Chapter 7 #3
She didn’t know where they were going, but she knew this town like the back of her hand.
They were not heading in the direction of the diner, nor did the drive to the diner take thirty minutes.
They were heading elsewhere, and that anticipation amped up her excitement.
Jack was right: she did love surprises. The good kind of surprises, the romantic kind.
She wished she could use her other hand too, but she was currently using that hand to keep herself balanced.
So she raised her mouth up to the top and moved her hand from his balls to the base.
Jenna licked along his sensitive cockhead, caressing the slit with her tongue.
She pulled up, keeping her hand pumping on the lower half of his dick, as she pursed her lips and blew onto his tip.
Jack’s thighs under her quaked and his hand on her breast tightened, but he kept the truck steady.
There was just a bit of a curse from over her head that made her smile. This was what she loved. Jack was so strong, always in control. When she was the one in charge, it felt like she was giving him a break through pleasure…and maybe a little bit of torture.
Jenna widened her lips and dropped her mouth over him. She flattened her tongue, bobbing her head up and down while running the rough appendage along the underside of his cock. Her legs shifted, and the dampness pooling between her own legs became even more apparent.
She must have adjusted her legs more than she realized because suddenly Jack’s hand was off her tit and gripping the back of her jacket in a firm fist. The jolt had her dropping down even more, and if it hadn’t been for her hand on his dick, she would have ended up accidentally deep throating him.
Not that she minded, but she preferred to be prepared for that.
“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me,” Jack growled, even as his hand traveled from the back of her coat down to grip her ass.
With his cock still in her mouth, Jenna shook her head in argument.
Jack snorted before spanking her asscheek. It wasn’t as hard as he used to do it, but still enough to bite. He massaged and squeezed the globe.
Just as she felt the truck slow and Jack flicked the turn signal, she dropped her mouth lower over him, suctioned her mouth, and gave a long, hard pull.
“Oh, fuck!” he groaned over her. “Jen, baby, back off if you can’t swallow me. I can’t take another one of those—”
Jenna did it again. The truck swerved, skidding to a halt seconds before she felt his cum hit the back of her throat. She smiled in victory, swallowing him down as she breathed heavily through her nose.
Christ Almighty, it was a good thing he pulled over.
Steel lost his vision there for a moment.
But he got his wits about him in time to wave off the prospects, who had also come to a sudden halt on the side of the road and were both running out of the SUV towards the truck.
Not that he cared if they saw his dick, but he would never embarrass Jenna like that.
What passed between them had always been for them, regardless of the occasional accident.
After he helped her sit up, he grabbed her purse to pull out the to-go bag of tissues and the pack of wet wipes he knew she kept in it. Together, they cleaned up, and Steel tucked his cock away again, doing up his pants and belt.
Jenna needed assistance getting her legs out from under her, but she swore up and down that she wasn’t in pain. In fact, she looked a bit blissed out, even though he’d been the one to have his brains sucked out through his dick.
Taking her flushed cheeks between his hands, Steel leaned over and claimed her lips. He could taste the tang of his semen on her, and fuck if that didn’t make his dick try valiantly to get hard again. It wasn’t happening, not at his age, but he still had to give it kudos for the attempt.
As he pulled away, Jenna smiled dreamily at him. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Jack.”
He bumped their noses together. “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby. Ready for your surprise?”
Jenna blinked, looking around at their surroundings for the first time. The sun was just a small sliver of light on the horizon, but their headlights illuminated where they were as the moon still fought to rise. “We’re on the mountain pass?”
He nodded.
He could see the thoughts churning in her head, and then a massive smile appeared on her face. “You’re taking me dancing.”
He nodded again, biting his lips against the fact that Jenna was a terrible dancer. Just awful. But that didn’t stop her from liking the activity, and Steel didn’t care how many times she stepped on his toes or tripped them or elbowed him. All that mattered was that she was happy and having fun.
“It’s supposed to snow tonight,” he added.
Jenna’s eyes dilated, and he knew she was specifically remembering the night they’d lost their virginities together in the bed of this truck.
Steel repositioned them so he could drive once more. They were only a few minutes away from the lookout point.
The mountain surrounding Mount Grove blocked the small town from easy access.
The river that bisected the north and south sides of town was fed year-round from the mountain run-off.
The road leading through the mountain was very scenic, with multiple lookout points.
The first and lowest point faced the town.
It was a very popular teenage make-out spot too.
Which was why Steel had had Deputy Danny in full uniform and cruiser staged at the lookout since four this afternoon, even though he wasn’t on duty today. Steel had called in a favor he’d been holding on the young deputy to keep the point clear of any additional parties with romantic designs.
Twinkle lights decorated the overhang with a single picnic table and multiple propane heaters from the club’s own pavilion were set up and lit as Steel pulled his truck up.
He made a quick U-turn before backing the bed up to the fence that did absolutely nothing from keeping idiots from falling over the ledge.
In addition to helping the police whenever extra gun power was needed, the club was also known for providing search and rescue assistance for wayward travelers and lost hikers.
State or private SARS units were also called, but they were all located a distance away and were assigned based on availability.
The club had the experience and the equipment to get most jobs done before the other team arrived, or were there to guide medical assistance in.
Danny stepped out of his vehicle as Steel got out of his. They shook hands. “Steel.”
“Danny, thank you again for doing this.”
He shrugged offhandedly. “Not like I had anything better to do,” he said, failing to sound nonchalant.
“Don’t let my wife hear you say that. She’ll have you on a blind date faster than you can blink.”
Danny gave a nervous laugh. “Between her, my mother, and the church ladies, this entire town is trying to play matchmaker. I think I’ll pass.” He pointed to the sky. “Don’t stay out too late. New forecast shows the storm starting later but heavier than originally anticipated.”
Steel inclined his head. “Appreciate the warning, but we’ll be fine.”
Danny waved to Jenna still inside the truck and then headed to his cruiser. As he pulled out, Darrin and Viktor pulled in. They kept their vehicle running but killed the headlights. Their orders were to guard, not intervene.
Steel moved several of the standing heaters closer to the truck now that he’d parked.
He opened the truck bed and hopped inside.
He had a basket of blankets, a bottle of sparkling grape juice since Jenna could drink alcohol but it was recommended not to, and some cheese and crackers.
There was also a set of plastic stairs he got to help Jenna up and down.
Ready, he hopped down and headed to the passenger door. The old door creaked as he opened it. He held his hand out to her. “May I have this dance?”
Jenna had been smiling since she discovered where he was taking her. Her hair was not as neat as it had been at the house, but damn if it didn’t make her seem more breathtaking. That could very well be his pride talking, because he knew how she’d messed up her hair.
Placing her hand in his, they carefully got her lowered to the ground. Steel zipped up her coat higher and pulled out a pair of her white fuzzy gloves he’d had stored in his coat pocket. Bringing her around to the back of the truck, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
Viktor was suddenly there on the other side of the stairs to provide Jenna a sturdier ascent up to the bed.
Even with the parking brake on, the truck still wobbled when she stepped onto the tailgate.
Despite Steel’s order to remain invisible, he was grateful to the prospect for his considerate thinking. He lifted his chin at Viktor in thanks.
The man nodded once before returning to the SUV.
Steel followed Jenna up into the bed. The truck rocked even more with his added weight.
The last time Jordan had been in town, he’d stopped by Grumpy’s shop to help install Bluetooth speakers into the four corners of the truck bed.
It was his Christmas gift to his parents, though Jenna thought he went in on Carter’s gift upgrading the suite they’d stayed at in the Bahamas.
Pulling out his phone, Steel pulled up their playlist. It took a moment for him to remember how to link the speakers, but then Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper started playing.
Jenna jumped, not anticipating the speakers. She laughed at her reaction. “You’ve certainly upgraded.”
“Thank your middle child. This is his real Christmas gift.” He pocketed his phone.
“Jordan’s not our middle child anymore,” Jenna pointed out as she wrapped her arms around Steel’s neck.
“He’ll always be our middle child. Ollie just made Melanie a middle child too.” He placed his hands on her hips.
Jenna sighed, resting her head against his chest. “Whatever you say, dear.”
They swayed to the music together. Jenna didn’t pick her feet up much so she didn’t step on his toes like she normally did, but her rhythm was still completely off no matter what song played.
Steel rested his cheek on her hair and just breathed her in.
She’d changed shampoos and perfumes over the years, but there was something remarkably like vanilla always attached to her.
Without warning, his chin started to tremble.
They’d made it through a year following her diagnosis.
She hadn’t gotten worse, but she also wasn’t better or cured.
Next Valentine’s Day, would she be completely wheelchair bound? Or worse?
His arms squeezed her tighter, his instincts screaming to use his own body as a shield to protect her. But how could he when it was her own body that was betraying her?
“Jack,” she started, but Steel cut her off.
“Don’t,” he said, harsher than intended. His chest felt too tight to breathe. “Just… Let’s just be.”
She nodded against his chest, not arguing or voicing her concerns.
The song changed to Faithfully by Journey.
They continued to sway. The brisk air around them battled the propane heaters he’d placed closer to the truck.
They were on solid land, looking over the town they loved, but Steel still felt like he was drowning.
Slowly, painfully. Each little puff of air his body took in was more painful than the last, to the point where he had to wonder what the point of taking that next breath was.
He knew his fate. He didn’t fear it, nor was he saddened by it. There was no life beyond Jenna. He’d made his choice the moment he’d heard her diagnosis leave the doctor’s lips. He wasn’t scared of the end, but fuck, did it hurt.
He was a soldier, a fighter. He knew how fleeting life was and had been faced with the prospect of his own mortality more than once.
He never thought he’d have to face hers.
It made him want to hold her tighter, breathe her in harder, love her fiercer as the earth cracked beneath his feet, as water rose higher and higher, as the oxygen was stolen from his lungs…
He wasn’t sure he believed in Heaven or Hell anymore.
His faith had been shattered over a year ago.
All he knew was that he would not live in a world where Jenna did not exist anymore.
And if that decision landed him in Hell, then he had news for the universe: she’d be joining him or he’d fight his way past the Pearly Gates.
Because nothing would keep them apart, not even some god who thought it was in the world’s grand design to remove Jenna from Steel’s arms in the first place.
He knew a lot of bad people the world would be better off without.
He’d make sure Jenna committed some murders before she left this life.
That saying I’d rather be in Hell with you than Heaven without you, he didn’t need to hear it from Jenna’s lips to know that held as true for her as it did for him.
Jenna started to sag, her legs moving slightly slower than they should, even with her awful rhythm.
But Steel wasn’t ready for their dance to be over.
He scooped her up, bearing her weight as easily as he always had.
He continued to sway, holding her against his chest. Jenna lifted her head slightly to readjust her position.
Small, white flakes started to drizzle down on them as Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes came over the speakers. Jenna lifted her left hand from around Steel’s neck to hold her gloved palm up towards the sky.
“Guess the new forecast was wrong,” Steel mused, staring up at the snowy night with her.
No sooner had the words left his mouth did a loud BOOM! shake the ground below.