Highway Don't Care (Freebirds) (3 page)

  She gave a nod, and I noticed she was fading fast. 
The pain meds were kicking in and she would be out like a light shortly.

  "Time for bed, honey.”  I said as I helped her
stand.

  She stood slowly, and then picked her can up to toss into
the trash.  She kept the tab though.  She pulled the chain that was
around her neck and unhooked it, and then threaded the tab onto her necklace
and re-latched it around her neck. 

  I gave her a quizzical look, but she waved me off.

  I made my way to the hallway and turned towards the guest
room, but Ember didn't follow me.  She turned to the right instead and
headed into my room.  I waited a few minutes for her to come back, but she
didn't reappear.

  I broke down and strode to my room, only to freeze in the doorway
at the sight that was before me.  Ember was on her knees in my bed. 
My black shirt didn't leave much to the imagination since it had ridden up over
her bottom and exposed her plain white cotton bikini underwear.  The
position she was in was an odd one.  Her ass was in the air, with her
knees tucked under her.  Her arms curled up tightly to her chest, and her
hair was a mess all around her.

  The position she was in reminded me of when Sam’s girls
fell asleep.  They sleep in the exact same position that Ember was in
right now.  It didn't look the least bit comfortable, but it obviously had
to be since she was dead to the world.

  My cock hardened painfully behind the fly of my jeans, and
I pressed the heel of my palm down hard against it, looking for a little
relief.  Didn't help though, only made me that much more aware of it.

  It doesn't matter anyway.  Ember could be on the rag,
throwing up with chicken pox and I would still want her.

  Heaving a sigh, I walked to the bathroom, took a piss,
brushed my teeth and changed into my pajama bottoms.  I had to rip the tag
off first since I never slept in anything but my underwear.  Anyone who
ever had to be up in a hurry knew better than to go naked to bed.  Always
be prepared was my motto.  Sure would look funny to be running out of the
barracks and looking over to see a friend’s dick swinging.  The pants were
entirely for Ember's benefit.  I didn't want her getting upset with being
in bed with me practically naked.

  Grabbing my boots, I shoved my .45 into the left one before
opening the door.  I turned out the light, and walked quietly to the
bed.  There she was again.  In the exact same position.  Placing
my boots and gun next to the bed for easy access, I stared down at her sleeping
form.  I couldn’t make much out other than her silhouette, but what I
could see took my breath away.

  I contemplated how to sleep around her since she was in the
middle of the bed, but just decided to get in and shove her over some. Well,
maybe not shove.

  I eased down beside her and moved her carefully over to the
other side of the bed.  I laid there stiffly for five or so minutes before
finally relaxing enough to reach for the covers.  I pulled them over both
of us and placed my arms behind my head.

  I was nearly asleep when I felt her creeping towards
me.  I don't think she was awake because she was making the funniest
noises.  They were somewhere in between whimpers and moans.  It
didn't take her long before she was straddling me with her head tucked
underneath my chin.  I left my arms right where they were.  This was
going to be a long night.  At least the noises stopped when she finally
settled.

Ember

  If I didn't have to piss like a racehorse, I would never
move.  I was so very comfortable.  I knew exactly where I was, too.

  Cracking an eye open, I searched the area for a
clock.  Finally spying it projecting onto the wall across the room, I
focused on it until my eyes cleared of some of the bleariness.  Ten till
four.

  Good.  I had a reason to come back to bed.

  I gently eased off my Gabe bed, and shuffled stiffly to the
bathroom.  I didn't bother closing the door, because I honestly didn't
have the gumption to do anything more than walk straight to the bathroom.

  Since I was already up, I popped a pain pill and drank it
down with water from the sink.  I hope that it kicked in soon because my
back was throbbing.  With each step I took, tiny sparks of pain would
shoot down the length of the cut, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from
whimpering.

  It took me a few pain-filled minutes, but I was shuffling
back to the bed in no time.  I contemplated walking around the bed but
decided I just might die if I had to walk any further, so I went to the same
side where Gabe still was.

  I crawled back onto the bed and went back to the same exact
position I’d just left.  Straddling Gabe with my head tucked under his
chin.  I wasn't sure if he was awake or not, but didn't want to take
anything for granted.  I was going to lay on Gabe, because this was the
one time I could do it and actually have an excuse.

  All the tension left my body, and I fell into a deep sleep
once again.

Gabe
 

 She is seriously trying to kill me.

 I honestly thought it couldn't get any worse.  However,
I was mistaken.  I’ve spent the last five hours in a light doze, waking
every time she moved slightly.  At least earlier, her crotch rested over
my belly. 

 This time her crotch was nestled snugly against mine. 
It took absolutely everything I had to keep my cock from going rock hard.

  I thought about the smell of rotting flesh, the sight of a
gunshot wound, gray matter leaking out of a blown apart head, and everything
else truly disgusting to keep my mind from the party that wanted to happen
below my belt.

  Fuck me.

  I've thought about this for nearly a year.  Every time
I saw her.  If she was in the room, I could pound nails with my dick.

  Not that I was good enough for her.  I knew that and
she knew that.

My step-father made sure to tell me every day that I wasn't good
enough. Or smart enough.  Or even halfway decent looking.  I
constantly heard from him that I was a mutt and would never amount to anything.

  Apparently, half-Brazilian and half white are considered a
mutt to him.

  My Brazilian father died when I was twelve of cancer. 
My mother couldn't afford to work and support us with also paying for medical
bills, so she married to make our life better.  Little did she know that
she was going to turn my life into a living hell all the while thinking she was
making everything better.  She married for all the wrong reasons. 
She never loved Patrick.  I never once heard her tell him she loved
him.  He used to say it all the time, but my mom would smile and go about
what she was doing. This was what made it so bad for me.

  I look a lot like my father.  Tall, at two and a half
inches over six feet, with a dark tan.  Jet-black hair and a muscular
build.  Not too bulky, but nothing to sneeze at either.  I was
literally the carbon copy of my dad.  I didn't have one ounce of my mom’s
features except for her cerulean blue eyes.  Which looked totally fucked
up with my dark features.  Nevertheless, what do I know?  He saw in
me the reason my mom would never love him like he loved her.  Therefore,
he took it out on me.

  He never hit me, but his words could be as cruel as a
whip.  I spent seven years living in an emotional hell, and my mom never
even knew.  I wouldn’t have told her though, and he knew that.

  I set out in life to prove that bastard wrong.  I kept
to myself and tried to make myself invisible.  I never spoke unless spoken
to; I kept my head on straight, worked thirty hours a week at a local
construction company after school and on weekends.  I studied my ass off
to graduate with honors at sixteen.  Then joined the military when I was
sixteen.  My mom wasn’t too happy about that, but she knew that I was
unhappy, and she’d do anything for me.

  I left my stepfather’s home and never looked back.  My
mom came to me every time I had leave.  She would spend the two weeks with
me, or sometimes even the rare month at the location where I was stationed.

  Her last visit I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw
her.  She waited to tell me until I was home that she had cancer. 
The same type of cancer that took my dad.  Lung cancer.  Besides,
what was ironic was that neither one of them smoked a day in their lives. 
They both were extremely healthy.  We ate right, and we were very active
outdoors.  My dad worked as the supervisor for a local construction
business, he was in peak shape at forty-two.  My mom was also
active.  She was a server at the local diner, on her feet for hours a day;
she was also in great shape at forty-eight.  It was just a cosmic joke that
they both died of the same thing, and were never exposed to it.  Just
another fucked up thing that happened to the people I loved most in this world.

  Ember shifting on top of me brought me back from my
wanderings.  A quick glance at the clock showed that it was now five in
the morning.  Good enough that I could workout.

  I slowly eased out from under Ember and stood. 
Adjusting myself in my god-awful pajama pants, I pulled the covers just to the
top of her hips so I didn't agitate the wound on her back.

  Spinning on my heels, I went to the closet and located my
tennis shoes on the floor, grabbed a pair of running shorts from the shelf
along with a pair of socks and exited the bedroom.  Something needed to be
worked out, and it was obvious to me that I wasn’t going to be getting what I
really wanted.  Treadmill here I come.

Ω

  An hour and seven miles later, I was dripping sweat, and
just climbing off the treadmill when Ember came into the room.  She was
adorable.  Long hair tumbling down her shoulders, nearly to her
hips.  It looked like she just rolled out of bed, and didn’t bother
combing it in any fashion.  The t-shirt was hanging off of one
shoulder.  Still no pants, but the shirt came just to the top of her
knees, so nothing good was showing.  She was rubbing her face with her
hands and yawning.

  “You can go back to bed, there was no reason you needed to
get up so early.” I said to her.

  She continued to yawn, but spoke anyway, “I have to be at
work in thirty minutes.”

  “I already called the director for you.  They know
what happened last night, and want you to take a week or two off work. 
Pending until you are more comfortable and your stitches are out.”  I
said.

  “Dammit, Gabe.”  She said exasperated.  “You had
no right, I would’ve been okay!”

  “I know you would have been good, but I also wanted them to
address the security issue they have there.  They won’t have the cameras
set up for another week.  Therefore, it gives you a little time to
heal.  I also want to teach you some basic self-defense, just in case you
run into this problem again.”

  “I don’t think I am up for anything to physical right
now.  My back is throbbing like a bitch, and the pain medication doesn’t
seem to be helping at all.” She said.

  “That’s understandable.  They only gave you what
amounts to extra strength Motrin.  It probably won’t do much but take the
edge off.”  I said.

  “Well doesn’t that just blow?  I am nearly raped, my
back is sliced from shoulders to ass, and all they can give me is a fucking
Motrin?  What the fuck.  I think I deserve the good shit.”  She
said testily.

  Rage started burning in my belly again at the flippant way
she’d just said she was almost raped.  Surely, she was taking this too
easily.

  “Don’t make light of this, Ember.  You could have been
seriously injured, or even killed.  You were a very lucky person last
night.  I got a message from Luke not even ten minutes ago saying that
they think this is gang related, and they need your statement as soon as you
are ready to give it.”  I said. 

  “I’m not making light of this, Gabriel.  I’m just
trying to blow some steam.  I know what could’ve happened; I know that I
was lucky.  I just want everything to go back to normal and to not think
about it anymore.  It didn’t happen, so let’s not dwell on this
anymore.  I’ll go give a statement as soon as you can get me down
there.  But we better hurry because Cheyenne won’t wait very much longer
before she’s all up my ass.”

  “Alright, let’s get going then.  You aren’t allowed to
take a shower as per doctor’s orders.  I have some of your clothes still
here from when you changed here a while back.  I’ll set them out on the
bed, and you get changed while I am in the shower.” I ordered.

  With that, I left the room, and headed for my bedroom
closet.  I pulled her clothes off the shelf at the top of the closet and
tossed them onto the bed before heading into the bathroom.  Once in the
shower I soaped and rinsed.  Palming my erection, I ran the soap over it,
and then stopped.  What if she heard me?  That only made me hotter
though.  It wouldn’t bother me a bit to have Ember join me in here. 
I would totally welcome it.  Only wanting one woman put a damper on my sex
life.  I tried being with someone around six months ago, but I wasn’t able
to get it up, she just wasn’t Ember.  It was incredibly embarrassing, and
the look on the other woman’s face made me never try again.