Rescue Me Ch. 02

This is chapter two of my series Rescue Me. If you haven't read Ch. 01, please read it first. I promise it'll add to your enjoyment. Thanks to Lil_kitty for her editing superpowers! --Petitmort

DAY 2

The sensations crept into her consciousness even as she slept.

The delicate trill of birdsong. The faint hint of a breeze. The soft caress of sunlight. But most striking, between the high-pitched warbles and the wind wafting through the trees, was the silence.

The complete and total silence of a morning in the wilderness.

Phoebe's eyelids fluttered open as she awoke. She was snuggled deep in the down sleeping bag, looking out at the dewy High Sierra landscape, with a magnificent view of trees, mountains, and sky.

Cody was kneeling at his backpacking stove, dressed in his long underwear and a jacket. He was making breakfast.

"Good morning," she said, quietly.

He turned to look at her, his eyes smiling.

"Hey," he said, softly.

Just hearing his voice, warm and intimate, sent a rush of warmth through her body.

He poured coffee into his Sierra cup, picked up a bowl of oatmeal, and brought them to her in the shelter.

"I wanted to have this ready for you. When you woke up."

That's my Cody. Always taking care of me.

He sat next to her as she raised herself onto her elbow.

"Fresh-brewed coffee," she said. "What a treat."

"I hope black's okay."

"It's perfect. Thank you."

He watched her take a sip of coffee. Even first thing in the morning, with her tousled hair, she looked beautiful.

He offered her the bowl and she handed him back the coffee. He took a sip.

"I hope you don't mind," he said, his blue eyes twinkling. "Only one cup."

She smiled at him.

"Share and share alike. As my mom would say."

She took a bite of the oatmeal. He had topped it with fresh banana slices and honey.

"Mmmmm, yum," she said. "I'm definitely coming back to this bed and breakfast."

"Food always tastes better in the wild," he said.

A bird warbled nearby. Phoebe raised her finger and cocked her head.

"Hear that? I heard that in my sleep. What a great way to wake up."

Cody nodded and smiled.

"The Mountain Bluebird. They sing at dawn."

She raised her eyebrows.

"You know that just from hearing it?"

"Nah, I saw him when I was fetching the food bag. It's got beautiful turquoise feathers."

He handed her the cup. She handed him the bowl.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Wonderfully. Best night's sleep I can remember."

"That's good," he said, softly. "I slept well too. You really took care of me last night. I'm grateful to you."

"Well, you took care of me," she said, eyeing him sexily. "I can't remember the last time I enjoyed making love so much."

He smiled and looked down at the bowl of oatmeal.

"Me too," he said, simply. "You were ... amazing."

She looked at him, sheepishly, handing him the coffee.

"I normally don't make that much noise. I was just really ... enjoying it."

"You were ... incredibly sexy."

Again, she felt that warm feeling deep inside.

"I don't think anyone's made me cum so hard. Ever."

Cody practically spit out his coffee.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. I just ... I'm not used to talking about it like that."

"What, your wife didn't talk about how much she enjoyed it?"

"No," he laughed. "She definitely did not."

"Or how good it feels when your cock goes really deep?"

"Uh, no. We didn't discuss those things."

"Wow. I'm ... surprised. But you enjoyed it, right?"

"Me? Sure. I mean ... yeah, I enjoyed it."

She gave him a skeptical look.

"But not that much?"

"No, I enjoyed it a lot."

"But nothing to write home about?"

"No, I'd write home about it. I mean, I wouldn't actually write home about it.

But it was great. The best sex I've ever had. Hands down."

She looked at him quizzically.

"Hands down? You mean, like, doggie style?"

He looked at her, confused.

"No, not doggie style. Any style."

"But you said 'hands down'. Like, on hands and knees?"

"No, hands down. The expression. Like, 'absolutely'. Absolutely the best sex. Bar none."

She gave him a sideways look.

"Wait a minute. Bar none?"

He looked at her, catching on.

"Are you fuckin' with me again?"

He put down the coffee cup and pounced, pressing her onto the down sleeping bag. She let out a squeal as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, kissing her. She felt the roughness of his days-old beard against her skin.

His hands were on her warm, tawny skin. She was still naked from the night before.

"Take this off," she said, pulling at his jacket. "Get in the bag with me."

He quickly pulled off his jacket and kicked off his camp shoes. He deftly slid his legs into the bag.

He was on top of her, supporting his weight with his arms. She spread her legs and wrapped them around his butt. She flashed on the extreme pleasure of the night before.

"Oh Cody," she murmured, "this is right where I want you to be."

Her hands slipped under his shirt, sliding over his broad chest.

Her fingers slid over his muscled back and down to his tight ass. Her eyelids were at half-mast.

"Take these off," she whispered, pulling his pants down, exposing his ass.

He pulled off his pants, kicking them to the bottom of the bag. He pulled off his top with one hand and tossed it aside.

Her hands were all over his chest, caressing his straining muscles. He began kissing her naked body, over her collarbone and shoulders, her breasts and nipples.

She arched her back, responding to his kisses. She could feel her pussy already getting wet.

He was kissing her tummy now, working his way down. He planted soft kisses on her hips and the tops of her thighs. She squirmed with delight.

Damn, I can't believe how responsive she is! She's so fucking sexual! Nothing like a Beth.

She was running her fingers through his hair, arching her back as he kissed and licked between her legs.

He kissed the inside of her thighs, gliding his tongue along the edges of her pussy. Her body shuddered. He could see she was glistening, ready for him. He let his fingers slide over her pussy, gently dipping between her lips.

"Mmmmmm," she moaned. "Come. I want to feel you on top of me."

He moved back up and pressed his body against her. She caressed his legs with her feet.

He was kissing her face now. She was smiling with her eyes closed. His mouth found hers.

Their lips embraced, their tongues danced. She rubbed her pussy against him.

She was hungry for him. Like she needed him inside her. Her breath was ragged. Desperate.

He was ready too, his cock was already rock hard and throbbing.

He pressed the tip of his cock against her warm, wet pussy. He popped in.

"Ohhhhhhhhh," she moaned.

He loved the sound of her pleasure. It was such a turn on.

He pushed himself inside her.

"Ohhhhhhh," she moaned again, titling her head back.

He pushed inside her yet again. Deeper.

"God, you feel good!" she gasped.

She arched her back and took him deep. To the hilt.

"Oh Cody, I love how you feel inside me!"

He was watching her face, his cock buried inside her.

He was thrusting his pelvis, stroking her. Deep, loving strokes.

She felt so tight, it was like her pussy was squeezing his cock.

He was resting on his forearms, his face next to hers. She was moaning each time he plunged himself inside her.

She reached down and gripped his ass cheeks in her hands. They were so taut, so powerful. She pulled him towards her, as if trying to take him even deeper.

Cody picked up the pace, thrusting faster. Her head was moving side to side, her eyes closed.

"Yes! Do it like that! Oh God! Give it to me! Fuck me!"

He was thrusting even faster now, undulating his body, sliding his cock all the way in and out.

"You're gonna split me in two," she moaned.

She lifted her knees so they were at her armpits. She wanted to take him deep. To feel him as deep as possible.

He lifted her ankles to his shoulders and started to hammer her. Fast, deep thrusts that filled her pussy.

"Yes! Like that! Like that! I'm gonna cum! Cody, I'm gonna cum all over your cock!"

She reached down and started rubbing her clit fast.

He was impaling her with his cock. Over and over and over.

"I'm cumming! I'm cumming! Cum with me! Cum with me!"

She was vibrating her clit, her eyes squeezed shut, her body shaking.

He could feel her pussy contracting, squeezing his cock.

An electrical charge built deep inside him. His face grimaced.

And then he exploded, spraying his cum deep in inside her. Again. And again.

Their orgasms seemed to last for minutes.

Finally, he collapsed next to her.

She pulled him close, wrapping her arms and legs around him.

After their hearts returned to their normal rhythm, she looked up at him.

"Best sex ever?" she smiled.

"Bar none," he smiled back.

They lay together, talking and laughing, waiting for the morning chill to lift. They decided it was too cold out to do anything but stay in the down bag. Naked.

They knew there were some important things to take care of. Like replenishing their water and setting up the distress signal. But that could wait.

Pleasure before business.

Eventually, though, they decided it was time to get to it.

"OK, what is it we need to do first?"

"Well, we probably should set up a distress signal out on the meadow."

"You mean, like an SOS?"

"Yeah, but we don't use SOS anymore. The most common signals are V or X. V means you need assistance. X means you need medical assistance."

She looked at him and nodded.

"So, probably an X, huh?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. We're going to need help getting you down the mountain. How's your ankle feeling anyway?"

She tried rotating it.

"About the same."

"OK, why don't you see if you can put any weight on it while I go look for something we can use for a signal."

They got dressed, Phoebe in her running clothes and Cody in his hiking shorts, long-sleeved cotton shirt, and camp shoes. She wore his flannel shirt as a light-weight jacket.

She still wasn't able to put any weight on her ankle so she put the breakfast stuff away and straightened up the shelter. In the grove, he found some fallen logs and dark-colored rocks and brought them out to the meadow.

When he returned to the campsite, Phoebe had made some sandwiches for their lunch. She put them in the cinch sack and he carried her over to the meadow.

"Do you think they'll send someone looking for us?" she asked.

"I kinda doubt it. But, if they do, we'll be ready."

Together, they laid out the logs in a large X shape. They laid the rocks next to the logs to make it more visible.

After Cody filtered some water from the stream, they'd accomplished all the things on his survival checklist. They decided to have lunch by the lake for a little down time.

They set out for the lake, with Phoebe riding piggy back, her arms draped over his shoulders and her face close to his. With her legs wrapped around his strong back, and her arms holding his chest, she felt as if they were embracing. Her nylon running shorts were thin and she could feel his muscles straining between her legs.

Needless to say, she really enjoyed traveling this way.

They decided to follow the stream to the lake, stepping from rock to rock. The sights and sounds were amazingly beautiful. Cascading water took turns tumbling over huge granite boulders and trickling into quieter pools.

"Listen to the sound," Cody said. "The snow is melting into music."

Being carried allowed Phoebe to just take in all the wondrous beauty. Without having to worry about where to step, she was able to just experience it. The sights. The sounds. The smells. She wanted to take it all in. To miss nothing.

It occurred to her that, with her face right next to his, their perspectives were virtually identical. They were sharing the exact same experience at the exact same time.

And she really liked that feeling.

As they reached the top, they traversed a granite outcropping until they were overlooking the lake.

What they saw was astonishing.

The lake was a sapphire blue gem in an ice-carved granite basin. Massive granite walls rose hundreds of feet along the shoreline. Above it all, a cloudless, azure sky stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Damn," she whispered, as they took in the splendor.

"Isn't it something?"

They found their way to a large, flat slab of granite overlooking the lake. He gently set her down and then lay the space blanket on the speckled gray rock. They sat side-by-side facing the water.

He leaned back, propped up on his elbows, and sighed.

"This view never gets old," he said, looking out over the lake.

"I love it. It's so pristine."

He scanned the vertical granite walls.

"It's amazing to think it's stayed essentially unchanged for the past hundred centuries."

"A hundred centuries?" she asked.

"Something like that. Since the last Ice Age. That's when all this was formed."

"Let's see, a hundred centuries. That's 10,000 years. Sort of puts things in perspective, doesn't it?"

"You're not kidding."

They sat in silence, taking in the sheer beauty of the place.

"Feel like something to eat?" she finally asked.

"Sure, why not."

She opened the cinch sack and pulled out a plastic bag.

She handed him a pita bread sandwich made with almond butter, fresh banana, and honey. Cody took a bite.

"Whoa. This is great. I thought we'd be having trail mix for lunch."

"I just used what we had. You know, improvised."

A raptor flew across the granite cliff, gliding on the updrafts.

"Look!" she said, pointing. "Is that an eagle?"

"It's an osprey. You can tell from its white underside. It feeds on fish in these lakes."

They watched the big bird soaring over the lake. A second one joined it, gliding back and forth effortlessly.

"You know," he said, "osprey pairs are generally monogamous. They often mate for life."

He turned and smiled at him, shaking her head.

"Cody, you continually surprise me. How is it you know all this stuff?"

He turned to her and shrugged.

"I guess I'm just a nerd. My Mom was a middle school science teacher so I basically grew up reading science books. We'd be taking car trips and I'd be in sittin' in the backseat reading books about natural history."

She looked at him, admiringly.

"When you told me you were ex-Army and grew up in rural Pennsylvania, I sorta figured you'd be this redneck, all into hunting and stuff. You know, with the camo gear and everything."

"Oh, I did my share of hunting," he smiled. "My Dad took each of us out deer hunting on our thirteenth birthday. Like a rite of passage. Now, instead of a gun, I take my Canon."

"You shoot deer with a cannon?"

He laughed.

"Not a cannon. A Canon. C-A-N-O-N."

She smiled.

"Yeah, I know. I was just fuckin' with you."

He looked at her and smiled, shaking his head.

"C'mere," he said.

She moved next to him, sitting between his outstretched legs, leaning against his chest. They both looked out over the lake.

"So, you're not some crazy, right-winger?" she smiled.

"Nah. My Dad's a Republican but my Mom's a diehard Democrat and I'm an Independent. How 'bout you?"

"Oh, I'm one of those crazy San Francisco liberals of course," she smiled.

"No, really."

"I'm a Dem. I believe in universal health care, funding for schools, the environment."

He nodded.

"Those are important."

"And you?" she asked.

"I'm a big supporter of public schools. I saw how hard my Mom had to work. She literally had to use her own money for school supplies. Used to drive my Dad nuts. And I'm big on protecting wilderness. I'd like to work for the Forest Service one day."

"I could see that," she said. "You'd be good at it."

"Yeah, I think I'd enjoy it. First, I have to finish my house. Then that'll be my next project. How about you? What goals are you working towards?"

I like how he has goals. His 'next project'. He's a doer.

"Well, my immediate goal is to find a new place to live."

"In the city?"

"No, maybe up here in the mountains."

"Oh, that's right. Managing your boyfriend's apartment or something."

"Yeah, that's sounding more and more sketchy the more I think about it."

"How come?"

She sighed and looked across the lake. This was getting into personal stuff.

"It's complicated."

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

She glanced at him and shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I'm just not that proud of my behavior. I guess I don't want you to think poorly of me."

She turned and gave him a toothy grin.

"Well, I'm afraid it's too late for that. I've pretty much made up my mind about you."

She gave him a wry smile. He smiled back.

"It has to do with the relationship I'm in."

"With the cardiologist?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I'm just questioning whether I even want to be in it."

"Why's that?"

She let out a sardonic laugh.

"Where to start. Because he's a narcissist. And a manipulator. And he's got a God complex. Other than that, he's a great guy."

"OK, then. How'd you guys meet, anyway?"

"We met at the clinic. He's the supervising physician for cardiac rehab."

"So, he's your boss?"

"He's one of my bosses."

"That is complicated."

"Yeah. And what makes it even more complicated is -- he's married."

"Whoa."

"Like I said, I'm not proud of my behavior. I normally don't get involved with married guys. He told me he was getting a divorce. That was six months ago."

"So, you think he's just looking for a little something on the side?"

"Apparently. But even if he wasn't married, I still don't think I'd want to be with him. He's not good for me. He gaslights me. He makes me feel less than. I just want it to be over."

Cody could see she was emotional. He just sat quietly.

"But on Monday, I have to go back to work. And guess who I'll see every day? Guess who's in charge? The whole situation sucks."

She looked over the lake, shaking her head.

"And that's another reason I want to move."

He wrapped her arms around her and held her, saying nothing. She lay her arms on top of his.

"You know," he said, softly, "when my marriage was imploding, I felt like a complete failure. I felt like I'd fucked up the most important thing in my life. And you know what really helped?"

"What?"

"This," he said, gesturing towards the lake. "Nature. The tranquility of a high mountain lake. The peacefulness of a lush forest. The Milky Way on a moonless night. It's always here, unchanging, waiting to embrace you. Reminding you that you're part of something bigger than yourself."

She could feel it too.

"It is beautiful," she agreed. "And it's comforting to know such beauty exists in the world."

"That's exactly how I feel," he said.

They sat there silently, looking out over the pristine lake.

Phoebe felt comforted, not only from being in nature, but also from being in Cody's arms. It occurred to her that, between him carrying her on the trail and their time sharing his sleeping bag, they'd spent the majority of their time together in close physical contact.

I could totally get used to this.

"I love this so much," she sighed.

She lay her arms on his bare legs, her fingers softly caressing his thighs.

"In the book I'm reading," he said, "John Muir says 'going to the mountains is going home.'"

She cocked her head.

"It does feel like home. Doesn't it? I feel like this is our home."