by Charlie Cole
“Oh, Wonder Woman…” I said. “That’s hot.”
“Shut up!” Jess laughed.
She put her head on my shoulder and we rode the rest of the way to the airport in a warm, comfortable silence, just enjoying our time together. Finally, the shuttle pulled up outside of O’Hare International Airport.
Jess and I exited the shuttle stop and walked down the sidewalk toward the taxi stand. On my way, I saw a skycap loading luggage onto a cart. He was reaching into the trunk of a cab, pulling out a bag, putting it on the cart, back to the trunk. I watched him complete his task, leaving the trunk open.
I pulled my cell from my pocket and hit the speed dial for Ken Gibson. I then leaned over the open trunk and not so accidentally, dropped my cell phone inside, so that it fell in the trunk next to the spare tire. I turned away quickly and the skycap turned back, slammed the trunk and a moment later the cab pulled away.
Jessica had been watching me with a quizzically amused look on her face.
“Who did you just call?” “Ken Gibson, the detective on our case.”
“So, you think Randall Kendrick and Max are going to trace the call and follow the taxi?” she asked.
“That’s what I’m hoping,” I said.
“Except now you need a cell phone,” she pointed out.
“Let’s go shopping,” I said with a smile and hailed the next taxi. We got in and Jess sat a little closer to me than usual.
“Do you know anywhere we can go?” I asked her quietly.
“Where to?” asked the cab driver.
“One second, please,” I said.
“Time is money,” he shot back.
“Then turn on the meter and let me talk here, ok?”
The cabbie turned on the meter and looked indifferently out the window.
“What do you mean ‘anywhere we can go’?” Jess asked.
“Anyone we can stay with?” I asked. Then, “Anywhere we don’t need to use a credit card or show ID…”
“Oh!” she said, finally getting it. “My cousin is out of town. I was supposed to collect her mail, feed the cat, that kind of thing. I’ve got a key.”
“Tell the man where to go,” I said, indicating the driver.
She did and we got moving. I recognized the address and started scanning my memory for stores in the area. I thought there was a drug store about three blocks away. They’d have what we needed. I directed the driver to the change in plans and he only shrugged. Twenty minutes later, the driver dropped us at the corner store, just what I had remembered. I paid him, tipping well enough to be forgotten, but not so well as to be remembered.
Inside the drug store, I picked up two pre-paid cell phones along with card holding the prepaid minutes. The phones could be purchased without a contract or credit card. I also got a bottle of Ibuprophen, an ACE bandage for my ankle and some food since I figured the cousin’s apartment would be emptied of all foodstuffs. We paid in cash and then walked the short distance to the cousin’s place.
I was impressed. The place was a three-story brownstone, facing the lake. Jess had the keys on her ring and let us in.
I dropped the bags on the counter and Jess and I stood together for a moment, listening to the silence of the place, enjoying the moment alone and knowing that we’d have the night together.
Chapter Twelve
“Come with me.”
That was all Jessica said to me. She took my hand and led me through the brownstone. I realized then that despite myself, despite my guardedness and fears, I trusted her completely. I didn’t know when it happened. Only that it did. Somewhere along the way, I’d let down my guard and let her see me for who I was. And as much as I expected her to run away… she hadn’t. And maybe because of that, I would have followed her anywhere.
I followed Jess as she led me upstairs to the second floor, then the third. I felt a bit like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, wondering how I’d gotten where I was. I was out of control, letting someone else lead and I didn’t know how to feel about it. And yet, I was not afraid. Jessica was my friend and I knew then in that safe, trusting moment that I loved her. The emotion felt red, raw, exposed and I couldn’t help but smile at it. A small part of me tried to make me feel guilty, but it was a feeling that never came, an emotion that never bloomed. It dissipated as soon as it emerged.
Jess opened the last door and we stepped out onto the roof. The brownstone’s rooftop had been labored over and converted into a garden. Trellises painted white and arbors were everywhere. Plants and flowers grew, so many I could not name them and, not for the first time, I let the moment wash over me, not trying to classify or quantify it. Vines and climbing foliage grew over the latticework creating a fence around the rooftop. No one could view the top of the building from any direction.
I looked at Jessica and brushed her auburn hair from her cheek. Her eyes looked so green here. Her lips so invitingly red. And then, before the moment was lost, she kissed me.
Our lips met and her body seemed to melt into mine. I held her close and ran my hand down the gentle curve of her back. Her lips parted, her tongue teasing mine and I enjoyed the sweetness of her. I kissed her back, wanting more and she playfully bit my lower lip. She laughed slyly and ran her hands over my shoulders, pushing back my suit coat. I let it fall, not caring, lost in the moment.
Jessica kissed my neck; I was self-conscious that I hadn’t shaved, but she didn’t seem to care. She worked the knot out of my tie, while at the same time kicking off her shoes. I couldn’t resist and ran my hands up the bare skin at the small of her back. She purred and kissed me again.
“I missed you,” she whispered, her voice urgent.
“Missed you more,” I replied.
“I doubt it,” she purred.
Jess reached between us and felt me through the fabric of the front of my pants. I was surprised but only pleasantly. She giggled breathily.
“Mmmm, baby,” she moaned.
She unbuttoned her blouse and pulled my head down to kiss her neck, running her fingers through my hair. Beneath her crème colored blouse she wore a white lace bra. I cupped her right breast as I kissed her and felt her nipple harden under my attention. She shrugged out of her blouse, reaching for me, eager to touch me. In the distance, I heard thunder rumble.
“It’s going to rain,” she breathed. I agreed, but didn’t care. My attention was on Jessica, nothing else. I pulled my shirt over my head and cast it aside. Jessica looked at me the way that every man wants to be looked at. She touched my shoulders, my chest, my stomach. She kissed me just below the collarbone and began unbuckling my belt.
She stopped then, not wanting to, I could tell, but stopping none the less. She looked up at me with those big green eyes.
“I’m sorry…” she said. “Do you… want to?”
God, she was incredible. To ask that. To even think to ask that. To be that sensitive to someone else when everything that you want is right at hand… it made me want her more than ever.
“Yes,” I said. “Jess, I want to be with you.”
She kissed me then in a mixture of relief and desire. I unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the tile floor. She was wearing white lace panties and I couldn’t help but to cup her backside and bring her closer.
We found a nearby bench. It was wood and wrought iron with a hand-stitched pad. Jessica led me to the bench and had me sit. I did and a moment later, she straddled me. We were exposed to each other in a way that we never had been before. Completely given to each other, completely honest, holding nothing back.
Jessica leaned forward and I unfastened her bra. She never broke eye contact with me as she pulled it off and set it aside. She was unbelievable to me, to my eyes she was perfect. Her skin was creamy and smooth to the touch. I kissed her breasts, first one then the other. I nuzzled her nipple, kissing it at first, then licking, then sucking ever so gently. Jess moaned and leaned into me.
I slipped a hand between us, not unlike she had done to me before. M
y fingers found the edge of her panties. I could feel her sex, hot and waiting. I caressed her gently, letting one finger run the soft, wet length of her, opening her. She groaned and clutched my shoulder and seemed to sag into me a little bit.
“I guess you missed me, too,” I whispered.
Jess moaned in my ear, “I want to fuck you so bad…”
Her hips rocked and I stroked her, not as gently as before. She was anxious, eager. I felt desperately the same.
Jess made a disappointed sound when she finally stood, but I knew what she had in mind. She skinned out of her panties and looked at me unashamed. I smiled. She was challenging me in her own way. She showed me hers, now it was my turn. I slipped out of my pants and tossed them on the end of the bench. Jess came back to me then, straddling me as before, but moving slower this time, more hesitant. This meant something serious to both of us and we would savor the moment, enjoy it while we could.
Thunder rumbled again, closer this time.
Jessica leaned forward again, watching me. She reached down and took my cock in her hand. I was hard and she sighed when she held the length of me. She positioned herself over me and paused. The waiting was killing me, but this was not something to be rushed. Jess used the head of my cock to stroke her sex, opening to me. I could feel her anticipation and I leaned my head back, groaning despite myself. Finally she stopped and I could tell she was ready. She lowered herself down and my cock pushed into her. I felt how tight she was, felt her flesh slowly relent as she slid down onto me. She did not stop until my cock was buried deep inside her. Jess looked at me then, brow furrowed, mouth open in a quivering moan. I kissed her and felt her breasts flatten against my chest.
We moved together then, slowly, ever so slowly at first. Jess rising and falling, time and again burying my cock inside her. I sucked on her nipples and she rolled her hips into me over and over. I could feel the moistness of her between us. The sounds of our lovemaking carried on the air.
I noticed then that I could hear something else. It was music. Not just any music. Chicago blues music. Jess heard it at the same time that I did. She didn’t stop, but continued on, talking to me while she rode me.
“Mmm…that’s nice,” she whispered.
“Blues?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Mm-hmm… oh God…” Jess answered but her eyes were closed, her hips trembling, her nails biting into my shoulders. I watched her, just enjoying the sight of her. She gasped, expelled her breath and then continued her steady rhythm on me.
“The neighbors… are in a… blues band,” she said.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Mm-hmm.”
Then it started to rain on us. It was a slow, soft, warm rain. Jessica put her hands on my chest and stopped for a second when it first started. We laughed together and she blinked the rain out of her eyes.
“My God you’re beautiful,” I said.
Jess sat back on me and ran her hands through her hair, sweeping it back and out of her face. I watched her breasts as she performed this operation. Watched them lift as her arms went up, then settle back when they came down. Jess enjoyed having me watch her. She wiggled her hips, teasing my cock still in her. I groaned and she laughed and we started again.
We made love that way on the rooftop. Rain fell on us. I watched the drops fall on Jess’ skin, watched them run down her body, down her stomach, down to where our bodies came together. The sound of our bodies together was loud and decadent and I didn’t care.
Jess and I came together in a hot rush. I could feel her grip me inside of her and could feel myself pulse with deep and final release. I could feel her nails on my chest as tremors ran through her, one after another until at last she lay still on me.
Jess let me stay inside of her and kissed my face. Her hair was dripping on me and she kissed that away too. I could feel her breasts against me and caressed them, loving the feel of her. I held her close to me, loving to be with her. Loving the time. Loving her.
Eventually, we got up and gathered our clothes and ran inside. We laughed at ourselves, naked as we were, but comfortable with each other. We found towels inside and dried off.
We found the master bedroom and collapsed into the king size bed. We pulled the sheet up over us and lay still for a moment in the darkness, listening to the rain pelt the window.
“That was nice,” I said.
“Mmm,” Jess purred. “That was nice.”
I snuggled closer to her and Jess pushed her bum back into me, teasing me. I rubbed my cock against her and she could feel that I was beginning to stiffen.
“Are you serious?” she asked. Her question was a mix of surprise and hope.
“Mm-hmm,” was my only reply as I nuzzled the nape of her neck.
Jess lifted her hair to let me nibble on her and I took the invitation to cup her breast as well. The swell of Jess’ breast filled my hand and I gently coaxed her nipple back to attention.
Jess reached back and positioned me where she wanted me and we pushed into each other until I was buried inside of her again.
“Oh shit,” she breathed and her body melted back against me as I slid into her. I lowered my hand to her hip and pulled her ever closer. Jess moaned a soft whimper. My cock was slick from her lust and we took our time together.
“Here… come here,” Jess directed me in the way that only lovers can. She wanted me to kneel behind her, to take her from behind. I couldn’t help but do what she asked.
We knelt together on the bed. I cupped both of Jessica’s breasts from behind. She threw her head back and pulled me down so that I could kiss her neck. My cock found her again, ready, wanting. I pushed inside, an inch at a time until I had no more to give. Jess moaned and rocked her hips back into me, then we fell together on the bed, Jess on her stomach, me on top of her.
Outside, the storm was pounding at the brownstone, wind howled and thunder cracked. Inside, the bed was squeaking with each time I pounded my cock into Jessica. She was moaning loudly, saying my name, wanting more, more, always more.
Jess shifted a little and I felt her reach down between her legs and I could feel the tickle of her fingernails on my cock as she massaged her clitoris. Her breathing became heavier, coming in small gasps. I reached down and pulled her hips up to me and Jess got her knees under her.
“Yes… yes… Simon…”
I pushed into her again and this time reached around to help. Our fingers intertwined and I thought of all the times we’d held hands, but never like this. Together we stroked and caressed her clitoris as I thrust into her over and over.
Jess threw her head back and I watched her auburn hair fall across her naked back. She gasped and I could feel her clench, pulling me into her and a shudder ran through her body. Her orgasm was more of an implosion than an explosion. Her shoulders hunched, her nipples hardened and she cried out in a way so primal that I couldn’t restrain myself any longer. I came with her then, fucking her hard, her hips pounding against me, our flesh slapping together, the wetness of her escaping and trailing down the length of my cock. She screamed then and her sex gripped me so hard that I feared that she might force me out of her, but I held on, still pumping into her, Jess still writhing on the length of my cock.
And then we were done, exhausted and we collapsed onto the sheets together, Jess still under me, me supporting myself over her. I moved over and fell to the sheets myself.
“Oh… my…God…” Jessica said, then, “You’d better make me breakfast in the morning.”
I laughed and rolled to my side to look at her.
“Deal,” I said.
We looked into each other’s eyes as we lay there in the darkness.
“I love you, Jess.”
She smiled at that and closed her eyes.
“I love you too, Simon.”
***
I kissed Jessica on the cheek and she roused slowly as if coming up out of a deep slumber. My own sleeping beauty. Moonlight streamed in through the wi
ndow and gave her skin an ivory glow.
“Hi,” she smiled sleepily.
“Hi,” I said back. “I need to go out for a few things. I’ll be back in a little bit, okay?’
I could tell from her look that she knew I wasn’t just going out for eggs, milk and a loaf of bread.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine,” I replied. “I need to make a phone call and just can’t do it from here. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.”
“Okay,” she purred and rolled over, burying her head into her pillow.
“Okay,” I said.
I took the Beretta from the nightstand and slipped it into my waistband, just in front of my right hipbone. I grabbed my jacket, threw it on and walked out the door.
I stopped outside to collect myself. In there, with her, I felt like I was a different man. I could be someone who didn’t have the burden of the world on his shoulders. Out here, I was hunted. The irony that I had to come out here in order to keep what I had in there wasn’t lost on me.
I walked a few blocks and caught a cab, paid cash and was deposited five miles away, within walking distance to a little bodega that I knew on a street corner. Outside there was a pay phone. Pay phones were becoming fewer and fewer in the age of cell phones, but in some neighborhoods, throwbacks like this weren’t unheard of. I strolled down the street and saw no one out and about at this hour. The sun would rise soon and the day would begin again. I needed time to get my head wrapped around what I needed to do next.
How difficult would it be to just run? Pack up everyone and relocate to Switzerland or Brazil or somewhere even more remote. Could I do it? It was possible. Was it worth disrupting the kids lives even more than they already had been? I didn’t think so. It was one thing for me to be a fugitive, but I didn’t want that life for my kids. They’d already lost their mother; I wasn’t going to make them live without a father as well.
No, in the end, I’d have to stand and handle this situation. It may not be what I wanted it to be but it was something that I could handle. I had a solution to this entire DHS/Blackthorn thing brewing in the back of my mind. I just needed to run it past a friend.