“Abby?” Damon’s pasted grin faltered just a smidge. “Are you going to answer, sweets? I want you to be my wife.”
Her eyes left the ring and met his. Recognition of her decision showed on her face. I knew what was coming, and I hung my head, closing my eyes.
“Yes,” she said low, at first, and then it seemed to hit her. “Oh my god, yes, Damon!”
I looked up as a smile split his face. I wanted to see the old Damon behind it, but I didn’t. He slipped the ring onto her shaking finger and hugged her. Then his eyes found mine as he glanced at me over her shoulder and for the first time I thought he actually did look happy.
“Congrats, bro. That’s awesome! I’m glad I was here for it,” Blake boomed, hopping to his feet to rush to their side of the table. I sat, shocked, feeling as though I was in a bubble outside the room.
Abby examined her finger and squealed. “Mommy!”
“Baby!” My mom held her arms open. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to keep a secret?” They ran to each other, wrapping their arms around one another. “Oh my god, this means grandbabies!”
Grandbabies. What if they’re girls?
I swallowed hard. I couldn’t let that happen. It was time to break the news somehow. Abby’s well being was more important than anything else, more important than my betrayal, more important than the shame and guilt I’ve been carrying all these years.
But Christmas morning wasn’t the time.
My stomach caved inward, and I suddenly felt like I was about to lose my breakfast. I had to save face. I wet my napkin in my water and quickly dabbed it on the back of my neck while everyone bestowed their congratulations on the lucky couple. Finally able to string a few words together, I forced a smile. “Congrats, you two.”
Abby waved her hands in the air. “Eva, you have to be my maid of honor! Say yes!”
I rubbed my palms on my thighs and let out a shaky, nervous laugh. “Yes, of course.”
My dad clapped Damon on the back. “Congrats, son. I always knew you’d officially be part of the family one day.”
Family. He’d be an actual part of my family soon.
I’m living my worst nightmare.
“Are we almost done? My eyes are blurry.” I scrubbed my palms over my lids and blinked, then opened my eyes wide to focus back on Blake’s laptop.
“I think so. I just have to figure out where I’m sticking the law class.” Dressed in only a pair of boxers, Blake pulled the computer onto his lap. The chiseled lines of his abs were something I’d never tire of seeing.
I huffed. “Who cares? You don’t want to take it anyway. We’ve been registering for hours already. Just skip it this semester.”
Blake put the back of his hand to my forehead. “You feeling okay? I think you’ve lost your mind.”
I scowled at him, and he smiled, shaking his head. “Why do you have to give me a hard time? You know I have no choice.” He clicked the mouse and squinted at the screen.
“That. That sentence right there is why I give you a hard time. There’s always a choice. It’s your life. That man doesn’t deserve the respect you give him.”
“Back off, short stack. He’s my father.” Though his words were teasing, Blake’s eyes were stern.
“Well, that doesn’t make it right.” I stood, placing pressure on my lower back while leaning backward to stretch, causing my pink satin undies to peek out from the bottom of Blake’s T-shirt.
Blake’s gaze settled on the curve of my ass before he peeled it away to look me in the face. “Can’t you just support me?”
I stopped moving and put my hands on my hips, staring down at him. “That’s exactly what I am doing.”
He sighed. “Angel, I’ll make a good living for us when I’m done. You’ll be able to have anything you want.”
I bent so we were eye level. “I already have all I want. I’m not superficial. I chose my major so I could make a good living without the help of a man. And I don’t need to have a miserable husband so I can be dripping in diamonds.”
“I know you’re not—Hey . . .” Blake caught my wrist when I turned to walk away.
I looked down at him. “Do what you want. I’m done trying to help.”
In the kitchen, I filled a glass and went to the balcony to water Blake’s forget-me-nots. I stood with the cup, staring at the wilted box, and then decided to dump it in anyway before returning inside. Rubbing the cold from my arms, I stood before Blake with a frown. “Your babies are dead.”
He remained focused on the screen, a smirk playing on his lips. “They’ll be fine. Have some faith.”
I nudged his knee. “Are you done wasting your time?”
Blake scrambled to grab the computer before it fell from his lap. He huffed. “You’re taking all those psych classes. That can’t be what you want to do, but you’re doing it so you can be successful, yes?”
“Of course that’s what I want to do.” I frowned at him. “It interests me. I can’t make a living writing poems, and I’m not going to be a famous singer either.”
“You could make a decent living doing either of those things. You’re really good at both. But instead, you take those boring-ass psych classes to become something you’re not, trying to prove something to . . .” He cocked his head. “Who are you trying to prove something to?”
I dug my fingertips into my hips and lifted my chin. “No one . . . myself . . . this isn’t about me.” I turned and marched down the hall.
He followed close on my heels. “It’s as much about you as it is me.”
“No, it’s not.” I turned, pointing a finger. “I made my own decision to become a psychiatrist. You’re just a puppet.” I clapped my hand over my mouth, sorry the instant the words left my lips.
Blake squared his shoulders, hurt shadowing his eyes. “Is that what you think of me?”
“No . . . Yes . . . No . . . Blake! Come on. Think about how you’re wasting your time. I hate watching you do this. I only say it because I love you. You deserve to be happy.”
“I am happy.” Suddenly, the disappointment in his eyes vanished and he stepped closer. He trailed his fingers down the crevice between my breasts.
“I’m not talking about that,” I stuttered, feeling lightheaded already. “Don’t distract me. Sex won’t make you happy when you’re working eighty hours a week and you never get to see me.”
“Sex will always make me happy, Angel.” He forced my back against the wall.
“You’re not taking me seriously,” I huffed.
His heated gaze bore into mine. “Oh, I’m taking you. Seriously.” Without notice, Blake bent, scooping me behind the knees, and wrapped my legs around his waist as he pressed into me. He nibbled my collarbone and licked a trail up the side of my neck, nipping the edge of my jaw.
“Blake . . .” Damn him!
“Oh, say my name, baby. Just like that. Scream it.” He scrunched his nose, biting down on his bottom lip, and ground into me.
I whimpered against his neck.
He yanked my shirt up and over my head and then his warm breath teased my ear as he fingered the strip of silk at my core. “You insulted me,” he whispered.
I closed my eyes and let the sensation engulf me. “I’m sorry. I love you. You know that.”
“Show me how much.” Blake slipped his finger under the material and dragged it across the seam of my wet silken folds. “I’m gonna make this pussy sing.” He pushed his boxers down, and I felt the roundness of his ass under my calves. Moving my panties aside, he snaked his arms up my back and cupped my shoulders. Then he pushed upward, impaling me in one swift motion.
I gasped, feeling so full so quick, but Blake didn’t move. He applied pressure to my shoulders, still pushing up with his groin until he was in me to the hilt. He shoved his tongue in my mouth, and I clawed at his back, dragging my nails up to fist his hair.
Breaking the kiss, he bit down on my bottom lip and dragged his teeth along it before sucking it back into
his mouth. “We’ll see who the puppet is. You’re going to do exactly what I say. Understood?” Without waiting for a response, Blake grabbed a fistful of my hair and tilted my head back, biting and sucking his way down to draw a pebbled nipple into his mouth.
I let out a whimpered moan as his hips started to move. “You like that?”
“Mm hmm.” Fuck, did I ever.
“Come for me.”
His ass hardened with each thrust, slamming my spine into the wall as he picked up the pace. He covered my mouth with his again, and then dragged his teeth along my jaw. “Come on. I want to feel you explode around me.” Blake moved quicker. His eyebrows pinched together in ecstasy as my climax heightened. “Whose pussy is this?” He licked his thumb and pressed it to my clit, rubbing circles.
“Yours,” I breathed into his neck.
“I didn’t hear that. Whose. Pussy. Is. This?” Blake drove into me with every word.
“Yours!” I screamed.
“Come for me, baby. Show me. Now.”
Instantly, my world split in two as my release tore through me. He cupped his hands around my shoulders and pushed himself deeper as he emptied into me. His release hit a spot inside, bringing a fresh wave of jolts, and I vibrated against him, before falling limp in his arms.
“Puppet master is what I am. See how I just did that?” He pushed into me once more for emphasis.
I nodded into his neck, too weak and euphoric to rebut him.
Still joined at the hip, Blake walked us back to his bedroom. As he laid me down, his still hard cock twitched inside me, hitting a spot that made me squirm beneath him. I cupped his ass and held him to me. “Don’t pull out yet.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Blake rocked into me slowly. “I’m gonna make love to you now. I just needed to show you who was boss first.” He slipped his tongue inside my mouth, caressing mine. Then he took his time, gliding in and out of my core, moving so slow I could feel his mushroomed tip sliding along my walls.
I kept my legs tight around his waist, using my heels to urge him on, but he kept his slow pace. My body let out random jolts and twitches, searching for its release. Blake circled his hips, sucking the rosy peak of my breast into his mouth.
“Blake . . .” I begged, my climax teetering on the edge. I clamped my walls around his shaft, massaging its length with each glide and eliciting a moan from him. Gripping the hair at the back of his head, I bore down, hoping he’d give me what I craved. “You like that?”
His eyes pinched shut as he dropped his forehead to mine. “You know I do.”
“Then fuck me. Make me come again.”
Blake growled. Cupping my ass, he squeezed to the point of pain and lifted me off the bed. His speed quickened, and I twisted the sheet at my sides. My lower back arched in the air, my shoulder blades pushing into the mattress. His thumb was back on my clit as he applied just the right amount of pressure to bring me to release.
He dragged his fingers up my back and pulled me to him so we were sitting up and my legs were wrapped around his hips. The hot spurts of his arousal poured into me while his mouth muffled the cry of his name on my lips. He lapped up each of my moans, and then buried his face in my neck, and bit down on my shoulder. I jumped at the prick to my sensitive flesh.
We stayed that way, sweaty and panting, silently petting and sucking each other until our breathing evened out.
Blake put both hands to the side of my face and kissed me softly, his fingers brushing the hair at my temples. “Mine.”
I smiled against his lips. “Yours.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and laid us down on our sides, scooping me in. Nestling back as far as my body would allow, I smiled as his wet hardness pressed at the back of my thighs, knowing he was drenched with me. “I don’t think I’m done. It still hurts.” His cock twitched against my legs. I pushed back on it, and he moaned. “Fuck.” He dragged his palm up my torso and cupped my breast, toying with my hardened nipple. I leaned my head into his shoulder, exposing my neck for him, and he sucked at the soft skin. His hard, round head pressed into my backside, and I hooked my leg behind me, over his hip, opening myself to him. Blake let out a hiss, pushing up and pulling my breast as he slid into my core. “God, you feel so fucking good. You’re still so wet and tight.”
I mewed softly in response, unable to speak at the fullness I felt having him that way. I rolled my ass, teasing his cock, and he clamped his hand on my hip and ground into me. His breath at my ear sent tingles down my spine. He growled as his hand skidded up the front of my body and he cupped my jaw, bringing my lips to his. His tongue danced with mine, dipping in and out of my mouth, stealing my breath. Still gliding in and out of me, he licked his way down my jaw, twisting me so he could suckle my tightened bud. He sucked on it hard, biting down, and I moaned in ecstasy.
Blake cupped my breast in his hand and pushed his hard chest into my back, searching for his climax. “I’m gonna come. Come with me, baby. One more time.” He pushed further inside me, his hand coming around my belly to find my sweet spot. He flicked it between his fingers, and my body convulsed around his, bucking and shaking as he screamed my name with his release.
Still on our sides, we both melted into the mattress. My body lay limp in his arms, drained of everything. Blake ran his sexy feet up and down my calves, nuzzling into my neck. “Sleep. I want you in my arms all day.”
“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere. Ever. I love you, Blake Turner.”
“I love you more, Evangelina Ricci.” He kissed the top of my head, and his breathing became slow and even.
I prayed for the millionth time that it would always be this way.
“Check, one-two-three.”
I smiled at my dad as he and the band set up. Walking to the register, I leaned my hip against the back counter, popping some bar nuts into my mouth. “Thanks again for letting them play here. I really appreciate it.”
Rick smiled over the stack of bills in his hand. “Anytime, munchkin. You know I’d do anything for you.” He kissed my forehead. “Would you go grab the Coronas from the back? We’re kinda light up here.”
“Sure.” I stopped at the corner of the bar. “Ma, take a walk with me.”
My mom never missed my dad play. Thirty years later and she was still his biggest fan. They’d met when he’d been playing at a club in her neighborhood one night. She’d followed him home like a groupie and had been trailing him ever since. It was kind of cute when I thought about it.
“Grab a box, would ya?” The bottles clanked inside the heavy confines as I hoisted the load to my hip. “Got it?”
“Yeah.” My mom grunted as she lifted, struggling with the weight.
“You sure?”
Her green eyes gave me a pointed look. “Eva, I carried you around inside my body for a full nine months. I can carry some beer to the front.”
“Touché.”
Laden with clamoring boxes, we waddled by the band and a sharp whistle sounded through the speaker. My mom shook her head and blushed, acting as though she wasn’t used to my dad by now. I dropped my burden behind the bar and stood, blowing air up toward my forehead to rid loose strands of hair from my face.
“You almost ready, Big Joe? We’re about to open the doors,” Rick yelled over the bar.
“We’re good to go. Let them in,” my dad called into the mic.
He clapped his drumsticks together and began their rendition of A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles. My dad played hard like a rock star. He lived for this stuff, and I always had a blast watching him. It never got old for me. He didn’t let his day job as an international banker ‘steal his soul’ as he liked to say. He always provided well for his family, while still holding onto his spirit, and I admired that.
Lately, things were slowly returning to normal, and I couldn’t have been happier. I was seeing my family more, relaxing around my friends, and the night terrors seemed to have stopped again. I had Blake to thank for it. He’d helped me to feel agai
n. Live again. Be in the world instead of gliding in and out of each day with my head buried in the sand. I owed everything to him.
A few hours later, I needed a breather. I wiped the back of my arm across my forehead and took a sip of water, proud of how receptive everyone was to my father’s band. It always amazed me how young people enjoyed them just as much as the more suitable, older crowds. The place was packed with wall to wall bopping heads and dancing figures. Their cover of well-known, older rock like The Beatles was always a crowd pleaser.
I positioned a row of glasses, then shook the metal container between my hands and poured shots of snakebite in a single line. Setting the container down, I glanced to my right. Blake and Eric were laughing, joking the way they always did. Blake looked so relaxed with his hair gelled back, away from his face, a rosy hue to his high cheekbones. He seemed so carefree in his white V-neck, leaning one forearm on the bar. I pictured his black jeans perched on top of the barstool and got warm inside.
“I’m ready for another one, beautiful.” An empty Miller Lite bottle slid and hit the side of my hand.
A cool chill raced down the back of my neck, and my hand snapped back as I met the eyes I despised most. Gathering the pieces of my newly empowered fierceness, I straightened my spine, swiped the bottle, and threw it into the cardboard box under the bar. “Abby, too?”
“Nah, not just yet. She might have to get a slap if she has another. She keeps staring at your boy’s pretty little friend over there.” His eyes dripped with malice as he nodded in Eric’s direction.
The inside of my skin grew hot. Damon was progressing. He’d gone from the nice boy next door, to someone who connived to get his way, to a rapist, and was now making physical threats. Watching it unfold was frightening, and the thought of my sister spending the rest of her life with him made me nauseous.
I leaned over the bar and stared him in the eye, swallowing down the bitter taste at the back of my throat. “You better not mean that, asshole.”
Damon cocked his head to the side, analyzing me, no doubt surprised by my newfound strength. He expelled an appraising humph and leaned closer to me. He had to raise his voice because of the noise around us, but because of our proximity, it was done in a way only I could hear. “I’m not sure I’m digging the way you’re acting lately. We might have to have a chat about that next time we’re alone.”
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