by Rose Francis
“Stay still,” she pleaded, and he tried to heed it, but he was obviously pleasured by the human contact, the feeling of someone caring for him, and his body responded in kind.
Leon watched the sight, the beautiful Tia scrubbing the grime out of the increasingly appealing man, and couldn’t help but feel his frustration grow. In a soft voice, he added, “I mean, I just wish there was some way to simplify things, so we could run off together. That’s all I’m tryin’ to say, Tia. ’Cause... damn, do I want you.” Hell, did he ever.
“Yeah,” she sighed, her fingers scrubbing along the man’s temples. His smile was only growing, despite obviously hearing the conversation between the two lovers. “But it’s not that easy. It never is,” she sneered, her hands working down to the nape of his neck, pushing him off her large breasts and revealing the soap-covered orbs floating in the water, barely constrained by her dress.
He reached into the water to take hold of the man and position him back safely again, and Leon’s eyes were glued to the scene before him. “Should I just give you some space then to work? What’s best, Tia? You know I want things as bad as you, but I can’t be assed to give a damn about people other than you so much as you do.”
Tears threatened her, and she really didn’t want to have this conversation in front of this stranger. She sucked in her breath, letting her breasts rise up out of the water for a moment, her nipples still pressing roughly against the dress. They were almost exposed, but she didn’t seem to care.
“I don’t want...” Her voice quaked and she couldn’t find a way to continue on. She obviously had it bad for him.
He took a deep breath as he watched her, both troubled by her distress and enflamed with arousal by her appearance. He’d stopped paying attention to the weary traveller, presuming him too out of it to absorb much of what was said, if anything. “Sorry,” he said at last, “I’m a bit of a lout. Can’t seem to shut up talking about what I want, even when I know it pushes what I want further out of my reach.”
Her lashes descended, hiding her eyes from him for a long few breaths before she moved, rinsing out the stranger’s hair, cleaning him off quickly before rising out of the water. Her dress clung against her form, between her thighs, her nipples visible through the transparent material.
She walked past Leon. “Get him out,” she said as she grabbed a towel, offering it to the feminine man as he was removed from the soaking tub, warm and clean.
Leon was brimming with frustration as he hooked his thick, muscular arms into the water and lifted the man out. The wet, sleek feel of his slender form was something more of a tease to top it off. He cradled the man as he took him out.
“Careful now.” He murmured, “I’ve got you,” as he lowered him to his feet, to see if the man was able to stand again.
It took him a few moments, but he was able to get his footing as he leaned his nude form against Leon’s front, getting him wet in the process. He was a fair bit shorter, and a lot thinner, and his tan seemed to only dim around his genitals, forming an obvious boxer’s line. He leaned there for a few moments before Tia grabbed for him, wrapping him in the blanket.
“We’ll get him back to our place a—” She stopped, realizing what she said, and quickly moving to the door, holding it open for Leon.
Leon didn’t bother to correct that statement, instead scooping up the man in his arms again, without bothering to ask if he could walk back.
“Hear that?” he said to the man in his arms. “You get to stay with the most gorgeous gal in the whole town,” he said with a toothy grin to the both of them, carrying him on out with a jovial air again.
Chapter 5
She didn’t live far from the bathhouse, just a few houses down. Faith sat outside, her brows furrowed in thought as she looked down at a book, flicking through it though she didn’t seem too interested in reading it. Her knees were parted in the centre, exposing that smooth, slender flesh of her inner thigh, up to that dark, hidden part just beneath her shorts.
As they approached, she looked up, dropping the book. “Hey, Tia, have you heard from Fiona today? Or Will?”
She shook her head, opening the door to let Leon and the other man in. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Their house looked weird, and it was locked. All the curtains were drawn and everything.” It was an odd occurrence in such a free town, and obviously a cause for curiosity.
“Maybe they’re not feeling well. Probably just napping,” she sighed.
Leon had leered quite obviously at Faith’s splayed legs, and gave her a cocky crooked smile as he passed on by, muttering, “Hey there, good lookin’.”
He carried the man in his arms on past, then up the stairs toward the spare bedroom. He’d come to know the place very well over the years, and had no trouble navigating it.
He laid the man out on the side of the bed, and then began to pull back the covers before lifting him again and laying him there, “Not many people get this kinda treatment from me,” he remarked with wry humour.
The man’s eyes opened slightly, revealing a startling blue colour. He looked a lot healthier, if a bit worn, and his full lips turned upwards.
“Been a pleasure, Leon,” he murmured out, rather sleepily.
Leon gave a hearty, but soft chuckle and tucked the man in, brushing a hand back over his forehead as he took a final moment to appreciate the man’s rather gender-blurring beauty. “Rest well, no time for nappin’,” he said before moving to leave and rejoin the women.
“I don’t know. Will’s always told me where he’s goin’ since he got here.” Faith’s voice rose from the storefront. “It ain’t like him. He told me he was huntin’ this mornin’ but he was supposed to get supper with me.”
“It’s nothing,” Tia sighed, her voice sounding so tired. “He’s probably just sick. Let it be.” “Fine, but if he’s dead, I’m going to be really pissed off you didn’t do nothin’ about it.”
Tia’s jaw tightened, her eyes suddenly hard on her younger adopted sibling, “You’re acting like a kid, Faith. Get over yourself.”
Faith’s eyes turned up at Leon’s entrance, and her entire body perked up for him. “Hey, Leon. You’re all wet,” she purred, her smile growing suddenly seductive. Tia turned to face him with another apologetic frown on her lips.
“Faith, it’s time for you to go. We’ll join you for dinner in an hour.”
With a broad smile he strode on down the stairs. “Ain’t the first time I’ve had some blowback from wetness I caused,” he said. “Your sister’s a messy one.” He stepped to the two women, an arm on each shoulder again and kissed them each on the forehead. “Off again, are you, Faith?” he asked softly.
“Not if you don’t want me to go.” She smiled up at him hopefully as Tia bristled next to him. The younger woman was obviously taunting her, trying to get a rise out of her for the alleged slight.
“Faith’s just pissed because the guy she’s seeing is missing, so now she’s looking for a replacement.”
Faith’s face soured as she looked to Tia.
“Shut up.”
Leon put on a hurt look as he rubbed the two women’s shoulders, “Seein’ a fella?” he said. “And here I thought you two ladies were mine, all mine,” he said in good humour, grinning once more, two of his fingers giving Faith a bit of a special rub along her spine down the back of her tank top.
Tia was obviously in no mood, and looking at the two, she shrugged away from him.
“I think it’s best the both of you leave, then,” she hissed, immediately moving up the steps.
Leon frowned up after her. “What’s wrong?” he called out. “Was just messin’ around!” He looked down to Faith. “What’d I say?” he asked in confusion, not removing his hand from the petite woman.
“She’s just bein’ a bitch ’cause I interrupted you two.” She laughed, her voice carrying up the stairs as she began tugging his arm toward the door. “Come on, I’m sick of her. She’s probably just goin’ ta sulk al
l night.”
Chapter 6
Leon followed the small woman at her insistent tug, letting her lead the much larger man along. “Fuck,” he muttered to her as they exited into the dark evening. “Think I ain’t feelin’ the tension from it too? I was balls deep in her when I had to pull out,” he said crassly to the other woman.
“Who knows. Maybe she wanted you to follow and fuck her senseless.” She shrugged, obviously undisturbed by the thought of leaving her elder hanging in such a regard, adding on quite crassly herself, “At least she has that naked guy you left there with her. Good job, stud.” She smiled brightly.
She could be quite the little bitch when she wanted, her slender hand still tugging his as they walked through the night toward the back of the camp, away from the joyous sounds of singing around the campfire.
The thought was slow to occur to him, and as Faith brought it up he almost stopped and turned around then. Tia was very dear to him, after all. But he was no less stubborn than her, and she told him to fuck off.
As they disappeared toward the back of the camp the woman no longer needed to pull on his arm. He stepped in beside her, his arm back around her, his strong hand roaming down her back until he was cupping her bottom.
“Sometimes,” he muttered in some mock disbelief, “I wonder if I didn’t go chasin’ the wrong sister.” It was said in good humour, as Leon and Tia had known each other before Faith ever came into the picture.
She stepped away from his grasp, her smile only growing as she arrived at an out-of-the-way cabin. It was usually reserved for preserving meat and goods, but the lights were on and there were noises coming from within. It wasn’t the same, joyous sounds from the campfire, but there was an aura of happiness. Faith kept sidestepping his advances now that they were no longer near her sister, and she pressed in the door.
The light was bright and there was a group of about five people, sitting on top of some crates. Leon recognized them as others from around the commune, though there was one new face—a redheaded woman that was curled up against a dark-haired man he knew only in passing. They interrupted their conversation as Faith joined them, and she immediately sat herself cross-legged atop the nearest crate.
“Leon, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Leon.” They all nodded politely, though they seemed a little perturbed by why Faith had brought him here. They didn’t seem to be doing anything that they shouldn’t have been, but it was a strange behaviour for the normally openhearted commune.
The dark-haired man looked to Leon, then Faith skeptically.
“He’s with your sister, dork. Why’d ya bring him?”
She smiled so brightly, her eyes up at Leon with some hidden promise. “He chose me tonight.”
The man pushed his hand through his hair, letting it cascade back in his face as he brought his lips to the redhead’s hair, kissing her gingerly and whispering in her ear. She got up, looking at the four others before brushing past Leon without a word and closing the door behind her.
Leon was annoyed with the rejection of his advances, doubly so with finding out the destination wasn’t some private spot to rut, but he never let it show. With a firm, almost stern nod to the rest, he moved over by Faith, folding his arms across his chest and resting his shoulders back against the wall. “Little vixen stole my heart,” he said dryly, looking down at her and not letting his curiosity about this whole thing show through his mask of utter confidence.
The rest seemed skeptical, but they obviously didn’t care too much as they finally resumed their conversation.
“Well, if the babies are going to keep dying, it must be a sign,” said a slender, olive-skinned woman with shiny, black hair. It went down her back, resting just above her bottom, teasing the bare flesh along her spine. Her shirt was cropped close to her rib cage, and her skirt was black and pleated. She was the only one among them that wore shoes, black sneakers covering her black socks from the floor.
She was smoking a cigarette of some type, and her eyes kept moving to Leon suspiciously, even as she led the discussion. “Maybe the dust wasn’t able to kill all who were unworthy, or maybe there were some that only just passed the test, but they’re not allowed to breed because of it.”
Faith scoffed, shaking her head. “Aw, come on. Rachel’s baby died, and she’s one of the nicest people around here!”
“Yeah,” agreed the dark-haired teen as he fidgeted on top of his crate, “but her husband’s a real asshole. I don’t know how he didn’t get killed. I mean, really, you should see the way he treats the rest of us guys! We can’t even look at her without him freaking out.”
Faith smirked, her face focused on him, “Oh, well you’re just so charming, of course he’s jealous.”
“Oh, shut up, bitch,” he hissed, his eyes narrowing.
“All I’m saying is it must be a sign,” repeated the Asian woman as she stood, patting down her bum of any dust.
A light-skinned woman sat in the corner, doodling in her book and trying to avoid the conversation until the leader walked over to her.
“What do you think, Abby?” she asked, obviously interested to know the woman’s opinion.
“Uh,” she murmured, shocked by the attention and pushing back her black-framed glasses. Her hair was very fair, and her skin had a few freckles across her cheeks and her bare shoulders. “I don’t know. It can’t be nothing. There’s been too many for it to be nothing, Celia.”
Celia nodded triumphantly. “And who truly believes that Hannah and Alexander were taken by bandits? He was the strongest guy we had, and they had guns on them! There’s no way.” She shook her head, obviously solidifying her idea. “They left because they realized we were wrong. We’re wrong to try to go back to how things were. They knew that we have to adapt and to become worshipers.”
Faith smiled in a manner that showed she found it more comical than convincing, and the dark-haired boy scowled at her. “She’s right, Faith.”
She laughed, looking up at Leon. “Zach thinks everyone’s right if they talk like they know what they’re talking about.”
Leon watched the dark-haired leader intently, studying her and absorbing the little secretive display here in quiet. With his thick arms crossed over his chest he looked imposing, but to Faith’s words he looked down to her and crooked a light smirk.
The people of this “town” were all children in his eyes, their silly notions and all. He loved Tia, he did, but thought she was a little mad to want this, to want these people as part of her life. It was all a little too surreal for him. His dreams were a bit more simplistic.
“So,” he began, his low voice carrying in the room very clearly, commanding attention even when he didn’t intend it. “You think by worshipping... them, we’ll have more luck knocking each other up?” he asked, no criticism in his voice, just plain questioning.
Celia stared at him, her arms crossing just beneath her small chest, the white tank top ruffling a bit. “Correct.”
“Celia’s always worried about that. Ever since she got here,” Faith explained. She’d arrived the spring past, alone just like most of them, and had always been a bit on the fringe. Here she seemed quite at home.
“We know what’s in our own hearts and that we’ve been accepted by Them, but we will never know what’s in another’s hearts or how They judged them to be. Perhaps They’ve changed their minds about this little camp. Maybe none of us will continue on our lines simply by being here instead of worshipping them,” Celia hissed at Faith, her chocolate eyes dark to the other woman.
Faith uncrossed her legs, spreading them so that they hung off either side of the box. “Yeah, well. A dead baby is a good baby for me,” she purred, her body arching erotically as her hips ground her against the box.
Flicking his gaze to Faith’s display, he couldn’t help but smirk. And throb. She was a gorgeous little thing, even if he didn’t share her same sentiment there.
Leon watched the two women with great interest. He had his own theories on li
fe now, and though he didn’t intend to worship any damn thing, he at least sided with the dark beauty on how just lingering about in that camp wasn’t likely to get them much.
Wetting his lips as he took a moment, he spoke again in his husky voice. “Anyone who knows a bit about me, knows I prefer to get shit done in my own way. Works well for me so far,” he offered.
Celia suddenly seemed to show a good bit more interest, walking away from Abby and over to him. “Maybe Faith isn’t so stupid for bringing you here,” she jabbed at the other woman. It was pretty clear Faith wasn’t well loved around the camp for a variety of reasons.
“An outsider can teach us much of the outside world.” She turned her back on Leon, standing a pace or two away, and looked to the others in the room. “He has connections. He can find other believers, true believers, and help us to breed.” She smiled, suddenly excited by the prospect.
“Children are life,” she said pointedly to Faith, her eyes trailing over the woman’s thighs and hidden vulva as she continued pleasuring herself with the aid of the crate, “and giving yourself up for anything less than that is a farce. A joke. A meaningless diversion.”
Celia turned back to look at Leon, her voice lowering. “In that, I’d like to speak with you privately.” Faith stopped her motions, her brows furrowing as she hopped off the crate. “Hey, I brought him. He’s here with me.”
Leon kept his pose, immobile and stony, as he watched Celia now, his interest upon her. As much as he wanted Faith, she’d been a brat, and turnabout was fair play.
An uneven smile slowly formed on his broad, strong face as he looked to the small darkly dressed woman, licking his lower lip in thought. “Yeah, we should talk.” He turned his gaze on Faith again. “You don’t mind, do you?” The glint in his eyes showed he was enjoying putting her back on the defensive, back to having to compete a bit for his attentions, as she had with Tia around.