Lust & Lies Box Set-Sexual Awakenings, Excess, Predator & Prey

by Kate Stewart

  Instantly uncomfortable with the intimacy, I freed myself from our tangled limbs and made my way to the bathroom without looking at him for a reaction. When I exited the hot shower, I checked my emails, seeing I had an hour to spare before I had to head to the office. I opened the door to find my bedroom empty.

  I didn’t know if I expected to find him there and now I had my answer.

  The man was a ghost.

  And now I knew they existed.

  The purple bruise on my breast and the soreness between my thighs told me so.

  Days later, I was in my office scrolling through my emails. I’d been debating whether or not to take the time off Nina had urged me to, but I had no idea what I’d do with it. I’d tried to keep my mind off Daniello but found my hand beneath the sheets every night to the memory of him.

  It was that good.

  I went through my day as I always did: with precision and without distraction. I had a company to run and being in a dick daze was not an option.

  A delivery of solid white roses arrived toward the end of my day, and I immediately threw them out. Before anyone—including my assistant, Ross—had a chance to ask, I made an excuse that they were a thank you from a client.

  Irritated, I left work that night looking for an SUV but found nothing.

  It was clear to me then I didn’t like the situation. I needed order and some control. I had none, and I was longing for him. I went to bed that night with my hands firmly planted beneath my pillow.

  The sun was unforgiving as I sat on the curb in front of the five and dime, waiting on my father to gather his weekly list at the tractor supply store across the street. I was filthy from head to toe from a day’s worth of cleaning and could feel my throat closing from thirst. I spotted the shiny metal underneath a small patch of grass growing in the crack of the sidewalk and lunged for it. I was met by what felt like a brick wall as my fingers grazed the quarter.

  “I saw it first,” the wall replied. “Too slow.”

  I shielded my eyes from the sun and audibly whimpered at the loss as I tried to get a good look at the boy who had just barreled over me.

  “Give it back,” I shrieked as my thirst outweighed my fear. He was taller than me, and I assumed a couple years older. His dark brown hair stuck to the sides of his head in a sweaty heap. I noticed his clothing was tattered, torn, and way too small for him. It was nothing out of the ordinary here. Very few of us sported new clothes, even at the beginning of the school year. I didn’t recognize this boy, though.

  “Please,” I pleaded. “I’m thirsty. I’ll buy you a soda, too. They are only fifteen cents. I have five more in my pocket.” The only soda the Lil’ General sold were old, flat cans of Shasta. Even as cheap as they were, it was a rip-off.

  He shook his head as he stood above me. “Sorry, kid, I have plans for this.”

  “It’s just a quarter,” I said, standing in front of him.

  “But it’s my quarter now,” he said, taunting me.

  “Fine, take it,” I said, dusting off my shorts. He leaned in, and I could see the large amount of freckles covering his nose.

  “What are you willing to do for it?” he asked playfully, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. “Maybe if you wash my bike I’ll consider it.”

  I looked around with a small amount of excitement but saw no bike. None of my friends had one, and I’d never learned how to ride. I don’t know why I thought this boy would be willing to teach me.

  “You don’t have a bike,” I said, clearly irritated. “And I wouldn’t wash a thing for you.”

  “Sure you would. And if I give you this quarter, it won’t be helping my chances of owning one.” He put the quarter in his pocket and tilted his head sideways. “I’ve never seen hair as red as yours. You look like a circus clown.”

  I huffed as I looked up at him. “And you are the ugliest boy I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

  He laughed as if my statement was ridiculous. “How old are you?”

  “None of your business,” I said testily as I scanned the street for my father. His old, beat up Chevy was still parked at the supply store. I suddenly wished he’d hurry up so I could get away.

  “Look, Red, I’ll make you a deal.”

  I looked up at him with anger. “Don’t call me Red ever again.”

  “Anyway, Red, I’ll buy you a soda if you agree to wash my bike.”

  “You don’t have a bike. And do you really think fifteen cents is worth it?” I rolled my eyes as he smiled at me.

  “I will own a bike, and you sure look thirsty.”

  I was covered in sweat at that point and knew my time was running out. “Fine, but only once, and I doubt you’ll ever get one anyway.”

  He didn’t say another word as he walked into the store and came back minutes later with a grape soda. I looked at him curiously. “I could give you my money and you could get yourself one.”

  “Good idea,” he said, holding out his hand as I popped the top on the ice cold can and swallowed half of it while digging in my pocket and handing him my money. He took it and slipped it into his pocket as he remained standing in front of me.

  “Well, aren’t you going to buy one?” I asked, giving him an odd look.

  “Taylor,” I heard my father call from across the street. I looked to see him hoisting up two bags of fertilizer and throwing it in the back of the truck.

  “Coming, Daddy,” I shouted, taking my eyes back to the strange boy on the street.

  “Taylor,” he said, grinning. “I’m Lazarus, but you can call me Laz.”

  “Okay,” I said quickly. “I have to go, bye.” I handed him my remaining soda, which had only a sip left, and he smiled at me.

  “See ya,” he said a few beats after I started to walk away. I looked back over my shoulder and saw he was still smiling, so I gave him a small smile back. Deep down, I hoped he really didn’t think I look like a circus clown because I lied when I said he was the ugliest boy I’d ever seen.

  I got back into the truck with my father and slammed the door hard like he taught me so it didn’t open suddenly like it had the last few times I’d ridden in it.

  “See you met our new neighbor’s kid.” I looked up at him curiously. My father and I rarely spoke. My new neighbors were news in this town. No one ever chose to live in Dyer. The nearest house to ours was nearly half a mile away and was a little more run down than our farmhouse.

  “Yeah, his name is Laz. He bought me a soda.”

  “Laz, huh? Odd name.” I nodded, not knowing if he saw me. That was the last we spoke as we made the fifteen minute drive home.

  The following week, I saw Laz with a brand new Huffy riding down the dirt road toward my house. The moment I saw him, I couldn’t explain the amount of pride I felt for him. He was the first person I’d ever met that actually did what he said he was going to. I ran to meet him just as he cornered my driveway.

  “You got one!” I said in sheer delight as he smiled at me proudly.

  “Told you I would,” he said, catching his breath.

  “You want me to wash it now?” I asked as he put down the kickstand.

  “Nah, some other time.” He studied me for a long minute before he looked back at the bike.

  “No one in our school has one,” I said, “except for Lucy Hardin. She has everything.” I snorted in disgust. “Her parents own half the town. I can’t stand her.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to beg him to let me try to ride it, but I knew better.

  Laz studied me for a moment before piping up. “You going to let me come in and see your room?”

  I took a step back and shook my head. I hadn’t even thought of the fact that he shouldn’t be here. I was reminded when my mother’s shriek interrupted my thoughts.

  “Taylor, get your ass back into this house!” I jumped when the screen slammed shut and winced when I saw the shock on Laz’s face. My mother weighed less than a hundred pounds and was a horrific sight with deeply etched pockmarks cove
ring her face and her signature out of control dark red hair. She had once been a beautiful and voluptuous woman from what I gathered from my father, who to this day still bowed down to her every whim.

  “Who the hell is this?” she seethed as she took a step down from the porch. “You the new neighbor?”

  Laz nodded, still assessing my mother’s looks, and remaining silent. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be here, boy? Didn’t anyone warn you away? Go on…get.”

  Laz nodded again and turned to me, a deep sadness in his features. Somehow, he knew then that my mother was the bane of my existence, and I nodded in reply. He simply said, “I’m going,” then got on his bike and left.

  I turned to my mother just as she lifted the glass pipe to her mouth and sat down on the top step. She’d never made any effort to hide her addiction, and I prayed Laz wouldn’t look back to witness her taking a hit.

  “That boy is trouble for you, and I better not see him again, got me?” She exhaled a steady stream of chemicals as Amber screamed from the kitchen.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said grudgingly.

  “Get inside. You know we have things to do.”

  I nodded, picked a rag out of the bucket then I stepped into the house. The house we lived in was spotless, but on a daily basis, she made it her mission to soil every single rag we had with cleaning. Her addiction drove her to madness as my father kept to the fields, ignoring her and us as we were made to work day and night, sometimes to the early hours of morning cleaning a spotless house.

  “You’d think you’d know better than to bring a friend here,” she hissed as she followed me inside. I pulled a piece of ice out of the freezer and handed it to my sister who was still howling from thirst. After she’d wet the bed last night, my mother swore she wouldn’t have another thing to drink. Amber, who was only three years old, took the ice greedily and sucked it while choking on her subsiding sobs.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” my mother hissed, taking the ice from her and fueling her cries.

  “Momma, it’s hot. She hasn’t drank anything today,” I said in her defense as Amber threw herself on the cheap, chipped laminate floor.

  I felt the slap on Amber’s thighs as she screamed louder and looked up to me for help. My mother hit her again and again as I began to scream with my sister.

  “Stop, please, Momma, stop!” I begged as Amber’s voice went hoarse before she let out another loud cry.

  When she refused to let up, I dropped the rag I was using to clean the staircase and walked up to my mother as she continued to redden my sister’s thighs with vicious slaps. I reared back, struck her across the jaw with my open hand, and heard her surprised “oh” as she stumbled back. I was only eleven years old, but I knew then that I might be taking my last breaths. Still, I’d resigned myself to punishment of the worst kind. Anything was better than hearing my sister cry. My mother stood to her full height as I braced myself for her wrath. Thinking fast, I grabbed Amber and ran out of the house into the field, flagging my father down. Looking annoyed, he stopped his sad excuse for a tractor as he saw me rushing to him.

  “Daddy, she’s doing it again. She’s hitting Amber over and over. You’ve got to stop her!”

  “Taylor Jean,” he barked with an eye roll, “what have I told you about getting in your mother’s way!”

  “She was hurting her, Daddy!”

  He wiped the sweat from his brow as my mother screamed for me from the house, hell and fury in her voice.

  “Get back inside and take your punishment,” he said, irritated.

  Feeling the frustration roll inside of me, I couldn’t stop myself. “You ain’t no real daddy! You are chicken shit. A real daddy wouldn’t let her hurt us!”

  My father’s shocked face didn’t stop me. “She’s a crack whore just like Aunt Stephanie said,” I unleashed as Amber cried in my arms. My father dismounted the tractor and stood above me as my sister trembled in my arms.

  “You don’t like the way things are around here, missy, you can get.” I shook my head as he gripped my upper arm and pulled me toward the house.

  “Daddy, please for once just tell her not to hit Amber. Please, Daddy.” I begged and begged to no avail as he dragged me into the house with Amber still in tow and deposited us on the living room floor. He looked up at my mother as a sinister smile covered her face.

  “Handle your daughters,” he barked as he gave me one last look.

  When the screen slammed shut, I looked on as my father crossed the drive back into the field. I swore from that day on I would never trust a man to protect me.

  That Saturday, I was at home running on my treadmill and burning off a binge of tacos I’d partaken in the night before. I was on my third mile when I spotted a dark figure at the door.

  “What the fuck,” I screamed as I tumbled off my treadmill and landed on the floor. I was on my feet in seconds as I looked up to a howling Daniello. He looked gorgeous in black slacks and a T-shirt.

  Fire raced through my veins as I took the two steps to confront him.

  “How the hell did you get into my condo!”

  He raised a brow. “Not happy to see me?”

  “Not at all and answer my question,” I snapped as his chuckle slowed, but his smile deepened.

  “If I want in, I get in,” he smarted back as I brushed past him, my breathing heavy. I didn’t want him to see I was turned on. He stopped me and brought me back to him. I was covered in sweat, and he smelled like a man, and soap and heaven, reminding me of our last encounter. I wiggled to get away as he held me tightly to him and whispered in my ear.

  “You thought of me,” he chided, feathering my hard nipple with his fingertips, his breath whispering over my goose bump covered skin.

  “Let’s get something straight,” I said, still wrapped in his embrace, eyeing the alarm on my front door. It was lit green, and I couldn’t understand how he’d bypassed my system completely. “You are not welcome here anytime you choose. You want to pl—” My sentence was cut short as his hand slipped beneath the thin fabric of my sweats. “Play,” I finished. “You make arrangements to play.”

  “I want to lick your pussy,” he whispered as I involuntarily shivered in his arms. “A taste of you before I leave.” He scooped me up and carried me to my couch, taking off my sneakers. “I have been craving you, Taylor. Does this please you?”

  I didn’t answer as he eyed me, pulling down my sweats and then my panties to spread my legs.

  “Don’t send me flowers. I think you knew better,” I said as he kissed the inside of my thigh.

  He paused his movements, his hands braced on my thighs, and his stare turning deadly.

  “I do not fucking take orders,” he said with menace, his fingers digging roughly into my skin. My lips parted at his change in demeanor. He’d gone from playfully sexy to downright deadly in mere seconds.

  And with the introduction of his wrath, the spark of need I was feeling turned into an addiction.

  Noticing my change, Daniello quickly removed his hands from my thighs. “What a fucking shame,” he sighed.

  “What is?” I asked, lifting myself up to sit on the couch and pulling a blanket over my naked bottom half.

  He stood with a sigh, his erection bulging, and just inches from my watering mouth.

  “Your fucking mouth,” he snapped as he walked toward my front door. Turned on and completely confused, I rambled after him.

  “Look, I’m sorry. It was a nice gesture, but I like to keep my professional life—”

  “You will receive no such kindness from me again, I assure you,” he said, his hand on my door. “Goodbye, Taylor.”

  “Wait…what?” I stood and wrapped the blanket around me. “Look, you caught me off guard, breaking into my house and I’m…”

  No, Taylor, fuck that. This is a power struggle…He’s playing with you.

  “See you around, Daniello,” I spouted, lifting my chin defiantly.

  A slow, satisfied smile covere
d his features before he opened the door and closed it behind him.

  I walked quickly to the door, armed the system then threw the blanket to the floor. The ache between my legs refusing to ease, I decided on a hot shower and my hand. I stalked toward my bathroom but only made it a few feet before I heard my alarm disarm. I turned to look back and saw the green light and wiped my hand down my face in frustration.

  I picked my phone up from the counter and typed a quick text to Cedric.

  Me: Damned alarm has gone haywire. I need it checked out and fast.

  Cedric: I can be there tomorrow morning.

  Me: See you then.

  Cedric would know within minutes what was wrong with it. I trusted him implicitly. He’d installed it only a year ago. If there were an issue, he’d fix it. I’d have the locks changed as well.

  Throwing my soaked sports bra and T-shirt on the floor, I turned on the shower and stepped in, already massaging my soaked center. Fury rolled through me as I fought hard to relieve myself and failed. If I’d only shut my mouth and let him do his bidding, I was sure I’d be gasping in release.

  I moved my hand furiously, coming up empty as the hot water dripped over my aching slit, even more convinced I hated our arrangement. He’d said goodbye, and if that meant it was already over, I cursed him further for the state he’d left me in.

  It was a shame…my fucking mouth.

  “It’s fine, Taylor,” Cedric said as he pulled the instrument away from my alarm, unplugging the wires and giving me a concerned look. “A solid hour and nothing. Are you sure it disarmed?”

  I looked at him exasperated. “I was standing right there.” Realization dawned on me. “That son of a bitch.”

  “Who?” Cedric asked, intrigued.

  “So…” I looked down at my bare feet. “I may have fucked a bad guy.”

  Cedric smiled. “And this is news?”

  “A bad guy could probably trip my system, right? Like if he wanted to get in?”

  “No,” Cedric said with certainty. “Hell no, you can’t just trip this alarm or disarm it easily, Taylor. I told you that.”