Empathy (17 page)

“It’s them starring back at me. It’s the only thing left of them, the only thing left of the girl they raised and shaped to make it in the world. That girl, the one who crawled out and left this shell, died in that house with them yet her face stares back at me. My dad’s eyes, Mom’s cheekbones and nose.” She shudders from the force of her sob.

“And it’s beautiful and should be celebrated. They created a stunning, remarkable woman who is still here, Puya. She just needs to accept it and live with the changes in that girl. No-one is ever the same when evil visits, but how you let it sculpt and define you is the key to surviving it.”

Liquid jade swirls pierce me. The warm, soft pressure of her body presses into me as she leans back. She loosens the towel, making it fall to the floor. I kick it away with my foot and drink in the sight of her completely laid bare to me, not just her naked frame but her soul, her heart, all there for my taking if I wish it, and God help me I want it. To take it would change me irrevocably, but to ignore it would be irredeemable. I need to let this saint wash away some of the bad in me, but doing so makes me a worse sinner, corrupting an angel, letting her fall for the damned. I’m enthralled by her, I need to claim her completely, teach her to embrace the new her, pour all my fucking want straight into her, possess her pleasure and heal her fear.

Her skin is still damp, varnishing her skin with a cool mist, and tiny goose bumps layer the soft flesh beneath them. My hand skims back down to her throat, feeling the wavering pulse underneath it.

“Own it,” I breathe, kissing along her shoulder, licking the coating of water mixed with her unique flavor into my mouth. Her hands rise up to hold on to the forearm of the hand gently squeezing her neck.

“Own me,” she murmurs.

I pull free from her, causing her to turn to watch me scatter my clothes to the floor until I’m mimicking her naked form. Her mouth pops open when her eyes bear down on my thick cock standing on salute for her. I reach for her, fisting a handful of her hair and manoeuvring her to the bed. Attacking her plump lips with my own; thrashing my tongue into her mouth, I establish my dominance over her. I tear away, leaving her panting. Spinning her and pushing her front down on the mattress, my body follows over hers, enveloping her with me. I keep my hand firm in her hair tugging her head back. Using my knee I shift it between her thighs and tap aggressively, forcing her to widen them. I groan as the sheen of her arousal coats her perfect pink slit, her pussy lips spread, giving me a sample of what’s waiting to swallow my cock. God, she’s like the perfect sex buffet, her tight little pussy a feast I can’t wait to gorge on but first I need to help her restore what’s broken in her, this nightmare haunting and owning her. As sick as it is, the entity that installed this fear was me and it will be me to help her overcome it. It doesn’t matter in this moment; this feels too right to be all the wrong, my brain was whispering it was.

I trace the glaze of her pussy with the tips of my finger, dipping one inside her. The answering moan entices me to slip another finger inside the liquid heat, groaning when her walls clench greedily at me, coating them in a film of her essence. I push deeper then pull back, gliding in and out at a teasing pace, making her ass wriggle and push onto my hand. “Ride my fingers, Puya. Show me how bad you need it.”

Rotating her hips, she gains friction, and she feels so good screwing my hand with abandon. Her pleasure cries are driving me insane, making me hand fuck her right back, stroking at her g-spot with every thrust forward. I know she’s going to cum, I can feel the tightening of her pussy, the rippling of her muscles grasping for release, and I will give it to her. Slipping my fingers from her without warning I plunge my hard cock balls deep with such ferocity the bed shifts under the intensity of my entry. One hand tugs at her hair, the other grips her hip, pulling it against the onslaught of my cock invading every inch of her delicious, warm core. She consumes me, I can’t get any deeper inside her yet I’ll never be deep enough. We’re joined in ecstasy but the connection is so much more than that. I’m high on her elixir and I never want to come down.

My pace is fast and hard and she matches me stroke for stroke, circling her hips every time my tip pushes her to her limit. A warm feeling trickles up my spine the pressure and pulling in my cock as my balls tightened. Leaning into her, I drop her hair and wrap her life in my palm once again. My pelvis still thrashes into her, my balls slapping against her ass. Her wet pussy draws me in with haste but her body stills from the position of my hand.

“You survived.” I ram forward, hitting the bundle of nerves tucked up in the front of her vagina. Her breath is stolen by my grip as I force my hips brutally into her. “Own it, then he can’t win,” I grunt as her body tenses, her pussy squeezing my cock so tight I think it may stay inside her even when I pull free. Her body breaks into a heated frenzy of pleasure throes, and I release her throat so her vocal cords can echo her moans into the room. My own release rips from me with ribbons of cum flooding her inside.

I’M COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED SEXUALLY, MENTALLY and emotionally. I have never felt this raw before but at the same time, safe and slowly healing. Sex has always been pleasant for me. Zane was a tender lover, sweet and caring, but God I never knew sex could feel like that. Blake is bigger than Zane by a good few inches but it was the passion, the intensity of our need that was new to me. He read my body as if he was created just for that, he played my pleasure, creating a flawless symphony and I’m sinking in his sinful allure, but I don’t want to be saved. I want to be covered in everything he is. I’m captivated by the soul of this inconsistent, confusing, mesmerising man who just showed me I can be saved. I can fix some parts of me that I thought were lost. I will never fully recover but I will learn to keep breathing, healing, and surviving without them.

The delicate touch of his fingertips dancing over my skin makes me smile up at him. He took me twice more after the first time, taking his time to sate his sexual palate. The sore hum between my thighs reminds me of his complete ownership over my pleasure. “Why do you call me Puya?”

He recoils a little before saying, “Your tattoo. It’s not the only rare blooming flower. Puya chilensis are rare, and their bloom is extremely rare, but when they do it’s unique. They are adaptable and can survive almost anything.”

I move further into him. “That’s beautiful.” His nose wrinkles, it’s quick and he tries to hide it but his eyes are looking everywhere but at me. “Are you lying?” I prod at his naked chest. He grins and it’s breath-taking.

“No. I’m avoiding a key element.”

“Spill it.”

Wrapping me up in his arms and pulling me on top of him, he nuzzles my neck. “Sheep become impaled on their sharp spikes. They die and the plant absorbs them.” I tug away from him but he holds me firm. “You snared me in your captivating hold, you re-wakened me and you’ve slowly been absorbing my soul every night since.”

Oh God, I’m falling hard and fast. I lower my lips to his, soaking in the fierceness of his touch. Knuckles rap against the door and break our connection. If it’s Cherry and Red they will melt into a puddle at the sight of Blake naked in my bed.

“Just be quiet they’ll go away.” I chuckle.

“Mel, you in there?”

Oh my God, Zane? My insides squeeze. I expected to hear from him sooner but not a visit. An email or text at the least, a call at the most, but shit, he’s at the door and I’m naked on top of a detective.

“Who’s that?” Blake’s deadly voice shocks me into action.

“Shit, shit.” I jump from the bed, grabbing my robe and sheathing my body in the thin, cool silk fabric. I gather Blake’s wet clothes and toss them in the bathroom as he appears behind me, me making me jump.

“Who is he?”

I push him towards the bathroom. “He’s my oldest friend,” I answer, shutting him in the bathroom and going to answer the incessant knocking.

The door whooshes open with a gentle tug, lifting the air up around me and making my hair fly across my face. Calloused fingers scoop the strands, tucking them behind my ear. Bright blue eyes meet mine, along with a half-smile.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I was away with the team, my folks only just told me. I jumped a plane straight here.”

Tears fall from my eyes as his arms encompass me in their familiar comfort. His smell reminds me of home, the feel of his ironed shirt against my cheek, warm from his body underneath. Zane always runs hot. His athletic body is constantly burning, making him warm to touch even in the harsh winter nights.

My tears leak onto the cotton.

“Let’s go inside, Cereus.”

My stomach drops. Shit, how am I going to play this? I need to get dressed, get Zane out of here and then text Blake.

Zane slowly motions me backwards.

“I just need to get dressed then we can go get coffee. You want to meet me outside in ten…” My words fade into a whisper when I realise Zane is staring over my shoulder.

Awkward. I inhale and trace his path with my own eyes. Blake stands in the bathroom doorway, arms braced against the top of the frame, his sun caressed skin pulling tight over all those defined muscles. He works out, I felt him inside my body, pumping into me, over me, skin on skin, touched and licked every groove yet he still leaves me lightheaded, staring. He’s shameless, bold and I’m uncertain of his motives. Will he make a crude joke or is he establishing his place, letting Zane know I have someone now. Do I have someone? Yes, without a doubt for me. He’s inside, consuming me. I felt him in my veins, follicles, every tiny fibre he had infected and I wasn’t looking to be cured. I welcomed the fever he brought on me.

Zane’s eyes bounce from me to naked Blake.

“Blake, this is Zane from back home. Zane, please excuse Blake’s nakedness, we got caught in the storm.”

Blake’s hands drop to his sides, his feet taking casual strides towards us, his arm coming around my waist, pulling me against him. “That’s not why we’re naked, though, huh? Baby.” He emphasises the
baby
, and a chill races across my skin. He heard Zane call me baby.

Zane studies us both before saying, “You seem like a real decent guy and all, Blade, was it? But I came along way and it wasn’t to see who had the bigger cock. I came to see my girl.”

The atmosphere is so thick with animosity, a recollection of the taste of blood in the air fires off in my mind.

“Please don’t do this,” I say.

I feel Blake’s fury and it’s terrifying. My body shakes. Zane’s voice calms my nerves with his next sentence.

“Hey, breathe, Mel. It’s okay. I’m going to wait outside while you get dressed, okay?”

This is why I loved him; he’s level-headed and knows me so well. I can’t handle any violence or aggressive glares and barbs, especially not from two people I care about.

The door shuts quietly behind him. Sighing I turn to smack at Blake’s chest. “That was pathetic.”

“Your pussy is warm with my cum and you being called baby while wrapped up in another guys arms is insulting to me.”

I want to strangle him. He’s a being a douche but he’s right. I hid him in the bathroom like I was caught doing something wrong. We’re both adults, and me and Zane haven’t been together in a long time.

“You’re crude and an ass but you’re right. I’m sorry.”

He seemed stunned by my reaction. His eye flash wide a slither of a smile tilting the corner of his mouth. “Good, because this shit is new for me and I don’t know how to deal with everything I’m feeling. I’m learning as I go but I know this much, Puya. I claimed you as mine today and there is nothing and no-one that will change that. That means I may act pathetic from time to time but believe me, that is tame compared to what my inner voice wants to do, so you keep yourself from other guys’ arms and I’ll keep from killing them.”

Okay, wow. What do I say to that?
Since I met him he’s been like a tornado ripping through me, turbulent and unpredictable. Now I’m in the eye it’s still scary, an eerie calm with all the chaos swirling on the outer edge. He’s baring his soul to me, showing me a deeper part of himself. He isn’t used to connecting and although he really needs to word things better and not act like a caveman, he’s being vulnerable, opening himself up and that is a huge deal for him. I want to protect his vulnerability, shield him from exposing himself so he doesn’t feel weak from it.