Rings of Fire Ch. 13

Brent shifted restlessly in bed. Lauren had been with the girls for over an hour now. While he knew how difficult it was to get Elise to settle, he had to admit he was getting more anxious by the moment. But they had agreed Lauren would do the nightly ritual this time since it might be a few days before she was back.

He inhaled deeply and ran his hands through his hair. Damn it; he wished there was some other way. He was not just uncomfortable with her going back east, being so far from them all right now, he was scared. Terrified. He was petrified actually.

While Lauren was only prepared to go so far with her predictions, one thing still weighed on his mind: Cumbre Vieja. It was the absolute worst-case scenario.

If the repercussions from Katla and Laki were bad enough, there was not much immediate threat to human lives. Iceland was not densely populated the way that Italy was. Etna and Vesuvius were both significant risks. Vesuvius' threat to Naples was mind-boggling, three million people endangered. Twenty-five percent of Sicily's population lived in the danger zone around Etna. Its history of frequent, sometimes continuous, relatively minor eruptions lulled most into a false sense of security.

But all of that paled to nothing in comparison to Cumbre Vieja's threat. While an eruption itself was seemingly minor in contrast to Etna and Vesuvius if the western flank was weakened enough to give way, he did not want to even think about it.

Even all these many years later, he still had nightmares about Sumatra. And that was nothing compared to the disaster that a mega-tsunami centered in the Atlantic Ocean could generate. The west coast of Africa would be hit before warnings could even be issued. Then much of southern Europe and northern too. Hours later that devastation would be visited upon the east coast of the Americas and the Caribbean Islands. The potential loss of life was numbing even to consider.

The idea that Lauren could be directly in that danger was more than he wanted to consider right now. As her husband and lover, he wanted to forbid it. Hell, tie her to the bed and keep her there. But she was right, the scientist, the humanitarian in him, knew there was no other way.

She was the only one that stood even the slimmest chance of convincing their colleagues to listen. And slim chance though it was, his moral code demanded that they take it, before raising the alarm themselves, perhaps inciting panic, chaos, and anarchy. And putting those here, those closest to him, at risk too.

As much as he trusted Daniel and Samuel, he felt torn: preserving this place and those relying upon him or her. Even knowing Daniel's assurances that this Commander Zane Rogers could be trusted to protect Lauren was scant solace. It was his responsibility to keep Lauren safe. But he would be more of a liability on this mission than an asset. Besides, he was needed here. With more people arriving daily, all of them were being pressed into service to organize and assimilate the refuges.

Still, he wished, hoped, and prayed for some alternative, some other option. Anything. The last couple of days, and especially nights, with her were more than he had ever dared hope. The way that she had come to him in the barn this afternoon, sought out his comfort, it had been years since they had been that close.

Honestly, he was not sure that they ever had been. There was something totally raw and so damned vulnerable about her then. It called to some deep and primal part of him. This was not his brilliant colleague, partner, and at times, nemesis. This was not his girly-girl turning to him to rid her world of spiders, snakes, and the sundry insects.

This was woman. Soft, needy, and reliant upon him. Damn, he hoped it was not just some passing apparition. He wanted more; he wanted it all with her. He always had.

"Penny for your thoughts, Dr. Jacobs," purred the sexy siren that stood in the doorway to his bedroom.

He recognized the cascades of fire that fell about her sweetly freckled face and down past her shoulders almost to that soft swell of her round bottom. He was vaguely familiar with the generous swell of bosom bursting from the top of the most scandalously sinful black corset he had ever seen. Though on second thought, he might need a bit more remedial work on them. And those long legs encased in sheer black stockings that came to mid-thigh and attached to garters on the corset, those, he most definitely needed to feel wrapped about his waist.

"Fuck me, babygirl," he moaned as the tent grew under the white cotton sheet.

His heart stopped at her throaty laugh as she drew her arm from behind her back. The handcuffs dangled from one finger, "That will depend on just how good a boy you are, Dr. Jacobs."

He inhaled deeply and steeled himself for whatever was to come this night as he held out his hands in front of him. "Do your worst, Mrs. Jacobs. I trust you. No limits. No rules. Just all yours."

And he meant it too. He would do whatever it took to win this woman back.

***

Lauren hesitated in the doorway. Even after her chat with Jill and Simone, even after spending hours coming up with this plan, thinking about nothing else as she put their daughters to bed and shoe-horned herself into this ridiculous get-up that she had borrowed from Jill, even then, she was not sure she could go through with it. It just did not feel right...natural.

But she did want Brent to understand how hard it was for her to put this kind of trust in him. She wanted him to feel that tiniest bit of doubt that always ran through all the excitement and lust. She needed him to understand what he was asking of her. The cost of this gift when she did give it to him. And maybe this was the only way?

She was not sure how she managed to cross the few feet to the bed without breaking her neck in the too-high heels that had been Simone's contribution to this circus show. But somehow she did, as she placed a knee on the mattress and began to crawl up the bed where Brent leaned back against the headboard.

Why did the man always have to look so fucking sexy? Whether it was bent over some computer screen with those brows knit together in thought. Or he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt doing fieldwork. Hell, he had even managed to pull off stodgy khakis and button-down shirts as a guest lecturer. Of course, her favorite was probably naked, those early mornings when she woke first and just stared down at him while he snored.

Damn, girl, you got it bad, she admonished herself as she clicked one of the handcuffs into place around his wrist. She lifted his arm above his head and laced the cuff through the metal bar on his headboard. Then she lifted the other arm and tightened the metal bracelet about it too.

Fuck, this position did have to make his chest stick out even more. Make him even more irresistible. But then again, why did she need to resist? As the man said, he was all hers. She let her fingers play lightly across the mat of thick, springy chest hair that she had long since gotten used to tickling her nose as they slept.

She took her time. They had until dawn at least as she ran her fingers over and through it. The pattern was random and erratic. Brent had closed his eyes and was leaning his head back against the headboard even more. But she could tell his breathing was more shallow, she could feel his heartbeat pounding faster and stronger beneath her fingertips.

She leaned down and bit his left nipple as her nails pinched the other one. Those blue eyes flew open on a quick intake of breath, "Lauren?"

She giggled as her tongue traced the outline of the faint teeth marks, "I did not want you falling asleep on me, Dr. Jacobs," she teased as she turned her attention to the other nipple.

"Not much chance of that, I promise you, sweetheart," he purred as he lifted his hips. His hard cock beneath the sheet rubbed against the front of the corset, almost directly between the bulging mounds of tits that she feared would erupt from it at any moment.

She played a bit more, alternating between the hard brown nubs. She almost lost the plot a couple of times, barely restraining the outbursts of girlish giggles as she tried to figure a delicate and discrete way of getting chest hair from between your teeth. She was afraid she would spoil the whole thing with her wry sense of humor, but that was one thing she had most loved about this man: how easy it was to laugh with him.

He chuckled, and his chest moved beneath her face, those hairs gently abrading her cheek and causing the wetness that had been building between her legs to spread. "Yeah, I guess it is so much easier for me without a mouthful of hair every time I want to play with your tits. Next time we play this game, I'll shave it if you want?"

She frowned and shook her head, "Don't you dare."

Brent's deep laughter echoed off the walls, "Yes, Ma'am. Or is that Mistress?"

While Jill had been more than forthcoming about Mistress J, some part of Lauren rebelled at the thought. She was no Mistress. She probably never could be, even if Brent did enjoy these games; that was all it ever could be for her, role play. "No," she whispered, afraid she would disappoint him.

"Then I don't suppose you'd like to undo these?" he tossed her that sweet good ole' boy grin as he rattled the chains.

Lauren found herself considering it for a moment. The truth was that this role was not one she wanted to engage in again, but there was one part of her plan that she very much wanted to try. Just this once. So, she shook her head as she leaned in and kissed him slowly and sensuously.

She allowed her tongue to toy with his for long moments as her hands and fingers followed the trail of hair down his stomach. There might be more than a bit 'cushion for the pushin' as Simone had called it, but that change was growing on her more each day. Sure, she could still feel those rock hard abs just beneath, but the layer of softness was intoxicating in its own way.

It was entirely something else rock hard that she sought as her hands slipped beneath the sheet and wrapped about his erection. She felt Brent's quick intake of breath as it stole her own, or maybe that was the feel of him beneath her fingers. The way his pulse throbbed in her hand, the slight moisture that spread from the tip, and coated her hand as she began to work them up and down his length in firm but steady strokes.

The rumble in his chest that rose to a growl in his throat before erupting into pained moans inside her mouth was deeply satisfying. It was the perfect accompaniment to the tinkle of chains as he writhed beneath her.

This role might never feel completely natural to her the way that it must for Jill whose eyes had lit up talking about the naughty things that Mistress J enjoyed tormenting Daniel with when it was her turn, but Lauren could glimpse the attraction of domination. The power and control you held over another person's body, pleasure, and even mind were a tiny bit heady and intoxicating.

It was something else she wanted to drink this night though, as she broke away from the taste of her lover's sweet lips and began trailing kisses down his firm jaw and neck. She stopped and nibbled at his jugular vein, which she could see pulse in perfect time and synchronicity to the deep bass throbbing through his cock.

She did not tarry long though, as she continued her journeys across broad shoulders that had comforted and given her solace so many times. She smiled as she once more caressed and kissed her way across his chest. This time she was in more of a rush though she took a moment to tease and bite each nipple once more.

"Hmmm, maybe I should have listened to Jill. Been a bit more willing to try some of the toys she suggested," she teased as she bit down hard into first one then the other. The teeth marks that encircled the brown peaks did send those butterflies into flight. "She mentioned something about clamps. Said clover clamps worked just as well on male nipples as female ones."

She loved the look of shock and perhaps even a bit of trepidation that momentarily slipped through Brent's mask of calm. "Maybe next time," even though she seriously doubted that there ever would be one. But she would not tell Brent that, not yet anyway. Let him squirm a bit.

Squirm he did as her mouth followed the trail that her fingers had, southward across his stomach that seemed a bit tauter than before as Brent tensed beneath her exploration. "Fuck, babygirl," he moaned as she brushed the sheet back at last.

She was torn. She wanted to see his face, watch the play of emotions there. But her lungs burned for oxygen as she came face to cock with his throbbing manhood. She was drawn to it...the pea-sized bead of clear liquid that leaked from the tip hypnotized her.

This was what she had been waiting for. Even after all these years, it was relatively uncharted territory. Not that she never had. She had tried a couple of times, but Brent was always the giver in their relationship. So, when she did make her feeble and admittedly half-hearted attempts at oral sex, fellatio, blow jobs, he quickly took the lead back, overpowered her, and made her forget her intent.

Not this time, though. Brent was her prisoner. At her tender or not so tender mercies. And she intended to see just how far she could push him. Just how much control her husband had. Or did not have. She stuck out her tongue and tasted him. He growled like that wounded animal again, "Damn it, Lauren."

She was not deterred. She used her tongue to encircle the head, licking like his cock was an ice cream cone on the hottest summer day, her only job was to get every single drop before it melted, and the sweet cream dripped to the ground. And she would too, this time.

She smiled as she slid her hand lower to cup his balls as her whole mouth swallowed him. She kept her movements shallow, at least for now. She blushed as she remembered the almost comical teen girl game of pickle sucking that the three of them had giggled their way through over chocolate cake and tea.

But Brent's cock was much larger than a gherkin. She had to concentrate, turning her undivided attention back to the task at hand, and mouth. She slowly worked her head up and down the shaft, taking just a bit more in each time. She knew that she would never be able to 'deep throat' him, not tonight anyway. So, she used her hand in time with the movement of her mouth to give him pleasure.

Brent was beginning to moan louder, and his hips were starting to rock and thrust upwards with each downward motion of her head. Until the soft, springy head hit the back of her throat. She gagged a bit and backed off. But returned to it a moment later as it went just a bit deeper. Once more, she gagged around it and retreated. She kept at the task for a couple of moments as her hands continued to caress and roll Brent's balls.

"Baby... fuck, babygirl...stop," Brent panted as she once more swallowed over half of his cock.

She smiled around his thickness as she tilted her head back just enough to look up into those deep blue waters. She shook her head, and the movement caused him to slip a fraction of an inch deeper into her throat. She was rewarded with a growl as he shut his eyes tightly and almost banged his head against the headboard.

"Damn it, Lauren. I can't take much more," he spat through gritted teeth.

She released his cock from her mouth as her hands continued to toys with his balls. She moved up his body; hers silk-clad rubbing against his naked one as she went. Her lips once more captured his, and those eyes flew open.

Her tongue plunged deep into his mouth, perhaps not as deeply as his cock had in hers, but she tried. One hand moved up to encircle his cock again, her spit lubricating it, making the rhythmic motions easier this time as the other one continued to toy with his sack which she felt tightening. But she was not finished with this little game yet, so she tried another of Jill's tricks, tugging firmly at them. "You will take as much as I want to give, Dr. Jacobs."

Her finger slipped a bit lower, past his full scrotum. She was far from comfortable with the anal play that had turned her face scarlet as Jill described it. But she did manage to find a spot on his perineum that had Brent moaning and writhing even more if that were possible.

This time she leaned in, and the kiss was brief, almost chaste. She drew back, and their eyes met once more, "And when I'm done playing with my toy, I'm going to let you cum. In my mouth, Brent." She leaned in for another kiss, eyes wide open this time as she whispered against his soft lips, "And I'm going to swallow it all."

She did not give Brent time to think, let alone respond as she lowered her head once more to his cock without preamble this time. If before she had taken her time, toyed and teased, this time, she was determined. She worked her mouth and hand up and down his shaft. Her eyes never left his face. Locked with his, she dared him to look away, to break the intimacy of the contact, the moment.

It took her far less time than she had thought, though why that should surprise her since her hands had never ceased their playful torture, kept him right on edge the whole time. She felt Brent tremble, heard him roar as his testicles once more rose up. She toyed with the idea of another gentle tug to forestall his orgasm, but the truth was she was soaking wet. Her own game had backfired on her. As she had said, she wanted, almost needed, to taste him.

"Lauren," she felt the tremors run through his taut body. "Lauren, please, I can't..." he moaned.

This time she only smiled and nodded around her full mouth as she drove her head down further than she had dared. Yes, she gagged. She was afraid for a moment that she would do far worse, but she willed herself to relax. Consciously commanded the muscles in her throat to open for their invader. In the end, she managed, just barely, as Brent exploded deep in her throat with an almost pained scream, "Lauren!"

She was not sure what she had expected. It was not the same sweet and thin consistency as that first drop she had so eagerly licked from the tip. It was saltier and thicker. But it was not unpleasant. Not disgusting or distasteful the way she had once feared it might be. She had tasted far worse things in her day, sushi and caviar among them. No, it was not unpleasant at all.

It was a long moment before he stopped throbbing in her throat as she swallowed a couple more times. She felt the tension drain from his body beneath her as he collapsed back against the headboard with a loud bang. She chuckled as she released his still hard cock from her mouth.

She shifted on the bed, reaching into the bodice of corset for the keys hidden within her cleavage. She quickly released his hands from the cuffs, doing as he had and as Jill had warned her she should, massaging the blood firmly back into his hands and fingertips. She bent forward with a smile and placed a tender, closed mouth kiss on his lips.

She was shocked when his fingers laced through her hair, capturing her, and holding her prisoner as he deepened the kiss. His tongue thrust deep into her mouth. She was a bit shocked at the intimacy of it, knowing he must taste himself on her. She supposed she should not be though. It was not like she had not drunk her nectar from Brent's lips more than once.

Then he rolled them so that she was beneath him. His hard cock entered her smoothly and deeply, she was soaking from their earlier play, and of course, Jill had advised that this outfit was strict 'knickers' optional. Her orgasm was as hard and fast as Brent bit into her ear and whispered, "My turn now, babygirl."

And oh, what a turn it was too, as he extracted penitence for each of the torments, teases, and tortures she had inflicted upon him. By the time he finally finished, cumming once more deep inside of her, Lauren was mindless and more complete, more whole than she had ever been in her life. She fell asleep in his arms, her head resting on his chest, those hairs softly tickling her nose once more.