Chapter Fourteen
“Where were you?”
The next evening, Faro waited for Amy at the front door with his hands on his hips.
Uh-oh.
She’d ran an errand while he was gone, and planned on getting back to the inn before he did. Apparently, her timing was off. She’d rather not have an argument, especially since they’d been getting along so well.
Another week had flown by, and Amy spent all of her time with Faro, when she wasn’t at work, that was. Ivy kept giving her these knowing looks, but thankfully didn’t ask what was going on.
Everything felt so right.
This past year had been awful, every day an eternity. Finally, Amy felt like she was alive once more, part of the world. She had someone who cared about her, and she wouldn’t let anything wreck their relationship.
“It wasn’t a big deal. I had to pick up some groceries and run to the post office, and nobody was available to go with me.” Amy held out her arms. “And see? I’m fine.”
He scowled. “This time, but anything could’ve happened to you.”
Amy glanced around, but didn’t see anybody else who could run interference. Crap. He wouldn’t be able to fight with an audience.
“Yes, but my point is, nothing went wrong.” She took off her coat and boots, then grabbed the grocery bags and headed for the kitchen.
Faro followed her into the room. “You disobeyed me. I told you there’d be consequences.”
“Yeah, and I’d get used to insubordination, if I were you.” Amy slammed the milk down on the counter. “I’m the boss of me.”
“I made this rule for your own safety.” He crooked a finger at her. “Come upstairs with me.”
“Why?” She backed away from him.
“Because I’m going to punish you.”
“The hell you are. I don’t care if this town is crawling with the Borg, I’m a grown woman, and you won’t treat me like a child.”
“Who are these Borg?”
“Never mind. Pop-culture references are lost on you. I’m not some fragile damsel who needs protection.”
“What you are is mine, and I protect what belongs to me.” He seized her by the shoulders, fingers digging in. His chin trembled, and his face had gone pale.
And then, Amy figured it out.
“You’re afraid, aren’t you?”
“I fear nothing.” The tendons stood out on the side of his neck.
“You’re scared of losing me.” Amy could sense it. Even though they hadn’t discussed where their relationship was heading, Faro felt something for her, and his interest wasn’t casual.
He didn’t answer her. Instead, Faro picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.
“Put me down!”
“Not until you learn a lesson.” He carried her up the stairs, and down the hallway to her room. Unfortunately, Amy didn’t see anybody to help her.
Where’s a third wheel when you need one?
Once they were in her room, he undid the button on her jeans and pushed the zipper down before Amy could stop him. He sat on the bed, and then Faro bent her over his lap, and bared her bottom. He folded her arms behind her back, holding them tight. Amy struggled, but couldn’t fend him off.
“Keep your hands where they are.”
“Um, Faro? Let’s talk about this.” She’d never had a spanking, even as a child. Her dad believed in timeouts and taking away privileges. Amy had no trouble following his rules, so it hadn’t happened often.
“The time for talking is over.” And then he spanked her. The sound of the smacks reverberated off the walls. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but he sure got her attention.
Desire curled low in her belly, and a languid warmth washed through her. She should be angry and upset, but he’d flipped some erotic switch, instead.
Faro sensed the change in her mood. He rubbed her from behind, dipping his fingers into her pussy, and making Amy moan for him. He alternated back and forth, slapping her, and then playing with her sex.
“Will you disobey me again?”
“Probably.” Especially if this was the punishment.
Faro swatted her harder. “What did you say?”
“Um, no.”
“I don’t believe you.” This time, he plunged a thumb into her sex, anointing it, before pushing it into her ass, and then pressed two fingers into her pussy, filling her to the brim.
Amy moaned.
“Tell me you’re sorry.”
“I’m sorry, Faro, I didn’t mean to worry you.” And she didn’t. He was obviously scared something might happen to her.
“And who do you belong to?” He removed his fingers and spanked her bottom again.
“You.” Amy shuddered, in the grip of a ferocious desire.
“I want to keep you like this, naked and at my mercy. I’ve never felt this possessive over a woman.”
And she’d never felt so owned, so helpless. The loss of control, of restraint, was delicious. When it came to Faro, she didn’t want to be in charge, at least in this room.
“Get on your knees.”
Amy went willingly, kneeling between his open thighs. His cocks were hard, the veins bulging, flushed with desire. He grasped her hair, wrapping it around his fist, and then slid the largest cock inside her throat.
“Keep your gaze on me, while I fuck your mouth.” He thrust his larger dick into her throat, and Amy relaxed it, taking him all in. His other cock rested beneath her chin, as though also seeking entrance.
She closed her eyes, focusing on the sensation. Amy was so wet, she ached, imagining his cock in her pussy, instead. He tugged on her hair and pulled himself from her mouth.
“You’re not done, sweeting.” Then he pushed his other shaft into her mouth. “Yes, just like that, take me.”
After she sucked it, too, Faro hauled Amy to her feet and pushed her down on the bed until her legs were spread wide. With a wicked grin, he bent to taste her, lapping the length of her sex, before delving between the folds. He took her clit between his teeth, gently nibbling before sucking on it. Then he pushed two fingers inside of her, as he tongued her little bud, demanding a response.
Amy howled, grabbing fistfuls of the covers beneath her.
“No, not yet. You don’t get to come until I’m inside you.”
Faro flipped her over, and she groaned, leaning forward on her forearms. He gripped her waist, yanking her back onto his cocks. And then he pulled her hands behind her back. He slammed into her from behind, filling every single inch of her.
Faro fucked her harder until he exploded deep inside her. She came right after him, screaming her way through a shattering release. Afterwards, he dragged her against his body, wrapping his arms around her, and holding on tight.
“I can’t lose you, Amy, I just can’t.” Faro clenched her so tight, Amy nearly couldn’t breathe.
“You won’t. I’m not going anywhere.”
Faro didn’t reply, but Amy knew she hadn’t lessened his fears.
***
The next day they went to the cemetery together. It was a small graveyard on the outskirts of town. She’d deliberately picked someplace close. In the summer, it was a beautiful space, with a lush, green lawn and big oak trees. In the dead of winter, it seemed desolate. She’d brought along a bouquet of flowers for the grave.
Amy had avoided going to the cemetery for weeks. She felt her father’s presence more keenly at the inn, than in this depressing place. Amy hated to think of him being alone here, by himself.
“Happy birthday, Dad.” She laid the flowers on the tombstone, kissed her fingertips, and pressed them to his name. If he were alive, they’d spend the whole day celebrating. She’d make him pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped cream for breakfast, and they’d go to the movies, and then out to dinner later on.
God, I miss him.
Amy stepped back and leaned against Faro, who wrapped his arms around her from behind.
“Every time something awful happens, I want to tell him about it, and when I get good news, I want to share it, too.” She let out a shuddering breath. “I’d give anything to see him again.” Amy wiped the tears away.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Me too, but at least I had a family for a little while. You were cheated out of one altogether.” Amy turned in his embrace, so she could see him.
Faro shrugged. “I grew up in the barracks, surrounded by my brothers, so I had family.”
“Your parents didn’t visit you?” She couldn’t even imagine what he’d gone through. It sounded like a medieval version of a group home.
He shook his head. “Visitors weren’t permitted. My whole life has been about protecting Iradia.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. After all, it led me to you.”
Amy smiled, but her heart broke for him. “My dad would’ve liked you.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
“I wish I could’ve known him. His death must’ve come as a shock.”
“It caught me unaware. One minute, he was running errands, and the next he was in a hospital bed. I knew he’d die one day, and I’d be left behind, but I thought I’d have more time with him.”
Amy thought about all the milestones he’d miss. When she got married, her dad wouldn’t walk her down the aisle. He’d never meet his grandchildren, never see her become a successful businesswoman.
Her throat ached and her eyes burned.
“Share your pain with me, let me bear this with you, sweeting.” He laid a hand on either side of her face. “Give me your grief, give yourself to me.”
Somehow, Amy couldn’t look away. She didn’t want to. Amy had to share this with him, finally let Faro all the way in.
And then she let her walls down, and held nothing back.
***
Faro was overwhelmed.
The pain nearly doubled him over, making him howl. He had no idea how she kept it together, how Amy looked so serene from the outside, while inside, turmoil reigned. Up until this point, he’d only gotten brief flashes of her grief, and now it barreled down on him.
Rippling waves of anguish washed over him, like being pulled under by a riptide, swept away by a vast ocean of despair. There was so much to sort through, the agony was palpable. He couldn’t experience all of it, the sensation rocked him to his core.
She felt the loss of her father keenly, a constant ache, like a heartbeat, always in the background, never ceasing. It might be forgotten for small amounts of time but the hurt never truly ended.
Amy watched him with glistening eyes.
“Oh, Amy…” Faro had never had a father, but through her, he experienced the loss of one. “How do you handle it?”
“Because I have to.” Amy rested her head against his chest.
The wind whipped around them, buffeting their bodies. Snowflakes fell on their hair and the tips of their lashes. They stood in the cold together, aching with misery and despair. The emotions might be uncomfortable, but he preferred anguish to the nothingness. He’d felt empty for so long, like the barren landscape surrounding them, devoid of life, eternally waiting for a spring which would never come.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have hidden behind walls. What if the alchemists were right? And empathy was a gift? Not a curse. It had allowed him to ease her burden. For once, Amy was peaceful, at ease with herself and her life.
And Faro knew right then, he’d do anything to save Amy.
Faro couldn’t leave her behind. He didn’t know how an earthly human had captured his heart, but Amy had. She’d tamed the beast within him.
He’d be lost without her, and even if he left this planet and escaped to the stars, her face would haunt him for the rest of his days. Faro would never be the same again.
The guilt was ferocious, eating him alive, and he couldn’t stand it anymore.
It was time she learned the whole truth.