“That’s a good point,” I said with a frown. “We’ll go with Brody in the morning, but we’ll only stay until midday, then we’ll head back to the refinery and get the place fortified.”

  “Alright,” Anna agreed. “That sounds like a good plan.”

  “Are we going to be able to drive the jeep over there?” Tara asked. “I know you said we could drive it home, but do you think we’ll run into any of these assholes on the way to the refinery?”

  “There’s always a possibility,” I said. “But we could run into some on the way home, too. It’s a risk we’ll have to take.”

  “I think if we use some duct tape, then we’ll be able to patch it for a little bit,” Paige said. “I was thinking about it earlier, and it definitely won’t be a permanent fix, but I think it’d quiet us down for a while.”

  “Good idea,” I told her. “We’ll keep an eye out, but I’m not sure we’ll find some while we’re out tomorrow.”

  “We don’t need to,” the brunette told me with a smile. “I always pack some duct tape with us.”

  “Good call,” I told her with a smile.

  “Where was that when we broke down the first time?” Tara asked with a glare.

  “I hadn’t thought about it yet,” the brunette admitted. “Sorry.”

  “It’s alright,” I told her. “It was better for us to walk the rest of the way anyways, there was less of a likelihood of us being detected.”

  “I didn’t mind the walk,” Anna said with a shrug.

  The girls finished their chocolate as I stared down at the fire and let it warm the soles of my feet.

  “I think it’s about time for bed,” I told them after a few minutes.

  “You’re going to stand watch?” Bailey asked.

  “Yup,” I said, “so go get some rest.”

  “Wake one of us up in a few hours,” Anna said. “I don’t mind standing watch.”

  “I know,” I told her with a smile. “I’ll see how I feel.”

  “Alright,” she said. Normally the redhead would argue with me, but I knew they felt safe with me on guard and Brody at our campsite.

  Paige stood up, stretched, gave me a kiss on the cheek, then headed toward the tent.

  “I’m right behind you,” Bailey said, and she smiled at me and followed the brunette.

  “Goodnight,” Tara said, and she kissed my other cheek.

  “Night,” Anna said, and she followed the other girls into the tent.

  I watched as they zipped up the side, then I went back to staring at the flames in front of me.

  It was a chilly spring night, and a little bit of heat felt good. I’d have to put them out in an hour or so, but for the time being I’d enjoy the feel of them on my feet.

  As I sat and kept watch I thought about Brody and my time with him in the service. I tried to remember if I had ever felt that he had the potential to become the man I knew now, but I couldn’t think of anything. He had been a wild card, sure, but he never seemed like the kind of guy who would fuck over his friends. Even in the service he had always called us all ‘brother,’ something which I had never felt fully comfortable with, but I found it endearing so I let it slide. He wasn’t the only one who did this, of course, but he did it so frequently that I couldn’t help but associate the word with him.

  I recalled one time that I’d taken R&R with him, and we’d gone out to Fort Benning for some fun. I was young and we’d had a hard week of training, so he and I, and a few other guys headed out to the bar.

  It was a small, dive bar of sorts, filled with bikers and some other tough looking guys. I always hated places like that. Once you got that much anger and testosterone in a room and paired it with alcohol, it was never a good combination. I was only twenty three at the time, so I didn’t have much experience with bars, but I always seemed to let my fellow soldiers drag me into some pub where eventually a fight broke out, and I figured that night wouldn’t be any different.

  I walked up to the bar and ordered a beer, but the other guys I was with started to hit the tequila shots, hard.

  After a few rounds they had become more than rowdy, and I was on edge, waiting for someone to tell them to shut the hell up. That was typically how it started. I had a few beers in me at that point, and I knew I might have to take a punch or two.

  Finally, it happened, one of my buddies spilled a drink on a guy at the bar. The guy jumped up and grabbed my buddy by the front of his shirt, but Brody was there just as fast, with his finger in the guy’s face. Brody went on and on about how we were Army Rangers, and we deserved more respect.

  The guy didn’t care, and a fight broke out like it always did, and it ended with me pulling my buddies off the other group and ushering them out the door before the bartender could call the police.

  I had forgotten all about that incident, but as I looked back on it it made sense. Brody had talked a lot about us getting our dues when I saw him at the fort, and I thought it was strange, but I realized that I’d heard him talk like that before, I’d just always ignored it because I didn’t see him as harmful. He was an asshole, sure, but I never thought he would be one to hurt anybody over his fucked up beliefs.

  Seems that had changed with the EMP, and now Brody could demand his due from whoever he wanted to, but that didn’t make him much better than whoever was in charge here at Lebanon.

  I thought about the civilians at the fort and how they felt they owed Brody their lives. I hoped that none of the civilians I lived with felt that way. Sure, I fought to save them, but so did the girls, and they fought to save themselves, too, I made sure of that.

  I never wanted anybody under my command to feel like they owed me anything, no matter what I did for them. That was my duty as their leader and protector.

  I grabbed my water bottle and poured it out on the fire. Soon it was quiet except for the faint sounds of the girls breaths, and the overpowering noise of Brody’s snores.

  I leaned back and stared at the stars, but after a few minutes I heard one of the girls stir, and then Tara came out of the tent.

  “Hey,” I said quietly. “What are you doing up?”

  “I just kind of woke up,” she said, “and now I can’t get back to sleep.”

  “Doesn’t sound like you tried too hard,” I chuckled, since I had only heard her stir a moment before.

  The platinum blonde came over, plopped down on my lap, and snuggled against me.

  “Should I try harder?” she asked.

  “Not if you don’t want to,” I told her with a smile, and I kissed her forehead. Her body was warm against mine, and I could feel every curve of her. She still had on her jeans and a tank top, and I looked down and got a great view of her cleavage that poked out of the top of her shirt.

  The feel of her against me already had my pants growing tight, and I could smell her body as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She smelled like sweet sweat and pine trees, and I took a deep breath in and tried to clear my mind.

  “You feel so good,” she whispered against my neck before she kissed it softly and made me jump from pleasure.

  “I was thinking the same thing about you,” I admitted, but it was hard to talk as her mouth worked its way up to my earlobe and playfully bit at it.

  I began to run my hands along her body as she kissed her way up and down my neck, but soon her mouth was on mine, and she straddled me and I could feel the heat of her press against my erection.

  “Fuck,” I groaned as I pulled back to kiss my way down to her cleavage.

  Tara grabbed my hair and pulled it slightly as I yanked her tank top down to expose her full breasts. I toyed with her small, pink nipples, until they were rock hard beneath my fingers, then I leaned down and pulled one into my mouth.

  “Oh my god, yes,” Tara moaned, and she threw her head back in pleasure as she pushed her chest further into my face. “That’s so good.”

  I reached around to grab her ass as I sucked on her nipple, but I found her thong barely poked out of her jeans, and I grabbed it and gave it a slight tug. God, she was sexy.

  Tara dragged her nails down my back as I teased her nipples more, and the sensation sent shivers down my spine. She knew how to drive me wild, and I couldn’t take it any longer, but just when I stood up and was about to try to yank her pants down, she dropped to her knees in front of me.

  “Come back up here,” I growled, my voice heavy from desire.

  “Patience,” she chided as she began to unzip my pants. Her chest was exposed, and she looked at me with big, round eyes as my erection sprung free. “Mmm, I always forget how big you are.”

  “You’re so fuckin’ sexy,” I told her.

  “I know,” she said with a seductive smile, then she wrapped her lips around my cock and took it down to the base.

  “Oh gooooood,” I groaned as I tossed my head back. I thought I might burst right then and there. Her mouth was wet and warm, and her tongue toyed with the tip of my cock as she moved up and down.

  I watched as her breasts rose and fell with each stroke of her mouth on my dick, which only made me want her that much more.

  Tara pulled her mouth from me with a ‘pop’ sound, then gave me a sweet smile.

  “You taste so good,” she whispered.

  “Not as good as you,” I told her.

  She smiled and moved to take my cock into her mouth once more, but I grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet, then I walked us over to the jeep and opened the back door.

  “Ooh, car sex,” she cooed, “I like it.”

  “I thought you might,” I said.

  I lifted her up onto the seat, then I yanked her top the rest of the way off, then her pants followed, and I stared down at her naked body in the light of the stars. Her pale skin was smooth and beautiful, and I could see the glistening from her sex as she leaned back in the seat and spread her legs for me.

  “Fuck, you’re hot,” I said.

  “I’m so wet for you,” she breathed as she reached down and rubbed her fingers across her pussy.

  As much as I wanted to be inside of her, I wanted to taste her just as bad, so I leaned down and kissed my way from her inner thigh to her sweet spot, but I paused just before I reached where she really wanted.

  “Mmm, please,” she begged, and I could hear how ragged her breath was, and I could feel as she wrapped her fingers tightly into my hair. “Please, don’t tease me, Tav.”

  “What do you want?” I asked against her skin.

  “Your mouth on me,” she pleaded, “please.”

  I could feel her legs shake on my shoulders, so I reached the tip of my tongue out and barely licked her slit.

  “Oh my God,” she groaned, and her whole body bucked with pleasure before I put my mouth on her and set to work.

  The taste of her drove me crazy as I sucked and licked until her body went rigid and her grip on my hair was almost painful.

  “I’m gonna come,” she whisper-moaned, and her body fell limp as her pussy spasmed against my mouth.

  I quickly lifted up and pushed my cock into her still twitching slit.

  “Harder,” she whispered as I thrust in and out.

  I grabbed her by the hips and went as hard as I could until I felt her spasm on my cock once more, then I released inside of her and fell against her in a mass of sweat and heavy breathing.

  It took me a minute to get my breathing back on track, then I leaned up to kiss her long and hard before I pulled myself out of her.

  “Fuck, that was nice,” Tara said as she stretched out in the backseat.

  “It was,” I chuckled softly. “Let’s hope we didn’t wake anybody up.”

  “Yeah, cause they’ve never done that to me,” the platinum blonde said with an eye roll. “They’ll probably be mad when they realize we did it in the jeep, though.”

  “Oh,” I said with a frown. “I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe we just won’t tell them.”

  “You’re right,” Tara said, “I’ll save it for when they’re really irritating me.”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant,” I laughed.

  “Still doing it,” she said with a grin, and she hopped up and started to get dressed.

  “I love you,” I chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.

  “I love you too, sexypants,” she said with a wink.

  “Hm, not sure I like that one,” I said.

  “Not my fault you have sexy pants,” she said with a shrug.

  “You okay?” I asked. “Was there a reason you woke up?”

  “Yeah,” she said, but she looked down. “I’m alright, I just got an uncomfortable feeling, I guess, and I had to check in on you.”

  “I’m fine,” I told her with a smile.

  “I know,” she sighed. “It was just a feeling that woke me up.”

  “I thought you girls might be a bit uncomfortable having someone else at our campsite,” I said.

  “It is kind of weird,” she admitted. “I’m used to it being just us, or maybe some civilians, but not Brody.”

  “It’s alright,” I told her, “ that’s why I’m planning on standing watch tonight.”

  “Thanks,” she said, and she pulled me in close for a hug.

  I held onto her for a moment, then I pulled back and sent her to bed before I took my seat back by the fire pit. I didn’t like that Tara felt uncomfortable, but I knew it was likely given the situation.

  It would be a long night, but I’d be there if any of them woke up and needed some comfort.

  I leaned back and looked at the stars. Tomorrow would be interesting.

  Chapter 15

  The next morning the girls woke before dawn and came out of the tent. Brody was still asleep, but I didn’t mind a bit of time with the girls before he was up. I looked forward to our mornings together, especially after a long night of keeping watch.

  “You didn’t wake any of us up,” Anna said as she took a seat.

  “No,” I said with a smile. “It felt safer for me to stay on watch.”

  The redhead nodded but didn’t say anything else on the subject.

  “Coffee, anyone?” Tara asked.

  “Yes, please,” Paige groaned.

  I had a fire built already, so Tara grabbed the coffee grounds, a pot, and some water from the jeep, then handed them all to Bailey.

  “I’m guessing I’m making the coffee,” Bailey chuckled.

  “Yup,” Tara agreed, “yours is pretty good. Not quite as good as Rolly’s, but still tasty.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” the blonde said as she started to pour the water into the pot.

  “You should,” Tara told her. “It's definitely a compliment. I mean, nobody makes coffee quite like Rolly, but yours is a close second.”

  “That does sound like a pretty big honor,” I agreed.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Bailey chuckled, “you just want me to make the coffee, so you’re trying to butter me up.”

  “Damn right,” Tara agreed with a grin. “Everyone likes a little buttering up from time to time.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to make us breakfast, then?” Bailey asked.

  “Yeah,” Anna said, “I mean, nobody makes breakfast quite like Betty, but yours is a close second.”

  “Oh, ha-ha,” Tara said, and she glared at the redhead. “Yes, I’ll make you all breakfast. Everyone except for Anna.”

  “Hey,” Anna laughed.

  “Fine, you get breakfast,” Tara said, “but I’m giving you the worst plate.”

  “Eh, that seems fair,” Anna said with a shrug.

  “And Tav and I had sex in the back of the jeep last night,” Tara said, and I closed my eyes and hung my head.

  “Ew,” Anna said. “Glad I sit up front most of the time.”

  “I don’t!” Paige exclaimed. “What the hell, Tar?”

  “I’m sorry,” Tara said, “I thought Anna would be more upset.”

  “She’s about to be,” Paige said. “Because I call shotgun.”

  “Hey, no fair,” Anna scoffed.

  “Totally fair,” Paige said. “We don’t have any rule against calling shotgun.”

  “I thought you were going to save that for when Anna really annoyed you?” I asked Tara dryly.

  “She really annoyed me,” the platinum blonde replied with a shrug.

  “I’m going to work on duct taping the muffler,” Paige said as she pulled some duct tape out of her backpack.

  “Let me help you with that,” I told her.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “Yeah, get out of here, ya nasty,” Anna told me with a glare.

  “It was her idea,” I said and I pointed to Tara.

  “Was not!” the platinum blonde scoffed, but I had already started to walk away.

  “Can’t hear you,” I said.

  “You’re, like, five feet away,” Tara said, but I just held my hand to my ear and gave a shrug before I kept walking.

  I followed Paige over to the back of the jeep and bent down to take a look. The dawn was barely over the horizon, but we had enough light to see, and the hole in the exhaust pipe was very clearly visible. We had definitely taken a bullet there.

  “Well, it was only a matter of time before somebody got us,” Paige chuckled as she looked at the damage.

  “It’s hard to avoid taking bullets when you’re in a high speed shootout,” I laughed.

  “Oh, I believe it,” she said. “The proof is in the exhaust pipe.”

  “So it is,” I said with a grin. “Here, hand me the duct tape, I think I can get it from here.”

  Paige peeled back a little piece to get it started, then she handed me the roll of gray tape. I quickly wrapped it around the exhaust pipe, and did a good three times around after that to make sure it would hold up. Like Paige had said, it wasn’t a permanent fix, but I had yet to meet a problem that couldn’t be at least partially solved by some duct tape.

  “Is that it?” Paige asked when I handed her back the roll.

  “Only one way to find out,” I said, and I walked around and hopped in the driver's seat and fired up the engine.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25