Author's note:
This is the second chapter of
After the End - Part 3
, the final novel in my dystopian erotic romance trilogy. If you enjoy intensely provocative sex with a power play twist, handsome male heroes in emotionally satisfying relationships, and unconventional happily ever afters -- you are in the right place! These books are full-length, publication-quality, and currently being offered free of charge. :)
Descriptions of each book can be found in my bio by clicking my user name. Feel free to drop in on specific chapters or sections based on your mood or interest, but the dramatic tension is strongest if you start from the beginning of Part 1. As always, I appreciate hearing your reactions and feedback. It truly does help me create the best stories that I can for readers to enjoy.
Content warning: None for this chapter.
Tags for this chapter include: #bisexual male, #dystopia, #novel, #romantic, #married, #threesome, #teasing, #submission, #male submissive, #friends
_______________
Julian:
By the time the two military units had been our allies at Fort Laurel for a month and half, we'd settled into a constructive routine of cross-training, patrols, and joint missions. As captain of Bravo Company, Graham Lansing was considered the senior officer, but his counterpart Rachel Larsen, captain of Echo Company, had readily agreed that basing with us would provide the most stability to their deployment area, which encompassed much of the territory inside Louisiana's traditional borders.
She was young for her rank, nearer Avery's age than mine. She seemed to have two modes: intensely-committed commander and reckless party animal. Thankfully, the latter streak was usually confined to off-duty hours.
"I look forward to working with you, Major," she'd told me when her soldiers arrived after conducting a sweep in the eastern part of the state. "And please call me Rae. Rachel is my grandmother." She finished with an unwarranted saucy smirk, which I would soon recognize as one of her trademarks. That and the sound of her impatiently dressing down service members for minor infractions.
She and Graham were close friends, having gotten to know each other well during their training at the military's advanced weapons school for fighter pilots. They had been that class's biggest rivals for honors, and I'd already heard several stories about practice battles they'd won with daring maneuvers, and the unsanctioned celebrations afterward. According to Graham, Rae had barely graduated -- not because of her flying skills, which he rated as extraordinary, but because she'd nearly been expelled on several occasions for pulling wild pranks and getting into fights.
Rae's personality was a bit strong for my taste; she reminded me of a louder, pushier version of Rowan, one who did the shooting rather than the stitching up afterward. But I spent a fair amount of time with Graham, both on and off duty. He shared his friend's propensity for out-of-the-box brainstorming and adventurous risk-taking, but he was wiser about pulling back before things spiraled out of control. He had a quieter, more serious side too -- we had similar political persuasions, and our conversations delved at length into history, ethics, and humanity's future. Unlike most people, Graham didn't gloss over a subject and then flit to the next shiny thing. He could go deep, explore the nuances, and have a meaningful debate about potential interpretations.
Avery would have found those conversations just as absorbing, but he was still too self-conscious about his attraction to Graham to hang around us much. It was a source of great amusement for me, actually. Every time Graham spoke to him, I could see Avery remembering that blazing-hot fantasy I'd woven: the captain pinning him down, thrusting into his ass, and teasing his erection until he begged for an orgasm. I enjoyed the vision quite a bit myself, and I was still getting mileage out of it when I brought it up in bed. My husband grew unbearably hard imagining Graham's strong hands on him, or Graham's assertive voice ordering him to hold back his climax.
Given the particular flavor of psychological domination Avery responded to, I could understand why the captain had that effect on him. Graham did exude a kind of magnetic vigor that one might easily imagine translated well to sex. I thought the chemical attraction had less to do with Graham's rank than with his personality. My partner had shown not a hint of interest in Rae, despite her considerable physical assets and similar self-assured style.
"There's a supply convoy coming down from Barksdale next week," Graham mentioned to me one mid-July afternoon while we stood in the shade of a large bluejack oak near Fort Laurel's command center. It wasn't quite as stifling out here as it was inside the wooden building, so we'd been trading reports al fresco. The sleeves of his camo combat jacket were rolled above his elbows, and sweat dampened the pale coral skin of his neck and forearms, barely tanned even by our brutal summer sun.
"To Coushatta?" I asked. An outpost had been established at the river-crossing town directly west of here, some forty miles southeast of the old Air Force base that had been re-opened by Third Battalion after standing vacant for decades. As part of the military's campaign to reestablish stability in the South, they'd undertaken the laborious task of clearing the ancient interstate route from Dallas to Atlanta, allowing all-terrain trucks to make the slow journey over decaying concrete and asphalt.
"Right," Graham confirmed. "We'll go with your team on the next trip to the farming collective and bring the supplies back at the same time."
"Sounds good." With the soldiers bolstering our own force, we hadn't run into as much trouble with bandits and kidnappers, but it never hurt to have a few more guns in the woods. "Were they able to get the jeep running?"
Graham made an exasperated sound. "It runs, but it's not going to take a lot more off-roading before I'll have to replace that motor. And god only knows how long it will take to get hold of a motor way out here. Fort Worth is on back-supply, and if they do get any in, we'll be last on the distribution list."
"You'll get used to the mules," I said, amusement tugging the corners of my mouth. The military maintained privileged access to the severely curtailed industrial manufacturing sector, so they typically had electric vehicles at their disposal. In the wilderness, of course, we had to rely on biological power to move heavier loads. All officer candidates at the elite academy Graham and I attended had learned to ride, but wrangling pack animals and driving teams had not been taught.
"As long as I don't have to try to remember their names," he joked. "You gonna come to the variety show tonight? Our band is actually pretty decent. Probably a lot of music you'd know. And some of the sergeants are doing this hilarious sketch with a parody of Rae's tantrum after that map mishap...they're gonna get extra duty for weeks." He laughed in that gleeful, unrestrained way he had.
"Well I couldn't miss that," I replied dryly. Rae's incompetencies weren't as entertaining to me as they were to him. "Yeah, I'd like to check out your band at least."
Graham switched suddenly to a tone somewhere between curious and concerned, casting a sidelong glance at me. "Hey, do you know if I've done something to bother Avery? I invited him as well, but he brushed me off and left in a hurry. Seems like he's been avoiding me, but I wasn't aware we'd had any kind of conflict. I hope he knows he could tell me if I've offended him."
I kept careful discipline over my features to avoid betraying Avery's secret. Of course I knew exactly what the captain had done to
bother
my partner, but for whatever reason, Avery was determined that Graham not know about his interest. I'd participated in the sexual fantasies too, but it didn't make me less comfortable around my friend and colleague. I doubted any of it would have phased Graham either; he didn't strike me as the type of person who was insecure about his sexuality. Although, Avery wouldn't have struck me that way either, when we first met.
"I don't think you've done anything to offend him," I answered, trying to walk the line between truth and respect for Avery's privacy. "Sometimes he's just shy. And I think the cultural differences can be challenging for him."
