by Darcy Rose
I can hear a knock at her door, and Faith takes a breath to steady herself. She hiccups slightly. Every single muscle in my body is as tight as a stretched rubber band. I have tunnel vision now, I only see enough to know that I don’t hit anyone, and no cops chase me. As I listen in, I am overcome with primal, beastly rage. Only God knows how fast I’m driving.
“Faith,” Margaret’s voice calls, faint on the call. But rage has made my hearing supernatural, and every syllable is clear to me. “Are there any more cookies?”
She’s slurring. Drunk as hell. My inner narrative alights.
Whore bitch cunt asshole deviant washed-up prom queen slut.
“I don’t know, Mom,” Faith calls back, just barely holding her voice level. I’m almost to the exit. I’m almost there. I flash my eyes down to the speedometer and realize I’m nearly at a hundred MPH. I take a deep breath and release the gas, letting myself fall back to seventy. Thankfully, the roads are mostly clear today. Most people are staying home.
Margaret mutters something indistinct, then there’s a few moments of silence. I hear rustling as I make it back into town, and Faith picks the phone up.
“Please, help me, Vincent. He’s going to hurt me.”
“Don’t worry, Faith. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
She sniffles again, and through the rage, I feel a soft tendril of love. The instinct to protect and nurture. Maybe the best way to protect Faith is by keeping her with me.
“Thank you, Vincent,” she says. “Are you almost here?”
“Five minutes, darling. Then I’ll take you somewhere safe. Pack anything you desperately need right now. I’ll buy you everything else.”
“Do you mean it?” Her voice sounds so hopeful, almost like this is exactly what she wanted, me taking her away.
“Of course, I mean it, just stay in your room until I get there, okay?”
“Okay. I–I can do that.”
Faith lets out a steady exhale, and I smile. I blast through a red light, knowing I’ll be with my love in mere seconds. Almost home. Almost there.
“I’m going to hang up now,” she says in a steadier voice. Her breath sounds less panicked. I smile softly as I pull into our neighborhood, dropping to a slower speed to make it through the snow.
“I’ll be there in sixty seconds,” I say softly. Then she hangs up.
In forty seconds, I make it into my driveway, park, turn off the car, and run to Faith’s home. The front door isn’t even latched. That wino bitch couldn’t even close her own front door.
I kick it in. I’m greeted with the sight of an obliterated Margaret’s jaw dropping open. She screams wordlessly, falling back into the arms of her lover.
Who I recognize immediately.
You gotta be fucking kidding me?
Rico. My boss’s brother. Frederico’s father. Fuck. I got away with killing his son, but will I get away with this one? Tony was never fond of his nephew, which is probably why he never looked into his death, but Rico is a different matter. This is worse than I expected.
“Vincent!” he says in a false-jovial tone.
“Rico,” I growl. My fists are curled at my side. His smug, bloated face is especially worn today. He’s in his forties, but the years of partying and no consequences have taken a toll. He doesn’t sound drunk, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t. “What a delightful surprise. Would you like to share?”
“Huh…?” Margaret says, looking between the two of us. She stumbles again to the side and looks me up and down. “Well, I wouldn’t mind.”
“You shut your mouth,” I snap, jabbing a finger toward her. “I’m not here for you.”
Rico’s mouth falls open with realization. He’s a mean bastard, but he’s far from stupid.
“I thought that house next door looked familiar.” He grins, tapping a finger against his flabby face. “You have a thing for that little vixen upstairs, don’t you?”
I don’t say a word. Margaret sways in place, trying desperately to make sense of things, but gives up after a moment and turns, walking into the living room. With a sigh, she flops onto the couch and promptly begins to snore.
Mother of the goddamned year.
“Well, we seem to be here for the same thing, Vincent. Since you saw her first, I’ll let you have a go at her.” No amount of drugs, alcohol, or money could ease that cruel look behind his eyes. A look that I want to snuff out.
I lunge forward and clamp a hand around Rico’s fat neck. I’m younger, taller, and stronger than him, and he barely puts up a fight. Cheap whiskey is on his breath, and I resist the urge to gag. I slam him against a wall and tighten my grip. He starts to spit and gasp, and I watch a red flush creep up his face.
“If you touch her, you die. I don’t care who your brother is. Nobody harms her.”
Rico coughs again, tries to mouth the words at me. I respond with a squeeze. Red begins to turn purple, and his eyes start to bulge.
“If I find you downstairs after I get her, your life is over.”
I let go. He slumps to the floor, taking a deep wheezing breath, and I head to the stairwell.
“You’ll…regret…this…” he says through gasps. I ignore him and leap up the stairs, heading to my love.
Even if I hadn’t already known which door is hers, my soul would have found her. I knock in a rush.
“Faith. It’s me. I’m here,” I call out, desperation creeping into my voice. From downstairs, I hear the front door slam. He’s gone.
The door swings open, and Faith leaps into my arms. I shudder, overstimulated by the sudden onslaught of her. I smell her. I feel her. Her face is buried in my chest. It’s like a dream. She has a small backpack on, and her hair is starting to come out of its braids.
She looks up at me, tears in her eyes. I can tell she’s been crying for a long time, but the red rims around her eyes make them look even bluer. I wipe a tear from beneath her eye and smile gently.
“Please, take me away,” she whispers, her bottom lip trembling.
I swoop down, lifting her by her legs. I carry her like my bride, heading down the stairs on steady feet. She wraps her arms around my neck, burying her forehead against me.
“As you wish, princesa,” I whisper as I carry out of her former home and over to mine.
9
Faith
When Vincent carries me over the threshold of his home, I pinch the palm of my hand to make sure that this is real. Was it only yesterday that he was in my home, speaking to me for the first time? That I watched him taste my cookies and heard him compliment me?
I cannot believe that he saved me. Two minutes ago, I zipped on my old puffy coat, packed a bag, and Vincent saved me from my mother’s evil lover. I don’t know what happened to Rico, but he was gone by the time he carried me downstairs. My mother was sleeping off the alcohol, but I don’t care. I’m ready to leave her behind for good.
Vincent lifted me like I weighed no more than a feather and didn’t stumble or misstep once on the walk from my room to his home. But I could hear his heartbeat thumping in his chest. It was wild, fast. Despite his cool, steady demeanor, he was nervous. Excited, even.
Once we are safe indoors, Vincent sets me down gently. He flicks on the lights, and I stand in place, taking everything in. For the first time all day, I feel like I can take a steady breath.
“Your shoes, darling,” he says, nodding toward my feet.
“Oh.” I quickly kick them off, shrug off my backpack, and set it next to them. When I stand up, I bump into Vincent. He’s close behind me and places a hand gently on my shoulder. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck, and I ease my spine into him.
“Are you okay?” he asks, whispering into my ear. I can barely feel the movement of his mouth against my skin, and I shudder. It feels too good, and I can’t stop and think about whether or not I should be doing this. All I know is that it feels right.
All at once, blood rushes between my legs, and I feel my pussy pulse an
d swell. Is it just me, or do I feel something stiff against my lower back? No…surely, he only sees me as a child, the girl next door.
“Yes,” I whisper back. Vincent’s right hand moves slowly on my shoulder, along my collarbone, until he pinches the zipper of my coat between his fingers. He puts his other hand just on the top of my hip, barely touching me with his fingertips. Agonizingly slowly, he pulls the zipper down, one tooth at a time, until my coat is completely open.
I’m breathing shallow, shuddering breaths already. He moves his hands to the top of my coat and slides it off in one smooth motion. Even though I’m still fully clothed, I feel completely naked in front of him. I shiver in my fuzzy socks.
“I’m going to take you away from this place. Far away where we’ll be safe, and you’ll be happy, but first—”
Without thinking, I turn around, tipping my face up toward his. Vincent’s eyes are wide, and he’s half-biting his bottom lip. I wrap my arms around his neck, and he doesn’t hesitate to pull me close to him. His eyes dart back and forth as if he cannot decide which part of my face to look at. I feel safe in his arms. Protected. Away from any danger, even though I hardly know this man. It shouldn’t make sense, it shouldn’t feel right, but it does. I feel right.
I don’t know who leans in first, him or me. All I know is that our lips meet and instinctively move together and that he tastes of cold air and peppermint. I can feel every part of my body in hyper-reality; it’s as if I could feel each individual blood cell coursing through my veins. My hips are against his, and I rise slightly on my toes to get closer to him. Vincent’s kiss sets me alight from head to toe, and I wouldn’t be surprised to pull away and find my hair standing up on end.
His tongue pokes against mine, warm and wet on my lips. One hand raises to cup the back of my head, pulling me impossibly closer. Pushing ourselves closer together.
But suddenly, he freezes, his arms tensing. Pulling his face away from mine, he lets go of me, trying to turn away.
“Faith, I—”
I cannot stand to hear what he has to say next. I lunge toward him, taking his face between my hands. Apparently, I caught him by surprise because he freezes at my touch. He stops speaking, staring at me with a slightly open mouth and wide eyes.
“Vincent, I have something to tell you,” I say, voice still shaking. I’m turned on, electrified, and I’m not about to let him say no to me. I’m a grown woman. I know what I want. I take a deep breath and continue on.
“I’ve been…watching you ever since you moved in. I think about you all the time. For months, I’ve fantasized about you. About…” I look away, blinking rapidly.
I hesitate to admit something more to him for fear that he’ll reject me outright. What if it’s too much for him? If he’s creeped out by this? But I steel myself, look into his eyes, and find the confidence I never knew I had.
“I want you, and I want to share my first time with you, Vincent. I mean, if you would want that,” I say in a hoarse whisper, leaving my mouth slightly open. Acting like the women I’ve read about—the submissive princesses and desperate peasant girls. His face is still between my hands, but he’s staring at my lips with an almost crazed look in his eyes. As if he is mad with lust.
“Oh, Faith,” he growls, reaching out and gripping me by the hips with surprising force. “It would be my highest honor.”
I smile, but before I can fully process that he’s agreed, Vincent reaches below my ass and lifts me up. He hoists me up over his hips with ease, and I wrap my legs around his waist, crossing at the ankles. Though Vincent’s shoulders and arms are bulky, his waist is trim and slender, the perfect size to wrap around.
I move my hands to the back of his head and pull his face to mine as he takes three swift steps forward and pins me against the front door. I yelp as the back of my head hits the door but take a deep sigh when Vincent breaks the kiss and moves his mouth to my neck.
“Princesa,” he moans against me before biting the skin behind my ear. Instinctively, I arch my back, pressing my hips against his solid abs. Both his hands are on my ass, fingers sinking in so hard it almost hurts. Gently, slowly, he sucks and nibbles on the side of my neck, occasionally taking shuddering breaths.
“You have no idea how I’ve dreamt of this,” he whispers, pressing his cheek to mine. “Of course, I will be gentle.”
“I don’t want you to be gentle,” I whisper back, shocked that I’m saying it. But the moment the words leave my lips, I know they are true. I don’t want him to go easy on me. I want to see his power. I want to be his.
Vincent pulls back, one eyebrow raised.
“Oh, is that so? I don’t know if you can handle that yet.”
“Why don’t we find out?” I reply, biting my lip and grinning.
Vincent grins in return with a wild-eyed look on his face. Pressing his hips into mine to keep me pressed into the wall, he takes a hand to my neck and forces my jaw upward. He starts to increase pressure on the sides of my neck, watching my eyes begin to flutter. I can still mostly breathe, but I’m starting to get lightheaded, and a few black spots swim before my eyes before he releases all the pressure.
I gasp for breath but grin at him, licking my lips to show I liked it. He smirks back, apparently satisfied with my reaction. He then steps back, setting me gently on the floor. Vincent grabs my wrist, yanking me slightly toward the stairs.
“Come on. Follow me,” he says, giving me a wink before walking ahead. I stumble to keep up but love the feeling of being taken.
Vincent leads me up to the stairs and all the way down the hallway to what is presumably the master bedroom. It’s decorated lushly, with a four-post king bed in the center of a dark green carpet. The sheets are brown with gold embroidery, and I marvel at Vincent’s good taste.
He drops my wrist and wraps his arms around me, immediately tugging the hem of my sweater upward. Wordlessly, he lifts the top over my head and throws it behind me, shamelessly gazing at my breasts. I am so glad I chose to wear the lacy black bra today.
Vincent moves his hands to either side of my breasts and caresses me softly, bringing his face to my cleavage. I arch my back slightly to bring my breasts to his face, wanting to feel his skin against mine. A deep moan comes from his chest as he kisses the tops of my breasts in turn, then moves his hands to the waistband of my pants. In one movement, Vincent pulls my pants to the floor, and I am standing in front of him in nothing but my bra and panties.
“Get on the bed,” he says, and I know I could never disobey him. Quickly, feeling my breasts bounce inside the racy bra, I walk to the bed and climb atop. Scooting back on the bed, I turn to face Vincent, and I’m greeted with the sight of him peeling off his sweater and shirt in one go. He bends down and untangles the white T-shirt from the sweater, twisting it between each hand until it’s like a rope.
He puts two hands on the bed and leans forward, kissing me softly. It’s no more than a peck before he pulls away and brings the rolled-up T-shirt to my mouth.
“Open,” he commands, and I comply. Staring deeply into my eyes, he places the T-shirt in my mouth, then puts a thumb and forefinger on my chin to make me bite down. “Don’t let this fall out, or I’ll have to punish you, Faith.”
I nod, humming behind the gag. My mind immediately conjures up all kinds of things he could do to punish me, and for a moment I, think about letting the gag slip, simply so I can find out what he would do.
“Put your hands above your head and leave them there.” He has barely spoken his order before my arms fly up, and I obey.
“Good girl,” he says with a smirk reaching behind my back and undoing the clasp of my bra. I gasp as my breasts fall free, bouncing slightly. My nipples turn pert as they feel the cold air, and Vincent immediately closes his mouth around my left breast. He takes the opposite nipple in his fingers, and I arch my back while moaning into the T-shirt. His tongue swirls roughly around my nipple, sucking and biting in turn. He switches to the other side, and his hands press rough
ly into my spine.
Feeling the cold air against my wet nipples was torture as Vincent pulled away and slid his hands down to my hips.
“Lie back.” He fingers my black cotton panties, and I do as he says, interlacing my fingers above my head to show how obedient I can be. He smirks back and yanks off my underwear in a single pull.
I taste sweat on his T-shirt, and it turns me on even more. I tilt my head down and watch Vincent step back off the bed and unbutton his pants. His fingers move slowly. He knows how badly I want him; after all, he was staring directly at the throbbing opening between my legs.
But then he pushes off his pants and boxers all at once, and I’m greeted with the sight of his massive erection springing free.
My eyes go wide as I take in the length and girth of it. For a moment, I genuinely don’t know if I’ll be able to take it. It’s not just long, but wide, and he’s going to stretch me to my limits. Vincent chuckles when he sees my expression and steps forward. He runs one finger up the length of my slit, prying the lips apart. When he feels the wetness at my opening, he slides his finger in as far as it will go without so much as a warning.
I yelp as he hooks it inside me, hitting a pleasure spot I didn’t know existed. Warmth emanates from his finger inside me as my hips buck to meet his hand. He fucks me with his finger, adding a second digit as I grow wetter, and my moans louder.
I’m teetering on the edge of insanity, ready to explode when he pulls out all at once and steps back, bringing the two fingers to his lips before sucking my juices off of them.
“Don’t worry,” he says as he climbs onto the bed, his body blanketing mine. I lift my legs to wrap them around his hips, showing him right where I need him. “Your pussy can take it.”
I’m wet and so needy. I could beg him to fuck me right now. He kisses my forehead and strokes the tip of his cock against my entrance, sliding from my opening to my clit and back again. I moan behind the gag and close my eyes, invigorated by the feeling of being touched by him, finally.