Claimed by the Trucker

by Izzy Slam

  I can feel Axel’s stare on me, and I get the feeling that he wants to probe.

  “Do you need to call him? Let him know what’s going on? Because I can front you the money now. Or I could wire it to him. Just let me know.”

  I brush away a stray tear streaming down my cheek. “I don’t need to call him. We do our own thing, but thanks.”

  Not that I could call him even if I wanted to. I don’t own a cell phone. Never have. Cell phones are for rich people. Or at least people who aren’t homeless every other month.

  “Okay. Well, you just let me know if that changes. I’m happy to give you some cash now.”

  His offer warms me from head to toe. I have to look his way, if for no other reason than to see if the sincerity on his face matches that in his voice.

  And damn if it doesn’t. His brow is creased with concern. I assume that’s what it is. I’ve seen this look on my dad’s face the few times he told me we were being evicted. But with Axel, that concern is directed at me. For me.

  “I will, thanks.”

  We’re both quiet for a while, and oddly enough, that’s when the tension sets in for me. I’ve never been around anyone I wanted to talk to. I’ve always been the quiet one, feeling like an outcast. But with Axel, I don’t know. I get the feeling he would accept me no matter what.

  And that’s a good feeling.

  Axel

  The longer I’m in her presence, the more grateful I am that I took her under my wing. There’s a lot of pain there, with her dad. I can hear it in her voice, see it on her face and in her eyes. I get the distinct impression that he wasn’t the best of role models. But that’s okay because Kara has me now.

  And I don’t care if I’ve only known her for a few hours.

  She.

  Is.

  Mine.

  What can I fucking say? When you know, you know.

  The way she smells, the way she feels just sitting here next to me, and the way her honey colored hair flows over her shoulders … all of it makes me want to pull her into my arms and never let go.

  My cock notices all of this as well, and as predicted, it wants a piece of the action. I’ve always been capable of separating my heart from my dick, but in this case, they are heavily communicating with one another. The last time that happened, I wound up engaged. But the bitch left me for my best buddy at the time. Now I don’t talk to either one of them.

  Kara wouldn’t do that to me, though. This, I know. There’s an innocence about her I can’t help but pick up on. But I can smell her loyalty, too. She’s a good girl, and she’s going to be my good girl.

  I watch her as she sleeps in the passenger seat, her head lolling from side to side. It’s pretty cute how I hired her to keep me awake, and here she is, snoozing away. But I don’t care. I don’t really need her here to prevent me from falling asleep. I just want her presence. I think I knew that the moment our eyes met.

  I even keep my speed at a minimum and don’t bother to pass anyone on the road. I’m just taking my time here, enjoying every second I have with her, thinking about what it will feel like when I have her in my arms, naked, vulnerable, her breath on my neck and her flesh in my hands.

  Fuck, my dick gets hard thinking about it.

  We hit a bump on the highway, and it jars her awake.

  “Oh shit!”

  “What is it?” I ask, wondering if she remembered something important she left behind.

  “Oh, nothing. I just didn’t mean to fall asleep. You probably want to fire me now.”

  She laughs softly, and I have to fight the urge to reach over and touch her.

  “Absolutely not. I’m glad you dozed off. You probably needed it.”

  “Are you sure?” she asks, wiping her eyes with her knuckles.

  “Yes. If it makes you feel any better, you can make it up to me tonight when we cross into the Virginia border and I’m struggling to stay awake then.”

  “We should probably get some coffee, then. I’ve been a little sleep deprived lately,” Kara says, holding her thumb and forefinger an inch apart.

  “Ha, me too. Sounds like we both need a nap more than we need coffee.”

  We both look at each other then, I’m pretty sure having the exact same thought, which is the both of us curled up on my bed in the back. It’s plenty big enough for two people, even though I told Kara she’d sleep on the top bunk.

  But fuck if I don’t want to pull her to me and let my eyes close while the both of us drift off to the land of Zzzzs.

  “We don’t need a nap. We got this.” Kara is determined to impress me, I think.

  Little does she know, she already has. And she doesn’t have to do anything to keep me impressed.

  “We could play I Spy,” she suggests.

  “I Spy is for amateurs. What else you got?” I want to see just how adventurous she really is.

  “Amateurs? That’s kind of harsh,” Kara says, giggling.

  Fuck, she’s adorable.

  “I meant it as a compliment. As in, I feel sure you can come up with something more interesting.”

  “Okay. How about … truth or dare?”

  Now we’re talking. “Oh, you’re on. I’ll even let you start.” I glance her way, and she’s twirling her hair in circles around her finger.

  “Okay. Truth or dare?”

  “Dare.”

  Kara presses her hand to her forehead as she thinks of something. I fully expect her to dare me to answer a question since we don’t know each other that well, and there isn’t a whole lot I can do since I’m driving.

  “I dare you to sing the happy birthday song in an opera voice.”

  I raise a brow as I look her way. Singing is actually one of my strengths, but I don’t do “opera.” Nevertheless, I clear my throat and start doing a “me me me ME me me meeee” warm-up.

  Kara is already giggling but I tune it out as I begin to sing. I even hold my hand up in the air dramatically as I belt out every single word, using Kara’s name at the end. When I’m finished, I clear my throat and shake my head. “Damn. Been a while since I’ve had an audience. How’d I do?”

  She’s got this adorable smirk on her face, and I suddenly want to kiss her. “Pretty damn good. You sound like a real professional.”

  “Professional bullshitter, maybe. Okay, my turn. Truth or dare?”

  “Truth.”

  I run a hand through my beard, thinking of the million things I want to ask her, knowing I need to keep it G-rated, for now.

  “If I asked your friends what your best trait was, what would they tell me?”

  She’s silent for a moment, and I assume she’s thinking. “I don’t exactly have any friends.” Kara rolls the edge of her jean shorts between her fingers as she stares straight ahead.

  Well, fuck me. How am I going to turn this around? “Everybody has at least one friend. You don’t have someone you talk to from high school? Or your neighborhood?”

  She shakes her head, scrunching her mouth up self-consciously. Now I really feel bad.

  “Alright. Then you tell me. What’s your best trait?”

  After taking a deep breath, she clasps her hands behind her head as she stretches her feet out.

  “Is ‘survivor’ a trait?”

  My chest tightens. Now I want to know what she’s survived and who the fuck I have to kill for almost killing her. “Most fucking definitely.”

  “That’s my best trait, then.”

  I fight the urge to reach over and take her hand in mine. It’s a good thing she’s still got her hands behind her head, otherwise I just might do that. And it would probably freak her out.

  “Truth or dare?” she asks.

  “Truth.”

  “What’s your worst trait?”

  I let out a laugh. “That’s easy. I’m impatient as hell.”

  “Really? I never would have guessed that about you.”

  “Oh, you have no idea. When I want something, I just go for it. I don’t let anything stand in
my way, and if I can’t have it right away, I tend to get a little pissy.”

  Her eyes lift in a blend of shock and fear, and I wonder if I’ve overwhelmed her.

  “Can you give an example?”

  “Oh no you don’t. My turn. Truth or dare.”

  We both laugh, and the next hour flies by as we ask each other seemingly harmless and superficial questions that end up forcing us to dig down deep for answers. And it’s through those “superficial” questions I learn a lot about Kara in a small amount of time, just a few of which leave me wanting to learn more.

  Her most embarrassing moment was getting sick on the school bus in the second grade.

  Tom Holland is about as close as she has gotten to a teen heartthrob.

  If she were stuck on a deserted island, the three things she’d bring along would be a copy of The Great Gatsby, an all-purpose knife, and a picture of her mother.

  And last but not least, Kara has never had a boyfriend.

  That last one should make me feel sorry for her. And in a way it does. I mean, the girl is fucking gorgeous. How has someone not beaten down her door for a date? But mostly it makes my dick rock hard because a girl like her? She wouldn’t give her virginity to just anyone. If Kara has never had a boyfriend, that sweet cherry of hers is intact.

  And I plan to fucking take it.

  I don’t go with anymore dares when it’s my turn because I’m having too much fun answering questions. I want her to know that I’m an open book. I want her to trust me.

  Because before we make it back to her hometown, I will have laid my claim to her sweet body and her heart.

  Kara

  The hours fly by as we travel along the highway. I can’t believe how comfortable, how completely myself I am around Axel. He definitely has a way of making me feel safe. And he makes me laugh harder than anyone ever could. Any reservations I had about taking this job are completely gone.

  Well, that’s not exactly 100% true. I guess my only concern is the fact that I find myself incredibly attracted to him. Every time he laughs, it makes me so wet. I stare at his hands as they grip the wheel, and I let my eyes travel over his muscular arms, the tattoos, and his fucking gorgeous profile, and I just melt.

  But I know it’s all just a fantasy in my head. A sexy, worldly guy like Axel would never want an inexperienced girl like me. I’ve never even kissed a guy, never had sex. If Axel asked for a blowjob, I’d have no idea what to do.

  I have watched a few videos before, so I’ve seen how cock sucking works. My dad had this DVD and one night a few months ago, when he was supposedly working late, I snuck it out of his closet and watched it. It was pretty hot, I guess, but it only made me want a man’s hands on my body.

  But since I’m too shy to even look at most guys, I can’t see that ever happening. I’ll probably die an elderly, lonely virgin surrounded by cats. Or maybe the cats won’t even want to be around me. Hell, my own dad took off. Why would I expect animals to be any different?

  “You getting hungry?”

  I glance at the digital clock and realize it’s almost seven. We’ve both been snacking since our last stop when he fueled up. Just the mention of food makes my stomach growl loudly.

  “I guess that’s a yes?” he says, chuckling.

  “Wow, I guess so.”

  “There’s a truck stop a few exits down. We can get something there. And I think we’ll make it into Virginia before midnight.”

  “Sounds good. If I get enough caffeine in me, I’ll be able to keep the both of us awake.”

  “Well, I only want us staying awake until we cross the state line. There’s an awesome place to stop and sleep, and that’s exactly what I plan for us to do.”

  Obviously, that’s what he wants. When all I want is for him to wrap me up in his arms.

  I have no clue if it’s normal to be this fiercely attracted to someone right out of the gate, but there’s no denying how I feel. And it scares me how badly I want to lie down with this man and let him take me.

  We end up eating a quick dinner and we’re back on the road by eight o’clock. Axel plays country music, and every time a song comes on we both know, we try to out-sing the other by beating each other to the lyrics.

  “You’ve got a good voice, you know.”

  “Really?” I say, shocked.

  “I don’t make shit up.”

  “Thanks. I used to sing a lot when I was little, but my dad told me I sounded like a catfight.”

  “Jesus,” Axel mutters. “Was he deaf? Because nothing about you is reminiscent of a catfight. Not in the slightest.”

  I smile a “thank you” his way, but he’s looking at me with so much seriousness and sincerity. And then his eyes brush down my legs, and I get tingles all up and down my body. “He wasn’t deaf, but he was drunk most of the time.”

  Axel lets out a soft grunt, almost as if he’s frustrated. “Was? As in … past tense?”

  “I mean ‘is.’ It’s the single reason he can never hold down a job.”

  I feel this bubble inside of me about to burst. Like I really want to talk about it, but I’m also afraid that if I do, it’ll sound as if I’m whining about my life situation. And I can’t stand it when people whine and complain when there’s always someone who has it worse.

  “I’m sure that’s been stressful, growing up with that.”

  I run my hands up and down my legs, feeling like I want to crawl inside of myself. “Yeah, it has. That’s why I’ve been looking for work, too. So I could help out, not worry about getting evicted for the umpteenth time.”

  “Fuck.” Axel runs a hand through his hair. “That’s no way for a kid to live. I swear, if you lived in my hometown, you’d have a job in five minutes. I know so many people.”

  I get a flurry of excitement at the thought of living in close proximity to him, even though I have no clue where he lives. “Where’s your hometown?”

  “Grand Junction, Colorado.”

  That’s a long way from Kentucky, I think. A long way from my roots, and from my drunk dad.

  “What about your mom?” he asks. “Is she in the picture?”

  “No,” I answer, shaking my head. “She died years ago.”

  Axel reaches over and brushes my arm with the back of his hand, and it sends waves of warmth radiating all through me. “I wasn’t joking about the job thing. You decide to relocate, just say the word. I’ll hook you up.”

  “Thank you, Axel. I’ll let you know.”

  And this is the first time that I feel just a glimmer of hope. And it’s coming from a man I met at a truck stop.

  Who would have ever thought something so crazy would happen to me?

  Axel

  As we cross into Virginia, Kara asks me if I’m tired. I lie and tell her I am because I know she must be.

  Damn. Sleeping is the last thing on my mind. When I think about lying down in the back of the cab, I think about Kara’s hot little body scooching up to mine, her warmth and her soft curves, and my dick gets rock hard.

  I guess it’s a good thing there’s a separate bunk behind us because if Kara is anywhere near me when I drift off or wake up in the morning, she’s going to be greeted with morning wood.

  “We’ll be at the stop in about five minutes. I usually shower in the morning because it helps me wake up, but if you want to shower tonight, I’ll hang out inside until you’re done.”

  “It’s okay,” she says, her voice sounding really tired. “I can wait until the morning.”

  I reach over and brush her cheek, at this point finding it impossible to keep my hands off of her. And when she looks my way, licking her lips, my cock stiffens as I imagine that tongue dragging over my length.

  Fuck.

  “I, um, do need to wash up, brush my teeth, that sort of thing.”

  “Same here, sweetheart.”

  I jump out of the truck and walk to the other side, helping Kara down. She slings her bag over her shoulder and takes me by the hand before walking inside.
She’s staying closer to me than she was earlier, which makes me feel good about things.

  We walk into our respective bathrooms, and I think about how glad I am that she’s here with me. What she told me about her dad makes me angry as fuck. I wonder if she spent her whole childhood living with a drunk, and it makes me want to punch the fucker out.

  I don’t know where all this protectiveness is coming from. I’ve never felt it with any other woman. But Kara isn’t like other women. She’s classy, innocent, demure, sweet, sexy, adorable, and so many other adjectives come to mind that only serve to make me hard as steel.

  I know you can’t rush love, or sex with a girl who’s obviously innocent. But I need to be inside of her and soon.

  I need to be marking my territory, claiming her as mine.

  While waiting for her to finish up in the bathroom, I pick out several frozen breakfast sandwiches along with some pastries and bagels so she has plenty of things to choose from in the morning. I also pick up some instant coffee since I ran out yesterday.

  When she finally comes out, I can see the circles under her puffy eyes, but she manages to force a smile. “Sorry I made you wait.”

  “No problem. I picked out some breakfast while I was waiting.”

  “Oh, good.”

  I push the door open for her and head out into the night air, both of us letting out a vocal yawn at the same time.

  “Man, I am so tired,” Kara says with a groany voice. She then steps onto the blacktop when suddenly, out of nowhere, a truck comes barreling down the drive. No warning, no headlights. “I’ll be asleep before my head hits—”

  Before she can finish, I toss my purchased items aside and grab the straps of her shoulder bag, yanking her back against me right as the truck barges past. The cocksucker flips his high beams on and blares the horn so loud I almost have a fucking heart attack.