by Daya Daniels
“I can feel you squeezing my cock but not until I say so this time, Lily.”
He pulled out quickly, coming all over my ass, grunting loudly with each spurt. The wet sound and feel of his cum splashing onto my hot skin made my body shiver. He stilled and then massaged his cum into each of my ass cheeks and then all over my back and shoulders slowly for a long moment with his warm hand. He was marking me—like an animal would.
He pushed in again, still hard, fucking me harder. With every thrust his balls brushed my clit firmly and I struggled to catch my breath. I was near orgasm. He was teasing me by delaying it. He was letting me know who was in control.
“Who do you belong to, Lily?” Gabriel asked, pressing his lips against the shell of my ear. His thick fingers slid down to brush over my already swollen clit that was begging to be touched. He rubbed over it teasingly with the fingertips of his open hand while squeezing my breast with the other. His powerful chest was flush against my back. I was crying out loudly, covered in sweat. The ends of my hair dripped with it. I was soaked in the scent of him.
Gabriel consumed me. He was all around me, on top of me, inside of me, pulling me apart but keeping me together all at the same time. I knew I’d never want to be rid of him. I was in love with him.
“Who do you fucking belong to?” he hissed again.
I screamed when he rubbed my clit, pinching and pressing expertly, coaxing an orgasm out of me that I thought would stop my heart. I was screaming and shaking underneath the weight of him, unable to close my mouth.
“You! I belong to you! I need you. I love you. Please believe me, I do.”
“That’s it,” he moaned kissing my cheek. “I know you do.”
He made one final thrust and stilled, groaning loudly when he came again. He pulled out and brought me against his muscular chest with his strong arms. I was covered in cum and sweat and nearly delirious from the orgasm I’d just had. Gabriel cradled the back of my head in both of his hands, tilting my head up firmly to meet his unblinking brown eyes.
“You belong to me, Lily,” he said calmly, pressing his forehead into mine.
“Yes,” I said, while endless tears streamed down my cheeks.
He placed his hand over mine, sliding a platinum ring with a three-carat round diamond solitaire on my left hand and kissed it firmly.
“You. Belong. To. Me,” he whispered.
I was engaged.
Gabriel lifted me from the bed out of the soft white sheets that entwined me and into the bathroom. I wrapped my legs around his waist while he carried me. He leaned into the shower still holding me and turned the water on. The steam started to rise as he stepped in with me draped around his waist.
I gingerly put my feet down, steadying my shaky legs. Gabriel used his hands to massage the sandalwood body wash into my neck and shoulders and then my back and legs. He grabbed the shampoo and poured it into my long hair, massaging it in and then into his own. I washed Gabriel’s back and his chest, admiring his body.
The diamond ring that now rested on my ring finger sparkled under the recessed lighting of the shower. I wondered how long Gabriel had had it. How long he’d waited to ask me.
Gabriel cupped my face in his hands, pushing back my wet hair, looked at me for a moment and smiled. I kissed him hard, pulling him into me, feeling my insides heating up again. I was still quivering from our earlier session. I didn’t think my body could take any more.
After rinsing off, Gabriel knelt in front of me and hoisted me up, placing my legs over his shoulders while my back rested against the slick blue tile of the shower wall. He buried his face between my legs and kissed the soft skin on the inside of my thighs. I held on to his neck. My fingers weaved in his dark hair while he licked and gently sucked my swollen lips and my clit, causing me to moan and whimper. Each time his tongue touched my sensitive flesh, I writhed and grinded my hips, moving my pussy closer to his lips, begging for more. I couldn’t get enough. I let out a loud cry and came, desperate for air. I unclasped my unsteady legs from around Gabriel’s neck and kissed him hard, sinking into him.
Gabriel wrapped a fluffy towel around me when we stepped out of the shower. I grabbed one for my hair and sat on the edge of the chaise in the middle of the tile floor and dried off. Gabriel walked over to me, drying off his hair, watching me carefully. I slipped the ring off my finger. There was an inscription inside the band: Lily, mine always. I smiled. The tears were threatening to fall again.
“How long have you had it?” I asked, referring to the beautiful ring.
“I’ve had it for months, Lily. I bought it the day after we arrived here in Helena.”
I looked at Gabriel and nodded in quiet understanding. How could I have been so blind?
“Lily,” Jacob called out, poking his head into the front door.
I sat down this morning in front of my laptop, making my best attempt to put my feelings on paper.
“Yeah!” I rested my laptop on the sofa and walked towards him.
Jacob scanned the foyer, the den and the kitchen first as he walked in slowly then met my eyes. “Congratulations on the engagement,” he said giving me a wide smile.
“Thank you.”
Jacob lingered for a moment making eye contact. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Jacob stood up straight, adjusting his coat and ran a hand over his short hair. I couldn’t help but notice how he and Gabriel’s physical mannerisms were similar.
“Did Gabriel send you to check on me?”
Jacob let out a short breath, raising his eyebrows. “No-no, nothing like that. I came over here on my own.”
“Jacob, are you okay? What’s wrong?” I asked, stepping closer to him.
“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I-I don’t know. It’s just that Gabriel uh has just seemed upset these last few days—out of sorts I guess you could say.
“He fired a few people at the mill that I rehired this morning and got in a pretty heated argument with one of the inspectors that nearly turned physical.
“Then yesterday when I saw him he just seemed down.
“I got a call from him early this morning. Gabriel doesn’t usually call but he said he proposed to you last night and you said yes?” Jacob paused.
It was meant to be a statement but it came out more like a question.
“Well anyways, he was elated. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. That’s all.”
“Everything is fine. Gabriel is fine,” I said eyeing him strangely.
Jacob moved towards the front door to leave and continued to look around the house on his way out. The wooden floors creaked beneath his heavy boots.
“Gabriel really loves you, Lily,” Jacob said turning to face me again.
“I know.”
“It’s nice to see my brother happy,” he said closing the door behind him.
I pulled one of the navy panels at the window by the door to the side and watched Jacob as he made his way down the porch steps. He stopped when he got to the bottom, turned around and stood, staring blankly at the cottage for a long moment. Jacob squinted his eyes focusing on something and then walked to look around each side of the house. He came back to the steps and jumped a few times to get a better view of the second level. Then he crouched down to look underneath the porch on both sides. After he was satisfied, he left. I shook my head at the strange behavior and went to sit back in front of the laptop.
Brenda and Abigail had taken me to lunch at The Pier, a local seafood restaurant, in celebration of my engagement and last day working for Abigail.
Brenda wore a wig with curly red hair today and a matching furry black sweater and pants. Her outfits never ceased to amuse me.
She insisted we order drinks to celebrate and the lobster special for all three of us.
“None for me obviously.” Abigail waved the waiter by as he took the beverage order on a small notepad.
“Okay, ladies, that’s two apple vodka
martinis,” the waiter confirmed and then rushed off.
Abigail sipped her ice tea glaring at me with her green eyes.
“What?” I asked, looking at her.
Abigail smiled and grabbed the straw in her glass, stirring and leisurely continuing to eyeball me with a smirk on her face.
“Well, congratulations, Lily. You and Gabriel both make a very nice couple,” Brenda said.
“Thank you, Brenda.”
“How did he propose?” Brenda asked. “The ring is beautiful, Lily.”
I knew this question would come but I hadn’t been prepared to answer it. I wasn’t sure how to explain how Gabriel proposed. There was no Gabriel down on one knee, asking me to marry him after a five-course dinner at some fancy restaurant in town. There was no, please marry me, Lily, bouquet of red roses, or box of chocolates or violin orchestra standing behind him. The first time Gabriel brought the topic up, it was a statement: “I love you, Lily; Marry me.” The second time, it was definitely a statement. It was never a question at all.
“It was a surprise,” I said simply—which it was. That part wasn’t a lie.
Abigail smirked and held her hand out. “Let me see it.”
I crooked my head sideways looking at Abigail. She shot out her hand again in a give it to me gesture. I sighed and slipped the ring off my finger, passing it to her across the table.
“Lily, this is one beautiful rock. Three carats I’m guessing? The stone is flawless,” Abigail said.
“I’m not sure to be honest. It’s the first piece of real jewelry I’ve really ever owned.”
Abigail continued to turn the ring and flipped it over, getting a feel for the weight of it. “Gabriel must’ve paid at least thirty grand for this, Lily!”
Abigail squinted her eyes, spotting the inscription on the inside of the band. “Lily, mine always,” she read aloud.
Brenda’s eyes welled up with tears. She blotted her face carefully with the white cloth napkin in her lap, leaving black mascara stains all over it. “That is so romantic, Lily,” she sobbed.
“Yeah, romantic,” Abigail scoffed, passing the ring back to me.
The waiter returned with the martinis. Brenda gave a short speech about life and young love and how she will miss me until Gabriel and I can visit again. We clanked our glasses together and took a small sip of the green concoction held up in front of us.
“I’m happy for you, Lily. I’m happy for you and Gabriel.” Abigail paused to take a sip of her ice tea. “I knew Gabriel wouldn’t let you go. So now you go from my unofficial sister-in-law to being the third Mrs. Preston in the family, just like I knew you would from the moment I met you,” Abigail said with pride.
“That’s really sweet of you to say,” I said.
“I don’t think Gabriel will ever tire of looking at those baby blues of yours, Lily.” Abigail went on.
“How is the sex, Lily?” Brenda asked.
I laughed, nearly spitting out my martini.
“You know, in my day we didn’t have sex until we were married, which resulted in a lot of disappointments, you know.” Brenda shrugged her shoulders.
“But nowadays I know you kids do things differently. You get a taste before you seal the deal. It’s not a bad plan!” Brenda laughed.
“Things would have worked out better for me if I’d done the same thing and taken a good long ride on the serpent first!”
The table erupted into a fit of giggles.
The churning of my stomach told me I’d either eaten something bad or drank too many midday strawberry margaritas. After returning to the cottage, I spent most of the evening in the bathroom sitting on the cold tile floor next to the toilet bowl, upchucking the contents of my stomach.
“I’m making you some toast. You need to keep something down.” Gabriel peeked his head in the bathroom every few minutes to check on me.
I crawled out of the bathroom in my bra and panties and sprawled across the bed. Gabriel returned with some plain toast and ginger ale and sat down beside me, feeling my head.
“You smell like vomit, Akecheta.”
I managed to muster a laugh in response. My head was pounding and I was sweating like a pig.
“I don’t know what I ate but everyone else ate the same thing and I’m the only one that is sick,” I said moaning, clutching my stomach.
After sipping the ginger ale and taking small bites of the toast, my stomach settled slowly.
“Let’s get you in the shower, Lily. You will feel better going to bed with one. Besides, you smell,” Gabriel said lifting me from the bed.
I stepped in the shower. Gabriel slipped out of his clothes and stepped in behind me and then pulled me against him slowly, sliding down against the wall so that we were both sitting on the shower floor. The warm water ran over my face and hair, lulling me to sleep. Gabriel grabbed the soap and began to wash me. I curled into a ball in front of him, enjoying the attention he gave to my skin. I was horribly sick.
“I need you, Gabriel.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Lily,” he said, placing a kiss to the side of my forehead.
Dawson and Roberto departed Meridian, Idaho at dawn headed for Montana. It was a nearly seven-hour drive, covering nearly four hundred miles cross-state. They travelled in a black unmarked GMC SUV. Roberto took the driver’s seat while Dawson flexed out in the passenger seat of the jeep.
Nina’s dead body was thawing out in the trunk. She’d been dead for almost two weeks. Dawson’s plan was to dump her body on Gabriel’s property as insurance, in case anything went wrong. The least he could do was pin Nina’s murder on Gabriel after he and Lily were killed by unidentified intruders.
“Don’t be edgy!” Dawson shouted at Roberto when they passed the “Welcome to Montana” sign.
“Boss, I’m just not a country boy if you know what I mean. I grew up in New York. These rural areas put me on edge, that’s all. You need a fucking compass to get around out here,” Roberto said in his heavy Bronx accent.
“This will go easy, quick and clean.” Dawson slapped Roberto on the shoulder as he switched lanes on the highway, keeping his green eyes focused on the road head.
Dawson knew that once he got closer to the base of the mountain he would need to be careful, so as not to get lost. After nightfall, there were no street lights past the base of the mountain.
Cars and large trucks have easily gotten lost in the area. People on foot have disappeared. When vehicles did get lost, they either kept driving in the dark and slid off the side of the cliffs, which made them impossible to be rescued, or they’ve taken side roads that led directly to the concealed openings of some of the old mine shafts in the area. Some of which were hundreds of feet deep and large enough to swallow entire high-rise office buildings. Or people have ventured out of their cars to find help, only to walk around in circles and then be consumed by the cold or the wildlife in the area.
“Boss, I know it’s not my place to question your orders.”
Dawson levelled his head at Roberto. “But what?”
Roberto shook his head from side to side. “I’ve just been thinking. It’s been months.
“Nina has caused you a lot of problems I know, but didn’t it just seem strange
that she showed up out of nowhere months later with some story about how this Lily girl is now planning to go to the police?
“I mean don’t you think that if she was, she would have done it already?”
Roberto raised his hands in surrender. Dawson gave Roberto the side eye. It was clear to Roberto that in Dawson’s irrational thinking, this theory had never occurred to him.
“Yeah, I thought about it,” Dawson lied. “I just can’t risk it, besides I’ve always had a bone to pick with Bear from many year’s back, long before I employed you, Roberto.”
Roberto didn’t want to be any more involved in this clusterfuck than he already was. Roberto wasn’t a good person by any means but something about what they did to Lily gnawed at him since that da
y. Lily reminded him of his own teenage sister back at home. Roberto recalled punching Lily in the face. He hadn’t meant to do it but it didn’t change the reality that he had. Lily kicked him in the groin and reflexively he struck back. Roberto hadn’t meant to hurt her but he had. The picture of her sprawled out in front of him dazed and bleeding from the side of her face haunted Roberto’s dreams each night. Dawson promised Roberto a good time with her and that’s all he’d wanted. A good time with a pretty girl, but it had turned out to be anything but.
Roberto dismissed his regret and checked his phone. The time was two o’clock. They should be arriving at the base of the mountain in less than an hour. Dawson’s orders were to find Lily and finish her. If Roberto didn’t follow through, he knew he would be signing his own death warrant, much like Reed did when he didn’t finish the job properly. Roberto couldn’t back out because he suddenly had a crisis of conscience. He knew Dawson would kill him.
“Have you heard of Bear Preston?” Dawson asked Roberto smiling.
Roberto nodded. “Yeah, some stories.”
“He used to gut people.”
“What?” Roberto asked with a twisted face.
“I said he used to gut people—like pigs. Disembowel them while they were still alive. He would try to keep them alive for as long as possible to make them suffer if that was the order. A slow death is what he usually gave you, with his hands.”
Roberto squinted his eyes looking at Dawson for a long moment. Dawson chuckled again to himself.
“A psychopath is what people that dealt with him classified him as.” Dawson laughed loudly clapping Roberto on the back a few times, hard. “I’ve wanted to kill this motherfucker for a long time for what he did to Spitz, Mello, and Anthony.”
“Fucking crazy,” Roberto muttered to himself, his insides churning.
The comment was really meant to be directed at Dawson. Roberto had always questioned Dawson’s sanity. Dawson was impulsive and sometimes reckless. Roberto wondered why they were going after this guy at all, considering his reputation. This seemed to him like a suicide mission.