by Clay, Ann
Rain battered down on the shingled roof once again. The wind whistled in chorus with the flapping of loose flying debris across the landscape. The gray skies turned pitch black when the lights around the island flickered to dark. Travis joined in the light-hearted conversation with his new family. They shared stories, but he didn’t for one moment neglect Autumn. He touched her hand or, on occasion, looked down into her face as she picked over her food. He thought their song and dance went unnoticed by everyone at the table, but it had not.
Mer Drace watched him with eagle eyes. She watched him touch Autumn’s hand to draw her attention. Even after fifty years, she recognized the pull of energy so potent that nothing could penetrate it. Not even the watchful look of loving parents mattered. Her heart reminded her of the life that seemed like yesterday. All Demarcus had to do was be in the same room and she couldn’t keep her wits about herself. She sympathized with Autumn. The girl who could eat her brother under the table barely touched one of her favorite dishes.
Mer Drace cleared her throat. “Travis I hear you like pecan pie. Is that right?”
A lazy smile lit his face as he looked down the table at Mer Drace. “Yes, ma’am. It’s one of my favorites.”
“Well, son, it just so happens that there is one on the cooling rack as we speak. So eat up while we go into the kitchen and bring back pie and coffee. Come on, sweetie.” She held a hand out for Autumn.
* * * *
Once Travis and Autumn were behind closed doors they exercised enough patience to allow Travis to shower and slip into a pair of shorts. He used tepid water from a portable tank he and Tempest filled before they turned off the waterline. He was conscious to not use much of it because they didn’t know how long they would be without a water source.
Travis didn’t tarry; his mind was on his wife. With her family only a few doors away, making love to Autumn tonight was a wish and perhaps a long shot. Their interludes, so far, had been heated, and, above all, very noisy. He seemed to lose control where Autumn was concerned.
Autumn waited for him impatiently. She squirmed on the edge of the bed, her feet bouncing against the side of the box spring. Right now her body raged with need. The storm crashing round them couldn’t compete with the desire growing in anticipation of Travis’s loving.
She picked over her dinner earlier, because all of her energy centered on Travis She couldn’t hide her desire for her husband. Heat stirred in the center of her body when he simply looked at her. On one hand, she wanted to tell him to stop looking at her; on the other hand, she loved that he touched her with his eyes and his hands. Her senses roared.
And now as he strolled from the bathroom with moisture still glistening on his hairy chest she couldn’t help but shift her body on the bed. Once he closed the door and sat next to her, he drew his arm around her, their thigh and leg touched as they sat on the side of the bed together.
“You had me extremely worried today, Autumn. Please don’t ever do that again.” He stroked her cheek with his finger.
Autumn turned into his embrace. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“How could I not worry? I would have walked here to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
He paused before gathering her closer to him. “But now that I’m here with you, I’m glad we’re together.” He lifted her hand from her lap and brought it to his lips. “Not exactly how I would’ve done it, but you’re here, and I’m so relieved.” He studied her face carefully, and smiled lovingly at her.
Autumn leaned in and kissed him. “I didn’t exactly keep my promise to wait until we were together to tell my parents about us. Sorry. They bullied it out of me.”
Travis squeezed her tighter. “It’s okay because I think I let it slip myself. I was so upset when I left the house to come here that I told my folks that I had to go and find my wife. It was classic—the expression on their faces, I mean.”
“My mother was the least approving of the group. But overall, Travis I think she really likes you.”
“Well I can be pretty charming,” he teased.
“You think?” she turned her head to the side and smiled up at him.
“I think,” he pulled her onto his lap. “Come here. Let me keep one of my promises, but only if you agree to not be loud.” He ignored his earlier apprehension and captured her mouth. “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll have to stop.”
Between kisses she responded, “I promise.” Autumn couldn’t keep her promise to be quiet or well behaved because Travis made her lose all regard when he made love to her, but she would try.
He pulled her down on the bed. “You have on way too many clothes.”
CHAPTER 31
Travis shoved Autumn’s shirt and tank top above her head releasing her high, firm breasts with nipples pointing straight at him. He wasted no time stripping down her shorts and panties. He entered her with a single thrust, and she accepted him fully. The gasps echoed from them both were captured by their kisses.
Travis feasted and stroked her relentlessly. He pulled in and out of her wet world, alternating long with short quick thrusts. Autumn opened totally, allowing him to move at different angles as he explored the depth and pockets of her warm love canal. The bed rocked and swayed as they moved in unison. Autumn lifted her hips into Travis, and tried to get as much of him as she could. She wrapped her legs and arms around him to keep pace with his rhythm. He grabbed her buttocks and rolled her naughtily into him with each long thrust. Lips clamped to his, she moaned loudly.
Travis pulled his mouth away long enough to look down into her face. “You promised to be quiet, little one,” he whispered breathlessly as he continued to move above her. “Look at me, Autumn.” He commanded.
Autumn wanted to respond to his request, but found it difficult. She finally obliged him and opened her eyes to get a glimpse of his intense passion staring back at her through his beautiful dark eyes. He dug in one long stroke and held it there.
“Please, don’t stop.” Her finger dug into his back.
“Be a good girl.” He moved again, this time, his own body trembled. Teetering on the edge of a thunderous climax, he held on, not wanting to find release until he felt her body shudder. Travis increased the pace and depth of his strokes, as he looked down at her with all the love in his heart. In this age-old dance, he moved in and out her until she screamed. He covered her mouth to silence her. So much for her promise; he would have to reprimand her later. Travis grunted his release, squeezing her hips close into him. Without missing a beat, they started over again until they both didn’t have strength left, and quietly fell into a love-sated slumber.
* * * *
Travis stirred when he heard the banging against the house. He pulled from behind Autumn and slipped on his shorts. Shirtless and barefoot, he fumbled through the dark house, chiding himself for leaving his lantern at the front door. He soon caught a glimmer of light up the hall and followed it. Autumn’s father was donning his rain gear. “I think something came loose on the house.” He acknowledged Travis in a hushed voice.
“I’ll help you.”
“No, son. Go back to bed.”
Travis picked up a lantern and walked back to the bedroom. He shook Autumn lightly. “Put on some clothes, darling. You might have to move to the center of the house.” He kissed the top of her head.
A groggy Autumn sat up and watched as Travis put on a pair of pants and a shirt. “Where are you going?”
“To help your dad. Put on some clothes. I’ll be right back.” He left the room and headed for the front door. When he opened it, the winds were so strong; he could barely keep it from being yanked from his grasp. The porch door flapped opened and closed. The night was pitch black, but when bolts of lightning drifted across the horizon, he could see the blades of torrential rain, that beat down on his face. He found Tempest and Gator clinging to a board with Gator trying to force it into place with the back of a hammer.
Travis quickly
moved in to help hold the plank in place while his father-in-law used both hands and all of his strength to replace the fallen wood. They took one last look around the sides and back of the house before going back inside. The women were up. Autumn lit pillar candles lined up on the mantel. She turned just in time to see Travis come through the door. She would never grow tired of looking at him. Her body still sang from their lovemaking. She smiled and walked over and helped him out of his gear. “Is everything okay out there?”
Travis rewarded her with a light kiss. The waters hammered the island from both sides. He’d been in more storms than he cared to admit. However, he’d never experienced the depth, size, and danger that the water surges around them posed that night. The storm definitely worried him.
Tempest patted him on the back. “Thanks, Travis.” He liked his new brother-in-law. He liked the idea of another man in the family. His Uncle Damon had driven several elderly residents to Lockport to be with family, since they had no one else on the island to care for them through the storm. Generally, he would have been with them during bad weather.
“Not a problem. This is my family too. I just want to do my part.” Travis reached for his hand and shook it before bringing Tempest into a bear hug. He took the towel handed to him and wiped water from his face and neck. “I better get out of these wet pants.” He headed back to the bedroom.
Everyone settled down in the center of the house while the storm whipped the shores, and all standing fixtures brave enough to test it. Rain beat down on the house. Occasionally the loud clash of debris hurtled against the already bowing trees, houses, and other fixed structures could be heard through the strong winds.
Autumn snuggled under Travis on the pallet he constructed next to the mantel. Tempest sat up the portable cot he usually slept on for Mer Drace. He covered her with a layer of comforters, as she settled down with the rest of her family in the large room. Gator took the couch and Maree balled up on the matching loveseat, leaving Tempest on a sleeping bag next to Mer Drace. The scratchy sounds from the portable radio didn’t provide any more than what they already knew about the storm. Emma was over the island and the eye was expected to pass in a couple of hours.
Autumn drifted back to sleep under Travis’s protective arm. The warmth of his body harmonized with the thumping of his heart comforted her to a cozy slumber. He, on the other, hand listened quietly to Gator’s snore, as it competed with the thrashing winds and rain. Sometime later, he finally dozed off. It was the quiet and daylight that woke everyone up. The candles still burned slowly on the mantle.
Tempest and Travis went out to survey the damages. The strong, musty gulf air filled his nostrils. Debris littered the ground like candy sprinkles, but for the most part, there was no structural damage to the house. When Travis arrived the day before, it was almost dark, but now as he looked past all the things that the wind carried with it, Travis could see the shoreline from the back of Mer Drace’s house. Even though they knew the back end of the storm was yet to pass, they picked up litter around the yard. He picked up a bike and remnants of its twisted iron lacked one of its tires and the chain.
The rain stopped for about an hour before it picked up again. Not long afterward, the back end of the storm hit but the winds and rains weren’t nearly as severe as the night before. By late evening, the rain slowly moved to a light drizzle. Mer Drace asked everyone to gather in the family room where they’d slept together, and she offered a prayer of thanks while everyone held hands. They’d come through yet another storm unscathed. She hugged each of them and placed a small kiss on their cheeks.
* * * *
Travis grew anxious to call his parents. He hadn’t talked to them since he left the city the previous morning. Tempest headed back to the mainland, and he went with him to call home and to check on his truck. The energy racing through him couldn’t be suppressed. His eyes roamed the shores as they maneuvered around fallen trees and tree limbs along the narrow road leading to the main thoroughfare. He saw houses with partially missing roofs and porches torn away like paper. People were out cleaning and moving clutter from yards and driveways.
As they approached the bridge, they noticed some damage, but nothing seriously impacting the structure of the only connection to the island from the mainland. Large sections of the levee and freshly established dunes were washed onto Hwy 1. When they arrived back to the docking stations of Tempest’s ferry business, Travis walked around his truck to survey it for damages. Luckily, the truck only had a few nicks. The building had sheltered it from items washed up from the gulf or blown by the strong winds of Emma.
The cell phones were out, but landlines still had intermittent service. Tempest just happened to have a ham radio that he was able to connect to a landline at his job’s central control center. Surprisingly, the phones in New Orleans were working, and his father’s voice came through after the second ring.
“Pop. Travis. I just wanted to check in.” He raised his voice to compete with the static in the line. “Yes, sir. Autumn is fine. We’re all okay.”
There was a pause.
“Probably tomorrow. Depends on if the roads are clear.”
Another pause.
“Yes, sir. I will.”
* * * *
The following day, Autumn shared hugs with her family. She clung to Travis’s hand while she sat between him and Tempest in the truck headed back to the mainland. Travis pulled his truck from the driveway and helped Autumn into it before giving Tempest a strong handshake and hug.
“Take care of my little sister.”
“I will, brother. You’ll have to come to New Orleans to visit us. Let me know when you’re ready.”
“Sure nuff.” Tempest waved as they pulled away.
The longest part of the trip was getting through the two-lane highway in St. Charles Parish. Trees and limbs scattered across the road as they made their way closer to New Orleans. State officials were already moving and hauling away items causing road blockage. When they finally entered his driveway, Travis pulled the truck in front of the garage and parked. The garage doors were locked down before he left for his parents’ house days before, just before the storm intensified.
He walked around and opened the passenger door for Autumn. A steady rain continued even as they drove through the city. She dashed to the door and waited for Travis to unlock and disarm the alarm for the house. She watched him quickly reset the alarm code. When he was done he opened the door for Autumn. As he attempted to enter the house, he stopped her. “Wait, darling. This is the first time crossing this threshold as Mrs. Brooks, right?”
Autumn looked up into her husband’s tired face, noticed the small lines at the corners of his eyes and knew he was exhausted. “Yes, it is.”
“Then, let’s do this right, shall we?”
She smiled. “Yes, Mr. Brooks. Let’s do it right.”
He swooped her up into his arms and crossed the threshold. “Welcome home, my precious wife.”
“Thank you. Now set me down and let me take care of you. I’ll make something quick to eat while you take a shower, okay?” She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“Thanks, babe.” He set her on her feet, hugged her gently, and headed straight for the shower.
Autumn dug through the refrigerator and quickly fixed a couple of sandwiches. She brought a tray and placed it in the center of the king-size bed. She peeled away her clothes as she headed toward the bathroom. She dropped them on top of a hamper before she opened the shower door, and moved into the stall with her husband.
Travis’s head was bent under the spray when he felt Autumn’s hands on his back. He turned and kissed her. With ease, she slipped her hands up and around his neck. She pulled her wet body up against him, deepening the kiss before she pulled away. She took the washcloth from his hand and washed his back. Travis in turn washed her body, moving the sudsy towel slowly across her chest, thighs, between her legs, and down her back.
As they continued the intimate process
, his erection surged and pulsated with every touch, but they made no effort to relieve the heat at the root of their passion. They took their time pampering every curve and bends of each other bodies. When they were done, Travis dried them both with plush, warm towels from a warming rack. They didn’t say one word the entire time. They communicated with the touch of their hands and lips.
Autumn slipped into one of Travis’s T-shirts and he pulled up a pair of shorts. When they climbed into bed, Travis moved the tray that Autumn had prepared toward them. “It’s good to be home, baby.” She glanced at Travis. It was the first thing that either had said anything in the past half hour.
“Yes, it is.” He handed her half of a sandwich. He clicked on the television and they watched the evening news as they ate.
Travis ate his and the other half of Autumn’s sandwich plus the small salad. He sat the tray down by the bed and cuddled with Autumn while he watched sports updates. He didn’t last long. Soon, the television watched him. Autumn eased the remote from his hand and powered off the flat-screen television.
The low light from the wall lamp was still lit. Careful not to wake him, she attempted to get up to turn off the lamp, but his arm circled her and pulled her back against him. He shifted his body onto his side and cuddled her close. Autumn rested in his arms without further protest. She eventually drifted off to sleep. They slept peacefully through the night without even stirring.
The phone rang and Travis reached behind for the cordless phone, and without hesitation, raised it to his ear. “Hello.”
“Mom told me you made it in.” Michael’s voice greeted him from the other end of the phone.
“Hi, Mike. We made it in late yesterday evening.”
“You guys are good?”
“Yes, we’re good.”
“You might want to call Trish. I know she must have left at least a hundred messages on your phone. Mom finally made her quit. She’s been tripping. She’s a little worried about you.”
