Para Bellum

"More than anything else, Ronnie, I fear I might become him, or even in the slightest way act like him. I hate him, even after his liver finally did what I couldn't. I hate him now and will hate him more than anything else for as long as I live."

Veronica felt him inhale slowly and deeply as he finished speaking, and was glad when he exhaled and began to gently run his hands down her back and tenderly kiss the top of her head. For the rest of the night, she held him close and conveyed to him her love. As she felt him drift to sleep, listened to his rhythmic heart beat and steadily lengthening breaths, she kissed him gently on his lips and whispered softly to his closed eyes and peaceful countenance, "I love you, Jack Conrad Northcutt. You are everything to me."

For some time, she just watched him sleep, finding his face, as he slept, boyishly relaxed and adorable. She saw the tension gone from the corners of his eyes and his brow unfurrowed, and couldn't help herself from very slowly and softly, caressing his cheek and jaw, wishing him uneventful dreams and uninterrupted sleep.

XIX

Monday, 0830

Jack finished shaving, wiped the excess shaving cream from his face and applied deodorant to his armpits. While he'd showered thoroughly, his residual guilt from the previous night resurfaced and drove him to seek absolution in Veronica's affection. As such, he wanted to get back into bed with Veronica, and intended to ensure he'd not stink from his intense exercise. He could feel his muscles still swollen and hot from his workout, but no longer twitching from muscle-failure. Jack got back into bed as quietly as he could, and turned toward Veronica's back and gently put his left arm around her waist, and lay his head down just behind hers, sliding his right arm under their shared pillow. Her hair still smelled of her shampoo, conditioner, and whatever other botanical and fruit-scented things she'd used to smooth and straighten it. He found the effect clean and distinctly feminine, and it made him want to hold her very tightly to him and breathe deeply of her essence.

She stirred gently under his touch, mumbled something and rolled slowly toward him, putting her face under his chin and nestling close to him as she had the night before, after he'd told her of the indignity his father had visited upon him and his mother. Jack would not let his mind return to what he'd told her about his father, and instead focused on the present, feeling glad he'd not woken her, and he felt a wave of redemption from Veronica's desire to be near him. Though he'd not told her what he'd done, and had thus forgone the opportunity to make clear it had been a façade to fully case the club, he felt a lingering sense of dread that she'd know that he had fondled the HBIC, LaChyna, and would find him repellent. As minutes ticked on and she made no move to abandon him, he began to feel himself relaxing and approaching sleep. But as he did so, Veronica began to stir again, and he could hear her breaths lengthen and intensify, and then she began distinctly inhaling through her nose, slowly and deeply as she nuzzled and whispered against his throat.

"Jack, you smell so good..." She said, reacting to the smell of his Old Spice deodorant, then inhaling deeply and noticing the warm smell of his shaving cream still radiating outward from his recently shaven jaw and neck. The scent of his shaving cream in particular conjured images in her mind, as she came to slow wakefulness, of Jack standing in the bathroom, steam billowing from the shower, naked from the waist up, his strong, bulging muscles flexing as he slowly drew his razor across his firm jaw and corded, strong neck, leaving perfectly clear lines in the starkly white shaving cream still on his face. She thrilled at that image of him, finding the act she imagined so masculine and the image of his strong, young body incredibly arousing to her. She began to feel her loins stir as she inhaled more of his scent, and continued to nuzzle his smoothly shaven chin and neck.

Jack closed his eyes and enjoyed the way her soft, full lips trailed along his neck, as she touched and kissed him, her breath felt lingeringly warm and soothing on his skin. He felt her hands begin to gently squeeze, claw and knead his pecs and biceps, and her feet and toes rub slowly along his shins and calves. He felt a desire to hold her and kiss her stronger than anything he'd felt since the incredible sex they had Sunday morning, before he'd gone to meet Jimmy at Baby Doll's. He reached out and took hold, gently, of her face and kissed her deeply and lovingly. Her flawlessly dark, smooth skin seemed so beautiful to him, so warm to his touch, so magically exotic, particularly when he saw their contrast so clearly and from so close up. Every way she was different from him, and the way her character and personality were so fundamentally better than those of all the frauds, weaklings, liars and outright predators he knew and had known during his young life, made Jack feel to his core a deep and undeniable love for her. He moved his hands down to her shoulders and waist and pulled her tightly against him and inhaled deeply of her scent as he kissed her.

Veronica felt the heat from his skin and the swollen tightness of his muscles and wanted morning sex with him. And as he kissed her, she felt something different tickling the back of her consciousness, something had changed in him; he was so affectionate, so gentle and tender in how he kissed her. She wondered if it was his reaction, even if just a subconscious response, to sharing with her the painful memories of his childhood and the IED explosion he'd survived, and the way she'd comforted him in response. Regardless of its genesis, Veronica enjoyed Jack reacting to her with more affection and gentleness than she'd hoped.

She could also, however, feel the growing lust he expressed, noticing that his cock was quickly becoming erect and swollen as it pushed against and slid up her legs. But Jack made no effort to grind his hips against her, nor to rub against her swelling and moistening labia, or move her hands down to take hold of him. He seemed to be taking his time and moving gently into very affectionate and welcome foreplay. Veronica loved the combination of his sexy, muscular body and his gentle, loving kisses and strong, protective embrace. She felt herself becoming incredibly turned on by this change, and she wanted him badly.

Jack felt Veronica take hold of his back and gently pull him, trying to get him to move so that he lay between her legs. He responded to her lead and moved to place his knees and shins down against the mattress, between her legs, but he did not lay down on top of her. Instead, he sat back on his knees, bent forward at his waist and took hold of her arms and gently pulled her up to sit in front of him, her legs bent at her knees with her feet flat on the mattress, her knees under his armpits. Jack moved to situate his legs similarly, his feet also flat on the mattress and his knees under her armpits.

"Jack, what are we doing?" She asked him, smiling and intrigued.

"It's the lotus position; I want to see you, kiss you and have full access to you while I make love to you, sweetheart." He said, reaching out and gently pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear, after it had fallen in front of her face while she sat up.

His touch, his choice of words (for her, and to describe sex), and the way he looked at her made her want him so badly. "God, I love how he's looking at me, how he sees me!" She thought, enjoying the adoring, loving way his jade green eyes ("Eyes like a cat!" she thought) looked into her warm, dark brown eyes.

Jack reached down and with each of his hands, took hold of her wide, round ass cheeks and pulled her forward. She put her hands, palms down on the bed behind her and let him pull her hips and legs toward him, causing her pelvis to tilt up and present her pussy to him. She gasped softly as he pushed his hard, long cock down and rubbed the head of his dick against her dark, shiny wet lips, holding it at her entrance, then scooted himself forward again, pushing the head into her. He took hold of her waist again and pulled her to him, pushing deeper into her until their pelvises met and they held each other tightly, sitting up and facing one another without the press of either the mattress or pillow under her back or head to obstruct his ability to touch her.

The contrast in their skin color was staggeringly distinct, but an outside observer would also take notice of how passionately they clung to each other, how little daylight would have shown between their bodies as they pulled and ground against each other in one of the most intense unions they had made. Jack loved feeling the soft flash of her long, unbound raven hair on his skin, particularly against his neck and shoulders, as Veronica moved in sync with his aggressive need to be with her. Veronica reveled in the way his strong arms held her tightly, vertically against him, and how much easier it was to kiss him while she had full range of movement with her head and neck. The way he felt within her was unique, and she was excited to feel her building orgasm crash within her and send waves of pleasure up and down her body. She was also curious to experience how his ejaculating inside of her would feel in this position, and she wondered how his vertical positioning might affect her chance(s) of conceiving...

Jack felt Veronica's heels digging into his ass, her bright red fingernails beginning to claw his shoulders and her breath become heavy and warm against his neck as she began to moan softly and more intensely kiss him and touch his body. He felt tightness in his lungs and a second wind begin to fuel him as his own ejaculation began to near. He clung tightly to her back and waist as Veronica continued to moan, quietly at first and steadily growing in volume and pitch. When finally she felt the extent of her orgasm, she opened her mouth and her eyes widely, took hold of Jack's face in her hands and quivered along the length of her body and throughout her core. Jack felt her becoming incredibly wet a moment before her orgasm broke, and when she took hold of his face and seemed frozen in shock for a moment, Jack felt his semen rise through his urethra and erupt within her. He grunted grudgingly, hating to make any sound as he came. He held her tightly to him, not letting go of her even after each of them had rode out their orgasms and felt the cooling sweat of their skin help them segue to their post coital affection.

Veronica had felt his sperm shoot forth from within her, perhaps due to (at least from her experience) the unusual angle of penetration, she swore she could feel his surges of cum hitting her cervix and running down her vaginal walls. She loved the way he held her so tightly, and the wonderful affection she felt welling from deep within him as he began to kiss her again just as they'd done as they each rode out their orgasms. She could still detect hints of his shaving cream scent on his face as she made her kisses more playful and lingered less upon his lips.

"What was that all about?" She asked him, smiling at him and still enjoying the slowly dissipating afterglow of her morning orgasm. She loved how he blushed and smiled mischievously, looking solemnly into her eyes. "We have got to make morning sex a daily thing..." She said, touching his lips with her right index finger and trailing it down to his chin and along his throat, enjoying the smooth, warm feeling of his skin.

Jack hesitated to speak, but when he did, he was sure of what he'd say. "I have to tell you something, Ronnie. Something I've thought about for the last day, and you need to know this." He said, and the seriousness of his tone and the tight way he smiled, concerned her.

"Oh no," she thought, "please, Jack..." She squeezed his shoulders nervously and focused on his intense look, hoping for the best but feeling her stomach begin to knot itself up, even as she still very cognizant of the swollen length of his cock and warm wetness of his sperm deep inside of her, signifying far more than their physical union.

He inhaled deeply and continued to look directly into her eyes, kissing her once, gently, before speaking. "Ronnie, I love you."

XX

Monday, 1330

Jack decided it was time to get up. Since he'd revealed his feelings to Veronica, they'd lay together in bed for the next several hours, gently caressing one another and enjoying the intimacy of pillow talk, further cementing the deep bond that they felt for one another. Falling back into a light sleep for an hour, Jack had woken to find Veronica nestled closely to him, her back toward him and his left arm around her waist, his hand resting protectively over her stomach, her own hands laying on top of his, holding him to her. They'd not specifically addressed the topic, at least not verbally, but after Jack confirmed to Veronica and to himself that he loved her as well, his hands' near constant contact with her abdomen and her own interest in keeping his hands there, made clear they both were thinking about the product(s) of their frequent unions. As he reluctantly disentangled himself from her and pulled the comforter and sheet back up and tucked it gently under her chin, he briefly acknowledged that they needed to discuss what they would do if/when Veronica became pregnant. But for now, he needed to try and square things with Jimmy. He still had to execute his gambit, for which he'd completed 90 percent of his planning.

He picked up his iPhone and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him and walking to the living room. He sat down on his sofa, naked and sticky from the last time he'd made love to Veronica.

"Jack." Jimmy said simply.

"Hey brother, are you still available to meet up and introduce me to Grace?" Jack asked, remembering the name of Jimmy's new girlfriend.

Jimmy paused a moment before answering. "Sure." He said, not very enthusiastic.

Jack noticed his reticence and didn't care. "Okay, how about you two come over to my place. I want to introduce you two to my girlfriend." He said, smiling slightly as he formally, in words, announced where Veronica stood in his life.

"Wow, okay, is this that redhead, Ashley?" Jimmy asked, his tone improved when it became clear that Jack wasn't just trying to further recruit Jimmy into helping him case Baby Doll's. Jimmy was apprehensive about learning why Jack was interested in doing such an intensive reconnaissance of that strip club anyway.

"No, she and I split awhile ago. I guess it's been awhile since we got together socially... Anyway, her name is Veronica, but I call her Ronnie."

"Great," Jimmy replied. "We'll be there. What time works?"

"How about 1800 again?"

"Okay. See you then, Jack." Jimmy said, and hung up.

"Could have gone worse, I guess..." Jack thought to himself. He'd not heard Veronica get up and pad quietly to the living room. She walked over to him and sat down on his lap, facing him, as naked as he was. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Are you my boyfriend?" She asked him, laying her head down on his chest, under his chin. She absently trailed her finger along the line of his tattoo on his right pec. She didn't like the tattoo, it was very macabre, depicting a rotting face ("A zombie?" she'd wondered), with a scroll underneath it. The Gothic script on the scroll read, 'Hell wouldn't take me.' She had no idea what it meant, but didn't think she really wanted to know. She thought it was an ugly blemish on his otherwise beautiful body, and turned her head to look the other way. She liked the tattoo on his left pec far better. It was a simply drawn image of an old fashioned scale with what looked like a sword on one of the scale's discs. Under the scale was another scroll, and in a similar Gothic script the message 'Vae Victis.'

"Yes, ma'am. I certainly am." He said, laying the phone down on the sofa and putting his arms around her back. He inhaled again and enjoyed the smell of her hair and the warmth of her body on his.

XXI

Monday, 1737

Jack stood up from the sofa as he heard and then saw Veronica emerge from the hallway, tilting her head to the right as she smiled at him and finished adjusting the clasp on her gold hoop earring, the earring's mate, on her left ear, glinted brightly in the light of the room. "Damn, Ronnie, you look incredible!" He said, marveling at how beautiful she looked in the form fitting, sleeveless white dress she wore over simple black, foam sandals.

"Thank you, Jack!" She said, walking up to him and kissing him quickly on his lips, enjoying the way his broad shoulders, strong chest and large biceps filled out his black polo shirt, tucked into his sharply creased khaki chinos. She began to walk away from him, to check again that the wine and hors d'oeuvre were ready, when she felt Jack take hold of her waist and pull her back toward him. Veronica giggled as Jack turned her to face him, held her tightly against him and began to kiss her neck as his hands began to run up and down her back, lingeringly.

"Jack... we don't have time! They'll be here any minute!" She said through her smile, and despite her words, she thrilled at his desire for her.

"We have time..." Jack breathed in her ear before kissing her full on the mouth and picking her up and walking toward the wall. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and kissed him back, feeling beautiful and loved, desired and sexy as he brought her to the wall. She felt the cool surface of the wall press against her back as he began to push her dress up her legs, past her ass, and let the warm, dry air of the condo, (of 'their' condo, she reminded herself) flow past her warm, moistening pussy. As her legs were wrapped around his waist, they were also spread wide enough to allow both the air and the fabric of his shirt and pants to gently brush against the trimmed, glistening hairs on her labia.

Veronica felt Jack hold her with his right arm as his left hand clumsily undid his belt and trouser button, then pulled down his zipper and boxers and let them pool around his ankles. She saw him look down once as he took hold of her legs again with both of his hands, and she noticed the wide, hungry smile on his lips as he looked back into her eyes and kissed her. 


"You're not wearing any underwear!" He whispered rakishly to her between kisses.

Veronica smiled back at him, teasingly. "I wanted to see if you would notice!"

She felt him lean forward and gasped when the tip of his cock made contact with her warm, swollen lips for the third time that day. She cried out as he pushed into her, closed her eyes and pulled his head toward her shoulder as she felt herself sliding down the wall as Jack slackened his hold so that gravity would aid him in fully penetrating her. Veronica's eyes rolled back in her head as she felt him deep inside of her, pushing tightly against her cervix before he pulled his hips back and slid forward again. She enjoyed the smoothness with which he fucked her, and the unusual feeling of bouncing up and down against the wall. She was also worried that they would take too long and that Jimmy and Grace would arrive early, necessitating a very unwelcome coitus intteruptus.

"Jack, we have to be fast!" Veronica panted, unable to keep her eyes open as the intensity and speed with which he took her, coupled with the naughty feeling of engaging in sex so soon before they expected their guests to arrive, drove her methodically toward her orgasm.

Jack had been overwhelmed with desire for her since he had seen her in her dress. She had looked absolutely stunning, and the way the dress clung to but simultaneously hid just enough of her sexy body drove him wild with his need for her. When he'd brought her against the wall and discovered she was not wearing underwear, he could feel nothing beyond his hunger for her. As he fucked her, her near constant moans and gasps, and the thickness that had crept into her voice had combined with the tight, smooth feeling of her pussy against his cock to bring him very quickly to nearing ejaculation. He heard her warn him about their compressed schedule and the need to be fast, but he didn't care. Jack needed her badly and wouldn't stop until he'd ejaculated inside of her and felt her orgasm ripple through her body.