by S. Cook
Sensing what I wanted, Mustang rolled over, cradling me against him as he did. He sat up and ripped off his shirt before carefully undoing the buttons on my top.
His eyes lit up with a flash of excitement when he saw that I wasn’t wearing a bra, and his breath caught as he took in the sight of my full, round breasts.
He leaned forward, closing the distance between us as his mouth found my breast, causing me to arch against him from the pleasure of his wet mouth sucking longingly on my nipple and drawing it into a taut point. He assaulted its peaks with his tongue while his hand slid easily beneath my back, holding me close.
I knew I needed to take some measure of control before I came completely undone. I reached for the top button of Mustang’s jeans, opening it and sliding down the zipper as he leaned sideways to accommodate.
I slid closer to him as he kneeled, utter joy sparking across his face as he realized what I intended to do. I propped myself on my elbow as I freed his pulsing erection with my other hand, wrapping his shaft tightly in my fist and lapping at the head of his cock until he nearly begged for me to take him in.
I slid my tight lips down his full length slowly, looking up at him and loving the look of intense rapture on his face. He guided me up and down his length with one hand, while making small thrusts with his hips to meet me halfway. As I stroked my hand along his cock, I heard his breaths coming harsher, until he finally pulled away.
Without a word, he moved beside me and slowly, tantalizingly, finished removing my shirt and helping me out of my jeans next.
Then he took off his pants, stopping to take in the full sight of me lying beside the barely flickering fire, the light shimmering on my skin.
He smiled at me once again, a look that was so rare and raw that it left me speechless each time I saw it.
Bending over me, Mustang kissed me warmly, his mouth stirring in me a hot desire. I pulled him closer to me.
“I need you inside me,” I murmured.
I opened my legs to him. With a low groan, he pressed against me, his cock seeking the warmth there. I held my breath as he moved his hips, pushing into me, his length reaching all the way to my center.
The anticipation he caused by going so slowly was both thrilling and tormenting, making me almost cry out for him to fill me.
He continued to kiss me as he moved in and out, sliding against my growing wetness, until he pulled back and watched the expression on my face, clearly loving the look of absolute elation.
Mustang began to roll his hips with each thrust, making me moan from the sensations running through me.
Without pulling out of me, he rolled onto his back and sat up, pulling me with him and placing me on top of his lap so I could ride him. He kissed one breast and then the other as I moved, my motions growing even more frenzied as he took one of my hard nipples in his mouth again, massaging my other breast with his strong but gentle hand.
He stealthily slid one hand between us until he found my magic spot, pressing his thumb against my clit and rubbing in teasingly small circles, causing me to shriek from the sheer ecstasy of it.
As I ground against him, riding the full length of his hard cock as fast as I could, I called out my enjoyment. I screamed as my orgasm flooded my body with wave after wave of intense pleasure.
Mustang guided my hips with his strong hands, lifting me up and down against him, moving me faster and faster as his own orgasm built up inside him.
I felt him erupt inside me, his own tremors of excitement mingling with mine as we struggled to catch our breaths.
Afterwards, Mustang held me close and nuzzled me gently.
“You smell sweet like wildflowers in the valley,” he whispered against my neck.
“That’s one of the nicest compliments anyone has ever given me,” I told him.
We stayed there beside the fire, until the flames turned into low embers. When the fire finally threatened to go out completely, we each got dressed without a word and reluctantly gathered up our things.
Mustang put a hand on my arm to stop me as I began to button my shirt, smiling again as he took a last, long, lingering look at my body.
“I want to remember how you look in the firelight,” he said hoarsely.
I smiled at his honest words and posed slightly, then finished getting dressed.
He walked me to the steps of my house, his arm steady around my waist as we moved in the dark. At the porch steps, I stepped up on one board and turned to face Mustang, now eye-level with him.
“You’re welcome to come in with me and spend the night,” I whispered with a husky voice.
“I’d rather not come inside.”
“I know it’s hard for you, so please don’t feel like you have to. You’re not going to hurt my feelings,” I said quietly, jerking my head slightly towards the door of my house.
Mustang looked achingly at the door and leaned forward slightly to take a step up onto the porch, but suddenly he took a step back, shaking his head as his gaze dropped to the ground.
“I can’t do it,” he said with a regretful sigh. “Not yet. I’m sorry, Leah. I want to. Believe me, I do.”
He turned away instead and picked up his bag, then kissed me one more time, a long kiss that went on for ages, before walking off into the dark.
I stared after him for a few minutes, watching the way he moved effortlessly across the uneven terrain, waiting until I couldn’t see him anymore before going inside and closing the door behind me.
Chapter 10: Mustang
“Ah...fuck!” I muttered.
I stared up at the rocky ceiling of the cave where I spent most nights. I was torn and confused. More than I’d ever been since Leah had arrived at the ranch.
Things had gotten out of hand quickly and I wasn’t sure where it had left things with us. It certainly wasn’t how I’d expected the evening to end.
Not that I was complaining.
Leah was both beautiful and caring.
Not for the first time I wondered how she could possibly see anything in someone as fucked up as me.
She deserved better.
If I had to think of the type of woman who I’d see myself ending up with, the image in my head was foggy.
I’ve never had a specific type.
Hell, I wasn't even sure whether I’d let someone spend the rest of their life with me.
I wouldn't want to be another person’s everything.
Too much fucking pressure.
My mother would be furious if she heard me thinking like that. She had always encouraged me that I was good enough for anything I put my mind to. She’d supported me in everything that I did, whether I succeeded or failed. To her it didn't matter, the only thing that mattered to her was that I was happy.
She supported me when I signed up for the Army, which was against my father’s wishes, and she sent me weekly updates on how things were going at home. Those letters were the things I lived for.
Her words had gotten me through basic training and it was because of her letters that I went for the Special Forces program. Only the cream of the crop were selected, and because I’d been shooting even before I could walk, I was one of the best in the unit.
General Fillinger saw me for the first time at my initiation. Our test was to shoot a can off a brick wall two-hundred-feet away.
I nailed it.
After that, he took me under his wing and made me one of the best snipers in the force. He teamed me up with Nixo, Geraldo and Martins.
We were the best there was.
Now, I’m the only one who was still alive.
When sunlight from the early morning sunrise shown into the cave, I knew I had to get up. I knew that sometime today Leah would try to find me, and she’d want to talk.
Whether I wanted to or not was still undecided.
What would I even say to her?
What would she say to me and would it be what I wanted to hear?
She couldn’t have feelings for me, because I sure
as hell didn't have the patience for her and her smart mouth, although thinking of her mouth made my cock go rock hard.
We’d had dinner under the tree where I’d spent many nights looking up at the stars and wondering how I got so screwed up inside.
Now it was Leah Taylor’s tree, who smelled like wildflowers.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about her. The smell of her, the taste of her.
Was it a mistake? Maybe.
So why couldn’t I stop thinking about doing it again? And again?
Even though we didn't really know each other that well, or at all for that matter, we connected on a deep level.
I’d never felt that with a single person before.
I pushed myself up in an upright position and decided that I needed to get the talking over and done with.
Which was weird.
I had to admit that talking to her about myself, even if it was just a little insight into what makes me tick, made me feel a tiny bit better.
I felt lighter than I had in a while.
Leah was easy to talk to, and she listened to what I had to say, even though she asked a shitload of questions.
I could kind of understood why though, because the more questions she asked, the more answers she’d get and the more she’d know about me.
The more she knew about me, the more she would understand me.
If that was possible.
I’d given up on understanding myself a long time ago.
I’d lost too many people in my unit, and I’d let them down. I should’ve been there with them, protecting them. Instead they sacrificed themselves for me because I was considered a more valuable asset to the team.
All because I could shoot a damn gun better.
I let them down and they were the ones who paid.
Chapter 11: Leah
In the morning, I woke up feeling like I couldn’t tell where real life dropped off and my dream began.
Had last night been real?
Had I really enjoyed incredible sex with a guy I only barely knew?
A man who haunted my ranch like a ghost and appeared out of nowhere when the occasion suited him?
Was I really that stupid, and yet still that romantic?
There would be time to think about those questions later. Right now, I had laundry to wash and bed linens to clean.
I was thrilled to have fully functional running water. It wasn’t hot water, thanks to the lack of a water heater, but at least it was water. I went out to the back porch where a variety of pots and washtubs hung on hooks from the wall of the house.
One tub, leaning up against the side of the house, was so large that it could only have served as a semi-bathtub, so I dragged it up onto the smaller back porch and began filling it with buckets of water from my tap.
After a solid thirty minutes of filling, I began gathering up my clothes, dirty from the days with little to no water. I began pushing them under the water, adding generous sprinkles of soap powder and stirring the whole thing with a large wooden paddle.
There was still room enough and no need to waste water, so I added the blankets and sheets from the bed and threw in a few towels.
There was a knock on the door, which both surprised and scared the shit out of me. When I opened it, Mustang stood at the foot of the porch.
I smiled awkwardly at him. I didn't really know what to say to him now.
Were we a couple?
“Morning, Leah,” he said simply with a polite nod and a tip of his cowboy hat.
“Morning,” I repeated.
“Do you have a minute?”
“I was going to wash some clothes, but I’ve got a minute, sure,” I said as I stepped out onto the porch. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m not really sure how to answer that question.”
“And why is that?”
“I can see by your expression that you’re just as confused as me.”
“About last night?”
“About what happened between us.”
“Tell me about it,” I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. “Is it supposed to feel this awkward the morning after?”
“Do you feel awkward?” he asked.
“Do you?”
He looked at me and narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I asked you first.”
I opened my mouth to answer but hesitated. What if I gave the wrong answer? What if I told him the truth and he left again? What if I lie and he leaves as well?
He raised his eyebrows expectantly and studied my expression.
“It’s weird,” I finally said. “I don’t know how to act or what to say to you.”
His shoulders drooped slightly, and I didn't think he wanted me to notice, so he shifted his weight uncomfortably.
“Why is that? Is that normal?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Probably because we don’t really know each other that well?”
He studied my face a moment and nodded.
“We never really got to the part where you told me about yourself. Maybe we should’ve done that first before…you know.”
I smiled slightly.
“We weren’t thinking straight.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking away from me.
“Why are you apologizing to me?” I exclaimed. “Last night was great. It was incredible actually.”
“But?” he asked.
“But what?”
“There’s always a but,” he muttered.
“No buts this time.”
“Is it okay with you, what we did?” he asked.
“It was more than okay, like I said,” I answered.
“No, I meant you and me.”
“There’s no law to say that we’re not allowed to do whatever we want,” I said.
“And what exactly are we?”
“We’re two adults who need to talk about this. I’m glad you came here this morning.”
“I suppose.”
“Maybe over dinner we can talk some more?” I suggested.
“I can’t,” he said. “I have some things to do.”
“Well, then I’ll come with you.”
“No,” he said suddenly and looked at me with wide eyes. “You can't come with me.”
“Why not?” I asked and crossed my arms.
“Because you have all that washing to do. It’ will take you most of the day to wring it all out and hang it up on a line.”
I sighed.
“You saw all that, huh?”
“If I can give you a bit of advice, next time don't wash it all at once.”
“But it’s all dirty,” I said, throwing up my hands. “Why not?”
He shrugged and looked at me for a short while. He was clearly reluctant to leave, which was a good sign.
Damn! This man was hard to read.
“Are we okay, Mustang?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, not understanding my question.
“Are we okay?” I asked and motioned to the space between us.
“I suppose we are.”
“It’s a yes or no answer.”
“Then yes.”
“Okay, great,” I said with a smile, feeling a lot more hopeful than I had a few minutes ago.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Later today?” I asked. “Tonight? We could sit outside again.”
“Maybe,” he answered and started to walk away.
“Hey,” I called out and he looked at me over his shoulder. “Will I ever know where you go when you disappear? Will you ever tell me?”
“Maybe one day,” was his answer.
He smiled briefly before he turned away and disappeared, the way he always did.
It baffled me as to where the man disappeared to, but at least he was willing to consider telling me where he went one day, even if his answer was frustratingly vague.
I wondered if he had a big tent set up somewhere. No, that wouldn’t make sense either.
A tent would be more claustrophobic than a building.
I went back into the house and closed the door, hoping that everything was indeed okay between us, and carried on with my washing, completely ignoring Mustang’s advice.
I couldn’t see what difference it would make if I washed everything at once. I would rather get the job over and done with, rather than having to fill the tub again.
When every stitch of clothing or linen was in the tub, I began to stir feverishly, reaching in from time to time to scrub at a stain I remembered on a certain article of clothing.
Rather than go through the hassle of this lengthy chore again anytime soon, I added the last articles of clothing that needed a good washing, shimmying out of my jeans and stripping down to nothing to throw in my shirt, pants, and panties.
Nobody was here, and the only other person who was around had already seen everything I had. Of course, with my luck, the mailman would come out this way today for the weekly delivery.
After soaking all of the items under the water, I went inside for a snack while the soapy water worked its magic. Then I went out back to drain and rinse my laundry before hanging it up to dry on the clothes line that stretched from the house to the corner of the outhouse.
After I wrung out each piece one-by-one, I carried each item inside for a good rinse under the tap then carried it directly outside again to the clothesline. The drips of water splattering my floor would be helpful later, as my next chore was going to be to scrub the floors with a healthy dose of soap and elbow grease.
When everything except the heavy bed quilt was finally fluttering on the clothesline in the breeze that had picked up, I drained the water and set about rinsing the quilt.
When I finally felt like it was as soap-free as possible, I spread it out in the front yard across the stumps from the porch, hoping the sun would do its job in record time.
My eyes traveled to the spot near the ring of stones where my fire had been, a place where the grass was broken down and crushed from the night before.
There hadn’t been any doubt in my mind that me and Mustang had made love there, but seeing the flattened spot in the grass both amused me and made me feel a twinge of guilt.
I shook off the feeling as I spread my quilt out to dry.
