Cupids Essence

by J Thompson

  In a few strides, Mike stood in front of Belinda. With a gentle hand, he tipped her chin so he could see her face. In spite of the tears that had smudged her mascara and the red blotches on her face from the tears, she still looked stunningly beautiful. Mike couldn’t speak; the need to take away anything that would cause her this amount of fear was intense. He wanted to be the one to protect her, and be the one she turned to when she felt afraid.

  Without any thought to the possible repercussions, Mike bent his head and pressed his lips to hers. He tensed, fully expecting to be pushed away or slapped, and he wouldn’t blame her if she did. But to his surprise her answer was to grab hold of his shirt and pull him closer, kissing him back with a passion he had never expected, well, not after their sofa session anyway.

  He let her lead the way, letting her control this in a way she didn’t have control of the earlier events, in a hope it would make her feel safe and make it known she would never have to fear him. With reluctance, Mike pulled away and was rewarded by a moan of denial. Resting his forehead against her own, neither of them moved or spoke until Mike reached around Belinda and grabbed the door handle to the truck.

  “Come on, let’s get you home,” he said quietly and waited for her to nod in agreement. They both stepped back from the truck and Mike opened the door, letting Belinda in the driver’s side and watched her climb over the gear stick to the passenger seat. Yes, they could have used the other door, but neither one of them were currently thinking straight. Mike quickly slid behind the wheel and started the engine before he easily manoeuvred the truck out of the car park and onto the main road.

  †

  Clint watched with jealous eyes as Mike had kissed Belinda before he had bundled her into his truck and had driven off. A rage Clint had never before felt, nor thought he was capable of, had taken root inside and now wanted to explode outwards. He no longer felt in control of his body, nor his feelings. In fact, he felt like a bystander, someone on the side-lines, watching, but with zero control and as much as he enjoyed the anger that simmered within him, he also felt fear. This wasn’t him; his actions had just proved that.

  Clint had never been one to approach a woman like Belinda, never mind grab hold of her and become borderline abusive. His mother had made it a point to bring him up with a healthy respect of how to treat people.

  After he had watched the black truck disappear up the road, Clint made his way to his own car. Sliding into the driver’s seat of the Volvo, he pulled down the sun visor to look into the mirror. Instead of his usual muddy green orbs, bright blue reflected back at him and a hard, deep voice filled his head.

  His body stopped responding to his commands and Clint felt his own consciousness being pushed to the back of his mind as a new presence took over.

  “Don’t worry Clint, I will take it from here.”

  The voice scared Clint as his own face smiled back in the reflection; his appearance changed and looked menacing. The Volvo started and the engine revved before the car pulled out of the car park as Clint’s presence shrank away, leaving only the newcomer in control.

  With no control, he could only watch as idea after idea formed inside his head, ones that frightened him with their darkness. Only a part of him revelled in them, opened up the part of him that enjoyed the darker side of life and called to that small, dark stain on his soul. The presence, along with himself, wanted Belinda. Clint forgot his previous fear and embraced his new fate, ready and eager to be of use.

  The drive back to her house was quiet and Belinda didn’t try to push any conversation, she had only just managed to stop the shaking that had overtaken her body as soon as she had left the library. Her hands were now the only extremity that continued to shake. Belinda had fisted them into her blouse in an attempt to stop it, but it was like they had a mind of their own. She bit her lip and tried to stop her mind from racing. The events of the afternoon span around in her mind, what ifs circled in her skull.

  Like, what if Mike hadn’t have shown up when he did, would she have been able to fend off Clint’s advances on her own? What if Clint had become more angry? What if… What if!!!

  Belinda would admit that she knew nothing of self-defence, which was exceptionally foolish on her part. She should have known a situation like what had happened could have happened, but no, she foolishly believed that she would never have to deal with anything like that.

  A small movement to her right had Belinda flinching, only to relax as Mike reached over and tugged her right hand free from the material of her blouse then interlocked their fingers together. He kept his eyes glued to the road the entire time and changed gears using his own right hand, all so he could maintain constant contact with Belinda. This small gesture meant the world to her and it cemented his place in her heart.

  Mike rubbed his thumb over the skin of her hand, his own engulfed hers but not once did she ever feel threatened by his size. He always made her feel protected. Belinda looked at their joint fingers then up to Mike’s face. She had never truly taken the time to study Mike. Although she did fancy him they had never been in such close proximity before. From the side, Belinda could make out how slightly crooked his nose was and that his left ear seemed swollen. His hair curled in that annoying way that made every woman jealous as they could never replicate it.

  Mike’s lower lip looked bigger and a little bit out of proportion to the rest of his face. To Belinda, though, all of these small things weren’t flaws but made him even more appealing to her. She watched as his gaze flicked to hers then back to the road, and a small smirk tweaked at his lips. Bloody hell, the man had dimples as well, Belinda thought, as her stomach did a flip. He was a great big hunk of sexy and she could spend hours just mapping his features.

  The silence continued even as Mike pulled his hand free from hers to pull the truck to a stop right outside her house. He cut the engine but didn’t say a word, they both sat there in the light of the street lamp. Being only 4:30pm it was surprisingly dark but the street itself was quiet with little or no traffic.

  “Thank you,” Belinda whispered.

  He didn’t respond, so she turned a little in her seat and faced him.

  “Thank you Mike, I dread to think what would have happened had you not turned up.” As soon as Belinda had said the words out loud her body started to shake again.

  With no word, Mike unhooked his seat belt and slid his seat right back before he unhooked her belt. Belinda gasped loud as Mike reached over and grabbed her by the waist. As gently as possible, he pulled her over the gear stick and onto his lap, her knees straddled his waist and pushed her skirt up so it barely covered her arse. Belinda’s hands immediately flew to grab hold of his broad shoulders for balance, but another gasp was pulled from her as her core settled against his own groin, her plain panties and his jeans all that separated her from a very hard and large cock.

  Her previous shakes forgotten, Belinda looked down into Mike’s face and into his eyes. This time she could see all of his features from the front, she could make out every lump and bump on his nose and cheek, ones from the battering he took playing rugby. His lips that, from the side looked out of proportion, looked perfect to her and his eyes drew her in.

  “Belinda,” Mike breathed, and she was lost. “No need to thank me, baby.” His voice low and husky, it seemed to caress every nerve in her body.

  “But if you hadn’t-”

  “Shhhhhh,” he stopped her mid-sentence. “Don’t over think it.”

  Belinda nodded but didn’t say anything else. He was right, though, she always tended to over think or over analyse things and it always made them out to be worse than what they really were. It was how her OCD operated, except for when she was with Mike. In the few times they had been alone together, she noticed she seemed more settled and that surprised Belinda most of all. She had struggled her whole life to fit in and this man helped her feel almost normal just by sitting near her.

  “Can I kiss you again, Belinda?” Mike’s voice brok
e through the fog of her thoughts. It was even lower than before and completely devoid of his stutter. Belinda knew if she opened her mouth now something stupid and completely random would fly out and ruin the moment, so she took her father’s advice; she kept her mouth shut this one time and, as before, she nodded in response. If she didn’t control herself somehow and learn to act like a sane person she would be doomed to spend the rest of her days doing the Churchill dog impression. Her chin never even made an inch before Mike smiled.

  Shit a brick, Belinda thought, that smile changed everything. Forgotten were any imperfections he might have, because the man had dimples. She was transfixed as his handsome face became downright gorgeous. Was her mouth hanging open? Belinda really didn’t care if it was. Hell, you would have to be dead to not respond to that, and this man wanted to kiss her. That thought right there sobered Belinda up and made her heart start beating fast, like she was running.

  Belinda never moved as Mike slid his left hand around her waist and tugged her closer, whilst the other slid behind her head and pulled her closer to his lips.

  “Mike, wait, everyone can see us through the windows.” She pressed against his chest slightly, only to hear him chuckle and she became transfixed, once again, at the way his lips moved as he talked. A hint of white teeth peeked out with each word and his breath hinted at mint and coffee.

  “Tinted windows Belinda, no one can see a thing.” His lips were a mere few inches from her own and she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. Would he taste as good as he did the other night? Would it be as intense? All these thoughts rattled around in her head.

  “Stop thinking so hard,” he whispered, a moment before his lips touched her own and Belinda closed her eyes to savour the pleasure that was to come.

  With Belinda’s eyes shut, she relied on her other senses and fell into the kiss. Her hands kneaded his shoulders in a similar way a cat did. A groan flew from her mouth, surprising her. The sound seemed to excite Mike as he pulled her even closer to him, crushing her breasts against his chest.

  The heated ambience in the cab of the truck had thickened; steam from their combined body heat had already fogged up the windows. The temperature was steadily rising and in comparison to the icy weather outside, Belinda felt cocooned in heat and passion.

  Evidence that Mike was enjoying their kiss as much as her pressed hard and hot against her almost exposed core. Instead of scaring someone of her innocence, it excited her. Belinda felt empowered. What woman of 28 wouldn’t when she was currently straddling a beast of a man with her tongue down his throat and her foo about as close to his gentlemen’s area as it could get without, well, you know.

  This had been the closest Belinda had ever been to a guy and she now knew- well, she had a hint now, at what she had missed. The feelings Mike evoked within her made her feel sexy and wanted. Belinda may be a virgin but that didn’t equate to being stupid, and like every other woman on the planet, she got horny. But in this moment she felt on fire, her moans, uninhibited, erupted from her mouth as she moved her hands to cup Mike’s face and attempted to take control over the kiss.

  Her hips moved over his huge, hard length and he bucked in response, hitting her in the perfect place that almost had her eyes rolling to the back of her head in pleasure. Belinda couldn’t help but mewl in disappointment as Mike pulled away from the kiss.

  “Fuck baby,” he croaked out, almost unable to get his words out. His voice was a low growl and the look in his eyes had Belinda’s stomach flipping. It was a look of utter possession, and it excited her.

  “You feel so damn good,” he whispered into her ear, just before he licked the skin behind it and then took the lobe between his teeth and tugged. With no stutter to distract her from the richness of his voice, each word flowed over her and caused every hair on her body to stand on end.

  The stutter had always made him seem sort of vulnerable but now he was the complete opposite. Mike was all huge, hard body and dominant attitude. Before Mike, she would have avoided those traits like the plague but now he ticked every box, even the ones she didn’t know she had.

  “I want you Belinda, I always have,” he began, his voice and breath caressing her ear and causing her to shiver. Belinda closed her eyes as his heated words elicited a fantasy in her mind.

  “I want to strip you baby. Oh so slowly, take every single piece of clothing from your body until I can see every perfect inch of your creamy skin laid out before me.”

  Belinda’s chest heaved and her hands once again moved, they made the journey back from his face down to his shoulders and she gripped them hard.

  “Fuck Belinda, I want you. I want to taste you so bad my mouth waters at the thought,” he purred into her ear.

  She couldn’t contain the gasp as his large, calloused hand slid up her bare thigh. Belinda hadn’t been aware it had moved at all, but now she shook in excitement. The touch of his bare skin on hers caused an electric-type shock that travelled from her leg to her core. She felt his fingertips graze her panty covered core and fought for breath.

  “I want to see how wet you are for me baby.”

  Belinda shook with pleasure as his words ignited image upon image in her head; fantasies of them together blended and melded, making it hard for her to breathe. His touch almost burned, but she loved each and every slide of skin on skin. Her hips bucked in an attempt to keep constant contact.

  She felt lost in the sea of passion and pleasure and would surely drown if it wasn’t for the beacon of light at the back of her mind that fought to ignore Mike’s drugging kisses and licks and his mind blowing touches to her most private of areas. That spark, although tiny, reminded her she was still a virgin and as such, maybe the best place for her first time wasn’t the front seat of Mike’s truck.

  She fought against the part of her that didn’t want to stop; she wanted the high feeling of pleasure to go on and on.

  “Mike,” she panted. “Mike, please stop a second.” Her voice sounded foreign to her, she had never before sounded husky and a tad sexy.

  She felt Mike stiffen and slowly pull his mouth away from her neck, his hand moved from between her legs to rest on her thigh and his eyes met hers as he waited for her to continue. His face held a hint of regret and remorse, which was unexpected. She had expected to see anger at having been made to stop, but the regret pulled at her and made her realise that if she didn’t say something soon she would ruin this moment and any future moments.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have behaved that way,” Mike said in a low voice, regret laced each word and tugged on Belinda’s heart.

  Belinda also knew that if she said the wrong thing, everything she hoped for between the two of them could be ruined. The atmosphere was already changing, she never wanted what was happening between them to end, but she also wanted to be completely honest with Mike, especially about her current sexual status.

  “Mike wait, please.” She placed both her hands on his cheeks, making sure their eyes met and she had his full attention. “Please don’t be sorry.” She smiled and kissed his lips once more, feeling strangely confident. “Your touch does things to me.”

  Belinda blushed but didn’t let her embarrassment stop her; she ploughed on, “I enjoy your touch so much. I didn’t want it to stop.”

  She could see that Mike was about to ask why she had indeed stopped then, so she blurted it out before he had a chance to question her. Divulging a secret not many people were aware of.

  “I’m a virgin, Mike.”

  She waited in silence, their breathing the only noise to fill the truck. She had never, ever pictured giving that information this way, but it was out in the open now. Belinda watched Mike’s face as he processed it all, his face actually not changing; only his eyes flickered from a sadness to something else she had only ever seen once.

  The look in his eyes matched the one Clint had in his earlier that day, but with Mike it felt different and she enjoyed it. But, then again, she had never, ever pictured herse
lf straddled across Mike’s lap in the front seat of his truck going at it like teenagers did. Her day had been full of firsts; she just hoped she hadn’t hindered a second and a third.

  Mike was stunned. Had he heard her right? He continued to look over her face, searching for anything that would give any indication that she was bullshitting him. But as he looked deeper into her bright eyes, he saw nothing but honesty. Her bright red cheeks, even noticeable in the dull lights of the street lamps, showed she felt more embarrassed than anything else.

  “A virgin,” he repeated.

  Belinda nodded and then whispered, “Yes”.

  Mike’s hands tightened their grip on her thigh and waist, his fingers dug in slightly. He didn’t want to break any connection with her. In fact, he wanted her closer than she was currently; a feat that was impossible.

  The information wasn’t much to process, but its meaning meant more to him than Belinda would ever know. It was a sign of trust. Hell, her being on his lap in his truck showed that she must somehow trust him. But for her to open up, stop him and tell him straight, just made him respect the hell out of her. What she had just divulged wasn’t general knowledge or else it would have been well known at the pub.

  Men actually gossiped more than women did and anything like that would go through the town like flu. Nearly every single- and some married- guys in town all at some point had the hots for his Belinda. It drove him mad when they made comments about her, and he had been thankful that none had made an attempt to ask her out. Most didn’t have the balls. Belinda had been nicknamed the “ice queen” since she had shown zero emotion to any guy that had tried. Well, she wasn’t ice that was for sure. He had been lucky in the sense she had turned to him to help her with his car and not one of his work mates. He liked to think it was because she liked him too.