Candace

“You dirty whore!” Damien’s slurred words spat into my ear. I pushed up from my spot on the couch, quickly opening my eyes to find him standing there. I was alone. It was dark, and the house was empty. My heart raced wildly as I scanned the room, checking the front door lock with my eyes, ensuring it was bolted, that I was safe.

On the coffee table in front of me, a plate with a sandwich, chips, and three chocolate chip cookies was placed next to a glass of ice and a can of Pepsi. I stared at the offerings with a strange knot in my gut. This kindness wasn’t something I was used to, but I cherished it.

My stomach grumbled as I leaned up, reaching for the sandwich and pulling it to my lips. I bit down into the soft bread, enjoying the creamy mayonnaise on my tongue as my teeth cut into the thick slice of ham. It was sweet, thoughtful, and I suddenly felt bad for not sharing more of my story with Luke. He deserved to know the truth. But once he knew, he would surely have to turn me over to the police. He wouldn’t harbor a felon.

Damien’s voice echoed in my head once more, repeating the same phrase that woke me from my sleep. It was something I’d heard daily, sometimes up to a dozen times a day when he was drunk or out of his favorite drug. I was worthless and dirty, and he was my savior: at least that’s how he’d have me see things.

To me, Damien was a prison guard, the devil himself, sent to earth to belittle me, hurt me, cause me grief, and steal my soul. He almost had, but I ran. I was so glad I ran. He couldn’t hurt me now.

“I love you, baby, but you make it so hard sometimes,” he’d whisper in my ear as he pressed his body against mine.

My skin crawled with disgust at the memory of him inside me, telling me how lucky I was that he’d decided to forgive me, to keep me safe with him.

Safe. Love. Those were two words that didn’t belong on Damien’s tongue. He didn’t love me. I knew that for a fact because I’d been loved before by Luke. He wasn’t keeping me safe. I knew that for certain now, because now, I felt safe, at least safer than I’d felt before.

I finished the sandwich and let my thoughts drift to Luke, when we were young. That evil house brought back so many horrid memories, but there were many behind closed doors that brought a smile to my face. Luke was always so kind, so enamored by my beauty, and eager to tell me how much he loved me, how we’d spend the rest of our lives together, leaving that place as soon as he got a job that paid enough. How I wished I’d stayed, enduring the pain that the foster dad inflicted upon me to enjoy the comforts of Luke’s arms, his words, his promises of a future. I didn’t have a future now. It was over for me. I’d made my choices, all wrong choices, and when this fairytale was over, I’d pay for them.

I didn’t want to think about that right now. I wanted to think about Luke. About what it was like when we were together, in love. I wanted to think about what it would be like to be together forever, to wish away my past, create a new future in my mind.

A strange familiar tingle started in my belly, then my breasts. My heart raced, and I felt my body start to lighten, loosening up with each thought of Luke. Things could have been different. It was my bad choices that led me here, but here I was.

Luke’s bedroom door was cracked open, dark inside, and soft sounds of his breathing floating through the hallway.

Suddenly, I yearned to be near him, to feel the safety inside his arms. The feeling of arousal deepened, stirring something inside of me that I hadn’t felt in years.

I got up from the couch, leaving my blanket behind. The floor creaked when I stepped towards his room, causing my heart to race even faster and that feeling of excitement to increase ten-fold. I stopped and listened. His breath was still slow with slumber. I continued my steps until I reached his door, pushing it open slowly, exposing his frame, muscular, strong, still.

I walked into the room, made my way to the opposite side of the bed he was on, and pulled back the blanket.

He stirred, quickly lifting himself from the pillow, his eyes wild as they glowed in the dark room.

“Candace?” he questioned, more surprised than startled.

“Shhh,” I slid into the blanket, pushing myself near the warmth that radiated from his body.

“What are you doing?” he asked, this time more startled.

“I don’t want to be alone,” I whispered and pushed myself closer to his frame.

He slithered back into the bed, his strong arms wrapping around me tightly. My breath bounced from his bare chest back to my face. This was where I wanted to be.

My hands wrapped around him, slowly caressing his sides, his back, and then lower to his rock-hard buttocks.

He didn’t seem to mind my touch, so I lifted my face towards his, our lips so close we could kiss without effort. His eyes bore into mine, and mine into his. This would’ve been my life. I wanted a taste, even though I knew that would be it: just a taste.

My lips stretched to his, kissing him softly. He reciprocated at first but quickly pulled back.

“No, we can’t,” he whispered.

“Why not?” I questioned, a question that left him without an answer.

Our lips met again, this time in a fury of passion, our hands traveling along each other’s frames.

My mouth explored his neck, his chest, and then back to his mouth. My hands roamed across his rippled abs and down between his legs and found that he was just as excited as I was for our reunion.

His body rolled towards mine, trying to take position atop me, but I wasn’t ready to be pinned to the mattress, to have that feeling I hated take over this one that I loved. I pushed back, rolling on top of him, straddling my legs around him as my pussy had its first feel of Luke’s unfamiliar manhood. He’d grown since we’d saw one another last, and my arousal burst with excitement as I slid myself up and down his length.

“Candace, are you sure you’re…” Luke gasped as I pressed my finger to his lips.

“I need this,” I said sternly and quickly slid my panties from my hips, lifting my body to release the silk from my feet to the floor below.

Luke wasted little time removing his boxers, releasing his hard cock to my will.

I lifted, reached beneath me, and positioned him between my legs. As I lowered, my body shook, my mind blanked, and the entire world disappeared.

The feeling of control, of deciding when and how he entered me, was enough to make me cum.

A taste of blood rolled onto my tongue as I bit down on my lip to stop from screaming out with pleasure.

My hips rolled against his, taking him into me slowly, rocking, sliding, grinding, and making him squirm and moan with each movement.

This is what love felt like. I remembered.

My body ached as it started to twitch. The muscles between my legs began to contract, and soon, his large muscle met my sporadic explosion with its own.

I fell limp onto his chest, my lips nipping at his neck as his arms held me tight. The heat between us made me sweat, and the hairs on his chest tickled my cheeks as I lay there, wishing that this would’ve been the path I chose, but I didn’t. This was not my path, but a fork in the road on my way to the fate I chose.

I rolled over to my side, snuggling into the blanket without looking at Luke. It wasn’t that I was ashamed but more that I was disappointed that this wouldn’t be my path for much longer. It would hurt to say goodbye, even more so now.

He held me tight. He didn’t speak. That was what I needed.