Page 16 of Cora

After dinner, Remi and I did the small amount of accumulated dishes. The worst of the storm had passed, leaving behind a steady fall of rain. I didn’t mind the rain. Feeling my usual calm self, I wasn’t ready for the sudden gust of wind that ripped into the house with a howl.

The plate I was putting away in the cabinet clattered onto the plate below as I dropped it in fright. “Not another storm,” I groaned.

Remi rubbed my back soothingly. “Come on, big guy. Let’s crawl into our little bubble and ignore the storm.” As we passed my brother, I ruffled his hair and bent to kiss the top of his head.

“Night, bud,” he said in response.

I nodded at Derrick and followed Remi into the bedroom he had shared with Derrick last night. As soon as the door closed behind us, he pressed me against it and pulled my head down to kiss me softly. When he broke the kiss, his hands trailed beneath my shirt. Together, we got it off, and I tossed it across the room as I reached for his shirt next.

“Is it wrong that I sometimes hope for a storm because I want to be with you?” Remi asked as I pulled his shirt off and sealed my lips to his exposed shoulder.

I leaned back so that I could look at him. “Remington, you don’t need a storm to be with me,” I assured him.

His smile was blinding, and his kiss threatened to set the whole house ablaze.

Chapter seven

Cora

Iheard footsteps upstairs and quickly set aside my book to run up and watch them. After Derrick spotted me in the window and nobody came running inside, I thought maybe he didn’t see me like I thought he had.

When I got upstairs, I looked at the scene in front of me, feeling a little perplexed. Trent looked scared, and Remi touched him softly. From how he gazed at Trent, I could tell he cared for the man deeply. Something was wrong, but everyone looked uninjured, and Isaac and Derrick didn’t look concerned. I watched them move to the couch and cuddle up. Daddy and I used to cuddle on the couch and read like that; well, maybe notjustlike that, I thought as they kissed briefly.

Remi and Trent read together quietly, and every once in a while, when the thunder would sound outside, Trent would jump and stiffen. Each time he did, Remi silently stroked Trent’s chest soothingly. That must be Trent’s problem: he was afraid of storms. He’d like my bunker. You can’t hear the storms down there at all.

I decided to see what Derrick and Isaac were up to because as much as I was fascinated by these two men reading, I was curious to see what the other two were doing. I took a step, and my foot rubbed against one of the studs in the wall, making a slight noise. The sound was so soft that they wouldn’t have heard it usually, but considering they weren’t making any sound, it practically echoed around the room and immediately gained their attention.

They thought they had a mouse problem. I snickered to myself silently. They’d need an awful big trap to catch this mouse. Satisfied they weren’t on to me, I carefully made my way toward the kitchen, minding where I placed my feet, when Derrick came into the room.

Maybe he would liven things up. Plus, I was still nervous about him seeing me and hoped he might say something. When he suddenly shouted, I winced as the loud sound assaulted my ears. Well, shit. He did see me, but for the moment, nobody believed him. They leaned more toward me being a ghost than a real live person.

When they all got up and went into the kitchen, I ran downstairs quickly to get my meal. I brought it back upstairs and sat on the floor to eat with them.

“Do we have any bear jerky left?” Remi asked, looking around the table.

Derrick quickly snatched a bag from the table and clutched it to his chest. “Mine.”

“Seriously?” Remi snorted. He reached for the jerky but yanked his hand back when Derrick growled.

“Ok, fine, the bear jerky is yours. I’ll just eat one of the other animals,” Remi conceded, reaching for a different bag. “It’s a little weird how possessive you are over it, though.”

“It’s all we have left, and it’s the only jerky I can stomach these days,” Derrick replied. “We need to do something about that.”

“Well, why don’t I run out to the store in the morning and pick up a variety so you have options?” Isaac suggested.

They all laughed, and I joined in with them. It was good we could laugh about the end of the world as we knew it. Long gone were the days when you could just run out to the store for whatever you needed. Now, survival meant working for everything you had. If Daddy hadn’t prepared us for the fall of society, I’m not sure what I would have done.

That’s the nature of this world we’re in now, though. You discover what you’re made of, and only the strong will survive. I’m not sure if I’m strong enough for this world yet; I haven’t been tested. And as long as I never leave the bunker, I won’t have to be.

I heard the rain pick up and watched Trent closely to see if my suspicions about him being afraid of storms were correct. When he nearly broke the plates at the sound of thunder, I knew they were.

Remi guided him toward my bedroom, and I followed them out of curiosity. What were they going to do? My mouth fell open when Remi pushed Trent against the door and kissed him. They pawed at each other with growing passion, and I couldn’t make myself look away from the scene unfolding before me.

Their shirts came off first, then Remi dropped to his knees and reached for the button on Trent’s pants. Thanks to my brief foray into pornography, I knew what he was going to do. He gently tugged the pants down and helped Trent step out of them. All of this happened in my peripheral because I couldn’t take my eyes off the hard, angry-looking monster hanging between Trent’s thighs.

When Trent was fully naked, Remi ran his hands up his legs and over his muscular thighs as he dipped his head and teased the tip of Trent’s penis with his tongue. The sound Trent madewas between a moan and a whimper, and it seemed to please Remi.

Remi’s hands continued their path upwards, grazing over Trent’s chiseled six-pack to his impressive pecs. He plucked at Trent’s nipples while nuzzling his shaft with his nose. “Tell me what you want, baby,” Remi whispered. “Tell me what you need.”

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