by L. A. Boruff
Aaron let out a small sigh as a tear drifted down her cheek. “When we first started this thing between us, I told myself that it would be okay as long as I never grew real feelings for you,” she said as she dipped her chin toward her feet. “It was just supposed to be something to drive the unbearable loneliness out of our lives. That’s it,” she finished, and waited for his response.
Aaron knew Jace cared deeply for her, and that he wasn’t afraid to show it like she was. Aaron desperately wished that Jace would just wrap her up in his arms, tell her everything would be alright, and to make love to her. She could always sense how much of his heart he put into his time spent with her, especially during sex, and she craved that feeling of safety and acceptance to guide her in that moment. He made anywhere they were together feel like home.
Jace let her take a moment while he considered her words. He had been in love with her for a long time—nearly since the first night they were together—and he had since spent the rest of their relationship waiting for her to catch up. It was obvious she cared about him, especially in the way she treated him with a kindness that she never showed to anybody else they encountered together, but until she admitted it to herself there was nothing else he could do but wait for her brain to catch up with her heart. She had already lost so much; it was clear she had closed off her heart at the idea of ever being hurt again. Jace didn't want to lose her, and he loved her enough to wait until she was ready to tell him back in her own time.
“Aaron,” he said as he lifted her face up so he could look her in the eyes. “I love you. But I don’t expect you to love me in return. There are no expectations here, you know that,” he explained truthfully. He never asked for anything from her that she wasn’t ready to give freely.
Aaron heaved another sigh. “I know, but that’s the thing. I think it finally hit me on the way here. If I ever lost you, I wouldn’t be able to bear it. And I hate you a little for making me fall in love with you,” she said, but the look on her face told a different story. She didn’t hate him at all, she was just terrified.
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” he soothed, and pushed her arms down to her sides. Aaron didn’t fight him as he wiped away the wet trail on her cheek and lifted her chin. Instead of stretching out the silence, he pulled her to him and found her mouth with his again. His lips brushing against hers warmed her to her toes as he took his time exploring her.
The building pressure in her center made her muscles clench and release as he ran his fingers hypnotically along her arms, only to then draw another trail across the swell of her chest, over each hard nipple, and down toward her stomach. Climbing back up, he stopped to pull her aching peaks between his fingers, gently rolling them until they became almost too hard to bear. She could already imagine his hot tongue grazing her skin, and the thought alone finished igniting the building lust that threatened to tear her apart where she stood.
Her hands became restless, so she reached for the button on his pants, but he put his palm over it to still her.
“Let me have you—all of you. Please,” he begged, and she stopped to look into his eyes. She saw a magnitude of love written across his softened features that melted her completely. He needed this, and she wanted him to feel loved too. With a nod of her head, she silently walked over to the bed and climbed onto the worn mattress.
Jace kept his eyes glued to her sprawled bare form as he rummaged through the small nightstand. This wasn’t a game they played often, but it wasn’t the first time either. She knew what he wanted—no, needed. He found the two lengths of rope along with the blindfold without much effort, and with them in his hand, stalked toward the bed.
Aaron’s face relaxed with understanding, and her lips parted in anticipation.
“Are you ready?” he asked before they began, and she dipped her head once in agreement.
As Jace pulled one of her wrists above her head, a glint of arousal flashed across her eyes letting him know that she wanted this as much as he did, and he couldn’t help but smile a toothy grin. She responded by pushing her other wrist upward to await the second tie and raised her eyebrow. He quickly finished tying off the first one to the post on the salvaged headboard before moving to secure her second hand too.
Once she was bound, he supported her head as he knotted the blindfold around her eyes before he guided her back to the pillow beneath it. Secured and blindfolded, her breath picked up as her mind spiraled with fantasies.
She drew in a hiss when he began with a single finger down the center of her chest, repeatedly re-tracing his path, running a circle around each breast on the way up. Careful not to touch her nipples yet, he saw the pink of them darken a little more every time he grew close to one as she became more aroused. Not giving in to her desperate moan, he trailed back down, but this time unbuttoned her pants and moved himself off the end of the bed so he could pull them from her. She wasn’t wearing any underwear, and the sight of her delicate folds sent a shot of blood downward to his cock. Hardening unbearably, it pressed into the top of his pants, struggling to break free.
Jace wanted to sink himself deep inside Aaron right then, but he forced himself to wait. Biding his time, he palmed her small foot and traced a finger upward along her sensitive arch and over her feminine pink toenail polish. He continued across the top of her legs, tickling her inner thigh, then edged his touch right outside her sex as he kept going along her belly and back to her nipples. This time he allowed the tips of his fingers to glide over the peaks. His cock jerked in response as she arched her back and rose off the bed at his touch.
“Jace, please, I want you inside me,” she begged, but he didn’t respond with words. He didn’t do as she asked either. Rather, he lifted himself off the bed toward the nightstand where he pulled out a thickly veined sex toy from the drawer and a small bottle of lube they luckily found a few months ago on a supply hunt.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly while slightly struggling against the ropes. The headboard creaked in protest but didn’t give.
“You’ll see,” he replied with a sultry hunger that deepened his voice.
Aaron stilled. Her cheeks were already flushed a glorious shade of pink, and he could hear her breathing turn into a near pant. Her reaction made him struggle to fight for control, but this would be worth it, so he did so gladly.
When he reached the bed again, he set the objects just out of reach beside her leg so she couldn’t feel them, and shifted to the end of the mattress until his mouth was resting above her sex. Her body rocked to meet him as his breath heated the delicate flesh outside of her center, but he lifted his face before she reached him. Once she relaxed back down onto the mattress, he flicked out his tongue and ran it up her outer lips. Aaron cried out as the wet of his mouth glided across her. She didn’t think she could hold on much longer. If he kept teasing her like that she would shatter before they even began what she desired most.
Jace didn’t seem to care as he slid his tongue between her lips, lapping up her pleasure. She was already wet, and the sweet flavor of her pussy combined with the naturally floral scent of her skin threatened to cause him to spill in his pants. He paused to collect himself before he could continue. It had been far too long since they’d spent a night together. Once he was back under control, he used his hands to spread her pussy apart with his fingers, then danced his mouth across her in lazy circles. His tongue lingered, paying careful attention to her clit before running through her folds, plunging inside her, then licking back upward to tease her all over again. The gasping moans that came from her urged him on, and the swelling of her body told him she was close, so he pulled his mouth away.
“God, Jace, fuck me!” she cried through heavy breaths.
Jace smiled at her words and grabbed the dildo and the lube. Carefully making sure the entire shaft was covered in the slick substance, he applied a small amount to his fingers and pushed them inside of her. She whimpered and pulled her legs back to spread herself even furth
er apart for him. He took his time, playing with her body at a teasing pace, making sure she was slick and ready.
“Stay just like that,” he taunted her as he pulled his fingers from her and positioned the thick shaft at her entrance. It was too much to push in all at once, so he slid it along her folds. She wriggled and moved to match his movements. The anticipation of her wet pussy on his cock rose within himself as her body moved with the toy, begging for it to penetrate her. Finally, satisfied that she was ready, he pushed the tip into her. She let out a shuddering groan as it filled her entrance, so he pushed it in another inch. Her body stretched around its surface, her lips glistening in the light.
Jace watched her head tilt back into the pillow as he slowly buried it to the hilt. His gaze slid down her body as he reached with his other hand to tease her clit, drawing the dildo out and pushing it back in again. Aaron’s moans and cries were coming in steady rhythms with his movements. He teased her bud as he filled her body. The feel of fabric against his hardness was driving him crazy, so he paused long enough to pull his length free and stroke his cock a couple times before returning his attention back to Aaron.
He pushed the slick wet toy into her eager hole and held it still with one hand, while he fisted his shaft with the other, pushing all the way to the base. With a shudder, he decided he could stand it no longer, he needed to feel her heat wrapped around him. The sucking pop the dildo made as he drew it from her burned through him like a seductive thrall, and he moved into position above her as quickly as he could.
Jace pumped his shaft once more, then sunk himself into her hot, pink pussy with a low gasp. She was tight but ready for him, so he didn’t pause; he thrust his cock into her until he felt her wetness hit his groin and groaned as her body clenched around him. His mind blanked as he lost the control he fought to maintain. His thrusts matched his desire, growing faster and harder, but he knew from the whimpers of pleasure that Aaron was making that she was close to climax and wouldn’t want him to hold back, anyway.
With one hand by her hip to hold himself up, he spread his other up along her body until he reached her tight nipples, flicking each before pinching one between his fingers and squeezing hard, trying to drive her over the edge so he wouldn’t come before she did.
Aaron gasped and threw her head back as her body arched off the bed in a sudden uncontrollable jerk. Her body gripped his cock like a vice as her orgasm pulsed them both into bliss. He joined her mere seconds later, their bodies rocking in pleasure until they were spent.
The scent of sweat and sex hung heavy in the air, and he could taste lingering salt on his mouth.
“Holy shit Jace, what was that?” Aaron managed through panting breaths, as Jace pulled the blindfold from her eyes.
A chuckle rumbled through his chest. “I told you I missed you,” he replied as he lifted himself up on his arms and began kissing a trail up her body to her mouth.
“Hold on there, cowboy. I think I need a snack before we have round two,” she said halfheartedly, attempting to wiggle out from under him. Taking her cue, he untied her wrists so she could move.
Jace waggled his eyebrows at her as he hopped up off the bed to go find her the surprise he had been saving. Under a stack of notebooks on the desk across the room was another chocolate bar, and not just the few pieces like he had given her earlier.
He held it out in her direction and her face lit up when she saw it.
“I should be mad that you were holding out on me, but I’m not,” she said as she broke off a large chunk and shoved it into her mouth. She let out the same moans when she ate chocolate as she did when Jace made love to her, causing his body to stir again as images of her spread legs and glistening lips crowded his mind.
Aaron was too distracted by her treat to notice, so he quickly grabbed a pair of pants and pulled them on. As much as he wanted to ravage her again, his mouth was so dry it was stuck together, and his stomach was rumbling in protest.
Aaron had finished her piece of chocolate and was pulling her shirt over her arms when a loud crack sounded through the air, accompanied quickly by falling dirt and debris from the hardened earth ceiling above them.
“What the heck was that?!” she yelled and quickly finished dressing.
Jace had already pulled a shirt on and was jamming his feet into his boots when it happened again.
“I have no idea. Come on, let’s get to the periscope so we can see what’s going on up there.”
Jace grabbed her hand, pulling her behind him in a rush. Aaron wasted no time and followed as closely as possible. The effects of a harsh survival made sure they were both in good shape, unless you counted the lack of fresh vegetables and food. Still, they could sprint on command thanks to being used to the danger that constantly surrounded them.
Jace and Aaron burst into the next room that was lined with gun racks on the walls and tabletops covered with various other weaponry sprawled across them. In the corner was a metal ladder that led to a steel platform. Originally installed in a military submarine, Jace had somehow managed to drag it all the way back here. It was a story he had never gotten around to telling Aaron and wished he had. There were many wishes and regrets rolling around in his head now that the earth was threatening to cave down on them. But the only thing he knew for sure was they couldn’t go topside until they were certain there was no one up there trying to kill them. He refused to risk Aaron’s life, but if it came to it, there were other ways to escape his hold in the ground.
“Hurry!” Aaron cried as more debris rained down.
Jace jumped up the ladder two steps at a time. Once he was to the top, he spun the periscope around and glanced through the eyepiece.
“There are two trucks and at least five men up there,” he reported, following it with a few select curse words. “And they… what the fuck! Aaron, get down!” he screamed as a man decked out in camouflage threw a grenade toward the main entrance.
The impact threw Jace backward off the platform, sending him to the ground. Aaron was knocked off her feet, but as soon as the earth stopped shaking, she shot up and raced toward him. The wind was forced from his lungs and his head was swimming, but he was still in a single piece.
“Oh my god, Jace, you’re bleeding!” Aaron cried and pushed her hands against his forehead.
As soon as he sat up, a trickle of warm blood ran across his nose. He knew he had to get his head clear and get Aaron out of here before the ceiling really did fall through. With the kind of artillery the intruders were using, it wouldn’t be long either.
Jace placed a hand over Aaron’s. “I need to bandage it, and we need to get to the back entrance or we’re going to die down here,” he instructed as he nuzzled her hand before he yanked off his shirt. Aaron scrambled to help him wrap it around his head. With a hard pull, he tied it off in the back and stood.
“Grab some weapons,” he said as he did the same and stuck a nine-millimeter in the band of his pants. He didn’t wait to see what she snagged; instead he strapped a couple of knives to his thighs and grabbed her hand again. “Come on, we gotta go!”
Aaron shoved one more grenade in the backpack she found lying in Jace’s supply room before chasing after him. The ground seemed to quake as they made it to the back entrance. There was no time to scout outside before they hit the dirt running, so they came out of the door with a vengeance. There was only one safe place to go, and they needed to get away without anyone seeing them, or they didn’t have a chance in hell. Whomever was trying to get into Jace’s home didn’t give a crap if they killed them in the process, and she certainly wasn’t going to stop for a chat to make sure they knew someone had been home when they started trying to blow the place apart.
Luckily, the men were occupied with getting the door open, which meant they didn’t notice them as they ran out the back and across the jagged land as fast as they could. There was shelter on the way to her house, but they had to get to it first. Old, run down houses and buildings dotted the way, and the l
ast time she checked they had all been empty.
When she noticed Jace slowing down to look back for her, she hissed, “I’m here! Go!” through clenched teeth, trying not to attract attention.
He nodded and whipped his head back around. On they ran, and thankfully there was still no sound of pursuit, but her lungs were starting to get tired as the shock wore off. Panic began to creep up in her chest, and tears streamed down her cheeks. No matter what, she couldn’t stop, because Jace wouldn’t leave her and it would put his life in danger. She would rather push herself until she fell dead before she risked him. Finally, an abandoned house came into view on the horizon. Her second wind kicked in, and her fear ebbed. They were almost to safety, even if it was temporary.
Her foot caught on a crack in the hard clay, and she was sent stumbling forward. By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late to do anything about it. The next thing she was aware of was pain racing up her wrists from the damage done to her hands after being scraped against the hard earth. A moment of shock kept her motionless and prone on the ground before her brain snapped into gear. Jace was running back toward her to help. A new well of panic dumped into her system as she pushed herself up off the ground.
“No, keep going,” she mouthed silently while waving her bloody hands. Jace was already to her before she could protest anymore. He tucked an arm into hers, and with a quick glance around to make sure no one was following, they hobbled together to the house in front of them.
By the time they had reached the front door, Aaron was crying in earnest. Jace got her through the doorway and gently lowered her to the floor before shutting the door. It took him three tries to get it quietly closed all the way because the hinges were rusted over, but he finally got it situated and went to join her where she was assessing the damage.
Her knee was busted, and her hands were on fire, but she was certain that nothing was broken. When she looked up into Jace’s face, she started laughing.
