Rings of Fire Ch. 02

He knew that if she awoke to find herself like this, she would not be pleased. So, why did he lace his fingers through hers? Why did he sit back watching the sunrise in the sky and contentedly holding the woman he loved as the plane approached its final destination?

He was pondering those questions and preparing to relinquish his precious cargo when she buried her face closer into his shoulder, moaning and whimpering just like she had that day as he began to sink himself into her welcoming warmth. His cock went from half hard to full attention in a single heartbeat as he tightened his hold on her fingers, bringing them to his lips to taste heaven.

And consequences be damned, he needed his delusions. When the world fell apart around them, Lauren was always the one thing that kept him sane. And he needed her right now. Even if she was a reluctant participant.

***

Lauren walked hand in hand with Brent down a deserted beach. Warm water lapped at her toes. They were deep in conversation, arguing a salient point of volcanology. Then Brent splashed an incoming wave; the spray soaked through Lauren's t-shirt and shorts. They both dissolved into laughter. Brent drew her into the protective circle of his arms. His lips descended upon hers; warm, firm, and teasing. It seemed to go on forever, and when he finally did draw back, she whimpered softly.

She was still half asleep when she felt a hand envelope her own. Her eyes came open just in time to see Brent brush those lips that she had been dreaming about across her knuckles. His eyes were lit from within by passion's fire as he leaned over and whispered, "Aww baby, I haven't heard that in seven years. You're driving me nuts here, Lauren." Those sexy eyes locked upon her mouth as if considering re-enacting the long-ago kiss from her dream.

Lauren drew back quickly from his embrace and forced her head towards the window; light streamed in through the small porthole. "Where are we?"

Brent shook his blond head as if to break the spell, "We are landing in about fifteen minutes."

"Yes, but that still does not answer my question, Brent. Where the hell are we?"

A dark look passed over Brent's handsome visage. A look that Lauren had come to know over the years meant that he was deciding whether or not to do something he was not sure about. "Brent, what could I do now? We are almost there. I agreed to give you your week. One week," she reminded him.

He nodded and spoke, "We are landing on a small private strip. It is Jacobs Energy land in West Texas that I have been working on for the past five years. Preparing for this time," he finished.

Lauren had thought as much. She knew her former husband had strong survivalist sympathies. Over the years as they traveled from one geological event to another, he had always seemed as interested in the personal tales of survival as he was in the science of collecting data regarding the changes that natural disasters brought to the land.

"Will it be just us?" she asked.

"Of course not, a single family lacks the knowledge and labor reserves to meet its own needs. A clan is much better equipped to survive long term."

"So, how many people in this clan. And who are they?"

"About fifty people are living in the eco-village now, but I have sent the word out for others to join us as they can. A couple more jets are heading to rendezvous points around the globe. As soon as we land, this one will be refueled and take off again."

"In the end, I estimate there will be two hundred to two hundred and fifty people joining us. Family, friends, and colleagues, mostly. A few military and survivalist types that I met over the years to provide the village with defense should we need it. But the location itself is pretty remote. And the way we built it provides a great deal of camouflage."

They were interrupted by a loud moan from behind them. Lauren turned in her seat to see Katie trying to adjust the weighted blanket around Elise as the little girl kicked and screamed as if someone had doused her with boiling water.

"The changing pressure is bothering her ears," Brent surmised.

Lauren's fingers fumbled with the seat belt as she tried to stand. "No, Lauren, we are in the final descent. You can't get up now," he said as he put out his arms to restrain her.

"She needs me," Lauren spat at him.

Brent nodded and turned a bit towards Katie, "Try rubbing her ears and giving her a sip of water from the bottle."

The young woman nodded, grabbing a refillable water bottle from a pocket next to her. As she brought it to the child's mouth, the first couple of sips dripped onto the blanket, but Elise soon caught on and sucked vigorously at the top. She quieted a bit but still thrashed against the seat belt restraining her, whimpering occasionally.

She looked up when her father's deep timbre soothed her across the distance of the small cabin, "It's alright, baby girl. It will all be over soon. We are going to play with the ponies like Daddy promised."

The child turned her head away from the bottle and seemed to stare out the window as if looking for the promised ponies in the clouds.

Megan joined the efforts, crooning, "Remember I promised you we could play with the wooly sheep."

Lauren stared at Brent. "What is this place? Some Noah's Ark?"

Brent chuckled, "Not exactly. Wild animals tend to do better on their own, but we do need domesticated ones for food, wool, and some labor. As I said, it is a sort of eco-village; self-sufficient."

The rest of his words did not register as she felt the sharp descent, which marked their impending landing. She tried to force her breathing into the steady in and out that she had learned to calm her fears of flight, well specifically of taking off and landing, usually once they were in the air everything was fine unless there was too much turbulence.

As she felt the bump that announced their arrival at this mysterious destination, Lauren automatically reached out and grabbed Brent's hand where it rested on the chair between them.

Brent squeezed her fingers back in the same old reassuring way that he had for years, "I forgot how much you hate this part. Maybe it wasn't the pressure change bothering Elise at all. Maybe she is just like her Mommy," he said with a big grin on his face.

Lauren would have hit him at that moment, except that her hands were busy gripping the chair on one side and his warmth on the other. "I will get you for that, Brent Jacobs," she promised.

He chuckled, "Lauren, there is nothing you can do to me that you haven't done already. But in case I forget to say this again, thank you. Thank you for trusting me this one last time. Thank you for allowing me to protect the women I love. Thank you for everything, Lauren."

Lauren had to look away from the brightness of his gaze. His words and the deep intimate tone of his voice alone were hard enough to fight. When Brent talked like this, she rarely had the strength to argue with anything he said. Nodding her head, she simply said, "One week, Brent. I mean it."