by Jenika Snow
“I’m so close, Quentin.” Out of breath from her arousal, Lucie pried her eyes open and looked at him. He let go of her nipple with a pop and wrapped his hands around her waist. Without missing a beat, he started meeting her thrusts with his own. The sound of her pussy sucking at his cock filled her ears and she felt her orgasm explode. As if Quentin knew what was happening, he placed his hand over her mouth just in time. A low wail left her and would have woken up the entire house, if not for his hand covering her mouth.
As her climax started to abate, Quentin rested his head on her chest and groaned softly. His hands on her waist tightened and she knew he was coming. When her own climax finally ended, Lucie collapsed on his chest, panting heavily. Her pussy convulsed around his softening shaft and they both moaned from the feeling.
“Fuck, Lucie. You’re going to be the death of me.” He kissed her head, his own breathing labored.
She couldn’t respond, and didn’t have the breath to. Instead, she kissed his chest. The skin was slick from perspiration and salty to the taste. Instead of repulsing her, it turned her on. “You wore me out.”
Quentin chuckled against her hair and shifted until his dick slid free. They looked at each other for a moment and finally leaned in at the same time to kiss. “I better go before someone realizes I’m in your room.”
Lucie knew he was right, even though she didn’t want him to leave. They kissed once more. Quentin slipped from the bed, got dressed, and sneaked out of her room. Lying there, in the dark, with a post-euphoric high, Lucie couldn’t help but think there had been something, someone, missing during her encounter with Quentin. She wished Emery had been there, touching her as well.
Chapter Ten
As the days passed, Lucie began to see a slow decline in her mother’s normally happy demeanor. The bruise covering her eye was starting to go away, but a strange expression now graced her mother’s face. Maybe no one else noticed the change in her mom, but Lucie sure as hell did.
Although Edward’s attitude toward her grew increasingly inappropriate and made Lucie uncomfortable, she didn’t see him acting any different toward her mother. A few times he seemed more on edge, but mostly, he displayed a strange kind of loving possessiveness toward Melanie. Lucie would have wondered if she hadn’t misinterpreted her mother’s bruised eye, if not for the fact her mom seemed to grow more depressed with each passing day.
When Edward, Quentin, and Emery left for the day, Lucie knew she couldn’t waste any more time in bringing her worries out in the open. She heard dishes clinking in the kitchen and headed toward the noise. Her mom was in front of the sink, softly humming, with water splashed everywhere around her.
“Mom?” Lucie took a step forward.
“Yeah, honey?” Although Melanie didn’t turn around, she sounded energetic today, something Lucie hadn’t witnessed in several weeks.
How to go about bringing the subject up? “Can we talk for a minute?”
Melanie turned around, a strange expression on her face. “Is everything okay, sweetie?” She wiped her hands on the dishrag.
Lucie moved toward her. “I just want to talk to you while we are alone.”
Her mother’s eyes widened as she collapsed on the chair and covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh, God. You’re not pregnant, are you?”
For one suspended moment Lucie could do nothing but stare at her mom in shock. Pregnant? Her mom must have interpreted that as a yes, because she quickly took hold of Lucie’s hands.
“Oh, honey.” She breathed out deeply and continued to stroke Lucie’s hand. “Didn’t you learn from my mistakes and struggles?”
Her mother didn’t like discussing the fact that she had gotten pregnant right out of high school, so the fact that she had brought it up snapped Lucie out of her shock. “No.” Lucie shook her head hard. “I mean, no, I’m not pregnant.” She instantly saw her mother relax.
“Oh, thank God.” Her mother’s cheeks reddened and she quickly added, “I just meant you’re too young to take care of a baby.”
Lucie shook her head again and got right down to it. “Did you really trip while hiking?”
Her mother’s face got even redder and there was a long pause before she answered. “What?”
She knew her mother heard, but she repeated the question anyway. “How did you really get that bruise?”
A cloud of anger covered her mother’s face. “I told you.” She got up and went back to the sink. Even though her mother kept her back toward her, Lucie continued.
“Ignoring this won’t make it go away. I want to know what really happened.” Lucie stood and walked over to her mom. “You don’t even act the same anymore.”
Melanie spun around, dish rag in hand and water dripping onto the floor. “I don’t know what you’re implying, but you’re out of line.”
The spark of life her mother used to have made an appearance then. Her face hardened, and her nostrils flared. Lucie could tell her mother was angry, really angry. Maybe Lucie had been wrong about what happened? They stared into each other’s eyes for a suspended moment before her mom finally turned around.
“Listen, I didn’t mean to snap at you, I just think this conversation isn’t appropriate.” She let out a deep breath and went back to washing the dishes. “What I told you is what happened. End of story. I don’t want you bringing this up again, especially in front of Edward. Do you understand me?” Although her mother was trying to sound stern, her voice shook slightly.
A war raged inside of Lucie. On one hand she wanted to leave it be, but on the other hand she wanted to continue talking about it. In the end, defeat won over and she turned around and stalked back to her room. It certainly hadn’t gone how she imagined it. There was a side of her that felt like she had intruded on her mother’s life, like she had been so very wrong to get into her moms business. There was also another part of her, a more stubborn part that knew something was wrong.
Maybe Edward wasn’t abusing her mother? Maybe Lucie was off track in this situation? There was a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach that told her even if Edward was innocent he was turning her mother into a submissive vegetable. She knew she had to ask someone who knew Edward personally. When Quentin and Emery got home, that was exactly what she’d do.
****
Hours passed before Edward, Quentin and Emery returned. The five of them sat around the dinner table in total silence. Lucie knew she wasn’t the only one who felt the tension in the room. She didn’t miss how Quentin and Emery kept glancing at her, as if they wanted to see whether she felt the same awkwardness they did.
The only sound seemed to be that of silverware clanking against the china. Edward sat stiff and unyielding at the head of the table.
“How was everyone’s day?” Her mother broke the silence and everyone seemed to stop eating and look over at her.
“Fine.” What else could Lucie say? Her day hadn’t been anything spectacular, and the confrontation with her mother hadn’t gone the way Lucie had hoped.
“It was fine, Melanie. Thank you for asking.” Quentin smiled at her mother and continued eating.
“It was nice.” Emery responded as well, a smile on his lips as he looked between Melanie and Lucie.
Despite the fact that Edward hadn’t responded, no one looked his way. After a long moment of silence, Melanie finally asked him, “What about you, Edward honey? How was your day?”
Edward set down his fork and grabbed his ever-ready, square-cut glass filled with liquor. He stared at her mother for so long Lucie started to squirm in her seat. Although she hadn’t known much about Edward before he and her mother got married, Lucie wasn’t blind to the fact that alcohol was becoming his daily companion.
“I busted my ass. How was your day? Did you enjoy staying at home and doing nothing?”
The smell of his alcohol-laced breath reached Lucie and her stomach turned. It was clear he was drunk. Hell, he started drinking as soon as he woke up, so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to
her.
Edward’s eyes were red-rimmed and glossy and there was a slight slur in his speech. He pushed his plate away and his fork clattered to the table. Anger came off him in waves. The half-filled glass was again in his hand in a matter of seconds. He downed it and slammed it on the table. Lucie’s heart stopped as everyone stared at him in stunned silence. A moment later, he pushed away from the table so hard his chair flew back against the wall. Despite the fact he walked out of the dining room, his rage was still tangible.
The front door slammed shut. Lucie watched as her mother gracefully got up from the table and disappeared into the living room. The urge to follow her was strong, but Lucie refrained, knowing she wouldn’t be welcome.
After a long, drawn-out second Lucie finally broke the silence. “What the hell was that about?” No one responded right away. Lucie shot confused looks at Quentin and Emery.
It wasn’t their fault their dad was a piece of shit, but a voice inside of Lucie nagged at her. Maybe they had known their father was like this from the very beginning. “Is he always a drunken bastard?”
Quentin was the first to speak. “No.” Despite what he said, Lucie couldn’t help but notice how he glanced at Emery.
“What are you guys not telling me?” A sick dread settled in Lucie’s stomach as she saw the strange expressions cross Quentin and Emery’s faces.
“I’ve never seen him that bad before.” Emery spoke, his voice deep and strong, yet filled with a hint of fear.
Anger and fear washed through Lucie. Anger that Edward would let himself get like that in front of others, and fear that things would escalate.
Quentin took a deep breath. “Our dad grew up with the military. He has always been hard and unrelenting. We’ve seen him drunk on more than one occasion…but it’s been years since he has been in the condition he was tonight.”
Nothing else was said as they ate in silence and cleared the table. By the time Lucie went into the kitchen her mother was already gone, probably to bed. Edward still wasn’t home, but that was fine with her. She didn’t want him anywhere near, in the state he was in.
Lucie took a long, hot shower and hoped to wash away the night’s events. She dressed and headed to her room. Surprisingly, her mother was sitting on the edge of her bed when she entered her room. Her mom twisted her hands in her lap and Lucie knew there was something eating away at her.
“Everything okay, mom?” Of course it wasn’t, but Lucie didn’t know what else to say.
“I just wanted to apologize for the way Edward acted at dinner.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Her mother smiled weakly. “He has a lot on his mind.”
Anger doubled inside of Lucie. “A lot of people have things on their mind, and they don’t treat the ones they supposedly love that way.”
“You’re being too hard on him, dear.” Her mom took a deep breath. “I’m not excusing his actions, but stress and life can cause people to act differently.”
There was no point in arguing with her mom, not with that tone of finality in her voice. “If there is anything you want to talk about, ever, you know you can come to me, right?” It was an olive branch Lucie was throwing out, but she knew her mother. Melanie was independent and strong-willed. She liked to take control of the situation and solve the problem. That is, she used to, until she met Edward.
“Get some rest, honey.” A pat on her hand was the only physical contact her mother gave her before getting off the bed and leaving her alone in silence.
Lucie stared at her closed door, wondering what their life would be like if Edward continued down the path he was on. Lucie may still be young, but she wasn’t dumb. She knew a problem when she saw it and she knew if things didn’t change it would get worse before it got better.
Chapter Eleven
When everyone was in bed Lucie stared out her bedroom window. Edward had stumbled home drunkenly an hour ago and crawled up the stairs. She had heard him mumbling sweet endearments to her mother, and apologizing for the way he acted. If he hadn’t been so loud while talking, Lucie might never have heard the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” personality come out.
Lucie could hear the house settling around her, could hear the creaks from the wood and the various electronics kicking on and shutting off. She wanted answers about what was really going on with Edward, but she didn’t know if Emery and Quentin would be so forthcoming with the information. There was something they weren’t telling her. She didn’t want to wait a minute longer, not when things were getting progressively worse.
Grabbing her robe and slipping it on, Lucie tiptoed out her room and down the hall toward Emery’s bedroom. The door was cracked open and she pushed it open wider. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness fully, she realized he wasn’t in bed. A noise from the kitchen drew her attention and she made her way downstairs. Lucie tried to be as quiet as she could, but she knew she hadn’t been silent enough when she saw Emery standing in the kitchen doorway watching her.
Neither of them said anything for several minutes. She walked closer until they were only a few feet apart. There were so many things she wanted to ask him, but she didn’t know where to begin. Before she could open her mouth and get a word out, he had his arms wrapped around her and was pulling her deeper into the darkened kitchen. His mouth slanted over hers and his tongue swiped along her bottom lip. His erection pressed against her belly, insistent, hard. All thoughts went out of her mind. Why was it so difficult to think about other things when she was near Emery and Quentin?
As they continued to kiss, Emery led them into the pantry. She knew it was the pantry as soon as the smells of baking goods assaulted her. They broke the kiss and she panted against his mouth.
“This is crazy, Emery.” Lucie rested her head against his chest and heard his heart beating as hard and fast as she knew hers was.
He chuckled. “I know.” She felt him run his hands over her hair. “I don’t know what came over me. I heard someone coming down the stairs and when I saw you standing there, the moonlight shining through that robe, something inside of me snapped.”
Lucie leaned back and looked into his face. The pantry was dark, but the door was cracked open and the sliver of light that pierced the inky darkness slashed across his face. He looked dangerous and sexy.
“I went into your room to talk to you, but I heard you down here.”
He leaned down and started kissing and nipping at the base of her neck. “What did you want to talk about?” His voice was a raspy whisper. Her pussy tingled and her panties were already saturated. She needed to know what was going on before things got too intense and all common sense left her.
“Wait.” She pushed at his chest and he leaned back. “I really want to talk about what happened tonight at dinner.” Emery exhaled and took a step back.
A moment of hushed silence descended over them and she waited patiently for him to speak. “I wish I could tell you what happened, but Quen and I are just as stunned as you are.” Although she couldn’t really see his expression, she could hear the sincerity in his voice. “Our dad has always been stern and even cruel at times. When he was with our mother, it was like we lived in the military. Things had to be done a certain way at a certain time. Our mother was always at his beck and call, always the good submissive that did whatever he said.” He leaned against the shelf and Lucie could see him run his hand through his hair.
“Even as a child I could see how sad she was. We were little back then, and of course didn’t really know any better. One day our dad told us our mother was too sick to come home. When we questioned where she was and why she wasn’t coming back, our dad got so angry with us. Finally, I guess because our childish nagging grated on his nerves, he strapped us into the car and drove us to where she was at.”
Lucie wanted to ask so many questions, but she knew Emery needed time to reveal the truth.
There was silence before he continued. “Our mother had severe depression. She didn’t always have it, th
ough. I can remember, when I was really young, how happy she was. I know it was how my father treated her, like he was a general in a house full of new recruits. I think my mom just finally gave up. I don’t blame her, though.”
Lucie didn’t know what to say. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him everything would be okay, but how could she say something like that when she couldn’t guarantee it? “Where did he take you?”
“To a mental hospital. I couldn’t have been more than five at the time, but I remember how sick she was. It wasn’t too long after that she died. Years after she died, our father started getting rougher with the way he acted toward us. It got to the point that Quentin wanted to leave.”
Lucie moved closer and embraced him. She could hear the anguish in his voice, so deep and intense it was like a knife to her heart.
“Maybe I should have left with Quen, but I didn’t want to leave our dad. I had already lost my mom. There was a piece inside of me that wanted to help him. He was cruel before she died, but after he was a tyrant.”
She held him tight, not knowing how to express what she felt inside.
“I don’t deny he’s a bastard, but he is my father. When he met your mom I actually saw a spark of happiness in him, but slowly he is reverting to his old ways.”
Emery wasn’t crying, but he might as well have been for the sadness he emitted. Lucie leaned back and ran her hand across his cheek. A day’s worth of stubble covered his masculine jaw. Standing on her toes, Lucie brought her lips to his. It had only meant to be a kiss of comfort, but as their mouths pressed more firmly together, a heat started to grow inside of her.
The kiss lasted several minutes until she was panting for air. Lucie couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even speak. Her head seemed to fall back on its own accord and she closed her eyes.
“How about we talk about something else?” It was clear this conversation had brought up bad memories and Lucie felt instantly guilty. She wanted to wash away the hurt he felt. She wanted to make him feel good.