Shadows and Ash: Pulp Friction 2014 Finale

by Harner, Laura

  “It can be done wherever, whenever we want, Cannon…in my room, in my office…in here…”

  “So…this is just dim lighting and mood music? This room…I’ve been waiting to come in here for months and it’s just for atmosphere?” Was he disappointed?

  “No. Later…when you get more comfortable… This room will always hold surprises for you, Cannon. It will be the place we feel the most…where we explore ourselves. But there’s no rush, we’ll have a lifetime to do it.”

  A spark of humor chased his disappointment away. “You may not be in any hurry…but I am.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Finn unrolled a condom down his length, and moved immediately into position.

  Cannon didn’t have time to catch his breath, to speak. Finn pushed in, Cannon’s muscle stretched, and the thick cock filled him in one long, hard lunge.

  “Ugh…” His breath expelled swiftly. The chains rattled, his muscles spasmed.

  Finn withdrew and then surged inside again. Cannon’s cock throbbed, he needed to touch it…needed friction so he could come. “Please…I need…need you to touch me. Touch my cock.”

  Finn laughed again, a sound so pure and good-humored Cannon could have sworn he was going to get what he wanted, that he’d feel that hard hand closing around his cock soon.

  Instead, Finn just kept moving, in and out, steady as their heartbeats, only not nearly so fast, and Cannon was dying…dying of the need to breathe, the need to release cramped muscles…the need to come. Heat and tension built and spiraled and he could move scarcely at all, a little bit of wiggle room, not enough to influence their speed or the angle of Finn’s thrusts, not enough to get over the edge.

  “Please…” He groaned, becoming frantic.

  “That’s right…let me hear how much you need…”

  The pleas came fast and loud, scattered between urgent breaths and fervent moans. Finally, Finn’s body grew tense, his movements jerky. Cannon gathered his senses, dragged in a deep breath, and then Finn’s hand closed on his cock.

  Instantly the tremors convulsed through his body, spasm after spasm of ecstasy rippled through him, and warm semen spurted, splattering on his chest in three violent surges, just as Finn came, jerking, filling the condom in three final thrusts.

  The after sex…the cuddling…the letting your breath return to normal…the easing of the ache in your lungs and thighs… That part of sex was necessarily short.

  Cannon struggled for breath while Finn withdrew, disposed of the condom, and dealt with the chains.

  “Can you sit up?” Finn asked, wrapping an arm around Cannon’s shoulders and helping him up. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m good. Better than…” He slid down the table, wincing at the ache in his thighs as his feet landed on the floor. “That was…”

  “Just the beginning.” Finn finished for him. “Listen, I need to go out and get Hershey back inside. Why don’t you take another shower and go on up to bed?”

  Chapter Twelve

  The drive from the lodge to Charlie’s cabin was a short one—slightly over a mile, and Amos kept his hand on Charlie’s thigh the whole time. He could feel Charlie cut his eyes to the side and heard him swallow. They’d had a brief argument over where to stay that night—Amos was insistent on the cabin while Charlie thought maybe they should go to Amos’s condo to get away from the drama if only for a night. Needless to say, Amos had won.

  “Amos?”

  “Yes, love?”

  “I…I missed not making love with you the other night.”

  Amos let out a slow sort of chortle, low and sensual. “It makes it all the much better for tonight, don’t you think, sweetheart?”

  Charlie’s voice came out of the dark. “While I was taking the pictures, I…I thought some very bad things.”

  Squeezing his thigh hard, Amos let all the care and love he had for his amazing lover into his voice. “I know you, Charlie Turner. You may think bad thoughts, but you are one of the finest, best men I know. You don’t need to tell me or confess any sins, love. I know your great big heart. Nothing you could ever do would be bad.”

  “No?” Charlie whispered.

  “No.” Amos was certain, and he let it ring in his voice. “Now stop worrying. I am going to take such good care of you, so get us back to your cabin and let us get warmed up.”

  Amos caught the slow nod, and in just a couple of moments, they pulled up in front of the cabin and parked. As they both exited the truck and headed for the front door, Amos pulled Charlie up short and grabbed his face between both of his hands, stepping up and kissing Charlie tenderly and softly.

  “Now, let us go in and take a shower and go to bed.”

  Charlie turned, unlocked the door, and held it open while Amos followed him in. They both hung up coats and scarves, shedding gloves and boots, then Amos led Charlie upstairs, hand in hand.

  At the top of the stairs, Amos began to strip his clothes off, tossing them on the chest at the foot of the bed. “Come, love, it’s time to get warm and clean.”

  Watching as Charlie tripped stepping out of his jeans, Amos strode nude down the hallway to the large shower. Reaching in, he turned the jets on warm and waited the long moment it took the water to heat, then stepped in and grabbed the loofah he kept there and soaped it up with a lemony eucalyptus body wash he knew Charlie liked and started sudsing it up. Closing his eyes for a moment, Amos allowed the heat from the water to warm him, the steady beat of the water relaxing him while his balls tingled with the anticipation of getting his hands on Charlie.

  When he felt the slight flare of cold air, he knew Charlie was in the shower with him and, slowly, Amos waited for the door to close before pulling Charlie’s head down with one hand for a long, lingering kiss. Charlie responded immediately, his body going pliant and his long, thick cock hardening against his stomach.

  “Turn around, sweetheart.” Amos gently urged Charlie around and began scrubbing his back and shoulders, working his way down until he soaped each leg, exfoliating his lover and loving the soft moans Charlie let escape.

  After spending some time between Charlie’s spread cheeks, Amos stepped in front of him and began working on his strong, broad chest, scrubbing the sponge across his pecs and making his nipples harden. He worked his abs, then down his legs, skipping his groin. Setting the loofah aside, Amos filled his hand with a dollop of body wash and, lathering it up, gently began washing Charlie’s balls and shaft, using firm strokes to keep him from coming too soon.

  When he was finished, he sent Charlie out of the shower to dry off while he finished washing his own body. Just being in the stall, naked, with the man excited Amos beyond belief. Making short work of it, he stepped out and grabbed a fluffy towel and dried off quickly, taking the few steps down the hall to their bedroom and stopping short.

  There lay Charlie in the bed, naked and hard and waiting.

  Tossing the towel aside, Amos strode to the bed, jerked open the bedside table, and dumped the bottle of lube on the mattress before dropping between Charlie’s knees and swallowing his hard shaft to the base. Charlie shouted and his shoulders rose off the bed. Amos pushed him back down with one hand while hollowing his cheeks and slowly sucking upward, stopping to swirl his tongue around the head of Charlie’s cock. Charlie’s hands scrabbled for a hold on Amos’s shoulders, and he began to jibber and beg.

  Pulling off with a pop, Amos pressed Charlie’s thighs up and against his chest. “Hold them there, love.” Charlie obeyed while Amos popped the top open on the lube and squeezed out a line on his cock, then in one hand. Closing the bottle and tossing it aside, Amos rubbed his fingers together to warm the lube, then slowly slid one finger inside Charlie while stroking the remainder on his own cock. Adding another finger to Charlie’s hole, he spread them then pulled out, replacing his fingers with the head of his prick. Shoving forward, Amos slid inside Charlie, pressing and pushing until he bottomed out.

  Charlie’s head shook from side to side, and Amos gentl
y reached down and placed one of Charlie’s hands on his cock, wrapping his fingers with it, and stroked the shaft while he began fucking his lover with short stabs.

  “Please. Amos, please.”

  “Shh, love, I will take care of you. I will always take care of you.”

  Once Charlie established a rhythm, jacking himself off, Amos began to take longer strokes, pushing his long, thin cock into his lover’s tight passage faster and deeper. Charlie groaned, and after several breathless moments, Amos felt the familiar tightening in his balls and the growing tension from his toes to his spine.

  “Come for me, honey.” Charlie’s hand sped up, and his breathing became erratic, and Amos could feel the tightness of his ass clenching around his shaft, and just when Charlie shot the first burst of white-hot cum against his chest, Amos let go and filled Charlie up with his own load.

  After, Amos dropped onto Charlie’s chest, his softening cock slipping out of Charlie’s ass. Charlie held him tight, whispering words of love and care. After a few moments, Amos rose from the bed and went into the bathroom, returning with a warm washcloth and cleaned his lover, tossing the dirty cloth into the basket in the closet. Charlie’s eyes were already drooping, and he held the covers up, silently asking Amos to come to bed.

  “I have a quick errand to run, love. Sleep, and I will be back soon.”

  “But, Amos…” Charlie’s sleepy voice almost drew Amos to bed, but he really did have to go.

  “Shh. I promise. Go to sleep and I will be back in bed with you very shortly, love.” Pulling fresh underwear and jeans out of the dresser, Amos quickly dressed and dropped a kiss on a sleeping Charlie’s forehead. He silently made his way down the stairs, stepped into his boots, and grabbed his jacket—checking the pocket and smiling—then slipped out the door.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Staring blindly at her reflection in the kitchen window, Jillian scrubbed the already-gleaming stainless steel sink, replaying the scene in the dining room and wishing she could start over.

  “Can we start over?” Rob said as he entered the kitchen through the back door.

  His words startled her and echoed her own thoughts so closely she wasn’t entirely sure she hadn’t spoken them aloud. She turned off the water and dried her hands on the dish towel before turning to face him.

  Robby stood facing the center island, hands on his hips, dark eyes wide. “Holy shit, Jilly Dilly. What did you do?”

  “Uhm, too much?” She winced when she looked around the room. Dozens of cookies, pounds of fudge, trays of peanut brittle and peppermint bark. Every flat surface in the restaurant-sized kitchen was covered with Christmas treats.

  “Wait—” He stepped to the refrigerator and removed a gallon of milk, then filled a jumbo-sized glass before joining her at the counter. “I want the full tour, starting with these…” He reached for a red and white candy-cane-shaped cookie and bit it in half. “Mmmm…peppermint.” He popped the rest in his mouth and moved to the white snowball-shaped Russian teacakes. “So…is this a form of stress-relief?” he asked. He tossed another cookie into his mouth and chewed while he waited for her to answer.

  “Maybe. Start over with what?” she countered.

  The peanut butter cookie topped with a chocolate Kiss was halfway to his mouth when Robby paused and looked down at her. “You seriously expect me to talk right now? This is my favorite cookie on the entire planet.”

  “Robby Hammond! You are a cookie monster.”

  “Mmmph mmm,” he agreed as the next cookie disappeared. “Oh my god, I need to get out of here before I go into a sugar coma. Come on, let’s sit for a minute.” He grabbed Jillian’s hand and led her down the short hall to the dining room. They took one of the small tables and Jillian tried to sort through her jumbled thoughts while he finished off his glass of milk.

  “I need to apologize, Jilly. I didn’t mean to make you tell everything about Carl this morning. I was just—shit. Every time I think of Scott getting carted off and locked up—I don’t fucking care it’s a hospital and not a jail. But damn it all, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Jillian took Robby’s hands in her own, felt the slight tremble of his fingers. “I know, honey. We’re all trying to think of something to help…”

  “I just thought they should know Carl was still hanging around—I didn’t really expect you to tell what he’d done. Honey, what you said…the threat to you and Maddie. I know you’ve never wanted him arrested—but that needs to change. If he comes back, I’m going to have him charged with trespassing at a minimum. I’d prefer you file other charges against him.”

  “I meant what I said. If he comes near Maddie, I’ll kill him. But if you see him first and want to have him arrested—I won’t stop you again.”

  Robby squeezed her hand. “There’s no doubt the sick bastard deserves to be locked up. Believe me, what they’d do to him once word got out about what he’d done…” He brushed a strand of her hair from her face. “Maddie needs you here. Don’t do anything that could jeopardize your own freedom. Every one here is on alert, watching for Carl. We’re going to find out who’s behind these fires, and even if it isn’t Carl, he’s done around here. He’s never going to hurt you again. I promise.”

  Jillian swallowed around the apple-sized lump in her throat and nodded.

  “Is that what’s got you so wound up that you baked enough cookies for five hundred people?”

  “I was thinking about this morning,” she admitted. “All my life I kept that secret—like I’d been the one who did something wrong. It feels good to not have to hide it from my…family. The only thing is…I should have told Siggy first. What if it makes a difference? What if he never wants to see me again? He wouldn’t be the first—”

  “Aww, shit, honey. That’s not Siggy. The man is head over heels in love with you and your daughter. He already thinks of you as his family, don’t you know that?”

  Rob took a deep breath, then pushed to his feet, surprising her with his abrupt movement. “I’m not the one you need to be talking to about this. Call Siggy right now. Too many people know and you don’t want him to feel blindsided.” Robby checked his watch. “I bet Maddie’s ready for bed. You can tell her good night, then have a long heart-to-heart with Siggy. I’m going for a walk before I go back to the apartment. I got some information today that I need to sort through, then I want to look at Amos’s notes. Come over later after you talk to Siggy if you want to talk.” He bent and kissed the top of her head.

  “I love you, Jilly—you’re the best sister I never had. If I’m wrong about Siggy, then I’ll kick his ass—but I’m not wrong. Tell him all of it and clear this last barrier between you so you can move on together.”

  Jillian stared at her hands for a long time after she heard the back door close behind Rob. He was right—Siggy needed to hear about this from her. She should call him before he spoke to Finn. Even Charlie might call about work and mention something…

  The phone rang, startling her from her thoughts. Reaching for her cell phone, she didn’t really even need to see the caller ID to know who it was. Of course it was Siggy—he always seemed to be where she needed him most. Would he still be here after tonight? After she told him the truth about Carl?

  For the first ten minutes, Jillian listened as Maddie described the day on the bunny slopes, while in the background Siggy and Damon shouted translations and corrections to her daughter’s story. She was a bundle of emotions. Her cheeks hurt from smiling while the butterflies in her stomach worked themselves into a tizzy. Finally, Siggy sent Damon off to read a bedtime story to Maddie, and then they were alone.

  After taking a fortifying breath, Jillian blurted out, “I have something I need to tell you—and I should have done it a long time ago.”

  “Is this about Maddie’s father?” Siggy asked. “Is it that Carl guy who used to live at Mountain Shadows?”

  All the air seemed to leave her lungs on one giant exhale as her thoughts splintered into two different dire
ctions. “Oh god, Siggy, I don’t even know where to start. Let me say it all quick, okay?”

  “Whatever you need, honey—only so long as you know whatever you say isn’t going to change how I feel about you or the munchkin.”

  “Okay…uhm…Carl isn’t Maddie’s father. As far as I’m concerned all she’s ever had was a sperm donor. He was a guy I dated right after high school and I thought we were in love. We were young, but I was certain we were going to beat the odds because this was true love,” she said, pressing her fingers against the cool, smooth surface of the table. “I guess everyone thinks that, especially when they’re young. Anyway, when I got pregnant, I thought we were going to get married. Maybe we would have if I hadn’t told him about everything—but it never would have lasted.”

  “Told him what, honey?” Siggy’s voice was soft. God, she wished he was with her now. She closed her eyes and imagined his words whispering over her ear, his rough hands holding hers.

  “When I was little… The guy who was living in my cabin… Oh god… Okay, I’ll just say it. My father sexually abused me when I was a child. I never reported it because he said it was my fault and everyone would know what kind of girl I was.”

  Siggy made a noise somewhere between a growl and a curse, but she spoke faster, not wanting him to interrupt now that she was nearly finished. “When I was fifteen or maybe sixteen, he got sent to jail for two years. It wasn’t the first time, but this time he was gone long enough that I had a chance at a normal life. I got a job after school, had a boyfriend. I even went to prom—those were things I’d always been afraid to try when he’d been around—he always threatened to tell… Eventually, I had the relationship with Maddie’s dad and we moved in together. After I told him about my past, he kicked me out. Things were pretty tough—but I made it. Eventually, Pauline found me at the shelter and brought me here.”