“He told me I couldn’t see you anymore,” I rush out, swallowing the bile which rises up my throat.
If I tell Landon the whole truth, I risk my father’s wrath, and that is something I can’t afford to do, especially as Landon might try to get between me and my father. I’ve no doubt now that my father’s a monster, and I don’t know how far he would go to protect his filthy secret. Landon and I could both end up hurt.
Landon sighs, and the heavy breath is loud in my ear. A rogue tear escapes from the corner of my eye; it runs slowly down my face and over the slight curve of my cheek before dripping silently onto my collarbone. I don’t bother wiping it away. No one would believe me even if I screamed it out until I was blue in the face. The lies protect my father, but what will it cost me to keep these secrets?
Chapter Eight
Landon
I can’t make Lil tell me the truth, but it doesn’t take much to work out that something more is going on than she’s admitting to. I’ve seen the way Kellen watches his daughter with the same hungry look in his eyes that I wear whenever she’s around. But a dad shouldn't be lusting after his child like that; it’s totally wrong. Lil is gorgeous. There’s no denying her beauty, but this is both depraved and immoral...fucking incest.
Even if she did open up to me, I know she wouldn’t let me tell anyone, and to be perfectly honest, she’s right that no one in our community would believe him capable of such things. They are blind to what I can clearly see.
I’ve always assumed Kellen hated me for refusing to toe the line when it came to my parents’ wishes and because I’d refuted the teachings of this community and our church. As a result, I believed he didn’t think I was good enough for his daughter. But now I realise his anger is directed towards me because he wants to touch his daughter, and he’s jealous I can without the legal and societal repercussions that bind him. I may not be good enough for his daughter, but he’s not any better for her. In fact he’s worse than I could ever be. I can only hope the threat of prison will be enough to stop him taking things further and keep Lil safe from his lecherous, un-fatherly thoughts.
I’ll leave this for now, but I’m not going to forget about it. I’ll be watching Lil as closely as I can for any visible signs of distress or hints that something bad is happening. I can’t prove she’s lying to me, but I’m going to trust my gut on this.
“Why don’t you come stay with me for a few days?” I suggest.
“I can’t,” she answers, her voice cracking on the words.
It twists my heart being unable to do anything to help her. Our community is so close that everyone always knows everybody else’s business. We’d be ripped to shreds for daring to speak against her father. My parents instant acceptance of Kellen’s lies about me, and their agreement with him that my behaviour was irresponsible, pushed me even farther away from the path they had laid down for me since I was a child. To our parents’ disbelief and anger, Lil refused to sever contact with me even when she was ordered to.
I’m far from respected here. I’m definitely the black sheep of the flock, and I know Lil could be too, but she hides her darker side under thinly veiled shades of grey. No one knows the true Lil concealed beneath the pretty and obedient face she presents to the outside world. Lil is an expert at crafting lies...though until recently, she never lied to me. We both know the truth she’s trying to mask, but I love her enough that I let her shield the pain in prettily dressed up tales.
The Lil I get to see when we’re alone is sexy, and a bit of a rebel with a foul-mouth. She isn’t just my girlfriend, she’s my whole damn world. I wish there was something I could do to help her. I’m goddamned powerless when it comes to saving Lil because she’s too reliant on Kellen right now. Her age and her studies prevent me from swooping in and whisking her away from this place and everyone in it. The community is poison, and her father is the worst of them, but he’s being shielded by the faith they all share.
“Lil, you’d tell me if he hurt you, right?” I ask.
I sound like an arsehole, but I need to hear the words. I need to know she wouldn’t hesitate to come to me, to ask for my help if she needed it.
“Yes,” she sighs, and I smile into the darkness of my bedroom because she sounds stronger even though there’s no honesty in her single word answer to reassure me.
“Pepsi is better than Coke, by the way,” I deadpan.
“Lies!” her laughter fills my ears, and I shrug even though she can’t see me.
“You asked for it, Lil,” I tease, keeping my voice light.
She laughs softly, the sound erasing the last tendrils of doubt and fear that had wrapped around my heart. “I love you, Landon.”
“Love you too, Lil,” I tell her, lying back down on the bed when she hangs up.
I’d do anything to protect her from harm, but I won’t act unless I have to. The last thing I want to do is needlessly interfere and cause more problems for Lil. I sound like a fucking pussy, but I’ve loved Lil since we were kids. I’m only weak for her. With a groan, I sit up, slide off the bed, and make my way over to the window. I draw the curtains back and stare through the glass at the darkened landscape, lit only by a lone street lamp, and the woodland directly across the road from our houses.
I can’t see her room from here, the position of our houses prevents it, but I know if she were looking out of her own window, then we’d be sharing the same view. There aren’t many houses on this side of town; there’s just this single row on a quiet road. In spite of the people, and the holier than thou mentality of the townsfolk, I love it here. The seclusion, the silence of the immediate surrounding area, and the fact that moving here fourteen years ago brought me to Lil.
Yawning, I glance at the clock on my nightstand and groan. Fuck, it’s nearly 3AM, and I’ve got a class in the morning. Thankfully, it’s not an early one. Lil and I only have a few more months until our final exams, and then come September, we’ll both be far away from here at university...assuming we don’t bail on this town and its inhabitants before then.
Chapter Nine
Kellen
Three days have passed since the incident. I’ve fixed the bathroom door and repeatedly attempted to speak to Lillian who is remaining stubbornly resistant. I’ve been watching her closely, and I haven’t seen anything to indicate she might have spoken to anyone about what happened. She’s been studying every time I’ve seen her, and when she comes down for dinner, she hardly speaks a word. She’s upset with me, and I suppose I can understand why. I don’t regret it, though, and keeping my distance is nearly impossible now I’ve had my first real taste of her. It’s been three days too long, and I’ve had enough of the silence stretching like a gulf between us.
Both nights since it happened, I’ve found myself standing outside her closed bedroom door with one hand wrapped around the doorknob, and the other around my throbbing cock. Each time, I’ve ended up in the bathroom, staring at the floor where I had her beneath me and furiously jerking off to the memory of her image and flavour. She was so responsive. Even in her sleep, her body reacted to my touch.
Lillian may believe this is sick, but she is meant to be with me; she just doesn’t realise how much I love her and want to keep her safe. I’m already dreading when she leaves for university because she’ll be under a different roof, far away from my protective influence, and vulnerable to every dumb little fuck who doesn’t deserve her.
It’s late and once again I’m frustrated with myself, and my continued hesitation when it comes to her. I’m sitting at the dining room table, a glass of water next to my hand, and a worn book sitting open in front of me. Light footsteps on the stairs draw my attention, and I look up from the page.
Lillian is sneaking down, no doubt planning on slipping out while she thinks I’m asleep. Getting to my feet, I cautiously make my way down the hallway towards the bottom of the stairs. Due to the layout of the house, she can’t see me approaching, and I manage to go unseen until I’m almost directly be
hind her.
“Where do you think you’re going at this time of night, Lillian?” I question. She jumps when she hears my voice and lets out an adorable squeak.
“Ummm, n-nowhere,” she stammers, but the guilty look on her face reveals the truth.
“You were going to see Landon weren’t you?” I say, taking a step towards her.
She knows she’s been caught, and her eyes are wide like those of a deer caught in a set of headlights. So young, so innocent, and so fucking trapped. I move forward again, purposefully slow, and I can’t help the predatorial rush that spikes in my blood. I realise I’m preying on her, but sometimes temptation is too much to resist. God, help me, I’m going to go to hell for this, but I don’t have the strength to stop myself.
Lillian doesn’t move. She’s frozen to the spot, and the terror rolling off her in waves is a shockingly delicious sight. There must be something wrong with me, but blood rushes south to my cock which twitches and thickens, and it’s all for the young woman standing petrified in front of me. Too young, too innocent, but the corruption is running like fire through my veins and it wants her...my own daughter.
I come to a stop towering over her, and the monster within me rises to the surface. Lifting a hand, I lightly run my fingers over the satin skin of her cheek and down the graceful curve of her neck. She flinches and stops breathing; she holds her breath while mine escapes in a heavy pant.
“So beautiful, Lillian,” I whisper, biting back the groan at her proximity.
I savour the feel of her name on my tongue which I want to bury inside her sweet pussy. She looks up at me with fear and pain in her eyes. A tear rolls down her cheek, and before I can restrain myself, I lean forward and catch it on my tongue, slowly dragging it across her skin. Lillian whimpers, and that sound combined with the taste of her in my mouth brings a haze of desire crashing down over me.
Lillian attempts to move away, but I close my hand around her pretty throat, stopping her in her tracks.
“Dad?” she asks, uncertainty lacing her tone.
“So sweet, my Lillian,” I breathe against her cheek.
Releasing my grip, I lower my hand, brushing over the swell of her breasts beneath the black denim jacket she’s wearing.
“Dad, stop,” she whispers, and I flick my eyes up to meet hers.
Another surge of heat rushes to my groin, engorging my already rigid cock even farther until it’s painful. I don’t need to look down to know how much it’s tenting the tight material of my jeans; I can feel it. Regaining some sense of lucidity, I drop my hand and take a step back.
I swallow hard before biting out, “Phone and keys, Lillian. Hand them over. You’re grounded.”
“What?!” she exclaims, “I’m seventeen, Dad. I’m not a child anymore. You can’t do this!”
“I’m the parent, and while you’re under my roof, you’ll do as I damn well say!” I snap, my voice raising in volume at the end.
“Well, maybe you should act like you’re a parent and not like some perv who wants to get his rocks off with his teenage daughter!” she shouts back at me.
“Hand them over, Lillian,” I order, hand outstretched.
“Fine! Fine!” she huffs angrily, slamming the items into my hand.
I close my fingers around them and her hand, and I tug her towards me, “Behave yourself, and you’ll get these back. Just remember, you’re not too old for a spanking,” I threaten, my eyes roaming down her form to where her slightly curved hips highlight the soft globes of her arse.
“Fucking sick,” she gasps, yanking her hand away.
Before I can reprimand her for the foul language, she’s darting up the stairs and back into her bedroom. The slam of her door echoes throughout the house and shakes the windowpanes in their frames. I look down at the evidence of my extreme arousal and then up the stairs to the hallway leading to the room my daughter just stormed into.
“What have I done?” I mumble, breathing hard.
Chapter Ten
Lillian
I can’t keep doing this. I don’t know how much more I can bear, and how much longer I can live with the terror of knowing my father may take this further than he already has. He’s taken my phone, and after I tried to get out the other night, he’s locked all of the windows.
Even if someone does come round for me, assuming I could get to the door before him, there’s no point in telling them he’s attempting to imprison me in the house. He’ll simply tell them I’m ‘grounded’. How the fuck do I argue with that?
I’m now on study leave, so it’s not like the school will be flagging my absences, and I know if this goes on for much longer, he’ll insist on escorting me to every single one of my exams. This whole situation is a clusterfuck. I can’t see any way out that won’t result in me ending up back where I started only in a worse position, having aroused my father’s ire even more.
I shudder, swallowing back the bile which rises in my throat. What am I going to do? The house feels like it’s getting smaller every day. My father’s presence is contaminating every inch of my home and encroaching ever closer to me. This room is no longer my sanctuary. Since he violated me in here, it feels like it’s suffocating me.
It feels like I’m balanced on the edge of a knife, and I don’t know which way I’m going to fall. Will it be into the freedom hovering just out of reach and tempting me with escape? Or will it be into my father’s lap? Will I be the victor, or will I be the victim?
Tension stiffens my muscles, and my back straightens when I sense my father come up behind me. I never know when he’s going to force his affections on me in the shape of touches, which are rougher now and feel like shards of glass being embedded into my skin, or heated kisses on my cheek that are getting closer to my lips each day and slowly poisoning my heart. He’s my father and God knows I should love him, but I can’t.
THE DOORBELL RINGS, and a pounding at the door distracts me from my studying. I’ve immersed myself into revision in an attempt to distract myself from everything going on around me. The banging on the door stops abruptly, and I look back down at the textbook.
“How dare you presume to tell me what I can and can’t do in my own house, boy!” The sound of my father’s raised voice trickles through my bedroom door, and I jerk my head up in surprise.
Landon’s here! I jump to my feet, hurtle out of my room, and down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
“Landon!” I call out, and the desperation in my voice is obvious even to my own ears.
My father turns to glare at me, and my blood runs cold at the lustful anger swirling in his eyes. I gasp and take a fearful step back. He rounds on Landon again and takes a menacing step towards him.
“You’re not good enough for Lillian. I suggest you back off. Come here again, and I’ll call the police and have you arrested for trespassing. She’s never going to see you ever again. I’m not naïve...I can guess what you’ve been doing when you’re alone with her. Now get off my property, or I’ll drag you back over to your parents and explain to them how you’ve been corrupting my daughter with your lies and filthy hands,” my father hisses, malice and hatred seeping from every word.
I let out a small sob. Landon’s gaze flickers to mine over my father’s shoulder. He must see something in my expression because his grey eyes darken to the colour of steel and determination crosses his features. He attempts to shoulder his way into the house, but my father shoves him back.
“No!” I call out, reaching towards him.
“Go to your room and stay there, Lillian!” my father roars, and dread washes through me like a stormy tide.
“Landon, just go!” I shout, pleading with my eyes for him to leave whilst at the same time, hopefully, conveying to him how much I love him for trying to save me.
I can’t be saved.
“You won’t get rid of me that easily, Kellen,” Landon spits out, straightening himself before he spins on his heel and strides back down the garden path to where his motor
bike is idling at the curb.
The roar of the engine is cut off when my father slams the door shut on the only person who has some knowledge of the truth. The only person who would be willing to help me. God, give me strength, I pray faithlessly when my father turns and stalks towards me. I can’t move. I’m pinned in place by the cold fury and desire in his gaze which is directed at me.
His hand closes around my arm, and his fingers bite into the skin. I gasp at the tight grip pinching my arm. But the fear I’m experiencing, cuts deeper and hurts so much more than his touch right now. My socked feet slip on the laminate flooring as he proceeds to drag me towards the stairs, and I nearly fall.
“Dad, stop. You’re hurting me,” I cry weakly, trying to pry his fingers away from my arm.
His hold loosens, but not enough for me to be able to get myself free. When he bypasses my room and pulls me towards his, I let out a long high-pitched scream.
“No! Dad, no! Don’t do this!” I plead, tears falling down my face.
I need to be strong, but what can I do against him?
“Naughty girls deserve to be punished, Lillian. You continue to defy me at every turn,” he growls, kicking the door to his room open and dragging me over to his bed.
He sits and pulls me facing down across his lap. I immediately jerk away from the erection prodding my stomach and slap him across his face...consequences be damned. He grabs my wrists in one of his large hands and pulls me back into position. Humiliation, disgust, and terror are warring through my brain, fighting for dominance. I wriggle and thrash against him, desperately trying to break free until a sharp spank across my arse wrenches a scream from my lips.
“No, stop, stop, stop,” I beg when his hand lands on my arse again.
Rough fingers aggressively yank my leggings down, exposing my naked backside to him. I’m not a child, and this is not a normal punishment. When his palm connects with my bare skin, stinging pain radiates from the now sensitive area. I scream and buck, trying to get away.
Thou Shall Not: A Dark Ten Commandments Anthology Page 31