Hidden Flames (22 page)

“Why didn’t you come for me when I was eighteen?” Rosa asked, confusion marring those dark eyes of her. “I can understand that there might have been legal reasons that you had to be careful of, but they wouldn’t have applied after a certain age. Right?”

“You were happy, Rosa. I had my own issues I was dealing with as well.” Prue only gave her sister part of the answer to her question. She would never convey the fear that had lived inside of her that Rosa wouldn’t want anything to do with a jaded woman who cussed like a sailor and was more comfortable around machines than people. “At that point it would have been selfish of me to push my way into your life.”

About a minute passed where the two of them stared at one another, taking in as much as they could of one another. It was Rosa who made the first move and slowly stood, making the wheels of the old chair squeak as it rolled back. She walked around the desk and stood in front of Prue.

“I think you’re the most unselfish person I’ve ever met,” Rosa whispered, opening her arms and not giving Prue a chance to gain her footing. She was still half leaning against the inner windowsill as she returned her baby sister’s hug without hesitation. “Thank you for coming for me.”

Prue nodded, unable to say anything past her closed throat. They remained that way until they heard sounds coming from the garage, indicating that Owen was done using the restroom. Rosa gradually pulled away, resting her palms on Prue’s cheeks in affection before letting her hands drop. She walked out of the office and started asking Owen questions about Yellowstone and what they were facing that the government officials hadn’t told the public.

Prue took the time by herself to come to terms with this newfound relationship and also the fact that she now had a family. She wasn’t only talking about Rosa, but Owen. He was the kind of man she’d always been afraid hadn’t existed…and he’d proved her wrong time and time again. She’d always thought being alone meant not being able to be hurt, but she’d managed to damage herself more so by isolating herself. This was a good day and she looked forward to when they were in the sanctuary of Lost Summit, surrounded by Owen’s friends for protection and occupied by meaningful work.

“Prue?” Owen stopped just shy of the doorframe, poking his head in. He’d shaved and now she kind of missed his whiskers. Her inner thighs tingled remembering the abrasive sensations she’d experienced the night before they’d ridden into Yreka. They hadn’t made love since then, not having the chance now that Rosa was with them. “Everything okay?”

Prue nodded and then saw that Owen was still searching her face for reassurance. She pushed away from the windowsill and walked into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist. Everything was perfect, despite that the world was facing a catastrophic event. She laughed at the irony of that and finally tilted her head back to accept his kiss.

“Yes, it is.”

*

Prue stared up
at the metal tracks servicing the large garage doors granting access to the maintenance bays. They’d turned in over an hour ago but she couldn’t find a comfortable position to relax. Rosa had taken the office to sleep in after they had all enjoyed some hot chow. The MREs were becoming their new definition of a good meal.

Prue and Owen had stayed awake long enough to clean and flush the filters on the bikes. Owen had the additional task of cleaning his mask and swapping out its filter. He also changed the ones on the two gasmasks for the umpteenth time. They washed their hands and then trundled out their bedrolls side by side. Neither one of them hid the fact from Rosa that they were together, but they never would do anything inappropriate in front of her sister.

“I’m going to give you one of those Vulcan nerve pinches if you don’t fall asleep soon.” Owen’s sensual whisper was like a silk brush caressing her sensitive skin. She figured he hadn’t purposefully meant to sound sexy, but he did nevertheless. Prue rolled to her side, resting her head in her hand. They’d shut off the flashlights and it was too dark to see his expression. “That was meant to scare you into sleeping.”

“You don’t scare me at all,” Prue replied, reaching over and slipping her hand underneath the top fabric. He was dressed and still wearing his holster, but it reassured her to feel his muscular frame. “I bet you can come up with another way for me to fall asleep.”

Prue heard what she would have considered a guttural growl come from his throat and his chest vibrated, initiating another round of shivers over her body. Owen had somehow made his way out of his bedroll and was on top of her in seconds. He’d taken her wrists and pinned them next to her head, causing her heart rate to accelerate. Now this was what she needed.

“Your sister is in the other room with the door open.” Owen’s warm breath caused Prue to have small quivers travel up and down her neck. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was letting this opportunity pass them by. “We’ll wait until we’re at Lost Summit tomorrow…and well rested.”

Prue wrapped one leg around Owen’s and used her entire upper body strength to flip him over. She told herself that she possessed the muscle to do so, but she was relatively sure he’d allowed her to take advantage. Either way she was now on top and had transferred his wrists into her hands. It was exhilarating to take control, but she didn’t think he’d allow it for long.

“What if I don’t want to wait until tomorrow?” Prue whispered, sneaking a look over to the half-closed office door. There had to be a way around this drawback, because there was no way she could fall asleep this tightly wound. She’d been on too much of an emotional roller coaster and she could verbally admit she needed physical relief in order to fall asleep. “She’ll never know.”

“All right, my little daredevil,” Owen muttered, turning the tables and taking ahold of her waist while he stood. Prue managed to suppress a cry of surprise and she wrapped her legs around his hips while lacing her hands behind his neck. Happiness filled her in a way that she’d never experienced before. “Let’s see what we can come up with.”

Prue pressed her lips against Owen’s neck to keep from laughing too loud. He was now on a mission, but she didn’t look over her shoulder to see where they were going. She trusted him. It was that simple.

“It’s a good thing you have a thing for tires,” Owen whispered, lighting up a darkened room she hadn’t even known existed. He must have grabbed one of the flashlights when he’d stood up, for which she was very grateful. He’d somehow found an additional room that was filled with new and used tires. The smell of rubber was strong, but mixed with the same old gas and oil that made it seem like they were back home. She missed it, but she wouldn’t trade what she had now for anything. “We need to be able to hear if—”

Prue slid her legs down Owen’s thighs, covering his lips with hers. She didn’t want him to mention Rosa or that would ruin the mood. She understood exactly what he was saying, which was why she used her hand to lightly push the door so that it remained open by only a couple of inches. She then turned him around and pushed, harder than necessary because he was so much bigger than she was, until he was practically sitting on what appeared to be a stack of waist-high truck tires.

“Wait.” Owen tried to get his footing and stand, but Prue was already working on unfastening his cammies. She used her boot to slide in behind his, preventing him from shifting. “Prue, I need to get—”

“Since we should only be in here a few minutes, I’ve got this covered,” Prue assured, not able to see the expression on his features due to the flashlight being pointed toward the floor. That was fine by her, since she now had his cammies worked over his hips. His briefs were the next to go and she finally had what she wanted. “Hold on.”

Prue wasn’t about to kneel on this discolored, hard cement floor without any padding. Since she had an idea of how they could both enjoy this in the time constraints given, she quickly unlaced her boots and kicked them off. She then unbuttoned her jeans and shimmied out of them, leaving her panties on. She dropped them on the floor and ignored the cold temperature. She figured they would be warm enough by the time she was done.

“You are absolutely crazy,” Owen laughed quietly, his good nature returning in full force. Prue recognized that he’d been worried about her and that in itself was something she’d never really experienced before. It was nice…beyond nice, and it was time for her to show him that she wasn’t always uptight. “Prue, you don’t have to—”

Prue was on her knees and had taken his cock into her mouth, thereby cutting off anything he might have thought to finish his sentence with. He wasn’t average, but rather quite long and wide, so she took her time. She used her tongue to skim the tip, learning by the low sounds vibrating from his chest what he liked and didn’t like. She tasted a drop of his pre-cum, savoring the slightly salty flavor. She smiled when she felt him take ahold of her braid in his fingers and wrap it around his palm. This was about to get interesting.

Prue sucked gently, taking a little more of him into her mouth with each stroke. She ran her tongue on the underside of him, recognizing that it was his most sensitive area. Sure enough, he adjusted his footing and tightened his grip on her coiled hair. His response sent arousal straight through her, causing the hair on her skin to stand on end. The cold temperature wasn’t so chilly anymore.

“Your lips, your mouth, your tongue…” Owen must have leaned his head back, because his words practically bounced off of the walls.

“Hmmm,” Prue retorted, separating her knees just enough so that she could slide her fingers inside of her panties. The coolness of fingers burned against her clit, ratcheting up her desire tenfold. “I know more than how to change a tire.”

Whatever Owen might have said got stuck in his throat when she took his cock all the way into her mouth. Pulling back, she made sure to stroke the underside of his shaft with her tongue. She continued to do that over and over, only using one hand to wrap around his base. The rhythm she used to suck him was the same she was using to pleasure herself with.

Prue gathered her juices and then spread it on her clit, gliding over the soft tissue every time her tongue slid over the base of his tip. It was astounding to feel her clit swell at the rate the base of his cock did, so she slowed down a bit to prolong their pleasure. She shouldn’t have, but she wasn’t ready for this pleasure to end quite yet.

“You’re going to drive me insane, woman,” Owen mumbled under his breath as he started to take control. Prue was going to struggle against his hold, wanting him at her mercy, but his influence allowed her to also concentrate on herself. She hadn’t realized that she’d abruptly stopped moving her fingers against her clit. “Open your throat.”

Those three words sent shivers down Prue’s spine and she did as he asked, letting him have complete control over his own pleasure while she took care of hers. She had been moving her clit in circles, but she wanted to have her release when he did, so she pressed on her nub harder and then started to move her fingers back and forth with greater speed.

“That’s right, take all of me,” Owen urged when Prue relaxed her jaw, giving him more room to work with.

Prue had to release the base of his shaft, especially since the tip of Owen’s cock had passed the back of her throat. She cupped his warm sac instead, massaging his balls while she experienced tingles on her inner thighs. Her clit swelled even more and every stroke shot spears of intense pleasure through her lower body. She was getting ready to come and wanted to take him right along with her, so she rubbed her fingers underneath his sac and close to his scrotum.

“Prue.”

Her name fell from his lips the same moment he released into her mouth. Her own orgasm took hold and she had to grab on to his thigh so she remained upright on her knees, not that it was a problem considering his tight hold on her hair. They both rode the waves of desire until they both released each other, but not entirely. She rested her cheek against one of the pockets of his cammies while he stroked her hair, giving both of them time to catch their collective breaths.

“I wonder if it’s possible to die from too much pleasure.” Prue reluctantly stood when Owen took her hand and gently tugged. She didn’t get much farther though, resting against his chest while she stood on her jeans to keep her toes from getting cold. “I ask myself that every time we’re together.”

“Really?” Owen had set the flashlight on one of the tires and then enveloped her into his arms, stroking her back. Prue wished they were skin on skin, but that would have to wait for another time. “We won’t be dying anytime soon, whether from pleasure or this godforsaken apocalypse.”

“I love your positive attitude,” Prue said, finally tilting her head back to look at him. Shadows obscured his face, but she could see the small smile on his lips. “I wish I could be like you, but the thought of traveling in this damn ash tomorrow makes me want to make camp here until it stops.”

“It won’t be stopping anytime soon,” Owen said with resignation, gently moving her so that he could lean down and help her with her jeans. He picked up the flashlight once she was fully dressed and his clothes were readjusted. He tucked her underneath his arm and led her out of the room toward their bedrolls. The office door was still ajar and Prue could see the edge of Rosa’s sleeping bag she’d managed to stuff into her rucksack. “Tired now?”