Scavenge (Smoldering #1.5)

by Tiffany Aleman

  “Nobody will catch us, will they?” I ask hesitantly. Thinking about it now, I obviously did not ponder this whole thing all the way through.

  Riley gets up and hurriedly locks the door to his room. “Not now, they won’t,” he says as he comes back into view. I watch as he unzips his flight suit, a light brown shirt underneath, and he shrugs out of his sleeves. “Do you have that present I sent you?”

  I nod, take if from the mantel above the fireplace where I’d set it earlier, and show it to him as I grin.

  “I want you to tell me how it feels.” Riley sits back down and adjusts himself for a moment before looking back up at me. “Now,” he demands when he notices that I’m not saying anything. The bass in his tone singes my skin in goosebumps.

  I hold it in one hand and use the other to describe the sensations below my fingers. “It’s smooth, soft, and cool to the touch. I like the way it curves at a slight angle at the top of the head. The way the pearls on the inside graze against my fingertips, I can only imagine how they’ll feel when they’re inside of me.”

  “Do you want to feel them inside of you?” Riley asks as he adjusts in his seat again, and I know he’s getting turned on.

  “Yes,” I answer without hesitation. Reaching to the side of my dress, I slowly pull the zipper down. The metal teeth part, gradually revealing the red, lacy material of my strapless bra and thong. The satin separates from my skin, allowing a rush of cool air to attack my heated body.

  “Fuck, baby,” Riley groans. “You are so sexy.” He points the camera down, and I’m greeted with an image of his bulge between his thighs. I watch in fascination as he lifts his hips and pulls down his boxer briefs. His cock springs free, standing at attention, for me. My mouth waters as he begins to stroke himself, slowly, leisurely, and I wish I could wrap my lips around him. I’d suck him with greedy strokes while my tongue would caress the velvety flesh of his cock. I feel myself growing wet as he continues to pump his thick shaft. “See what you do to me? I’m sitting here, so fucking hard, and it’s all because of you, Kels.” Riley lifts the camera so I’m able to see his face again. Veins bulge beneath his neck muscles and a slight hue of pink tinges his cheeks. He points behind me, and I look to see where he’s indicating. “Go lay on your back on the rug in front of the fireplace.”

  I step out of the pooled satin, leaving it behind. The camera on the computer is angled directly where Riley wants me, and like a dutiful girlfriend, I follow his orders.

  “God, I love the way you look right now.”

  “And how is that?” I ask, breathless from the image of him pleasuring himself to me.

  “On my white rug, with your dark hair fanned out beneath you. I love the way your body looks, wrapped in red lingerie, the shadows of the flames licking your skin. I want you to touch yourself, baby. Imagine your hands are mine. Remember how they touched your soft, delicate skin. Envision your fingertips are my lips, kissing along the slope of your neck, trailing hot, wet kisses along your collarbone, and down your chest.”

  My eyes close, and I let Riley’s words take me to a world where he’s here, with me, touching me, doing all the things he’s saying. My fingers glide down my heated skin. “Oh, Riley,” I moan as my hands cup my full, aching breasts.

  “It feels good, doesn’t it?”

  “God, yes,” I breathe out.

  “Take off your bra and panties, baby. I need to see you, all of you,” he grinds out between clenched teeth.

  Quickly, I strip myself of the remainder of my clothes. I sit up on my knees, resting back on my heels as I pose like a submissive in front of Riley. His eyes are a scorching blue as he looks at me with a fevered passion burning in his irises. Without any instruction from him, I grab my breasts, slowly massaging the heavy flesh. Riley’s eyes are hooded as he watches me. “Is this what you wanted, Riley? Do you want to watch me tease myself, thinking about you, reminding myself of what your strong hands can do to me?” I moan. “Do you want to touch me?” I pant out as my hands move from the globes of my breasts to my nipples. I pinch and pull at my rosy buds, elongating them into hard peaks.

  “Fuck yes, baby,” he pants. “Lick your fingers and play with your nipples. Imagine it’s my mouth, sucking on you, prepping you for what’s to come.”

  My head falls back from the pleasure coursing through my veins as I follow his instructions. He always was a great teacher. Without further orders, I leave one hand playing with the protruding rose-colored bud while I lift a finger from the other hand and slowly begin sucking on it. Heat shoots through my core, and I feel myself growing wetter by the moment. My breaths turn to gasps as I trail my finger down over my chin, in between the valley of my breasts, down along the flat skin of my stomach, before I find the bundle of nerves nestled between the soft warm lips of my pussy.

  “Touch yourself, baby. Don’t be shy.” Riley’s breathless words break through my lust-filled fog. I look up at him, our eyes connecting. Lust, need, and desire shine back at me, and I’m temporarily blinded by the same things. I see his hand moving up and down as he pleasures himself.

  With soft ministrations, my fingers draw gentle circles against my clit. Lightning bolts of pleasure seize me, and my stomach tightens with anticipation of my release.

  “Are you wet for me? Are you imagining it’s my fingers flicking against your clit?” he groans.

  “Yes. I am so wet for you. I want you inside of me,” I reply breathlessly.

  “Take the vibrator and show me how you’d use it. Show me how you imagine I’d move inside of you.”

  Picking up the lightweight instrument I’m sure will make me sing, I place it at my opening. Using my own wetness as lubrication, I run the angled tip against my slick opening up to my sensitive clit, and back down. In my mind, it’s the head of Riley’s bulging cock stroking against my heated flesh. With ease, the tip slips into me, and I reach down, turning on the vibration. The pearls begin a slow swirling motion within the silicone. The movements produce a torturously, exceptional feeling within me as they move against the inside walls of my heated channel.

  My head lolls back as I begin to thrust the vibrator in and out of me. Riley’s smooth, deep voice mixed with the humming sound blend together.

  “Move it in and out. Faster. Harder. Slow down now, enjoy the sensations, baby. I can feel you squeezing my cock. I can feel your hot pussy tightening around me, gripping me like a vice.”

  His words, strangled groans mixed with pleasurable pants, send me over the edge. My legs shake beneath me, and I fall onto my back. My body writhes in ecstasy against the soft rug beneath me as another orgasm rips through me. White light blinds me from behind my eyelids, and I’m lost in a sea of sensation. I hear the thud of my heartbeat in my ears. My chest rises and falls with labored breaths, and all I can think is I haven’t felt this relaxed since before Riley left. Gingerly, I remove the vibrator from within and turn it off as I turn to look at the love of my life on the other side of the screen.

  “I love you.”

  “Me too,” he replies. Silently, I watch him clean himself up before tucking himself away. He reclines back in his chair, sated and satisfied. “Now that was one hell of a Christmas present.” He laughs, and I join in with him.

  “Well, I’m glad you liked it.” I wink at him and get up to retrieve the blanket off the chaise lounge. Wrapping it around my shoulders, successfully concealing myself, I walk back over to the computer and sit back on my heels.

  “I did, very much.”

  “I can’t wait for you to come home,” I say softly as I sit there and stare at the handsome man across from me, but technically, thousands of miles away.

  “I know, me either, but this deployment will go by faster than you think.”

  I give him a sad smile. “Promise?”

  Riley leans forward, his face serious. “I promise.”

  Headlights shine into the living room through the window behind the sectional. A smile breaks across my face. I haven’t seen Ron and Lana
since Thanksgiving, and I’m excited that they’re here. Until now, I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to spend the holidays with some semblance of a family. And thanks to Riley earlier, I can’t seem to get this damn smile off my face.

  Hurrying to the door, I open it before they even have a chance to make it to the steps.

  “Can you hurry up?” Lana complains.

  “Woman, I’m doing the best I can do. My hip hurts,” Ron groans and rubs at the spot on his side.

  Lana looks up at him over the open trunk of the car, and I see her glaring at her husband. “You’re not seriously playing the old card are you? You’re only fifty-five, Ron, not seventy.”

  As he comes to a stop beside her, I can barely make out him grumbling something under his breath.

  “What?” Lana asks, with an eyebrow raised.

  He shakes his head. “Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”

  “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought.” Digging in the trunk, she hands Ron bags as he stands there like the compliant husband that he is.

  “Yeah, you thought wrong, woman. You know how much I love when you try to act like you’re in charge,” he says, and I imagine him wiggling his eyebrows at his wife.

  Lana turns her head away from him, and I catch a glimpse of her smirking. “You liked me being in charge last night.”

  I hear her and can’t help but laugh out loud. Both of their heads whip in my direction. My hands slap over mouth, and my eyes go wide at being caught. I’m sure my face is as red as a tomato ripe for the picking, as I burn with embarrassment. My humiliation only grows as they both erupt into laughter. I squeeze my eyes shut, willing the images of the two of them out of my head. Like some things can’t be unseen, some things can’t be unheard.

  I walk down the steps and toward their car. “Well, since I’m already embarrassed, I should help y’all carry all this stuff in.” I chuckle.

  Lana waves her hand dismissively before opening her arms to me for a hug. I step into her embrace and hug her back as she wraps her arms around me. “It is so good to see you,” she says before releasing me. “But you don’t have to help us.” She nods her head in Ron’s direction. “That’s what I have him for.” Lana pulls out more and more bags, and I know there is no way that Ron can carry all of this by himself.

  My eyes drift to Riley’s dad, and I smile at him. “Hello, Ron. I am so glad the both of you could make it.”

  “Thank you for having us,” he replies.

  I look into the trunk before looking back at them. “Please, I insist. You two are guests in my home.”

  “I like the way that sounds coming from you,” Lana says. She reaches out and cups my cheek in a motherly gesture. “I’m so glad that you finally moved in here.” She looks to the house and back at me with an arched eyebrow as she drops her hand away from my face. “I hope you took my advice.”

  And I know she’s talking about mixing my things with Riley’s, making this house feel as much mine as it is his. “I did.” I smile at her.

  “All right then, I guess since you’re out here already and insisting on helping us.” She rolls her eyes at me playfully. “Why don’t we do this. Ron, you grab the cooler out of the backseat, and Kelsey and I will get everything else,” she says, looking between Ron and me.

  We both nod and begin to carry everything up into the house. Ron walks towards the kitchen, hefting a large blue cooler.

  “What’s in the cooler?” I ask.

  “Stuff for Christmas dinner.”

  I laugh because I knew she wouldn’t be able to help herself. The woman loves to cook, and what a cook she is.

  “What’s so funny?” she asks quizzically.

  “Nothing.” I shake my head. “I just knew that you’d make dinner. That’s all.”

  “Well, what kind of Christmas would we have if we didn’t have dinner afterward,” she deadpans.

  “I don’t know. This whole thing is kind of new to me.” I shrug as I bump the door shut with my hip. Lana follows me upstairs into the guest bedroom I prepared for her and Ron.

  “You’ve never done Christmas before?” Her eyebrows dip down in confusion.

  “No. I have. For me, it’s always been just another day. My, uh… my parents were never good with the whole family thing,” I answer while I set their luggage next to the closet.

  When I look up, Lana’s staring at me with pity in her eyes. I don’t want her to feel bad for me. I’ve come to terms that my life wasn’t always as cookie-cutter perfect as other peoples’. “Please, don’t feel bad for me. I’m okay with it, really.” I place a hand on her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze.

  She smiles and pats my hand. “Well, tomorrow, we will be on to making new memories. One’s that you will, hopefully, cherish, and one day do the same with your children.”

  ♥

  Ron, Lana, and I sit in the living room, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying each other’s company before Ron bids us goodnight.

  “You know you really didn’t have to get me anything for Christmas.” I look over at the Christmas tree with presents nestled under the spruce needled branches.

  “Don’t be silly.” Lana laughs as she reclines back on the couch, getting comfortable.

  I take a drink of the steaming chocolate before replying. “I just feel bad. I didn’t think to get you guys anything.”

  “Your mind has been elsewhere, Kelsey. It’s understandable.”

  “No, it’s not. I’ve let myself drown in loneliness, when in all actuality, I’m not alone. I have you and Ron, Jen, Candace, and Dante. I have people around that care about me and that are here for me. A lot of other women have been through this. Some have survived multiple deployments. If they can do it, then so can I.”

  A resolve washes over me. I know I’ve been telling myself that I am stronger than this, that I can do this. But I’ve concluded that telling myself and actually putting it to fruition are two very different things. Now, I’m going to start believing it.

  “That’s what I like to hear.” Lana raises her mug of hot cocoa to me in a toast.

  “I do have one question for you though.”

  “Shoot.”

  “How do you do it? How do you not worry all the time? How do you go on after talking to him and know that it may be the last time you hear his voice?” I ask, averting my eyes from her to the fire.

  “You don’t.” Her answer is simple and makes me look back at her. “You will always worry about him. It’s what you do when you love someone. But you have to have faith in him and his fellow soldiers that they know what they’re doing.” Lana lets out a soft chuckle. “Hell, I worry about him, even when he’s home. My worry is a little different than your worry, dear.”

  “How so?” I ask confused.

  “Where Riley is my son, he is your companion. The way I love my son is different than the way you love him. God forbid something ever happen to him. I would be devastated and my world would never be the same, but I’d still have Ron. I lean on and depend on him the way you do Riley. But if you lost Riley…” She shakes her head as tears well up in her eyes, and she offers me a sad smile. “I don’t know what I do without Ron. Just like I can’t imagine what you’d do without my boy,” she chokes out.

  I get up off the chaise lounge, set my mug on the cocktail table before making it to her side. Reaching out, I pull Lana into my arms and hug her as she cries softly on my shoulder. I rock gently, back and forth, whispering reassuring words to her.

  After a few minutes, she pulls out of my clutches, wiping away the remnants of her tears. “See, Kelsey. Even I sometimes cry. No one has impenetrable armor. Eventually, we all crack.”

  She’s right. I’m only human. It’s natural for me to miss the love of my life. I can pretend all I want that I’m fine, that I’m holding up okay. But at the end of the day, I’m no actress, I’m just Kelsey, a woman in love with a man fighting a war on the other side of the world. And I miss him, and that’s all right, too.

  “We hav
e a big day ahead of us tomorrow,” Lana says, clearing her throat and pulling me away from my thoughts. “We should probably head on up to bed.”

  “Oh yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you up late.”

  She laughs and pats my knee. “Don’t worry. I’ve pulled all-nighters before.”

  “I’m sure you have.” I chuckle. “Oh, by the way, I’ve invited a couple of friends over for dinner tomorrow. I hope that’s fine?”

  Lana reaches out and wipes a wayward strand of hair out of my eyes. “The more, the merrier. I’ll see you in the morning?”

  I nod and smile up at her. “Goodnight.”

  I’m vaguely aware of ringing coming from beside the bed. I stayed up a little longer after Lana went to bed last night, getting her and Ron and my friends their last minute Christmas gifts. Blindly, I reach over and look to see who’s calling. A slow smile spreads across my face as I accept the incoming FaceTime call.