Essential Beginnings (25 page)

Henley pulled up until she only had Mav’s tip in her mouth and started to suckle lightly while brushing her tongue over his slit. With each draw on him, she worked her way down until her lips were pressing against the bottom of his shaft. She’d had to leave her throat open to accept the length of him and once she’d stopped, she paused and then swallowed.

Two things happened at once and Henley found herself fighting the urge to go into a fit of complete laughter once again as she leaned back onto her heels. Mav had just been about to come in her mouth when a knock sounded on the door. The string of cuss words that came out of him would have prompted an offended look from even the most nefarious sailor.

“I’ll get it,” Henley said in between trying to catch her breath and laughing. Mav was scrambling for his briefs and jeans, but she’d already risen and was heading to the door. She cracked it open just an inch to see Dylan standing there with a note in his hand. “Dylan, is everything all right?”

“Tank just wanted me to drop this off to Mav,” Dylan replied, not even curious in the least as to why Henley didn’t open the door wider. “He said it was something the two of you should know right away.”

“Thanks, Dylan.” There was nothing like being thrown back into reality. She said her goodnight and then closed the door, turning to find that Mav had already pulled his jeans back over his erection. The bulge he was sporting at this very moment made her not even want to know what was written down on the piece of paper still clutched in her hand. This end of the world crap was getting real old. “Well, Ernie would have called us on the radio if it was bad.”

“Not if he was trying to keep things off of the community radio channels.” Mav held out his hand as if he wasn’t standing there with a raging hard-on and waited for her to give up the note. “Ernie doesn’t trust Truman either, so it would make sense for him to send Dylan with any intel that we need kept private instead of broadcasting it over one of the channels.”

Mav wasn’t the only one who was still feeling the effects of their lovemaking. Henley’s entire body was aroused to the point of throbbing and for once she wanted to be irresponsible, postponing finding out why they were needed. Instead, she walked around so that she was side by side with him when he unfolded the paper.

Owen is currently in New Mexico. He had no choice but to go south when the caldera erupted. His current plan is to get to the West Coast so that he can work his way north via the least congested roads.

“Owen never does what he’s told,” Mav exclaimed with a laugh, shaking his head more in awe than in disappointment. “He easily had time to make it north up near the border, but he must have waited too long.”

“At least we know he’s safe,” Henley reminded him, wishing they knew the status on the other guys. “And Owen is in a place that he can set up a receiver to transmit those messages.”

“Agreed,” Mav said, crumbling up the paper in his fist and then pulling her toward him. Henley rested her cheek against his solid chest, allowing his warmth to surround her and take away the evening chill that had invaded from the outside interruption. It could have been horrific news, so she was grateful they’d heard something positive. It also gave them a moment to collect themselves, but she wasn’t prepared for when he lifted her shirt over her head. “Now that I’m no longer in whatever spell you weaved through your sorcery, I think it’s time we speed things up just a bit.”

Henley would have choked out another laugh had Mav not spun her to face the door, lifting her hands up so that her palms were resting on the hard wood. He’d only ever been gentle with her, and she hadn’t been prepared for her arousal to go from ten to hundred in under one point five seconds by his taking charge of the situation. Maverick had pulled down her cut-off sweats along with her panties before she even said his name and had them down around her ankles.

“You had me in the palm of your hand, sweetheart,” Mav whispered against her ear, his now naked body up against hers. He must have taken his jeans off when she’d been catching her breath. The heat off of his body rivaled her own, creating a sauna that contained just the two of them. “It’s rare that I’m in such a vulnerable state, which just goes to show how much I trust you.”

“Take me, Maverick.” Henley pressed her palms into the hard surface, loving the feeling of his fingers sliding between hers. She moved back against him, flicking her discarded clothes away to the side, arching to feel his cock as it nestled in her crevice. “Hard and fast.”

“With pleasure.”

Cold air washed over her body when Mav stepped back, but it did nothing to diminish the flames that were licking her skin. She heard a wrapper being torn and a crazy thought that they’d have to raid the grocery store soon crossed her mind, but that conversation was for another time. It didn’t take him long to roll the condom over his tip and down his shaft. Within seconds his hands were on her waist, pulling on her hips so that she was perfectly bowed to accept him.

“Maverick!”

Henley had just separated her legs farther apart when he took the opportunity to bury himself inside of her with one wet thrust. She’d been aroused the entire time she was pleasuring him, so she was more than ready to accept him. It took a moment for her to adjust to his width, but was good by the time he’d pulled out and drove back into her.

“Take your right hand and slide it down the front of your body. Use your fingers to massage your clit and don’t stop—even after you’ve come.”

Henley felt the trigger of her orgasm just from his words alone and didn’t think she’d need contact on her clit, but he was already taking her wrist and doing it for her. He helped swipe her fingers to gather her cream and then placed them on her sensitive and swollen tissue. It was such a naughty thing to do that she immediately felt another orgasm start.

“I can feel you coming,” Mav said, the vibrations against her ear overwhelming. Her senses were besieged and it was if electricity was running through every part of her body. He manipulated her fingers so that they were currently moving in a circular motion, prolonging her orgasm until she was screaming out his name. “Now don’t stop.”

Mav firmly placed his hands on Henley’s hips, using them as leverage as he continued to ferociously drive into her from behind. She had to rest her forehead on the door, knowing full well if he hadn’t had such a good hold on her that her knees would have given out. She’d never been this wet and the sounds of their lovemaking echoed off of the walls, integrating with the cries that must have been coming from her.

Henley’s fingers had taken a life of their own and were now rubbing hard against her swollen clit. The pressure alone had made it feel as if she’d never stopped coming and as another wave of her release crashed—it could have been her second, third, or fourth—it slammed into her. She didn’t stop the circular motions and at one point, she would have sworn she was floating upward. The reverberations faded away, lights began twinkling behind her closed eyes, and the only thing her body felt was the ravaging pleasure Maverick was inflicting upon her mind.

Henley was vaguely aware of hearing Mav shout out her name, but it took quite a few minutes before she realized that he was talking to her. Little by little, everything became clear as he turned her around to face him. He had a boyish smile on his face that made her return one as they caught their breath.

“That was…”

Henley didn’t have the words to describe what they’d just experienced and maybe it was best to leave it for what it was—intimacy in its purest form. Mav pulled her to him and turned so that his back was toward the door, bringing her into his comforting embrace. She remembered what he’d said last night about the bond they’d created and there was no doubt that they’d just fortified it.

“Um, Henley? Mav?” Dylan’s discomfited voice came through the door, followed by a hesitant knock. Henley turned her face into Mav’s chest in mortification at the thought that Dylan had returned to the sounds of their lovemaking and had purposefully waited until they were done before he interrupted. “Tank would like to see one of you in the bunker…in a minute or two.”

“Tell him we’ll both be there in a short bit,” Mav called out without the slightest hint of embarrassment. She looked up at him to catch a glimmer of laughter in his eyes. He lowered his voice for only her to hear. “One of these days, we’ll be given the time to hold and enjoy one another instead of being interrupted by end of the world updates. It’s getting kind of tedious.”

Henley laughed and welcomed the lighthearted comments. Her body still felt like it had been jolted with ten thousand volts of electricity, and yet somehow Mav was able to make everything okay with just a few words. She sighed and slowly pulled away from him, fortifying herself to face whatever was waiting for them on the other side of the door.

“Let me clean up and then we’ll go see Tank.” Mav placed a kiss on her forehead before leaning down to snatch his jeans off of the floor. Henley figured she never got those extra minutes to enjoy such a sight, so she took his place against the door and appreciated the view as he sauntered across the room. “Turnabout’s fair play, sweetheart. Next time you can do a little catwalk just for me.”

Mav waited until he was at the bedroom door before he turned around with a wink. Henley smiled, but it faded when he disappeared from view. How was it that she could be happy inside of this tiny cabin when so much misfortune was happening outside? What did Ernie need them for? Henley wasn’t about to rehash her and Mav’s past over and over. Instead, she vowed not to take one minute given to them for granted because their time just might be running out.

“A
re you sure?”
Mav asked, probably having reiterated that question five times since last night. It was currently morning and while sporadic particles of ash would fall every now and then…the sun was still peering out from the scattered clouds and the atmosphere above them was relatively clear. He and Tank were walking the perimeter of the encampment, more so to keep prying ears from hearing what was being discussed. They’d left Henley to monitor the HF radio nets that Mav had established for emergency contact with the team, along with a frequency scanner set to only break squelch for a nearby transmission with a relatively higher signal strength. Ernie had wanted to note any local unencrypted radio traffic. It could give them a heads up of an approaching group and their possible intentions. With Henley secured inside the bunker, it allowed Mav to have one less thing to worry about. “I’d hate to open this place up to an experienced man who has us at a disadvantage. We’re vulnerable until the others get here.”

“I hear what you’re saying,” Ernie said in agreement, readjusting his ball cap as they started for the lodge. His wise eyes were taking in everything and everyone. A few of the lodge residents had taken a few trips back to town for more supplies and the occasional odd or end. They were systematically cleaning out the shops and hauling whatever they could up here to the lodge, with instructions that Ratliff have the same opportunity. Jeremy had taken a run down to the campgrounds to notify Rat before coming back to catch some sleep before starting another shift on sentry rotation this evening. “But I know how we would have reacted in Truman’s situation had our guys been out there to fend for themselves.”

“Fairchild AFB would not have turned away active personnel,” Mav pointed out, still concerned with the safety of their camp. “Truman’s men should have been able to have access and he should go down there with them.”

“Truman isn’t the typical military man that would have his name listed in a unit alpha roster,” Ernie said as he slowed the pace. Elijah was sitting on the front porch of the lodge, his keen eyes observing everyone and everything. Mrs. Welsh—with her portable oxygen tank by her side—was keeping him company, but Kellen Truman was nowhere to be seen. “I gave him access to the HF radio remote control panel in my office, but he was unable to contact them—at least from what I heard. That means he’s now aware that there is a radio room somewhere around here that he hasn’t been given access to.”

Mav understood what Ernie was saying. All it would take was for Truman to broadcast a code word over the radio net. Tank was absolutely right in the fact that they weren’t dealing with run of the mill military unit. Kellen had Special Forces training written all over him and as painful as it was for Mav to admit…Truman would have had more training than Mav, making the man more dangerous and more of an unknown.

“I’ll take another look at those here at the lodge,” Mav said, studying Elijah and figuring he would be privy to the history of the men and women staying in the lodge. Age only factored in the physical aspect, but the mind was a beautiful thing. In fact, many of the older men and women were involved in the daily food preparation, as well as monitoring the shortwave and bringing meals to the guards on post. “We can give some of the older folks something to keep them busy and utilize them in keeping the lodge safe.”

“Felix is keeping tabs on the town and ensuring that items are distributed evenly given the amount of people in each camp. While you figure out where we might have weaknesses, I’m going to catch a few hours of shuteye myself while Henley’s at the radio. Now that’s something she should train a couple of seniors on right there.” Ernie started walking to his cabin before throwing a bit of advice over his shoulder. “You might want to go into town yourself, son. The grocery store is limited in their prophylactic section and I highly doubt that’s on the runner’s list.”