Four Crows

by Lily White

  “Is this okay with you, Maggie?”

  With my forehead pressed to his, I breathed out heavily and nodded again. His hand pulled me forward and his lips met mine.

  Gentle at first, his mouth moved against mine, his tongue peeking out to run along my lips, but not pushing itself inside. He tasted of cigarettes and mint, and for some odd reason I liked the combination. Unable to move, I sat frozen in his lap as his mouth became more demanding, his lips parting to open mine as well. When his tongue slipped inside my mouth, I forgot how to breathe.

  Dizzy and lustful, my head swam with possibility. I still couldn’t find it within myself to move or touch him back, but I savored the feel and taste of him, jumping in place when the finger he’d moved beneath my skirt pressed harder against my panties and brushed back and forth.

  Unsure of whether it was nervousness or pleasure that raged like wildfire inside my belly, my eyes shot open to find that his had been watching me the entire time. He smiled against my lips, the finger wrapped into the strap of my dress pulling it down off my shoulder until the top swell of my breast was exposed to the hot afternoon sun.

  “Am I moving too fast?”

  His voice was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard, even if it was a breathless whisper.

  “No,” I managed to say. “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t think?” He smiled and pulled my dress down more, my entire breast now exposed between us.

  His eyes never left mine, not even as he released the material of my dress to cup the weight of my breast in his palm. Enjoying the rough feel of his skin against mine, I pressed myself into his touch, craving more. When his thumb flicked over my nipple, I gasped against his mouth.

  “I want to make you feel good, Maggie. But I don’t want to scare you away. It seems like every time I get close, you run as fast as you can.”

  If only he knew I was running to protect him. Without the fear of my brothers and father, I would never let him out of my sight.

  “You don’t scare me,” I whispered back.

  “That’s good,” he replied, humor in his voice. “You want to feel good, right?”

  I nodded.

  That beautiful grin of his widened, his eyes flashing with heat like I’d never imagined possible.

  “Well, then hold on, beautiful, because I’m about to make you feel every bit like the woman that you are.”

  Maggie shook like a leaf above me, her mouth saying yes to feeling good, but her body so tight and tense that I feared I would break her with one wrong move.

  I never planned to take it this far. A kiss maybe, a soft brush of my hand on her hip. But this…it was much farther than I’d intended to go. I needed her to talk, and that wouldn’t be possible with my tongue shoved down her throat.

  But I couldn’t help myself.

  She tasted like sunshine following a heavy rainstorm, all innocent, fresh and wild. It would have been better if she’d refused me - that’s what I’d hoped would happen - but she was giving in to my every move, not bothering to consider the fact that she was straddling the lap of a practical stranger.

  If she had been my daughter, I would have strangled her for being so trusting, but in this case, it worked to my benefit. I needed her loose. I needed her trusting. I needed her to become so addicted to the way I could make her feel that all the secrets she kept bottled up inside came pouring out into the open.

  Slowly working my finger over panties that were becoming wet, I trapped her stare with mine, refusing to release the contact for even a second.

  “How does it feel when I touch you? Does it make your body hum?”

  Maggie’s forehead was pressed to mine. She was fighting to keep from closing her eyes and becoming lost to the sensation of my hands on her body. Every emotion she felt was obvious behind her gaze, every question and concern buried beneath the feeling of being touched for the first time.

  A virgin.

  Damn, I wished that wasn’t the case and I promised myself she would remain that way regardless of whether she begged for sex or not. My cock pressed painfully against my pants, but I ignored my body’s needs.

  Pushing my legs apart, I spread her legs wide, giving my large hand more access to her sweet spot. Her eyes closed and I clicked my tongue, a tone of disappointment on my voice when I begged, “Don’t leave me, beautiful. Open those pretty eyes and stay right here with me.”

  She forced her eyes open. I dragged in a breath at the haze I saw covering them. Her body shuddered over mine and I continued stroking over her panties with one hand while cupping her breast with the other. Slow and steady, I wouldn’t force her to go farther than either of us was willing to go. I needed her coming back for more. Satisfying her curiosity the first time wouldn’t get me what I wanted.

  “Answer me, Maggie. What do I make you feel?”

  As much as my body burned to bend this girl over and take everything I knew she’d be willing to give, I wanted to laugh. She could barely stay focused, much less answer any question I asked. That just made asking the questions more fun.

  Speaking low so that my voice was a bare whisper between us, I talked to her, leading her through everything she was feeling in hopes that hearing it would make it all the more real in her mind.

  “Your body is getting wet for me. Do you realize that?”

  Her eyes closed and I smiled at the way her cheeks flamed with need and embarrassment.

  “Ah, beautiful, you don’t have to be shy about what we’re doing. It feels good and that’s what it’s supposed to feel like. It means you want this…that you want me.” Pressing my lips to hers, I spoke against her mouth, “You do want me, don’t you?”

  When she didn’t answer, I shook my head softly. Slowly, I pulled my hand away and her eyes shot open. “No.”

  “No?” A wolfish grin was painful against my cheeks. “You don’t?”

  She shook her head and swallowed. “No…I mean yes, I want you.”

  “Then why aren’t you talking to me? You keep closing your eyes and leaving me all alone.”

  My hand found its way back between her trembling legs, my finger reaching out to push softly against a spot I knew would send her sky high.

  Wrong. All of this was wrong. I was using this poor woman when her first time should have been something special.

  Unfortunately for Maggie, my need for vengeance was stronger than the duty I felt to protect her heart.

  I would use her. I would betray her. I would split her apart when I destroyed everything she’d ever known. And when I was done, I’d walk away from her, attaching the memory of overwhelming loss to the memory of the first time a man showed her love.

  It was enough to cast a heavy shroud of distrust and pain over the rest of her life, but that couldn’t matter. All that mattered was justice for the people I’d lost.

  “It feels good,” she breathed out, averting her eyes while her cheeks glowed pink for having to openly acknowledge what she was doing. Women learned to be vocal about their needs eventually, but their first time? That first time is when they need someone else to take the reins and guide them.

  It was too bad Maggie had to be guided through her first time by a man who felt nothing for her.

  No, that wasn’t true. I felt one thing for her. I felt pity.

  “Does it feel as good as when you touch yourself?”

  Her eyes clenched shut and I laughed.

  “Don’t try telling me you don’t touch yourself, Maggie. I know you remember what you were doing when we first met. Your fingers were all over this sweet pussy. Who were you thinking about that day? Who do you imagine when you touch yourself?”

  I kept the motion of my hand slow and steady as I guided her to the moment where her body would find the heavens and praise God before shattering apart against me.

  Her lips trembling against my own, she tried to respond, but her breath was becoming more labored and heavy as my hand massaged her breast. “I - I - oh…”

  My shoulde
rs shook with silent laughter. After pressing another soft kiss to her lips, I asked, “Hey, Maggie?”

  “Yeah?” she breathed out, no longer able to open her eyes to stare into mine.

  “Would you like me to shut up and make you come?”

  Clenching her eyes tighter, she nodded her head so hard the curls in her hair bounced around her head.

  I laughed softly again.

  Taking her mouth with mine, I tasted her tongue as my fingers pulled aside her soaked panties to run through the slickened skin. Maggie’s body jumped at the contact, but her mouth continued moving against mine, her timid tongue flicking out to explore my kiss.

  Loving the way her knees tightened against my thighs, I silently called myself a bastard when I pushed a fingertip inside her. She jumped at the sensation, but eventually settled down when she realized I wasn’t going deeper than just the tip. Not wanting to hurt her, I circled my finger around the tight muscle, my cock painful against my jeans in response to her wet heat.

  “Does it hurt?” I whispered. I already planned to break her heart. I didn’t need to break her body along with it.

  Shaking her head, Maggie surprised me by forcing her body down so that my finger pressed deeper inside. Her hips moved over me and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from taking every part of her.

  “More,” she begged, her voice barely recognizable.

  I would make her come. She was so fucking sweet, she deserved that, at least.

  Kissing her with a passion I hadn’t known since Katelyn died, I released Maggie’s breast to wrap an arm around her body and hold her in place. With my middle finger seated inside her, I used my thumb to rub against her clit. She lost control of her body when I began pumping my hand, her head falling back and her mouth dropping open. Small moans sounded from the back of her throat and I grit my teeth to keep from lowering her down to the ground and fucking her like she would disappear if I didn’t.

  Taking the time to watch her body bounce over my hand, I admired the dark, pink nipple that was the perfect size for her breast. I dropped my gaze down further to watch the muscles work in her thighs. Her hips rolled over my hand and she used me to get herself off as much as I was using her to get revenge.

  Maybe this girl wasn’t as innocent as I believed…

  As her moans grew louder, I knew she was getting close. I didn’t need her making so much noise that it carried on the wind. Releasing her back to grip my fist into her hair, I pulled her towards me to lock my mouth over hers and swallow those moans.

  I kissed her as the moans turned into louder mewls. I kissed her as those mewls turned into tiny screams and begs. I kissed her until she couldn’t kiss anymore, her body reaching its peak and every muscle tightening as she quaked over my lap. Pulling my head back, I admired the flush of ecstasy across her skin, smiling to myself when her body relaxed and melted against mine.

  With her head resting on my shoulder and her chest beating against mine from her heavy breath, I brushed my hand down Maggie’s long hair and said, “I’ve got you, beautiful girl. I’ve got you.”

  In more ways than one…

  Damn.

  I was a bastard.

  Singing softly to myself, I tracked my way through the woods, taking a few shortcuts I knew and watching out for the places that were so thick with brush there was no telling what nasty critters were waiting for me to come along.

  My brothers had been gone for three days. I’d been able to sneak away and see Elliot every one of those days and my heart was beaming because of it. He was every bit the man I’d dreamed of one day knowing. Each time we met, he made me want him more.

  Practically skipping with happiness, I tilted my head up to see the last desperate rays of the sun paint colorful ribbons across the sky. Elliot always made me leave when there was just enough light to make it home, but it was getting harder to do that with each passing day. Telling me he was worried about me and that’s why he made me leave caused my heart to swell in my chest, my smile pulling apart so wide it burned the skin of my cheeks.

  I liked Elliot far more than any sane person should and it bothered me to admit that fact to myself.

  Knowing better than to trust anyone, I let my mind drift to those awful memories that tear me apart during silent and sleepless nights. Those women - those lost souls that were stripped from the world and secreted away to death or someplace much worse - every one of their faces were seared into my memories; every one of their voices adding to the symphony of agony and pain in my ears.

  Through the years, I’d promised myself to never become one of those faces or disembodied voices, but having seen what one person could do to another so easily and so often, I wondered if I wasn’t tempting fate each day I snuck away to spend time with Elliot.

  Was I being smart to wonder…or was I being paranoid? I hated the constant questions in my head.

  I would have liked nothing more than to get away from the house before the parties started just so that I didn’t have to know of the women that disappeared. But I never could sneak away fast enough, not until all the men were so drunk they forget I was there.

  Having lived with it for so long, I knew better than to trust a man so easily. I’d seen the way those women had been convinced to go to a place where my family could get her alone. I knew how easy it was to be drugged and dragged away.

  But, there was something different about Elliot. Something good. He was the perfect gentleman whenever I went to see him. A playful, dirty minded one, maybe, but I liked that about him. Hell, he was a little too much of a gentleman at times. He still hadn’t had sex with me despite the offers I’d made.

  Elliot hadn’t even let me touch him below his belt. No matter how hard I tried, or the pouty looks I gave him, he always turned me down.

  The stupid man wanted to wait, wanted it to be about me, or at least that’s what he told me. The truth was I wanted to wait as well. I worried that it would hurt, but still couldn’t help feeling anxious and impatient about having sex with him for the first time.

  Coming to the trees that lined my father’s property, I smiled. For as much as Elliot frustrated me, he made me feel special too.

  I’d never felt that way before.

  Light on my feet, I wound my way up the path, a song on my voice and a smile that wouldn’t stop no matter how I tried to hide it.

  “Magpie,” my father’s voice called out, the deep baritone rolling over the green grass that waved beneath a darkening sky. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  Scanning my eyes over the side yard and up to the house, I finally found him at the top of the stairs standing in the doorway.

  “Hey, Daddy,” I called back, not having to fake the happiness in my voice for once. “I came back before the sun’s completely down.”

  Waving away the concern in my voice, my father called out, “That’s not what this is about. Hurry up and get inside.”

  Tension and fear tightened my shoulders at the sound of his words. Breaking into a jog, I raced up the stairs and into the house, my eyes falling on my father and brothers.

  Forcing my voice to be strong and steady, I asked, “What’s happening?”

  Please don’t let it be Elliot. Please, God, don’t let them know.

  They couldn’t know, I tried to convince myself. If they did, Elliot would already be dead. My brothers would have killed him right in front of my eyes.

  “Pack your stuff, Maggie. A storm’s coming in. We’re leaving in two days.”

  “What?” There was numbness at first and then panic - pure, unadulterated, soul crushing panic that tore through every cell of my body.

  “What do you mean there’s a storm? You said we could stay in one place for a while.”

  My father’s eyes, a silver-blue that were bloodshot and stained red around the edges, narrowed on me. “I don’t care what I said. Something’s come up. Your brothers’ friend will be coming in tomorrow night, there’ll be a party the night after that, and we’ll be leavi
ng the following morning.”

  “Dad-”

  “I don’t want to hear any arguments from you.” Cutting me off, he screamed so loud the walls of the kitchen shook around us.

  At the moment the walls stopped shaking, Finn’s voice slithered through the room. “That’s what I’m talking about, right there. I told you she was breaking rules.”

  My gaze shot to my brothers where they sat glib at the table watching the results of whatever lies they’d whispered into the old man’s ear since they’d returned. Daddy had been fine with me up until that afternoon, and I didn’t have to guess why he was suddenly angry with me now.

  “Maybe we should take a stick to her again, Dad. It’s been too long, don’t you think? The girl’s going to run off and get herself in trouble if she keeps scampering around the way she has been.” Finn’s eyes locked to mine, a slimy satisfied grin pulling at his lips. “Where have you been going every day, Mags? It’s not like you to disappear.”

  Fear crept along my spine, icy fingers scraping at the muscles and freezing the bones in place.

  Finn was on the warpath and I knew he’d stop at nothing to wrestle me under control. I never could understand why. We had our fair share of sibling fights as I’d grown, and Finn had always gained the upper hand.

  Ignoring the way he smiled at me, I turned to my father, desperation dripping from every word I spoke. “Daddy, please.”

  He wasn’t hearing it. Whatever lies my brothers had told him - the possibilities they’d whispered into his ear until they became truth - that’s what stuck in my father’s head and wrinkled his expression. I saw the decision behind his eyes to punish me, the sorrow that turned his mouth down into a heavy frown.

  “You’ve been lying to me, girl.”

  “Daddy, no -”

  “And don’t you keep lying to me now!”

  Effectively cutting off my argument, Daddy gripped the kitchen counter to hold himself steady on his feet. With his body becoming frailer with each passing day, it was obvious how he struggled to remain standing. For fear it would only weaken him more, I wondered whether I should continue arguing or just sit back and accept whatever punishment he gave.