Hustle Page 13

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  SHANNON

  I drive Gabe’s car back to my place. We clean up and head to my bedroom silently, Gabe on the end of the bed staring straight ahead. I sit beside him, just as we did that special night. Funny, it feels so long ago now.

  “You have every right to be upset, Gabe. It’s natural. You don’t have to be a superhuman around me.”

  “That’s not it. Mom wouldn’t want this at all.”

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “Me, upset. She wanted us to be happy when she passed, to celebrate.

  I place my hand against his cheek and turn him towards me. “So celebrate.”

  He crushes his mouth against mine, the emotion of the last few hours spilling over.

  We strip quickly, clothes flying to the floor.

  Naked, he breaks from my mouth to lick up the side of my neck.

  My hand snakes around his cock, my thumb against his thick glans.

  I want him inside me. I want him to lose himself there, in the warm comfort of my pussy.

  I let go of his cock and crawl into the center of the bed on my knees, parting my thighs.

  His hands fall onto the hard buns of my ass. He lines his cock up with my pussy and prepares to press forward.

  I turn my head and watch him, those azure eyes full of need. I can smell my own arousal, the earthy heat of my pussy.

  He drives inside me in a single, firm stroke, burying himself deep in my wetness.

  I place one hand up against the headboard, bracing myself as he slams into me, his cock angling upwards against the wrinkled roof of my vagina. I can’t believe how wet I am, my inner walls hot and slick.

  Whatever emotions he’s going through, he’s letting them free through this act.

  I moan and buck as he pounds into me, my mouth caught open in a strange ring of pleasure.

  He builds into a quick rhythm, sweating hard, his hands slipping off my back in his frenzy.

  He takes me hard and rough, first in short, stabbing strokes and then drawing them out long and slow, filling me over and over until I’m begging helplessly for release.

  I find it, knuckles bone-pale as I grip the headboard.

  I scream, my pussy clamping around his cock so tight I worry I’m going to cut it off.

  I pant with my head down, my hair hanging down to the quilt.

  The peak of my climax passes, allowing me to concentrate solely on his pleasure, and that’s when an overwhelming need to please him wells up.

  He goes to slide back in, but I reach around to take hold of his cock. I pull it free and shift it between my buttocks, placing him against the tight button of my anus.

  “Are you sure?” he asks, breathing hard.

  “Yes,” I tell him. “I want you to.” I swallow before speaking again. Say it. “I want you to fuck me in the ass.”

  My dirty talk is more than enough incentive.

  I let my head fall onto the mattress and reach behind myself to pull my ass cheeks apart with two hands.

  He lets his cock slip away, and for a moment I think I’ve overdone it, pushed him too far in this delicate, sensitive time, but he slides his index finger into my pussy, scooping up my own arousal against my anus. He’s preparing me.

  He eases his finger back and forth in that taboo space, slowly getting me used to the sensation. Ever since that day sky-diving, his finger brushing my asshole on the parachute silk, I’ve wanted to do this, fulfill the last taboo.

  He works my ass as I moan and purr, sighing when his finger leaves and he runs a hand over the soft mound of my backside.

  Still breathing hard, he angles his cock upwards against the tight twist of my asshole, pressing the head of his huge member forward past the ring of muscle there.

  All the air in my lungs is expelled in a raspy gasp as he slides inside my ass. I grunt, this sudden fantasy turned into reality. It doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, it feels good—tight and warm and so, so dirty.

  Gabe pushes forward another inch more and then pulls out before repeating the process, over and over until half of his giant shaft is buried deep in my rump.

  I masturbate openly with my hand between my legs, two joined fingers moving in a frenzied circle over my clit.

  I buck back against him, impaling myself on his cock as he picks up the pace and begins to fuck my ass harder.

  “Yes,” I moan. “Yes.”

  He lets out a hiss as my ass narrows, his cock compressed deep inside my body.

  He lifts up and uses all of his weight to screw down inside me.

  Pleasure ripples out from my core, the sensation completely new but welcome all the same.

  Bellowing, he holds my ass open and drives forward with everything he has.

  “God,” I rattle out, another orgasm incoming.

  I pant hard as he pounds into me, slamming his cock into my behind. My pussy yawns wide below his pumping cock, its center slick and shiny.

  I add more pressure to my clit, jamming myself backwards to take more of his length.

  I moan and whimper as our bodies thump together, arousal wet against the side of my thighs, running in a thin trail down my wrist as his cock starts to twitch inside me.

  His balls tighten and lift. He speeds up, hammering in harder.

  It’s sweet torture. I mutter disjointed syllables, close to madness.

  I can’t hold off any longer. With a pained cry, I come, my ass squeezing around his cock, the walls of it palpitating.

  He thrusts in to the balls and releases, flooding my ass.

  It goes on and on, the heightened sensation an unending ocean of pleasure.

  Finally, spent, I collapse one way and Gabe the other, the exhaustion clear on both of us.

  I’m still in a euphoric haze as I watch the ceiling, every muscle in my body limp.

  Slowly, I sit up. My cheeks are flushed and a crease of hair is stuck to my forehead. I must look like I’ve run a marathon.

  Gabe has his eyes closed. I wonder if, having come so hard, the emotion and sadness will rush back to him, but when they do open, there’s a smile on his face.

  “Was that celebration enough for you?” I ask.

  “Celebration?” he says. “No. That was something else entirely.”

  *

  I open my eyes looking sideways across my bedroom at the window. A solid wall of light stares back.

  I hesitate to roll over. Is he still here?

  Do it quickly, like pulling off a Band-Aid.

  I roll over expecting nothing but disheveled blankets, but Gabe is there, sleeping like a baby but looking for all the world like some Greek god who actually fell from heaven to land bang smack in the middle of my bed.

  I’m gloriously worn out from last night, and yes, while it did come from unfortunate circumstances, the connection we shared was so deep, so powerful I’m certain now there’s more to this than a simple agreement.

  His eyes flicker open. He smiles. “Morning, beautiful.”

  I lean on my elbow. “Sorry you didn’t get much sleep.”

  “Who needs sleep when you can have that every night?”

  Amen.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask.

  He brings his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. “I am. She went peacefully, happy, and I think I can find some comfort in that. I was there. Not overseas, stuck in some remote corner of the world.”

  He rolls up onto his elbow, hand under his chin to mirror me. He notices the clock to my right. “Jesus. It’s nine o’clock. Shouldn’t you be at work?”

  I collapse back into the pillow. “About that… I was fired.”

  “You were what?”

  “Well, ‘let go’ was the term he used.”

  “Who? Your asshole of a boss, if he fired you because—”

  I sit up and place my hand on Gabe’s chest. “It’s okay, really. I’m over it.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  I let my hand run down between
his legs, find his cock hot and hard. “I’m going to make you happy, and then I’m going to make you breakfast. How does that sound?”

  He smiles. “In-fucking-credible.”

  *

  Afterwards, I leave Gabe in the shower while I feed the children and start making breakfast.

  The smell of eggs and bacon is strong in the air as Gabe wanders in, his hair still wet, only jeans to clothe him.

  He sits at the breakfast table. “It smells amazing.”

  I’m wearing a blue ‘World’s Okayest Cook’ apron… and nothing else.

  I give my butt a little flex, squeezing my cheeks together. “How about the view?”

  His lips pout together. “Fucking amazing. Do I get this kind of treatment every morning?”

  I return back to the frying pan, moving things around with a wooden spoon. “If you like. Is this your roundabout way of telling me you’re moving in?”

  The children are loud down the back. “It sounds like you’ve got quite enough house guests already.”

  I turn off the element and start to plate up. “True, but cute as they are, they can’t hold a candle to you.”

  He looks down between his legs. “You just want me for my giant cock.”

  I shrug. “Amongst other things.”

  I take out utensils from the drawer, taking the plates over and placing it all down on the table.

  Gabe looks distant as he watches me.

  “It’s okay to grieve,” I tell him, “to take the time.”

  He picks up his fork. “No, Mom wouldn’t have wanted me sulking around the place. She wanted to be remembered for what she was, not what she became.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “That was Mom.”

  The tense hangs there. Memories of Dad’s passing come back, but so much time has passed they no longer upset me. Like Gabe said, I think of him and only remember the good times, the happy memories made under this roof. I have no doubt he would have approved of Gabe—maybe not of his wild scheme, but definitely would have respected his service, his considerate manner.

  We finish up and wash the dishes together.

  Gabe leans against the sink. “I should really go see Matt. You saw at the hospital last night. He came and left almost right away. He’s taking this hard. I don’t want him to be alone.”

  “Do you want me to come?”

  Gabe shakes his head. “No. Honestly, it’s going to be a little awkward, and to be fair this is a family thing. You didn’t know my mother well. Hell, you don’t even know me that well.”

  I don’t think he means for it to be offensive, but that’s how it comes across. Still, I smile and play it off. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it? It means there’s a lot to learn.”

  He smiles back, his forehead creasing. “And I can’t wait to find out every dirty little secret you’ve got, Shannon Bailey, but for now my brother needs me.”

  “I understand. I’m going to head out and drop off some resumes anyhow, drop by the bank. I got a severance package. Daryl allowed me that, at least.”

  “You owe nothing to that prick.”

  “I know, but it’s time for something better anyhow, a new chapter in the Chronicles of Shannon.”

  “Sounds like Game of Thrones.”

  “Well, I don’t know about dragons, but there’s certainly a lot of sex in it.”

  He pushes off the bench to kiss me, his hand moving down to cup my crotch through the apron. “And more to come.”

  Gabe leaves for Matt’s place. I take the time to skim over my resume, fussing over the smallest of details. Frankly, I need the distraction. I look for job leads, taking screenshots of addresses and potential workplaces with my cell. It’s going to be a busy afternoon.

  By lunch, I’m ready to roll. I text Gabe on my way out the door, consider sending him something flirty, but I’m blushing just thinking about it, blushing thinking about the way I could barely control my body and how I came so hard this morning.

  ‘How R U managing?’ I text.

  A reply comes back a minute later: ‘Matt is OK. There is a lot to do though. C U 4 dinner?’

  Or maybe dessert. ‘Sure,’ I text back, ‘just stepping out go get my dream job.’

  ‘Go get ’em, beautiful,’ he replies, with a kiss emoji.

  Swoon. And he’s all yours, kiddo.

  My teeth are hurting he’s being so sweet right now. I’m starting to feel like this could be an actual thing.

  Is it? My head retorts. Perhaps. The poor guy’s just lost his mother. He’s in the middle of something extremely painful whether it’s showing or not. Perhaps it’s best not to read into it too much.

  I smile to myself as I lock the door for being so sensible today. I feel productive, alive. I feel like I can take on the world.

  I start to walk down the street. It’s a beautiful day. I half expect a bluebird to land trilling on my shoulder.

  I’m not thirty feet from my door when I notice a woman walking towards me. As she gets closer, I go to smile and walk on, but she stops in front of me, blocking the path.

  “Shannon, right?” she says.

  I pull up. “Yes.” She has shoulder-length black hair, a collection of small scars on her face, a larger one under her left eye, but she’s otherwise beautiful in a don’t-fuck-with-me kind of way. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

  She puts her hand out. “I’m Triss.”

  Oh, crap.

  I take it, her grip firm. I swallow before speaking, sure she can see it. “Nice to meet you,” I splutter. I want to ask her why she’s here, but there’s only one thing we have in common.

  “You’re probably wondering why I’m here,” she says.

  Bingo.

  She smiles, but it’s unnatural, forced. “I just wanted to come here and apologize.”

  I didn’t expect that. “Apologize?”

  “For keeping Gabe out the other day. Nothing happened, of course, but I do want to get to know you.”

  “Oh? I squeak out.

  “For sure. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d swing by. Do you have plans for lunch?”

  I’ve got a folder under my arm, my ticket out of this awkwardness, but I am curious about Gabe’s past, even if this does feel unsettling.

  Maybe she’s genuinely trying to be friendly, bury the hatchet.

  I’m not sure there was a hatchet to begin with given we’ve never met, but somehow I picture it buried in my back.

  “I’ve got time, sure,” I reply, against better judgement.

  And there’s that crazy smile again. “Great. We have so much to talk about.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  GABE

  I’ve never been in a funeral home in my life, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything. The well-suited man in front of me is speaking slowly and quietly, with reverence, as he runs us through the paperwork.

  “Yes, sign here. Thank you. And here. Wonderful. Yes, very good. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  I’ve watched a lot of boxes being loaded onto planes abroad, bodies, or what was left of them, sent back to loved ones. But seeing the coffins arranged around us here, a showroom of death, I’m suddenly numb. I try to search for an emotion, but I’m blank inside.

  Matt offers to pay, of course, but I won’t have it. You save up a lot of money when you’re holed up in the middle of a desert with nothing to blow it on.

  The home is small, quaint, but it somehow seems suitable. Matt told me Mom made it clear she didn’t want a fancy coffin or unnecessary expense, didn’t even want a funeral—frugal to the end, not wanting to be a burden on her sons. She wanted to be cremated, couldn’t even handle being an encumbrance to the earth and soil itself.

  But I can’t let her death go unremarked. The funeral will be small, but at least Matt and I will be there to celebrate her, respect the woman and mother she was.

  Our next meeting is with a lawyer downtown. His office is the complete antithesis of the funeral home, his
desk filled with family photos, a bright, abstract artwork framing the wall behind him.

  He smiles at us while he works through the papers.

  Matt is looking out the window. He’s been distant all day. I know he’s struggling with this. After all, he spent a lot longer with Mom in her final weeks than I did, saw the full measure of how the disease systematically broke her down.

  At least in battle it’s usually over quickly—a bullet to the brain or an RPG turning you to mist. Cancer, with its slow creep towards death, is a fucking monster.

  “Are you aware your mother didn’t have life insurance?” says the lawyer.

  I nod. “We are, but the funeral’s been arranged and paid for.”

  The lawyer smiles back. “Excellent. Now, onto the matter of her estate.”

  Matt brings his attention back to the lawyer.

  He looks from Matt to I. “To put it bluntly, there’s not a great deal here. She rented. There’s the car, a 1971 Toyota Corolla, a few personal effects and so forth.”

  “It’s alright,” I tell the lawyer, trying to make it clear neither of us are here for a cash grab. “She wasn’t that big on fancy things.”

  He shuffles the papers together. “Yes.” He’s looking back down at the paperwork. “Actually, Gabriel, there was one, final amendment here…”

  *

  Matt turns to me in the elevator. “I suppose you don’t have to keep this charade with Shannon going any longer then.”

  It hadn’t even occurred to me. “I suppose so.”

  Matt faces the elevator doors, hands in his pockets. He’s wearing the same clothes he was in last night. I feel like I have to add something. “Shannon… She’s not what I’d ever look for, consider, but I guess...” I don’t know where I’m going with this.

  “What?” snaps Matt. “No more short-term stripper girlfriends and Navy girls? No Major Payne pussy like Triss?”

  “Easy,” I warm him, starting to bristle.

  He’s not done. He puts his hands up. “Fine. I apologize. How is she, Triss? Is she… all there?”

  The door’s open. We step out into the underground garage.

  “I’m not sure,” I reply. “She wants me to join this mercenary group with her, a contractor thing.”

  Matt stops, tugging on my arm. “Fuck that!” he shouts, his voice echoing around us. “You just got back, just like that.”