by Rose Francis
“Beauty isn’t a virtue in these ruins.” She tilted her head slightly, her side-slung ponytail dipping away from her head, her bangs following suit. “Bandits, bosses. Imagine how little you like being neighbours with them then ask yourself what they might see me as.”
Lowering his eyes, he gave a weak sign, showing he understood. “What about a lone scavenger?” he asked, the words just blurting out without him thinking about it. “Able to look out for you at least. Keep you hidden and safe,” he tried to salvage this massive proposition to a woman he barely knew. Though part of him wanted him to mess it up; he couldn’t trust her with his home location anyhow!
“You aren’t like the others,” she cooed, taking a long sip of her tea before pushing the bottom of the mug away, disinterested in the stems. “You haven’t tried to hurt me. You’ve brought me ammo to defend myself,” she said certainly, no question in her tone.
“You want the world to be a better place.”
Her words were like sweet balm to his nervous brain, and he smiled widely at her. “The ammo is yours,” he blurted out, “to take, regardless. I look out for the people I care for”—he nearly choked at that pathetic line—“and I’m starting to like you.”
“Just starting to?” she asked curiously.
She was unlike any woman he’d ever met before. Her calm demeanour was off-putting, and the casualness of her confidence was amazing. She seemed to have everything in control, able to handle any misstep along the way, and her smile lit up her face as if it were some reward that he had strived for an eternity.
Leon merely gave a shrug, a sort of boyish shrug that seemed to indicate he was out of his league. Though the large, strikingly handsome man should’ve known better. “Keep ’em regardless of what happens. But,” he began, hesitating for just a split second, “if I might somehow talk you into stickin’ around...”
“How would you do that?” she inquired, her dark eyes staring at him from under those black lashes. She brushed her bangs from atop her brows, quirking them at him.
He sat back in his chair, sniffling a little as he thought. Crossing his arms over his chest, he responded. “There’s a few ways I might try,” he began, trying to sound confident, though he had trouble being himself around her. It wasn’t natural.
“I know I could offer to take you to my place. It’s secure, ain’t never been uncovered by anyone in all the time I’ve been there. Well defended. Hidden.” He cleared his throat. “But I realize that’s a risky proposition for a lady on her own. To put her trust in some man she just met to come stay with him like that, so...” He trailed off, trying to gather his thoughts before giving her an alternative.
“So it’s just you in this castle on the hill, secured from bandits and bosses and other nasty Tribals,” she mused out loud, looking down at his mug skeptically. “You are there to defend all night?”
He looked to her abruptly. He’d never said where he lived exactly. Dammit, he must’ve been careless, let her see where he was headed. Swallowing, he shrugged. “I ain’t there all the time, it’s true. I go out during the day to scavenge mostly. And I do go on trips to trade about, sometimes away for a few days. But... the place ain’t never been discovered while I’m away. Ain’t never had so much as a small animal get in while I was away.” His throat was dry with worry that he’d fucked up and given away too much. That she might shoot him down!
She leaned back in her chair, uncrossing her leg and then recrossing it in the opposing direction as she stared at him thoughtfully. “I see. How long have you been there?”
He was riveted by her every movement, the crossing of those long, pale legs of hers like watching a sensual dance. Dammit, he was losing his mind.
“About two years now,” he said, licking his lips. “I can stay home more. If I had reason to. I don’t need to scav or trade as much as I do. It just keeps me occupied,” he offered, trying to curb his desperation.
“Everyone needs a hobby,” she conceded, standing up. His height allowed him to be almost just at her breasts, and he had to look past those perfectly shaped globes to see her face, or so he justified. They poked against the shimmery shirt so tantalizingly. It was strange she wore such a tempting item when worried about what the bandits might do to her.
Her hand reached out, lightly cupping around the back of his neck, squeezing him there. “I wouldn’t mind settling down for at least a few more weeks. I sense a lot of potential around here.”
Swallowing as she worked him so proficiently, he stared up at her. “Give me time at least,” he began, his usually authoritative voice a bit quieter, more gentle, “to convince you what you might get from sticking around with me.” Gods, he felt like a boy again before this beauty. He was even rubbing his palms into his biceps nervously.
“I can afford you a week to see how things will be. If I don’t like it, well, this is not a contracted agreement,” she purred out in her singsong voice. She sounded so docile, yet so commanding all at once, as if he were really convincing her and she was finally relenting, despite the fact that she was obviously working him over.
“Will you be home this week, then?”
He nods slowly, though he had been planning to go visit Tia. “I will be. For you,” he added on. Then, to snap himself out of his stupor, he reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the radio communicators. “I repaired this,” he stated, laying it before her. “We can talk from my place to yours. You can get in touch with me any time if there’s trouble,” he stated. Having thought about this on the way back. He’d repaired several of the things in case he ever set up some aid in his home base.
She looked down upon it thoughtfully, then back at his face. She still stood over him, so temptingly, her hand stroking the back of his thick neck. “I thought you were going to take me back to your place,” she mused. “Unless your place is so large I’ll need to speak with you through one of these. Still, I admire your forethought.”
His eyes widened, he’d been so wrapped up in having to convince her into this he didn’t realize she was agreeing to come back with him already!
With a broad, toothy smile, he reached out, resting his dark hand on one of her pale knees. “No that’s—” he broke off. “You can come back with me right now. If you don’t mind a bit of travel in the dark,” he stated, eager to please.
“With you, I think we’ll manage.” She smiled that slow, tantalizing smile. How was it possible that so much of her mood shifted with his? That cool, calm demeanor lightened by just the upturn of the corner of her lips, as if it were some great reward for him.
“I am already packed.”
He stood up at that, putting his things back into his backpack and shouldering it. “I’ll take your things for you,” he insisted. Whatever hold she had over him was irresistible. He couldn’t shake it despite his best attempts. “It’s a long trek, I don’t want you to get there tired.”
“Thank you.”
She grabbed their mugs, dumping out the remnants in the small sink before tossing them, the spoon, and the pot in her bag as well. It was small, but quite heavy and seemed a bit jagged and bulky. Grabbing just enough ammo, she unholstered her handgun and reloaded it—it had been half full previously—then kept it in her hand at her side as she opened the door, waiting for him to lead the way.
Hoisting her things, he flung them over his shoulder and then set out. Despite the odd circumstances, he couldn’t have been happier than he was then.
The trek back wasn’t bad. The extra weight of her things wasn’t that much, really. He was used to taking more on his long trips to trade, after all. As they approached the hidden entrance way to his home, he felt an irritating sense that he was being madly irrational, but he shrugged it off. “It’s through here,” he said, leading her to the camouflaged entranced and beginning to clear away the bramble that kept it masked.
She had been silent the trip back, and she was no less so now as she stepped through his hidden corridor, still letting him lead. Sh
e holstered her gun once more as they stepped into the secured location, a statement of her confidence in him.
Sealing everything up behind them, he explained his defensive measures to her in great detail. He was a bit proud of his work, and it came through as he guided her down the corridor.
She took it all in with great interest, listening to him intently. She kept step with him, walking so closely that her arm brushed against his a few times.
“I see,” she murmured. She was thoughtful and reserved, but didn’t seem displeased.
Coming to the end of the corridor, he paused. “But aside from the security, here’s the best part.” She couldn’t see the grin on his face for the darkness, but then the lights went on. All about them the dim, low-energy-consuming lights went on, illuminating a world of elevated homes, suspended on steel and hard wood, all in a neat and well-ordered fashion. “Welcome to your new home,” he said cheerfully.
For a moment, he swore she was awestruck, but then the fleeting look disappeared, replaced with calm approval as she looked about. She felt so small in such a large place, and her eyes went up to his. “You have spent much time working at this,” she stated.
Grinning, he gave her a nod. “Oh yes. As you say, we all need our hobbies. And aside from scavving and trading, this was my main hobby. Makin’ this place the perfect defensive base.” He licked his lips and gestured for her to follow. “C’mon. I don’t keep anything down here on the ground floor,” he stated.
Moving ahead, he went to one of the hidden nooks and pulled a rope within, causing one of the ramps to slide down perfectly as he’d engineered it to. “When it was a construction place it also sold some furniture,” he explained, “so there’s tons of big beds and the like.” This was the first time he’d ever shown anyone his home, and he was revelling in the opportunity to show off his work.
She was quite interested in his revelations, even as she did her best to maintain her posture and confidence. She didn’t let up, even for a moment, to let him think he had the upper hand.
The thought struck the back of his head he should be grateful that she was here to allow him this moment. A strange thought, but as she smiled at him and revealed those white teeth, he knew it was true.
Returning her smile with his own, adoring look, he led her to the largest of the suspended “homes.” “There’s a store of food in here already. And I’ve got clothes and things about. Women’s clothes, I mean. Though”—he turned to her as he laid down her pack inside the door, then his own—“I don’t know how much of it will fit your very petite body.” His words were adoring. It all seemed to fit in place now. All this preparation, it was building up to giving HER a place to call home.
She nodded at the compliment, her eyes fluttering just slightly to make her wide eyes seem more inviting.
“And this is where I will stay, then?” She quirked her head to the side. Her bangs hung off her face just so, the beautiful hairstyle doing so much to accentuate her pale, Asian beauty.
Nodding to her with that same stupidly happy look on his broad, brown face, he said, “Unless you prefer another. But this is the best,” he said, looking around, the place bigger than her own little shack of earlier. It had to be just to fit the large king-size mattress. “It was mine, but”—he looked back to her—“there’s no need to share, if you don’t care to.” Why was he being so dumb? Part of him could at least acknowledge he WAS being dumb.
Walking around the room, she inspected it, lifting herself up on tiptoes at one point and accentuating her thin but shapely legs, that swell of her ass facing him before she turned, walking back toward him. He could smell her French vanilla scent, and he leaned in a bit closer.
“Where would you stay?”
He spoke softly, almost in a trance. “Wherever would make you feel safest,” he said, his voice warm and concerned. He only cared for this sensual beauty before him. His cock was rock hard, though he was oblivious to it bulging through his worn pants.
The way her eyes dropped spoke to the fact that she wasn’t, but she maintained quite calm. There was a bit more sensuality in the way she walked away from him, though. The slightest of exaggerations in the sway of her slender hips as she went to the bed, sitting upon it and unstrapping her weapon, putting the gun and the holster on the side table. The area that it had so recently been was red and raw from it rubbing all day, and she propped the heel of her boot against the table, looking at him.
“Do you have lotion?”
Watching her every movement with such rapt attention, his mind was already thinking of rubbing away that mark and soothing her before she even asked. “Be right back with it,” he said, instantly leaving. He had to do it all perfectly, had to make her realize this was the place for her. As he went, he shed his outdoor things. The heavy trench coat, bulletproof vest. When he returned with one of the bottles of lotion he had stored for trading he was down to his boots, pants, and one of his favourite turtleneck sweaters.
“It’s the best I’ve got,” he said, moving toward her, dropping to his one knee and beginning to uncap the bottle of almond-scented lotion.
She had barely budged from her seat, though her eyes had wandered over almost every inch of the room, taking it all in. It smelled like him, and when he finally dropped to his knee before her, a smile was widening her lips. “Good,” she praised, the word so singsong and beautiful. It wasn’t just the praise, it was the way she said it as she waited patiently for him to start rubbing the lotion into her thigh.
Her skirt was pulled up, almost above her hips, and he glanced at those tight, white panties cupping her sex so lovingly. Just the merest sliver of it visible, but it was so much more than he deserved, he knew.
His body was wild with it all, gazing upon that perfect glimpse of womanhood. He knew, could feel, that she was so much better than him. He was fortunate to be allowed this, and he squeezed the lotion out onto his dark hand, laying the bottle aside and reaching out to her thigh. Reverentially he paused, then moved in, slowly beginning to rub the lotion into her reddened skin. Though his body throbbed with desire for her, his thoughts were only of wiping away this blemish and soothing all her hurts and worries.
“This should help you,” he said softly. “I’ve got more. And can get as much of this sorta thing as you need, if you choose to stay,” he explained.
“That will be helpful,” she admitted. Her thigh was so soft, the flesh pulled taut over her lean muscles. She shifted it, resting the hook of her knee over his shoulder, her body lying back on her forearms as she stared at him.
He could swear there was a hint of desire running through her, something in her facial expression seeming so familiar to him, yet so foreign.
He’d never felt so hard in all his life as he knelt there, her leg over his shoulder. He gazed up at her barely covered cunt openly, seemingly unable to show shame anymore as he rubbed his thick finger tips into her smooth, perfect flesh. She was perfect. She was the sort of woman a world should be built around.
Smelling her, his mind was abuzz, and a memory of what it was like when he was separated from her for the trip to get the bullets surfaced. “I want you to stay,” he said huskily. “I’ll do what it takes to convince you to stay. Be my matriarch here. Help me make something... meaningful,” he stated, swallowing with anxiousness.
Her lips quirked at the choice of his words, and the heel of her boot dug into his ribs. “Is that what you want?” Her hand reached out, cupping his jaw and stroking her thumb against the rough, dark flesh. Her hand contrasted against his so much, and she stared at it for a brief moment.
Both his hands were wrapped around her thigh now, rubbing, massaging, the lotion and his purpose for this forgotten now as he sought rub away all bad sensations from her and replace with the strong feeling of his soothing hands. Nodding to her words, he licked his lips, ignoring the feel of her boot dug into his ribs. “Yeah,” he stated. “In time I’ll recruit others. But you will be their boss,” he said, “and I’ll be y
our protector.”
His eyes nearly shut as he revelled in the feel of her petite, pale hand rubbing over the stubble of his jaw. It was heaven to be touched by her.
Her tongue licked up toward her upper lip, staying there for a while as she continued to rub him gently. When she retracted her hand and placed it back on the mattress, he yearned after her.
“I will see how this works,” she agreed, her knee tightening around his shoulder and dragging them closer together by only the slimmest of margins. “Would you like that?”
A look of relief washed over his face at her words. Smiling broadly, he placed each hand on the outer skin of her thighs, soothingly stroking her. “I couldn’t ask for more,” he stated almost dreamily. He was smitten. No, it was more than that, and that annoying part of his mind that was resisting him was finally fucking off against the chorus of desire for her.
He gave a reverential kiss to her inner thigh, knelt closer to her quim now after her tug. “You won’t want for more, I promise, Adrianna.”
She nodded, though she frowned at his kiss, removing her leg from around his neck and crossing her legs tightly. Her knees dug into his chest as she stared down upon him from the mattress.
“You will behave,” she told him, and he knew he would.
“Stay with me the night,” she finally ordered after a moment of silence. “However, you will behave.”
The thought of spending the night with this woman and doing nothing should’ve been agony with how hard he was, but he nodded obediently, looking rather crestfallen at having her legs and that gorgeous sight between them taken away. “Of course,” was all he could say other than “I’m sorry.” Remaining there, knelt before her at the edge of the bed.
“You may get undressed,” she commanded, looking at him sternly. His kiss had soured her mood, and she seemed much cooler.
He could never have imagined himself behaving like this. The old Leon would never have, but he felt different now. Not himself, someone else. He obeyed immediately, pulling his greyish-blue sweater off over his head, revealing the broad, well-defined muscles of his upper body. Those wide shoulders, the sculpted toning of his chest and abs, marred only by a bit of nicks and scars.
