Fire & Flesh

by Kerri Carr

  “Erica?” Elliott asked.

  “She’s going to call her Erica—if it’s a girl,” Alice supplied.

  “After Ross’s father, I guess?” Elliott raised an eyebrow.

  “Mm-hmm,” Avery managed.

  Elliott dropped his head for a moment. “You do know he couldn’t have been the father?”

  “Yeah, Manny said. Ross was… dysfunctional that night.”

  Elliott laughed. “Ross was always dysfunctional.”

  “But we loved him,” Manny added.

  “So that begs the question…” Alice began, glancing at the Marines. “Who’s the real father?”

  “Don’t!” Avery hissed. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “What?” Manny asked. “Of course it matters. Your kid will need a father, and—”

  “I’ll go and live with my Mom. I’ll tell her what happened to Ross. She’ll look after me.”

  “Hell, no way, little lady,” Elliott said. He glanced at Manny, who nodded minutely. “We Marines gotta stick together, and that includes our kids too.”

  “We Marines?” Avery wiped away another tear. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “I’m saying, there were twelve of us that night.”

  “Eleven, really,” Alice corrected him. “Plus three of them were with me.”

  “Okay, we’re not counting Ross, but those three? I was one of them, and so was Manny, and we went on to enjoy some fun with this crazy lady.” He laid a big hand on top of Alice and Avery’s, engulfing them both.

  “You took me from behind,” Alice said.

  Avery’s cheeks warmed. “I think I was on top of you.”

  “You do remember!” Alice said.

  “Some of it, yes.”

  “My point is,” Elliott continued, “Ten or eleven of us treated you to some Marine loving, so ten or eleven of us could be the kid’s father.”

  “But everyone’s gone. Everyone except you guys.”

  “And so that means we have a responsibility toward you,” Elliott said.

  Manny nodded. “I had a word with the paymaster before we came here. Ross’ sister is married, and has no claim. But you, as his fiancée are eligible.”

  “I thought I had to be married for that to work.”

  Elliott rocked his head. “Yeah, most of the time that applies. But when I told him you were also pregnant, he put wheels in motion.”

  “I don’t understand. Wheels?”

  “The Marine Corps will compensate you for his death, Avery.”

  “But now we know he wasn’t the father…”

  Elliott leaned closer. “I won’t tell if you don’t. Besides, you already slept with him before and after that night, didn’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then who’s to say otherwise? In the meantime, we’d both like to volunteer our services.”

  “Oh? For what?”

  “Your welfare.”

  “Can Manny look after my welfare?” Alice grabbed his muscular arm and hung on tight. He grinned.

  Elliott bowed slightly. “Then I’ll be responsible for yours—until you no longer have need of me.”

  Avery thought about the offer, then sighed. “I’m not sure I could go through it all again.”

  “Go through what?”

  “The worry. The pain of losing someone.”

  Elliott leaned back in surprise. “We’re not going anywhere, Avery. Manny lost his second-favorite paw, so he’s out of action. I’ve taken enough shrapnel to bar me from action for at least five years. Plus I’ve been offered a training role right here.”

  “I might become a fitness instructor,” Manny said.

  “Really?” Alice cried. “That’s wonderful!”

  “No more worrying about plane crashes?” Avery asked.

  “Unless one lands on my head, I’m safe as houses.”

  “I’m happy to hear that.”

  “Now, if that’s all sorted, I’m gonna use the bathroom. Then I’ll snag a waitress on my way back. I’m getting hungry.” He pulled on the big wheels, then spun away from the table to propel himself toward the men’s room.

  “It’s nice to know little Erica will be looked after.” Avery rubbed her bump as she watched him go.

  “And she could have a great father as well, if you like.”

  “Father? You mean Elliott? He wouldn’t want to—”

  Manny leaned closer. “There’s something you should know about Elliott. They call him Mister Fertile. He can get a woman pregnant just by looking at her.”

  Avery laughed. “That’s quite a story.”

  “Yep.” Manny leaned back. “He’s impregnated every woman he ever slept with.”

  “Not to mention he was the first one to… you know.” Alice raised an eyebrow.

  Manny nodded. “Elliott was in like a Jackrabbit. He was your first.”

  “My first?” Avery stared toward the men’s room as she rubbed her growing belly.

  “Plus,” Manny continued. “she might have been his last.”

  “His last?” Alice asked. “Why?”

  “He took some shrapnel out in the desert about two days after that party.”

  “Was he badly hurt?”

  “He needed some…” He lowered his voice. “…delicate surgery. Down below. He’s fathered his last child, by all accounts.”

  “Oh. My. God.” Alice grinned, then pressed her fingers against her mouth. “Little Erica could be his only chance at a family now.”

  “A family…” Avery murmured. “But does he really want a family?”

  “It’s all he talked about since the surgery,” Manny said. “He was pretty low about it.”

  “And Erica might still be his,” Alice said.

  Manny shrugged. “Elliott has a long-standing reputation.”

  “Speaking of long-standing…” Alice grinned. “Was everything damaged by the shrapnel?”

  “Oh, no. He tells me the fun part still works. But he’s firing blanks these days.”

  “Maybe we should test it out later?” Alice suggested.

  “Hey!” Avery cried. “Hands off… my… my…” She stared at her friend as her words slowed to a halt. “Oh. My. God.”

  “And we have a winner,” Alice said. “Both of us do.”

  Avery glanced down. “Maybe I should call her Ellie instead?”

  *****

  The double wedding took place eighteen months later. Avery waited at the altar, watching proudly as Elliott lumbered slowly up the aisle, watched over by Manny, who was ready to aid him. Two army medics watched from the back of the church, shaking their heads in wonder.

  The pair had dispensed with the normal tradition, where the bride would walk up to the groom, because Elliott had set himself the target of walking unaided by the day of the wedding. It had driven his rehabilitation team crazy, and they had advised him not to push too hard. But a Marine never listened to doubts—or medical advice.

  And there was the issue of the new baby, which was due any day now. Avery had also faced difficulty in walking, and had needed careful assistance to get to the altar. Contrary to all medical opinion, ‘Mister Fertile’ had managed to father another child, and this time there was no doubt as to the father’s identity. Avery’s dress bulged at the front, a sure sign she was having a boy, her mother said.

  Beside her, Alice bounced on her heels with excitement.

  “Be careful you don’t wake the babies,” Avery warned. She cast a glance at the newly-born Manda, and her own little Ellie, sleeping side-by side in their buggies.

  “Sorry, sorry,” Alice whispered, barely able to contain herself. “It’s just so exciting to see him walking without crutches. He’s worked so hard.”

  “Manny’s new arm looks good too,” Avery commented. The left sleeve hadn’t been empty for some time. Manny had volunteered to trial a whole series of prosthetic arms for wounded veterans, and would often be seen playing ball with kids in the park as he got to grips with the untr
ied tech of bionic arms.

  “Yep. He can open jar lids for me now, and yesterday, he put up a picture all by himself. The wonders of technology.”

  “And here we are, two new moms about to marry our very own robocops.”

  “Our supermen, you mean. And you’re not a new mom. You’re on your second already.”

  “I’ll be a new mom for the second time if he doesn’t get here soon.” She rubbed her bump absent-mindedly.

  “He’s doing his best,” Alice reminded her.

  “I know. I was kidding.” Elliott had been a wonder since the funeral, calling at the house every day, and taking Avery out for meals and shopping trips. He was so attentive that she had fallen in love with him, and when he’d confessed his feelings for her one winter’s night, they’d kissed eagerly and spent the night together.

  Two days later, her baby girl had been born, and she’d named her Ellie, after the man who had taken such good care of her.

  Elliott had turned out to as perfect a father as he had been a partner, protecting the little girl with a fierce passion. When he asked Avery to marry him a few months later, she had no reason to hesitate. A week later, she was delighted to hear Manny had proposed to Alice.

  “Obviously the guys talk about us at work,” Alice had observed.

  “Obviously.”

  A loud cheer filled the church when Elliott reached the altar. Climbing the two steps unaided was beyond him for the moment, and he accepted Manny’s help gratefully.

  “I’ll manage them better next time,” he whispered to Avery.

  “Next time?” She almost hit him with her bouquet. In such a fragile state of balance, the impact of the flowers would have knocked him backwards, so she elected to spare him.

  ****

  The double wedding was conducted without further drama, and the newly-married couples emerged triumphant from the church—although Elliott was now leaning heavily on the army medic’s shoulders.

  “Between your legs and her belly, I doubt you’ll be consummating the marriage any time soon,” Manny said to his friend.

  “Don’t you believe it, buddy. A good Marine always rises to the occasion.”

  Elliott was as good as his word. Although he needed help to get to their marriage suite, the moment the door was closed, he grabbed Avery and sat her on his lap.

  “My, aren’t we keen?” She was silenced by his firm lips, and was soon kissing him hungrily. One hand was big enough to cup both her buttocks; the other stroked her hair.

  “At long last, you’re all mine.” He treated her to a deep movie-villain chuckle, then applied his lips to her neck, just below the ear.

  She shivered. “Save your strength, lover. The reception’s in two hours.”

  “We have a whole two hours to enjoy?”

  “You should use it to rest.”

  “Not a chance.” He returned to kissing her neck. Heat flushed her skin where his lips landed. Elliot was being sly. He knew she melted whenever her neck was nuzzled and kissed.

  “Not fair! Seriously, baby,” she groaned. “You did great… back at the church, but you need… to pace yourself.”

  “A Marine never paces himself.” He kissed her ear, sucking her lobe. “A Marine goes flat-out until he drops.”

  “And that’s what worries me. You’re not a Marine tonight. You’re a husband and a father, and main host at the reception. Tomorrow, you can be all Marine on me again.” She writhed in his lap as heat spread down her neck and across her chest.

  “I can be all Marine on you tonight, if you like.” He winked at her.

  “Seriously? You want… to make love… more than you want… to rest?”

  “Seriously.” He trailed his tongue across her bare shoulder, then downward so he could explore her wedding day cleavage. Avery sighed as he worked his way across the top of her breasts, then back up to the other side of her neck. He moved her hair out of the way so he could attend to the soft, sensitive skin beneath her ear.

  “There’s no way…” He sucked gently at her earlobe. “…you can resist me.”

  “I can too,” she lied. “I can stop you… whenever I want. Oh fuck…”

  “Even when I do this?” He sucked on the skin beneath her ear, and stroked the tip of his tongue upwards over and over.

  “Mmm…” She pressed her forehead to his shoulder and clung to him. Her hips rolled around. His hardness pressed into her leg, indicating his readiness for her. He would feel so damn good inside her, she knew. But he needed to rest, he did, really he did…

  But maybe one fuck wouldn’t do any harm. If she was quick and took control. She could make him come quickly, she was sure. And it would feel so good to have him inside her. So damn good.

  “I love you, baby,” she murmured. “I want to make love to you so much, I really do, but-”

  He grabbed her buttocks—with both hands this time—and spun her round until she fell back onto the bed. He was careful to slow her fall. The last thing they needed was an unexpected birth on their wedding night. She laughed out loud at his antics. Elliott never let a little thing like debilitating injuries slow him down.

  “But you need to rest,” she protested.

  “I do?” He bent to kiss her neck again. Heat flushed her neck, her chest, and her pelvis. His erection was hot against her leg. It would feel so good, she knew. And it would be so easy to slip inside… Her lower body warmed at the thought of him sliding his hardness into her. Suddenly, she needed him. She needed to make love to him.

  “Okay, baby, okay. You win,” she said softly. “Your devious plan has worked.” Her hand reached up to stroke his face.

  “It did? That was easier than I thought it would be.”

  “But we do this my way, okay? No exhausting antics—until after the reception,” she added as he started to protest.

  “Sure, babe.” He caught her hand and kissed it. “Whatever you say. I know you’re only taking care of me.”

  “You big, dumb bear. Lie back on the bed and let me take care of you properly.”

  Still reluctant to hand over control, Elliott obeyed, shuffling back from the edge of the bed. Avery rose up onto her knees and towered over him until he was settled. The skirt of her large wedding dress—her mother’s choice— covered half the bed, it seemed. She lifted it out of the way as she straddled him, then let it settle back onto the bed, hiding his lower body. Her hips rocked, rubbing her increasingly-hungry pussy against the front of his pants.

  “How’s that baby?”

  Instead of answering, he reached down, fighting past the layers of wedding dress, and stroked her pussy with his thumb.

  “No panties?”

  “Not today. I decided to go commando.”

  “Commando?” he laughed.

  “Unzip that monster and I’ll show you what I can do with it.”

  He did as he was told, and was treated to the exquisite sensation of wet, slippery lips sliding back and forward along his hard shaft.

  “Oh, wow.”

  “How’s that for starters?”

  “Perfect. More, please.” He grinned up at her. She titled her hips, rubbing along his full length, coating him with her juices.

  “Oh, boy…” she groaned. “Oh, boy, that’s the spot, right there.”

  “You having fun without me?”

  “Having fun… with you,” she groaned. “Oh, wow…” She pressed her clit against his slippery cock and rubbed herself back and forward along his shaft.

  “That feels so damn good.”

  “Uh-huh…” she murmured. Her eyes were fixed on his face.

  “And the best thing is, I’m not exhausting myself, just as you wanted.”

  “You’re… loving… this…”

  “Damn straight.” He reached up and pulled down the bodice of the dress, freeing her breasts. He caressed one, stroking the nipple with his thumb, and she squeezed the other, gripping it roughly. Her lips pressed together as she moaned and squeaked her way to a shivering, gentle cli
max.

  “Oh, fuck, holy shit!” Her mouth fell open and she gasped in air.

  “That’s the way, baby. You have fun.”

  “Oh? You… not having… fun?”

  “I’m loving this.”

  “So how about we take it to the next level, Marine?”

  “I’m ready if you are.”

  “Oh, I can feel you’re ready.” She slid forward along his length until the tip slid past her clit, then arched her back. With a twitch of his muscles, and a wriggle of her hips, he slid into position, and Avery bore down on him.

  “Oh, baby…” she cried. She pressed her lips together as he slid deeper, filling her passage with masculine heat.

  “You’re so tight around me.”

  “And you’re so hard for me.”

  “I love you, Avery.”

  “I love you, Elliott. You’ve made me… the happiest woman… in the world.”

  She began to ride him, rising up and down on his length, relishing the wet noises their coupled bodies made. Elliott tried—once—to lift up her dress so he could see the action, but there was too much fabric. The dress defeated him, so instead, he concentrated on caressing Avery’s breasts, teasing the swollen nipples until she cried out.

  As they made love, cries of ecstasy reached them through the wall, and they grinned at each other. Alice and Manny were hard at it in the next suite, enjoying each other as much as they could.

  “I wonder what else he can do with that new arm,” Avery said.

  “The hand is detachable,” Elliott confirmed. “And can be replaced with other devices. Battery powered ones, he tells me.”

  “Oh, my God, wouldn’t that be great?”

  “I could ask him to show you, if you like.”

  She slapped his arm. “Don’t you dare!”

  He laughed, then groaned as they resumed loving, with Avery moving faster on him as her nearby friend cried out her ecstasy.

  “Oh, yeah, baby. Like that,” he groaned.

  “You gonna cum for me, baby? You gonna cum inside me?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I want to feel you cum inside me, baby. I want to make you cum so much.”

  “Uh-huh. Keep doing that.”

  “This?” She rolled her hips as she bounced up and down.

  “Oh, yeah. That. Fuck, yesss…” His hips lifted as his climax hit. He dropped his hands from her breasts and caught her wrists, squeezing hard as his entire body tensed. Avery chuckled as liquid heat filled her, warming her passage and pushing her closer to her second orgasm.