Through the Dark

by Riley Ashby

  “Asked for whAAAAA!”

  My words cut off into a scream as he slapped my ass. “Jesus Christ in heaven, Rhys, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  “Teaching you a lesson.” He slapped me again, this time on the other side. “You want to act like a brat, I’ll punish you like a brat.” He hit me twice more. I squeaked. “Are you going to fix your attitude?”

  “Fuck off,” I shouted. My ass stung twice more as he continued his rhythm. I groaned and fell forward even more over the couch.

  “Apologize.”

  “Go to hell!”

  Two more slaps. “We’re going to be late for dinner.”

  God, I could just imagine what our parents would say if they came out here and saw this. My pseudo step-brother bending me over the couch, slapping my ass while I screamed. I’d never get over it. “Fine, I’m sorry!”

  “And?”

  “And thank you for fixing my car!”

  His hand lifted from my back and he stepped away from me, giving me room to stand. I whirled around, my face heating with embarrassment and the blood rushing back. “You’re a fucking asshole.”

  “Yeah, and you’re a little brat. We’ve established that.” He stepped to the side and gestured toward the door. “Now get in to dinner.”

  I stormed past him as quickly as I could with my sore ass, but he followed right on my heels.

  “Your parents divorced years ago, Ellie. It’s time to let certain things go. You’ll be happier if you do.”

  My buttcheeks burned as I walked faster, finally leaving him behind. Walking in the back door, I ran to the bathroom before my mom could corral me. Yanking down my pants, I stared at my red ass in the mirror. I could see the outline of his hand on my skin. My stomach tingled with the memory of his touch. His authority. The no-nonsense way he took control of my entire body.

  “Fuck,” I muttered.

  It would be a lot easier to be pissed at him for spanking me if it hadn’t been so fucking hot.

  Chapter 3

  I sat gingerly, suppressing a wince as my bruised ass hit the hard wood chair. Why couldn’t Mom and Carson have chosen cushioned chairs? Of course, I never would have expected I’d have to sit in these chairs after having my butt whooped by my pseudo step-brother. What was happening to me? I definitely didn’t have to let him do that. I barely fought back. Getting turned on by him spanking me was totally unacceptable. I needed to have a long, hard talk with myself later about my libido. Maybe I needed to go out and get laid. Yeah, that would help. I was probably just pent up from not getting any for the past few months.

  And where did he get off anyway, thinking he could treat me that way? Sure we had a bit of an age gap, but we were both adults now. He wasn’t my babysitter anymore. Seriously, he had one hell of a chip on his shoulder if he thought I was just going to take that lying down. Well … bending over. Not anymore. Next time we were alone, I was going to give him a piece of my mind.

  “Elle? Are you with us?”

  I shook my head a little as I came back to the room. Mom and Carson were both staring at me as Mom shoveled some salad onto my plate. I looked to my right, only to see Rhys grinning at me out of one side of his mouth. I scowled and turned back to my mom.

  “Sorry. Daydreaming.”

  “Carson asked how work was for you today.”

  “It was fine.” I shoveled a bite into my mouth and spoke around the lettuce. “Good tips from rich assholes.”

  “I heard you had a little bit of car trouble.” Carson took a drink as he looked over to his son. “But it sounds like Rhys took care of it.”

  Ugh, was I going to have to thank him again? I remembered what my mom said— he had to miss an important meeting to stay home and fix my car.

  Rhys had never shown any interest in following in his father’s footsteps. The times we did get along—usually when no one else was around to witness him being nice to me—he was always tinkering with something, taking it apart and putting it back together. He’d bought a car one year and fixed it up over the summer. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world as a ten-year-old with a minor crush on the older guy, even if he was a little mean to me sometimes. He’d turned a heap of junk into a well-oiled machine, straight Greased Lightning style, but his dad had just shrugged his shoulders when Rhys showed him.

  I stared a Rhys for a second, then turned back to his father. “Yeah, I know Rhys had a great day off doing what he really enjoys. I’m just lucky it benefited me as well.”

  Carson turned a little red, but said nothing, as my mom shot me a warning look. Rhys kicked me under the table.

  My face nearly cracked as I turned on the charm with my widest smile. “How was work for you, Carson?”

  We prattled on for a few more minutes about mundane things, including the plot of the book my mom read all day sitting by the pool. I was just about to excuse myself when Mom set down her fork and took a deep breath as she grabbed Carson’s hand. I froze, sensing an announcement.

  “Well, we have something to tell you two.” Carson looked between us expectantly. “I asked Marcie to marry me this morning.”

  I held my breath.

  “And I said yes.” Mom smiled wide, holding out her hand for us to look at the ring. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the giant spotlight on her hand. How many people died to bring her that fucking diamond?

  I jumped as Rhys’ hand closed around my knee. “That’s great, you two.” I whirled my head to look at him, but he was beaming at our parents. “We’re both so happy for you, right?” He turned to me and raised his eyebrows.

  Turning back toward my mom, I forced the smile back to my face. “You must be thrilled.”

  Mom melted. “Oh, Elle, I’m so excited. Carson and I have been in love for so long, and it’s just amazing that we’re finally going to walk down the aisle.”

  I started to rise. There was no way I was going to listen to this bullshit. How dare she be excited to get married after ruining Dad’s life? But Rhys pushed down harder on my knee to keep me in place.

  “When’s the wedding?”

  “We were actually thinking of keeping things small. Just family and close friends.” Mom swallowed. “We booked the ballroom at the Civic Center next month.”

  My jaw dropped. “Next month?”

  Carson nodded. “We’ve been together a long time, and we thought … why wait?”

  That’s it. I snatched my napkin off my lap and threw it on the table. “Yes, why wait? You certainly didn’t wait until the divorce was final to start fucking my mom. Or did I imagine all those weekend trips where you left me alone with your asshole son to run off and have a little afternoon delight?”

  “Ellie,” Rhys warned, but I was on a roll.

  “I lost my childhood to you two sneaking around, and then my adolescence to the nasty divorce proceedings. So why shouldn’t I drop everything to go to your wedding in a month? It’s very on brand. Congratulations.”

  I shook off Rhys’ hand and stalked away, not caring if he chased after me to smack my ass again. My mom called after me but I was already gone, out the door and down the driveway. I walked as far down the street as I could before coming to the main road, where I finally sank to the ground and buried my face in my hands. I couldn’t hold back the sobs anymore.

  This was always going to happen, I knew that. My mom and Carson were in love, or at least they thought they were. Honestly, I was surprised he hadn’t proposed sooner. But that didn’t change the sense of betrayal I felt at the moment she showed me the ring. It was far nicer than anything my dad ever could have bought her. More than that, it was proof there was no chance of my parents ever getting back together. I hadn’t even realized I was still holding on to that hope.

  The click of heels on the pavement announced my mother’s approach long before she folded onto the ground next to me. There was a bit of shuffling while she arranged her skirt to avoid flashing the passing traffic, but eventually she put her arm around my
shoulders and pulled me against her.

  “I’m sorry I sprung this on you, sweetie. I would have told you myself if I thought you would have had this reaction.”

  I wiped away the tears and tried to sit up and away, but she was surprisingly strong. “Don’t worry about me. Do whatever you want.”

  “What I want is for you to be happy for me.” She sighed deeply. “You have to understand that no matter how much the divorce might have hurt your dad, it was the best thing for us. It was hard for you to see because we hid so much of it from you, but he and I hadn’t been happy for years. We tried to stay together for your sake, but eventually it became too hard for both of us. The divorce allowed us both to pursue happiness outside of each other.” She kissed my temple and pushed some hair out of my eyes. “I know you’re angry, and I don’t expect you to forgive me overnight. But I hope you can see that I’m not the monster you’ve groomed me to be in your mind.”

  With one final squeeze, she rose to her feet and walked away. I had a few more moments of peace before flat-footed steps approached.

  “Are you going to spank me again?”

  He didn’t answer, just held out a hand to help me up. After a moment, I grudgingly took it and rose to my feet.

  “You’re not exactly helping your case,” he said. “That was a toddler-level tantrum. But I’ll give you a pass tonight.”

  I folded my arms, but that wasn’t helping with the temper tantrum vibe. I dropped them to my sides and speed walked back toward the house. He kept pace with me.

  “The only thing that could make this worse, Rhys, is seeing your face more than I already have to. Can we both just agree you’ll stay away from me, and I’ll get my own car fixed next time?”

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’re the boss.”

  We parted in the driveway, him walking back toward his pool house and me heading in to my room. I turned to look at him as I opened the door, but he was already inside.

  Chapter 4

  Mom came to my room as I was getting ready for bed, and I made a grudging apology. She was clearly really upset by what I’d said, and I couldn’t help but feel a little bad. She was my mom, after all, and she was letting me live in her house for free so I could focus on my education instead of scraping together money for rent. At breakfast the next morning, I made nice with Carson, and Mom asked me to be a bridesmaid. I said yes and gave her a hug, gritting my teeth through the entire ordeal. Escaping to work was a relief. After a long shift, I was too eager to fall into bed without bothering with a so-called family dinner.

  After getting through those first awful hours, the rest of the days passed easier. Rhys stayed out of my way, and I always checked for him before heading out to the pool. Since our workdays didn’t usually line up, I had plenty of time to spend outside in my bikini without worrying about him seeing me.

  The next week was a rare one for me, when I had two days off in a row, and I intended to use them wisely. Mom was out with some of her girlfriends doing wedding planning. I’d joined them for manicures earlier in the day, but pleaded a headache and headed back home to enjoy the rest of the day by myself. Sitting through gossip with a bunch of middle-aged women had caused enough stress anyway. Who could have expected they’d talk about sex so much? And I thought I was horny. Their insinuations about what my mom and Carson would be up to on the honeymoon almost did make me gag, so it wasn’t really too big of a stretch to say I didn’t feel well.

  I made a batch of margaritas and took a long swig straight from the pitcher before pouring a glass and setting it down next to my chaise. God, I needed that. Dealing with mom was hard enough on her own, but with her chatty friends she was next to impossible. Pulling my coverup over my head, I tossed it on the chair and bent over at the waist to grab my sunscreen. I squirted a big dollop onto my hand and spread it over my ass, sticking my hands far underneath my suit to make sure I covered every last inch of skin. My skin always burned like an egg in a frying pan at the first hint of ultraviolet light. As much as I wanted the upcoming wedding to crash and burn, I was not interested in having weird tan lines or peeling skin in my dress. Turning to face the pool, I spread more lotion over my legs and up my stomach, before covering my chest. Again, I slipped my hands underneath my suit and spread the lotion over my breasts. I jumped as my palms slipped over my nipples; I was so insanely horny it was ridiculous. Ever since Rhys smacked my ass in his pool house I’d been dying to get off, but I was so tired from work I’d never been able to take care of myself.

  Well, no time like the present.

  No one was home. I’d hear anyone arriving long before they came around back to the pool. With another quick look toward the house, I took another long drink of my margarita and settled back into the chaise. The alcohol had gone to my head quickly and I already felt a little woozy.

  “Perfect Thursday,” I muttered to myself. Why didn’t I day drink more often?

  I propped my legs wide on the chair and slipped my hand beneath my suit, spreading my pussy lips with two fingers and stroked my clit with a third. God, this was exactly what I needed. Between the booze and the pleasure swiftly building in my belly, I was feeling more relaxed already. Unbidden, my mind thought back to the day Rhys had me bent over while he smacked my ass. Did he really have to be so sexy? It was completely unfair that his hair looked the way it did, perfectly combed over whether he was going to the office or just coming over for dinner. And his rough five o’clock shadow he kept flawlessly trimmed, dark as his hair and contrasting perfectly with his warm sandy skin, begging me to rub my cheek against his to see how it felt. I bet it was softer than it looked. I sighed and spread my legs a little wider so I could push one finger inside myself. Within minutes, I was shaking and moaning, until I collapsed with a gasp and melted deeper into the chair.

  I sighed and slipped my hand out of my pussy, then stuck my finger in my mouth and licked off the wetness. Exactly what I needed. Now that I had Rhys and that spanking out of my system, I could resume hating him. Opening my eyes, I gazed around the yard and across the pool into the windows of Rhys’ house … to find him staring at me.

  There was nothing I could do at first. I was frozen with my finger still in my mouth, watching him watch me. Even from this distance I could see the bulge in his pants from his obvious arousal. What the fuck was he even doing home? Didn’t he always have to go in to the office? I should have checked for his car before I came out here. Fuck, I was never going to live this down.

  He was standing in front of his floor-to-ceiling windows, and I could see all of him just as he could see all of me. As we stared at each other, he reached for his belt and began to pull it open. Then his button, and zipper, and then he had his cock in his hand and was stroking it while he stared at me.

  Impossibly, I grew even wetter.

  This is not happening. I reached for my margarita and drained the glass, never taking my eyes off him. He pushed his thumb around the head of his cock, probably spreading some pre-cum around, and pointed at me as he mouthed a single word.

  Again.

  Holy shit. My step-brother wanted me to masturbate while he watched? While he also masturbated? No way. No way I was doing this. But I must have had more tequila than I thought, because my hand was already below my suit and I was rubbing at my clit. He shook his head.

  Off.

  He wanted me to remove my suit bottoms. Well, I’d already gotten off once out here. What was a little more public indecency?

  I’d really had more tequila than I thought.

  I lifted my hips and shimmied out of the bottoms, then tossed them to the side. Propping my legs wide once more, I resumed my ministrations. Rhys stepped a little closer to the full-length window. His mouth moved again.

  Show me.

  I spread my pussy lips as I had before, giving him a full view of my wet cunt. He wouldn’t be able to see much from there, but he bent over a little and began to pump himself furiously as I ran my fingers up and down my slick skin. I
was so glad I had visited the salon recently to get myself waxed. Every stray hair was tamed; I knew he could see nothing but the pink of my flesh. His mouth moved as he spoke out loud, maybe to himself.

  That’s it. That’s right.

  I reached behind my neck with my free hand and undid the knot of my bikini top, then tugged down the little triangles covering my tits. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth in a groan as I began to rub my breasts. His free hand fell forward against the glass to support himself. His normally perfect hair fell forward over his face as his chest started to rise and fall faster. I bit my lip and slipped two fingers inside my pussy and began to thrust into myself. My clit was sore and swollen from orgasming only minutes ago, but the sight of him undone was enough to send me falling over the edge once more. I arched my back as high as I could, pushing my tits into the air, and cried out loudly so he could hear it behind the glass. My orgasm seemed to last a full minute. The mental image of Rhys fucking me with his cock like I was fucking myself with my fingers felt so vivid and real, even more than it had a few minutes ago.

  When I opened my eyes again, he was still staring at me, wiping his cock with a tissue before tucking it back inside his pants.

  The reality of what had just happened came crashing down. Oh my God. This went way beyond some fully-clothed spanking. I was more or less naked in front of him, and he’d watched me come twice. He’d jerked off to me. He was my step-brother, and I hated him, and we’d just masturbated to each other.

  I scrambled for my bottoms and tried to yank them on, but nearly tripped and fell into the pool. Growling in frustration, I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around myself, then picked up my pitcher of margarita and stumbled toward the house. I had to get inside and drink myself into a black out so I forgot this ever happened. This time when I turned to look at Rhys before going through the door, he was still watching me, his hair back in perfect position, a small smile on his place.