Page 28 of Whispers and Warriors (After #2)
TWENTY-EIGHT
Emma’s feet were nearly silent against the metal deck as she walked Ranger around the ship’s perimeter, the familiar clang of their footsteps the only sound in the eerie silence. The air reeked of bleach and death, the aftermath of the recent attack still lingering despite the crew’s efforts to deep clean the ship. The once vibrant community on board the ship now moved about with guarded steps and haunted expressions, the memories of the carnage etched into their very bones.
A week had crawled by, yet every direction she turned, her eyes were assaulted by the sight of dead bodies scattered carelessly throughout the mess hall. The horror clung to her like a relentless shadow, and though she never spoke of the relief she felt at not witnessing the devastation topside, the haunting images she did encounter were seared into her mind, never to leave, just another flawed stitch in the fabric of their journey’s blanket.
In the days that followed, life on the ship settled into a new normalcy, one where every shadow was a potential threat, and every creak of wood the harbinger of doom. The attack had left its mark on the crew and passengers alike, but with the lives they left behind, they were able to adapt. Drills were held more frequently, security protocols tightened, and nightly debriefings became a ritual.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the sky in a brilliant tapestry of reds and oranges, Emma stood at the ship’s railing, Ranger at her side. The sea stretched out before them, vast and unyielding, a symbol of both the dangers they had overcome and the ones that lay ahead.
“We’ll make it, won’t we, Ranger?” she whispered to her canine companion. He looked up at her with an incredible wiseness in his light eyes and his tail thumping in a familiar rhythm. “Yeah, I think so, too,” she agreed, her grip on the railing tightening. “We’ll find a way to make this new world our own.”
The seas were calm now, the salty wind whipping through the rigging the only indication of the ship’s forward momentum. The crew worked tirelessly to mend the sails and patch the hull, while those injured in the skirmish were tended to in the makeshift infirmary. Captain Novak seemed to never sleep, overseeing what repairs and recovery efforts they could do with steely determination, ensuring her people were cared for and the ship was brought back to seaworthiness.
As Emma rounded a corner, she spotted a small, trembling figure huddled in an alcove, a blanket pulled tightly around its small frame. It was a child, no older than seven or eight, that looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes. She couldn’t imagine growing up in the way the world was, that little boy was far braver than she would ever be.
Ranger tensed, and then went to spring to kiss the child but Emma gave the leash a tug.
“Hey there, it’s alright. We won’t hurt you, I promise. My name is Emma, and this is Ranger, my dog. I think I’ve seen you before with your sister, but we’ve never met.”
The child studied Emma with mistrustful eyes for a long moment before cautiously extending a shaking hand to pet Ranger’s head. Ranger gave what Emma believed to be a young girl a doggy grin, his tail thumping against the deck in a reassuring rhythm. Tentatively, the child emerged from its hiding spot, revealing a small, malnourished frame, clad in rags that were once a uniform from before the world fell.
Emma’s heart ached at the sight, but she maintained her warm demeanor. “There, that’s it. Ranger and I are here to hang out if you want. I know it’s been hard since things got scary.”
The child’s lower lip trembled, but a nod was all the response she received. Gently, Emma scooped the shivering form into her arms, Ranger walking at their heels as they made their way down to the mess hall.
Two more weeks and the world looked the exact same outside the small porthole window. An endless expanse of steel gray sea churned back and forth. Another two weeks where the memories haunted her sleep, but at least she could close her eyes while she was awake and no longer see anything but the back of her eyelids.
She hadn’t minded the extra days when the plan was explained, but she was tired of the sea.
The cabin door creaked open and Liam slipped inside, his handsome face etched with weariness and something else—excitement? He shut the door quietly behind him.
“Emma,” he said softly, coming to stand beside her. “I have news. Good news. But you can’t tell the others yet.”
She turned to him, searching his bright blue eyes behind those black-rimmed glasses she loved. “What is it?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “We’re just over a week out from land. Our new home.”
Joy and relief flooded through Emma. After everything they’d endured, a safe haven was finally within reach. She threw her arms around Liam’s broad shoulders, pressing her lips to his in a fierce, exultant kiss.
He grunted slightly, and she pulled back, concerned. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“I’m fine, Em. Just a bit sore still.” His strong hands gripped her waist. “Nothing your touch can’t heal.”
Heat ignited low in Emma’s belly as she met his intense gaze. Her fingers trailed down his muscled chest and stomach, dipping teasingly beneath the waistband of his pants.
“Then let me take care of you,” she purred. “Shut the door.”
Liam’s blue eyes darkened with lust and he pulled his glasses off, setting them down on the nearest nightstand. He reached back without looking, flipping the lock. “Gladly.”
In a swift movement, he captured her mouth again, kissing her deeply as he walked them backward toward the bed. Emma’s heart raced, her skin flushed and tingling, craving his touch.
She reluctantly pulled away from each other, tugging at her pants and top instead of waiting for Liam to remove them the way she usually liked. She just wanted to touch him, to celebrate/
This was the Liam she only saw behind closed doors—a man filled with a fiery passion, the gentle tenderness in his touch, the way he made her feel cherished and desired beyond measure. In his embrace, she felt a profound sense of safety and protection, a sanctuary amid the chaos of this fractured world.
Tumbling onto the nearest twin bed, Emma’s last coherent thought was that as long as she had Liam and the others by her side, she could face anything. Their love was her strength, her guiding star. And soon, they would finally have the home and future they’d sacrificed so much for.
Her hands roamed over, brushing against hers as she did the same, while he lowered her onto the mattress. Liam’s calloused palms caressed her soft skin as if mapping every curve and valley. Emma arched into his touch, needing to be closer, to feel him everywhere.
In the back of his mind, Liam registered Bash and Chris’s voice as they entered the room and quickly slammed the door shut. But right now, in this stolen pocket of intimacy, his entire being was focused solely on the amazing woman in his arms. The determined survivor who had captured his heart so completely.
“Emma,” he murmured reverently against her neck, pressing open-mouthed kisses along the column of her throat. “My beautiful, brave Emma...”
She threaded her fingers through his thick hair, holding him to her as she hooked a leg around his hip.
Groaning, he settled between her thighs, his hard length nudging her slick entrance. Their gazes locked, breaths synchronizing, and then with a smooth thrust, he buried himself deep inside her welcoming heat.
Twin moans of pleasure filled the room as they began to move together. Slow, deep strokes gradually built in tempo, stoking the flames. Emma met him thrust for thrust, nails digging into his back, urging him on.
Liam knew he wouldn’t last long, not with the intoxicating slide of her body gripping him so tightly, not when every gasp and whimper spurred his own desire to dizzying heights. But he was determined to bring her with him over the edge.
Shifting his weight to one arm, he snaked a hand between them, finding the sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs. Emma cried out sharply as he stroked in just the right way, back bowing off the bed.
“That’s it, Em,” Liam encouraged headily, hips snapping faster. “Let go for me.”
A few more direct, tantalizing touches had her unraveling in his arms, her body arching with the force of her silent scream. Her inner muscles tightened around him in a rhythmic dance, drawing him further into ecstasy. With a deep, primal groan, Liam surrendered to the overwhelming sensation, releasing himself completely, his warmth spilling deep within her.
Liam’s breath came out in harsh pants as he thrust into Emma’s welcoming heat, drowning in sensation. Her silken walls gripped him like a vice, spurring him closer to the edge with every flex.
He lifted his gaze, meeting the burning intensity in Bash and Chris’s eyes as they watched the erotic display. Liam’s lips quirked. “I don’t need you two hating me,” he called over his shoulder, voice strained with pleasure. “Get over here.”
Bash moved in an instant, drawn like a moth to flame. He stripped efficiently, revealing his now tanned skin and rippling muscle, the prominent bulge in his briefs betraying his aching arousal.
Settling on the bed before Emma, Bash fisted a hand in her curls, angling her flushed face toward his straining erection. She parted her kiss-swollen lips, taking him deep without hesitation.
Bash groaned as Emma’s hot, wet mouth engulfed his throbbing shaft. The sight of her kiss-bruised lips stretched around his girth, cheeks hollowing as she sucked him deep, was almost too much to bear. Electric pleasure raced up his spine with every swirl of her clever tongue.
He tightened his grip in her silky curls, resisting the urge to buck into the blissful suction. Instead, he let her set the pace, her head bobbing enthusiastically as she lavished attention on his aching cock. Liam’s steady thrusts jostled her forward, causing Bash to hit the back of her throat. She moaned around him, the vibrations making his balls draw up tight.
“Fuck, Emma, just like that,” Bash rasped, eyes rolling back as she took him impossibly deeper. He could feel every slide, every crevice of her mouth and throat as she worked him with single-minded focus, even as her own pleasure mounted.
His gut tightened as his balls drew up even as she stroked them, warning of his coming release.
Faster than should have been possible, his climax started, his eyes starting to cloud over as a need to power drive into her mouth controlled him. His muscles flexed with the strain of holding back. He wanted to prolong this perfect moment, to revel in the wet heat of Emma’s greedy little mouth forever. But her ministrations were too skilled, too hungry. She sucked harder, head moving faster, driving him inexorably toward the precipice.
Emma moaned around Bash’s thick length, the vibrations drawing out a shudder, a low rumble building in his chest. His control was fraying fast, unraveling with every bob of her head, every swirl of her wicked tongue.
“Em, I’m gonna—” he choked out in warning, giving her curls a sharp tug.
But she sealed her lips around him and hummed, the message clear. She wanted to taste him, to drink down every drop he had to give. That knowledge pushed Bash over the edge. With a wordless shout, he erupted, thick ropes of seed jetting down her waiting throat as he shuddered and twitched through the most intense orgasm of his life.
Emma swallowed around him, milking his spasming cock with her tongue until he was utterly spent. Only then did she release him, letting his softening shaft slip from her lips with a satisfied hum. Her green eyes glittered up at him, hazy with lust but also deep affection.
As Bash struggled to catch his breath, he marveled at the incredible woman who had stolen his heart so thoroughly. In a world gone mad, she was his anchor, his solace.
“Fuck, Emma,” Bash growled, head tipping back at the first slide of her hot mouth around his shaft. He had never told her, but Emma sucked him off like no woman ever had and he always worried he’d not be able to finish properly and let her down. Somehow, his cock still stayed, as if knowing that wasn’t entirely what he wanted.
Bash watched through hooded eyes as Emma’s talented mouth continued to work him, knowing he wasn’t fully spent, her wet heat engulfing him again and again. The sight of her flushed cheeks hollowing around his throbbing length was nearly his undoing. Electric pleasure zipped up his spine with every swirl and flick of her clever tongue.
“Wait,” Bash rasped, fisting a hand in Emma’s silky curls. Gently but firmly, he guided her off his aching erection with a wet pop.
She blinked up at him in confusion, kiss-swollen lips glistening obscenely.
“Liam,” he called to the other man, voice rough as gravel. “It’s time to share our girl.”
Liam met his gaze over Emma’s shoulder, blue eyes dark with understanding and matching hunger. With a groan, he gave a final, deep thrust into Emma’s clenching heat before reluctantly withdrawing, making her whimper at the loss. “I’ve taken my turn.”
Switching positions in a graceful tangle of limbs, Liam settled against the headboard and arranged Emma so she leaned against his lap, strong thighs bracketing narrow hips. His thick length, slick with her arousal, nestled perfectly between them.
Bash leaned forward, his hands gripping her thighs and spreading her open for his hungry gaze. Her pretty pink folds glistened, still stretched from Liam’s possession and damn swollen with need.
Bash’s mouth watered.
But for now, he gripped the base of his shaft, notching the swollen head at her entrance. He could feel her trembling with anticipation, trying to press back and impale herself. Bash chuckled darkly. So greedy for them, their insatiable angel.
“Ready?” he murmured, nipping at the delicate skin behind her ear.
“Please,” she whispered, and it was the most fucking erotic thing he’d ever heard.
He slid under her, wanting to watch her come undone from her own thrusts as much as his.
With one smooth, deliberate thrust, Bash sheathed himself fully in her scorching heat. He cursed as her velvety walls rippled around his cock.
Liam’s arms tightened around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. He kissed a line up her neck, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin as she moved between them.
Bash’s hands gripped her hips tightly, guiding her movements as he pounded into her relentlessly. He was aware of Chris beside him, of Emma reaching out to suck his cock the way she’d just done his, but Bash couldn’t focus on anything but finding a second release, something he didn’t think had ever happened for him.
Chris watched the erotic display before him with rapt attention, his arousal straining painfully against the confines of his pants. The sight of Emma sandwiched between Liam and Bash, her lithe body undulating in ecstasy as Bash drove into her with deep, powerful thrusts, was almost too much to bear. Heat coiled tightly in his gut, his breath coming in short, harsh pants as he palmed himself through the rough fabric.
He had been on edge for hours, the memory of Emma’s lush curves and breathy moans fueling his desire to a fever pitch. Watching her come apart so wantonly now, lost in the throes of passion with his best friends and brothers-in-arms, only intensified the ache. Chris knew if he didn’t find his own release soon, the throbbing pressure would surely kill him.
Desperate for friction, for any semblance of relief, he fumbled with his belt and zipper, shoving his pants down just enough to free his weeping erection. The cool air against his overheated skin made him hiss, but it was nothing compared to the searing need that consumed him.
As if sensing his desperation, Emma turned her lust-glazed eyes on him, pupils blown wide with want. She licked her kiss-swollen lips, gaze zeroing in on his impressive length bobbing heavily against his stomach. An unspoken invitation.
Chris’s heart hammered against his ribs as he moved to stand at the head of the bed, looming over the writhing tangle of limbs. He fisted his shaft, giving it a few rough pumps as he drank in the debauched sight of his lovers. Liam’s tanned skin glistened with sweat, muscles flexing as he held Emma close. Bash pistoned his hips relentlessly, grunting with each slap of flesh against flesh. And Emma... fuck, she was even more of a vision now. With her head thrown back in abandon, full breasts bouncing with every forceful thrust, pink lips parted around keening moans.
Emma’s tongue darted out to wet her lips again, a heady mix of desire and adoration shining in her eyes. Without hesitation, she leaned forward, bracing herself on Liam’s thighs, and wrapped her kiss-bruised lips around the flushed head of Chris’s erection.
A guttural moan tore from his throat at the first hot, wet swipe of her tongue. Pleasure, white-hot and blinding, seared through his veins as she took him deeper, cheeks hollowing with sensual suction. He tunneled his fingers through her silky hair, fighting the urge to buck into the blissful heat of her mouth.
The wet suction and swirl of her talented tongue short-circuited his brain, reducing his world to nothing but pure, electric sensation. She bobbed her head, taking him deeper with each pass, until he hit the back of her throat. Chris saw stars, hips jerking forward of their own volition.
Their pants and groans mixed with the slapping of flesh paired with the slick slide of sweat-slicked skin, the rhythmic creak of the abused mattress springs, the chorus of panting breaths and pleasure-soaked moans. Everything echoed in Chris’s ears, and likely off the walls. It was a carnal symphony, spurring them all to dizzying heights of ecstasy.
Chris watched as Bash’s powerful thrusts grew more erratic, his fingers digging into the flesh of Emma’s hips hard enough to bruise as he chased his release. Liam caressed her breasts, rolling and pinching the sensitive peaks until she keened around Chris’s shaft, the vibrations making his toes curl. He’d never realized how incredibly hot it was to watch her with the others until now.
Bash came a heartbeat later with a roar, burying himself to the hilt as he spilled himself deep inside her, drawing a pause on Emma’s assault with her mouth.
Chris almost lost it right then, the erotic sight and sounds nearly too much to withstand. He ground his teeth, determined to prolong this perfect moment as long as possible. Breathing harshly through his nose, he gently extricated himself from Emma’s slack mouth, his shaft twitching at the loss of her heat.
Bash carefully rolled out from underneath Emma, leaving her draped bonelessly across Liam’s lap as aftershocks continued to wrack her frame. Not wasting a second, Chris quickly shucked his pants the rest of the way and climbed onto the bed. He slotted himself between Emma’s thighs, notching himself at her entrance.
He surged forward, burying himself to the hilt in one smooth thrust. They moaned in unison as he stretched her deliciously, her scorching heat engulfing him like a silken vise. Chris squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed by the perfection of her slick, clutching walls conforming to every ridge and vein of his erection.
Emma was tight and wet despite already having been with two others. She was his living fantasy that he couldn’t believe was all his. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of their combined arousal as he began to move slowly inside her. Each powerful stroke made Emma’s breath catch and her nails dig into his back.
He watched Liam watching them with dark eyes from behind Emma’s shoulder, caressing her breasts and kissing the back of her neck as they moved together. The sight of Liam touching her almost pushed Chris over the edge—it was simply too much—but he held on tightly to control, determined to make this last as long as possible.
His hips circled slowly at first, building a steady rhythm that had Emma writhing beneath him like an inferno. She cried out with each thrust, her body arching into him as she chased after pleasure.
Chris gripped Emma’s hips tightly as he drove into her with deep, purposeful strokes. Her scorching heat gripped him like a velvet vise, rippling deliciously around his aching shaft with every thrust. Pleasure, white-hot and electric, sizzled through his veins as he claimed her, marked her, made her his in the most primal way possible.
Emma’s head thrashed against Liam’s chest, her russet curls fanning out in a wild halo. Her swollen lips parted around keening cries, breathy moans and pleas for more spilling freely. Chris drank in the debauched sight of her, flushed cheeks, heaving breasts, eyes glassy with ecstasy. She was utterly wrecked, lost to the sensual onslaught, and it was the most erotic thing he’d ever witnessed.
Determined to push her to even headier heights, he hooked his arms under her knees, bending her nearly in half as he lifted her ankles to rest on his broad shoulders. The new angle allowed him to plunge deeper, bottoming out with every powerful drive of his hips. Emma wailed, back bowing off the bed as he struck that secret spot inside her, over and over.
“Chris, oh god,” she sobbed, blunt nails scrabbling at his sweat-slicked back. “Don’t stop, please don’t stop...”
He had no intention of stopping, not until he had wrung every last ounce of pleasure from her quivering body. Pistoning his hips faster, harder, he grunted with the effort of holding back his own climax, chasing her ever higher. The wet slap of flesh against flesh filled the air, punctuated by their harsh pants and moans.
Chris rubbed tight, focused circles over her clit in time with his thrusts, the rough pad of thumb until his body jerked without warning, his release spilling with a lightening intensity that took him by storm.
Still, he thrust with a relentless rhythm, his movements a symphony of pushing, thrusting, and rubbing that built to a crescendo. Emma’s voice pierced the air as she screamed for the third time, her eyes fluttering back slightly in a moment of overwhelming sensation. With a gentle but deliberate motion, Chris withdrew, understanding she would need space to unwind and savor the lingering waves of pleasure.
In a world gone mad, this was their port in the storm, their slice of sanity. As long as they had each other, they could weather any tempest. Let the winds rage and the seas churn.
Together, they were unbreakable.