by Linnea May
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, she’s not stupid,” he says. “Desperate maybe, but not stupid. She knows there’s nothing to gain for her anymore because she couldn’t convince you to buy her little story.”
“Well, she did a really bad job at sounding plausible,” I note. “You’d think that she’d show up prepared, having an answer for every question I could ask. But that was not the case at all. She seemed insecure and confused half the time.”
Cedric sighs. “In the end, she’s just another victim of my vicious mother.”
I reach over to him and place my hand on his shoulder. He smiles at me and puts his hand on mine, gently squeezing it.
“What will you do about her?” I ask. “Your mother. She’s still out there.”
“I’m not sure yet,” he admits. “I have our phone conversation on record; it might be enough to get her locked up again, but I cannot be sure of it.”
“You had it recorded?” I clarify.
He nods. “Yes, I’ve had a system installed for that a long time ago. For security reasons.”
“Oh,” I make.
He chuckles. “Don’t worry, it’s just a what-if kind of thing. It’s not like I am getting threats or people blackmailing me all the time. It is just something I want to be prepared for.”
“It’s too bad you have to be prepared for something like that,” I say.
“It’s a small price to pay for living a life like this, wouldn’t you say?”
He makes a wide gesture through the room. We have lit some candles, immersing the area in a warm, relaxing light. Unlike in my apartment, the numerous plants around get taken care of regularly and decorate the room with their strong and green leaves. Even though I cannot see it from where I am sitting right now, I know the bustling city to be far below us. We are right in the middle of it but still secluded in our own privacy.
It does come close to how I would imagine paradise.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cedric turns out to be right. Both women are scared away by him threatening to execute his power and quickly promise to leave us alone. It seems almost too easy.
I am glad that I won’t have to face either one of them ever again, but I still needed to find out who that little kid on Adriana’s arm was. Cedric asked me to leave it alone because going after this could only mean that I would have to talk to Adriana again.
Of course, I didn’t like the idea of doing that, but I still tried my luck with it. I only had the e-mail address she gave me to contact her, but she no longer replied on there, which was yet another sign that she had given up on her foul plans.
It was only through luck that we were able to find about the boy’s background. Cedric still had an old phone number of hers, and we tried calling Adriana on that. However, the person who picked up the phone was not Adriana herself but her surprisingly reasonable mother, who had inherited Adriana’s old cell phone. When Cedric told her about the situation, she was not only shocked at her daughter’s behavior but could also tell us about the little boy. It turns out that he was Adriana’s nephew, and she borrowed him that afternoon to fool me.
It goes without saying that her mother was anything but happy to hear about it, but she also assured us that the kid is not endangered and led a happy life with his parents, Adriana’s brother and his wife. He just fell victim to his aunt’s stunt that one afternoon.
It still sickens me that Adriana went that far to make their plan work.
Cedric’s mother discredited herself by making a scene in a public place. She was originally released on condition that she would continue to take her medicine to keep her actions under control. She, however, was convinced that there was no further need for medication and threw her pills away as soon as she got out of the hospital.
That led to all kinds of lunatic behavior. She not only returned to her outrageous beliefs regarding her son but also began seeing evil all around her and especially in the form of men. After she attacked a random pedestrian on the street, accusing him of being just another one of ‘God’s most evil creatures’ and out to hurt every woman who crossed his path, she was taken in by the institution again.
I have to admit that despite everything she had done to Cedric and to us, I kind of feel sorry for the woman.
“Man, your dad leaving you guys really messed her up,” I say after Cedric tells me what the doctors have just told him on the phone.
“It’s not just that,” he says. “She’s sick. The wiring in her head is messed up. She’s been acting crazy all my life, which also led to my dad leaving.”
“You don’t know anything about his whereabouts, do you?” I clarify.
Cedric casts me a sad smile. “No, nothing. It has been a very long time, Renee. It’s not like I miss him or would even want to talk to him.”
He kisses me on the forehead.
“Besides, I have you now,” he whispers. “What more could I want?”
“You sweet charmer,” I tease him.
He casts me a naughty smile and looks over my shoulder because something seems to have caught his eye.
“Oh look, it’s snowing!” he announces as he looks to the panoramic window behind me.
I turn around to follow his eyes. Indeed, there are heavy snowflakes dancing in front of the window. It’s the first snow of the year.
“Aww!” I exclaim, jumping up from the sofa where we’d been sitting and running towards the giant window.
I still have too much respect of the dangerous looking depth beneath, so I don’t dare to touch it but get as close as I feel comfortable with to watch the snow dance in front of my eyes.
Cedric joins me, placing his hand around my hip and pulling me closer to him.
The snow reminds me of something I have been meaning to ask him.
“What do you usually do for Christmas?”
“Christmas?” he asks, looking down at me questioning.
“Yeah, I mean… since you obviously don’t spend it with your parents,” I reply, feeling bad for even posing this question, which I am sure must be hurtful for him.
“Nothing special really,” he says looking outside the window again. “It’s different every year. Sometimes, I would spend it with my gym buddy or at a party sponsored by my publisher.”
He smiles. “Once, I flew away to the Philippines.”
“The Philippines?” I ask.
“Yeah, I was cold,” he says. “I wanted to be somewhere warm.”
We both laugh, and he hugs me a little tighter.
“Why do you ask?”
I gulp. There’s a reason why I’d asked him, but I am surprisingly shy about revealing it now.
“Well, I thought… because, you know I usually go to my parents’ place and…,” I utter. “Maybe… you’d like to come with me this year?”
He looks down at me, visibly surprised.
“I’ve already asked my mom,” I add, even though that is not exactly true. I just mentioned the possibility of asking Cedric, which was enough to drive her into crazy mom mode - the good kind of crazy. She was absolutely thrilled about the idea of me finally bringing a man home for Christmas. She loved Cedric since that surprising phone conversation they’d had a few weeks ago.
“My parents would be happy to have you,” I say, downplaying the situation tremendously.
He looks at me with an unreadable face.
“Well, actually, they’d be thrilled,” I correct myself. “Especially my mom. She loves you.”
Finally, his expression changes into a smile.
“Well, that’s another first for me,” he says.
“What?”
“A mother who loves me,” he explains.
This sentence almost breaks my heart. I look up at him, trying to reciprocate his loving smile, but my stupid body has other things in mind. A single tear manages to find its way across my cheek.
I lower my face and wipe it away immediately, but it’s too late. He has noticed.
He pla
ces his finger below my chin and forces me to look up at him again. There is no sorrow in his face, just a smile that expresses nothing but gratitude and love.
“I would love to spend Christmas with you and your family,” he whispers and plants a kiss on my forehead. “See? I am the luckiest man on earth.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Video games, huh?” he asks, looking down at me with an amused smile.
We are sitting on the couch. I am cuddled up next to him, both of us completely naked and still breathing heavily from our play session.
It had been too long since we last played this extensively, and I acted sassy all day to tease him and get the Dominant out in him. I needed it, badly.
All the stress and confusions of the past few weeks were released in an explosive session that included candle wax for the first time. He had tied my wrists to the feet of the sofa, forcing me to bend over on the floor with my knees on the soft area rug and my ass up in the air as he let hot candle wax drop on my behind. The fiery stings were different than what I was used to from the spankings, but I enjoyed them just as much.
He fucked me from behind while randomly adding more droplets of wax on my back and even more so on my ass cheeks. The feeling was incredible.
The hardened wax is still tugging at my skin every time I move. I was worried about leaving wax remnants all over the place and especially on his couch when he released my wrists and asked me to get into his hug, but Cedric doesn’t seem to mind.
“Yes,” I say. “The video gaming industry. I think it would make perfect sense for me.”
We had talked about my job issues earlier but got interrupted by wild desire when I used yet another chance to tease him. My face turned into a victorious smile when he finally had enough and jump towards me, grabbing my wrists and forcing them behind my back with one hand while the other grabbed me by the hair, tilting my head back to bless me with a greedy kiss. Things evolved from there as he finally had his way with me. Despite the pain he inflicted, I couldn’t help but smile and moan with relish during most of our session.
Cedric smiles at me and lovingly caresses my cheek.
“You know I would support you with any decision you make in that regard,” he whispers. “I love the glow in your eyes when you talk about this. It’s incredibly cute.”
“So you think I should try for it?” I ask.
“You don’t need my permission, beautiful,” he says. “But if you’re asking for my support and my opinion: Yes, absolutely. Go for it. You know I hate to see you working in a job you don’t like.”
He plants a kiss on my forehead. “Especially since you don’t have to.”
“Cedric,” I whisper. “You know I don’t want to sponge off of you.”
“That is such an ugly word,” he says. “Why can’t you see it as simply supporting you for a while?”
“Because it feels… icky.”
“Icky, huh?” he asks. “But you are giving me so much. It’s almost as if you could pay your rent with your mere presence.”
I cast him a questioning look. “How so?”
“I have told you before: By inspiring me,” he whispers, affectionately playing with my hair. “My beautiful muse, you didn’t think that one book was the only one inspired by you?”
“Oh, is my boyfriend using me as inspiration for his current work, too?” I jokingly ask. “Is that why I never got to see or hear anything about it so far?”
“Maybe,” he says. “But I promise you, you will. I will need your input, once there is something I can present to you.”
“I am glad to help,” I assure him.
“But back to your endeavors,” he proceeds. “Have you ever considered that it might be necessary for you to accept my support?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I don’t know exactly how these things work,” he says. “But don’t a lot of the more interesting jobs ask for working experience? I know you have been working as a software developer for quite some time but not in the field you want to apply for now.”
I look up at him questioningly. “What’s your point?”
“You might have to start from zero again,” he explains. “By taking an internship or a trainee position, and - as you might know - those don’t pay well if they pay at all.”
I furl my eyebrows.
“We will see,” I mumble.
“Yes, we will,” he whispers, kissing me again. “I am happy you found something you want to go after. It’s sexy.”
“Sexy?” I ask, giggling as he starts kissing the line of my neck.
“Yes,” he breathes in between kisses. “Your enthusiasm and determination. My sexy little nerd.”
“Hey!” I complain, but he shuts me up with another kiss, eagerly parting my lips and exploring my mouth his tongue.
I lean into him, welcoming his kiss and turning around to touch him. We gasp and kiss, hungry for each other even though it has only been minutes since we last played.
How could I ever get enough of this man? It seems impossible in moments like these. My hand wanders along his ripped chest, teasing the area around his pelvis muscle before I reach for his member.
He is getting hard already, moaning deeply when I close my hand around him and gently start stroking his beautiful erection. He grows harder with every motion and starts moving his hips up and down ever so slightly.
I know I am ready for him and grab the chance to be in control once. His eyes open with surprise when I remove the blanket we have been wrapped in and get up on my knees, quickly moving my leg to the other side so that I am sitting on his lap.
“You little minx,” he breathes as I slowly guide him inside me.
I sit down on him, taking in his entire length and seductively move my hips back and forth, stimulating both of us by doing so.
He throws his head back onto the backrest of the sofa and groans with passion. It is rare that I get to see him like this, me on top, hovering over his beautiful face as he is floating in this sweet state of arousal.
Now I am the one who grabs him by the hair at the back of his head, which is barely long enough to be pulled at. I fixate his head and lean over to kiss him, licking the salty droplets of sweat on his upper lip before I invade his mouth.
I continue to grind him, stimulating my clit while he stretches me with his rock hard erection. I know he’s not used to me taking what I need from him like this. It is unusual and new, but he seems to enjoy it.
For the moment.
Soon, his hands grab me by the hips, and he is the one calling the shots by lifting me up a few inches so that he is still inside of me he starts moving his pelvis upward and bringing me down and back up again in strong, fast motions.
I moan and gasp due to the force of his movements. A vicious smile appears on his face as he keeps pounding me, using all his strength to make me bounce up and down on his cock.
I didn’t think I could come this way, but I am so agitated, so drunk with lust and power, that my orgasm hits me by surprise.
My eyes widen with astonishment, and Cedric solemnly smiles, increasing the force on his grip and adding two more deep and slow shoves before he finds his release deep inside of me. We engage in a deep and intimate embrace as our climax spreads through us in unison.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lesley opted for an early spring wedding and has turned into a typical nervous and excited bride weeks ahead of it. She chose me as her maid of honor, even though I repeatedly told her that I have very little confidence in my ability to undertake the task to her satisfaction. Weddings and all the duties, traditions and ceremonies that come with them have never been of great interest to me.
But luckily, Lesley and I see eye to eye on this matter. She wants to keep things rather modest and simple. Their guest list is very small, only counting the closest relatives and very few friends, and Lesley cares little about the ‘perfect flowers’ or the ‘perfect place cards’ or a perfect anything.
Her bachelorette party consists of her and me sharing a bunch of champagne bottles with another friend of hers and one of her cousins a week before the wedding. Cedric was involved in Tom’s bachelor party and told me that it was equally small and not too exuberant.
The location is a bit out of town in a cute and brightly colored cottage.
Cedric and I are sitting in one of the front rows and dutifully rise as the bride is about to enter. Poor Tom is standing at the front, looking more nervous and on edge than I have ever seen him before. I catch a glimpse of his face lighting up when Lesley is led in by her father. Being the goofball she is, she does not follow the tradition of solemnly bowing her head while tears of emotion are running down her cheeks. Instead, she beams at Tom the entire time, only quickly looking over to me and making a silly face shortly before her father, who is grinning from ear to ear himself, hands her over to Tom.
The good thing about her and Tom only inviting a handful of guests is that we get to spend some time with her after the ceremony.
Both she and Tom are glowing with happiness - and champagne induced drunkenness - when Cedric and I approach them. We clink glasses, and Lesley soon turns to me.
“So, was that that bad?” she asks, casting me a wide grin.
“So cheesy!” I tease her. “I never knew you had it in you, this girly, romantic side.”
“I think we all do,” she says winking at me.
“Well, it might still take a while for you to get her on board with this idea,” she adds, now turning to Cedric.
Cedric shakes his head, sporting the most sexy, confident smile.
“I’ve already gotten her halfway there,” he says, hinting at the fact that I moved in with him shortly after Christmas.
He was right when he said that his support might become necessary for me to pursue my dream of a new career. I’d sent out a bunch of applications without any success before I finally gave in and agreed to apply for an unpaid internship. It is at a rather small company that is just starting out, but I love their ideas and am finally at a point in my life where I enjoy going to work in the morning.