Chapter 10

Wyatt

***

 

“Get out of the fucking way.” I leaned on my horn and sped around the car ahead of me. The other drivers must’ve sensed the danger, that I would mow them all down, and moved out of the way. Ma had sounded scared as fuck, so I knew it was bad.

I pulled into the hospital parking lot and slammed out of the car on the run. Where was she again? I couldn’t think, couldn’t remember. My brother was waiting for me outside and saved me from having to hunt her down.

“How is she?”

“We don’t know yet they’re still running tests. Wyatt-“ The catch in his breath made my gut knot in fear. “Tell me.” I grabbed his collar when he took too long to answer.

“She’s not waking up.”

“What the fuck do you mean she’s not waking up? Ma said she fainted.”

“That’s what she thought it was but she went out in the car and hasn’t woken up since.”

“Take me to her.” I followed close on his heels as he led me down the hallway. My parents were standing outside the door looking like they’d been through hell and that shit only made my stress level go up another notch.

I barely acknowledged them before pushing through the doors where a team of white-coats were taking care of her. “You can’t come in here.”

“Get the fuck outta my way.” I barely restrained myself from tossing the nurse who came at me to get to her side.

“I’m right here baby.”

“Who are you?” One of the coats turned to me long enough to ask.

“Hers.” I leaned over her taking her hand in mine while they worked on her. Why were there so many of them? I didn’t see any blood, she didn’t look hurt in anyway other than for the fact that she was out cold.

I wanted to hurl questions at them but knew that would only slow them down. So instead I tried to stay out of their way but I wasn’t leaving her.

It was the longest night of my life. After they’d worked on her and left I’d stayed behind. I’d told my family they could leave even though I knew they wouldn’t. The coats had yet to tell me anything and every time someone came in to check on her vitals the only thing they’d tell me is that they were running tests.

I pulled the most uncomfortable chair in creation closer to the bed and sat with her hand clasped tightly in mine. She looked so small and alone there against those white sheets, made my heart ache.

I sometimes forget how tiny she is. Her mouth, her personality, are so bigger than life, and the way she’s always squaring off with me to get her way, makes it hard to remember that she barely reaches my chest and I can lift her with one arm.

“Why did I let you go there tonight? I should never have let you go. When we get home you’re not leaving the damn house without an armed guard.” I kissed her fingers and kept my eyes trained on her face for any sign of her rousing but there wasn’t so much as a flicker behind those lashes.

“Mr. Hunter?” One of the coats and a couple of nurses hustled back into the room what seemed like hours later. “You’ll need to step out of the way while we work here.” Like hell! I’d read somewhere that comatose patients could hear what was going on around them. I would give them space to do what needed doing but no fucking way was I leaving.

“I’m right here baby.” Their look, the way they sprung into action had me on edge. “What’s going on?” They were inserting some kind of tube into her mouth and my heart dropped to my toes.

“We rushed the tests since nothing was showing in preemptive testing to justify her condition so to be on the safe side we thought it prudent to put a rush on. Does your fiancée have any enemies?”

“What are you talking about?” What the fuck was up with this guy?

“Well, the EMTs that brought her in said that she fainted on the sidewalk. There was no sign of dehydration, or any of the normal things that might’ve caused that so we did a blanket test where we search for pretty much anything. The last test we ran showed succinylcholine in her blood.”

“The fuck is that?” I’d never heard of it but the shit did not sound good.

“It’s a lot of things but a long story short, it can cause malignant hyperthermia. It’s a rare Life-threatening condition that is usually triggered by the exposure to certain drugs used for general anesthesia.”

“She doesn’t do drugs you fuck.” I’ll chuck his ass through the window no fucking joke. He backed up and away from the kill glare in my eyes with his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.

“I’m not accusing her of anything Mr. Hunter, that’s why I asked if she had any enemies. We found a tiny needle prick in the skin just above her hip. Because of the sequence of events that led to her being brought here, we surmise that this had to have happened just before she passed out.”

“What do we have to do? Can this thing be reversed what?”

“The primary treatment is respiratory support until she stabilizes that’s why she has the breathing tube. We’re not sure of the dosage she received, but we think she got here in time for us to do some good. She’s very lucky.”

“Thanks for telling me.” I waited until the room was clear before calling my family in. “Chad I need Jace.” I would call him myself but I didn’t want to leave her long enough to do it. My brother left to make the call while I gave my parents an update.

“I’m so sorry son, traffic was backed up and I was a few minutes late.”

“This is not your doing dad.” But I’m sure I know whose it is. He’d gone from stalker to attempted murderer, maybe now the cops would get off their ass and catch this fuck because if they didn’t before I did, he would be one dead fuck.

Jace was there twenty minutes later and by then I was ready to knock holes in the wall. “He did this shit.” There was no need for me to expound he knew what I was saying. “We don’t know that yet tell me what’s going on what’re they saying?”

“You wanna catch some of this heat you keep talking like an ass. This isn’t a TV show, this is real life and we both know the only one who’d stick a fucking needle in her in the middle of a busy sidewalk is him.”

“Okay Champ calm down, I’ll have my tech guys look at the footage from the security cameras on that strip. I’m not questioning your reasoning bro, but you and I both know if we don’t handle this shit by the book it can go south real fast. You don’t want this fucker walking on a technicality and trust me, I go after this guy without evidence some slicked up asshole lawyer will be all over the fact that we’re brothers in everything but blood.”

I knew he was right, his words rang true, but that did nothing to calm the rage that was building inside.” I won’t keep you then, I’ll let you get to it.” I went back to her side and took up my vigil again.

They were in and out all night checking on her and giving me progress reports. I didn’t breathe easy until they told me her statistics were improving, but still she hadn’t opened her eyes, instead she laid there like a little porcelain doll.

It was hours before I heard from Jace. Ma and dad were sitting in the little sitting area in her room fighting sleep. They refused to go home no matter how many times I told them. I hadn’t called her parents until she was out of danger. I felt like a failure when I explained to her dad that I had let her down. I’d promised him in one of our private conversations that I would protect his little girl.

“I’m so sorry baby.” Beneath the rage was the hurt that this had been done to her, that I hadn’t been there when I should’ve been. “Wyatt…” Her voice sounded like a choking frog but it was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. I jumped out of my chair and sat on the edge of her bed as she fought to open her eyes.

“I’m right here sweetheart open your eyes.” They fluttered open bloodshot and drooping but she was in there, my girl was back. I pulled her up and into my arms for a hug while ma rushed into the room with dad on her heels. One of them pressed the button for the nurse but they were already coming through the door. Apparently some kind of alarm had gone off when she woke up.

I moved out of the way while they removed the tube and checked her over for the one-hundredth time but I was fine with that. They explained that she was out of danger but still very sick and they wanted to keep her for observation.

She slept off and on into the next morning while I sat there with my eyes glued to her. I wasn’t scared shitless anymore thank fuck, and her color was looking better. Of course every bad B-movie I’d ever seen played through my head and I envisioned all manner of things that led me to contemplate hiring those armed guards after all.

“Wyatt.”

“Yeah babygirl I’m here.” Her eyes looked a lot better this time when she turned them on me. “How’re you feeling?”

“What happened?”

“You got hurt but you’re going to be okay. The docs said you’re out of danger, you need some water?” She shook her head no but I held the straw up to her lips anyway. The nurse had said she might have dry mouth from the breathing tube.

I didn’t share my suspicions about the stalking fuck with her. I didn’t want her any more afraid than she already had to be, waking up in the hospital with tubes and shit sticking out of her. Instead I tried to take her mind off of it by talking about any and everything else.

By the time I was allowed to take her home, I was dragging ass. Jace had tried calling but I texted him to hold on until I had her safely tucked away at home. I planned to clean up a little and then go on the hunt myself. Nothing against cops, but they got too many leashes on their ass.

I had to carry her out to the car because she still wasn’t steady on her feet. I’d looked up the stuff the doc had said they’d found in her system and gave thanks that she was fine, it could’ve been worse, she could’ve fucking died.

I paid close attention on the ride home making sure no one was following. Obviously, he had eyes on her if he knew where to find her last night. He was way too fucking good at this shit for this to be the first time, and I was thinking it was maybe time to get a PI in the game.

I hope I do see the fuck lurking around my home, there’re a lot of places to hide a body there. I’m not a violent man, given my profession some may find that hard to believe, but that’s just not the way I’m made. This motherfucker had brought me to the point that I had not only contemplated his murder, but was actually plotting that shit in my head.

“Babe, there’re some things on this list that I know we don’t have in the house. So after I get you squared away I’m gonna make a run to the store.” Ma busted into my room while I was running her a bath and started fussing.

I’d stopped trying to assuage her guilt since that shit wasn’t working. I figured I’d just let it run its course until she got it our of her system. Why the fuck shouldn’t they be able to go out for a night without being harmed? Fuck that. If Jace and his cohorts couldn’t ensure her safety I was gonna do that shit myself.

“Ma, go get some sleep will ya? I’m putting her to bed and then I’m going to the store.”

“Your father and I can take care of that, you stay here with her son.”

That wasn’t gonna work because I needed to get with Jace so I put her off without tipping either of them off.

I finally got rid of ma after haggling with her for five minutes. “Come here baby.” I hugged her close and kissed her lips longingly for the first time since she got hurt. For the first time since I got the call I felt whole again, like my world was back on track. “Let’s get you into the tub baby you’ll feel better.”

She wasn’t talking much but that was understandable, her throat probably hurt from that shit they’d had shoved down there all night. I pulled off her clothes and my eyes went to the mark on her hip where the needle had gone in. That simmering rage went to slow boil but I held it in.

Life is funny. That was the thought I had as I took her in my arms and headed for the bathroom. Under any other circumstances the sight of her naked form would have me hard as a fucking pike. Don’t get me wrong, I felt that stirring I always get whenever she’s around, but it was contained by the need to protect.

I placed her in the bubbly water and knelt beside the tub to take care of her. Her limbs were still a bit listless but not as much as they had been earlier, which was a good sign. I spoke to her softly as she rested back and let me do my thing.

When the water was getting too cold I lifted her out and got her ready for bed. My mind was already out there somewhere thinking of all the things I had to do. Ma with her hardheaded ass had made her some soup and there was a tray on the night table with some other shit.

“I fed her as much of the broth as she could stand, dosed her up with the shit that she fought me not to take and bundled her under the covers. “Stay with me until I fall asleep.” I climbed in with her and pulled her onto my chest. “You scared?” If she said yes I would lose my shit. She wasn’t supposed to be afraid here, this place at least was supposed to be her safe haven. “No, I just want you to hold me I missed you.”

“I missed you more.” I held her a little closer stroking her soothingly through the covers until her breathing evened out in sleep. Her face had gone soft in repose and there was no look of discomfort when I finally slipped out from under her and left the bed.

By the time I made it out to my car the mask was back in place. I didn’t feel like I’d wasted time but I knew we’d lost some, that motherfucker could be anywhere by now, just waiting to strike again.

Jace was still at the station so I headed there instead of his place. “Oh great, I just got the video perfect timing.” We headed back to his office where he had set up to watch. Nothing was said as he hit play and we watched. I saw her come through the doors with ma and a horde of other women.

They were gabbing away at each other, most likely about whatever it was they’d just seen or heard at the seminar. I have to remember to ask what was up with their faces, neither of them seemed as spirited as the other women around them.

My eyes were peeled to the screen as I watched everyone around her and for some fucked up reason my heart started to pound in my chest. “There.” We watched the figure slightly bump into her and keep going, and then we saw her reaction not long after.

“Fuck his face is hidden.”

“It might be here, but now we know what he’s wearing, he might not have been that careful the whole time, that’s why we have different shots from other cameras. I started with this one because I figured he’d pull this stunt and I needed to know what he was wearing so we could pick him up in the crowd. Now we’ll go back a little before he struck and a little after if we have to. Somebody had to catch him on camera.”

Jace changed the disc and we watched from a different angle. For the next ten minutes or so we watched footage of people going about their night. We saw him a few times but he was always hidden. “Don’t show that shit again.” We’d reached the part where she got stuck but once was enough for me.

He fast forward and we watched as the hooded figure walked to the end of the sidewalk, still hidden, but then he turned and looked back. “Right there.” He paused on the shot of Carl under the streetlight, his face well lit.

“We got him. Now I can legally go after him.” He picked up the phone on his desk and called someone with instructions.

“Where are you going?”

“To find that fuck.”

“Wyatt, let me do my job, you’re only gonna get yourself in trouble with this idiot.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind? We’ve been waiting around for weeks and no one could get a bead on this guy. Now he just walks up to her on a busy sidewalk while she’s out with my mother and damn near kill her and you’re telling me to wait?”

“I understand your frustration, but we have to do this shit by the book. Arresting him is only half the battle it’s what happens in the courtroom that will decide his fate. We make one wrong move on this end and he can walk, I know what I’m doing.”

“Fine, you do what you have to, I’m going hunting.” I had all that I needed, not that I’d had any doubts. I had no idea where to start looking for this guy, but I couldn’t just stand around doing nothing while he was out there plotting. That look on his face as he’d looked back at her burned me the fuck up. Like he’d won, he was trying to kill her.

***

 

I spent the next few hours combing the streets looking for him. I went by his old address and drove around, went to all the places in the city I figured a cowardly rat would be after trying to kill someone, but nothing. Then it was time to go back to her, she’d be awake soon.

She was just making waking noises when I stepped into the room. All the day’s stress just seemed to melt away when I looked down at her. No matter what, she was alive and well. I’ll get my chance with that fuck, but for now this was enough, this is what mattered.

I stripped down to my ass and climbed under the mountain of covers I’d thrown over her to keep her warm in my absence. Pulling her little body into mine I started kissing her before she came fully awake. By the time she knew what was going on I had her on her back and was sliding home deep inside her.

We didn’t say anything to each other, no words were needed, we let our bodies do the talking as we moved against each other. Something had changed; this was new. Instead of the fiery lust that ruled me whenever I was in her, I now felt a slow burn. It came from my heart and into the place where we were joined.

I closed my eyes and let the beauty that was us wash over me. I’d come so close, too fucking close to losing her, losing this. “Is this too much? Tell me if it’s too much.”

“No, I want more.” She clutched at me with her little hands, pulling me harder into her, spreading her legs wider to take more of my cock.

I fused our mouths together as I stroked in and out of her belly, hitting her spot every time. She still made those pussy hurt noises even though I was taking it slow, but even those were welcomed. It meant she was alive, that we were together.

“Shh, I’ll ease out a little.” I couldn’t forget that her body had just been through trauma, so even though I like nothing better than burying my whole dick inside her, knocking into the walls of her pussy, I didn’t want to hurt her.

I lifted up on my arms to take my upper body weight off her while pinning her hips down with mine. I had to keep her legs open with my arms because she didn’t have the strength to do it on her own anymore. Pulling out I turned her to her side and got behind her before lifting her leg up over mine and sliding back in from behind.

I went even deeper this way and had to pull my strokes. Her pussy never stopped juicing as my cock leaked into her. We were both a mess with juices running down onto our thighs to the bed beneath us. I let my hand travel to her pussy so I could tease her swollen clit, bringing her closer to the edge.

When her cunt squeezed me in climax I lost it. Rolling her completely onto her stomach with her face buried in the pillow I pile drove into her pussy over and over no longer in control. I did my best not to inflict hurt, but my cock wasn’t about to relent.

I got one hand under her so I could hold her tummy while I fucked and the other went to her tit. I squeezed and fucked while she moaned beneath me, pushing her ass back hard, letting me know without words that she could take it. I bit into her neck in my favorite spot when I felt that tingling in my balls.

My roar was loud enough to shake the rafters when I released inside her. “Fuck.” I was done but my body wasn’t, I must’ve suffered five minutes of aftershock while her pussy squeezed and released around my meat with a stranglehold.

I didn’t want to let her go after so we just laid there though I had the presence of mind to roll us back onto our sides. “Did I hurt you baby?” I kissed her ear and hugged her tighter. “No it felt good, but my legs feel like jelly.” I could hear the smile in her voice and that band around my chest eased a little bit.

We kept our silence for the longest time, until our breathing went back to normal and I could think again. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you Traci, that will never happen again.” It all came flooding back then, the anger-the fear.

“It wasn’t your fault Wyatt, it was him wasn’t it?” Shit, I hadn’t told her, didn’t want her worrying about it, but it looked like she’d figured it out. “Yeah it was, they caught him on the security cameras. You’re not leaving this house again ‘til he’s caught.”

“Wyatt that’s silly, I have work and school…”

“You’re not going, call the judge talk to your professors do whatever it takes but you’re not leaving this fucking house until that asshole is off the street.” There was nothing she could say to change my mind and once she realized that after exhausting all her arguments, she gave me the cold treatment.

***

The cops were finally doing their job I guess it took attempted murder to get them off their ass. I was mad as hell at Jace and he knew it so he’d stopped trying to explain their fucked up protocol to me.

The wedding was in two days and then I was on the road again. That one was still giving me a hard time. When I wasn’t making love to her I was worrying about leaving her behind. She kept insisting she’d be fine and the men I’d hired were more than qualified to make that so, but I was still unsettled about it.

I’d had to give in and let her go back to her usual routine after the cops had failed to catch this guy, she couldn’t put her life on hold indefinitely, but I didn’t like it.

Xmas was a little more subdued than I was accustomed to, but I was still able to make my girl happy. She got a mountain of gifts from my family and I, the most exciting being the Jaguar I got her that she fought me tooth and nail about. I was waiting until the new-year to give her the Rover; I was sure she’d pitch another fit over that one as well.

“Your mom said we have to spend the night before the wedding apart, it’s bad luck or something…” We were catching our breath after another long fuck session. I think I was trying to get in as much fucking as possible before I had to leave her.

“That’s not gonna fucking happen, what else you got?” it was a running joke between us that every night after sex is shakedown hour. She waits until she thinks she’d blindsided me with the pussy to break out whatever hair-brained scheme she and her new partner in crime came up with that day.

“You’re not worried about breaking tradition?” She ran her fingers over my chest in circles, distracting the shit out of me. Another one of her tactics. I had to keep my mind sharp or who knows what the fuck she’d have me agreeing to next.

“Nope, we’ll start our own.”

“Fine but if anything goes wrong it’s all your fault.”

“I’m not worried.” I kissed her forehead and tapped her ass which my hand was never far from when we were unwinding like this. As she talked about the wedding and the party after, I was trying to figure out ways to break my contract so I could stay here with her.

I couldn’t understand why it was so hard to find this guy, why no one knew where he was. His friends when questioned had no idea that he was into the shit he was, everyone thought he was an easy-going guy who was trying to get a degree to get away from his family’s farm.

When I suggested I make a trip to have a talk with his folks Jace all but arrested my ass. No matter, if nothing shook loose soon, I was going to Indiana, the only reason I hadn’t thus far, is because it would mean leaving her. “What did you say?”

In her ramblings, she’d said something about the seminar she’d attended a few weeks ago. I’d never got around to asking her about that and she never brought it up ‘til now.

“I was just saying that Dr. Bruce would have a lot to say about your behavior. She kind of spoke on this at her seminar, you know, how men seem to think that the little lady needs them to fight her battles, that we’re too weak even with all the strides women have made in the last half century, that we’re still not taken seriously.”

“Really? What exactly did the good doctor say?”

“Are you getting upset?”

“Nope, just tell me what the woman had to say?”

“Well, she said that most men need women to play the weak role. That some women have to hide their intelligence, or portray themselves as weaker vessels so that the man in their life can feel stronger, or something like that.”

“That’s bullshit, I don’t need you to be weak for me to be strong. How the fuck would I leave a weak woman to watch over my kids when we do have them? Does this chick know what she’s saying? Sounds to me like she’s the one belittling women. I happen to have a very strong respect for my mom, having watched her raise my siblings and I, keep the family together, keep her husband happy and still maintain her own power as an individual. You can tell that twit for me I said get fucked and don’t bring that shit in our home again.”

“You see, I knew you were gonna get upset.”

“Damn straight, you’re not weak or helpless, you don’t need me or anyone else to fight for you, that’s not what this is about. But I am going to protect you because as your man that’s what the fuck I do. You’re my woman I’m not weak the fuck would I be doing with a weak woman? Don’t you get it? What the fuck is she teaching in that class anyway?”

I had a mind to go kick the doctor’s ass, the dumb fuck. Why the hell would anyone tell a roomful of women that if their men are being men and looking out for them that that makes them less than?

“A woman has her strengths and a man has his. I don’t care what the fuck that idiot says. If I’m not there, I expect you to be able to protect you and our kids, when I’m here that’s my deal. Whoever don’t like it can impale themselves on a serrated knife.”

“Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”

“Why the hell are we talking about this shit anyway? I thought you were trying to work me over for one of your schemes? What is it? The night is almost gone and you haven’t tried your shit yet. It can’t have been the sleeping apart thing, that’s too easy, you and the one downstairs knew before you asked that that was a no-go, so what is it?”

She hemmed and hawed before letting me in on what was really on her mind. “Marie and I were talking and…”

“Uh-uh, stop right there, I don’t wanna know and the answer is no.”

“That’s not fair, you didn’t let me finish.”

“And I’m not going to.”

There was only way to shut her up and get her mind off whatever it was she was up to. “Hey I’m talking here…” I cut her off with my tongue in her mouth as I turned her onto her back. “Never mind I want you on your knees.”

I moved fast to get her in position and didn’t give her time to complain. A quick swipe of my fingers told me that she was still wet, but not quite enough. “Hold still.” I nibbled my way down her spine to the dimples that sat perfectly atop her ass just as I’d known they would be the first time I   saw her.

I dipped my tongue into the first one and then the other and felt the answering twitch in her pussy where I had two fingers working her, getting her ready for the tongue fucking I was about to give her. Moving my fingers deep inside, I crooked them up until I found her spot. “Oooooh.”

I guess she wasn’t thinking about anything else anymore. I licked the dimples as I finger fucked her while stroking my cock to readiness. Pulling my fingers out, I replaced them with my tongue, licking into her pussy teasingly the way I know she likes. I sucked her clit into my mouth and teased her ass with my fingers until she rode my face.

“I want to taste you Wyatt.” She didn’t have to ask me twice. I took my mouth away from her and got around in front of her, keeping her on her knees. Wrapping my hand in her hair, I held it back as her mouth went in search of my cock that was bobbing in front of her face with a long string of pre-cum dangling from it.

She actually hummed in her throat as she licked my cock juice off my tip before licking her way down my length. “No hands.” I warned her when she moved to take me in her hand. Instead I led her head up and down my cock until I was in her throat. “That’s my good girl.”

I loved to watch my cock expand her throat, loved the way her throat fought to take me in. There was cock juice dribbling down her chin as she took eight of my twelve and a half inches before spitting me out to catch her breath. “Had enough?” For an answer she opened her mouth for me to feed her my cock.

I slapped her cheek with my heavy cock and made her bob for it until I was leaking onto her tongue again. “I don’t want to cum in your mouth this time babe, I want in that pussy again, let go.” She looked at me with her mouth full of cock and greed in her eyes before letting me plop out of her mouth.

With her hair still grabbed in my hand, I moved back around behind her and let my cock find its way home. Her pussy was still swollen from her earlier pounding, but she knew just how to move her body to take my cock.

“That’s it baby arch that back, put that ass in the air.” She grabbed the poles of the bed as I slammed into her once and held. “You ready?” She knew what was coming. Although we enjoy nice slow loving on occasion, we’re both fond of hard fucking. That down and dirty shit that made you almost too embarrassed to look each other in the eye the next morning. The kind of shit that I would never have imagined my little prim and proper china doll was capable of.

She nodded her head yes and held onto the bed hard enough to turn her knuckles white. With my fingers pressing into the dimples in her ass, I fucked into her with nice slow strokes until her pussy juice made it easier for me to fuck deeper without causing pain.

“Fuck, I’m so deep in you.” Her legs started to shake and she pounded the mattress when I went past her cervix and into her womb. This was my favorite spot, even more than her G-spot, being in her womb always got me going and it’s all I needed to set her off.

She came all over my cock as her head shook from side to side, but after all night fucking I was nowhere near ready. It was going to be another long night.

I didn’t give her time to come down; instead, I reached over to the side table and got some lube for her ass. After greasing her up nicely, making sure to get some deep inside her, I pulled out of her pussy and eased into her ass. This wasn’t her favorite thing to do so we didn’t do it too often, but every once in a while I need in that ass in the worse way.

She might not like it too much, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying having her ass stuffed and she always cums hard as fuck from having me in her ass, and tonight was no different.

I felt my balls getting ready to spit fire as she clamped down on my cock and pulled out. I stroked my seed into the small of her back and all over her ass being sure to get some in her dimples.

“Bath time.” I slipped out of bed dragging her with me. In the shower I of course did all the work since she’s damn near comatose after a night like the one we’d just had. My reason for doing this is twofold. Yes I love making love to her for hours on end, but I’ve come to learn that after a night like this, she’s almost dead to the world once her head hits the pillow and that suits my purposes just fine.

While she was dragging ass, I had a second wind. I went through the pretense of getting ready for bed and climbed in with her, holding her close and murmuring to her in the dark.

I waited until she was asleep, as I’d been doing for the last couple nights, before sneaking out. I dressed the part for what I had in mind. All black from head to toe. I eased down the drive with my lights off and hit the dark streets on the hunt.

Three hours later, I returned home empty handed again. My frustration knew no bounds. I was running out of time and felt trapped by my two loves. If it were up to me I wouldn’t leave her, not for a second, and I didn’t like feeling like I was choosing the ring over her safety. If it were just myself who had something to lose I would walk away in a heartbeat, but because there were others who would be affected, it wasn’t as easy to make that call.