A Glimpse of Emerald

"And the second thing?"

"Should you enter any of the former states of the Confederacy, barring Texas, your own life would be forfeit from that moment on. I'm afraid that any trips to Walt Disney World would be considered ill-advised."

Cameron closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "And what's the catch? No offense, but there's always a catch when it comes to organizations like yours."

"None, I assure you. My associates and I view tonight as a teachable moment to be used to warn others about operating in our territory without permission. You, Miss Dotte, and Mrs. Layton were innocent bystanders, nothing more. That said, I advise you to keep living your life as you were - quietly and in an unobtrusive manner."

The well-dressed man gestured over her shoulder towards the large blonde woman. "Should you have ANY difficulties with outsiders, please come to the Lark's Roost in Copperton and ask for Anna. And I believe you'll understand when I say I hope you and I never cross paths in this manner again. The ambulance is parked in Bay #2 whenever you're ready to leave." With that, he shook Cameron's hand again as well as Peri's, giving them a bright, reassuring smile before turning around and walking away, the tall blonde following in his wake, leaving behind a pair of stunned lovers.

"Sir?" Peri took a step forward as the man turned around at the sound of her voice. "What about the guy who attacked us? What's going to happen to him?"

"The man who will die from his burn wounds in about an hour? Don't worry about him."

"...what the hell was that," Cameron eventually inquired once the man and woman had left their sight.

"Deus ex Mafia," said Peri softly. "I don't know that man's name, but I've seen him around my brother's business if you know what I mean."

"Wait. You're telling me there's, like, a Mountain Mafia or something?"

"I'm not going to go asking." Peri took both of Cameron's hands in hers. "But if what he said was true then you and I just got a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. As long as we play by the rules we're not going to have to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders. You can stop living in Emerald Pines and start LIVING in Emerald Pines." She looked down towards the tile floor. "That is, if you still want to stay here now that you don't have to run anymore."

A finger gently tilted her chin upward. Peri found herself looking into Cameron's eyes. "I'm done running," he told her. "You said it yourself. This town...it's a kind of magic. And you've absolutely spellbound me."

Standing in a hospital hallway, her ear stitched up, her left hand throbbing underneath the tight bandages, hours after almost losing her life, Cameron's kiss still lit up her entire body. As long as his lips pressed against hers, all was right with the world. "Besides," Cameron murmured softly so only Peri could hear, "I couldn't leave even if I wanted to. Mark asked me to join his Dungeons & Dragons game. Do you know how hard it is to find a good Dungeon Master nowadays?"

"As long as your priorities are straight." Peri put her hand in his. "Come on, let's take that ambulance ride home."

X X X X X

"...I'll call you tomorrow afternoon, Mom. Right now Cameron and I just need to get some sleep. Yes. Yes, whatever you guys decide to do for dinner is fine. OK. I love you, Mom. Good night."

Peri shook her head as she hung up the phone. "That's the first time in five years I've used my landline to make an actual phone call," she called out to Cameron from the kitchen. "My voice mailbox had twenty-six spam calls, three calls from my mom, and one from ABC-7 news in Denver." A deep yawn pulled at her soul as she walked towards her bedroom. "At least I can get a deal for a new smartphone on Friday..."

Cameron had managed to take his clothes off, however that had seemingly taken all of his energy. He was lying on top of the quilt in his boxers with his arms wrapped around a pillow and his bedside lamp still on. The sight of her dozing boyfriend pulled every ounce of awakeness from Peri, but she had enough energy to strip down to her panties and roll Cameron underneath the covers before joining him. She gently replaced the pillow with her body and was rewarded by Cameron putting his arms around her, pulling her close. She folded her hands over his, sighing with exhausted contentment as she closed her eyes.

"You saved my life tonight," she heard Cameron murmur. He gently interlaced his fingers with hers. "If it wasn't for you, Ellie and I would be dead."

Peri's response was to reassuringly mold her body against Cameron's. "I had given up," he continued. "Everything I did to run, to hide, to make sure no one could find me, all for nothing. When that guy was tying me up, I fought, I struggled, I tried to get out of those zip ties, but it hurt trying to slide my hands free. I couldn't deal with the pain. Meanwhile you degloved yourself...your burned hand...and come bursting through the door like a big damn hero, a straight razor against a gun...you even got shot..."

Peri reached up and gingerly touched the notch along her earlobe, as if confirming it was still there. "You knocked his aim off," she countered. "If it wasn't for you, I'd have a plug in my forehead instead of my ear. So you saved my life too. If anything, your necklace was the real MVP tonight. It took a bullet for you."

She felt Cameron tense up behind her. "You...you're the reason I wore that pendant," he whispered. "That day I walked into your store, I was wearing it on a whim. I shoved a bunch of clothes in my backpack the night I left Georgia and...there was no way that necklace should have gotten in there. But I found it in the bottom of my pack one day and, like I said, when in Emerald Pines, right? I figured it was a one-off thing I was doing in memory of my Mom, but then I caught you staring at it. Staring at me. It wasn't until a few weeks later that I realized I hadn't taken it off. Not when I fell asleep, not even when I took a shower. Because every time I looked at it, I thought of you."

He squeezed her tightly. "If it wasn't for you, that guy would have killed me and Ellie. And if you hadn't caught a glimpse of emerald all those months ago, I would have been shot in the chest. You're a hero. You're my hero, Peri."

She rolled over in Cameron's arms. Her eyes were drawn to the small bruise along the top of his chest where the bullet had shattered the gemstone pendant. "You were pretty brave tonight yourself. Cameron the Brave. And Peri the Lucky. No...Lucky Peri," she nodded. "Lucky Peri and Cameron the Brave."

"I like the sound of that." Cameron's kiss was meant to be soft, gentle, a final kiss good night before surrendering to sleep. However, it quickly turned into one of quiet passion. Her lips against his, his hands roaming her skin both scarred and unmarked, her fingers carefully gliding over small cuts and bruises - each one a sign that they were alive.

Somewhere along the way the rest of their clothes were shed, and Peri found herself on top of Cameron. Her fingers ran through his black hair, tracing a path along his ear and neck before reversing the process, while Cameron's tongue ran across her stiffening nipple. When Peri felt his erection pressing between her thighs, it took little more than a shift of her hips and a gentle push backwards for her to catch his tip. For one night, celebrating their good fortune, protection and caution were thrown to the wind. Peri shivered as his manhood pressed against her soft walls without anything between them. Cameron ran his hands up and down her back as he looked into her eyes with an expression of purest affection.

She set the pace. There was no rush, no need to beat the clock or race the sunrise. Peri rocked her hips back and forth, relishing the heat of his stiff rod inside of her as their shared motions generated a gentle friction that translated into a low but constant current of joy. With their arms stretched over their heads, Peri and Cameron's bodies rubbed together, generating a thin sheen of sweat that made it easier for Peri to glide her soaked tunnel against his throbbing steel.

Slowly Peri began moving faster. Her bandaged hand ached as she gripped his hand gently, before making Cameron jump by squeezing her womanhood around him. His response was to lift his hips and begin meeting her thrusts with his own. The current of joy intensified like sharp jolts of static electricity as their bodies began pushing and grinding against each other. Murmurs of encouragement became whispered challenges, each one spurring the other on.

It was Peri who broke first. Her body quivered atop Cameron as she came. If the repeated pulses of her womanhood were the flashes of the distant lightning, the bliss from clenching around Cameron's manhood was the arriving crashing of thunder. Her cries of joy were little more than soft whimpers as she pushed her hips back, trying to grip him with as much of her velvet walls as possible.

Time ceased to matter at that moment. In a haze mixing pleasure and sleeping, she remembered nothing other than Cameron inside of her, making her feel appreciated, making her feel safe...and making her feel good a second time. As well as a third.

When Cameron finally cried out with release, he spilled inside of her with an intensity that Peri hadn't expected. His lips crashed against hers, and she responded with equal fervor as his essence mixed with hers, with their arms wrapped around each other in a tight, affirming embrace. Sweat dotted Peri's forehead as Cameron brushed away soaked strands of blonde hair. "I love you," he told her without hesitation. "I love you, Lucky Peri."

She kissed him on the tip of his nose, her forehead pressing against his as they both slowly coasted down from their peak. "I love you too, Cameron the Brave."

X X X X X

"Hey!"

Having spent the past several minutes debating a potential color motif, Peri looked up from the plastic miniature of an armored knight she had been working on over the past week. "Hey," she said to Cameron as he closed the apartment door behind him. "How was your day?"

"Great," he answered brightly while hanging up his jacket on the nearby book. "First nice day of spring, first day of doing outdoor work. Got to spend the day supervising a siding crew instead of a plumbing one." After taking off his dusty work boots Cameron made his way into the kitchen. "I talked to your brother during lunch, and he's got some good news. Want anything?"

"Yeah, grab me a glass of water please."

Cameron walked over to the couch, handing her water to Peri before sitting down next to her. "Your brother got the contract to build the next run of A-frame houses up on Mitchell's Glen Road, and he got a handshake deal for us to put a bid in on one of them whenever it's finished. Says it should be sometime around October!"

"Really? That's great! An A-frame would be perfect for us!" Peri tapped her glass against Cameron's in celebration.

"Here's to hoping they get sold to locals and not tourists looking for a second home."

"Look at you," Peri laughed. "You've been in Emerald Pines for a year and you're talking like a true townie."

"Hey, I even come with my own hidden past and shocking scandal," he quipped. "Mark still looks at me like I'm the coolest guy in the world instead of someone who almost got his best friend murdered while everyone else treats me like I've always lived here. 'Oh,'" he said in a low-pitched masculine voice, "'that's Cameron. He testified against the mob before he and his girlfriend fought off a hitman sent to kill him. Want another beer?' It's like the world really does end at Aspen."

"Told you. Go change and wash up. I'll start pulling stuff out for dinner as soon as I'm done with this figure. Oh, I almost forgot! The insurance company finally agreed to pay for Ellie's car. They decided to classify the bullet ricocheting off your pendant as an Act of God just to get her off their backs."

"Definitely sounds like Ellie!" As Cameron got up from the couch, he noticed a pile of books sitting on the nearby loveseat. "Why do you have the D&D books out," he inquired.

"I'm making a character for Mark's game."

"Oh, OK." Cameron was almost in the bathroom when he stopped and turned to look at Peri. "Wait, what?"

"You guys apparently need a Rogue really badly, and he's letting me play one with the Swashbuckler kit." She looked up at him. "No, kits are 2nd edition. What are they in 5th edition?"

"Archetypes. They're called archetypes. You're seriously going to play?"

"Yeah. Are you OK with your girlfriend playing with you?"

"Of course," Cameron said while blowing a slight raspberry. "What made you decide to play?"

"I've painted most of the models Mark uses. Figured it was finally time I saw them in action."

"Cool. I should warn you now, though, my Paladin's pretty uptight. If your character starts flirting with him he'll turn you down flat."

"Don't worry," Peri reassured him, "your Paladin's virtue is safe. You on the other hand...well, how about after dinner you help me put my character together then I'll see what I can do about corrupting your virtue."

Cameron hummed approvingly before closing the bathroom door. With her mind already outlining the night's potential events, Peri picked up the miniature she had been working on. She rotated it in her hand, studying it from several angles, before taking her brush and quickly mixing together several shades of green. Once she was satisfied with the coloring, Peri took a clean brush and colored the edges of the knight's shield and tabard with green paint. After a few touch-up passes, Peri finished by carefully drawing her brush along the gorget protecting the knight's throat, leaving behind a perfectly straight line of emerald. "There," she smiled. "Perfect."