hard, desperate thrusts. A give and take of the physical and emotional.
Russell’s mouth explored her face, neck and chest while every time his body pressed into her she couldn’t help but cry out.
“This time you’re going to come twice while I’m inside of you,” he ground out as his hand moved between them to tease her to completion.
“Yes,” she whimpered. “Yes!” Her breath caught in her throat, her body began to shake, and she couldn’t see anything beyond his eyes. Every sense was in overdrive. It almost seemed as if they were failing her. She was floating and then suddenly was back on earth. Her body hummed as she gasped for breath and came down off of the biggest high she’d ever experienced.
Russell had stopped moving above her. Watching her in the throes of ecstasy had almost been his undoing. When her body relaxed and her eyes opened he started to move again.
Her hands moved along his arms, across his shoulders and up into his hair. She pulled him down for a kiss. Their tongues met in a battle for dominance as their bodies clashed once again in desperation. Her legs wrapped around his hips, controlling each movement he made against her.
Resting against her body, he untangled her hands from his hair and pinned them above her head. His thrusts slowed exquisitely then picked up to a punishing rhythm.
“Russell,” she whimpered. “Soon. Oh God, now!” Her body trembled and the look on her face once again took him to the edge. This time there was no stopping it though. He fell over the edge with her.
Russell rolled onto his back. He couldn’t speak so he looked over at Emily and smiled. She smiled back. “Never knew that you being able to feel again could be so beneficial to me.”
“Are you saying you would have counseled me earlier if you had known?”
“I would have taken you on a date and to visit your dad that first day we saw each other again in the parking lot,” she teased.
“I probably would have refused,” he said, looking away.
“I know,” she murmured, moving over to rest her head on his chest. “But you seem to have started to trust me now.”
“I do trust you,” he stated, absently rubbing her arm. “And I think I’m starting to fall for you.”
Emily smiled big against his chest. He had just uttered the words she most wanted to hear. “I know I’m falling for you.”
“We’re in the ‘falling for you’ stage. I think we should seal that with a kiss,” he suggested.
Emily reached up and kissed him. A simple kiss quickly turned passionate. Russell pulled back first. “How about a shower, a small amount of sleep, then breakfast at my house?”
”A shower huh?” Emily grinned. “I think I could go for that. If I can still walk.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, walking isn’t a requirement,” he smirked as he sprung up, gathered her in his arms and tossed her over his shoulder.
CHAPTER 11
“Well Mr. Kitty,” Lucy purred. “It seems that dumb ass Dylan Harper was in a bad car accident and his lake house is empty. That would be much better than this dingy hotel, right?”
Mr. Kitty meowed in response and curled up on the foot of the bed.
“Don’t get too comfortable you lazy fuck. We’re moving on as soon as I pack up.”
Lucy packed and loaded the car before dumping the cat in the passenger seat. The window was down and he jumped out, running around the side of the motel. “Oh you stupid cat. I don’t need you anyway.”
She started the car and headed to the grocery store to stock up. Thankfully she had worn her disguise. The town seemed to be crawling with Harpers.
After the store, she headed to the Harper Ranch. If she remembered, there was a roundabout route to get to the lake house. Taking that way would allow her to stay out of sight.
When she pulled up to the small house, she noticed a tarp sitting on the ground. Now she could hide her car easily. Once inside, thanks to her new lock picking skills, she put the necessities she’d bought away. Then she stepped out the front door. The view was absolutely breathtaking. Definitely worth putting up with the tiny cabin.
A noise sounded from far off, a car and voices. She hurried back inside and locked the doors. Hopefully no one was coming to check on the place. She sat below the front window and waited.
Happy voices sounded outside; voices she recognized. The Harpers were out to play today. She crawled over to the window at the side of the cabin and slowly peeked out. Her prize, her property, was sitting there plain as day. Oh how she wished she could just grab it and run. But of course things couldn’t be that easy. She would sit and wait for just the right time.
She couldn’t help but occasionally look out the window to see what was happening. Some of it made her quite angry, but she concentrated on what was to come to calm herself. The Harpers, one in particular, would pay for taking something that belonged to her.
**********
Russell and Emily walked into the main house hand in hand. It was just past eight in the morning.
“Well hello you two,” Evelyn said from the easy chair near the fire place. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”
“Do you need any help?” Emily asked her friend.
“Yes, thank you,” Evelyn accepted as she stood to go into the kitchen. “Rusty why don’t you get Miranda up and Let Rizzy out.”
Okay, Ma,” he said with a smile as he hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I sure did miss you.”
“I…I missed you too, son,” she stammered as she watched him walk up the stairs. What in heaven’s name had gotten into her second born?
Russell knocked then w
alked into Miranda’s room. “Time to wake up kiddo. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
Rizzy jumped down off of the bed and ran over to him, her tail wagging wildly. Miranda sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. “Hi Daddy, did you have fun last night?”
“I did,” he said with a grin. “Did you?”
“Yeah! Grandma took me to a movie and then we had ice cream!”
“Oh, I wish I could have gone with you guys,” he sulked playfully.
“Really?” she asked. “But Miss Emily would have been lonely.”
Russell laughed. “I was just kidding Squirt. I think Miss Emily and I will keep going on dates. We really like each other.”
“I’m glad Daddy,” she sighed as she hugged him.
He squeezed her tightly. He almost didn’t want to let her go, feeling the need to make up for all of the times he’d yelled at her. “I love you Randi. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, Daddy,” she said quietly. “I love Miss Emily too. Do you?”
Russell sighed and ushered Miranda over to sit on her bed. He sat next to her and took her hand. “I think someday,” he started. “Someday I could really love her. But we can’t rush it okay? If it happens, it happens.”
“Okay Dad,” she agreed, jumping up and running over to her dresser to pick her clothes out.
She didn’t always catch nuances in facial expressions or tone of voice. He’d read that was part of the autism. Hopefully she had understood what he was trying to tell her about his relationship with Em. He didn’t want her hurt if things didn’t work out.
Russell headed back down the stairs. Miranda would join them when she was done in the bathroom.
“No hurry, dear,” he heard his mother say.
“What’s no hurry?” he asked as he stepped into the kitchen.
“Emily moving out of the cottage,” Evelyn said as she stacked pancakes on a platter. “She’s been having trouble finding a decent place to buy.”
“And I do not want to live with my parents,” Emily stressed. “They’ve got their hands full with two of my siblings living at home again.”
Russell hadn’t thought about her not being close by. It made him a little sad. He walked over to where she was standing by the counter and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Emily leaned back into him and sighed. She felt at home, right where she was.
“You two head to the dining room. I’ll bring the plates in,” Evelyn said, giving them a knowing look. A few minutes later, she and Miranda walked in with the food. Russell was propped on the end of the table and Emily was tucked snuggly between his legs. They were kissing.
“Boy, get your bum off my dining table,” Evelyn reprimanded.
“Sorry, Ma,” he chuckled, standing up to lead Emily to her seat.
“You try to raise them right, but they never learn,” the matriarch mumbled, but she had a smile on her face.
When plates were filled, everyone settled into enjoying the bacon, eggs and pancakes. Dylan quickly became the number one topic of conversation. Now that he was on the mend, it seemed all he wanted to do was be home and he never failed to let everyone know. Evelyn planned to head to Billings the next day to visit her ornery son and discuss after care. He would need someone to help him for the foreseeable future.
“I’m going to try Nicoletta. She’s a nurse and is between jobs right now,” Evelyn informed them. “Otherwise, we might have to pay to bring someone up from Casper.”
“Oh mother, no! Not Nicoletta,” Russell said harshly.
“Why on earth not?” she asked, confused.
“Ma, Nicoletta was the only girl to ever tell Dylan no and stick to it. They did nothing but fight after that. They’d probably kill each other the first day.”
“Oh yeah,” Evelyn whispered. “That wouldn’t be good. I might just have to get a hold of Home Care in Casper.”
After breakfast, everyone helped clean up then retired to the family room. It was a beautiful late September day and no one wanted to waste it holed up inside. Regular snowfall would be a part of their lives all too soon.
“We could go to the lake,” Emily suggested. “It could be the last time this year.”
“Can I stay home?” Miranda whined.
“You don’t like to swim?” Emily asked her.
“No, it’s too scary,” the little girl pouted.
“Well, you don’t have to swim, Squirt. You can just play with Rizzy or sit under one of the big trees with your book.”
“Rizzy can come?” she squealed.
“Of course she can.”
Evelyn went into the kitchen to pack a picnic while Emily ran home to change into her swimsuit. Russell and Miranda went upstairs to get ready themselves. By ten o’clock they picked Emily up and headed the two miles to the lake house. The SUV was unloaded and Miranda settled under a big tree with a sleepy pup and a book.
“Hey Ma, I don’t think it’s a good idea that Dylan comes back here yet,” Russell suggested. “It’s way too secluded and the terrain leading up here isn’t the easiest to maneuver through for an able-bodied person. I don’t even trust the access road for emergency vehicles if needed.”
“You might be right, son. We’ll have to find someplace else for him to go for a while. He’s not going to be happy.”
“Does Dylan have two cars?” Emily asked. “It looked like there was one under a tarp on the other side of the cabin but I thought his was totaled.”
“That boy tinkers with a new car every week,” Evelyn chuckled. “He always has something or other under a tarp.”
“Oh okay,” Emily smiled, with a quick look back at the cabin.
“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” Russell murmured, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“Incredible,” she whispered as she took in the view. “When you drive up you don’t think it will be much of anything. But once you hike through the trees and walk around to the front, you see the clearing and the lake…it’s breathtaking.”
“Is this your first time here?”
“Yeah. It seemed like every time there was a party, I was at my Grandma’s house.”
“I’m surprised Chuck didn’t bring you here that night. The whole group…well never mind.”
Emily turned in his arms, a smile lighting her face. “Did you lose your virginity here Russell?”
He looked long and hard at her then sighed. “Yeah. With Sarah Cline, senior year. This is also where I walked in on Dylan.”
Emily laughed and pressed her forehead into his chest. “I heard about what happened with Sarah, just not where. Good memories here, huh?”
“Not funny, Em,” Russell said seriously. His first time had been a disaster and everyone had heard about it. “I could arrange for you to get dunked in the lake.”
She pulled out of his arms and stripped her cover-up off. “Not if I dunk myself first,” she squealed, running away from him.
Russell quickly took his t-shirt off and headed after her. “One way or another you’ll end up in the water,” he called. Or maybe not. He found himself distracted by the vision of Emily in her swimsuit. Wow, was she beautiful.
She ran straight for the small boat dock, usually the best place to enter the lake. She heard Russell pounding the boards behind her and turned to face him. “All I have to do is jump,” she sneered playfully.
“All I have to do is push you in,” he retorted.
“I’d like to see you try,” she called back.
They stood, just staring at each other, undecided about who would make the first move. Finally, Russell decided that rushing her was his only option and the perfect opportunity presented itself. “Oh look, there’s a moose on the other side of the lake.”
Emily turned to look and the moment she turned back around to berate Russell for tricking her, he was almost on top of her. She ducked and dodged to her left. In slow motion she turned to watch as he went off the end of the dock, into the water. The only sound she could hear was Russell’s roar
as he leapt and then the splash as he landed in the water.
“Shit,” he sputtered as he surfaced, spitting water out of his mouth. “I forgot how cold the lake is this time of year.”
“And I’m still dry,” she snickered, walking backwards, out of reach of any water he might try to splash her with.
“Where do you think you’re going? You need to join me.”
“But you said it was cold. Why would I want to join you?”
Russell chuckled. “Fine, you’re a spoil sport. I’ll join you then.” Swimming around to the side of the dock, he hefted himself up to sit on the edge. His feet still dangled in the water.
Emily stood by watching him, wanting to go sit but afraid he would push her in. If she went in, it would be a time of her choosing.
“Have you heard from the specialist in Denver?” he asked turning to look at her.
“No, not yet,” she said, finally walking over to sit next to him. “I’ll call again tomorrow.”
“I wonder if Ma would come with us so you and I can slip away and make out while we’re there,” he asked, a sly smile on his lips.
“Hmm, now that’s an idea,” she said, leaning to him for a kiss.
“I have a lot of ideas like that,” he whispered before their lips met.
Emily felt her body move sideways and tried to pull away from Russell but his embrace was too strong. A deep chuckle escaped through the kiss. She knew better than to tense up so she gave up the fight and fell into the water with him.
When they had both surfaced she smiled at the man who still had her wrapped in his arms. “I thought you said the water was cold.”
“You have my hot bod wrapped around you,” he teased.
Emily laughed and the sound rang around the lake. She suddenly started to shiver.
“Now you’re cold. Come here and let me warm you up.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.
“Hey Daddy,” Miranda yelled from the shore. “Are you guys kissing again? Yuck!”
The couple pulled apart and looked toward the little girl. Rizzy suddenly left her side and ran to the wood pile by the front door of the cabin, barking the whole way. The short hair on the puppy’s back stood on end.