Chapter One

Calee

“You're doin' really great,” Danny says. “I'm really proud of you, Calee.”

I put the book down on the table and smile, feeling a bit of heat creep into my cheeks. I'm not really used to compliments – and I'm really not used to having people feel proud of me. It's – nice. A really strange and uncomfortable, but ultimately nice feeling.

“Thank you,” I murmur and turn my eyes away.

“Hey,” Danny says and lifts my chin, making me look him in the eyes.

“You've come a long way in a short amount of time,” he says. “You should be proud of yourself too.”

A rueful chuckle escapes me. “You know they say pride goeth before a fall.”

Danny laughs and shakes his head. “Maybe out there on the Ark,” he says gently. “But here in the real world, there's nothin' wrong with taking a little pride in a job well done.”

When I was ten, my parents moved me onto a compound in southern Wyoming called the Ark. Without even giving me a choice, they immersed me into a religious group called Noah's Children. My parents grew tired of life on the compound and left a few years later – but not before they'd married me off to the leader of Noah's Children, Raymond Hester.

Like any cult leader – because speaking plainly, that's what he is – Raymond is intelligent and charismatic. And like most cult leaders, he's completely sociopathic. Though claiming to be a religious sect, Noah's Children is actually more like a group of hardcore Doomsday preppers and the Ark is a heavily armed fortress.

Oh, Raymond talks a good talk about the Bible and religion and all, but underneath that pious exterior, there's a dark undercurrent. He's angry. Paranoid. Violent. And more than anything, he's spoiling for a fight. He wants a chance to prove that the government or whoever his bogeyman of the day might be, really is out to get him. He wants nothing more than a chance to open up the secret armory and start a war.

For a few of us, life on the compound is filled with tension and fear. Some of us are just waiting for the day the guns start to fire and the bombs start to go off. The older Raymond gets, the more paranoid and vicious he becomes, and I know it's only a matter of time before the fight he so desperately wants, happens. The question is not if – it's when.

It sounds dramatic. Like something out of a movie. But that's life out on the Ark. A life I'd give anything to get away from.

“You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for, you know,” Danny says.

I shrug. “We do receive a rudimentary education on the compound. We learn to read, write, do basic math,” I say. “He says God wants us all to be able to read His word. But Raymond doesn't like anybody – especially the girls – too educated though.

“Of course not,” Danny rolls his eyes. “Because then, you might start questionin' him. Might start seein' him for what he is.”

I nod. “Yes. That's exactly it.”

There's a small school on the Ark where we're taught the basics. Just the simple things – enough, so that we can function in town and interact with others. But like Danny said, Raymond doesn't want any of us to be – too smart.

Unfortunately for him – and unlike many at the Ark – I know I'm a smart girl and have an unquenchable intellectual curiosity. As a child – before I was taken to the compound – I read everything I could get my hands on. Unlike most kids my age, I enjoyed school. I enjoyed learning. I took to it with passion and zeal and was outpacing my classmates by a wide margin.

But that all stopped once my parents joined Raymond and Noah's Children. As I got a little bit older and was allowed to do some of the shopping in town, I'd sneak books and whatnot back to my room and read them all – oftentimes, more than once. But it was no substitute for a real education. I did the best I could to educate myself, but I could only do so much with what I had available to me.

And because my education is – somewhat stunted – I feel like I'm still well behind most everybody my age when it comes to things like reading and math, among other things.

And it drives me crazy.

I often tell myself that one day, I'll have the courage to run away from the compound. That I'll have the strength to escape and start a new life somewhere else. And that's why I need to be educated. I need to be ready to be able to function in society. Get a job. An apartment. I need to be able to speak to others without sounding like a blithering idiot.

And for the last year and a half or so, Danny has secretly been tutoring me. Getting me up to speed as best he can. I tell myself that having him in my life serves a very practical purpose. But deep down, I know that it's more than that. I enjoy being around him. I enjoy his company. He helps make me feel like I'm not alone in this world. He makes me feel like somebody actually cares about me.

It's not something I'm used to, but it's something I've come to enjoy. Even rely upon. Danny is my only connection to the outside world. He's my lifeline.

Of course, if Raymond ever found out about Danny and me, he'd kill the both of us.

I tell myself that some things are worth the risk though. Spending time with Danny brings a little light into my life. The only light I have to look forward to. He helps lift me up and make my existence a little less dreary. And he helps satisfy not just my intellectual needs, but my physical desires as well.

Biting my bottom lip, I stand up and look him in the eye. He gives me a small smile and stands up. Raising my hands over my head, I let him lift the shapeless gray dress I'm forced to wear on the compound. I kick off my shoes and pull off my gray knee socks.

And then I'm standing before him completely naked. I never grow tired of the way his eyes roam my body – the way he takes me in so thoroughly and completely. He looks at me with a raw hunger in his eyes that makes my heart stutter. And he looks at me as if I'm the most beautiful piece of art hanging in the most prestigious museum in the world.

Seeing that look of pure desire on his face never fails to make the fire between my thighs burn even brighter. And it never fails to get me wet.

“You didn't wear panties today?” Danny asks, his eyebrow raised and a flirty smile on his lips.

“I figured they'd just get in the way.”

He steps forward and kisses me, long and hard. He runs his hands through my long, dark hair, gently pulling on it, as our tongues swirl and dance with one another. Running the tip of his tongue down my neck, I moan softly as he gently nips my collarbone while his hands knead my breasts.

Sliding my hand down, I stroke his cock through his jeans. Feeling him grow stiffer beneath my hand makes the fire in me burn hotter, makes me grow even wetter. I squeeze him hard, drawing a moan from him. Danny slides his hand between my thighs, the tip of his finger tickling my clit. And when he slips his finger into me, driving it in deep, I gasp.

I feel my face flushing as Danny moves his finger inside of me, sliding it in and out. I dig my nails into his shoulder as he slides a second finger into me and begins moving them harder and faster. I cry out as he drives them deep into me and begin to feel that familiar warmth beginning to spread out inside of me.

Quickly dropping to his knees, Danny puts my leg up over his shoulder and buries his face in the warm, wet center of me. I grasp his hair, pulling it as he licks and sucks on the most intimate parts of me.

“Danny,” I moan. “Oh God, Danny...”

His tongue teases my clit, licking and sucking on it as he slips his fingers back into me. He pumps them into me hard and fast, his tongue moving quickly and expertly on my clit. I throw my head back and cried out, intense sensations gripping my body.

I grind myself down on Danny's face and fingers, taking him deeper into me as the fire inside of me burns out of control. As he licks and fingers me, I feel my body tense and my heart beats a drunken rhythm. And then all at once, my control disappears.

With a loud cry, I grip Danny's head, grinding myself against his face even harder as my orgasm thunders through me. My body trembles and my stomach is turning somersaults. Danny keeps his fingers and tongue moving in me as wave after wave of intense pleasure crashes down over me.

After several long moments, I let go of his hair and let him stand up. He looks at me, his mouth wet with my juices, a look of animalistic desire on his face. I pull him to me and kiss him hard as I unbutton his jeans. Reaching into his pants, I grip his cock and make him moan as I give it a hard squeeze.

I give him a sultry smile and start to slip down to my knees when he stops me. The expression on his face is one of sheer want. Need. Desire. And it sends a flutter through my belly.

“You don't want me to –”

“I need to be inside of you, Calee,” he says, his voice husky. “I need to be inside of you now.”

“Do whatever you want to me,” I reply. “I'm yours, Danny.”

He quickly dug a condom out of the box on the table and with hands that are surprisingly trembling, he clumsily slips it on. Grabbing me by the shoulders, Danny turns me around. I look back over my shoulder at him as he bends me over the table. I shudder as he runs his hands across my ass and up my back, feeling him grip a handful of my hair. I gasp and feel my eyes grow wide as he gives my hair a hard pull at the same moment he drives his stiff cock into my tight, wet opening. I revel in the sensation of having his long, hard cock moving inside of me.

With one hand pulling my hair and the other squeezing my ass, Danny starts to pump his hips, thrusting himself deep inside of me again and again. I moan, my body radiating with pleasure, and I push myself back against him, trying to take him even deeper into me.

Danny fucks me harder, the sound of our skin slapping together mixed with our cries of passion and pleasure echoed around the inside of the spartanly furnished cabin. The feeling of having Danny inside of me filled me with joy – really, the only joy I know in this life. The few hours a week I get to spend with Danny are really, all I have. All I can look forward to.

Which is why I relish that time with such a wild abandon.

Danny steps back, his face flushed and sweat beading on his brow. Grabbing my hand, he stands me up and then pushes me back down on the table, so I'm flat on my back. Holding my legs up, he puts them over his shoulders and steps forward again. Smiling at me, he rubs the head of his cock against my wet, swollen opening. I try to grab hold of him and pull him forward, but he just smiles and teases me by rubbing his cock against my clit, sending another wave of sensation through me.

“Please, Danny,” I gasp. “Please, I need to feel you in me.”

With a salacious smile on his face, Danny steps forward and slides his cock into me slowly. I bite my lip and moan as he slides into me inch by delicious inch. When he's fully sheathed inside of me, he gives his hips a good, hard thrust, making me gasp with delight.

Danny begins to rock his hips and move inside of me. I claw at the table as I'm overcome with pleasure. He looks me in the eye, holding my gaze as he begins to thrust his cock into me harder and faster. With one hand, he kneads my breast, giving my nipple a firm pinch that sends a wave of pain that blends with the pleasure and creates a sensation so intense, it has me feeling lightheaded.

Danny thrusts himself into me again and again, making me cry out as I dig my fingers into his arms. His breathing grows ragged and his movements are becoming more frantic – I can tell he's close.

He thrusts himself hard into me again, making me call out his name. The fire down low inside of me is burning bright and I feel Danny bringing me to the brink again. He leans down, sucking on my breasts, biting my nipples. The bolt of pain highlights the torrent of pleasure running through my body and I cry out, writhing beneath him.

“Christ, Calee,” Danny stuttered, his movements becoming frenzied.

“Please, come for me, Danny,” I choke out through my ragged breaths. “Come for me. Please”

Throwing his head back, Danny cries out, his fingers digging into the flesh of my thighs so hard, it's almost painful. His body tenses for a moment and then with one final thrust, I feel his muscles let go. I feel his cock pulsing and throbbing within me as he fills the condom with his warm seed.

Just feeling him throbbing inside of me was enough to push me over the edge. With Danny still inside of me, I thrash and writhe beneath him. A feeling like charges of electricity shoot through my body as my orgasm crashes down over me. I call out his name again and again as my orgasm washes through me.

And when the maelstrom of sensation finally ebbed, I felt wrung out. Yet, incredibly satisfied. Danny steps back, a goofy grin on his face. When I climb down off the table, he pulls me into a tight embrace and gives me a chaste kiss. Turning away as if he's embarrassed, he slips the condom off his deflated cock and drops it into a trash can.

“You are amazing,” he says. “I'll never understand how you got so good at this being out there.”

“I read,” I said. “I read a lot.”

My smile falters for a moment before I step closer and wrap my arms around him, savoring the feel of his warm body pressed to mine. While I do read a lot – including a lot of steamy novels – the last thing I want to tell him is the truth. And that truth is that Raymond – before I'd been set aside – had made me watch a lot of pornography with him before he had sex with me.

It had taken some time for me to feel comfortable enough to open up to Danny sexually. For a long while, I didn't even want him touching me. And because we were friends and thought he had an idea of what I endured as Raymond's wife, he never pushed me to do anything. Eventually though, our friendship grew to be something more. Something beautiful. And when that happened, I found urges and desires I never thought I could have, blooming within me.

The first time Danny and I made love, I cried afterward. He held me close and kept telling me that it was okay, that everything was going to be alright. And for the first time in my life, I believed that things might really be okay. After that, we made love as frequently as I could – which was unfortunately, not as often as I would have liked given the difficulty I had getting off the compound.

We never had much time together, but we made the time we did have count.

But I still shuddered at the memory of the things Raymond did to me. The things he made me do. They're memories I want to forget. Forever. But they are like a dark stain on my soul that will never come out no matter how hard I scrub. And while being with Danny didn't banish them entirely, it helped keep them at bay.

At least for a little while.