Point of Release

by Remy Landon

  There was no one to help her. Unexpectedly, Carlo's name came to her, like a buoy she could cling to in the teeming sea of her mind. Knowing, despite everything, he would want to protect her, made her feel like weeping.

  She clenched the wheel in an attempt to get a grip on her panicky thoughts, and suddenly, she remembered what was up ahead, less than a mile away. The police station. She would pull in there and if needed, she would honk her horn until someone came out to help her. Thank God.

  Clicking on her blinker, she pulled into the parking lot of the barracks and checked her rearview mirror. Just as she'd hoped, the vehicle behind her roared past. She craned her neck to try to read the license plate, but the car was going too fast for her to even determine the make of the car.

  Okay. You are safe. Relief mingled with triumph as she sat in her car, taking deep, shuddery breaths. She would wait a bit to make sure the other car wasn't coming back, and then she would get her purse out of her trunk, call Teal, and the two of them could maybe even laugh about this afterwards.

  She turned the Malibu to face the road and watched as drops of sleet met their demise on the windshield. After a few moments, she got out of the car and popped open the trunk to get her purse. Climbing back in the car, she took out her phone, feeling a tiny jab of disappointment when she didn't see a message from Carlo. The urge to call him and tell him what had happened was surprisingly strong. But she wouldn't. She would deal with it and regard it as just some random creep getting his enjoyment out of playing stalker. And hope that it wouldn't happen again.

  chapter twenty-five ~ Carlo

  Carlo was pulling his crimson V-neck over his head when the doorbell rang. Slowly, he pushed up each sleeve, a slight frown on his face. He wasn't expecting anyone, since he had the office party in just over an hour. Looking in the bathroom mirror, he raked a hand through his damp, disheveled hair and headed for the front door. Hopefully, whoever it was wouldn't need much of his time so he could finish getting ready and leave for the party at Bent Brook.

  His bare feet were silent on the gleaming wood floor as he walked into the foyer. Through the front door sidelight, he could see a tall woman, her arms wrapped around herself presumably from the cold, wearing a bulky winter coat with the hood over her head, obscuring her face. With a pang of disappointment, he realized she was too tall to be Cassandra. So who was it?

  He opened the door, a blast of mid-December air rudely inviting itself in. The woman pushed back her hood, shaking her bangs out of her eyes and grinning at him almost impishly. It was Alexis.

  He smiled in spite of himself. “Well. This is a surprise.”

  “Look, I know you weren't expecting me, but God damn it, Carlo, I've asked about getting together like a hundred times, and I just thought I'd take the bull by the horns...so to speak. Are you going to invite me in? It's freezing out here!”

  “Getting together? Is that what you'd call what we do?” He raised an eyebrow at her, amused.

  She made a face at him. “Getting together...booty call...shagging...fucking...whatever you want to call it.”

  Carlo stepped aside so she could enter and closed the door behind her. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around him. The action, and his reaction, took him by surprise. He hadn't expected to feel so moved by her display of affection—or so aroused.

  The high-heeled boots Alexis was wearing brought her to nearly his height. She shrugged out of her heavy coat and let it fall to the floor, standing before him in a soft, loose-fitting pink sweater and tight jeans. She was smiling, but there was an intensity in her gaze that was unmistakable as her eyes searched his. “You aren't the only one who has needs, Carlo,” she murmured. “I'm sorry to show up like this unannounced, but you know I can be impulsive, and I just couldn't stand it anymore. You hadn't said anything about your being in a relationship, so I figured you were able to...play. And right now—I really, really need to.” She stepped closer so that her pelvis was pressing into his, her face registering instant pleasure as she felt his growing erection. Putting her smooth cheek against his, she spoke huskily as she slid her fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair. “Will you play with me, Carlo?”

  Christ. “Lex...” The scent of her, the feel of her body against his and knowing that she wanted him, combined with his unappeased libido...all of this was weakening him.

  “I know you want me, Carlo. You can't hide it.” She took one of her hands from his hair and ran it slowly down the front of his sweater, sliding it past his midsection to grasp his erection through his pants.

  A soft groan escaped him. Lexi leaned closer, still groping him, nipping at his ear lobe with her lips. “I need you to fuck me, Carlo.”

  “Jesus, Lexi...you make things so goddamned difficult.”

  “I think you meant to say I make things hard. You and I are not difficult—no strings, remember?”

  “My office party...it's in an hour,” he muttered, his cock straining at the fabric of his pants as she began to stroke him through the cloth.

  “Then we'll be quick. We both like it that way. I'll leave right after—promise.”

  Even through his pants, her touch was driving him wild. He knew it wouldn't take long; he hadn't been inside a woman since...

  The reality jolted him. Alexis was the last woman he'd had sex with. Almost five months ago.

  Five months. He had been so focused on Cassandra, on trying to get her back, that the weeks had gone by in a blur, stacking up one on top of another and increasing his sexual frustration.

  But there was relief for him, standing before him in a pink sweater and jeans, with no complications and no expectations beyond having him take her—right here, right now. Even though he wished things were different, the reality was that he was unattached, with no indication that things with Cassandra would change any time soon.

  He grabbed Lexi's hands and pushed them behind her, holding them firmly just above her ass. Her head tilted back to look at him in eager expectation, and he put his mouth hard on hers, seeking her tongue with his and enjoying the feeling of dominance. His hands came up under her sweater to fondle her breasts through her satin bra, feeling himself grow harder as her nipples became erect. She was moaning softly against his lips, and he broke their kiss to whisper harshly in her ear. “I'm going to fuck you against the wall, Alexis. Would you like that?”

  “Yes,” she breathed. “God, yes.”

  Resuming their kiss, he pushed her against the wall in the foyer, not caring if neighbors might be able to see, not caring about anything else except getting his cock inside her and fucking her hard.

  Carlo deftly unbuttoned Lexi's jeans and pushed them down over her hips. She was wearing pink panties with lace trim. The innocent young girl look always made him hot.

  Taking her hands and holding them over her head, he began kissing and nibbling her neck as he pushed his knee between her legs to spread them. She was breathing heavily, her eyes closed, and she gasped when he ran his index finger down the center of her silky panties, circling around the small, hard knot he felt through the fabric.

  “I can feel how wet you are. You're ready to be fucked, aren't you?”

  “I am. So ready. God, please, Carlo.”

  Christ, the pleading for him to take her...he loved to hear a woman beg.

  “Keep your hands over your head, Alexis,” he commanded her, as he unbuttoned his pants and slid them down to his knees. His erection was enormous. He contemplated having her suck him, but he didn't want to chance coming in her mouth...fuck. A condom. He had them upstairs, in his nightstand drawer.

  “Lex,” he mumbled. “Protection.”

  “I brought one,” she murmured, reaching into her jeans pocket for a condom packet and handing to him. “Here.”

  He grinned in admiration. “What a good girl. Resourcefulness like that deserves a reward. Put your hands back over your head, and don't move.”

  She did as he asked, her chest moving up and down with her rapid breathing.
<
br />   “Close your eyes, Alexis.”

  He tore open the packet, rolling the condom over his cock, and got on his knees in front of her. He had planned to just enter her, but he wanted to praise her for being so prepared...and pleasuring a woman with his mouth was one of his favorite sex acts.

  He slipped his fingers in the waistband of her panties and pulled them down. Her pussy was bare, the pink lips full. His mouth hovered over her as he let her feel his exhales. She was trembling with anticipation. Placing one hand on each of her thighs, he leaned in and kissed her sex, enjoying hearing her sharp intake of breath. Flattening his tongue, he pressed it against her engorged clit and held it there as she squirmed.

  “For Christ's sake, Carlo,” she whimpered. “You're killing me here.”

  That was the point. He laughed softly and kissed a circle around her clit, slipping a finger deep inside her wet opening.

  “Spread your legs, Lex.”

  She obeyed, and he flicked his tongue over her hard knot as she moaned, her fingers sinking into his hair and gripping it tightly. Taking her clit between his lips, he sucked it gently at first, then harder until he knew she couldn't wait another second to be fucked. He stood, his cock throbbing in anticipation of the sweet release he would soon have, and positioned himself to enter her. Pressing the head of his shaft against her slit, he took each of her hands in his and held them high over her head. She was in perfect alignment with him. He jerked his hips forward, plunging into her with his mouth at her ear.

  “You needed me to fuck you, didn't you?” Carlo slid in and out of her with hard, quick strokes, grunting with the effort of holding back his climax. He could feel her tighten around him—she was going to come soon. Closing his eyes, he suddenly imagined wavy auburn hair, stunning aquamarine eyes, a delicate, innocent face—wishing he was pinning her against the wall, wishing he was inside her tight, wet pussy, fucking her hard...

  “Cassandra...” With a final, deep thrust, he groaned as he orgasmed, feeling the spasms of Lexi's pussy around his cock as she, too, had her climax.

  Fuck. Had he really just said Cassandra's name aloud? And did Alexis notice?

  Breathing hard, he released her hands and took a step back. She pulled up her jeans and buttoned them, one eyebrow raised as she regarded him with something between amusement and reproach.

  “My sweet Carlo,” she said, sighing and shaking her head. “Now I know why you've been resisting me. You have someone, don't you?”

  The afterglow of his orgasm was compromised by the familiar ache, fanning out from the center of his chest and taking hold. “Yes, Lex,” he said, a rueful smile flickering on his lips. “I do.”

  chapter twenty-six ~ Cassandra

  “I can't convince you to come to Christmas with me, can I?” Teal fluttered her eyelashes dramatically at Cassandra as she sucked on the end of a candy cane. The two were in Cassandra's turquoise and yellow living room in pajama pants and sweatshirts, surrounded by Teal's textbooks, opened bags of corn chips and several cans of Bud Light Lime. Teal had Christmas music from Pandora playing softly on her laptop.

  Cassandra frowned at her friend over her computer. “I went to your Thanksgiving. Wasn't that enough?”

  “No. I need you. My mother's even worse on Christmas.”

  “Then I'll gracefully decline by saying absofuckinglutely not.”

  “Grrrr, you are cruel. But I can't blame you.” Teal picked up one of the textbooks and flipped through the pages. “This Public Finance and Social Choice final is going to be the death of me.”

  “You'll be fine. You always are.”

  “Isn't this cool, having a study sesh? Just like old times.”

  “Except I'm not actually taking a class yet.”

  “A minor technicality. You've enrolled.”

  “Yeah, in one wimpy business class online. I'm just here for moral support for my brainy friend who's taking like twenty-seven history governmental political socioeconomic credit hours.”

  “Ha! It does feel like twenty-seven. But I just keep telling myself that it'll be worth it. Ninety-three percent of Franklin Marshall pre-law students get accepted into top law schools. Got to keep my eye on the prize. And you do, too. You'll have that stable to manage yourself someday.” Taking a sip from her beer, Teal set down the can on the end table with a contented burp. “And speaking of the stable...how's your cowboy?”

  “Josh is good. He's amazing with horses.”

  “And with women?”

  “I don't have much to go on, but from what I've seen so far...pretty amazing in that area as well.”

  “Have you guys been, like, flirting? Anything physical yet?”

  “A little flirting, but nothing beyond that.” She reached for a handful of Fritos and crunched them.

  “Is the CEO still after you?”

  Cassandra sighed. “Yes.”

  “Have you let him explain his whole motivation with that submission game thing?”

  “No.”

  “Aren't you the least bit curious about that?”

  “I don't know. It's really not about being curious.”

  “Well, I'm curious. I'd like to know if there's any justification for it.”

  “You talk to him, then.”

  “Don't get all pissy with me, Cass. I've just been thinking...maybe it would be good to hear him out, and then you can decide if it's worth it to give him another chance. He's like obsessed with you, and maybe this thing is just going to keep being in limbo, with him trying and you resisting. Maybe the only way for you to move on, with him or without him, is to listen to what he has to say.”

  Shrugging, Cassandra drew her legs up under her in the armchair. “I guess I'm resisting talking to him because I don't feel like he deserves it. I trusted him, and he hurt me.”

  “I get that. I'm not saying he wasn't a total ass hat for getting you involved in that game. But given his actions since then, I have to think he is sincerely sorry, and I have to give him credit for trying so hard. Plus—and this is a big plus I thought about—he stopped himself from having sex with you. He couldn't go through with it, remember? And he didn't intend for that colleague of his to see the video, because if he did, he would have fucked you.”

  Cassandra shifted uncomfortably.

  “Is this making any sense to you?”

  “I try not to think about it too much.”

  “And how's that working out for you? Trying to push it out of your mind is not going to solve anything. I know you, and Carlo keeps creeping back in to your thoughts, doesn't he?”

  “I'm trying to close that chapter of my life.”

  “Reread it. At least just skim. Maybe there's a reason why that book is hard to put down.”

  “Speaking of books, don't you have studying to do?”

  “Okay, okay, I'll take the hint and drop this. For now. You want to go out with us later?”

  “I have turnout tomorrow at Windswept, so I'll have to pass. And did I tell you that Brownie is leaving? Ingrid told me that he's going to Florida.” The back of her eyeballs began to burn, and she blinked viciously to keep the tears from coming.

  “Your horse crush? Oh, shit—that sucks, Cass.”

  “I'm trying to get myself used to the idea. It's just hard.”

  “You should definitely come out with us then, so we can cheer you up.”

  “I'm honestly too tired. I've got to get to bed early, and hopefully I'll sleep better tonight. Last night, I kept dreaming about headlights.”

  “Headlights?”

  “The person who was following me in the car, remember?”

  “Ughh, that's right...the stalker. I'm sorry about that. It was probably just some random thing, though.”

  Teal resumed her studying while Cassandra made nachos and perused Etsy and eBay for the next couple of hours, interrupted by Teal's phone call from Garrett and a text from Carlo: Hope you're enjoying your weekend. I'd like to talk to you soon. Pretty bland, compared to some of his texts. But this was
how he rolled—seesawing back and forth, keeping her off balance.

  By the time Teal was getting ready to leave, it had started to snow: fat, lacy flakes accumulating on the ground. Whenever there was this type of sticky snow, Cassandra's mother used to say it was snowmen hiding, waiting to be shaped and brought to life. Cassandra's throat tightened. Christmas was eight days away. She would be alone. Again. And missing her mom.

  “Hey.” Teal was looking at her anxiously as she slid on her jacket. “Are you okay? Your face just got sad and serious all of a sudden.”

  “PMS. And the whole holiday thing. But I'll be fine.”

  Teal's blue eyes softened. “Come out with us tonight, Cass. Even if you're tired. It'll be good for you. I don't like thinking of you here alone on a Saturday night.”

  “I love you for worrying about me. But really, I'm okay. I'm going to take out some Christmas decorations and make things merry around here.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. I've decided I want to start liking Christmas again.”

  Teal pulled Cassandra into a tight hug and kissed her loudly on the cheek. “That's very cool. I'm proud of you. If you get good at liking it, maybe you can help me find the joy. Even with my psycho family.”

  Cassandra was locking the door after Teal left when she realized she hadn't gotten her mail yet. Slipping her feet into her untied sneakers, she grabbed the mailbox key and headed out to the bank of mailboxes, shivering in her thin sweatshirt as the snow fell all around her.

  Norman, the maintenance guy, called to her from spreading salt on the sidewalk. “Aren'tcha cold, Cassandra?”

  She nodded, smiling. “I am, Norman. Quick trip out here, though.”

  She unlocked her mailbox and reached inside. Four items—the cable TV bill, a credit card offer, a Target flyer, and a red envelope that looked to contain a card. No return address, but it was postmarked Harrisburg. She recognized the handwriting—the slant of the letters, the first letter of her name larger than the rest. It was from her father. How had he found her address? Probably the same way she had found his. And he would dare to contact her—at Christmas?