Free With Tongue and Teeth by James Cox

silence wash over us. I kept rubbing his back. Up
and down. This wasn’t about sex. This was about comfort. I moved closer and
laid my body against his. His hand came up, palm on the pillow and I placed
mine on top of his. The color contrast made me stare for a while. Just touching
him made the tension in his muscles ease. His breathing softened and I kept
stroking his back. Over and over until the man beside me let sleep
take him. What his nightmares must hold...
    Tonight, I’ll be his rock in the
wind.

Chapter Ten
     
    I was
in a dirt patch, surrounded by angry men. They kept yelling but their words
were all jumbled. I tried to listen but never understood. I even walked closer,
watching one man’s mouth move and it just didn’t make sense. The noise was so
loud it was deafening. And it didn’t end. So, I sat in the dirt as the men
continued to shout. Their faces were strangers. It seemed like forever. Sitting
alone, covering my ears to ease the noise. Then they went silent. All of a sudden,
the roar stopped and they all turned. Several of them parted to show me a path
out of this angry horde. I wanted nothing more than to wake up. But the path
filled with a shadow, broad and big. I looked up to see Justice. He walked
between them, making them quiet down. He
took his time. Each step brought a puff of dry dirt into the air. Then Justice
reached out and I took his hand. He pulled me to my feet and I awoke with a
gasp.
    I was back in the room, his bed
with his dark arm thrown across my torso. Justice had his head against mine so
that I could feel each breath rush across my cheek. The dream spooked me. What
the hell did that mean? Was my subconscious trying to tell me something?
Justice is my savior . That thought made
me scoff. Maybe it was the stress of the last few days. It’s taken its toll in
the way of strange dreams that make no sense. I placed my hand over his , rubbing small circles on his dark skin. I
didn’t want to get up. Staying here seemed like the best plan in the world.
Even with the city on a manhunt for us and who knows what else happened while
we’ve been sleeping.
    Justice took a deep breath and
his eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few
times before he smiled at me.
    “Morning, handsome.” I gave him a
wink then turned onto my side so we were facing each other.
    “You’re still here.” He sounded
surprised. “Some deep shit last night.”
    I nodded. It had been, but it didn’t scare me off. Don’t ask me
why. I grabbed his hand and placed it between us. Then I slid my hand up and
down the back of his. Fingers and palm rubbing along his dark
skin. There was this silence in the room. Like my dream. Total quiet so
I could hear Justice breathing. I hooked our thumbs and brought his palm to my
lips. I placed his hand over my heart. The shirt I wore wrinkled around his
touch.
    “Scars don’t scare you.”
    I wasn’t sure if that was a
statement or a question. I just kissed his palm again. “I had a dream about
you. You saved me.”
    “Yeah?” He slid his
thumb across my lower lip.
    “Yup. And you weren’t
even naked.” Which was another surprise. I rarely had dreams where there were so many clothes.
    “Crazy,” he whispered with a
grin.
    “I think I may be.” My words were
hushed as we huddled together in bed. Then I closed the gap and kissed him. Our
mouths lingered , just touching, savoring.
I ran my hand over his head, the flesh so warm against my palm. Justice took
control by parting my lips with his tongue. It slid over my teeth before
meeting mine. I scooted closer, forcing my body into his. Justice pushed me to my back and kissed me so thoroughly that I couldn’t
catch my breath. His tongue mimicked sex and his lips were so full they caressed mine sensually. He sucked on my tongue
and then shoved his so deep I gagged.
    “I want you, ” Justice said as he let me come up for air.
    I took deep breaths as he kissed
my chin and then my neck.
    “I want to eat you up with my
tongue