4 comments/ 14493 views/ 6 favorites 2. Illawarra Flame Ch. 04-06 By: inspirixis1 CHAPTER FOUR On Saturday Tyler went over to Sam and Emma's place early to help them set up for Grace's birthday party. Sam's parents had flown out for it. They were so weird. They were friendly and he liked them well enough, but between the two of them they had less than an ounce of personality. Once he'd met them he understood why Sam was the way he was. He was damn lucky that he had Emma, that's for sure. Tyler loved Sam like a brother, they'd been friends for years, but before Emma had come along the term 'wet blanket' was probably the best description for him. Sam was a good person; kind, intelligent, responsible and hardworking, but he didn't have any flair. Once Emma came onto the scene that all changed, he relaxed, he joked, he was fun to be around. Before Emma had shown up on their doorstep that rainy winter night Sam had never once called him anything except Tyler, within weeks they were calling him Gray. Tyler couldn't believe he'd volunteered to do the face painting, he wasn't any good at art, he was vandalizing this poor child's face. She'd asked for a butterfly, she looked like someone had vomited on her. He was trying really hard not to laugh. 'Do you want sparkles?" He asked her. She nodded excitedly. She had no idea what she was getting herself in for. Tyler got out the special sparkle goo stick and started globbing it on her face randomly. Now she looked like a fairy had thrown up on her face. 'Oh, it's beautiful," he told her. 'Can I see?" She asked. 'Not yet, I need to check my work," he said. He leaned back and regarded her, pretending to survey his art. 'I think that one deserves a photo," it came from a woman's voice behind him. He turned around, looking up from where he was sitting. It was Maya, god she looked amazing. He had never seen her in anything but a business suit before, which was fine, but now she was wearing a blue summer dress that hugged her figure in all of the right places. For the first time he appreciated how hard she must work to cover herself up for the office. She had an amused look on her face. 'It is one of my finer pieces," he told her with a grin. 'Can I see it now?" The little girl asked. He turned back to the kid. 'I'm sorry but the mirror is broken, just trust me, it's gorgeous." She looked disappointed, her bottom lip stuck out. 'Go and ask you mom what she thinks of it, I'm sure she'll be happy," he said as he lifted her off the chair and put her on the ground. He watched as she walked across the back yard and pulled on a woman's skirt. The woman's hand came to her mouth in shock. Tyler laughed. He turned back to Maya, 'I'm afraid that Emma's handiwork on Grace's face is causing some unrealistically high expectations." She was smiling down at him, she had nice teeth, straight and white. 'Would you like your face painted? As you've seen butterflies are my specialty, but I can also do fairies, flowers and dragons." 'That was a butterfly?" She laughed. 'Thanks, but I think I'll pass." 'Can I get one mommy?" Nicholas was standing beside her. She nodded and Tyler lifted him into the seat. 'You have a propensity for tickling," Nicholas told him. Tyler was taken aback, it had been weeks since he'd seen this child, how did he remember that word, propensity? 'Yes, I do, and you have a very good memory." Nicholas nodded at him solemnly. 'Okay, what do you want?" Tyler asked him. 'Spiderman," he replied. 'Ah, of course. You're in luck, I paint an excellent Spiderman." Tyler had no idea how to make this kid into Spiderman, he seemed to remember a red and blue outfit with webs on it. He got the face paint labeled 'red' out and started sloshing it onto Nicholas' face. His deep brown almond shaped eyes stared at him steadily. When the kids face was almost completely covered in red paint he sat back. What next? What about those spider webs? He took the black face crayon and considered where to start. Probably in the center. He started drawing spider webs in a radial pattern about Nicholas' face. He sat back to regard his work. 'Oh, it's coming along nicely Nicholas, I think you're going to be very happy," he said. He heard Maya chuckle beside him. There was something missing. The red paint and black lines didn't make him look like a superhero, they made him look like a basketball. What was missing? He felt Maya's hip bump against his shoulder, he looked up at her. 'Goggles," she whispered. Of course, that's what was missing. He took the blue paint and drew a pair of large fly-eye goggles around Nicholas' eyes. It was better but it was still a very long way off. He had an idea. 'Don't move a muscle," he told Nicholas. 'This piece requires a prop, I'll be back in a second." He got up and winked at Maya as he walked into the house. He went to the laundry and pulled out the box of swimming crap that Sam kept in there, the gear companies were always trying to push their latest and greatest on you. He pulled out a couple of pairs of goggles and chose a pair with a blue tint. Back out in the backyard he pulled them from their packaging and sized them up beside Nicholas' face. He used his teeth to remove the extra tabs in the nose piece so that they wouldn't rub. 'You are going to be the coolest kid at this whole party," he told him as he adjusted the goggles on his head, making sure that they were pretty loose so he wouldn't get a headache. He was rewarded with a big smile. It was very cute. Tyler smiled back at him and nodded his head in approval. 'Very cool." 'What do you say Nicholas?" Maya asked. 'Thank you Tyler," he said. 'Any time champ," Tyler replied as he picked him up out of the chair and put him on the ground. 'If you need a touch up, you know who to come to." Nicholas toddled off to show himself off to the other kids. Tyler stood up and looked down at Maya as well as he could without being rude. Her hair was held up loosely with a clip and her sundress had thin straps that exposed delicate shoulders. There was a graceful curve to her long neck and the sunshine highlighted her elegant collarbones. Tyler had always been a sucker for a woman's neck and Maya had an extraordinarily beautiful one. He should have known. Maya's face had beautiful bone structure, she had high cheekbones and a straight petite nose. Women with nice bone structure usually had attractive necks and Maya was no exception. 'Thanks," she said. He was confused, 'For what?" 'For painting his face." Tyler grinned, 'What can I say, I have a talent. It would be a shame not to share it with the world." She laughed. 'Just don't quit your day job, okay?" A little boy was tapping on Tyler's leg. 'Can I have a Spiderman too?" He asked. 'Absolutely," said Tyler. He turned back to Maya, 'It looks like your son is a trendsetter." She smiled at him again, Tyler liked this Maya even better than the one at the office. 'I'd better go and mingle," she said as she walked off. He watched her back as she walked away. She had prominent shoulder blades that seemed to be just the right size and set at just the right angle. He couldn't help but survey lower over her waist and hips, her body was incredibly graceful, she moved with a rare kind of elegance. He wondered if she had back dimples and quickly chastised himself for the thought. He was kept busy for a while with more Spiderman requests, he'd given away almost all of Sam's sample goggles. If the gear company reps could see this they'd probably have a heart attack, there were little kids wandering around the yard in top of the line racing goggles that would retail for well over $100. Once he'd retired from face painting he found her again. He wanted to talk to her, to see her smile and make her laugh again. 'Are you done face painting?" She asked. 'Such a shame." 'Yes, a short but illustrious career, as you can see by the fine examples of my work in front of you." 'Mmm, I never knew you were a man of such varied talents." He tried to read her expression, was she flirting? 'Oh you don't know the half of it, you should see me play the Ukulele," he replied. She raised her eyebrows, 'You play the Ukulele?" 'Almost as well as I paint children's faces." He got it, she laughed. Tyler smiled, he'd never taken so much delight in making somebody laugh before. 'Did you meet Sam's parents?" He asked, nodding towards where they were sitting playing with Grace. 'Uh-huh." 'Barrel of laughs, those two." She gave him a questioning look, 'I thought they seemed nice. Reserved, but nice." 'You're right, I was being ungenerous." Tyler still hadn't gotten over the way that they'd treated Sam and Emma when they first gotten together. Things had gotten better in the last couple of years, especially since they'd had Grace, but there was still a lot of hurt going around in that family. 'Sam and Emma are taking them out for dinner tonight," he said. 'Oh, I guess you're looking after the children?" He nodded, he was looking straight into her eyes. Please offer to stay, he thought. There was a pause. 'Do you need help?" 'I don't need it, but if it's offered I might like it." Jesus, Tyler's heart was beating like a maniac, he really wanted her to stay. The corners of her mouth turned up. 'I could help," she said. 'Really? That would be awesome because playing computer games with Zach takes up a lot of my attention, and you are probably much better at changing shitty diapers." Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head, she couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He let her suffer for a few seconds before he started laughing. 'You should see your face Maya, you look like you're about to punch me in the head." 'You!' She gave him a good whack in the arm to show how ticked off she was, but she was smiling. This time Maya knew it had been her choice to stay here with him, but she still couldn't believe that she had made it. What had happened to her resolve to keep things strictly professional between them? She had planned to play it cool today, but he had been staring at her so intensely, his eyes shining a deep amber in the afternoon light, and she had realized that she wanted to stay. She wanted to spend time with him. Tyler plunked Grace and Nicholas down at one of the kitchen islands with coloring in books. They still had face paint on them. Gracie didn't look too bad, but Nicholas was a mess. At least she'd convinced him to take the goggles off. Maya was wandering around holding Amy who was fussing and crying, she was trying to get her to settle down. 'Now Gracie," Tyler said in a serious tone. 'I don't have any of your recent work, the last time you gave me a picture was weeks ago. I want your best and most fabulous art for my fridge. Okay?" She nodded. She looked very serious. He turned to Nicholas. 'And Nicholas, I don't have any of your work at all. This simply will not do. How am I ever going to live with myself when you grow up to be famous and I don't have even one of your art pieces?" 'I'll make you one," he said. He was imitating Grace's seriousness but there was eagerness behind his eyes. 'Okay, good. Go nuts." He slid a tin of colored pencils in between them and they started coloring. He was so good with the children. She liked the way he talked to them, he didn't talk down to them the way that most adults do, he didn't dumb things down. Tyler went to the fridge and started rooting around. He pulled a foil wrapped tray out of the fridge, it had a post it not stuck on top of it. 'Oh Gracie, I think I am in love with your father," he said. Grace giggled as she colored in her book. He cooked the dinner, he changed the baby's diaper, he made the children laugh, he was a domestic god. 'It's Grace's bath time, do you want me to put Nicholas in with her?" He asked. She hesitated for a second, Nicholas hated taking a bath, he was probably going to throw a fit. 'If you can get him in," she said with a shrug. 'Hey Nicholas, want to test out your Spiderman goggles?" He asked. He had him in the tub in less than five minutes without so much as a whisper of defiance. Tyler showed him how to blow bubbles out of his nose under the water, Nicholas thought it was the best thing in the world. Grace started crying when Tyler told her that she was only allowed to pick one bedtime storybook, she was used to choosing two. He was firm with her. 'Maria Grace stop it, Nicholas gets to choose one too, it's only fair." She wasn't having any of it. 'I want mommy," she yelled in a huff. 'Mommy's not here. You can choose one story or you can go to bed on your own, it's up to you." Grace chose a storybook and handed it to him, she was still pouting. They read the stories in Grace's bed. Now Maya appreciated why Grace had a twin-sized bed, a toddler's bed would collapse under the weight of a man like Sam. She squeezed onto the bed beside Tyler with Nicholas on her lap, Tyler felt warm and solid beside her. Sam and Emma were not out late, Tyler had just sent Zach to bed when they got home. Maya and Tyler were sitting at opposite ends of the couch, talking about the Smurfs of all things. He was arguing that Smurf society must be somewhat analogous to bees, with Smurfette being the queen bee. It was remarkable to her that Smurf society was something that anybody thought about. Sam slumped down in the big armchair in the corner. He didn't look good, he looked pale and drained. Emma went straight to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of whiskey and a glass with ice cubes. 'Gray? Maya?" She offered them a drink. 'Pass," said Tyler. Maya shook her head. Emma poured into the glass and handed it to Sam. She set the bottle down on the coffee table and sat on Sam's lap, curling her long limbs into the fetal position and resting her head on his chest. Sam's arms surrounded her protectively. 'That good huh?" Tyler asked. There was an edge to his voice, Maya looked at him and was surprised to find anger in his eyes. She was confused, she didn't understand what was going on. 'Not now Gray, just leave it." Sam's voice was tired. She shouldn't be here, there was something way too personal going on right now. She stood up. 'I'd better get going," she said, 'I'll just go get Nicholas." When she came back down stairs with Nicholas sleeping against her shoulder Tyler was waiting for her at the door with his dog. He opened it for her and followed her outside. 'Where's you car?" He asked. 'We walked," she replied. He looked surprised. 'I didn't know you lived around here." 'Uh-huh, Fifth and Maple." It was only a few blocks away. 'I'm on Plumb and Eighth. Here," he held his arms out for Nicholas, 'you're on my way, I'll walk you." She hadn't realized that Tyler lived so close, she wondered why Emma hadn't said anything to her about it. She gave Nicholas to him. Nicholas was getting big, he was almost thirty-five pounds, but he looked small again when Tyler held him. They started walking towards her townhouse. It was dark, the shadows from the big maples made a speckled patchwork of moonlight on the sidewalk. It was surprisingly cold out-side, Maya pulled her cardigan closer and hugged her arms around herself. 'Do Sam's parents dislike Emma?" She asked. 'No, it's not Emma they don't like, it's their relationship." Maya guessed that Sam's parents must be racist. She wouldn't have guessed it but she had been married to an Indian man and she knew from experience that people who were seemingly completely normal could have the strongest prejudices. 'I don't see how anybody could disapprove of their relationship once they'd seen them together. They're so connected, it's almost like they're twins or something." Tyler was looking at her with a very odd expression on his face, his eyes were narrowed at her just slightly and his lips were pressed together. 'Did I say something wrong?" She asked. 'No, but if you want to know about Sam and Emma you'll have to ask them yourself," he said. Well that was weird, what sort of a secret could they possibly have? The only thing that seemed abnormal about Sam and Emma was that they were completely seamless with each other. They had their own world. Sometimes they would talk to each other and she couldn't follow because they were speaking a strange colloquial English that she'd never heard of before. Sometimes she couldn't follow because they were talking to each other without speaking. But that was just because they were so in tune with each other, she would like to believe that everyone had the ability to build that with a partner if they had the desire and the time. Maybe she would have had that with Hamid if she had more years with him? Something inside of her knew that was not true. They walked in silence the rest of the way to her place. She opened the door and led him up to Nicholas' room, relieved that she had spent the first part of the day unpacking and tidying the townhouse. Suddenly she felt nervous, she didn't want Tyler in her house. She didn't want to ask him if he wanted to stay for a drink, even though that was probably the polite thing to do. She had gotten the distinct impression today that he liked her, she had caught him looking at her from across the backyard more than once. She had liked it at the time and she'd even found herself wanting to flirt with him but having him in her space at this time of night was all of a sudden frightening. He was so big, if he decided that he wanted something from her there would be nothing she could do to stop him. Fortunately once he had laid Nicholas down and pulled the covers over him he walked out of the room and straight back out of the house. Cassie the dog was waiting on the front porch for him, she was a ridiculously well trained animal. Tyler tuned around to face Maya, he was so tall, she had to look up to see his eyes. He walked backwards down the front stairs until their eyes were level, his long arms extended to the railings on either side of him giving her the feeling that he was hugging her even though they were nowhere near touching. Back outside she felt herself relax again. Now the thought of him touching her didn't frighten her, in fact she liked the idea, she almost wished that he would. 'Amy is going to her new family on Monday," he said. She was surprised, Emma hadn't said anything to her about Amy leaving. 'Really, I didn't realize." 'Yeah, she's had two negative tests in a row so the family that wanted her will take her now." 'Negative tests?" She asked. 'HIV. Her biological mother is positive and when she was born she had the antibodies in her blood so they couldn't tell if she had it or not." 'So the family wouldn't take her?" She felt infuriated by the discrimination. 'Not until they knew she was negative, they have other kids." 'But Emma and Sam have other kids too," she retorted. 'Yeah but Emma and Sam are different." He paused for a second. 'So, I'll just have Grace on Wednesdays... I could take Nicholas for you if you wanted." Maya was taken aback. It was an incredibly generous offer, she hated that Nicholas spent so much time in day care and she would love for him to spend some time with a positive male role model. But what was in it for him? Why would he want to look after Nicholas? 'Tyler, don't feel like you owe this to me, you don't owe me anything," she said. 'It's not for you, I thought Nicholas might like it," he replied. She really liked the idea. She knew she was playing with fire in terms of her job, if anyone found out that she had as good as told Tyler not to work on Wednesdays and that he was looking after her kid there'd be hell to pay. But this was Nicholas' life, this was an amazing opportunity for him. 2. Illawarra Flame Ch. 04-06 'How would I pay you?" 'Huh? You don't need to pay me." 'But I pay for his day care at the kindergarten, I'd feel indebted to you if I didn't." He shrugged his shoulders. 'Fine, pay me what you pay at the kindergarten, I don't really care." 'Is Paypal okay?" An amused look came over his face. 'Okay. Just drop him off at Emma and Sam's place, I get back from practice around seven thirty but Emma is there earlier if that's too late for you." She nodded. 'Okay." He looked at her for a moment, the breeze rustled his curly hair. 'Good night." He turned and started to walk away. 'Tyler?" She called after him. He turned back to her, he was half way down her front pathway. 'Thank you," she said. 'Yeah, no worries," he replied and then he walked away, the dog trailing a half a step behind him. CHAPTER FIVE The next day at the pool Tyler told Sam that he was going to look after Nicholas on Wednesdays along with Grace. 'Careful Gray," he said. 'What's that supposed to mean?" Tyler asked. 'You didn't take your eyes off her for three seconds at the party yesterday, then you invite her to stay last night and now you're looking after her kid every week?" 'So? I like her, I'm just trying to help her out." 'Yeah but is this the kind of help that actually helps?" 'What the fuck dude? I have no idea what that means." 'Tyler, Maya isn't the sort of woman you screw around with. She's damaged, she has a kid, you're going to make things a hundred times worse for her, and for Nicholas, if you sweep them off their feet and then decide later that it's not going to work. Not to mention that she could get fired over it." 'Fuck you Sam, I don't tell you how to live your life." This conversation was really pissing him off. Sam threw his hands up in the air. 'Fine, be a shit about it. I'm just telling you that there is more at stake with Maya than a roll in the hay. If I were you I would make damn sure that I was in love with her before I even thought about touching her." Sam pulled his goggles back over his eyes and pushed off the wall for the next set before Tyler could reply. Asshole. Tyler pulled his goggles on and followed him. He was right, that's the thing that pissed Tyler off the most. He wasn't in love with Maya, he hardly knew her. He liked what he knew but what if there turned out to be something that he couldn't stand about her? What if they got together and Nicholas got used to him being around and she decided there was something about him that she couldn't stand? What would that do to the poor kid? Besides which, he had no desire to be a father, at least not yet anyway. Sure he liked kids, he liked playing with them and talking to them and even looking after them was fun, but the best thing about kids was giving them back to their parents at the end of the day. If he was dating Maya, Nicholas would see him as a father figure and there would be the expectation that he would act as one. He didn't want that sort of responsibility. That Wednesday morning when Maya dropped Nicholas off Tyler came out of the house to meet her. Emma was still home and he didn't want her over hearing this. Maya handed him a bag of stuff. 'You know how to contact me if you need to," she said. 'Yep," he replied. There was an awkward silence, he needed to say this but he didn't want to. 'Maya, I just wanted to make sure that you know that I'm not trying to start anything between us." There was a flicker of recognition in her eyes and then her expression went neutral. 'Of course not." There was another uncomfortable silence. 'I had better get to work," she said. Her eyes were the palest blue in the morning light. 'Have a good day Nicholas," she said as she bent to kiss him goodbye on the cheek, and then she was gone. Tyler felt like a royal asshole. It quickly became evident that Nicholas was a smart kid. He got things right away, things that Tyler had to show Grace three times he only had to show Nicholas once. His vocabulary was exceptional for a child and seemed to grow by the conversation, and he never stopped asking questions. The boy was a human sponge for information. Not only that, he was a nice kid. He had an odd seriousness about him and he was constantly pushing to find Tyler's boundaries, but he was also sincere. Sure he threw tantrums when he didn't get his way, and he wasn't above throwing punches, but he didn't try to manipulate, he didn't use his words to hurt. He was honest. That's why it had stunned Tyler when Nicholas had told him that he loved him on just the third Wednesday he had looked after him. They had been at the pond, throwing pieces of stale bread to the ducks and watching them gobble it up. Grace was pretty good at throwing but Nicholas couldn't get the release timing right, his pieces fell at his feet rather than in the water. Tyler explained the problem to him and helped him to get it right. When they were walking home Nicholas looked up at him and said it. No lead up, no fanfare, just the plain simple words in his little boy voice, 'I love you Tyler." Tyler didn't know how to respond. Grace was the only other child who had ever said that she loved him and that was different, Grace was his god child, he'd known her since Sam and Emma had adopted her when she was twelve months old, he would know her for the rest of his life. And yet when he looked at Nicholas he knew that the child believed it to be true. In the end he had ruffled Nicholas' hair and replied, 'I love you too Kolya." It wasn't a lie, he just didn't know if it was the truth. Nicholas had smiled at him. He thought about that moment a lot over the next week. Did he love Nicholas? He cared about him a lot, but when does caring about someone turn into loving them? He loved Grace, he knew that much to be true. If anything ever happened to Sam and Emma he would be there for Grace, no questions asked. He didn't have much of an interest in fathering other people's kids, but if she needed him, he would do it for her. It wasn't because of his friendship with Sam and Emma either, it was because of Grace, it was because he loved her. So what about Nicholas? Tyler had no idea where Kolya's father was, he had never asked and nobody had ever volunteered the information, but it was clear that wherever he was it wasn't in Nicholas' life. When he drew pictures there was never a daddy in them and he never talked about his daddy either. To be honest it broke Tyler's heart. Grace talked about Sam non-stop, with her it was always, 'daddy says such and such," as if her father's word were divine law. Nicholas would look at her and Tyler could see him computing the difference between them. It made him want to scoop him up in his arms and shelter him, make the world better for him. Was that love? Maya had kept things strictly professional between them. When he got to Sam and Emma's place after swimming on Wednesdays Nicholas was already there and Maya didn't pick him up until after five thirty when Emma was already home and Tyler and Sam had left for the gym. It bothered him, he felt like she was avoiding him, and he missed the opportunities to talk to her. Even if a romantic relationship was out of the question he still craved the opportunity to make her laugh. Money appeared in his Paypal account every week without fail, she must have set up a direct deposit. Tyler opened an account in Nicholas' name and transferred the payments into it. He didn't want Maya's money. CHAPTER SIX 'What's Gray's problem lately?" Emma asked. She was putting away laundry while Sam brushed his teeth in the bathroom. 'Don't know, he hasn't said anything," she heard him reply. 'He's been acting all agitated, like he's upset about something. Did you have an argument with him?" Sam entered the room wearing just a pair of boxers. His sandy blonde hair was getting long, he was starting to look like a surfer dude standing there with his deep tan and lean muscles. He was leaning against his dresser, writing himself a post-it note. 'No... a couple of weeks ago we did but he's over that now." He tore the post-it off the pad and stuck it on the outside of his underwear drawer. 'What did you fight about?" 'It was when he started looking after Nicholas, I told him to stop and think about it before trying to hook up with Maya and he told me to go kick rocks." He crossed the bedroom towards her. 'Gray has a thing for Maya?" 'You didn't see him at Gracie's party? He was practically drooling on her." Sam stepped up to her from behind and put his hands on her hips, she leaned back into him. 'Huh. That's... awkward. I don't think Maya feels the same, she never says anything about him." 'Mmm, well that's their business. I want to do our business," he said as he slid his hands up to her belly underneath her shirt. He nuzzled into her braids and laid a string of soft kisses down her neck. God she loved Sam. When they had first gotten together her mom had begged her to leave him, 'There will be other men Emma," she had told her, 'this is just a phase you're going through," but four years later there was still only Sam. There would only ever be Sam. She led him towards the bed, her pussy already tingling in anticipation of him. Sex was starting to become difficult, her pregnant belly was getting in the way and Sam was becoming hesitant to be rough with her, the way she needed it sometimes. It was not difficult enough for her to loose interest in it though. She turned in his arms and draped hers around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, his hands stroking her back and butt as his familiar lips and tongue worked her into heat. She felt his erection pressing against her belly. She pushed him away and started undressing herself slowly, all the time looking into his deep blue eyes, the way he liked it. Sighs and quiet moans escaped his lips as she revealed her body to him. She was down to her underwear. She reached behind her and undid the clasp of her bra, letting it fall to the ground as her engorged breasts settled. 'Oh, Emma," Sam said quietly in his deep rumbly voice. His brow was furrowed and his mouth agape in appreciation. She left her panties on. She was wearing a pair of boy shorts that accentuated her round butt, she wanted Sam to get interested in her ass tonight. She turned around and walked to the door and locked it. Life had gotten a bit more complicated since Gracie had gotten good at opening doors. She glanced back at Sam, her cunning plan seemed to be working, his eyes were firmly affixed to her butt. She smiled as she returned to him, but instead of walking into his arms she sat on the bed. 'Come here baby," she beckoned him. When he got within reach she pulled his hips towards her and stripped his boxers away, his hard cock springing up to meet her. She took it in her hand and stroked it a few times before she sank her mouth over him. She never tired of giving Sam head. She didn't know what it was about it that was so appealing to her. Physically it felt good, it felt sexy in her mouth, like when he kissed her but warmer, firmer. But really it was the psychological high it gave her, when she sucked his cock she was in complete control, she had the ability to give and take pleasure at whim. And how she loved to give him pleasure. To be honest she enjoyed giving Sam head more than she enjoyed receiving oral sex from him, although she would probably never admit that to him. It's not that he wasn't good at it, he was, he had given her thousands of orgasms orally, it was just that the way she saw it her pussy was there to receive his cock, his big, hard, ready cock. It just felt empty when she would orgasm without him inside her. She looked up at him as she worked over his length. His eyes were heavily lidded and he was sighing quietly as he watched her. She could feel the moisture on the lips of her pussy. This was going to feel so good. She released him from her mouth and crawled back on the bed on her hands and knees, looking back at him over her shoulder. She saw the desire in his eyes. Sam stepped towards her and she felt his hands on her butt, caressing and massaging her through her panties. She felt his lips on the skin between her shoulder blades, his hands fondling her heavy breasts. 'Please Sammy, don't make me wait," she begged him. He peeled down her underwear whilst still kissing her back. She shifted her knees one at a time to let him remove them fully. He grasped her by the hips and pulled on her to position her the way he wanted and then his hands were on her ass cheeks again, lifting and squeezing and pushing them apart. She felt the head of his cock, warm, solid, pressing against the opening of her vagina. She sighed as he pushed himself inside her. She would never get sick of this. Sam filled her fully and he always satisfied her needs. She had no idea how she had gotten so lucky with him. He moved in and out of her slowly in long torturous strokes. She let her mind go blank, simply enjoying him for a while. He felt so good inside her, he felt so good this close to her, his hands on her body never ceased to drive her insane with desire. He was getting her deep in her pussy, but she started to need more. 'Oh god Sam, give me more baby," she breathed. He picked up the tempo but she could feel his reluctance, he was afraid for their unborn child. Emma felt the fuzzy edges of her orgasm, it was just out of reach, she needed it harder or she needed it somewhere else. 'Please Sammy...' she begged. She felt his thumbs circling closer and closer to her asshole. He knew what she wanted. 'Do you want some of this tonight baby?" He asked as he stroked over her hole. 'Mmmm, yessss," she moaned. There was a pause as he leaned over and opened the drawer of the bedside table and fumbled to find the lube. She felt him straighten up and then continue to slide his cock in and out of her pussy while his thick thumbs prepared her asshole, greasing her up and slipping in and out to relax her and stretch her out. She moaned her approval. He pulled out of her pussy and she felt his cock pressing on her asshole. She breathed out and reached down to rub her clit to help herself relax. The pressure was enormous, it seemed that he would never be able to force himself inside, but then suddenly, miraculously, she felt his head break through. He paused to let her adjust, the way he always did. She breathed deeply, concentrating on relaxing her asshole, accepting his cock. She stopped rubbing her clit, she knew that she would orgasm almost immediately if she didn't. She slowly pushed her hips back towards him, receiving his cock into her center, allowing him to fill her in that primal way. His cock felt about twice as large in her ass as it did in her pussy. It was always uncomfortable at first as he stretched her out, her rear protesting against the bulky invasion. Every time felt like the first time when Sam was in her ass. But then it would submit to him. It would recognize him and welcome him and need him with an urgency that was indescribable. Sam let her control the first few strokes until he was satisfied that she was comfortable, then he took over. He grasped her butt cheeks with his palms, squeezing the perky flesh and pushing them apart so he could watch his cock sink into her tight little asshole. He loved Emma's ass. It was the first thing he'd noticed about her when she turned into a woman, he still remembered that day, those little running shorts that hugged her round black-girl butt in the most enticing way, the shock of the realization that he wanted her. And now, here he was years and years later with his cock buried in her asshole, stroking her into frenzy as she begged him for more. He was so glad that they had persisted with this position. It had taken a long time for her to be able to handle his cock like this. It seemed like the most natural way to do anal but the angle was difficult for her, it jarred her, it rubbed her wrong. For a long time they only did anal with her on her back, she would beg him to flip her over and take her from behind but when he did he could tell she was in pain. She was resolute though, she persisted with a stoicism that could only be described as Emma. Now that she was getting to be so heavily pregnant being able to pleasure her in this position was a godsend. When she was on her hands and knees her womb felt further away, and when he was in her ass he could make her orgasm without being rough. To be honest he was partial to it this way, being able to enjoy her butt cheeks and stroke his hands over her deep brown skin while watching his cock squeezing in and out of that impossibly small hole was amazing. She was writhing beneath him, her moans becoming guttural as she neared orgasm. She pushed her hips back into him at the end of his strokes in a sign of her urgency. He began pumping her ass more rapidly, his balls slapping against her wet pussy. He dragged his eyes away from her butt, the sight of it had become too much, if he didn't look away he would cum too soon. He grasped her hips firmly and in his mind he begged her to look over her shoulder at him. That was his signal, her way of telling him to give it to her. He looked at the back of her head, her braids splaying out over her shoulders and falling away by her face. He wished that there were a mirror so he could see her face, but that would probably be too much for him, there was nothing sexier than Emma's face when she was nearing orgasm. Oh please Emma, look at me baby, he begged her in his head. And then she did. Her braids were falling over her face so all he could see were her big brown eyes, but that's all he needed to see. Sam let that switch in his brain turn, the one that let go of his inhibitions, Emma was going to cum and he wanted to go over the edge with her. He pounded into her ass with abandon, his balls tightening, his cock throbbing. He felt the contractions of her orgasm, the spasm of her sphincter around him and he poured his cum into her bowls in long hot strokes. Emma had let her arms collapse under her, her face was buried in the sheets. He watched her ribcage expand and contract rapidly as she recovered from her climax. He held onto her hips for stability. He loved having sex while standing, that's why they'd gotten a bed this high, but this moment was always a bit scary. His head felt giddy, like he was about to pass out, he breathed deeply to get more oxygen into his blood. After a moment the feeling passed and he leaned down and kissed the smooth dark skin of her back. 'Mmm...' Emma gave a little moan of appreciation. 'Shower?" He asked. She sighed. He pulled his softening cock out of her. 'Come on baby, let me wash you," he requested. He grasped her shoulder and rolled her over, her swollen breasts and belly shocking him a little. Her body was changing so quickly, it was hard to keep up. He still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, he just had to make his brain keep up with that changing definition. He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom where he set her down on the stool in the shower. Emma had originally bought it so she could give him head in the shower without hurting her knees on the hard tile floor, but it had come in handy in a lot of ways. They'd made love on that stool countless times, sometimes with him sitting and her on top, sometimes with her using it for support as he took her from behind. He got a hair tie from the medicine cabinet and let her deal with her hair as he turned the water on and brought it to the right temperature. He took the showerhead off its perch and washed her, gently lathering her skin with the soap, letting his hands glide over her big belly and then washing the suds away. When he was done with her upper body she grabbed onto his arms and stood, using him for support. She propped one foot up on the stool and he carefully washed her pussy and ass, rinsing away the combination of lube, his cum and her fluids. 2. Illawarra Flame Ch. 04-06 She had her hands resting on his shoulders and she was watching him. 'Do you need more baby?" He asked. Sometimes she liked to cum a second time, he would give her oral pleasure if she wanted it, he was spent. She smiled and shook her head. Emma was satisfied. He was so glad that he could give her what she needed. When they were in bed, spooning with her in front, he started thinking again of things other than Emma. So Maya wasn't into Tyler, at least according to Em. That was probably a good thing. He liked Maya and was glad that she was around, Emma seemed to really like her, it was good for her to have a woman friend, but he wasn't sure that she would make a good partner for Gray. What did they have in common? He and Tyler were elite athletes, they had a different type of brain than the average person, it was hard to love a person like that. Oh sure, they had groupies who thought that they loved them, but when it came down to it he and Gray were obsessed with perfection, excessively preoccupied with swimming. It wasn't a natural state of being and in his opinion it took another athlete to understand and love a person like that, and let them be whom they are. He had gotten extremely lucky with Emma, not a day passed that he didn't count himself lucky for having her. He didn't think Maya had ever even thought about sports. She moved as if the world around her was still, she had an air of polished antique divinity about her. He would be surprised if Maya even possessed sweat glands. It was a worry. Tyler was like a brother to him, he wanted him to be happy, to find a good woman to love and who would love him. Gray's last woman had been a complete disaster, he didn't want him to make the same mistakes all over again, but what could he do? It really wasn't any of his business. He turned his attention back to Emma. The woman lying in his arms, the woman he would give his life for. He stroked over her belly, where their baby lived... where their fetus lived, he corrected his own thoughts. She was almost at 21 weeks, she could feel it moving when it kicked now, although he hadn't felt it yet. Only 3 more weeks and they were allowed to call it a baby. That was the pact they'd made with each other. After the first two miscarriages this pregnancy was a stressful waiting game. Unfair as it was, he couldn't help but feel that Emma's womb was a ticking time bomb. The doctor said that the miscarriages could just have been bad luck, or there could be something wrong with Emma, there wasn't a way of knowing. They had talked about it and decided to try and ignore the pregnancy for as long as possible. They talked about it as little as possible, they treated her morning sickness as if she just had a recurring stomach bug, and they had only told Gray, until their parents had come to visit. They'd decided to tell them in person the night of Gracie's birthday party. His dad had been happy but his mom had gotten upset. She still harbored some fantasy of them splitting up and going their separate ways, even though he'd told her a thousand times that there was no way that would happen. It was hard, it had been a good day that ended badly, but that's the way it went with his mother. She'd come around, she just needed time. Three more weeks. At 24 weeks an infant had a reasonable chance of survival if it was given proper medical attention. In three more weeks they could start talking about it and planning for it. All going well, in three more weeks their lives would change for the better.