by Misty Vixen
“-but,” I continued, “she needs to be able to trust us, and it’d be all too easy, from her perspective, if she’s smart, for me to lie and say I’m totally cool. No, she needs to hear it from you or Megan, and when I’m not in earshot.”
“Like with Dana,” Delilah replied, pulling back and looking up at me again.
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“Don’t worry, I already put in a good word for you back at the semi, and I will again.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
I gave her a kiss, then checked on Elizabeth once more and, determining she was okay, headed out of the room.
It was time to start winding down for the night.
Something I was definitely looking forward to.
~
The next thing I did was pull out my flashlight and set to work searching the house.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Megan to do a good job, it was more for my own peace of mind. I was one of those ‘need to do it myself’ kind of people a lot of the times. I was bad at delegating. Upstairs I found a bathroom and a spare bedroom, nothing else but a few closets. All were clear, and there was a bed in the other bedroom big enough for two people. Still wasn’t sure how we’d handle sleeping arrangements, but whatever, a problem for later.
Downstairs was a living room, dining room, kitchen, a small bathroom, and the little den that had the fireplace. Once I was sure we were secure, I rejoined Megan and we spent the time waiting for the food to heat up, stirring it occasionally, sorting through our gear. I’d gone up and brought down Delilah’s stuff so she could stay up there and keep watch. It occurred to me that Elizabeth hadn’t had a backpack on her.
She must be in a bad situation.
We sorted through the stuff and after that I ended up nodding off for a little while. The food wasn’t ready yet, so I put my back to a wall, leaned my head against it, and suddenly, the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes and Megan wasn’t there. I came awake in a jolt, suddenly worried something had happened, but she came back into the room before I could stand up.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I...must’ve fallen asleep,” I muttered.
“Sorry, food got done, I brought up Delilah hers. I was going to wake you when I got back,” she replied.
“It’s fine. How long was I out?”
“Maybe half an hour at most.”
I just grunted and helped her divvy up the soup. She got a bowl for herself, and I split what remained between three thermoses. I took the time to quickly wash out the pot, then fill it with snow and set it to melt and boil, then I headed upstairs to join the three women. Elizabeth was still out, but I put a thermos near the opening in the chimney that was letting heat from the fire below into the room to keep it warm, in case she woke up. I also set a trio of water bottles there so that we’d be able to wash up at some point and have warm water to do it.
Then we ate. We didn’t say much. I noticed that the nap had given me an unexpected burst of energy, one that I hoped wore off soon. Now was not the time for insomnia. The soup was good though, and I was happy despite the unexpected development.
Sharing a meal in a warm, safe place with Megan and Delilah was a pretty surefire way of making me happy.
We were just finishing up our meal when Elizabeth came awake.
She opened her eyes and jerked at the sight of us, or maybe just me. We waited, not making any moves, as she sat up. She looked at us slowly, putting her feet on the floor, (we’d taken her boots off when putting her in the bed), and cradled her large belly gently.
“Chris. Megan. Delilah,” she said after a moment. “You saved my life. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. How are you feeling?” I asked, and got up slowly to retrieve the soup I’d set aside for her.
“Tired, but better. I guess I fell asleep? Last thing I remember is you carrying me into the house,” she said.
“Yeah. It’s been a few hours. We’re safe. It’s nighttime. Here. It’s beef and vegetable soup,” I said, offering her the thermos.
“Thank you so much,” she replied with enthusiasm. Unscrewing the top, she smelled it, then drank deeply. “Oh my God, this is fucking amazing. Thank you.” She drank more, then seemed to make herself stop. I didn’t blame her. Eating too fast sometimes meant throwing up, and you couldn’t really afford throwing up with food being scarce.
For the next five or so minutes, no one said anything. We had questions, obviously, and she knew that, I could tell, but I wanted her to be ready, and right now I think she was just trying to sort her thoughts out or get her head screwed back on straight. I knew what it was to wake up in a haze of pain and uncertainty, and even fear.
So we all finished off our meals, and sat, and waited.
Finally, she screwed the cap back onto the thermos and set it on the floor by her double-socked feet. “I imagine you have questions.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“And, given what you did for me, apparently out of the kindness of your heart-” she paused, grimaced, “...I mean that genuinely, not trying to disrespect you-”
“It’s okay. I get it,” I replied. “Kindness usually isn’t on the table nowadays, it seems.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Tell me about it. But you deserve to know what I’m mixed up in. It’s not too complicated, I guess. I’m sure you noticed this,” she raised her left hand, showing off her ring. It was a thin golden band topped by an impressive diamond. “I’m on the run from my husband and a few of his ‘pals’.”
“How many does ‘a few’ constitute?” I asked.
“Two. So three in total,” she replied. I nodded and she continued, though yawned first. “Short version is: I got real tired of my husband’s controlling nature and anger issues, which have only grown worse since he got me pregnant, and then he started scaring me.” She paused, hugged herself a little tighter. “Sorry,” she murmured, “this is hard to talk about.”
“I understand,” Megan said.
She sighed and shook her head. “He didn’t get physically violent...but I think the only thing that stayed his hand was the fact that I was pregnant. He’s gotten it into his head that the only way to make something of himself is to have a child. He talked me into it...I kinda feel like it was inevitable anyway. No birth control, no implant, no surgery. Protection is a lot harder to come by. It was gonna happen one way or another if we kept going the way we did. Honestly, I’m surprised it took as long as it had to happen.” She looked fully at us again, at me. “So that’s it. He and his two friends. They’re somewhere in the area, but I don’t know where. I’ve been on the run for a few days now. I’d pretty much run out of steam back there when you found me.”
“I’m really glad I did, that was a bad place to be,” I replied.
She nodded. “I’m glad, too. You saved my life, no question. My life and his,” she murmured, briefly looking down at her belly again.
“How far along are you?” Delilah asked.
“Seven months,” she replied.
That took a bit of the pressure off. No chance of her going into labor anytime soon. Well, not no chance, even I knew premature births were a risk, but we were probably good there. I considered the situation for a moment, but I was getting tired again. That little burst of energy I’d gotten was only temporary and I could tell I was flagging.
“So, um...I’m basically at your mercy,” Elizabeth said. She sounded surprisingly calm about this fact, but I thought it was just because she was so exhausted. And no wonder: she’d been running for days while pregnant and probably terrified. “What...are you going to do with me?”
“First of all,” I said, “don’t worry. We’ll help you. We’ll take care of you. I can promise you that right now. We’re heading for a town about forty miles north of here. The highway will take us straight to it, though we’re going to have to cross that river. Are you okay with going with us there? Because admittedly I can’t really change course,” I said.
> “To be completely honest, that would be fantastic. I...have nowhere to go. Everyone else who was in my life is dead or missing. He was all that was left. I’m...basically adrift. So yes, I would be extremely grateful, but I’m going to have to be very honest: I will be a burden. I’m in decent shape, but I definitely need to eat more than before I was pregnant, I move slower, and I’ll definitely need breaks. I will slow you down and drain your resources faster. I’m willing to work and help out however I can, and I’m finding that I am actually kind of okay at this survival shit, but I haven’t had much chance to develop it at all, so…” She shrugged.
“I understand,” I said, “and it won’t be a problem. We’ll make it work.” I paused, suddenly realizing that I’d spoken for all three of us, not all that dissimilar from when I’d abruptly pitched Dana to join us a few days ago. I looked at the other two.
“Oh, Chris, I’m fine with this,” Megan said.
“Yeah, we have to help her,” Delilah said.
I felt a lot of relief at that. “Then it’s settled. For now, we need to sleep. I’d like us all to sleep in the same room, though as for sleeping arrangements...I feel like you’ll have to sleep in the bed you’re in now, and there’s a single-wide mattress that we can drag in. But it could only hold two of us, so I don’t know how you feel about that…”
She actually ducked her head and blushed. “About that…”
“Yeah?” I asked when she didn’t continue.
She chewed on one lip for a long moment, staring at the floor. I glanced at Megan, who was smirking with an I told you so look on her face.
Finally, Elizabeth muttered something, I thought fuck it, and looked up at me. “There’s, um, I have a question.”
“Shoot,” I replied.
She laughed nervously, then glanced back down, now playing with the ring on her finger, twisting it slowly. “I…” She fiddled for another moment or so, then finally let out a frustrated sound and looked up. “I have reasons for asking what I’m about to ask, and I can and will articulate them if I have to, but for now...are any of you in a relationship?” she asked.
“Um…” I hesitated, considering how to handle this. “All three of us are having sex with each other,” I said finally.
She laughed. It was a genuine laugh, one that seemed to catch the person laughing off guard. The kind of laugh someone enjoyed because they hadn’t had something to laugh about in a long time, and laughing felt good.
“Well that’s a good enough answer, I guess. Would anyone mind terribly if I had sex with Chris tonight? You and I can share the bed.”
“Can we watch?” Delilah asked. She was always the first to speak in situations like these, it seemed.
Elizabeth seemed to consider that. She seemed nervous. But then a look almost of determination came onto her face. “You know what? Yes. You can watch. If this is going to happen.”
“I’m very okay with this happening,” Delilah said.
“Yeah, I’m down to let this happen,” Megan said.
“I very much want to fuck you,” I said to her.
She seemed a little surprised, and I understood that. Talking openly about sex, I had found, and I think a lot of people either had also found or suspected, was kind of like diving into the deep end of the pool. You weren’t quite sure what you were going to get in return.
“Really?” she asked. “The whole…” She ran a hand over her belly. “You know, pregnant thing, doesn’t throw you off?”
“Oh fuck no,” I replied immediately. “That’s a bonus.”
“Oh…” She smiled, and it was the kind of smile I usually saw on Delilah when we were doing something sexual. It was a confident smile. It looked good on her and I was glad to see it. Feeling confident was a great feeling. “Well then, in that case, um...let’s do it.” She paused, frowning. “Although...I guess, I have to ask, do you have any STDs?”
“No, not as far as I know,” I replied. “And I’ve got that gold mesh birth control implant.”
“Oh! Yes, I’ve heard of those. Well...I guess that’s good enough for me,” she said.
“Very glad to hear it,” I said, getting to my feet. “Now, as much as I would love to jump you here and now, I have some winding down to do to prepare for bed that I know I’m not going to want or probably even be able to do after I’ve fucked you.”
“We can wash up while you work,” Megan suggested.
“Oh God, can we?” Elizabeth asked. “I haven’t washed up in days.”
“Wash up good, because I’m going to go down on you,” I said.
“Are you fucking serious?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“He’s good, too,” Megan said.
“Holy shit. I haven’t been gone down on in fucking months. Over a year. Jesus. Okay, yeah, get me soap, water, a rag, I’m going to fucking scrub.”
I laughed and headed downstairs to get to work.
I was quite eager to turn in for the night.
TWELVE
It was tough to do a thorough job, being as excited as I was about fucking Elizabeth, but I made sure to go slowly and do it right.
I had never been with a pregnant woman.
Okay, maybe I had. I knew that it was entirely possible to miss the fact that a woman was pregnant during the first few months. But I had never been with a noticeably pregnant woman. I’d heard stories that sex with noticeably pregnant women was really fucking good. It just felt better. Plus, given how much your own personal level of attraction to a person could affect the encounter, well...let’s just say that I was super into Elizabeth.
And in a way that I wasn’t quite into Megan or Delilah.
I hoped there wasn’t a jealousy issue in my near future.
I made sure we were secure, then grabbed the boiling water and carefully moved it upstairs so it could cool and I could replenish the water we’d used so far. As I came back upstairs, I saw that all three women were completely naked and in the process of washing up. I set the water carefully down on the floor, out of the way, and then simply stared.
Elizabeth had a very great body, and looked fantastic naked.
She was pale all over, her skin mostly smooth. I could see some stretch marks coming in, but that genuinely didn’t bother me. As I’d suspected, she had a fairly petite frame. Even seven months pregnant, her thighs were more pleasantly padded than thick. Same with her hips. Her breasts, on the other hand…
Damn. They were nice.
Big. Very big for her small frame.
She was maybe five four and somewhere north of a hundred and thirty pounds by now, and packing some double-ds.
She blushed and covered herself when she saw me looking. Delilah was helping her wash her back.
“You’ve got nothing to be concerned about,” I said as I walked over.
“It’s nice to hear someone like you say that,” she murmured, looking up at me. “Fuck, you’re tall.”
“Kinda,” I agreed, taking my coat off and hanging it from a hook probably meant for a robe. “It’s more that I’m broad in the shoulders and built. It makes me seem taller. But I am above average,” I continued.
“I like it,” she said quietly, still staring at me. Then she looked down at herself, slowly lowering her hands until they were settled on her belly. It seemed like something she did a lot, maybe without realizing it by now. “I’ve been married for ten years,” she said. “And we were together for two years before that. Met him when I was twenty and in college. I never cheated on him. Not once. And it wasn’t like I had an extensive history before we met, either. Just two boyfriends. So I’m not...experienced. And it’s been a very long time since I’ve been with someone besides my husband.” She paused. “God, over a decade,” she marveled.
“Elizabeth,” I said, my tone serious enough that it immediately got her attention. I came to stand before her, trying not to be intimidating, while also trying to convey my seriousness. “I want to be absolutely clear right now, before we go any further:
if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. I don’t want you to feel like you have to sleep with me in exchange for helping you.” I paused. “Even though that is literally the arrangement I have with Delilah, but she’s the one who made the offer. And I don’t want you to feel like I’m going to leave you behind or treat you worse if you suddenly withdraw consent. Okay?”
She was smiling even before I had finished.
“Told you so,” Megan murmured from behind me as she cleaned up.
“I understand, Chris,” she said, then laughed a little. “God, I feel like I’m finally cashing in on all my bad luck. With all the bullshit that’s been happening for so long, it’s about fucking time something goes right. You’re a true gentleman, and I appreciate and understand what you’re saying. Despite how desperate I am, I don’t feel like you’re coercing me in any way. I’m comfortable with this.” She hesitated. “Okay, I’m not completely comfortable with this, but I want to explain that, just so there isn’t any misinterpretation on your part. If I hesitate, or seem uncertain, while we’re, uh, doing it, it’s not because I don’t want to.”
She paused, added emphasis. “I really want to fuck you, Chris. Let me be clear about that. I want to fuck you so bad. But if there’s any uncertainty on my part, it’s because I’ve got a voice in my head screaming at me ‘oh my fucking God, you are cheating you fucking whore what the fuck is wrong with you!?’. Does that make sense?”
“Yes,” I replied. “I get it.”
“Good. That, combined with the fact that I haven’t fucked another guy in over a decade is...it’ll take some getting used to. But I so want to do this, and I absolutely am not backing down from this opportunity. Now...can I please see you naked? I’ve been wanting that pretty badly.”
I laughed, blushing despite myself. “Uh, yeah.”
“There,” Delilah said as she finished washing her back and the backs of her legs. “You’re all clean.”
“Thank you so much. You are such a fucking sweetheart,” Megan said.
Delilah smiled as she came around the front, looking her up and down. “Well, I am, but I also have an ulterior motive.”