Page 20 of Bait
As we circled the settlement’s main road, we ran into some of the folks who lived there. Candela introduced me as a new bunker exile, which I guessed was appropriate. No one seemed surprised, but they were all welcoming and expressed their happiness at my getting out safely. Again, I wondered if they’d talked about me to others, but if I asked, I’d sound conceited. It was weird to see Candela and Torch so integrated in this community. They’d both been such outcasts in the bunker, but here they seemed at home.
Just as we were coming around the bend to go back to the little clearing at the back of the settlement where we’d set up, an alarm sounded from the gates. Lights started flashing from there too.
“Shit.” Candela froze, instantly pushing me behind her. Soon there were a couple dozen people running out of their homes, all armed.
A rough hand spun me around and then I was face-to-face with Torch and his expression looked fierce. Like he had that night he’d come to get me out of the bunker. Whatever was happening this was serious. Shit. There were more shouts, and I could hear the gates being opened. “Run back to the rig,” Torch ordered, before I could ask him. “It’s either a breach or they’ve got raiders looking to get in.”
I didn’t want to go hide again. That’s what I’d always done. I wanted to argue for them to let me join them in whatever was happening, but I also knew this wasn’t about me. It was about defending this place. Bianca ran up to our threesome then, the friendliness from earlier replaced by a fierce scowl.
“Raiders?” Candela asked. She had a gun in her hand which I had not seen on her when we left the rig.
Bianca shook her head as she caught her breath, then widened her eyes when she saw me. “We’re not sure, the night lookout thought he saw some people circling the gates.” Torch frowned and pulled out another gun from under his shirt.
What the fuck? Were they always packing?
“I’ll go take a look, see if they need a hand.” He looked at Candela and jerked his head in my direction. “Take care of Sass.” He took off at a dead run without waiting for an answer, because of course he expected us to just do what he said.Ass. I expected Candela to shoo me away too, but instead she put an arm around my shoulder and turned toward the rig.
“Don’t you have to go help?” I asked while I watched Bianca head to the main hall building in the center of the settlement.
“Wearehelping,” she told me, then flashed a grin at whatever face I was making. “Torch is going for us, for now. If they need more hands, someone will come get us.” I frowned, confused. In the bunker if that alarm sounded, it was understood that we were being summoned and if you didn’t respond, you suffered the consequences.
“Becker isn’t in charge here.” She waved a hand at some of the houses where there were lights in the windows and shadows calmly moving inside. “It’s not that they don’t take the threat seriously. But for now, they only need some of us. If they need us, we’ll come.” I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding and unclenched my jaw.
“Okay.” I walked in silence the rest of the way to the rig, trying to make sense of everything I’d seen in the last day. When we got back, Candela and I cleaned up the stuff from dinner and then I went to get ready for bed after saying good night. As I was arranging my cot in the loft, I heard Torch come in. He and Candela spoke quietly, but he didn’t sound alarmed.
The knot in my chest eased to know that it seemed like things were okay. I got into bed listening to the sounds of Torch and Candela moving around the rig. They spoke with the quiet ease of people who were used to each other. By now I’d figured whatever there was between them, I could partake in. Maybe not as a permanent thing, which was where the issue was. I wanted them and was more than intrigued with the idea of being with them. But I didn’t think I could be casual. Not with the history between us. It was with those thoughts that I drifted off, still listening to them somewhere in the rig. When I woke up hours later, the noises coming from Torch and Candela were quite different.
ChapterNine
At first, I couldn’t quite make it out, but I’d heard a similar sound come out of Candela recently enough to recognize it. But in my sleep addled it state it did take me a moment to realize it was coming from outside. It was getting louder, more moans and harsh breaths. I couldn’t say I was an expert on these particular kinds of sounds, but I’d been thinking about them enough to figure it out. Goosebumps broke out all over my body just from listening. The heated whispers, the gasps and muffled shouts. I looked out of my small window and realized it was open just a little. Just enough to let me hear them. But I wanted to see them too. I needed to.
Quietly I climbed down the ladder, hoping I could see them better, and there they were. Candela naked and sitting on the table we’d set up to eat dinner, and Torch’s head between her legs. I was biting my lip so hard I was probably drawing blood to keep quiet. I was shaking, I was so turned on. She looked so beautiful with her head thrown back, her eyes looking up at the sky. Her skin looked silver like she was bathed in the moonlight, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen anything quite like it. Torch was on his knees in front of her, and she had hers over his bare shoulders. One hand gripping the edge of the table while the other worked her breasts. She tweaked the nipple, kneaded and plucked while he pleasured her.
Looking at them, my skin prickled, my core ached with need. I wanted them so much, but to my surprise, I wasn’t jealous, not really. I wanted to look, to see how they were together, to imagine what it could be like with them. I didn’t want them to stop. I wanted to be there too. My fingers twitched from the need to reach out. I wanted to know what his back felt like, damp with sweat from his efforts. I wanted to be the one at her breast, suckling it with my teeth.
I knew I shouldn’t watch. That this was private, but I couldn’t make myself look away. Something in me whispered that this was for me. It felt like an invitation, a door left open for me to walk through if I dared. I was entranced by the way Candela moved, the languid freedom with which she spread her legs, surged her hips into Torch. And he was just as eager to receive it. His arms were wrapped around her thighs with his face buried against her pussy. The thought of that word gave me a thrill. Of using it, of hearing it said to me. Candela’s sounds became more urgent, her mouth dropped opened and then she stiffened. Her body taut as she let out a silent scream that I felt explode in my own body.
I was on fire, my skin tight and buzzing with need. With my face pressed to the glass. I slid a hand inside my underwear and dipped a finger in my pussy. I was so wet and my clit so sensitive. It felt so good.
“Oh God.” This was what I needed. I fucked myself with two fingers as I watched them. Candela’s legs were trembling now, and Torch was looking up at her, his lips glistening with her juices. My mouth watered at the thought of tasting her. Of tasting them both. I thumbed my clit, and my eyes rolled back in my head from the sensation. I was so close, but I wanted to come with her. With them. Torch dove between her legs again and Candela’s breath began to hitch louder. She gripped Torch’s head with both her hands as she cried out her orgasm. Hearing her shout her climax sent me into an orgasm of my own. But I needed more, I slid a hand under my shirt and pinched my own nipples. I did roughly as I pushed my fingers inside, imagining it was Torch inside me. I’d never been like this. My body felt electric, and flashes of heat enveloped me. I was needy, on fire. I wanted a cunt on my face and a cock in my pussy. I wanted to be between them, fucked and adored. My body blooming, wide open for my lovers.
Candela let her legs slide off Torch’s shoulders and to my surprise, they switched positions. Now she was the one on her knees, while he bent over the table. This was not a position I’d imagined for a man, but between them it seemed so natural. He leaned down, his hands planted on the surface, back arched in offering. A mix of lust and tenderness filled me as I watched. I’d always imagined sex as some kind of confrontation. But this was so gentle and raw all at once. Candela stood up, her naked body plastered to his as she curved to touch him. Her hand massaged his crotch while she whispered things in his ear that made him nod and smile. She fisted him over his clothes, and he gasped, then she soothed him with a gentle caress. He was panting by the time she pulled his pants down over his ass and went back to her knees.
She pressed a kiss to each cheek, licked along the crack before parting them, and she licked him there too. I could not look away from his face. His expression was one of pure ecstasy. There was something between his cheeks that she tugged on and pushed back in, and each time he threw his head back, the cords of his muscles tense, his body vibrating. It had to be some kind of sex toy. I’d read enough pre-Burst erotica to know about those.
“Grab your cock,” she told him loud enough for me to hear. He did exactly that, working himself in long strokes. His movements were frantic and rough, but the ferocity of his need had my own pussy clenching. I imagined being in that position, Candela behind me and Torch fisting his cock while he watched us. “Bet you want her tight pussy, don’t you?” The words shocked me so much that I froze. Did she know I was watching? Was this her way of telling me to stop? To join them? “You want that slick, tight cunt, don’t you?” Torch only moaned and stroked his cock faster. “You’d take her deep while I fucked you with my tongue.” I closed my eyes and bit my hand to keep from begging for that very thing.
“I’d put you on her tits, watch you milk her while I fill her with come,” Torch responded, his breath harsh and his jaw tight.
Right then Candela pulled the plug out and Torch came in plumes of seed that landed in fat, creamy drops on the table. I wanted to taste it, have him feed it to me, fill me with it. My knees almost gave out as I came again, with three fingers deep in my pussy. Just as I slid one of them into my mouth, they both turned to look at me. There was no surprise on their faces, no slyness or distaste, all I could see was hunger. I wanted to go to them. I burned for it. But I chickened out. It felt like too much too fast. What had I even been doing watching them like that?
On unsteady legs I climbed back up to the loft. I stayed quiet when the two of them came back in. Neither of them talked or confronted me about watching them. They just went to sleep. Candela in the bed under my loft and Torch—for some reason—in the main cabin.
It was a long time after we were all in bed that Candela spoke. “We’re ready whenever you want us, Brains.” I can’t even name the sound that came out of me then, but she seemed to take it as a positive because I heard a sly laugh as I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning none of us mentioned anything, but it was like my body had been activated. I was so aware of both of them. Like I could sense exactly how far they were from me or each other at any point. Like my body needed us to always be in a certain proximity and if we got too far, an inner alarm went off inside my body. And that bitch was loud.
I tried not to stare at a bite mark on Torch’s shoulder or the way Candela’s gaze lingered on my hands. We’d had bread left over from the night before and Torch was able to trade some eggs and other supplies for one of the big bottles of rubbing alcohol we’d found. The eggs were fascinating, and looked much sturdier than they were, which resulted in me cracking one.
