“Wow.”

It’s the second time Chrissy’s said it, and I can understand her being stunned. After spending the past week in the hospital while her burns healed, coming home to find that it isn’t a home any longer has to be a shock.

There isn’t much left. Despite the torrential rain and the best efforts of Lakeville’s volunteer fire department, most of the cabin’s gutted, and one wall is collapsed. The roof’s gone, and the other three walls look like total losses. Simply put, about the only thing left to do is raze the property, I doubt even the foundation’s usable any longer.

“You okay?” I ask, taking Chrissy’s hand. The week in the hospital let my own palms heal, so while the skin’s pink and looks ugly, I can hold things without pain. Guess all those callouses did come to good use in the end after all.

“Yeah,” she rasps, obviously lying. “I mean, when nobody would tell me anything after I started asking, I figured something was up.”

I nod, pulling her into a hug. “It’ll be okay. Come on, let’s see what’s left.”

We go inside the wreck of a home, and again I’m struck with the surreal nature of the past week. I’ve seen scenes like this plenty of times, but this is the first time that it’s been literally so close to home. Pushing my way through the blackened mess, I feel chunks of blackened wood squeal and break under my boots, and it just feels weird.

“It’s not a total loss,” Chrissy says with forced optimism as she pulls out a t-shirt. “Look, the washing machine kept everything perfect.”

I nod, giving her a supportive smile. “Did you check the dryer too?”

Chrissy’s smile falters, and she shakes her head. The t-shirt slips from her hand to fall to the floor, and fresh tears glisten in her eyes. She sniffs and wipes them away before they can fall, and clears her throat. “I know it’s not hopeless. I had a fire safe, I can get all the clothes and other crap replaced.”

“But there’s things you can’t replace,” I add, putting a hand around her again.

Chrissy shakes her head. “Just things. Come on, let’s see what we can salvage.”

We start sifting through the remains, taking out the things that we find and putting them on the grass outside. “Hey, found some stuff,” I call out, opening a kitchen cabinet. “Looks like a photo album.”

Chrissy comes over, taking the book from me. “It’s… it’s one of Grandma’s,” she says softly, opening the cover and looking at the faded photos. The heat cracked the vinyl of the book itself, but the photos look mostly okay. “Thanks. The cookware might be okay too… seems the kitchen did well for itself.”

There’s more, but still by mid-afternoon it’s clear there isn’t much. Some items from the bathroom, the firesafe with her birth certificate and backup bank account information and a spare debit card… that’s about it. Her clothes are ruined, and the rest of the house is a complete loss.

Moving into the more burned areas, I check my steps carefully, knowing that the beams are probably weakened. Almost everything’s black, and it’s with a glance at my hands that I see the beam that I lifted off of Chrissy. Her ankle’s still sore, it got a hell of a knock and the bruise is just now fading, but X-rays confirmed nothing’s broken. Thankfully, my girl wears boots even indoors.

I stop, chuckling. My girl. It’s been so long since I’ve had one, I guess the whole damn thing just sort of crept up on me without me ever realizing it. I just thought it was sex for awhile, then it was something else, and without me even realizing it, boom, Chrissy’s an important part of my life. I didn’t even make the connection that she was now my girl somehow.

And with that, of course, is the fact that I’m her man. If anything that’s the scarier part, because I still don’t know if I’m strong enough to be everything that Chrissy needs. But dammit, I’m going to try.

My foot bumps against something and I look down, seeing a startling scuff of white by my toe. “Hey, what’s this?”

Chrissy gingerly makes her way over as I kneel, seeing a painting canvas. Most of it’s underneath the collapsed roof beam, facedown on the floor. Pushing it with a finger, it moves, and I tug harder, pulling it out. “Oh my God,” Chrissy says, stopping. “It survived.”

“What?” I ask, turning the canvas around. What I see stuns me. It’s me, but unlike her last picture of me, this is different. I’m not handsome, I can see the flaws in my skin laid out in almost excruciating detail. But there’s something else there, a quality that makes my throat tighten up and my heart swell. “When did you do this?”

“When you were gone,” Chrissy says, coming over and taking the canvas carefully from me. Handling it like it’s fragile crystal, she carries it carefully out of the wreckage. “Dan, when Dirk brought me home the next day, I couldn’t find you and, well, this was my love letter to you. I don’t have words. I had this.”

It’s heroic. Looking at it, I see a man that I want to be, that maybe I actually am. There’s no rose tinted goggles here, no punches pulled. I see the ugly side of me, the desolation, the isolation. I see the self centered pity party I’ve been throwing myself for six years. But I also see what I used to be, the man who tried. I see the passion inside me, and what I’ve shown Chrissy. I see the protector that I could be again, and the man who could give her what she needs in life. “Chrissy, it’s-”

“I know it’s not everything,” she says, studying it. “But I went to Chicago, talked with Gerald and his family, with Torrie. I poured all that in here too, Dan. The night the house burned, I had just finished this, and fell asleep on the couch.”

While we were in the hospital, Willow filled me in on some of what happened the week I was in the woods. I understand what happened, and what Chrissy did to Justin. Thankfully for his personal safety, he’s out of the hospital and is now spending time doing ‘business’ in Chicago. “And this is how you see me?”

“Yes,” Chrissy says. She sets the canvas down, both of us startling as the wooden frame, already weakened by the fire, cracks and collapses. The canvas and paint, so fragile already, crumbles to shreds of dry puffs and dust. Chrissy gasps, fresh tears breaking out. “Dan-”

“Shhh,” I tell her, pulling her close and kissing her hard. She moans into my mouth, her arms going around my neck as our bodies come together, our tongues slowly exploring one another. “So that snapshot disintegrated. You want to know what’s cool about painting?”

“What’s that?” she asks, her eyes alight and her nipples pressing against my chest. “Tell me you think the colors are sexy.”

“Oh, very sexy,” I whisper. “But the best part is… the supplies are cheap, and we can get more anywhere. So how about we forget about this for a few hours, and go to my cabin. Let’s start seeing if I can give you a more complete picture of who I am… and maybe you can do another painting of me in a few months.”

She nods, and I take her hand, the two of us walking carefully out of the wreckage until we hit the grass, and a fresh, happy energy fills our steps. We don’t run, between my knee and her ankle running’s out of the question but we hurry to my cabin, where I yank open the door and pull her inside, crushing her lips to mine even as she steps across the threshold. “The door-”

“Let anyone who comes watch,” I reply, picking Chrissy up and kissing her neck. “I’m making love with my woman.”

She moans at my words as I carry her across the small space to my bed before setting her down on her feet, my hands going to the buttons on her blouse. Chrissy does the same, pausing before lowering her hands. “I know you don’t like me seeing.”

I stop, about half of her shirt unbuttoned and her breasts pressing against the fabric and step back. “Maybe before. But you taught me something, something I decided when I was in the woods, and that picture… I’m not going to hide.”

Chrissy watches as I undo my shirt and pull it off, tossing it across the room before taking her hands and placing them on my chest. I know she’s seen me naked from the waist up before but the feeling on her hands on my skin is electric, and my cock surges to iron hardness in my pants as I slowly unbutton her top the rest of the way. I cup her breasts, lifting them as we look into each other’s eyes and run my thumbs over the stiff nubs. Chrissy moans, biting her lip without taking her eyes off of me as she reaches forward and cups my cock through my pants. “Dan… I love you.”

“And I love you,” I reply, kneeling slowly. “Which is why I’m going to be brave enough to be the man for you. For the rest of my life if you’ll let me.”

She nods, her eyes swimming in tears as I unbutton her jeans and slide them over her hips and down her legs. Her panties follow, and soon she’s in just her boots, her jeans around her ankles and her top shrugged off on the floor. I cup her ass as I lean forward, kissing her belly before tracing down to her pussy lips with feather soft kisses until her spicy soft scent envelops me.

Nudging Chrissy’s legs as far apart as I can, I stroke her pussy with a wide, flat tongue from bottom to top, feasting on the slightly scratchy feeling on my tongue. Well, what did I expect after her being in the hospital for a week? It doesn’t matter as I lap and suck on her pussy, covering my face in her juices and sending ripples up and down her body.

“Fuck… oh fuck Dan, that’s amazing,” Chrissy whispers as I slip my tongue inside her. I grab her ass tighter, burying my tongue and mouth in her pussy as I consume every precious drop and tongue fuck her succulent wetness. Chrissy’s hips wiggle and I sink my fingers in tighter, feeling her squirm until I feel my finger come to rest against her tight rear hole. I pause, looking up at her, and she nods. “Please?”

“You never have to ask,” I promise her before flicking the tip of my tongue over her clit as I press forward with my middle finger. Her ass resists for a moment before opening to me and she cries out in pleasure.

It’s the headiest experience of my life, licking and sucking on Chrissy’s pussy while I slowly fingerfuck her ass. It’s tight, it’s obvious she hasn’t had anything back there in a long time, and the knowledge that she trusts me with so much makes every lick and stroke of my tongue mean more to me than the one before.

A naughty thought spawns in my brain and I smile against her lips, teasing and torturing Chrissy. I bring her to the edge of coming again and again, but just as she starts to clench around my finger I slow down, drawing it out and leaving her shuddering, hungry and gasping for more. Finally she grabs my hair and pulls my head back, looking down at me like a silver haired sexual warrior goddess. “If you don’t let me come next time, I’m calling Willow to come use her professional skills to break your ass in.”

I smile, and slip a second finger into her ass as I quickly focus my tongue on her clit, watching her as I lap and flutter my tongue over her pearl while quickly pumping my fingers faster and faster out of her ass. Chrissy’s caught, unable to do anything but tighten her hands in my hair as her breasts flush pink and her stomach starts to convulse before she cries out, throwing her head back as she comes hard around my fingers and covering my face in a gush of delicious juices. I freeze, letting her ride out her orgasm as she bucks back and forth, my tongue and fingers pleasing her from both sides.

When it passes, she takes a deep, quaking breath, a happy sob coming from her chest. “Holy fuck… you’re amazing. But… it’s your turn now.”

I nod, getting to my feet and looking at her carefully. She’s still wearing an adhesive bandage over the burn on her cheek, and I know she’s got more on her back, so I step back, stripping off the rest of my clothes before lying on my bed, my cock standing tall and proud in the air. “See anything you want?”

Chrissy, who’s stripped out of her own clothes, nods, her eyes glittering in the shadows of my bed area. “You know it. I’m going to suck that cock until you’re shaking, and then-”

“Then you’re going to ride me until you come again, and I fill your pussy with my cream,” I finish for her. “And that’s the only way we’ll make love until those bandages come off and you can look me in the eye as I fuck you from on top.”

Chrissy grins, climbing on the bed near my feet and pushing her hair out of the way. “And if I want you to take me from behind once in awhile?”

“I’m sure with a sexy ass like yours, something can be worked out,” I promise her. Chrissy grins and leans down, licking my cock from base to tip before rolling her tongue around my head, sending shivers up my spine. I didn’t do anything in the hospital, so I’ve got a week and some change of sexual energy built up in my balls and she knows it, grinning evilly as she watches me with those beautiful brown eyes.

“That’s right, baby,” she says in between long licks. “You teased me, drew me out just like you knew you could. Now it’s my turn. Just be glad I’m feeling happy, because I could fingerfuck your ass just like you did to me if I wanted, couldn’t I?”

I bite my lip, then nod. “I’d let you.”

Chrissy stops at the plain honesty in my voice and swallows, her voice losing the sexy growl as she looks in my eyes. “I won’t… but I love you. You’re… let me serve you, Dan?”

I nod, and she swallows my cock, her lips a silky ring that slides up and down as she scratches her fingernails over my belly, watching me the whole time. Her tongue rolls around my head each time she comes up, my cock pulsing in time with my heart in her mouth as she sucks me up and down, not rushing but taking her time. She’s drawing it out again, but for a reason as I see her other fingers slip between her legs and she strokes herself, wet slurping noises coming from her pussy as she slips a finger inside.

Finally, I can’t take any more. “Chrissy… I need you up here.”

She pulls off, the head of my cock making a deliciously kinky pop as it comes out and she grins. “Thought you’d never ask. I’m about to come again down here.”

“We can’t waste a perfectly good orgasm now, can we?” I ask, pulling her up into a deep kiss. I have to be careful, I don’t want to touch her face, and after a moment she sits up, her pussy poised over the top of my cock. I take her waist in my hands and push up, Chrissy’s pussy flowing like warm caramel over my cock while her gasp fills the room.

“Fuck you’re the best,” Chrissy moans as she sinks down until I’m all the way inside her. “Dan, I love you.”

“I love you,” I reply, the thousandth out of a billion times I want to say it to her. I give her control, letting Chrissy roll her hips and ride me, her ass slapping on my thighs as our needs take over and she fucks me faster, her breasts bouncing as she squeezes me tighter and tighter. I reach up, cupping her breasts and pinching her nipples until she screams my name, another orgasm sweeping through her.

I don’t let up, letting go of Chrissy’s breasts to hold her still as I start thrusting up fast and hard, my balls aching for release. She cries out again and again, her climax compounding on itself as my cock drives her wild, my throbbing shaft filling her each time. I can feel myself build and I arch my back, driving up into her a final time before bellowing, my release making my back literally crackle as my cock explodes deep within her tight pussy, a perfect tightness that leaves me teary eyed as I hold her on top of me, both of us frozen at the intensity of the sensations sweeping over us.

Finally my hips can take no more and we collapse. I catch her, holding her in my arms as I carefully roll her to the side, making sure she feels no pain while I stay inside her. She snuggles into my chest, inhaling my scent deeply. “You’re beautiful.”

“That’s what I’m supposed to say,” I murmur, looking in her face. “You’re an angel, and every moment you’re with me, it makes me a better man, brings more to my life.”

Chrissy smiles, and kisses the tip of my nose. “Then can I ask a favor? Uhm… I know this sounds fast, but I’m technically homeless now, and my truck got damaged in the fire too. Think you can give me a ride to town?”

“No,” I reply, brushing a lock of silvery hair out of her face. “You’ve got a home. Here. With me. I know this might sound fast, all things considered but… what about maybe us taking a trip to town for something else?”

“What?” she asks, her voice catching.

“I was thinking an engagement ring,” I whisper. “I know it’s not the most romantic way but… Christina O’Hara, would you marry me?”

Chrissy nods, smiling. “Yes… but you need to ask me again after we get the ring. In the meantime though….”

She pulls back, sliding down the bed until she takes my cock in hand again. I moan, letting her push me onto my back again. “What are you doing?”

“Getting this big cock hard again before you get to fill my ass in celebration,” she says, winking. “Think you’re man enough to fuck my ass right?”

I growl, grabbing a handful of her hair and pushing her down on my cock. “You just watch.”