Vindicate

by Beth Yarnall

  “No, I have to clean up.”

  “Cora.” I take her arm, keeping her from bending down to pick something up. “You don’t have to do this right now.”

  “I don’t have anywhere else to stay and I can’t stay here with it like this.”

  “We’re not staying here tonight.”

  “Where else am I going to go?” I. Not we.

  “We’ll get a hotel room or something.”

  Her laugh is harsh and bitter. “I can’t afford a hotel room. I have to pay to get the door fixed. I don’t have a job right now, remember?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Don’t tell me not to worry about it. Wouldn’t you worry about it?”

  Yeah, yeah, I would. “I don’t mean it like that. Hey, you’ve got me. Let me help you.”

  She looks me over, then pulls her arm free. “I’ve got to get this place cleaned up.” She rights a chair, her hands shaky, her lip trembling. “Why don’t you go get those tools?”

  She wants to get rid of me. It’s not going to be that easy. But I let it go for now. “I’ll be right back.”

  I head out to go around to the back of the building. I get two steps out the door and I hear her breath hitch on a sob. It tears through me, stopping me in my tracks. She didn’t want me to see her lose it. I want to punch something. Or someone. That asshole who did this to her. What was he looking for? Did he find it or will he be back?

  She lets out a low moan and sniffs. My hands curl into fists. I want to go back inside, but I know that’s the last thing she wants right now. Some time goes by and then I hear her moving around the apartment. I continue on to the shed and unlock it. There’s some wood I can use to temporarily fix the door frame, but the lock is probably shot. She’ll need a new one. Tomorrow. Tonight I’ll rig it so that no one can get in and I’ll take her somewhere. I don’t know where. Somewhere safe.

  By the time I get back, Cora’s cleared some floor space. I get to work on the door, doing my best to temporarily repair what I can. It’s full dark when I finish and Cora is sweeping up the broken pieces of her things, which look like confetti scattered across the tile.

  “Pack some clothes,” I tell her. “We’re not staying here tonight.”

  She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

  “My friend Mike’s down in Mexico for a couple weeks. I know where the key is to his place. We’ll stay there for a few days until all this gets sorted out.”

  “We can’t just break in.”

  “We’re not. I called him when I was in the shed. He’s cool with it. Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’m sure the cat wants out of the car.”

  “All right.”

  She packs more for the cat than she does for herself, and then we’re in the car and I’m giving her directions to my friend’s place.

  “It’s on Coronado Island?” She gives me a worried glance.

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “No, I’m making you drive across the bridge for no reason.”

  “Smartass.”

  We pull up to the house and she just stares at it. It’s a nice house. Okay, it’s more than a nice house. It’s a mini-mansion on the beach.

  “You have a friend who lives here?” She sounds like she doesn’t believe me.

  “Yup.” I climb out of the car and look for the brick. Ah, there. I push on it and out slides another brick farther down with a dent carved into it just big enough for a key. I retrieve it and show it to her. “See.” I unlock the door and flip the lights on, then reset the alarm.

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.” I take her bag and head down the hall.

  She follows with the cat carrier. “Are you sure it’s okay to have Oliver here? This doesn’t look like a house for pets.”

  “He has three cats that are being boarded while he’s out of town. Relax. He knows about your cat. It’s cool,” I say again to reassure her. I open a door off the hall. “You can put him in here.” It’s like a feline Disneyland with a bunch of those tiered, carpeted cat climbers and trails built into the walls. “There’s already a litter box.” I point to a house-looking thing in the corner. “And automated food and water machines. He’ll be fine.”

  She sets the carrier down and opens the door. The cat steps out carefully, sniffing.

  “See,” I say. “Come on.”

  We back out of the room. She follows me down the hall to the spare room, her eyes wide.

  I open the bedroom door and give her a moment to soak it in. This side of the house faces the beach. The moon is big and low, reflecting off the water. The rhythmic roar of the waves is a little louder in this room.

  “There’s only this bedroom and the master,” I tell her. “You can have it. I’ll sleep on the couch in the living room.”

  “No.” She grabs my arm. “I don’t feel like being alone.”

  “Okay.” It feels wrong to be glad about this turn of events.

  “Are you sure it’s okay for us to stay here?”

  “Totally okay.”

  She goes to the window. “It’s so dark out there.”

  I move in behind her and put my arms around her. “There’s a full moon.”

  “It would be even darker without it.”

  “Are you afraid of the dark, Bluebird?”

  “No, of course not. I’m just not used to looking out the window and not seeing another house or a street.”

  “There are none of those on the ocean.”

  “What if I’d been there when he broke in?”

  “I think he waited until he knew you wouldn’t be home. He was looking for something. But what?”

  “I don’t know. All of my files are at the agency.” She turns in my arms. “What if he breaks in there next?”

  “The place is alarmed. Dad would know it the minute he did.” Which reminds me…“I should call my dad and let him know what happened at your place.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, okay. Are you hungry? I think there might be some—”

  Bringing my head down to hers, she cuts me off with a kiss. For a second I’m too shocked to move, and then it’s like we picked up where we left off in the car. The full length of her presses against me. Her hands are all over me, under my shirt, over my shirt, on my ass. I struggle to hold back. The last thing she needs is me ripping at her clothes. But she’s grinding against me and I forget why I should go slowly. I work a hand into her shirt to unhook her bra.

  I’m practically fucking her mouth with mine. She’s making these little moaning sounds that drive me insane. I finally work the last hook of her bra and her breasts tumble into my hands. More than a handful. Rolling her nipples between my fingers, I lick my way across her jaw to her ear. She puts a hand on my dick and my eyes nearly roll back into my head.

  “I want you,” I whisper, and bite her earlobe.

  She has both hands on the front of my pants now, working the button. She struggles for a second and I’m about to help her when she finally frees the button and goes for the zipper. She pushes at my pants. I’d help her, but I’ve got my hands full of her tits. She moves her head to the side, exposing her neck. I take advantage, nipping my way down.

  “Oh.” Her surprise jolts me out of my haze and I realize she’s checking out my dick.

  Experimentally, she runs her thumb across the tip. It slides in my pre-cum, which seems to delight her, so she does it again and again. I groan. Her fascination with it is killing me. She wraps both her hands around my dick and gives it a squeeze. I put my hand over hers and show her how to stroke me. She picks up my rhythm. I’m dying. She’s torturing me.

  I pull on her shirt. She lets go long enough for me to draw it and her bra off at the same time. I shuck my shirt and toss it aside. We’re way past going slow. Putting her hands on my chest, she moves them across my shoulders, down my arms, then back again. Her expression is a mixture of fascination and curiosity. I stand still for her. Her hands cont
inue their movement across my pecs and over my abs. I want to touch her, but I don’t want her to stop touching me. So I look instead.

  I imagined Cora naked so many times. I wasn’t even close. She’s beautiful. Gorgeous. Perfect in every way. She has her hands on my dick again. It’s sweet torture. Bending down, she licks it. She’s playing, testing. I lay my hand on her back, encouraging her. I watch as she takes me all the way into her mouth. Moving my hand to her head, I gently coax her, letting her know what I like. She seems to understand, picking up the movement.

  “No teeth,” I grit out.

  She adjusts. For sure I’m dying now. It’s like the first time I ever got head, and I can’t stop the pressure that’s building fast, too fast. If she doesn’t stop…I lift her chin and her mouth slides off with a pop.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No,” I tell her. “God, no. You did it too right. Come here.”

  I hold her. Her breasts feel amazing against me. I want to make this good for her. I want to make her as crazy for me as I am for her. I want to hear her scream my name as she digs her heels into my ass. But first I want to make sure this is what she wants.

  “Are you sure about this, Bluebird?”

  She nods against my chest, her hair tickling. “Are you?”

  “Hell, yes.”

  “Okay, then.”

  She steps back. While I watch, she takes her jeans off and then she’s standing there in nothing but a little scrap of white cotton. I want to touch her, but can hardly move. She hooks her thumbs in her panties and then they’re gone too. My heart is beating so hard and fast I can hear it over the sound of the ocean. I shuck my underwear and jeans in record time. Her gaze is everywhere. I stand still for her inspection. My dick is so hard it hurts.

  I feel like she needs this, this moment to pause. She could back out at any moment. I don’t want to give her a chance to. There’s so much to her I feel like it will take me years to learn it all. But if I only get this night, this one moment, with her it would be more than I ever thought I could have. With everything in me I hope she feels the same. I want to be everything she needs me to be, everything she ever imagined.

  Chapter 19

  Cora

  He’s beautiful. If you can call guys that. Everything about him is perfect, at least as far as I know. It’s not like I’ve never seen a naked man before. Well, maybe not one in real life. His penis doesn’t feel like I imagined it would. It’s soft on the outside and hard on the inside. He let me touch him how I wanted to. I didn’t know what I was doing. It was more instinct and an idea of what might please him than any actual knowledge.

  He’s looking at me like he could pounce on me at any moment. I can’t think when he looks at me like that. He’s patient, letting me explore his body without grabbing at mine. I don’t know where this bravery came from, but I don’t feel shy with him. There’s something there—I don’t know, trust maybe—that makes me feel safe. He stands still for me like a model, letting me experiment with little touches. His body is so different from mine. Leaning forward, I lick his small, flat nipple. His breath catches. I want to touch him all over. I want to lick him all over. I wonder if he’ll let me.

  “What do you want, Bluebird?”

  “I’m not totally sure.”

  I slide my hands along his sides. His stomach muscles bunch as though I tickled him. Watching the play of his muscles, I do it again, this time moving my hands to his backside. His eyes are hot on mine. It’s taking a lot of his control to let me have my way like this. He’s given me all the power here. I should reward him. I take his penis in my hand again, stroking up and down like he showed me. A muscle in his jaw tics. He likes this. I explore further, reaching underneath the base of his dick and palm him. His eyes drift closed a little. He likes this too. A lot.

  I reach for one of his hands, which are fisted at his sides, and put it on my breast. I liked it when he touched me there. His touch is expert, and with only minimal effort I’m pressing against him, wanting more.

  “What do you want?” he asks again, his voice strained.

  “I want you to touch me like I’m touching you.”

  I don’t have to ask twice. His hands are suddenly everywhere. The sensations come at me one after the other. His kisses are hot and openmouthed, trailing down my neck and then OH, GOD. He latches on to my nipple and my knees buckle. Sweeping me up, he lays me on the bed, covering my body with his. The weight of him is more than I expected and yet not enough. My back arches under the onslaught of his mouth at my breasts. He’s driving me crazy toward something. It’s building. I clutch at his head, keeping him right there where I want him.

  His chuckle vibrates against me. He bites me, gently sinking his teeth into my flesh. My hips come off the bed. He does it again. His hand is between my legs and I have a moment where I think to push it away. He hits a spot I didn’t know existed and then I’m bucking against his hand. He drifts down my body, his gaze burning. Pushing my thighs wider apart, he looks down at me. Before I can stop him he puts his mouth RIGHT THERE and it’s like I’ve been hit with a million volts.

  The shock of what he’s doing stuns me into submission. I let him lick and suck on me down there. It’s good. It’s so, so good. I didn’t know. He parts my folds, exposing more of me. I lift my head to watch and I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I can’t believe how damn good it is. I had no idea. He’s doing this thing with suction and his tongue, little flicks. It’s making me insane. He pinches my nipples softly, then harder.

  “Harder,” I gasp.

  He does it harder. Sensations rush at me, one after another in great waves. His mouth, his hands, his tongue, his…OH, MY GOD. Arching back, I cry out suddenly. Shocked, I clap a hand over my mouth.

  He moves it away, laughing. “Yell all you want, Bluebird. There’s no one but me to hear you, and I like it.”

  He kisses the inside of my thigh, my stomach, and then the slope of my breast as he makes his way back up to me. Holding me against him, he strokes my back. I’m out of breath and kind of tingly all over. He’s so big and warm. I snuggle in to him and let my eyes drift shut. I don’t think about how weird it is that I’m lying naked with him or how only weeks ago I wasn’t sure I could trust him.

  My body gets heavy. My thoughts slow…

  I wake up sometime later, confused. It takes me a minute of slight panic to realize where I am. The ocean crashes outside in a dependable rhythm. It’s dark, darker than I’m used to. Leo’s heart beats steadily beneath my cheek. I’m draped across him like a blanket. He’s got an arm around me, tucking me in close. Sometime in the night he pulled the covers over us. We’re skin to skin. What happened earlier comes back to me and heat creeps into my face. I can’t believe what I did. I can’t believe what I let him do to me.

  But I’m not sorry. I totally get what Jamie’s been yammering about for like forever. Orgasms rock. I want another one. Soon. Maybe now. I shift, hoping to wake him up. He pulls me snugger against him and sighs. I slide my hand down his body. His penis feels weird. It’s all soft and deflated.

  He grabs my wrist, stopping my exploration. “Go back to sleep.”

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  “It’s late.”

  “You don’t want to?”

  “Want to what?”

  “We didn’t…you know.”

  “We didn’t what?” He moves fast. Suddenly he’s on top of me. “Tell me what you want, Bluebird, and I’ll give it to you.”

  “I want you to do that thing you did before.”

  “Which thing? I did a lot of things.”

  “Where you put your mouth down there.” I point between our bodies.

  I can feel him grinning in the dark. “Down where? Down here?” He touches my knee.

  “Higher.”

  “Say it. Say the word.”

  I shake my head.

  “Here?” His hand slides up the inside of my thigh.

  “Higher.”


  “I’ve heard you say a lot of naughty words. You can’t say this one?”

  “No.”

  His hand finally finds the right spot. “Here?”

  “Yes. There.” My voice is all breathy.

  He whispers next to my ear: “You want my mouth on your pussy?”

  I shiver. “Yes.”

  “You want me to lick and suck on your pussy?”

  That word does strange things to me. Every time he says it I get a jolt. “Yes. Please.”

  “You want me to make you come again?”

  I nod.

  “Cora,” he growls. “Say the words and I’ll make you come so hard you’ll think you’ve died.”

  “I…” I can’t say it.

  He places kisses along my jaw and then captures my mouth for a long, winding kiss that leaves me breathless. Sliding his fingers through my slickness, he toys with me. He’s not really serious. I catch glimpses of the sensation I had earlier, but his fingers skate away before it can really take hold. It’s driving me crazy. Reaching between us, I find his half-hard penis and stroke it. He makes a guttural sound that lets me know he likes it. It gets harder and harder. He clamps a hand on my wrist to still my movements.

  Heh. Two can play the teasing game.

  And then his mouth is on my breast and I can’t think.

  “What do you want?” The low, sexy rumble of his voice vibrates straight to where his hand is doing wicked things to me.

  “I want you to fuck me!”

  He stops. Everything. It’s the exact opposite of what I want. I slap a hand over my stupid mouth.

  He pulls my hand away. His fingers stroke into me exactly where I need it. “Say it again.”

  I’m fighting against the sensation. He counters by biting my nipple. His strokes are long and deep. I’m close, so close.

  “Oh, my God. Fuck me already!”

  He throws back the covers, pushes my legs apart, and sucks. My orgasm rips through me. Pushing down on his head, I practically come off the bed, screaming his name. He doesn’t let up. His mouth is relentless. Another wave hits, rolling through me like a freight train. I can’t breathe. Spots dance in front of my eyes.