by Hamel, B. B.
“But Annie,” I say.
He looks at the hallway that leads to the living room. “Yeah, I know.”
We sit in silence for a minute or two. He finally sighs and shakes his head. “I’m not going to kick you out, Kim. I know that’s what you’re thinking.”
I feel so relieved and a little ashamed of it. I hate staying here and putting him at risk, but I think he’s right.
I’m afraid that if I keep running, Mark will catch me somewhere I can’t protect myself.
Who knows what he’ll do to me then?
And yet staying here puts Erik and Annie in danger.
I can’t meet his gaze. I stare down at the table, making a fist then letting it loose. I feel so confused and stupid and upset. I wish I knew what to do. I wish I had someplace I could run to, but I have nowhere, I have nothing.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Can I ask you something?”
I finally meet his gaze. “Of course.”
“Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
I blink and laugh. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“No clue.”
“Good.” He grins at me. “It’s as good a time to learn as any.”
10
Erik
The woods around Summersville are dark and deep. The whole town is basically a little oasis in the middle of a rural Virginia forest. A long time ago, this whole state was one giant forest, but that’s been changed.
Summersville is probably one of the last towns around here that’s genuinely remote.
“You didn’t have to take time off work for this,” Kim says, trudging through the underbrush with me.
“I know. But it’s better this way.”
“Where are we going?”
“Not far.” We keep walking through the woods. I’m carrying two cases with me, one a soft case slung over my shoulder, the other a hard case hanging from my hand. Kim walks with an oversized jacket I let her borrow, her hands shoved in her pockets. Her beautiful hair flies all around her with the wind and she keeps tucking it back behind her ear. I can’t tell if it’s a nervous gesture, but it’s a cute one.
I glance at her and wonder again if I’m only doing this because of how good she felt in my bed.
Maybe, maybe not. I can’t really decide. I’m not really sure if that’s even such a bad thing.
She did something to me, woke something up. Now I want more of her, so much more.
But I’m wrestling with it. Letting her stay means I’m putting my daughter in danger. Maybe not terrible danger, since I doubt this guy would hurt a little girl, but still. Accidents happen all the time. Kids get injured. Tempers run hot and shit goes down. I saw it all the time in Chicago. Kids shot by gangs that never wanted to hurt a kid, but still hurt one.
I can’t tell if I’m a bad person. I know for sure that if I let Kim leave, I may never see her again, and she may not last long out there. I doubt she’d be able to keep ahead of Mark, at the very least. He might drag her back to the commune or she might fight him and things might escalate.
I don’t want that for her. So I’m stuck. If I let her go, I might be damning her.
If I let her stay, I might be risking my daughter.
For now, I know I have to do the right thing, which is to protect Kim. I can protect my daughter as well, and I’m going to. From now on, Annie will be my top priority, but Kim has to be a priority, too.
Fucking hell. It’s confusing as shit, but at least I’m teaching her how to shoot.
We come up to a clearing in the forest. There’s a downed tree lying in front of a little meadow. Not a large clearing, maybe forty feet across at most. I stop by the tree, unsling the soft case, and put the hard case down.
“Here we are,” I say.
“I thought we were going to a shooting range.”
I gesture out at the trees around us. “We are.”
She sighs. “Wow.”
I laugh and slip a few paper targets from the soft case. I unfold them and hold one up. “At least we’re not using beer bottles.”
“I don’t know. Beer bottles might be more fun.”
“Next time.” I grin at her then walk out to a tree across the field. I tack the target up, top and bottom, then walk back.
“Okay. We’ll start easy.” I unzip the soft case. “This is a .22 caliber rifle. It’ll be pretty easy to shoot, not a whole lot of recoil.”
She bites her lip and stares at the rifle. “I grew up being taught that guns are evil,” she says.
“Well, that’s not wrong.”
“I was also taught that most disease is because of bad ions and broken particles in the body, which is just nonsense.” She takes the gun from me. “So I guess it’s time for a change.”
I laugh a little bit. “Okay, first lesson. Never point the barrel at a person you don’t plan on shooting.”
“Right.” She keeps it straight up.
“Points it down range.” I show her how to hold it, where to keep her finger when she’s not shooting. “Don’t press on the trigger unless you’re going to fire it. Keep your finger here, off to the side, and the barrel pointing down range at all times. Good, just like that.”
I get her into an easy stance, just getting her used to the weight of the gun. It’s not loaded, but I don’t tell her that. Better to teach her that all guns are loaded, even if they’re not.
We crouch down behind the fallen tree and I rest the barrel on top of it. “Okay, so. You focus on the target, right? That’s what you’re shooting at. Keep the sights in your vision, but you’re shooting at the target. See what I mean?”
She nods a little. “Got it.”
“Good.” I gently take the gun from her and load it. She watches what I do. I show her how, slowly, before cocking the bolt. “Ready?”
She nods, takes the gun, and gets it into position.
“Deep breath in,” I say. “Then squeeze as you exhale. Wait a second.”
I give her a pair of earphones and put on my own. They cancel out all sound around us. Once those are in place, I nod at her.
She breathes… and fires.
The gun cracks. It’s not particularly loud, muffled even more by the ear protection. She fires again and again, taking it slow… but she’s smiling.
She uses up her ammunition. I take the gun from her and take off my ear protection.
“What’d you think?” I ask.
She laughs, a huge smile on her face. “Okay, I suddenly understand all these crazy pro-gun people.”
I grin at her. “Right?”
“It barely even rocked back. I thought guns had that thing, recoil?”
“They do, but a .22 caliber rifle isn’t very strong. The bullets are small, so not much kick. The handgun I brought will have more.”
She nods once. “I think I’m ready.”
“Well, hold on, ace. Let’s shoot another round with the .22, okay?”
She shrugs. I reload, put on my hearing protection, and hand it to her. She gets her ears covered, lines up the sights again, and starts to fire.
When she’s done, we check the target. She’s not a bad shot, considering. Her spread’s a little wide, but she’s mostly on target, mostly accurate. I grin at her and point it out.
“That’s good, right?” she asks.
“Good enough. Want to shoot the handgun?”
“Absolutely.”
We head back to the fallen tree. I put away the .22, making sure it’s not loaded. I take out the gun, a small caliber revolver. “This is a Ruger LCRx .38 Special,” I say.
She blinks at me. “What?”
“That’s gun talk and you don’t need to worry about it. Basically, it’s a small revolver, carries eight sounds. Revolvers shoot more slowly, have fewer bullets, but don’t jam up. They’re simple machines.”
She takes it from me. “It’s heavy.”
“Yep. And it won’t be very accurate, so if you ever need to use it, do it up close.�
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She bites her lip. “I don’t… I don’t know, Erik.”
“I know.” I take the gun from her gently. “This thing was made to kill people.”
“Right. It just feels wrong.”
“I know what you mean.” I stare down at the weapon. “When I was a cop, I pulled my service weapon maybe four times. Never shot anyone, never got shot at. And I’m lucky, you know? I’m happy. Some cops want that shit, but I never did.”
“Why would they?”
“People grow up on action movies. They don’t appreciate this stuff. But guns are real and guns kill.” I meet her gaze. “Teaching you how to shoot is important. You need a healthy respect for these things. You need to know that what you’re holding isn’t a joke. If you draw it on someone, and you fire it at them, you’re deciding to kill them, flat out. It’s not a small thing.”
She sighs and shakes her head. “This isn’t fun anymore.”
I laugh a little. “I know.”
“Can we go back to the .22? I liked that.”
“Here.” I press the gun into her hands. “Let’s shoot it then we can be done. Just five shots.”
“Fine.”
I show her how to hold it, how to aim it, how to stand.
“Good.” I adjust her hips. I like having my hands on her body, but I try to keep my mind on the task at hand. “Like that, good. Stay loose, don’t tense. Eyes down range.”
“This feels right.”
“Good.” I take the gun and load it. “Now it’s live. Ready? Same as before. Aim, breathe, pull. The trigger will be heavier this time.”
“Got it.”
We put on our hearing protection. I stay behind her as she aims and fires the shots off, one at a time. The Ruger has more kick and she takes a couple rounds before she starts to anticipate it.
When she’s done, she’s a little breathless. “I take what I said back.”
“About what?”
“Understanding why people like these things.”
I smile and take the gun from her. “That’s okay. Believe it or not, I’m not a gun person. But I think you should know how to use one at least.”
“Yeah.” She chews on her lip. “Now I do.”
“Sort of. You’ve got a long way to go, Walker Texas Ranger.”
She laughs at me. “Seriously? That’s your go-to gun guy?”
“Sure. Walker’s the shit.”
“Oh my god. You’re the worst.”
We sit down on the tree trunk together. I put the revolver away and lock the hard case. “Combination is 6214.”
“Got it.”
“I keep it above the refrigerator.”
“I hope I’ll never have to use it.”
“Me too.”
We sit there for a long moment. I put my arm around her without thinking and she leans her head on my shoulder.
“I am sorry about this, Erik,” she says.
“I know you are. I hate that I have to show you this stuff. I hate that you need to think about it.”
“Maybe he’ll go away. Maybe you scared him off.”
I shake my head. “He came into my house. I don’t think yelling’s going to scare him off. I think it’s going to come to something more than that.”
She chews on her lip again and doesn’t speak. I can tell that’s her little sign for when she’s thinking and I let her think.
I just sit and enjoy being outside with her. I enjoy having her head on my shoulder. I enjoy knowing Annie’s safe and sound somewhere else, with lots of people looking after her.
Right now, we’re all safe.
Kim tilts her chin up toward me. “I won’t let them come near Annie. I promise.”
“I know you won’t.”
“She’s a sweet girl. She doesn’t deserve this.”
I nod once. “She really doesn’t.”
I stare into her eyes. Kim’s beautiful, full lips part. I slip my one hand up across her cheek and into her hair, gripping it.
“You know I won’t hurt you, right?” I ask.
“I think so.”
“Good.” I kiss her gently, lips brushing against hers. “Unless you ask me to.”
She takes a sharp breath as I kiss her harder, hands on her body, pushing the jacket back.
11
Kim
He takes the big jacket off and throws it on the ground. I’m wearing jeans and a long-sleeve black shirt, tight against my skin. He pulls me on top of him, my knees on the bark of the tree as he cups my ass. I move my hips against him, grinding myself into his body. I moan a little into his mouth.
“You don’t have to worry,” he growls in my ear. “Nobody for miles.”
“That why you brought me out here?” I smirk a little at him.
He lifts my shirt up, pushing it up over my breasts. “Damn right.” He kisses my neck and chest, hands on my skin.
I moan against him. I love the way he takes me, his rough hands so hard on my body, driving me wild. He touches every inch of me, exploring me, taking me. I moan and writhe, groaning deep and low, pleasure blossoming inside of me.
I didn’t know this was possible. I didn’t know I could ever find this. But now that he’s touching me, now that his lips are on mine, I can’t help but know it’s true.
It feels too good to ignore.
He unbuttons my jeans and I slide back off him, down onto my knees. He smirks as I unbuckle his belt and pull his jeans open. He sits on the downed tree while I kneel in front of him, stroking his cock through his boxer briefs. He’s so big, so hard, I think he might rip right through.
I easily slide him out from the front opening and take him in both my hands. He kisses me while I stroke his cock up and down, nice and slow, making him purr.
“Love when you do that,” he says. “I love watching those pretty lips part. I bet you’re dripping wet right now just thinking about that cock in your mouth.”
“Maybe,” I say, the thrill of him driving me wild.
“Damn right you are. Dripping wet and waiting to slide your beautiful body up and down my hard cock.” He grabs my hair, almost rough, and kisses me. I moan into that kiss, his cock in my hands, his huge cock so big I can barely fit him in my mouth.
But I drop down and try anyway.
I suck his tip, rolling my tongue around. He groans and pushes me down deeper, taking his shaft into my throat. I gag and keep going, sucking him faster, moaning the whole time. He grunts his pleasure, his enjoyment. I love hearing it, love the way he growls and purrs and groans. I love knowing I’m making him feel good.
He grabs my hair tight and pulls me back. He teases my breasts with his other hand and kisses my lips before standing me up. He tugs my jeans down and off, takes off my panties, tosses them side. He turns me around and leans back against the downed tree, pulling me back on top of him.
I turn and straddle him. I don’t care if my knees are on the rough bark. I like it, I like a little bit of the pain, the sting. He grabs my ass, cups it, slaps it hard. I gasp and shimmy back, feeling his cock against my wet pussy. He teases me with his fingers.
“Just like I thought,” he whispers, licking them clean. “Dripping wet.”
I moan as I slide back down him. He pushes himself up, filling me to the brim. I gasp, letting out a groan as my pussy is spread wide open and filled by his enormous cock.
He kisses me, grabs my hair tight, holds it there. I ride him slow at first, knees biting into the tree trunk, but it doesn’t matter. I ride him faster and he thrusts into me, making my breasts shake with each rough stroke.
“Fuck, you feel good,” he groans. “I love your slick little pussy. You know how to grip my cock like you were built for me, right? And these fucking perfect tits drive me wild.” He kisses my chest, bites me a little bit, spanks my ass.
“God, yes,” I gasp.
“You like it when I make it hurt a little bit, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I moan. “Come on, Erik.”
He spanks me har
der and fucks me. I ride along with him, ignoring the pain in my ass, in my knees. The pleasure in my pussy makes me insane with it anyway.
He pulls back though, makes me stop. I moan as he drops me to my knees. “Lick yourself off me,” he commands.
I take his cock in my mouth. I suck my pussy from his hard shaft, licking him top to bottom, cleaning him up. He’s so hard, so rock hard, he’s almost trembling. I moan as I do it, a hand between my legs, fingers rolling around my clit. He stands me up and grabs my wrist, taking my fingers, licking them clean before turning me roughly. He pushes me against a nearby tree, standing this time.
He spreads my legs and spanks my ass. He grabs my hair and tilts my head back. “Every inch of your sexy, gorgeous little body is built for my pleasure,” he growls. “You know it’s true. You were made to make me feel good.”
“Yes,” I moan. “God, yes. Fuck me, Erik.”
He slides himself deep between my legs. I moan and my fingers dig into the back of the tree. He holds my hair tight as he fucks me from behind, not being gentle or slow. He takes me how he wants me, and I give it all to him.
Pleasure blooms all over my skin. It’s blossoming, and I open to it. I want it all, need it all. I want to come so badly as he fucks me, rocking into my pussy, stroking hard and fast. He teases my breasts again, kisses me over my shoulder, before his other hand finds my clit. He rubs my clit as he fucks me, stroking harder and harder, rubbing me in delicious little circles.
I’m moaning, losing it completely. He doesn’t care, he doesn’t slow. He fucks me faster, deeper. It’s rough and intense and he’s in control. I take him at his pace, take him so deep I can feel him filling me up to the brim. There’s nothing else around me, nothing else in the world. The forest disappears, the sound of the wind, the birds, all of it.
Even the fear of getting caught, still a constant little hum, making this that much more intense, even that goes away. There’s only him, Erik, this gorgeous man, this muscular man, taking me the way he wants it.
And I give it to him. I push back against him, bucking and moaning. Sweat’s rolling down my skin along with pleasure and intense need. We fuck like that, writhing and taking each other, taking pleasure from each other and giving it in kind.