Burnt Road: Dante

by Neal, Toby

  “Where are the puppies?” Melody asked.

  “Safe in the barn. We’ll get them in the morning.”

  Melody turned to Dante and kissed him. “Condoms. Don’t come back empty-handed.”

  “Yes. They had a small store area but it’s locked. I will have to break in, and I will also care for Sweetie.” Dante turned and left, while Melody enjoyed the view of his backside with a sigh of anticipation.

  She got the hot water going, and steam filled the bathroom as Melody stepped into the shower. The water beat against the back of her neck, running over her body, washing away the dirt and Snake’s touch.

  She probed where Snake had smacked her. The spot was tender, and a bruise was forming.

  Melody was still in the shower when she heard Dante’s footsteps vibrating the small structure. She called out to him, “Did you find them?”

  The door was slightly ajar and she heard Dante step up to it but he didn’t poke his head in. “Yes, I brought several types. You can tell me which ones you would like.”

  Melody smiled. God, he was so cute.

  “Come in here and join me.”

  The door opened and Dante stepped into the small bathroom. He was still wearing that cowboy hat, and the black shirt and jeans. Melody held the curtain aside, cocking a hip and letting him see her.

  Dante’s eyes turned molten gold as his gaze ran over her body. His intense focus made it feel like he was already touching her. “Undress for me.” Her voice was low, hungry.

  Dante began to unbuckle his pants quickly, kicking off his boots.

  “Slowly. Show me your body one inch at a time. You know I like looking at you as much as you enjoy looking at me.” The warm water beat down on Melody as liquid heat pooled in her core. She slid her hands up and down her slick body.

  Dante looked unsure as he fumbled with his belt buckle, a tightness around his eyes and lips, but that golden gaze of his was so hot, so trusting and open that it made her throb with painful need.

  “Knock off your hat.”

  He reached up slowly, flexing his arms, and pushed the hat’s brim with a forefinger. It fell onto the floor behind him, exposing his lustrous curls. They tumbled to his shoulders, catching the light and making Melody’s hands itch to touch them.

  “Now your shirt. Take it by the hem, and slowly draw it up your body.” Dante looked down and grabbed the edge of his shirt.

  “Look at me while you do it.”

  Dante’s gaze lifted to Melody’s face and his blush deepened as he held her eyes, longer than he ever had before. He was turned on but embarrassed. She needed to get that embarrassment out of his head. Confidence and control were what he needed to learn. “You’re hot, Dante. And you’re making me hot. Show me your body. It’s awesome.”

  Dante brought the shirt up slowly, thrusting his hips forward in a swagger. Melody licked her lips as his torso was exposed—the V-shape of his abs, the dark trail of hair leading into his unbuckled pants, the muscles that hugged his hips and pointed a line to where she planned on going—all of it made her mouth water. She loved his chiseled pecs with their taut nipples and light dusting of hair. He flung the shirt off almost defiantly, his collarbones and the well-defined muscles of his shoulders catching the low light of the bathroom.

  “Now your pants. Unzip them slowly.”

  Dante obeyed, his eyes never leaving hers.

  “Push them down. Let me appreciate everything.”

  Dante lowered his pants and his boxer briefs, his gaze darkening with need. He stood before her, totally nude and fully erect. He stepped out of his pants. “I want to kiss you now.” His voice was a low whisper. “I want to pleasure you.”

  “You will. But no hurry.” His eyes widened and a vein in his neck pulsed as Melody touched her breast, caressing it and pulling at the nipple. “Touch yourself, Dante.”

  He fisted himself and groaned. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment: black lace over molten gold.

  “Look at me,” Melody whispered. “We’re doing this together. It’s another way to be intimate.”

  Dante’s eyes opened again as Melody’s hands traveled down her body to where she felt swollen and empty, in need of him.

  She slid her finger to that sweet spot, that bundle of nerves, that electrified center, and she shuddered as sensation rippled over her. Dante pumped himself tightly as he watched, his breathing harsh.

  “Get in here. I want you, Dante.”

  It took Dante one and a half strides to reach the shower. And then he was in, the smell of rain, desert and man coming with him. His hands circled her waist and his body shoved her back against the shower wall confidently. He knew what he wanted. And what Dante wanted was Melody.

  The tiles were slick and warm against her back, Dante’s lips tender and rough over hers, and his erection throbbed between them.

  Dante dropped to his knees before her. Melody arched against the tiles, her face towards the ceiling as he found her center with his mouth. He dove into her like a man dying of thirst who’d found a fresh spring.

  He cupped her ass, his fingers digging in, his mouth hungry and sure. His confident, loving touch wiped away Snake’s hands and replaced the memory with ecstasy.

  Just the way she wanted.

  Just the way she needed.

  Melody raised one leg and lifted it over Dante’s shoulder, giving him better access.

  “Use your fingers. Inside me. And your mouth.”

  Tentatively he put one at her edge and then slowly sank into her warmth.

  “Is that where you want to be?” She asked as he added a second finger.

  “More than anything,” Dante breathed against her.

  Melody’s body tingled all over, tightening as her anticipation built. Shudders racked her as he worked her hard.

  “That’s what you want. That’s what I want.” Her hands fisted his curls as he dove into her again and again. “God. Yes. Dante! Yes!” She screamed.

  Dante knew exactly what to do, exactly how to please her, exactly how to free her.

  Melody came apart, arching back against the tile, her body rigid as pulses of pleasure radiated from Dante to her. That wave arched, glittering and powerful, curling, its tip foaming and then crashing, taking Melody down to the depths, sinking her down to where there was nothing but roiling, ecstatic sensation.

  Melody was lost to Dante, lost to the power that was this connection between them.

  She was no longer teacher. He was master in this moment.

  Melody would’ve collapsed, slid right down onto the tile except that Dante held her up as he stood. He kissed her forehead and her eyes, he stroked her wet hair, and he found her lips and caressed them. He began to devour her mouth slowly, assuredly, once again showing her he knew what he wanted, what they both wanted.

  His kiss brought her back to the surface, ready to ride the next wave.

  “Come on, Dante. Let’s go to bed. I want to fly with Superman.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dante

  Melody took Dante’s hand and stepped out of the shower. It was hard for him to walk with his erection so heavy, tight and uncomfortable. Almost as if she sensed this, Melody took him in her hand and gave a gentle tug.

  Dante almost came right then but concentrated hard not to, focusing on a spot above her shoulder. Melody grabbed a towel off the rack and led him to the four-poster bed. He had placed a pile of condoms on the side table, and she giggled when she saw them. “Think we’ll get through that many?”

  “Yes.” Dante’s voice locked in his throat, but she laughed. Her firm hand on him was almost too much to take, but he would not shame himself by losing control again.

  “Dry us off.” Her voice was husky as she handed him the towel and sat on the edge of the bed. “You first.”

  Melody bent and took Dante in her mouth, looking up his body playfully as she licked him. He breathed hard through his nose, toweling himself off roughly, ripples of pleasure spreading from the hot center o
f his body where her mouth connected.

  “Now me.” She lay back on the bed, spread before him like a feast of delicious tastes, smells, and sights. He stroked the towel over her breasts, lingering and swirling it in gentle circles over her nipples until Melody moaned. He slid the towel down over her waist and between her legs. He could tell that the rough texture felt good to her as she arched against his hand. “Oh, yes, Dante!”

  He would never forget the way she had screamed his name in the shower. Whenever life became difficult or uncomfortable, he would go back to that memory of being on his knees before Melody, her leg over his shoulder, his hands and mouth filled with her, and his goddess above him, losing control and crying out his name.

  He wanted to do that to her again.

  Melody pushed his hand aside and sat back up. “This is about you now. You must have imagined how you want your first time to be. Tell me.” Her green eyes hypnotized him as she cupped her breasts in offering. “From the front? Me on top? From behind?”

  His favorite fantasy, when he imagined making love to a woman, was from behind: she on her hands and knees as he clasped her hips and sank deep. His groin twitched and throbbed at the mere thought. But part of why he liked that fantasy was that there was no eye contact. He wouldn’t have to look at a woman’s face to make love to her. Melody was different. The longer he knew her, the easier it was to bear the intimacy of her gaze. He was even starting to enjoy it.

  “I want you on top. Then me on top. Then me behind. Then you in the chair and me in front. Then maybe in the shower again, only I will hold you up.”

  Melody laughed and it was the sweetest music. “I guess we might need all those condoms after all.” She patted the bed beside her. “C’mon, Superman, and let me take a ride.”

  Dante’s erection pulsed, threatening to explode as he lay on his back and she rolled the condom on. He groaned with the effort of controlling himself.

  “I chose ribbed. For her pleasure.” Melody smiled and stroked him lovingly, tweaking the tip so that the rubber stung him just a little, giving him the control he needed as she straddled him. Dante clasped her hips and she paused, bracing on his chest, poised with him at her entrance.

  “I’m honored to be your first.” Melody’s eyes were like emeralds, glittering and bold, her body perfection, and her touch sure and gentle as she guided him into her. Her eyes rolled back and her lids closed but he kept his gaze on her, his hands on her hips as she eased down, her hot tightness slowly accommodating his size.

  “Ohhhh. You fill me up so good. You are magnificent, Dante.” Melody tightened her thighs around his hips and settled further onto him, throwing her head back. Bracing herself with her hands on his chest, pressing her breasts together, she cried, “Oh, what you do to me!”

  So tight. So firm. So good. Just right.

  Dante’s eyes rolled back in his head as he sank fully into her at last. The clasp of her, even through the condom, was like a hot silken fist.

  He couldn’t come yet. He had to enjoy this and make sure that Melody did, too.

  She began moving, pistoning above him and making those delicious noises. To keep control Dante thought of unpleasant things: the sound of a locomotive abrading his ears, the sensation of seaweed on his feet when he went swimming, the harsh report of gunfire.

  Dante maintained control, but he wanted Melody to lose it. He would let himself go when she was satisfied, and not a moment before. He could feel his orgasm waiting at the base of his spine, a rupture of bliss that pressed against his pelvis, fighting his will. He gripped Melody’s hips and took control of their movement, working her up and down as he thrust into her hard, harder, even harder. She went over the edge with a sudden wail, lifting up off of him like a bird in flight, her black hair swirling.

  Then Dante came; it began in his spine and cracked like heat lightning up into his brain, bursting out the top of his head. His back arched up off the mattress as he exploded into Melody with all he had pent up within him, and it felt like so much more than a mere bodily expression. It felt like giving his life to her, and her name tore from his throat. Dante fragmented beneath her, and went somewhere else.

  That place was a void with no sensation but buzzing pleasure, no obstacles or goals, nothing but peace.

  When Dante settled back into his body, Melody was lying on his chest, and she was crying.

  Her body shuddered with sobs, and her tears scalded his sensitive skin as she clutched him. “What? What did I do? Did I hurt you?” His arms closed over her as he pressed her deep into his body. If only he could shield her from any hurt, any bullet, any arrow that would come against her, he would do it.

  “Nothing. My darling Spock.” She sniffled and wiped her nose with a hand. “That was so good; so good it makes me forget everything else that wasn’t good. Those other things.”

  Dante squeezed her. “Those men who kidnapped you. The man who raped you.”

  Melody nodded her head up and down on his chest. Her hair tickled his nose, damp and silky. He stroked and petted it, spreading it across his nipples, across his abs. She felt so good. Everything she did to him, every way she touched him was good.

  “I will never forget this.” Dante’s voice was a low rumble, speaking pure truth.

  Melody laughed, a damp chuckle. “They say you always remember your first. I certainly do.” The trace of bitterness in her voice almost had a flavor, a tang like biting into a sour piece of fruit.

  “He wasn’t good. Your first.”

  She sighed, and nodded her head up and down. Dante stroked her back. Was her skin more like satin, or velvet? Satin velvet, he decided, the best, most expensive kind. The firm supple length of her weight on him anchored him firmly, and thinking about it, he felt himself getting hard again.

  Melody felt it too, and sat up. Her green eyes were wide. He had surprised her.

  He smiled. “I think it’s time to try another kind of condom.”

  She laughed. “I think you might be right, my Superman Spock. What position do you want to try next?”

  They burned through four of the condoms before finally sleeping.

  * * *

  Dante got up from the nest of blankets and yawned, stretching his arms wide above him. Well-being suffused his body. He felt better than after a whole weekend in his air-conditioned compound gaming, his favorite thing. Sex was his new favorite thing. Sex with Melody was so revitalizing that he did, indeed, feel like Superman.

  Melody slept, curled in close to where he’d been lying. Dante watched her for a long moment: the way the light from the window traced over her satin-velvet contours. The shiny black of her hair. The round shape of her butt as it sloped into the long angle of her leg. The squashed triangle of her breast, compressed between her arms. The tiny chalice of her navel. All of her was beautiful.

  He even liked the smell of sex in the sheets, musky and intimate.

  He walked into the bathroom and showered, soaping up briskly. Melody joined him as he toweled off. “Good morning, handsome.”

  “Good morning, beautiful.” Dante leaned over to kiss her, taking her mouth, stiffening against her belly.

  Melody groaned. “No more, Dante. Really. I have to recover, I’m sore this morning.”

  “Just a little more. For you. I promise to be so gentle.” He dropped to his knees and clasped her hips.

  Half an hour later they got out, and Melody staggered. This time, Dante laughed as he wrapped her in the familiar towel. “You need another nap so we can do this some more.”

  Melody swatted at him, then stopped suddenly, holding up her bare right hand for him to see. “My ring. It’s gone!” She blinked, tears welling. “I loved that ring.” Her voice was quiet. “It was from my mother. It means so much to me.” She laid her hand on his bare chest, looking up at him. “Can we go back to that house and look for it? I think it must have come off when I was escaping those men. I know I had it when you and I were together on the bikes.”

  “Of course.
” Dante retrieved his pants. “Let’s organize our supplies and find a horse for you. We will go look for the ring at the house, and then return here to gather supplies and begin our journey to Idaho. The horses are a good way to get around the city. We will not go into Las Vegas itself. Too many dangerous people.”

  “Agreed.” Melody found her clothes. “We really got lucky finding this place. I don’t think we can count on that kind of luck again.”

  “I have noticed that when something bad happens to us, it is followed by something good.” He named their bad breaks: the marauders at the boulder followed by finding the Bronco. The truck getting stolen followed by finding bikes. Melody being taken, followed by the flood and Dante finding the dude ranch and the horses. “Setbacks are always followed by an opportunity. We keep moving forward in the right direction.”

  “Only you would think me getting kidnapped was a good thing.”

  “No.” Dante stepped close, gathering Melody up, pressing her body against his, needing to feel her, to know she was there. “It was horrible. But it led to me finding Sweetie and getting you, and this.” He gestured to the bed.

  “My insatiable Superman.” Melody leaned up and kissed him. “I like the way you look when you are smiling like that. Do it more often. Now let’s go find my ring.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Melody

  As they walked toward the barn Melody felt like a real cowgirl. Her legs were bowed, and she was downright sore.

  She and Dante had made love more times than Melody could count. The man had been saving himself, and when he let go, he really let go. Dante was insatiable.

  What had she unleashed?

  Dante moved through the barn like he owned it, that cowboy hat back on his head. “There are supplies here. We can find you some chaps and boots.”