SACRED GRIP

by Allen, J. C

  Roost smirked.

  “Alright, psychic boy, tell me what the future holds so I can go buy me a damn lottery ticket.”

  I laughed just before I got a notification from Clarence—the girls were here and ready to come up.

  “I would,” I said. “Except I already got myself a lottery ticket. And I won.”

  12

  Eve

  By the time the elevator doors opened to Derek’s condo, all of the minor feelings of negativity had receded enough that I looked forward to seeing him once again.

  Rather than try and fight them or hope that they would magically vanish, I just accepted they weren’t going anywhere. And, strangely enough, by accepting them so much, I realized that they were that much easier to handle.

  “Sup, whore?” Matty said when the doors opened.

  “Hey, fag! Hey, Derek!” Tara said, completely oblivious.

  I just stepped through a little dumbfounded that two of my closest friends could call each other such names and have it be like me saying “Hi Mom, hi Dad!” I saw Derek and smiled. I wanted to rush up and kiss him… but that seemed a little bit too like I was desperate.

  And while we were obviously way past the point of playing games on if we liked each other, I wasn’t past the point of continuing to have a little bit of fun today. I was going to tease him just a bit longer, certainly while Tara and Matty were still here in the apartment. So, instead, I blew him a kiss hello, which he reciprocated with dramatic flair.

  “You guys survived your girls day out!” he said. “Oh, it was so strenuous being here with Roost! I barely survived, let me tell you!”

  “Yer a drama queen worse than the boys who dress in drag!” Matty said back.

  “Ain’t no one know how to do it like me, boys,” Tara said.

  The three bantered some more, to which I just let them go off into their own little world. It was cute and nice to have moments of levity like this, especially knowing what lay on the other side of it. Even after Derek and I… perhaps… had a chance to go further than we did this morning, he’d have to head right back out into the teeth of the tiger and attack that tiger.

  “Eve?”

  “Huh?” I turned around to Tara’s voice.

  “Roost here says there are girls who can work it better than I. Clearly, he ain’t ever seen me!”

  “That’s all good, darlin’,” Matty said. “But I, for one, need to get home.”

  It was obvious what Matty was doing. He wasn’t tired, and he certainly didn’t seem fed up by Tara—almost seemed to draw off her energy, honestly.

  But I appreciated it all the same.

  “And yer comin’ with me, Tara.”

  Thank heavens. I love you, Tara, but I need Derek now.

  “Ya got ice cream back at the place, Roost?”

  “Do I? Ya think I got this fat eatin’ asparagus and veggies?”

  More laughter erupted, but now it felt more like the friendly, appropriate laughter family had for each other when the underlying tone was one of “OK, this is nice, but it’s time to move on.”

  I went to hug Tara goodbye, and she gave me a gentle but long squeeze. It wasn’t hard to pick up on what she meant—it was a hug of “remember what we talked about today.” I wouldn’t.

  I heard Derek and Matty exchange a handshake and a one-armed hug in true guy form. Matty then came over, put an arm around Tara, and said, “Challenge ya to see who can eat the most ice cream.”

  “Oh, hell yes, big boy, it’s on!”

  Once more, that familiar but gentle laughter echoed through the apartment.

  I waved goodbye and watched as Tara and Matty headed out and down the elevator, knowing Derek and I wouldn’t have a lot of time alone together. While they were going to get ice cream and hang for a bit, at some point, Matty would be back shortly for Derek. And while last night had helped some, Matty had also made it abundantly clear earlier he was going out with Derek when the time came.

  And while that was probably done more for Derek’s benefit than mine, it was also quite clear that I’d have to fend for myself.

  I looked back with it being just us, seeing that Derek was now back in bed. He still had his white wrapping on, but he didn’t seem as sluggish as he had in the morning.

  “Are you still upset?” I said. “I imagine your blue balls might have hurt you.”

  “Nope,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m all good! Did Tara and you have fun?”

  Uh huh. Sure you are, bub. But I’ll play along.

  “Yup! We went to that outlet mall again, even went to Medieval Times again,” I said, grinning over at him.

  “Should I be worried?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did the same knight have an eye for you, Miss Kellerman? Did they try and sway your heart with another rose?”

  “Not at all,” I said with a giggle. “The knight gave Tara a rose this time.”

  “Good,” he said, grinning. “I won’t have to kill anyone then.”

  “Woah now,” I said, smirking. “You’d challenge a knight just for giving me a rose?”

  “I’d challenge God, himself, for eyeing your kiester,” he answered with a smirk, “And, supposedly, he’d be the one I’d have to thank for making that kiester in the first place.”

  “Good to know,” I said, laughing as I rolled my eyes. “It sure sounds like you have some pent up energy. Almost like someone might have… teased you earlier, hmm?”

  I said this as I strummed a finger over his thigh. He was trying to be coy, but it was so obvious that he was aroused—most notably by the way the blankets around his crotch suddenly elevated like a mountain—that I didn’t even bother to call him out. He knew how full of shit he was.

  “Maybe so,” he said, trying to be serious. “You know, we don’t have much time until Roost gets back.”

  “Oh? And why would that matter?”

  “Why?” he said. “Because I’ve been begging to have you here all day and I finally got it and I don’t want to waste it!”

  “Oh my,” I said. “Someone sounds desperate!”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” Derek said, practically begging with the words. “I am desperate for you Eve! I want to make love to you!”

  As if to further tease the point, I slid my fingers under the blanket and grabbed his fully swollen cock, sensually rubbing it with an erotic smile on my face.

  “Is this helping?”

  “It’s a start!”

  Oh, how fun it was to tease Derek.

  “You know, luckily for you,” I said, deciding the facade could now—slowly—drop. “I was pretty close to making a move on you this morning. Oh, for how naughty you were, you wouldn’t have deserved it, but God, are you tempting. How does it feel? To know I was so close?”

  “Are you close now?”

  Men. Always getting right to it.

  Not that I mind.

  “Would you like me to be?”

  I watched Derek for a moment, not even realizing I was holding my breath waiting for his answer. My hands went still.

  A moment later, he was leaning forward and slammed his lips on mine. I moaned, arching against his kiss as I ran my tongue against his own. He groaned, wrapping his arms around my waist as we continued to kiss.

  And the teasing is over.

  Thank God!

  “Mm! Can’t believe you thought you’d have to ask that,” he said as he slowly pulled away from my lips. “I hate that we have to make this quick.”

  “Then let’s not make this wait too long,” I said, already beginning to shiver from excitement. “Teasing’s done. Fuck me, Derek!”

  He grinned and all but ripped off my shirt and bra, letting my breasts spill out from underneath. I smirked as he gazed down at my breasts, his eyes seeming glued to my chest. I beamed under his attention, licking my lips.

  “D-damn, you are so sexy,” he said, grinning wickedly. “You know what waiting for this moment has done to me?”

  “Shut up and don’t make me wait f
or your touch,” I said, arching back for his touch.

  “Deal, but it’s my time,” he said, flipping me on my back in a sudden movement that caused me to yelp in surprise.

  He then leaned down, capturing one of my nipples in his mouth as he began to play with one of my other breasts. I shivered, arching against his touch, loving the feel of his mouth and hands on my sensitive breasts.

  "O-oh! It feels amazing!" I panted.

  "Mmm! Your breasts are amazing!" Derek groaned.

  "Oh! M-more! I want to see you too!" I smirked, beginning to slide off his shirt.

  As his sexy bare chest was exposed, I began to move my hands down his chest, moving to his pants. I grinned as I unzipped his fly before slipping off his jeans and boxers in a single tug. I grinned as his thick, hard cock sprung out, and, shivering with anticipation, I began to travel my hand along its length once more, enjoying the feel of his pulsing eagerness in response to my touch.

  "Ooh! Your dick is so sexy!" I grinned. "I need to taste it!"

  "Mmm! Me too! I want to taste you, too!"

  After a moment of throwing hips around and minor communication, we had tumbled and rolled into a sixty-nine position. I began to lick at his cock, jerking the shaft of his dick in conjunction with my tongue’s motion. I moaned, continuing to suck and jerk his cock, enjoying the feeling in my mouth and hand. I knew we didn’t have a lot of time, but I didn’t want to rush things, not when I felt as good as I did.

  Not that with Derek having to wait all day, I suspected we had to wait any length of time.

  "Mmm! Your touch and mouth feel so good!" he said.

  I tried to get words out in response, but I just moaned in pleasure. As usual, Derek had me under his physical spell, and there was nothing I could really do but indulge in the sensations that coursed through my body.

  He groaned, beginning to lap at my pussy, pushing two of his fingers inside me. I shivered, bucking against him as he continued to finger-fuck me hard as he continued to simultaneously lap at my clit. I moaned, sucking at his offerings, continuing to jerk him off as I sucked the head and mewling excitedly at the beads of precum that seeped out.

  “Oh fuck! Mm-Eve, your mouth… feels so good!” he cried out.

  I couldn’t fucking take it. Like Derek, I’d waited twelve goddamn hours for sex, and I wasn’t waiting another twelve seconds.

  "I can't wait anymore! I need you inside me so bad, Derek!”

  "Oh!” he said with pleasant surprise. “As you wish.”

  I shivered, moving into doggy style and lifting my ass up, panting in pleasure. I looked back, needing his cock inside me. I began to wiggle my ass, pleading with my body for him to make love to me.

  “Derek,” I moaned breathlessly.

  As if on command, his cock twitched just outside of me. For how horny this was making me, I began to think more twelve hour delays were worthwhile.

  Just one problem with that—we actually had to last twelve hours in between sessions to make it work.

  He didn’t make me wait any longer than twelve more seconds as he slid behind me, slamming his full length deep inside. I gasped out, letting a cry through the entire apartment as he filled me. This was easily the fucking best part of the day.

  "You feel so fucking good, Eve!” he said, beginning to thrust inside me.

  "That’s it, Derek! Make me feel good!” I said, beginning to push back against his cock.

  I moved against him as he continued his own motions, thrusting his cock deep inside me. I whimpered, enjoying the feeling of all of him as he penetrated deeper and deeper with every thrust, and I couldn’t help but also push back against him. He groaned, taking my hips and moving even faster. I could tell he was losing himself to the raw passion.

  On any other night, I might have slowed us down, encouraging us to indulge in the feelings a little longer. But tonight? Tonight was about making us both come as quickly as possible.

  "Oh god, Derek! It feels so good,” I said, whimpering in please. “Yes, yes, yes!”

  "Oh! So fucking good,” Derek said.

  I shivered, continuing to push back against Derek as he filled me deep and hard. As we continued to get lost in the passion, I could feel myself growing close. I could feel that he was getting close too, and I wanted to come with him. The two of us had had many a simultaneous orgasm before, but with it happening so quickly, I no longer just wanted it—I fucking needed it!

  "I'm getting close, Eve!" Derek said, beginning to shake in pleasure.

  "Me too, Derek!” I panted.

  I whimpered, feeling my orgasm grow close as Derek continued to pound deep and hard inside me, his cock continuing to piston deeper and deeper as it expanded for the final push of cum. I shivered, feeling my orgasm growing closer as I continued to push back against him. God almighty, how he could make me feel so… so…

  Indescribable!

  "Oh, I’m so close!” I said, shaking in pleasure.

  "Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuuck!”

  I cried out as Derek began to come. I joined him, losing myself in the ecstasy. We had both completely lost ourselves in the moment, coming undone together. I wanted to stay lost in this feeling of pure bliss forever—it was the duality of orgasms, that in the moment, they seemed to last forever, but once they finished, they seemed to have barely lasted a single second.

  And so it was that, a short time later, we both finished our orgasms, and I laid out, exhausted. I fell forward in the bed, trying to catch my breath. Derek fell beside me, wrapping his arms around my waist. Most other nights, this was a moment of sweetness and tenderness, a feeling that I could fall into him and never have to worry about anything ever again.

  And then his phone rang.

  I could immediately feel how tense he suddenly had become. And it wasn’t hard to figure out why.

  I knew what happened next.

  I hated that once again a perfect moment was about to be ruined, all because Derek had a mission.

  Just accept what you can control. You can only control your reaction. So whatever happens, go with it.

  “I don’t want to leave,” Derek murmured against me as I moved to slide away from him.

  Well, fuck.

  “I don’t want you to either,” I said, glancing down. “But this is the last clue, right? Who knows what you’ll find, right? After this, we should be able to start striking at them and ending it?”

  He nodded, the frown never leaving his face as he slipped out of bed. He checked his phone, confirmed it was Matty, and shot off a quick text before continuing to talk with me.

  “That’s the idea,” he said. “Roost was telling me this morning after you left that his intel believes once we take a look at this, we’ll have all the intel we need. Honestly, I’m not convinced of that fully. Falcon and his team have ways of fucking with us that we haven’t even thought of yet, and I’m not too keen to find out how. But… it’s all we’ve got right now.”

  “You’ll have backup right?”

  “More than backup,” I said. “Roost and I will be coming in after the three Marines who were with me yesterday scan the area. So if there’s a firefight to be had, we won’t hit it until after the fact.”

  “Good.”

  It was something, at least, if not everything I wanted.

  But to get what I wanted—freedom for us—we all needed more time, more bloodshed, and more risk.

  Like me, I could see that, even without the detriment of having left yet, he was still feeling the effects of our parting. In that, I felt a strange, albeit depressing, sense of kinship, a feeling of connecting in that instant that was absolutely bittersweet in all that it represented. It felt like the sort of thing we might have studied in some classical literature class. Like something from ancient mythology, perhaps.

  One of those timeless, so-called “beautiful” tragedies.

  “Tragedy,” of course, being the operative word. And not something that will happen here. Because Derek is a hero who lives.

 
Right?

  I watched as he begun to get dressed, hating the dull emptiness that had begun to grow. After such an intense moment, it felt like such a sin to be ruining it like this. But it was the reality of our lives at the moment, and it was truly inescapable.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Derek said, sliding his jacket on. “I love you, Eve.”

  “I love you too,” I said, watching as he leaned in to kiss me before sliding out from the room.

  Leaving me to my own thoughts.

  Leaving me alone.

  I tried to pull in the advice Roost had given me and to control only what I could control. I could not control the presence of Falcon, at least not on my own. But I could control my reaction to Derek’s leaving and the danger he faced.

  Unfortunately, I had not yet really mastered how to control that quite yet.

  13

  Derek

  As I made my way toward the elevator, hating that I had to leave Eve once again after the sex we’d just had, I began to do something I didn’t do often.

  I daydreamed.

  Today had been a weirdly carefree day, a strange feeling for having been shot the night before and for going right back out there. Roost and I had traded jokes, Eve and Tara had had a girl’s day out, and when they came back, the humor and banter continued, as if we weren’t in the middle of a war but in the middle of a tropical vacation. It led me to begin thinking of where we might go once this was all done.

  Italy came to mind first, obviously. Eve had gotten me a picture of such a place. But if Roost and Tara didn’t like it, I could also see us going to the Caribbean, Mexico, or someplace maybe even in South America. Money wasn’t the issue, it was just a matter of heading somewhere warm and free of danger.

  But as soon as I opened my drawer to grab my gun, ensured it was loaded, and packed a few magazines, the visions of the beach vanished as quickly as I hoped Falcon’s life would when I saw him. I made my way to the elevator, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes once the elevator began moving down. A part of me hoped that there’d be nothing there tonight, that this would all be over after tonight.