She licked Lucas’s shaft and cockhead one last time as he withdrew it from her mouth. Ruth moaned again as hands came from both sides of her to touch her breasts. It seemed that whenever she concentrated on just one man, the others made her aware they were all equal partners. It was so hot, having hands all over like this and the taste of Lucas’s cum still in her mouth.
Yuri was stroking in and out of her cunt now, her channel swollen, hot, and sensitized from her two previous orgasms, but she was ready for a third. She knew it was inevitable with so many hands on her body. Fingers were tweaking and teasing her nipples. Fingers were circling her clit, pressing her button. A nail was running along her slit, flicking her folds.
Her nerves were aflame with desire, her body throbbing with arousal. Ruth leaned her head on her arms and absorbed all the different sensations. The men’s hands—Yuri’s the largest, Jed’s a little rough, Lucas’s feather-soft touch.
Yuri’s body was leaning against hers, touching her from neck to butt, enfolding her in his heat. Jed and Lucas were bracketing her on each side, their breath hot and heavy on her skin as they touched her everywhere at once.
Her pulse was pounding hard now, the orgasm coiling deep inside her. She knew Yuri was struggling to maintain a measured pace with his thrusts into her cunt until she was ready to come again. And she was close, so close, so—
“Ahhh!” Ruth sagged against the wall as her third orgasm exploded through her. Her entire body shook as male hands cupped her breasts, cupped her pussy, seemed to be touching her skin everywhere at once.
Yuri groaned and pounded into her once, twice, and she felt the heat of his cum as he released his iron control and jetted streams of cum deep inside her. Her legs wobbled, and her whole body shook under the force of their combined climax.
Yuri kept his arm around her, holding her up as he pounded into her a few more times with his release. Then she was passed from hand to hand and placed on the bed. Someone had a warm washcloth to clean her. Someone else tugged her against his body.
“Did I pass the quickie test?” she asked.
“I reckon so,” was Jed’s laconic rely.
“But we could always have a second trial tomorrow to be certain,” added Lucas.
* * * *
Yuri was determined Ruth’s shooting would be accurate enough to protect her if he wasn’t around. It was likely they’d be split up into various pairs on a daily basis during the search, and although Lucas and Jed were both excellent shots—but not as good as him—he wanted to know she could fend for herself. So every few days he took her to the range and made her shoot different weapons until he was confident she could draw and fire fast enough to protect herself.
“With a bit of luck, an unfriendly won’t expect a little itty-bitty thing like you to shoot at them. The important thing to remember is always to shoot first and ask questions later. If you wound someone who wasn’t an unfriendly, we’ll patch them up. But if you hesitate, you could be dead before you understand you’re in danger,” he said emphatically.
“I understand, Yuri. I really do. I’m not looking to tangle with anyone who’s gone feral. I’m practicing my self-defense skills, too.”
“You’re much too light to be a danger to an adult male, even one who may have gone hungry lately. You may weigh more than Lucas’s boots these days, but likely not a lot more.”
Ruth got an angry look in her eye. He managed not to laugh, but it was hard not to.
“Put down that weapon and attack me. Come on,” she challenged him.
“I might hurt you, and then Jed and Lucas will kill me,” he objected.
“You won’t hurt me. I haven’t been wasting my time in self-defense class. Come on, attack me.”
She was standing side-on, her weight evenly balanced on both feet, so she had learned something, he supposed, carefully putting his rifle down. He kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, as the eyes always signaled someone’s moves, but she waited patiently for him to attack her. So he did, using his much longer reach to grab her arm and pull her to him.
She sort of slid out from under his arm and stepped away from him. It was like landing a fish. One minute she was in his hands. The next minute she was gone. He circled her again and grabbed her. This time he had to take several steps to get her, and he just kept going, flying over her shoulder and landing flat on his butt on the floor.
“How the fuck did you do that?” he asked.
“If you really were an attacker, you wouldn’t be able to ask me because I’d be running like hell now, but the trick is always to use the person’s movement against them. The bigger and heavier you are, the farther you’ll keep going because of inertia.”
“Makes sense, I guess,” he grumbled, getting up and dusting himself off.
“Wanna try again?” she challenged him.
God, he loved that feistiness in her. It was no surprise at all she and Tatiana had survived in the caves. She was curvy now, instead of the stick figure she’d been then, but the same vitality blazed out of her brown eyes as had the time he first saw her. Her face had been little more than a skeletal mask, but her eyes had been huge brown pools burning with fire. Well, if pools could burn, that is. It was not like he was a poet or anything. But she was all woman. It was no surprise Lucas called her “woman” so often. She was one hundred percent female, that was for damn sure.
“Nah, I’m good. I get the message. You’re working on your skills.”
“You mean you don’t want to have to explain to the others why you’ve got a bruised ass.” She laughed.
“Yeah, that, too. But you’ve gotta stay alert. The bad dudes don’t always wear a black hat, ya know.”
“I understand.”
He lifted her face and kissed her lips. She always tasted so good. Sweet and soft, warm and wet. His dick was as hard as a spike just from looking at her. It seemed like he had a permanent hard-on whenever he was around her. Yet she was so generous with her fucking, always agreeable, always welcoming, always wet. Damn! If he didn’t get his mind out of the gutter, he’d be pushing her against the wall and taking her right here at the shooting range!
“Let’s put the weapons away. The bell will chime for supper soon.” It was all he could think of to say. Lucas would have been much better at explaining things, chatting to her. Yuri was still amazed at how that man could turn words into jokes or weapons without a moment’s thought. Whereas for him, he was better at doing than talking. Ah well, between the three of them they’d care for Ruth in the manner she deserved—with all their hearts.
* * * *
From one perspective, Jed was thrilled Ruth was coming back to the caves with them. She knew the caves, knew the Edu-Tech people. Plus, it meant it wouldn’t be just him and his hand for three months. But from another perspective, he’d have preferred having her safe at Lilyward One and not having to worry about her. He knew she could shoot. Yuri had made sure of that, and even Yuri said she was a damn good shot.
Jed also knew she’d been doing well in the self-defense classes. He’d had a quiet word with Sean, the instructor, asked if he should maybe give Ruth extra help or something. Sean had laughed in his face and said the only person who would need help would be any idiot who tried to take Ruth on in a fight.
But he still fretted about her. She’d been such a tiny thing when they’d found her. Just stick-like arms and legs and a mouth that wouldn’t stop. If it came to talking their way out of trouble, his money would be on Ruth, no worries at all. His head said she was well prepared and that between them they’d look after her. His heart was not so sure. It’d absolutely kill him if anyone hurt her.
I guess that’s what love is. Love is worrying about a person, wanting them to be safe, even while your brain says they have to be free to live their own life. Love? Already? Is that possible? Hell yes. I loved her from the moment I saw her.
Love. That changed things. Did the others love her, too? Jed thought back to the previous few weeks. Yuri taking her to practic
e shooting. Lucas with that gleam in his eye as he called her “woman.” Yes, yes, they do love her. And what about her, does she love us?
Now that was harder. She hadn’t had a whole lot of choice about what happened to her. Sure, her mouth had worked constantly, demanding protection and care for Tatiana, and she’d agreed to come with them, but did she love them? Her orgasms were real. The way her pussy clenched on his cock coating it with her hot juices couldn’t be faked. But love?
“Fucked if I know.” Well, he was naturally observant. He’d just have to observe her some more. That wouldn’t be a hardship at all.
* * * *
Lucas knew that Ruth was going to worry about Tatiana while they were gone. The two women had formed a really close bond struggling to survive in the caves. He guessed it was like the bond men on a team together formed in a war zone. Each man trusted the others to watch his back while he watched theirs.
Tatiana was a smart old lady. Although she wasn’t really that old, likely in her early to midsixties. When they’d found her, she’d seemed quite frail and old, but as she’d received decent food and help with her arthritis, she’d shed years and years. From talking to Ruth, he’d gathered Charlie was midthirties, so it was even possible she was barely sixty.
Anyway, there were several men aged up around sixty. Sandy, who worked on the mechanics team with Peyton, and Fred Bervil, the statistician, for a start. Lucas sought them out at mealtime and asked them both to sit with him. Fred and Sandy raised their eyebrows but did so.
But then he didn’t know quite how to open the conversation. “Um, you know Ruth, Jed, Yuri, and I are heading off to the caves again soon?”
“Do you really think those people are still alive? All I’ve heard indicates they were not acting like a real community. There was no talk of them planting seed crops or anything. So how will they survive ongoing into the future?” asked Fred.
“It sure didn’t sound like the planning had been too good. I mean, fighting over food after just a couple of months. That’s not a good look,” added Sandy.
“If they found clean water, good soil, plants, they’ll be okay. But otherwise…Yeah, not looking so good.” Lucas let the conversation run on for a few minutes then said, “I reckon Ruth will worry about Tatiana while we’re gone. They’re real close, those two. Not like mother and daughter, but more like best friends.”
“And?” asked Fred, his gaze fixed on Lucas.
“Tatiana’s not that much older than you two. I was wondering if…um, I kinda thought maybe…”
“You want us to marry Tatiana?” asked Sandy.
“Well, not exactly. More just keep an eye on her, be prepared to help her while we’re not around.”
“I was already planning to do that. I like Tatiana. She’s a clever woman and can talk intelligently for hours about just about anything,” said Fred.
Lucas stared at Fred. “You were? Oh, that’s perfect. Ruth’s going to be much more relaxed knowing someone is caring for her.”
“Are you planning to marry her?” Sandy asked Fred.
“I don’t know yet. She’s over fifty, so isn’t subject to the three-month limit of younger women. And she’s started work, so her position is settled. But—”
“I knew she was doing an oral history project with the children, but what else is she doing?” interrupted Sandy.
“Proofreading reports. It turns out she has wicked spelling and grammatical skills. She was reading something one day and found two typos on the first page, so the Captain gave her the proofreading job on the spot.”
Lucas sat back and let the conversation drift past him. It sounded like he needn’t worry. Ruth needn’t worry. Tatiana would be looked after, quite likely by Sandy and Fred. But the Captain had approved her, so all was well anyway. Ruth would be happy to hear that.
Chapter Three
Ruth’s belly was a churning mass of conflicting emotions. She was very excited to be going back to the caves, with her menfolk, to see if any of her work colleagues had survived.
She was also worried that she’d let the team down. No matter how well she shot or what self-defense classes she’d done, nothing could change the fact that she was still somewhat underweight and a female with no military training. Which meant she’d have to work harder than everyone else to be alert and watchful to stay out of danger.
She was also concerned about Tatiana. She and the older woman were closer than sisters, more like best friends forever, after their time in the caves alone. Tatiana wanted Ruth to go and join the search, but she still felt a little guilty she wasn’t with her friend.
Another concern was how they would cope if there was trouble. What would happen if people or animals found their food stores and raided their supplies? She knew she could manage on very little food—she’d done so already once—but she really didn’t want to have to do it again. Then she felt guilty for people in places like Africa who ate that little every day their whole life long.
Inside she was just a sea of worries. And overlaid on it was the excitement of being in a helicopter, going back to the caves. Exploring, searching, maybe finding people, and rescuing them.
The mix of emotions was almost enough to make her ill.
The noise inside the Chinook was quite loud. Although they had microphones if they needed to talk, no one was chattering. The two Chinooks were flying in formation. One would unload and leave immediately. The other would stay to take the second team back. Team C was there to guard the Chinook and help them cache the supplies. They’d decided on a mix of hiding places. One quite close to the entry but up very high, a second near the rock chimney down to the lower level and buried under a rock pile, and a third would be left much lower down for them to get to more easily in case of need. The fourth and final cache would be left fairly near to where she and Tatiana had been found, in a rock crevice.
The idea was that since all the places were quite different, someone who found one cache would not have unlocked a pattern to help them find the others. Ruth assumed that these people understood such things, and she trusted them. The storage wrappings had been painted in colors and patterns to blend in with the rocks, to further disguise the parcels.
Finally the helicopters landed. This part of the program had been rehearsed carefully. Team C ran from the Chinooks and secured the area, and then Team K began unloading, piling everything in the entry cave in a carefully planned order. By the time the first helicopter left, the first cache of stores had already been loaded on the men’s backs and those men were marching down to the farthest cache point with two guards.
Ayla and Ruth were already sorting the second and third caches, and soon the second group left to place their store near the rock chimney. The two women remained with the four guards. Ruth found the waiting hard. While she’d been busy sorting the piles of stores out, time had flown, but time seemed to drag now that she had to sit around and wait.
The second group returned first, loaded up with the next lot of supplies, and went off to place them near where she’d been rescued. Finally the first group returned and took the last pile of stores.
When they left, Ayla and one of the guards also left to check the place they’d planned to sleep this first night. It was a place Ruth and Tatiana had stayed for a while, a tiny cave hidden at the end of a tunnel and comparatively easy to guard.
When Ayla returned, she said, “It appears to be quite unused. There’s no sign of anyone having been there.”
“I’m not surprised. I expect no one has been back up here in months. Once they went down to the lower levels there’d be lots more areas to explore, plus the chance of fresh water. We know there’s no water up here, so there’s really no reason to come back up at all.”
“They might also have been worried the radiation debris cloud had contaminated these upper levels, too,” added Ayla.
Ruth nodded. It sounded reasonable, and there was no way of knowing until they found the survivors.
Shortly afterward
all the groups had returned, and Team C, plus Travis and Dave, were ready to leave. “We’ll be keeping a twenty-four watch on your signals, so be sure to keep in touch the whole time. A click on the hour every hour if all is well and there’s nothing to report,” Travis reminded them.
They all nodded soberly, and then Team C left.
“Let’s go,” said Gideon, waving to the passageway.
Ruth shivered. Here she was again, heading into the limestone cave system, and just as excited and nervous as the first time.
* * * *
Everyone took turns at a two-hour guard shift, with two people always on duty. After a simple meal of porridge and tea in the morning, they were on their way to the rock chimney. With rope ladders, it was an easy descent, very different from the time Ruth had tackled it, alone, in the dark, to get help after Charlie had been shot.
They walked in silence, even the men’s boots making almost no sound on the sandy, rocky ground. Ruth watched how they placed their feet and copied them, finding it made the walking easier. It only took an hour to get to the edge of the lake, but then they had a lot of rock climbing and maneuvering to make their way around it, heading always upstream. By the time Gideon stopped for a break for lunch, Ruth was ready to rest. She was well aware her backpack was much lighter than the men’s, but even so her shoulders had started to ache. She carried her own few days’ supply of food and water, her change of clothing, a small medical kit, sleeping bag, and her weapon. Between them the men carried food and water for a fortnight, cooking equipment, communications equipment, more medical supplies, water purification tablets, and other things as well, she was sure.
As soon as they were sitting down and guards had been posted, Jed came over to her and began massaging her shoulders. “You okay?” he asked softly.
“Sure. A little tired but nothing to worry about. I’m pretty tough, you know.”
“Yeah, I do know, and I’m proud of you,” he replied, still rubbing her shoulders and back.
Brown, Berengaria - Raw Want [Raw Claiming 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 3
