Clinging to Rapture

by Megan D. Martin

  When the shampoo was gone from my hair he turned me to face him. He held a washcloth covered with soap. He stepped close as if he was going to wash my face. The sight of him there, holding that washcloth, his face void of anything real, snapped something inside me.

  “No.” I swatted at his hand.

  “I’m just going to clean you up,” he said softly, regret flashing across his eyes. There was no mistaking it. It was there and it ripped at my heart.

  “You regret it?”

  “Julia…” He let my name trail off like he was chastising a child.

  “No, don’t do that. Don’t act like I can’t handle it. You think what we did was a mistake.” My lips trembled.

  “Just let me…”

  “No!” I pushed at his chest with all the strength I had, barely budging him. “Don’t treat me like this. If you regret it just fucking admit it!” The water pounded down on my back. “What? Do you feel ashamed that you let the whore lure you back into bed with her? Is that what this is?” The tears came faster now.

  “What?” Cole shook his head, a look of disbelief coming over his face. “No, that’s not what this is.”

  “Then what is it? You’re trying to scrub the remnants of what happened off me? Will that help you sleep better tonight? Will that help when you call Elaine on the phone and tell her goodnight?” I was shouting, the words like fire from my throat. I pushed at his shoulders again, harder this time.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Cole grabbed my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes. “You think I’m ashamed of you?”

  “Why else would you act like this?”

  Utter disbelief covered his features, followed by a look so soft I could have sworn there was love behind those dark blue irises. He trailed his fingertips up my cheek and into my hair. “You deserve so much better than this,” he whispered. “So much better than me.”

  “What?”

  “Yes, Julia. So much better.” He pressed his lips against my forehead.

  “Why would you even say that?”

  He leaned back and looked down at me, pain in his eyes. “Look what I’ve done to you. I fucked you in the dirt like some whore. I pressed you into the ground and drove into you from behind like I was some kind of fucking animal.”

  A giggle bubbled up from somewhere inside me. Is he being serious? “Cole, we’ve had sex like that before. Why does it ma—”

  “Because things are different now.” He shook his head, his dark hair dripping. “I wanted to give you better than that. You…” He looked down at my scar. “Someone hurt you. You deserve to be taken care of. To have a man make love to you in a bed with silk sheets and all the adoration in the world focused on you. You deserve to be treated like the queen you are. Not like some quick fuck.”

  My heart thundered in my ears, blood rushing through my veins. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks. “So I was just a quick fuck before?”

  “What? No. Never.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “You’ve been hurt. You need someone to be gentle with you. To make love to you right now, not fuck you in the dirt.”

  “Then make love to me, Cole Maddon.” I reached out and skimmed my fingers over the gashes I’d put in his chest earlier. “Show me what it’s like to be your queen.”

  He didn’t move right away. It wasn’t an instantaneous reaction like out in the swamp.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  He nodded his head and bent down to pick up the washrag, which he had dropped at some point during our heated discussion.

  “I want to wash you first.”

  “Okay.” I stood utterly still while Cole moved the washcloth on me. His movements were slow, careful, and sinful. I didn’t think I would ever find a washcloth erotic, but it was. Wrapped around Cole’s fingers, it was the sexiest thing in the world. He didn’t stop until he had washed all of me, paying special attention to all my curves. He didn’t palm me though, or smack me. He was gentle. So gentle.

  Cole turned the shower off once he was finished.

  “Wait, I didn’t get to wash you.”

  He still wore his soaked clothing.

  “Tonight is about you, baby.” He helped me out of the shower and dried me off, making goose bumps dance along my skin. Does he know what he does to me? I glanced down at his crotch. The outline of his rock hard cock pressed against the zipper of his dress pants. I was tempted to drop to my knees and pull those dripping pants down his muscular thighs. I bit the inside of my lip.

  As if he could read my thoughts, he tossed the towel on the back of the toilet and pushed the pants down his legs, stepping out of them. His shirt followed and I was left staring at Cole in all his glory. His dick was hard and broad, just like I remembered, his body sculpted by heaven itself. The tattoos on his arms seemed to bulge with the thickness of his muscles. My mouth watered.

  He swooped me up in his arms again and carried me into the bedroom.

  “A girl could get used to being carried around like this.” I winked at him. Part of me worried he would just lay me in bed and then go to his room, maybe have phone sex with Elaine.

  “You should plan on getting used to it.” He winked back and laid me on the queen-size bed. The room was illuminated by a single sparkling chandelier. Various colors of light reflected off the glass, casting strange shapes against the walls.

  “Should I?” I said the words teasingly, but I was serious.

  Cole climbed on the bed, his big body caging mine. My nipples hardened; I was desperate to drag them against his flesh, to have him suckle them into his mouth.

  “Tell me something about you.”

  “What?” I gasped.

  “If you could tell me anything right now. Anything in the world. What would it be?”

  “Touch me.” Right now, please?

  “No, something else. Tell me something, anything.”

  I stared up at him, and remembered asking him something similar after we had sex before I found all the pictures that proved he’d been stalking me.

  “I missed you.” The words were out before I could consider them. “During those four months.”

  Cole’s eyebrows pinched together and he studied me for a moment before brushing his lips against mine. I pressed my palms on either side of his face, reveling in the smoothness of his cheeks.

  He made a slow path down my jaw to my neck, licking and sucking gently along the way. My pussy pulsed with need, as if I hadn’t been fucked less than an hour ago. He nipped at my collarbone with his teeth and I moaned out loud.

  Cole’s dick dragged down my leg as he made his way along my body, leaving a searing trail that made me want him, need him, even more.

  “I’ve thought about doing this a thousand times in the last four months,” he said when he reached my cunt. I knew what it looked like. I’d shaved it earlier, so it was bare, smooth as his face. My folds slick and wet, ready for him.

  “You have?”

  “Yes. About teasing you, licking you, sucking on this sweet little pussy,” he growled.

  He thought about pleasuring me? The beginning of an orgasm started to build deep within my womb.

  The heat of his breath tickled my folds, but still he didn’t lick me. The moments seemed to tick away with painful slowness. What is he doing? I was tempted to shimmy down the bed, to grab his head and press him against my erect clit. Just the thought of grinding against his firm lips made me whimper. Fuck. I need it. I was tempted to beg for it.

  He finally flicked his tongue against my throbbing clit and that was my undoing. I came utterly apart, my world shattering with a simple touch. My body convulsed as I came back together again, though not for long. Cole hadn’t stopped his ministrations and once the first orgasm ended I tumbled headlong into another one. He was ravenous on my flesh, writing novels against my clit with his talented tongue, weaving words that would mind-fuck Hemingway. He didn’t slow or stop but fucked me with his tongue for what seemed like hours, while my body trembled fr
om one orgasm to another. He used his finger to penetrate, curling it up to rub against the sweet spot just inside my pussy, making me thrash around on the bed.

  Finally he stopped; I wasn’t sure how many orgasms I’d had. He leaned back on his haunches and stared down at me. His lips glistened with remnants of my pleasure.

  “Oh my God, Cole. How do you do that?” I mewled.

  He crawled up my body slowly, until we were face to face. “You make me fucking ravenous. Did you know that? I could eat that pussy all night and still be hungry in the morning.”

  I bit my lip and moaned. My body was ready for more. I snaked my hand between our bodies and grasped his cock. “I want you inside me.”

  He groaned, bucked into my hand, and pressed his lips against mine. I could taste the sweet-salty mix of my cum on him.

  “That’s what you want?”

  “Yes!”

  He leaned back, studying my face as if I hadn’t just demanded he put his dick inside me. “Do you have any idea how incredibly beautiful you are?”

  I sucked in a shocked breath while he moved over me, his gaze never leaving mine. He slid slowly into my pussy while I moaned.

  “The most beautiful woman in the whole world.” Cole spoke so quietly I barely heard him.

  He moved slowly at first, staring into my eyes. That’s when I felt it, the connection. He reeled me in with everything he did, every move he made when we weren’t having sex. But having him inside me, his dark gaze glued to mine, it was like the world had frozen. Time didn’t exist anymore. Just the two of us. Just our bodies connected, sliding together. His hardness inside my softness. That’s all that mattered. He was all that mattered. And I needed him like water, like some fucking drug I couldn’t wait to shoot up with. He was mine.

  “More.” I spread my legs wider. He pumped his hips a little faster and dropped his hand between our bodies to finger my clit. I bucked against him, another orgasm burning away at my core. My fingers fumbled against the sheets while my body shook with pleasure.

  Once the orgasm had lessened I realized Cole was looking down at me, his pace slower.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I wonder how many times I can make you cum tonight?”

  My eyes widened.

  “It’s not even one in the morning yet,” he said and pressed his lips to my nose. “Looks like I’ve got hours to find out.”

  I stared up at him, my sexy Cole, and trembled with anticipation.

  “I missed you too,” Cole whispered against my hair. It was a little after five as I cuddled against him.

  I mashed my lips together and smiled, remembering my earlier confession. My heart swam in an ocean of happiness, knowing he felt the same. “I’m glad.” But he didn’t respond. I didn’t expect him to. I knew he was tired. Less than fifteen minutes ago we had been two mindless, sweaty bodies writhing together after hours of intense sex. I had cum over and over again. I don’t know how many times. I suppose he kept count, but I didn’t. Couldn’t. My brain was a mush of frazzled cells destroyed from repeated orgasms.

  Cole only came once, at the very end. He pulled out at the last second and squirted his thick cum right onto my clit, triggering my last and final orgasm for the night.

  I sighed and reveled at the soreness in my body that felt so right.

  The chime of a cell phone brought me out of my dream-like state. The noise came from the top of my suitcase, where my big purse sat. I climbed out of bed carefully. The cool air in the room made me shiver and I almost changed my mind, wanting to hop right back into bed with him.

  It’s the phone Cole got me. I bet everyone is worried and wondering what’s going on.

  I pulled out the Smartphone and clicked the home button. I hadn’t checked it at all, just turned it on the day before in the limo. The notification bar told me I had more than one hundred new messages. Fuck!

  The most recent was from Mandi. She had sent a lot, and apparently knew about our trip to New Orleans, because the most recent ones mentioned it. She wished me a good time and made some ridiculous jokes about condoms: Don’t be a dong, wrap your schlong!

  Please text me and let me know you’re okay. I trust Cole, but I want to know you’re having a good time. Smooches!

  I smiled at the phone. Mandi’s friendship had become invaluable to me. I shot her a quick text back: Don’t worry. Things are good. Miss u & call u tomorrow.

  I clicked out of her message and scrolled through the others. The oldest ones dated back to the time I was in the coma. People I rarely talked to had texted me, asking if I was okay, if there was anything they could do, but it was Vic’s messages I opened next.

  He, like Mandi, had been one of the main reasons my inbox was full.

  So worried about u.

  Hate that I can’t be there.

  I love you. I will be there for you soon.

  They’d all been sent during my coma. Then I noticed he’d sent one today.

  I’ve tried calling so many times, but u never answer. I hope u get your phone on soon. I miss my best friend so much. I’m coming to see you soon. Money’s all lined up. I love you. Call when you can.

  Tears jumped to my eyes. Reading Vic’s text messages made me realize how much I missed him and how much my life had changed since he climbed on that plane and left for New York.

  I miss u too. Just got my phone back on. I’ll call u tomorrow. I promise. Love u best friend. I sent the message.

  I scrolled through the others with little interest. Just as I was about to shut my phone off, I noticed something unusual. I had a text message from a couple hours ago from number labeled as Unknown.

  I don’t have anyone’s number saved as that.

  I clicked on it.

  Hope you’re having a great trip in New Orleans. If you aren’t, at least we know the swamp enjoyed the show. Don’t think this is over, Julia. Just cause you didn’t die last time doesn’t mean I won’t get it right this time. Watch yourself. See you soon. XoXo

  “Oh my God!” I dropped the phone and scrambled away from it.

  “What? What is it?” Cole jumped up out of bed. “Why are you on the floor?”

  I glanced back at my phone, the screen still illuminated. My lips trembled. “T-they’re here.”

  “Who?” Cole stalked over to my phone and snatched it up.

  “The person w-who wants me dead.”

  TWENTY-ONE.

  Seven months ago

  I was going to do it. I was going to talk to her. I sat just a few tables away from Julia at the Creamy Café, a coffee joint close to her apartment. She came here at least three times a week, sometimes more, and drank a coffee while fiddling around on her laptop.

  Today she chewed on her lip, with her hair in a messy bun. Her black-rimmed glasses sat on her nose. A few strands of her blue hair had come loose and teased at her shoulders, blowing in the light breeze. She’s so fucking sexy. Even in the big sweatshirt she wore, she looked like some kind of goddess. A goddess I was about to talk to.

  The more I thought about it, the more I decided I should talk to her. I didn’t really know what I was waiting on. I’d finally gotten in touch with Luke Masterson, the owner of Rapture. We were in negotiations, and I was going to be spending a pretty penny on the strip club. But that wasn’t the reason I was here. I was here because Randy was right, I was being ridiculous.

  I watched her as she chewed her lip, studying her computer screen intently. One of her hands tapped on the table.

  Did she fuck that guy?

  I tried to squash the thought, the same thought that had been popping into my head for the last two months since I’d slashed the guy’s tires. Even after all that, they still went out together, but in her car instead. They hadn’t seen each other again, to my satisfaction, but he had gone up to her apartment afterward.

  The very thought of him touching her, fucking her, made my hands clench in anger. How could she let an asshole like that touch her?

  Maybe she didn’t,
I told myself before I got too worked up. I’d ended up breaking an expensive set of plates one night when I was fixing myself a snack. Just thinking about it set me off into a rage that made me want to destroy things. After everything I was doing for her, she was going out with other guys, guys who didn’t deserve her. It infuriated me.

  But she doesn’t know about the things I’m doing for her. She doesn’t know how badly I want her.

  I sound like a fucking psycho.

  I shook my head, silencing my loud thoughts. Everything would change today. I would talk to her. I took one last sip of my over-priced coffee and stood, but before I could move to her table Victor Marlin and his boyfriend Chris showed up.

  “Hey Jewel, baby.” I watched in horror as Victor pressed his lips against the side of her cheek. Chris waved in greeting and took a seat at the table. Victor followed suit. I hadn’t been around the two men in such close proximity before, but I didn’t get close to Julia very often either. It was mostly because I knew I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t stand to be around Julia and the man who fucked her at least once a month for the world to see.

  They’re leaving soon. In just a few months, remember? You made sure of it.

  And I had. I’d purchased the Landscaping business where Chris worked and gave him a big advance after I found out he and Victor had been saving to move to New York City. And just like clockwork they had both put in their resignation. In just a few short months they would be gone and by then I would be the owner of Rapture.

  I sat back down deciding to stay, even though I knew I probably shouldn’t.

  “I’m gonna go grab a drink. You want something, babe?” Chris directed his question at Vic.

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  Chris nodded and left the table.

  Victor watched him go for a moment before turning his gaze back to Julia. “Tomorrow is the night. You ready for the Avatar theme Rapture X party?”

  Julia didn’t look up at him, but continued staring at her computer. “Mm-hmm. Should be pretty cool.”