by R. R. Banks
When the electrical hum dissipates, the men step forward and turn Glenn onto his stomach. They put his arms behind his back and then bind both hands and feet with plastic zip ties. The first man stands and walks over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Are you okay, Veronica?”
I recognize the voice – it's the same man whose voice I heard over the earpiece. I nod and give him a smile I'm sure looks as phony as it feels.
“I – I'm okay,” I say and help Justin to a sitting position beside me. “We're okay.”
He nods to me and turns to the second man who is talking into a small device in the wrist of his sleeve.
“Target secure,” he says. “The area is clear. We're bugging out.”
The first man turns back to me. “Caleb will be here in a minute,” he says. “Everything's going to be okay.”
“Thank you,” I say, my heart filled with gratitude and relief. “Thank you both so much.”
The man says nothing. He just gives me a nod before he and the second man turn and jog away, melting into the shadows like phantoms. I hold Justin close to me as Glenn groans on the ground below us – and I have to resist the urge to reach down and kick him.
A couple of minutes later, a dark sedan screeches to a stop beside the van, the red and blue bubble light on the roof rotating, dispelling the dark, but casting eerie looking shadows everywhere at the same time.
And then Caleb is there beside me, holding on to me and Justin.
“Are you both okay?” he asks.
I nod. “We're fine,” I say. “Thanks to you and your mysterious friends.”
A man in a dark suit steps over to where we are, looking down at Glenn and grinning before he looks up at me and Justin.
“I'm Detective Winters,” he says. “Are you and your son okay, Miss Geary?”
“Yes, fine,” I reply. “We're okay.”
“What happened to him?” Winters asks, nudging Glenn's limp body with his foot.
I look at Caleb who gives me a subtle shake of the head. Because yeah, I can’t really explain this.
“I don't know,” I say. “A couple of good Samaritans subdued him. I didn't see much of anything because I was in the van with my son.”
“Good Samaritans, huh?” Winters asks.
I shrug. “Apparently so.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Fair enough.”
Winters and Caleb get Glenn to his feet and drag him over to the Detective's car, tossing him like a rag doll into the back seat. With as much electricity as he had pumped into him, I don't expect Glenn to be able to think, let alone function for some time.
After they exchange a few words, the Detective jumped into his car and took off. Caleb walks over to me and pulls me into a tight embrace, letting me feel the relief washing through him as well.
It was over.
Glenn was going back to prison – and with what I hope are new kidnapping charges against him, he'll be there for a very long time.
A moment later, he pulls back and looks me in the eye. “Winters is going to need a statement and will probably have some questions for you.”
“I figured as much.”
“But, we can do that tomorrow,” he says.
I nod. “Who were those guys in the masks?”
He shrugs. “Just a couple of guys I served with who owed me a favor.”
He leaves it at that, so I don't press him on the issue. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that Justin is safe – and Glenn is on his way back to prison.
“I don't even know how to thank you,” I say.
Caleb smiles and ruffles Justin's hair. “You don't need to,” he says. “I'm just glad I could be there to help.”
I throw my arms around Caleb and embrace him tightly again. Just the feel of his body pressed to mine brings me relief. Comfort. Wrapped up in his arms, I feel safe. He looks down at me and smiles, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“What?” I ask.
“Well, now that this is all sorted out,” he says. “We have a fake wedding to plan.”
I shake my head and laugh. “That we do.”
Picking Justin up, I carry him as Caleb leads us back to his car. The relief I feel about this whole mess being over is palpable. But as I walk next to Caleb, there's something gnawing at the back of my mind – and it feels like it's getting more persistent.
As crazy as it sounds, given our years of friendship, there's some small sliver in there that doesn't want our little wedding ceremony to be fake after all.
But I don't know that he feels the same – and the last thing I want to do is lose the best friend I have in this whole screwed up world.
Chapter Seven
The day has finally arrived – our wedding day. It still makes me giggle to think about it. My mother arrived two days ago and has been underfoot ever since. But Justin is thrilled to have her around, of course, and she really hit it off with Caleb. Much to my chagrin. Now it feels like I have two of them ganging up on me.
The day is overcast, there's a chance of rain, and there is a cool breeze blowing. If I were a superstitious woman, I might consider it a bad omen, given that it's my wedding day.
Caleb set up a small gazebo on the beach just outside his house. A red carpet leads from his deck to the gazebo and there are half a dozen chairs on either side of the carpet. When my mother expressed her dismay about the size of the wedding, I reminded her that this was my day and I wanted to keep it small and intimate.
She grumbled about it, of course, but I just laugh it off. It's not like this is real anyway – not that she's ever going to know that.
“How are you holding up, soon to be Mrs. Graham?”
“Fake Mrs. Graham,” I say and smile.
“Right,” he says. “Fake Mrs. Graham.”
I laugh and look up at Caleb. Dressed in a dark suit, he cuts a very handsome figure. Once again, I'm overwhelmed by the emotions swirling around inside of me. As I've done ever since the day we had sex in his kitchen, I try to stuff all of those feelings back down into the box I keep in the back of my mind – the box of thoughts and feelings I dare not entertain.
Something in Caleb's eyes – and in the tone of his voice – makes me pause though. I see something in his expression – something I can't quite put my finger on. It's almost as if he's disappointed that this is all a sham we're putting on just to appease my mother.
But that's crazy – right? Surely, he couldn't seriously want to marry me?
We stand in silence, just staring at each other for several long moments, an air of anticipation between us. I'm no closer to being able to interpret his expression or intuit his thoughts though. It feels like he wants to say something – but is choosing to hold his tongue.
“Well,” I say, “shall we go and get this fake show on the road?”
I start to turn away when Caleb puts his hand on me. I stop and turn back to him, cocking my head.
“Listen, Veronica,” he says. “We haven't ever talked about what happened between us that day in the kitchen.”
“You mean, when we had sex on your counter?”
Color flares in his cheeks and he smile. “Y – yeah, exactly,” he stammers.
“I wasn't sure you thought there was anything to talk about,” I say. “We had some fun together.”
“Is that all it was to you?”
My head is spinning and my heart is thundering. The way he's looking at me tells me that it was more to him. A lot more. And I find that I feel elated knowing that.
“Honestly?” I say. “No. It wasn't.”
He nods and gives me a sheepish grin. “It feels like something changed between us that day.”
“Like the chemistry we were missing all those years ago was suddenly there.”
“Exactly,” he says, growing more excited. “It's like – a missing piece of a puzzle finally fell into place. And that everything is suddenly – right. Like we'd been waiting for this moment – for the two of us to finally be
ready for one another.”
I smile and feel my heart speed up even more – worrying me that it might just pop out of my chest entirely.
“That's how I feel too, Caleb,” I say.
“I'm so glad to hear you say that.”
I stand rooted to my spot, clamping my hand over my mouth when he drops to his knee before me. Looking up at me, a nervous – almost terrified – expression on his face, Caleb slips a small box out of his pocket and opens it, revealing an amazing diamond and white gold ring.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice little more than a whisper.
“I'm asking if you'd do me the honor of being my wife, Veronica,” he says. “And not my fake wife, but my real wife. I love you and want today's ceremony to be real.”
I stand perfectly still, not trusting myself to speak for a long moment. I just stand there and stare at him like an idiot.
“Veronica?” he finally asks.
His voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I nod as tears well in my eyes.
“Yes, Caleb,” I say. “Yes.”
He stands up and I throw my arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. I can't believe this is happening. It's surreal. And yet, it makes me happier than few things in this life can.
“Well then,” he says. “Shall we go get married?”
I take his arm and let him lead me to the sliding glass doors that lead to the gazebo beyond. And as the wedding march begins to play over the small stereo system we have set up, all eyes turn to us. My stomach is in knots and I'm about to burst – but I'm happy.
With Justin preceding us down the aisle, the ring sitting on a red cushion Caleb had given them, we step out of the house and onto the red carpet, taking our first steps toward building our life together.
Chapter Eight
“That was amazing,” I say as we step into our cabin.
“Great runs today,” Caleb said. “I'm so glad we got a fresh snow last night.”
For our honeymoon, we decided to forgo the usual tropical locations like Bali or Tahiti. Instead, Melinda offered to watch Justin for us, so we headed for Brianhead, Utah for a weeklong ski trip. And it has been the most amazing trip of my life. It's also the first time I've ever been skiing.
There is a fire burning in the fireplace, so I strip off my jacket, and stand before it letting the warmth envelop me. Caleb stands behind me with his arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck.
“You're getting pretty good out there,” he says.
“I have a good teacher.”
I turn and wrap my arms around him, pulling him close to me. Our kiss warms my skin more effectively than the fire. As he runs his hands through my hair, I feel the heat inside of me building. I feel myself growing wet as Caleb caresses my body, as our tongues mingle and swirl together.
I lift his t-shirt off over his head and toss it to the side, running my hands over his smooth, toned chest. Leaning forward, I tease his nipples with the tip of my tongue and then suck on them, bite them, drawing a gasp from Caleb.
I raise my hands as he lifts my shirt off of me and tosses it in the general direction I'd tossed his. The heat inside of me is building and I need to have him inside of me. We're still wearing our clumsy ski pants, so we both step back and quickly wriggle out of them, throwing them on the floor. Both of us now naked, I take his hand and pull him to the rug in front of the fireplace, relishing in the feel of the heat upon my skin.
Caleb leans down and kisses me as I take his cock in my hand, giving it a firm squeeze. He's hard and thick and moans softly as I start to stroke him. I've never been looked at the way he's looking at me in that moment. The way his eyes roam my body, from my toes to the tip of my nose, he drinks me in and appears that he's savoring me. He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
Caleb makes me scream and then giggle as he picks me up and then bends me over the arm of the couch. I look back at him over my shoulder and bite my bottom lip, my body tingling with anticipation. Caleb looks at me, absolute desire and hunger in his eyes.
“I can't wait,” he says. “I need to be inside of you. Now.”
That naked display of desire gets me even wetter than I thought possible. He steps forward, and guides his cock to my tight, wet little opening. With one hard thrust, he sheaths himself deep in my pussy, filling me up completely.
I cry out and then call his name as he begins pumping his cock, driving his shaft into me again and again. Caleb gives my ass a firm smack as he pulls my hair, wrenching my head backward. I revel in the sensations coursing through my body as he thrusts his cock so deep inside of me.
“Yes, baby,” I cry out. “Fuck me. Harder.”
Keeping hold of my hair, with his other hand, Caleb digs his fingers into the soft skin of my hip as he begins thrusting himself into me harder and faster. Our cries blend together with the sound of flesh meeting flesh as our bodies collide, filling the cabin with the sound of sheer ecstasy.
He thrusts hard, burying himself deep inside of me, and sets off an explosion that rocks my entire body. I shudder and shake, calling his name and crying out as my orgasm tears through me. My eyes roll back in my head as its fire runs through my veins.
When the orgasm finally subsides, I stand up and put my hands on Caleb's chest. He smiles as I push him down on the couch and climb onto his lap, straddling him. I grab hold of his long, stiff cock and guide it to my opening. I gasp as I slide the head of his dick into me, moaning as I slide down every incredible inch, and bite his shoulder as he fills me up.
He squeezes my ass and gives it a firm smack, kissing my neck as I start to move my hips, sliding up and down on his cock. The sensation of him buried so deep in me as I ride him sets off fireworks behind my eyes. My head is spinning and I feel almost lightheaded as I start bouncing up and down on his cock harder and faster.
I call out his name as he thrusts his hips upward, driving himself even deeper into me. I dig my nails into his shoulders as he sucks on my breasts while he moves within me. The pressure low in the center of me is rising again and I know he's going to make me come again.
Caleb's breathing grows shallower, ragged, his movements becoming more frantic. I feel his body tensing and he lets out a sound that's half-growl, half-moan of pleasure.
“Come for me, baby,” I say. “I want to make you feel so good.”
“Oh, you do, Veronica,” he gasps. “You make me feel amazing.”
I use the muscles inside of me to squeeze his cock as I slide down on Caleb's shaft, taking him as deep inside of me as I can, making him cry out. His body stiffens and I feel his cock start to throb and pulse deep inside of me. A moment later, I feel the gush of his hot, wet seed as he fills me up.
The sensation of his cum spurting inside of me sets off an explosion within me. My body trembles and clenches up as my orgasm comes crashing down over me. I scream Caleb's name as the ripples of pleasure spread throughout my body.
We collapse together on the couch, our bodies tangled up with each other. I lay my head on his chest, hearing his heart thundering inside of him and relishing the feel of his seed still inside of me. Placing a kiss upon his skin, I trace my fingertips across his body.
Slowly, our breathing returns to normal and he places a kiss on the top of my head. Life has a funny way of throwing you twists and turns you never expected. And falling in love with my best friend certainly qualifies as that.
But it feels so natural. So right. Our bodies feel like they were made for one another – as do our souls. Everything just feels so – perfect. It's a feeling I never expected, but one I can get used to.
I look up at him and smile. “I love you, Caleb Graham.”
His smile lights up the room around us. “And I love you, Mrs. Veronica Graham,” he says. “My almost fake wife.”
I playfully slap his chest but laugh. And in that moment, as the snow starts falling gently outside again and the fire heats up the cabin, I doubt that I could possibly ever be happier than I am.
THE END
Other Works
These are some samples of amazing work by my friends that I think you’ll really enjoy!
Legends of Black Salmon Falls (Sample)
Loved by a Bear (Complete Book 1)
Prologue
The man took a seat at the counter of the roadside diner. It was late, there was a chill in the air, and it had been drizzling on and off all day long. In other words, just another typical day in the Pacific Northwest. But he was used to it. As a truck driver, he'd made the run up and down through Washington, Oregon, and California more times than he could count.
But in all his trips up and down the West Coast, he hadn't ever passed through Black Salmon Falls before. He was on his way to Olympia and this popped up as a shortcut that would save him a few hours. So, the man, always looking to do less work than necessary, decided to give it a shot.
“What can I get you?”
The man looked up from the menu at the cute, perky little waitress who was husting over to where he was sitting.
“They got you workin' late,” he said.
She shrugged. “It's quiet,” she said. “Gives me time to do some homework.”
The man nodded and looked the girl up and down. She was pretty – had a wholesome look to her, with her long blonde hair and milky white skin. She probably wasn't more than nineteen or twenty. Fresh faced and with a girl next door appeal.
And the man was suddenly in the mood for something – it just wasn't for food.
But the man was subtle. Sly. He'd had more than enough practice over the years and all of his trips up and down the left side of the country to know that he needed to bide his time and wait for the opportune moment. He was patient and he was deliberate – skills he'd spent years honing.
“Homework, huh?” he asked. “What are you studying?”
She smiled and he thought it made her even prettier. “Nursing,” she said. “I want to be a nurse.”
The man nodded. “A nurse, huh?” he said. “I bet you'll make a good one too.”