In the Beginning Page 4
“Private party for the ladies this evening,” I clarified. “You might need to hide. I think they want you for their entertainment again tonight.”
“I’m taken,” he said, staring directly at me. Thoughtfulness crossed his face. “What do you mean entertainment?”
“They wanted you to dance for them. I think they wanted a strip tease act or something.” I laughed falsely as I remembered the catcalls and encouragement for him to remove his clothes.
“I didn’t do it, did I?” His eyes warned me that he remembered this scene. He hadn’t done it. Instead, he grabbed me and held me against him to dance for them. By then I had the rock on my finger. After our nuptials, we danced again.
+ + +
9
[Cain]
The time passed for us in small talk and chatter about her. She was a going to be a senior at Preston, where my younger brother attended school. Being older than him by two years, I’d skipped out of college after a year to continue to fight. The underground had turned to formal training and professionally organized events, until recently. Something wasn’t right with the last fight. Pitted against someone new, and relatively unknown to the circuit, I had crushed him, unintentionally. He was dead, nonetheless.
I didn’t want Sofie to know those details, so I was extremely vague in my answers. I didn’t even mention that my brother attended the same school as her. Abe was twenty-one Sofie was twenty-two. They would have been a more likely pair: studious, conscientious, and driven. I didn’t want to imagine that scenario. I wouldn’t be able to keep her, but I didn’t want to think of another man with her, either.
As the room finally emptied of its few guests, Sofie and I were served a pasta meal at the bar. She moved our plates to a table and we dined like a private party. The place was all our own. We continued to talk about her parents, her lack of siblings, and her quiet life. I longed to join her in it but knew I never could. My life was not my own. I had a responsibility.
“So why Italy for our honeymoon?” I inquired, intrigued that she mentioned it so casually this morning. My fingers toyed with a beer bottle on the table.
“I’m studying abroad this fall. I’m going to Italy for the semester.” Her eyes avoided mine. It was the first mention of the near future. Plans set for separation.
“Why there?” I asked.
“I’ve just always wanted to go. My grandparents speak of it often. My great grandfather dreams of it. I was last there as a small child, and I’ve longed to return.”
I could hear the excitement in her tone. Travel to a new place, see new things, and have an adventure, those were the unspoken words in her voice. I wished I could run away with her, but I couldn’t.
“Hmmm...wedding, honeymoon, seems we’re missing something, though,” I spoke. She stared at me, confusion on her face.
“We haven’t had a wedding night,” I said, raising one eyebrow as the side of my mouth quirked up to tease her. Despite the low lighting of the room, I saw the blush that crept up her chest, between her breasts that were temptingly exposed. The slight pink crawled up her neck where my tongue wished to lick. I realized again that pink was one of my new favorite colors. She wore black, but it looked too severe on her. In fact, I’d prefer to see her out of the color immediately.
I reached for her hand, covering it with my giant paw. Her fingers were delicate but strong, and I pictured them soothing someone in physical need when she was a doctor.
“Sofie, may I be so bold as to ask you to come to my room with me?” I suddenly wanted more privacy than the intimacy of this empty room. I don’t know why I asked so formally. I typically would have stood, slipped an arm around a woman’s waist, and she would know what I wanted. With Sofie, I took care.
She placed her hand in mine and stood before I did. Suddenly, I felt like I was the one being led instead. I followed her as she guided me through the short hallway to the staircase then tugged my hand as she directed us up the stairs. It seemed as if the hotel was empty of everyone but us. Upon entering my room, Sofie leaned against the closed door.
I turned to face her.
“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” I reminded her. The night before I was too drunk to take advantage of her. I was too sober to control my desire. I wanted her, but I didn’t want to abuse the privilege of her presence. She surprised me then when she spoke.
“I want my wedding night,” she said, and she reached for the ribbon that held her dress closed.
+ + +
10
[Sofie]
I sensed that time was ticking too quickly, and I was going to lose him soon. If we were going to pretend, I wanted one part that was real. Feeling him inside me, there would be no falseness on my part.
I pulled the string that held my dress and let the fabric fall loose. Underneath I wore another matching set of bra and undies, in black. I kept my eyes pinned to his. If he looked away, I would know he didn’t want what I offered. He didn’t want me. If he stared at me, it would be the slightest hint to move forward. I didn’t have to decide, though, as his mouth was on mine the instant the dress opened. His hands cupped my face, and my head lightly tapped the door from the force of his attack. His kiss was powerful. I again imagined his fighting abilities in the ring. He could take down an opponent in a flash. Only I wasn’t in opposition to him. I was surrendering.
His hands slid to my shoulders, where he tugged the dress, and it slipped down my arms to pool at my feet. I gripped his shirt and tugged it upward, our mouths breaking only for him to finish the removal over his head. His chest met mine instantly, and I was again pressed into the door at my back. My hands fumbled with his belt and he helped me remove his jeans. We were in the same position as the night before, except for one difference; we were both sober. I sensed there would be no stopping tonight.
We moved as one toward the bed, but once my knees hit the end, Cain pulled back. His hands on my shoulders forced me to sit. I was level with his hard length. I assumed he wanted me to take care of him, like he had suggested this morning. He surprised me when he knelt between my knees and tugged me to the edge of the bed. His fingers laced into my underwear and he slowly removed them. His eyes watched the motion of his thick hands, as they traced over my thighs several times, before forcing my legs to open wide. My most intimate skin was exposed to him in a way I had only imagined. When his mouth hit my center; I gasped in pleasure. He kissed my lower lips with the same intensity he kissed my mouth, and his tongue split me open. My hands gripped his shoulders then traveled over his head. He had no hair to run my fingers through, and I held his skull to me. I was soaking wet as he massaged me in a way I’d never known.
My legs began to shake, and my toes tingled as flutters took over my lower stomach, which twirled in a rumble of excitement. I felt the release before it happened, and I cried out as I blossomed. I unfolded like a new bloom and flowered against his warm lips. I was still holding his head as he slowly moved back. Dark dangerous eyes looked up at me with mischief and pride. He knew he’d done something to me that I had never experienced before.
His hands slipped up my waist and wrapped around my back. He lifted me and dragged me backward up the bed. When we were more centered, he unclasped my bra and slid it off me torturously slow. He again watched his hands work over my body, and he traveled between my breasts before he captured one with his hand and the other with his mouth. I arched my back to draw him closer. He nipped my peaked nipple and I yelped softly. Those mesmerizing eyes looked up at me and held mine, while he traced a path to my other breast and switched tactics. He suckled hard on my left side and I might have purred.
My hands continued to rub his skin: shoulders, neck, arms, and head. I touched him as much as my hands would allow. My ankles wrapped over his legs and smoothed his upper thighs. I was trying to drag him into me. My fingers moved to the edge of his boxers, and he covered my hands as I tugged the waist down over his hips. He wiggled off the remainder himself and lay betwe
en me. His finger traced down the side of my face, and he kissed me tenderly as the lower head of him kissed my wet folds.
“I take you,” he said. “To be with me. My wife, my life.”
If my body wasn’t so over sensitive, my heart might have been to his words. It was too intimate. But I didn’t have long to evaluate his meaning, as he slipped into me so swiftly, my breath caught. He was thick and solid, and he filled me in more than one way. Not just full, but he completed me. I was whole with him.
We moved as one, and I followed his rhythm, as clearly, he had more experience than I did. The wetness he had created from tasting me increased the friction between us, and I clenched him with my lower lips as we slid against one another. I could feel each ridge of him ripple inside of me, and my eyes rolled back at the sensation.
He was kissing my neck as he increased the pace. My legs wrapped around him, and he placed a hand under my thigh, hitching my leg up higher. The familiar fluttering was beginning again, but I didn’t think it possible to orgasm a second time. Then, he demanded it.
“Sofie,” he groaned. “Come on me. Make me yours.”
“I...” I was about to say, I can’t, when I felt the blooming again. He’d increased the intensity of his thrusts and hit a spot in me that made me scream out as I clenched around him. He pulsed inside me with three rapid pumps and then relaxed over me.
+ + +
11
[Cain]
We drifted off to sleep with her wrapped in my arms. I rolled to the side of her and she curled into me. We were spent, sweaty and tired. I meant to use a condom. I had it in my pocket and was prepared to pull it out, when I decided it was my wedding night, too. For once, I wanted to have the full experience and she would be the one to share it with me. It wasn’t just the physical exertion, though.
I was also emotionally exhausted. There was something about being with her that was different. Was it her inexperience? Was it her innocence? Was it the fact I could corrupt her? She purred when I tasted her, and I realized I was wrong again. The best feast I’d ever had was between her thighs. It was strict competition for the fullness of her breasts or the tenderness of her luscious lips.
I didn’t want the night to end. She was tempting me, and her body did it again. She stretched next to me, her back against my chest. She was a like a waking cat: her arms reached over her head, her back arched, forcing her ass against me. My hands shot up and gripped both her wrists in my hand, pinning them over her head. She stilled until my other hand clasped her hip and drew her against me again.
“Sofie,” I began. “My wedding night. I’m going to take you again. My way, this time.”
I nudged her forward onto her stomach, still holding her arms above her head. She tilted so her head was sideways on the pillow, and she could see me over her shoulder.
“Ever do it this way, Sofie?” I hissed, as I wedged her legs open with my own. She shook her head in the negative. While one hand held her wrists, the other traveled down her back. I slowly caressed her smooth skin down to her firm ass.
“Sofie, do you have any idea how beautiful you are? How tempting?”
She shook her head again but didn’t answer with words.
“Am I scaring you, Sofie?” I kissed down her back and released her arms, letting my hand slowly cascade over her warm skin. She dragged her arms down the pillow but stopped short of the edge and gripped it with clutched hands.
“Don’t be frightened, sweetheart. I won’t hurt you. I promise. If it’s the only honesty I can give, I would never hurt you,” I whispered. I hoped she’d hear in my voice the urgency of my words. I would do nothing to harm her. I kissed each cheek of her ass and ran my finger through the cleft between them. She flinched until my finger slipped inside her warm center. Her eyes closed, and she whimpered with pleasure. Her hips tilted upward toward me, and I sensed she was willing to let me have her. I placed my hands on her hips and tugged her upward until she was on her knees.
Holding myself, I drew a line with the broad tip of me across her middle, where she was wet and ready again. She was a ripe peach, and I was ready to split her open. I positioned myself at her entrance, then gripped her hips and slammed into her. She let out a grunt and I stilled, letting her get used to me from this direction.
“I need to move, Sofie. You look so beautiful in this position, on your knees, attached to me. I...” I almost said, I love you. They were words that never crossed my lips for a woman. Never, but they were about to escape me.
Her ass moved, and she dismantled my thoughts. I rotated slowly at first, dragging to the edge of her, then ramming into her to fill her once more. She began to relax and met my drumming pace with a thrilling response as she surrounded me. She clenched me when I teased her at the edge, holding me inside of her, begging me to fill her again. I would deny her nothing, and I plunged forward as she swallowed me into her.
I felt it happen for her. It was unbelievable that I had given her two orgasms, so far, and I already knew how to read her body. The first two were for her. About to have her third, I was ready to claim it for me. She clamped around me, and the feeling brought her to the end again. She kept me fully inside of her. I gripped her hips and held her still, pulled tight to my balls as I pumped into her, filling her with my seed.
I collapsed on her back, letting my chest cover her, as we both breathed heavily. I kissed her moist neck and nudged her hair aside as I ran my nose back and forth over her skin. Her cheeks filled as they moved from a smile that crossed her face.
“That tickles,” she said softly, and I repeated the motion. When she giggled, I felt it as we were still attached to one another. I pulsed inside her in the aftermath and her eyes opened wide.
“What was that?” she asked quietly.
“Me, feeling you,” I said as I kissed her neck. We remained connected, me covering her, until I was soft. I rolled to my side and tucked her into me again. She purred, and I felt the rumble as if I was still inside her. Her fingers trailed down my arm, which was over her waist. Then her fingers slipped between mine. She kissed each one before tucking our entwined hands under her chin.
This bed was like a small paradise at the moment, and I didn’t want to leave. However, it was my right hand that draped over her. The snake wrapped around her. It foreshadowed that paradise couldn’t last because it was the temptation to stay that got the snake in trouble. He wasn’t trying to force the woman out; he wanted to keep her in.
+ + +
12
[Sofie]
I heard the mumbling of voices outside the door. Cain and I faced each other in our slumber, but I was slow to wake at the noise. There was a thump against the wall and Cain’s eyes sprang open. Darkness met mine, and the muttered voices outside rose.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered to me in the early morning light.
The door flung open and we sat upright, covering ourselves with the sheet.
“Cain, you have some serious explaining to do!” barked a large man with dark hair and deep eyes that matched his son’s. He had to be Cain’s father. I was mesmerized by the vision of Cain as an older man until he turned on me.
“Get out,” he snapped at me. I was so shocked I didn’t move.
“Dad,” warned the quiet voice of Cain, and I turned in his direction. He didn’t return my gaze.
“This is the last thing you need right now, Cain.” The overbearing man addressed his son before he turned on me.
“Are you deaf, honey? Party’s over. Time to close up shop and scurry along.”
I still didn’t move.
“Dad,” Cain’s voice rose, his tone louder and harsher.
“Cain, get dressed. You get out.” He addressed me again. I wasn’t moving. I was naked and there was no way I was dressing in front of that man. Cain’s uncle seemed to be the voice of reason.
“Atom, step back. Let her dress.”
“She’s got nothing I haven’t seen before,” the older man bit.
“T
hat’s enough,” Cain finally spoke up. I looked at him again, but he refused to break the stare with his father.
Cain’s father bent down and picked up my clothes. Throwing my dress at me, he told me one more time to dress. I balanced the sheet as best I could and slipped the black fabric around me. While the night before I felt sexy and confident, this morning I felt shamed and belittled. The room was silent as I tugged the material and struggled to cover myself, while holding the sheet until I was fully clothed. Cain didn’t reach to help me. He didn’t speak to me either.
I slipped my legs off of the bed and fumbled to find my bra, then decided to hell with it. As I cleared the bed, I was still holding my breath in hopes Cain would explain. At one point in the night, he slipped the damaged engagement ring on my finger. I noticed it now as I reached for my shoes. After picking them up, I removed the ring for the second time and placed it on the bedside table.
“Cain?” I whispered, but his glare remained on his father. I wasn’t even certain what I was asking when I spoke his name. He broke the enchanted stare at his father and turned away from me.
“That’s right, sweetheart. This was a cruel game, but now it’s over.” His father shifted to address his son again.
“Your reprieve is done. Time to go home, settle this mess, and get back in the real ring. You might have killed a man, but don’t let that kill you.”
My mouth fell open as I paused. I couldn’t have heard Cain’s father correctly. Killed a man? Cain couldn’t have. I didn’t want to look at him, but the temptation was too great. I turned to search Cain’s face for something. Anything. But he remained removed from me. The deep connection I felt with him was long gone, and my skin began to crawl. I turned away, but Kursch blocked the door.
“Miss Vincentia,” he said softly, as he held out my underwear and bra to me. I ignored his offering and exited the room more embarrassed than I’d ever been before. Shame filled me to the core. I quickened my pace as I walked down the long hall to the staircase. When I reached the steps, I took them quickly and broke into a run for the private quarters. I passed my papa in the hall before I slammed into my own room. I turned on the shower and entered it, with my dress still on. Ripping it from me, I let the scalding water pink my skin and burn my soul as I tried to wash him off of me.