by Alta Hensley
"Even if that means me leaving you and never seeing you again?" Fresh tears flooded her eyes.
"Sometimes we have to do what we have to to keep our loved ones safe. Like your parents—they were doing what they believed was best for you."
"Being six throughout my twenties?"
"You have a roof over your head, and food in your stomach, and plenty of toys to play with…" He laughed when she playfully punched him on the arm. "Okay, maybe not the toys, but surely you can understand why someone who was surrounded by poverty would want to give security to their daughter in any way that they could, even if it meant their daughter would have to spend her twenties acting like she was six. They didn't want you on the streets, starving."
"Costello?" She paused long enough to build the courage she needed to ask the next question. "You just said 'loved ones'. Do you… do you… love me?"
Costello nodded, slowly. "With all my heart. All poppas love their progenies in their own way. But God help me, Juniper. I love you far beyond that."
Their eyes met and a smile washed over both of their faces.
"I love you, too. I have feelings for you, more than just as my poppa. I wanted to talk to you about them, but I've never been in this sort of position before. I've never met a man who's actually seen me as me, rather than as my other self." She repositioned her body so she could stare directly into his eyes. "You see me as I am. You see me as a woman. But I don't know, even after what you've said, that I'm enough for you. I want to be. I desperately want to be. I just…"
His lips pressed against hers. She didn't know how to react so she just sat there, wishing she knew, wishing she had some idea of how she should respond. When he pulled back, he was smiling. "Generally it works better if you kiss me back."
"I'm nervous. I don't want to do it wrong."
"Kissing comes naturally to most people. All you need to do is let go of all your inhibitions and kiss me back. Do just as you did last time."
"But everything happened so fast last time. I didn't have time to think about what was happening. And you stopped last time, and left."
"I won't leave again," he whispered as he pressed his lips against hers again, and this time she ignored the fear she felt that she was doing it all wrong, because she did want to kiss him back.
She moved her lips with his, feeling them start to tingle as he pressed a little closer to her, before he swept his tongue over her bottom lip. For a moment she wasn't certain what he wanted her to do, but then she remembered the one time she'd seen a couple kissing—a bath mistress and a poppa—and that all the girls had been talking about him having his tongue in her mouth. Shivering, more from what she believed to be desire than fear, she opened her mouth to him.
Now that this kiss was happening much slower than the last one, she had time to soak it all up. The first thing Juniper noticed was that having someone else's tongue in her mouth felt very strange, but very natural at the same time. She curled her arms tightly around him, wanting to be closer to him, certain she could feel something hard in his trousers. Even though it was strange, she didn't move away, as she believed that was normal. If she'd been taught more about what happened when a man and a woman were together, she could be more certain, but from the few explorations she done herself, she realized that he was going to need something to put inside her.
Chapter Ten
It wasn't a surprise that she'd stiffened when she felt his erection. Costello knew he needed to go slowly with her. He moved a little bit away from her and their eyes met. "How much did the educators teach you about sex?"
"Not as much as I wish they had." Juniper sighed. "I don't want to be scared of this, but I am."
"You've seen the other girls."
She nodded.
"A man doesn't look like that. For one thing, we don't have breasts. Our chests are flat."
She poked him. "I know that much thanks to the dolls we have."
"I'm starting at the beginning, because I thought that was the easiest thing to do for both of us. I've never had to explain this to anyone before, so it's a learning experience for me as well."
"Okay, so a man has a flat chest…"
"Do you want to feel mine?"
For a long time she just stared at him, and Costello was beginning to think he'd pushed her too far—when she nodded. Without really stopping to think, he unbuttoned his shirt, showing her his body for the first time. Gently she ran her fingers from his collarbone to the top of his pants.
"You're not entirely flat." She touched his nipples and he held back a moan. "You like that, don't you?" As he nodded, she smiled. "Tell me what it feels like."
That was one of the hardest things he'd been asked to do, because he'd never had to describe what it felt like when a beautiful woman was groping his nipples the way she was. But as she'd never done it before, he could understand why.
Eventually, he shook his head. "There are some sensations that are impossible to describe, love. I wish I could. I know it's important for you to understand. I think the only way you can is to experience the sensation for yourself."
He did not expect her response to be placing his hand under her nightgown to her own breasts. She didn't have very large ones, but they were enough to cup in a hand. He knew that some of the girls were given breast reductions if they were deemed to be too large. Juniper wasn't one of the unlucky girls who'd had to go through that. Even though he really did want to touch them, he didn't. He wanted her so bad. His conscience screamed for him to stop, but his soul, his body, and his heart screamed even louder for him to continue. With both hands, he drew her closer so their bodies were pressed together.
* * * * *
Costello pressed his lips to hers, dominating her mouth just as he had dominated her during her punishment. Gently lowering her down to the bed, he adjusted her body so she lay beneath him against the soft, pink comforter. The simple action raised her nightgown, exposing her naked bottom half. Her panties had already been shed during the spanking moments ago. Costello had seen her naked before, but this was different. She was exposed to him in an intimate way.
She gasped when he raised the nightgown up further, removing it from her body completely. He continued to ravish her mouth as he caressed her breasts. His touch sent an unexplainable thrill through her. Being twenty-eight, she had had many a night fantasizing about the touch of a man, but in no way was she prepared for the electric jolt that went through her at his first touch on her pussy. When his hand made contact with the curly hair on her mound, she jumped and gasped. Enough so that he paused his actions.
"Are you all right?" He pulled away so he could look into her eyes. "Am I moving too fast? Do you want to stop?"
She shook her head, struggling to catch her breath. "Don't stop. Please take me, Costello. I want this so bad."
His gaze on her turned almost animalistic as he quickly shed his clothes, reclaiming his position over her body. As he devoured her mouth with passion, he caressed her body with the most gentle of touches. Slowly he kissed his way to her breasts, taking a nipple between his lips and flicking the sensitive area with his tongue. She couldn't help but arch her back, pressing her breast against his lips, begging for more.
As he blessed her with more suckling of her breast, he lowered his hand to her pussy, finding his way to her clit. In small circles, he rubbed his finger, pressing firmly as he did so. The combination of his finger and his sucking of her nipple almost did her in. She wasn't sure if it was possible to die from pleasure, but she was pretty damn close.
Her moans grew louder as he moved his finger from her clit to the entrance of her pussy. Self-conscious of the wetness pooling there, Juniper couldn't help but instinctively try to close her legs.
"Open for me," Costello whispered as he moved his mouth to her other breast, showering it with the same affection as he'd just given the last one.
She did as he commanded and spread her legs, feeling the cool air against her moist vagina. Costello didn't waste an
y time and thrust his finger past the opening and into her fiery depths. She arched her back even more and clutched his hair as he devoured her nipple into his mouth.
In and out he moved his finger. In and out he pulled her juices from her body. In and out he fucked her with his hand… until sparks ignited behind her eyelids. Her moans turned to gasps as a jolt of the most exquisite pleasure blanketed her very soul. Before she could come to terms with what was happening to her body, Costello positioned his cock where his hand had just been.
"This is going to hurt, but I swear to you it will eventually turn to pleasure. Relax your body and concentrate on letting me in." His words were strong, yet spoken with so much love and concern.
She remained silent—not that she could have spoken if she'd tried.
His cock slipped past her folds fairly easily, so easily that she wasn't sure what he'd meant when he'd said it would hurt. That was until he pressed on and she felt a slight pop, followed by a biting sting. She gasped and clung to his back, silently begging him to push no further.
He paused where he was and placed a trail of kisses along her neck, whispering words of encouragement as Juniper's body spun in a sexual whirl. When the pain subsided, and her pussy accepted the size of his dick, she grabbed the flesh of his ass and pulled him even deeper, the small act of dominance giving her a quite unexpected thrill. His cock pushed further, spreading her pussy to what at first felt like impossible levels.
"It's okay, love. Take a deep breath and just focus on us. Focus on the fact that we are joined as one," he whispered, as he placed gentle kisses all over her face.
Yes… they were joined as one. The knowledge of the connection allowed the pain to ease and an overwhelming rush of intimate love to take its place.
"I love you, Costello," she whispered with a moan as he pressed further.
Just like with his finger, he thrust his cock in and out. In and out of a pussy that had starved for this. In and out of a girl who craved to be fucked. In and out of a female who hungered to be treated like a woman... fucked hard like a grown woman.
Over and over Costello pulled out, only to thrust back in. Each forward motion forced a moan of pleasure to escape past her lips. She tried desperately to focus on the act, but the blinding erotic sensations caused everything to wash around her in a blur.
When his pace picked up, and his ragged breaths became moans, Juniper could only bury her face into his neck and cry out in pure ecstasy as he thrust one last time and gave his own guttural moan. Moments later… silence and the weight of the man she couldn't imagine being without on top of her.
Chapter Eleven
The time Juniper was able to spend with Costello was something she looked forward to throughout the day. Even though she sometimes felt self-conscious, knowing that he was watching her behaving like a child, she knew he understood why she did it. Yet there were still occasions when his eyes were on her and it seemed like he was judging her. When that happened, she'd get herself excused, so she could spend some time alone and fix her mask again. Fortunately, though, those times seemed to get fewer and fewer as they got to know each other, especially as she was finally beginning to feel like she might be his equal. Ever since she lost her virginity to him, they had grown even closer.
They hadn't had sex in the following days, but were exploring their bodies in other ways. She had learned how to take his cock in her mouth and give him pleasure, just as he had given her the same release with his tongue against her pussy. He had taught her how to use her hand, stroking his shaft up and down until his come exploded out. She enjoyed the creamy-white texture of his release as it ran down her hand, or the salty flavor as it coated her tongue when she sucked him to completion. She loved everything about her sexual learning, and under his tutelage, she believed she was becoming a true woman.
It was making being at the facility more difficult. Juniper wanted to have a life, one that she could run herself without having to go from breakfast time, to play time, to learning time, and so on. There was just nothing that she could do to change things. Until the time she was adopted, or Costello came up with a plan to get her out of the facility, she was trapped there, and with her birthday long gone, she knew there was very little chance of the former happening.
Sighing, she sat on her bed, hating the pink heart covers that they'd put on it. Costello sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her, doing his best to give her the support she needed to keep going, keep pretending, keep doing what needed to be done if she was going to survive to her next birthday.
"We'll get you out by the next one."
She laughed, heavy with sarcasm. "Yeah, you say that, Costello, but I don't think it's going to happen." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Maybe it's time you moved on." Trying to find the words to explain why she'd said that was hard, and she'd expected it to be from the moment she made the decision.
"I know you want to be here to help me. I just… I don't think this is fair on either of us. I've come to terms as best I can with the fact I will be here for the rest of my life, so maybe… maybe you need to find another job, or something to get you away from the facility and away from me." As she blinked away tears, she looked down at her lap. "I don't want you to be trapped here the same way I am, and I think if we spend any more time together, that's exactly what's going to happen, because you won't want to leave me here alone." She shrugged. "I'm going to be here at least another year until menopause, so do yourself a favor and walk away while you still can."
"You should know it's too late for that." Costello gently squeezed her. "Even if you are here for another year, I'm going to be right by your side for the entire time. You can't, and you won't, do this by yourself."
"Costello…"
"I've been in love with you for a long time, longer than I think I realized until recently, and there is no way that I'm going to walk away from you, not now."
Their eyes met as she looked up again.
"I have no doubt that this is going to be much harder than I anticipate, but I'm not going to leave you trapped here by yourself. I will find a way out."
"What if we are found out before then?" It was one thing keeping the secret to herself, but now that someone else knew, her risk had increased.
"If that happens, you keep pretending you are six, and that I just took advantage of you."
Juniper shook her head.
"You have to. I can take whatever punishment they want to give me…"
"No. If we get found out, I'm going to tell them what I am. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll be banished, but anything is better than the punishment they give to poppas who have been more intimate with the progenies than they should be." It could all be rumors, but she had heard tales of mutilation and castration.
"Shh… you don't need to worry about me. It's going to take a little time, but we will get out of here. I just need to be smart about doing it."
"Let's just sneak out right now. Why don't we just take our chances?" Her heart skipped with hope. The idea of running out the door and never looking back almost suffocated her with the anticipation of a better life.
He shook his head. "There are guards, and even if we got past them, what then? It's ugly out there. Starvation, homelessness, crime. Without a job, my ability to provide you with a safe home is unlikely. And then, to top it all off, we will have the government searching for us relentlessly."
"So there's no hope?" She buried her face into his neck and fought back the need to just cry like a little girl. "What are we going to do?"
"I was hoping my friend would have found some way to hack into the system and find your parents. If we could find a safe place for a short time outside the facility, I could have more access to finding a permanent solution." Costello kept getting update letters, but so far, his friend Emery was getting nowhere. "I promise you that I am trying."
"I know you are. I never doubted for a second that you are trying, but these things aren't as easy as either of us want them to be." She
curled her arm around his waist. "Of course it doesn't help that you're relying on letters instead of being able to use the Internet, because no one is allowed to use it here in case one of the progenies finds out something they're not supposed to." She sighed. "What could the progenies do? Even if they do find out what they are, I'm not entirely certain that they'd care. It's not something that will matter to them. All they care about are their crayons, their chalks, and their new blackboard wall. And I'm meant to, as well. But every time I look at that wall, all I want to do is paint over it with something."
"Then you will be punished and your price will go up again. Not to mention drawing more attention your way. I swear, Juniper Mae, if you do—"
She snuggled even closer. "I know. I know. I'll be a good little girl."
He stroked her hair as a reward for her compliance. "We still have a year. There's plenty of time for you to be adopted."
"My price is ridiculous, and you know it. There's nothing I can do to make it go down. We're just going to have to come to terms with the fact that no one is ever going to adopt me. I'm too expensive." She looked back up at him. "And I can't imagine ever leaving you."
He let out a heavy sigh. "As hard as it would be, adoption would still be the best option. It would get you out of this facility without forcing you to live in the shadows of the ruthless streets with me. I would much rather see you safe as a wife to someone else, than as a vagrant with me."
She remained silent, not sure how to argue that statement.
"I've lain in my bed night after night, trying to work out how you managed to live this life for so long… and I can't. You've dealt with this better than I can imagine myself doing." He snickered and kissed the top of her head. "I would have had more than a couple of temper tantrums." He looked around her room in the same way she had done so many times before. "This room, having to follow the routine of the other girls, having to pretend to play… I think you're one of the strongest people I know. I truly believe I would have broken if I had to do the same things that you did."
