Chapter 1 #3
“Whoa,” he muttered. “All this smooth, silky skin, and sweet pussy folds.” His voice rumbled against my belly.
“You like it?”
“Of course I like it. Best thing ever. Thing is, I love the red curly ringlets of your bush, too. It’s all good. The important thing is that it’s you. As long as I get to slide my tongue into this sweet thing, and lick up all the yummy juice…”
His voice trailed off into an unintelligible murmur, vibrating against my clit.
He came at it slowly and skillfully. Caressing my pussy with his fingertips, gently sucking on my clit, circling it with his tongue, around and around…
and then the tender tongue-tip flicking, trilling…
and oh, God. It was pulling more light from that blazing star inside me, until I was all light, and my hands were wound into his hair, and the light got hotter, brighter…
It super-novaed, blotting out the whole world.
When my awareness of myself returned, I was already in position. Hoisted up, my legs draped over his arms, his cock pressed against my slick opening. He pulsed against me, petting my pussy lips with his cockhead, making himself slippery and hot.
I laughed, clearing my throat. “What is it about us and vertical sex?” I asked. “Our first two encounters were vertical.”
“True,” he said. “Hotter than hell. But we’ve covered pretty much every variation under the sun. Unless you have some new proposal. I stand ready.”
“Don’t get cute with me, Masters. Give me your cock right now, you tease.”
“Yes, ma’am. Your Majesty. My Red Queen.”
I gasped with delight as he thrust into me, and we were off.
Deep and slick, rocking thrusts. Delicious.
My body felt as soft and yielding as a cloud for him, but soon the luscious pleasure began to sharpen into a desperate urgency that felt almost angry, but wasn’t.
It was wild, unafraid, and this was a safe place for it to rage and blaze, honest and unrestrained.
It was burning us up, but we were happy to burn.
I exploded first, wailing and clenching around him. He followed me, as the tight pulses of my orgasm pulled him after, his hips pounding hard.
When the explosion had eased, he leaned against me, panting. His body held me still pinned to the wall as he slowly lifted his face from my shoulder. “I wouldn’t be able to get through this without you.” His voice was stark.
“What? The wedding? Or just in general? Being out in the world again?”
“Both,” he said. “All of it. My circuits would fry. I’d be one big pain in the ass panic attack all the time without you.”
My arms tightened around him, and I pressed my face against his hair. “Same. There is nothing on earth I’d rather do than love you. That whole shit-show we went through actually had a point, when I consider that you were my prize.”
He laughed. “I don’t feel like such a prize, after all my fuck-ups.”
I clucked my tongue. “No way! Every single one of your fuck-ups was a courageous effort to help someone in need. That’s why you used SmokeScreen in the first place.
That’s why you used it the second time, to save Reggie.
You’re a protector of innocents, Shane Masters.
That’s who you are. In your deepest essence.
You can’t turn away from that. It would break you. ”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “Jed and the others want me to start up Ready Line again,” he told me. “Raine Lazar needs security for her war zone clinics. The ones that she’s building with Halliwell’s money.”
“So? What do you think? Will you do it?”
He looked up at me, a shadow in his eyes. “You think I should? After what happened? After what I did?”
“You can’t let Wex Boer and Halliwell keep defeating you. They’re gone.”
“So are those six men from Ready Line who trusted me.”
“I know, and I’m so sorry. But you honor their memory better by getting back to the work you do best. Dedicate each success to them going forward.”
He looked bemused. “Are you sure about what you’re asking? This involves long absences, frequent travel, high risk. Are you trying to get rid of me?” He slid reluctantly out of my body, setting me gently on my bare feet.
“Hell, no. I never want you out of my sight,” I told him. “But I’ll be tough. I’ll live, when you have to go do what you’re made to do. I’ll be working hard, too. I know how to keep busy. You’ve never seen me in work-mode. It’s a scary spectacle. Just ask Reggie.”
A ghost of a smile flashed over his somber face. “I’ve really liked these months rolling around in bed with you.”
“Me, too. Like crazy. But at some point, we have to drag our eyes away from each other, pull our pants up, and look ahead. We have to go forth. Do our thing. Play our part.”
“Go forth,” he repeated. “Wow.”
“Um. I need to run to the bathroom right freaking now, or this dress will not be fit to be seen in polite company,” I said. “Excuse me while I make myself decent.”
He held me back for the length of another long, pleading kiss. His eyes were thoughtful as I pulled away and hurried for the bathroom.
I hoped I wasn’t pushing him too fast. But my instincts said to push. He needed to get out there and use his prodigious talents. The world needed him.
I couldn’t believe what I’d just said. It came out of me with no forethought, no thought for what I was doing to myself.
Truth to tell, I was by no means ready to share him with the world yet.
He was my safe place, my sweet refuge. We clung to each other like kudzu, and we were totally unembarrassed about it, after the shit we had survived.
I would feel so naked and alone without him.
But we had to start somewhere.
Shane
I dragged up my pants, straightened out my clothes, and sat on the bed to wait for her. Impatiently. My eyes were happier when she was in my field of vision. Closed doors sucked. Any kind of distance from her sucked even harder.
I tried to be brave, up to a point. But she was throwing down the gauntlet, encouraging me to go forth. Inflict my imperfect self upon the world again. Whoa.
When she came out, she looked perfectly put together, not like she’d just had wild sex up against a wall. Only the hot, sexy glow in her dilated eyes belied her.
The paparazzi had realized how crazy photogenic she was, and they wouldn’t let up.
I didn’t blame them. She’d blown her red curls out so that the long ringlets had relaxed into glossy, fiery dark red waves of hair which bounced in big curls at the small of her back.
“The Mystery Masters Women” was the title of a recent article featuring unauthorized pics of Cass, my sister Freya, and Kat.
Both of whom were stunning in their own right.
Red had freshened up her makeup, but she had put nothing on her freckles. Just some subtly sparkly face cream. I loved those freckles.
“Damn, you’re beautiful.” I tried to keep my voice even, but it came out raw and shaky, not suave. That woman melted me into mush.
At her insistence, I was trying to embrace my feelings, the good and the bad.
To not shove them away instinctively. It wasn’t something most dudes were wired up to do.
Particularly not me. But I’d do anything to please this woman.
Even “let myself be vulnerable.” Her words. Not mine. They still made me twitch.
“You okay?” she asked, her voice uncertain.
I grabbed her hands, pulled her close, clasping her waist. Pressed my face to her belly. “Now I am.”
“Do you need more time?” she asked. “Or shall we go down there and, ah…”
“Go forth?”
She hesitated. “Only if you’re ready. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lecture you.”
“No,” I said. “Not at all.”
“I’m in overload, too,” she said. “But we should make an effort, for Kat and Ethan. Let’s commit to one half-hour at a time, no more. A couple of dances, a glass of champagne. Then we take stock, see how we feel.”
I held out my hand. “Sounds good,” I said.
She slipped her shoes on, and we held hands on our way out. Down the stairs, out into the garden. The party had shifted while we were gone, so we headed into the big ballroom. Nighttime Visitor was up on the stage, singing Sweet Refuge.
Red pulled me out onto the dance floor, and I realized that it was a great place to be. On the dance floor, I could sway with her, right out in front of God and everyone, wrapped around her like a scarf, and no one thought it was strange. The mellow, romantic music made it all okay.
When the song ended, the singer bowed to the applause, and gestured at me and Red with a big grin.
“This song was supposed to be at the beginning of the set list, but you weren’t here,” he said.
“We wrote it for Shane Masters, and his amazing lady, Cass Clarke, after a night of downing shots of tequila and hearing a story that will haunt my nightmares until I leave this earth. Chris and I meant to play it for you at your wedding, but you pulled a fast one on us, dude. You cut us out. Private wedding, my ass.”
“Sorry,” I called out.
“We get it, man. If I were in your shoes, after what you went through, I’d be hiding under the bed, heavily medicated.
Anyhow, we thought we’d debut this song for you, right here and now, while we have the chance.
Seems appropriate. So ladies and gentlemen, here it is!
The very first ever public performance of Shane and Cass’s song… Shining Through!”
I looked down at Red as the opening chords began. Silky arpeggios, caressing my ears. “Did you know about this?” I asked.
She shook her head, and held out her arms. “No, but how totally wonderful. Dance with me again?”
“God, yes,” I said, pulling her close as the singer began.
I stole you from a demon’s hoard
Because you shone so bright
We ran ‘til we could run no more
Then turned to face the fight
The demon had no right.
Lead me through the flames and smoke
Safe haven is in your eyes
We’ll mend the precious things we broke
See through the demon’s lies
While fire licks the sky
My heart was frozen hard with fear
But yours was fierce and true
But now the smoke begins to clear
And the stars are shining through
The stars are shining through.
I pressed my face to her hair, wiping wet eyes. Everyone was clapping, hooting, staring at us. And I wasn’t embarrassed. Something inside me had just let go.
I lifted her clasped hands and kissed them, one after the other. “Let’s go forth,” I said, just loud enough for her to hear me. “Do our thing. Play our part.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? You mean, you want to start Ready Line back up again?”
I nodded. “There’s work to be done. I can’t just sit around on my ass. But I have to be with you as much as possible. I need that. It’s non-negotiable. We have to bake that into the plan. Couples time, and Holly and Reggie time. Okay?”
“Of course.” Her eyes shone. “Always.”
We turned toward the band, holding up our clasped hands in tribute. Then turned to find that everyone was now clustered around us. Holly and Reggie, both sniffling and puffy-eyed. Kat and Freya and Angela, dabbing their noses with tissues.
We let go of each other, to be able to better hug multiple family members, some more than one at a time. Nighttime Visitor kept on playing, looking pleased with themselves, vamping the poignant chords as they watched the emotional mayhem they had wrought.
I felt it in my bones. Red was right. It was time. The smoke had cleared.
And the stars were shining through.