Chapter 14 - Kaius

The weeks of Merl's recovery have been slow, but they're how I mark the passing of time these days. I have been slowly working on bridging that gap with Julie since that day at her apartment helping her move. She's given me such small windows of hope that there's a possibility of making something more of this. A glance here, a touch on my arm there. She said to prove I'm not a jerk. Prove I'm more than the sarcasm and hiding behind it.

She's even responding to my texts. I am actually looking forward to tonight as this is the first time I will have seen her and Merl out of the house since he was discharged from the hospital. He's still got to be extremely careful, but with him finally turning the corner, I think Julie can breathe a little easier now.

We are hosting a movie night for the whole town as part of Lena's plan to show them we aren't a cult. She's hoping it will show them we're just a tight-knit family and that everything out here is just perfectly normal. Julie agreed to come out to see the movie with Merl, mainly because Rufus insisted he needed a break from the same four walls.

I text Julie a quick message, asking if she is coming with a book or not. A smile tugs at my face as she replies quickly, with a quip about how she often "cums" with a book, but not during movie night, as that would be a little too public for her liking. The idea of getting her to actually do something in the middle of movie night tickles the dark part of my brain.

She and Merl arrive, and Rufus swoops in, escorting Merl over to a small little table he'd set up so that he wouldn't have to sit back against a chair with his injuries. The movie starts, and everyone begins to fill in the chairs and tables that Lena had us gather around near the side of the barn for seating.

Julie comes up and nudges me with an elbow and angles her head toward a little two-seater rocking chair near the back where she can still monitor Rufus and Merl. I follow her over and settle down in the chair, pulling the blanket I have draped over my arm across both of us as she leans back into my arm.

This is the first time we've actually agreed to try and spend any sort of time together. It surprised me that she asked if I'd spend tonight hanging out with her, as friends, of course, to keep an eye on "the two musketeers"—her new name for Rufus and Merl. Every nerve in my body is on high alert as she settles in, sliding a hand to rest on my thigh, her fingers grazing lightly against the inside.

"You better behave," I remind her, "We're just friends, remember?"

"Oh, don't worry. I intend to keep things friendly. It's just cold and you just feel like a space heater. My hands are like popsicles, see?" She shoves her other hand against the exposed skin on my neck, and I yelp at the cold.

"Shit, woman," I grumble, "What did you do, stick them in a bucket of ice water before you came out here?"

Julie shushes me at the same time a woman in front of us from the town turns to shush me. Julie's eyes aren't on the screen; instead, they're on the table where Merl and Rufus are huddled over their beers. Rufus is under explicit instructions that there is to be no whiskey tonight, only one beer. Her eyes are narrowed as if suspicious that they're going to skirt her rules somehow.

"They'll be fine," I whisper, close to her ear so I don't get shushed again, "You're worrying too much."

"I know they'll be fine. I can't help it. And… Don't tell me what to worry about."

"I'm not telling you what to worry about. I'm just saying you need to let go a little."

"Kaius, don't start…"

"What? When was the last time you even remotely let off a little bit of steam?"

She is silent and glaring in Rufus and Merl's direction now as they start loudly singing Johnny Cash songs together, drawing a chorus of shushes from the crowd.

"Was it the cabin?" I whisper even lower.

Her hand grips at my thigh, and I smirk. Yeah, that's what I thought.

"Maybe a little bit of public decompression is just what you need," I breathe in her ear.

"We can't," she whispers back, "Someone will see, they'll know."

"No, they won't. They're all plenty far away. No one is worried about what we're doing back here, anyway."

I try to maneuver my hand around her but realize the angle would be a little too challenging. An idea tempts me, and I lift her up and into my lap, which strategically places my cock between her thighs—just another plus to this plan. I turn my body sideways on the rocker so that my legs are propped up on the opposite arm and lean her back against my chest.

"See, just being cute and cuddly." Her body seems tense. I slide my hand slowly to the waistband of the thick pajama pants she has on and underneath the lacy underwear I find beneath. I just leave my hand resting patiently against her body, firm but unmoving. Her body is rigid now, and I'm not sure if she'll relax into this or not. I can't help but think that, with all her books, this will appeal to her, and with all the stress this is just what she needs..

Her hands fidget, and she repositions the blanket on top of us with a little shaky sigh. Julie's movements cause her ass to rub against my dick, and I want to just take her here to relieve my need for her, crowd be damned. But that's not my plan tonight. I want to show her a little bit of that excitement she seems to crave, even if she hasn't acknowledged it yet.

I glance over at Rufus and Merl, who have an arm around each other, swaying back and forth as they sing along with the movie soundtrack. Roscoe is sitting opposite them at the table, and Merl keeps handing him peanuts while Rufus tries to snatch them back. I try to keep my mind back on the task at hand and the woman currently in my arms.

My finger is pressed firmly to her clit. I'm just sitting, breathing slowly and patiently. A small, pleading sound slips from her throat, and she shifts ever so slightly, rocking her hips from side to side just once, causing my finger to slide across her clit with precise slowness.

"Just let go for once," I whisper against the skin of her neck as I lean down and brush a single kiss against her white, soft skin. I inhale deeply, enjoying the soft smell of lavender that clings to her skin.

That one little wiggle betrays how much she wants this, and I grin against her neck. She is already absolutely soaking wet. Two more slow, deep breaths, and she begins to work her hips in painfully slow, methodical circles, steering my finger slowly around and around. I don't know how she possesses this much self-control.

Blood rushes rapidly south, and my dick is rock hard, pressing painfully against my pants and shoved firmly against her ass. Every circle that teases her grinds fabric harder against the sensitive skin. It's my personal form of torture.

I take advantage of her slow pause at the top of the circle to sit forward a little and dip two fingers down into her, hooking them and drawing them against her with the same measured slowness. A low moan slips out of her throat, and she tries to cover it with an awkward cough that causes her body to clench harder around my fingers in response. She presses her ass hard against my lap in response. I pause to give her a moment to collect herself.

Julie's body moves with more rhythm, riding my fingers as her breathing becomes shorter and shallower. I move my fingers, curling them in time with her circles as she moves against me. She reaches for my other hand and pulls it up, guiding it around her breast, kneading at herself with my hand in place until I take over. I can feel her body clenching harder, the sound of my fingers stroking against her growing wetter with every stroke.

I nip a soft bite at her earlobe and her whole body trembles as she bucks hard against my fingers with a loud gasp. Her body locks around me, and wetness gushes against my fingers.