by Raven Scott
I could only stare at Delilah as I struggled to comprehend what she was saying. Go back to being fuck buddies? The wrong direction? She feels like she’s stuck with me? Did Delilah think that our history was the only thing that glued us together? My gaze drifted down to the slender column of her throat, and my palms tingled to the point of pain. She’d washed off what little makeup she used to hide the bruises — the perfect imprints of my fingers. Normally, she wore them proudly, but she didn’t want her parents to think I was abusing her. They might’ve known about her little kink, but she didn’t want it to be a glaring thing.
“If you didn’t want to settle down...” My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as all the moisture dissipated, and I trailed off.
Pain and discomfort skittered across her face, and Delilah puffed out her lower lip before sucking it between her teeth.
What was I going to say? If she didn’t want to settle down, she could’ve told me?
Delilah did tell me, all the time, and my dumbshit self didn’t listen. I thought that when I got here, we’d start over, and the past would be just that—the past. That all the obstacles, all the reasons she’d said ‘no’, didn’t matter anymore because the distance had been closed.
“So...” Clearing my throat roughly, I blinked hard, and my eyes snapped up to catch Delilah’s as they flooded with apprehension. “You want to do all the normal stuff a couple does...without being a couple?”
“Yes, exactly.” Again, she answered quickly, relief sending a shiver through her shoulders and easing the tension in her face. “Exactly. That’s what I want.”
“And that means not moving in together.”
Nodding as hope budded in her eyes, Delilah shuffled a little closer.
My words tumbled out sluggishly, leaving a sour taste behind, and my throat tightened, “I-I mean...is it just...the label...that you don’t like?”
“I don’t like that things are changing for the worse. Okay— I’m not saying I don’t love you, or that this can’t work. I’m just saying that we maybe make different changes that don’t...involve being attached at the hip.”
My brows rose high at that, a harsh bark of humorless laughter escaping my chest. Instantly covering my mouth firmly, my hands shook.
Delilah leaned back, her face drained of blood, looking like I’d just slapped her or something.
Disgust roiled my stomach dangerously. My knees bounced wildly, and I stood up to pace as my mind frantically raced to keep up with Delilah. Obviously, she’d had a lot of time and probably, some advice from her parents, to figure out what she wanted to say. But I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know what to feel. A fury of emotions rampaged through me, battering my lungs and heart and making my ribs ache fiercely under my skin. “I don’t understand. You want to break up but not break up?” I could barely hear my own question over the blood drumming in my ears, and
Delilah slipped off the bed. She grabbed my hands. Her eyes begged me to understand, to try to, at least. “I want to be with you because I like spending time together, Darren, not because it’s expected to be together. I want to be with you because I love you, not because ‘it’s been so long so what’s the point of breaking up?’ I want to be with you because you make me happy, not because I feel trapped. And being your girlfriend, wanting to move in, and the expectation of getting married and having kids—that makes me feel trapped.” Holding my trembling hands to her chest, she stared at me with huge, green eyes that glistened with unshed tears. “I don’t want being with you to be an obligation. I want it to be my choice because I like it and I like you, and I think heaping expectations on us is...bad.”
“What was the point of any of this if you feel trapped? Everything I did … I abandoned my home, and I made enemies—for you. And you—you feel trapped?”
Delilah’s lips wobbled violently.
I yanked my hands away, venom dribbled off my tongue as I spoke, “I gave up everything for you, Delilah! You don’t just decide to change the goal posts after the fact. I almost died for you…twice! I—”
Her tiny, choked sob hit me square in the chest, knocking the stale air from my lungs.
In slow motion, a brave tear fell from her eyelashes as she bit both her lips hard between clenched teeth.
Somewhere, deep in the dark crevices of my brain, it clicked. This is exactly what she’s talking about. Me, using everything I went through to be with her against her. To make her feel like she owed me because of it all. To make myself feel like she owed me. “Okay.” Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes and covered my face with both my palms, dragging down to cup my jaw. Holding my breath for a long, long few seconds, I waited for the blood drumming in my ears to die down before exhaling a gust. “So...”
“So...” Rasping her echo, Delilah wrapped her arms around herself.
I opened my eyes again. “What do you want to do?”
The silence was deafening. I clenched and released my jaw as I stared down at a long fiber in the carpet. What do I do? What kind of question is that? What am I supposed to do?
“I’ll be right back.” Turning on my heel to head for the door, I held the knob for a second as Delilah’s reddening gaze bored holes into my back. Stepping out into the hallway, my whole arm stiffened as I shut the barrier behind me. Taking a moment to gather myself, I ran my hands through my hair a few times and cleared my throat.
My knuckles ached as I lifted them to the door. Rapping a knock that reverberated up my bones and through my chest, I held my breath as my heart began to race.
But I was pretty sure—very sure, this was what I wanted to do.
It took a long time for Delilah to turn the doorknob.
I ground my teeth as my mouth dried from nerves.
She peeked out from the two-inch crack, curiosity and hope brightening her eyes.
I cleared my throat. This time, I wasn’t going to fuck it up. This time, I wouldn’t try to make up for the past, but I would try to learn from it.
Just because it wasn’t bad… didn’t mean it wasn’t something I could learn from. “Can I come in, Delilah?”
Her eyes widened.
Anxiety curdled my blood as the seconds ticked by.
Shuffling to the side, Delilah opened the barrier all the way.
I inhaled deeply as I crossed the threshold.
26
Delilah
This conversation went much better than I expected, relief and tension warred in my chest as Darren stared at me intensely. I knew he’d be upset with what I had to say, but I still had to say it. All I wanted was to just say my worries and try to find a way through this turbulence. There wasn’t any way to avoid it and obviously, ignoring it had only made it worse.
Goosebumps blanketed my skin, and I wrapped my arms around myself as the stale air in my lungs began to burn them.
Darren didn’t move, didn’t blink, didn’t anything—he just kept staring at me through tight pupils with an unreadable expression on his face.
The moment slid by on pins and needles before Darren finally hoovered up a massive breath through flared nostrils.
The hairs on the back of my neck bristled when he shut the door with a careless shove. My heart raced, jumping into my throat as he closed the distance between us in two strides.
Easily overpowering me, forcing me back, crowding me with his body, Darren oozed predatory passion and determination. The smell of him cut my mind from my body, and I could only gasp when he grabbed my thighs to hoist them around his waist. His fingernails dug into my bare flesh, the rattling of the dresser behind me echoing through the room as he pinned me to it roughly.
The fine hairs on my cheeks rose when Darren ducked to capture my lips in a searing kiss. Stiffening at the rampaging heat that blazed down from my mouth, I couldn’t kiss him back under the sheer intensity of him.
Every ounce of desperation, desire ‒ his absolute faith and love for me ‒ Darren poured into his kiss, and he did it all without shoving his tongue down my
throat.
Dizziness spun my brain on its stem, and Darren’s hands squeezed my thighs hard enough to sting and leave deep, crescent indents.
For all its overwhelming emotion, though, Darren’s kiss was short, and he ripped his head back to dry my lips with his harsh pants. An almost crazed need swirled in his dark eyes, and he unhooked his nails from my thigh to leave behind shallow, stinging scratches. Grabbing my face hard, he jerked my chin back and forth.
A gasp of shock escaped me as shivers raced down my spine.
“If you ever doubt me again...”
The hoarse, dark, angry whisper drew a whimper from me as it grated my ears, coupled with him squeezing my chin.
Darren’s eyes narrowed into slits, and I trembled as he stuck his thumb in my mouth. His thick accent rang in my ears, the taste of him shocking me out of my pinked haze. I reared back my arm to send my palm flying for his face. Darren could’ve dodged it; I knew he’d sensed it, even if he couldn’t see it. But all he did was tense and take the blow, and the horrible slap of skin on skin echoed through the room. He stumbled back, his head snapping to the left, and my brain and body reconnected as the echo chattered my teeth. Lifting my bare feet to push him back with all my strength, I grunted with the effort it took to actually knock him onto the bed.
All of it, he let me do. Darren didn’t have to take my slap. He didn’t have to let me push him back. He could’ve done any number of things to stop me, but he didn’t. Fire engulfed my thighs when I climbed to straddle his waist, and powerful hands grappled my hair and ass.
“Oh! Fuck!” he let out.
My squeak shattered the tension hanging heavy in the atmosphere like glass. Flames licked my abdomen and down my thighs when he ground his bulge against my core, and goosebumps welted my arms and across my chest.
He tugged my head back sharply and I panted like a bitch in heat as Darren squeezed my ass.
Rolling us over onto our sides, Darren dragged his nails up my back, bringing my shirt along with it. Capturing my lips in a furious, passionate kiss, his tongue forced between my teeth to tangle with mine. Tearing his hand from my hand, he yanked my shirt up awkwardly, but the shiver that lodged between my shoulder blades dissolved almost instantly. My heart beat so hard it threatened to burst from my chest.
Darren didn’t ease the pressure when he shoved me onto my back. “You’ll fucking die before I let anyone take you from me!” Darren spoke so harshly he spit on my face, and he fumbled with his pants. He kissed hot and sloppy down my chest, fisting my shirt to tear it right down the seams.
Struggling to breathe under his weight, my knees drew up sharply when he pinched my abdomen in his haste to remove my clothes. Sweat beaded down my neck, and I squeezed my eyes shut with a groan when Darren sucked my nipple into his mouth. He nibbled harshly but not painfully, his nails scraping along the curve of my ass as he pulled down my shorts.
My pussy ached with need, and my hands balled into fists in Darren’s hair as he slopped a thick trail of saliva down my abdomen. Tilting my hips in wanton need, I flexed my feet sharply when he pulled my shorts all the way off. Spreading my legs wide, he made a choking sound as I clenched, the cold air of the room surging between my slickened lower lips.
“Delilah...”
I tensed, and Darren’s rasp hung heavy in the air before I cracked open my eyes to meet his.
His lip curled slightly, fingers flexing against my thighs. “I don’t give a fuck about marrying you. I just want to know you can’t up and leave me any time you want without trying to fix things.” Darren’s face twisted, like he knew exactly how hypocritical he sounded in that moment.
As for me...I was truly touched by his reasoning. Maybe, even he didn’t realize why things had taken such a drastic turn until this very moment. “...Don’t you dare try to weasel out of shoving your cock in me.”
His scowl darkened at my threat, as he threw himself over me to capture my lips in a scorching kiss. Hot and smooth, his cock seared my folds as he nestled between them.
I shivered in delight. “Please—please...”
“That’s all you want from me, isn’t it? Your pussy getting abused and being choked out until you come...?” Grinding against my leaking pussy, Darren’s voice roughened as he ducked his face into my neck.
“Yeah—yeah and sometimes...maybe some food.”
Darren bit my windpipe hard through my skin, and I wheezed as he braced one hand on my hip. I couldn’t squeeze out any more words, my mouth dried as my pants intensified. Bracing his forearm against my throat, he held himself up almost purely of his own, physical strength, and tiny tears pricked my eyes. “I can do that.”
My face heated from lack of air and just...relief. Finally. Finally, Darren and I were getting somewhere. Finally, we were on the same page.
The bulbous head of his cock poised at my entrance, and his blazing eyes tenderized slightly. He released my hip, easing the pressure on my throat only to wrap both hands around me. “Breathe in, Delilah.”
Managing a hard, gulping inhale, I barely closed my mouth before Darren squeezed, propping his thumbs up under my chin to force my head back. Arching instantly from the pressure, my chest tightened, and my eyes bulged a little to push tears down the sides of my face.
His cock stretched my pussy as he thrust with a low grunt, his balls slapping against my ass cheeks. Grinding against my pussy as deep as he could go, Darren’s short curls burned my clit. His strained sound weighed down on me from above, and he pulled back to snap his hips in a vicious thrust.
I tightened around him as pleasure slammed into me in waves that grew more powerful with each thrust.
He set a grueling pace, lingering before pulling back, his cock throbbing to the furious beat of my heart. Black spots assaulted my vision as his jarring thrusts rocked my body, and Darren didn’t seem at all intent on letting me breathe.
The slap of his hips against my thighs droned far away in my ears, and I reached to tap his forearm weakly. Darren eased up, but not enough, and my face was so hot it threatened to melt off my skull. My lungs screamed for air.
He whispered in my ear almost menacingly, “Come and I’ll let you breathe.”
Arching sharply into Darren as his demand set off a chain reaction in my body, my eyes rolled back almost completely. His little groan when I tightened around his cock was beautiful, and my trembling morphed into uncontrollable spasms. True to his word, Darren released my throat, but the sudden, wheezing inhale intensified my orgasm.
Powerful hands gripped my hips as Darren sat back on his knees to thrust, and I rasped a shallow breath. Cum gushed out of me, dripping down my ass and lower back and splattering against his legs and up his abs. If I had half my brain, I would’ve been embarrassed even when Darren’s pleased, choking groan slithered up my front. There was nothing as wonderful as him strangling me. He knew just how far to go, just how much pressure to use...
“Don’t pass out!” Tapping my face firmly, he growled.
Darren’s growl cut through the dense fog in my mind and somehow, I cracked my eyes open.
He looked mad that I had the audacity. “You stay the fuck awake, Delilah.”
“I love you,” mumbling hoarsely, I spasmed lightly.
Darren tensed above me and his cheek twitched in agitation.
“I l-love you,” I repeated as pleasure pulsed through me, lulling my eyelids closed as this strange sense of bliss overwhelmed my already dazed mind.
Darren smacked my face harder with his palm. “I said stay awake. I don’t give a shit if you love me if the one thing I’m good for, you can’t even stay awake during.”
The slap sent a jolt through me and I tightened my knees around his waist as my gasp dried my mouth. My eyes focused a little sharper and I blinked hard. I could see it all over his face, though… contrary to his rough words, he loved me just as much as I did him.
Darren gripped my chin forcefully. “I’m gonna make you happy, Delilah and this time...it’ll be on
your terms.”
The Vigilante
1
Vanessa
The hotel’s long, wide hallway was clean and clear of anyone, as it should be, considering it was only two in the afternoon.
There were some things, even after a lifetime, even as a different person, that shouldn’t be forgotten or forgiven. Carlyle’s words from so long ago, over ten years now, were all I could think of as I lifted my hand to gently knock on the door.
Pulling the thick, manila folder out from my purse right as the doorknob twisted, I straightened my shoulders and held myself tall.
A pretty woman cracked open the door, arching a brow quizzically.
I knew she wasn’t the one I needed to talk to. “Hello. Is Sarah Wetherer available?”
A defensive frown dragged the woman’s mouth down at my firm, unwavering question.
Before she could open her mouth to lie to me, I spoke up again, “This is her room. I know you’ve only just arrived, but it’s urgent.”
“Sorry, but she’s not available. We’re celebrating her bachelorette party, and whateve—”
I couldn’t help myself as I rolled my eyes with a slight scoff, pushing my way into the room.
“Hey! Someone call security! You can’t be in here!”
“I own this hotel.” Staring down the woman for a long moment, I watched, satisfied, as uncertainty flickered across her face.
She ducked her head, her brown locks hiding her frustration and doubt.
I walked past her to the living area and sure enough, Sarah Wetherer was sitting there, drinking wine with her friends. “Sarah Wetherer, this is for you.”
“Do I know you?” She stood while pushing back her blonde hair.
By all accounts, she was a really nice woman with a great job and family.
A pang ripped through my chest, knowing what would happen when she opened the envelope and discovered its contents. I held out the manila folder.