Through the Dark

by Riley Ashby

  “Tell me to stop,” he whispered.

  I groaned and showed him my neck.

  “That’s what I thought.” He inserted another finger. “Gather your dress. I want to see my fingers going in and out of your little pussy.”

  “Rhys…”

  “Gather your dress,” he commanded again, and I did. I was helpless while he caressed me, as if he knew exactly how I liked to be touched. He suckled on my neck, not enough to give me a hickey, but it added to the tingling between my legs.

  “This is a one-time thing. You caught me off guard.”

  “Whatever you say.” He kissed my lips again. “I’m going to fuck you eventually, princess. You’ll beg me.”

  He began thrusting his fingers in and out of me, his thumb hitting my clit each time he hit my G-spot, and I grabbed harder onto his shoulders and neck.

  “You were ready to beg me that night, weren’t you? If I’d said yes, if I’d admitted you were the one I’d been thinking about for years, you would have gotten down on your knees and pleaded until I gave in right there and fucked you while you were too drunk to walk.”

  How had he always known how to read my mind? “Rhys … I’m…”

  “Say my name while you do,” he growled, and bit my shoulder hard enough to bruise. “Call out your step-brother’s name while I finger fuck you in the bathroom at our parents’ wedding. I want anyone standing outside to know exactly who gave you pleasure, who made you shake. Come for me, Ellie.”

  My head fell back and he bit me again while I screamed his name, my one leg still on the ground losing all stability as his fingers sent me tumbling over the edge. My fingernails bit into his skin but he seemed unperturbed, biting me again while he rubbed me through the best orgasm of my life. I felt the gush of warmth between my legs and knew I had squirted on him. When he pulled his hand from between my legs, he brought it to his mouth and licked at the liquid while he stared at me.

  “Yeah, I’m going to need more of that.”

  He dropped my leg and I hurried to fix my skirt, the reality of our situation coming back to me all too quickly.

  “Anyone could have heard us,” I gasped, rushing to the sink to splash water on my face before I remembered the eighty-dollar makeup application I’d paid for this morning. I scooped water into my mouth, swishing it around, but the taste of his lips was imbued in my skin. I quickly spread on new lip gloss to try and cover it up.

  He reached around me to wash his own hands, causing me to jump, but I couldn’t go anywhere with him encircling me.

  “No one did,” he muttered. “Do you think I’d let anyone else hear to those noises you made? Those are for me alone.”

  He kissed my neck before pulling his hands away and drying them on a towel. I pushed him away as I whirled to face him.

  “That’s never happening again.”

  “You can think that all you like. You’ll be at my door begging for my cock before they’re back from the honeymoon.”

  Shit. I was going to have to live with him all week without even my mother as a buffer. “You’re insane if you think I’m spending the week in that house with you,” I growled. “I’m going to stay with Annie.”

  “Like hell you are.” He grabbed my wrist and yanked me against him, kissing me, smearing my freshly applied lip gloss. “I own this pussy now, Ellie. Don’t think for a second you’re taking it away from me.”

  I opened my mouth, not to reply but to spit in his face, as someone knocked on the door.

  “Elle? Rhys? Are you in there … together?”

  My face blanched as I recognized my mother’s voice. “Oh my God.”

  “Relax,” Rhys muttered, and he went over to the door. He unlocked it swiftly and pulled it wide open, barely giving me time to check my hair in the mirror one last time. “Hi, Mom!”

  “Hi, sweetheart.” She looked between us nervously. “Elle, is everything okay in here?”

  “It’s fine,” I answered quickly.

  “She needed a tampon,” Rhys interjected. “I brought her her purse.” He gestured to where it sat on the counter. I’d left it at the table when I came in here, but it seemed he’d thought of everything.

  Mom’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, how thoughtful of you. Well, are you two coming back to the party, or do you need another minute, Elle?”

  “I’m fine,” I snapped, then softened my tone. “Lead the way.”

  Mom beamed and spun, and Rhys and I followed her back into the fray. I jumped again when his arm went around me, and then his jacket landed on my shoulders.

  “I don’t want this,” I hissed, trying to shove it off, but he held it firm.

  “Yes you do. Unless you want your mom to see the hickey I left on your shoulder.”

  I groaned. I had been too caught up in the orgasm to tell him to bite me a little lighter.

  “Did you like that cover I came up with?”

  “Very clever,” I snapped, and headed to the bar, hoping he wouldn’t follow, but of course he did.

  “If you ever need something to shove up your pussy, you know where to find me.” He grinned at the bartender, who was staring at us with an amused expression. “Two whiskey and Cokes.”

  I grabbed my drink as soon as he set it down. “Stay the fuck away from me,” I warned one final time, and went back to the party.

  Chapter 6

  Rhys drove me home—there was no avoiding it. I was several drinks in at that point and nearly fell asleep in the car, rousing from my doze when he opened the door and pulled me into his arms.

  “I can walk,” I muttered. He scoffed.

  “I don’t want you breaking an ankle. That would really mess with my plans for you this week.”

  “You’re disgusting.” I grabbed onto his neck as we ascended the stairs, and he had to pry my fingers off when he placed me on the mattress. “I hate you.”

  “You’ve mentioned.”

  “Get me water.”

  He sighed, but I heard the faucet running in the bathroom and a moment later he lifted my head to help me drink.

  “I can do it myself!” I grabbed at the glass and sloshed water all down the front of my dress.

  Another sigh. “You are such a child.”

  “You want to spank me like a child, I’ll act like one.”

  He raised his eyebrows at me. “You want me to spank you again?”

  Oh shit.

  He snatched the glass from my hand and yanked me to my feet, pulling down the zipper at the back of my dress while he held my chin with his free hand. “Ask and I shall deliver.”

  I bit my lip as he pushed the dress from my shoulders and it fell to the floor, leaving me in my underwear. “I’m drunk.”

  “I noticed.”

  “I can’t consent.”

  “I’m not planning to fuck you tonight, as much as I want to. But it’s clear you need a little more discipline.” He spun me around and pushed me over; I fell onto my elbows on the mattress. He stroked my bare ass with wide palms, then struck me once—not with as much force as the first time. I yelped. “Feel good?”

  Closing my eyes, I dropped my head to the mattress and nodded. He slapped me again on the other side. I braced for a repeat, but he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back to standing. “That’s enough for tonight. You look like you’re about to fall asleep.”

  I tried to hide my disappointment as he steered me toward the bathroom and stood over me as I washed my face. He didn’t look at me, but he ran his hands over my back and ass, pulling my hair back from my face and pressing soft kisses to my neck and shoulder while I applied moisturizer. My hands slowed as I spread it across my skin, not wanting him to stop touching me. He was so gentle, so soft compared to the hard way he’d come after me earlier and the sharp sting of his hands on my rear end. When my hands were dry and I couldn’t pretend my routine wasn’t done, he slipped his hands to my front and pressed against me, hard cock sliding between my ass cheeks through his slacks.

  “Can I touch you a
gain?” he whispered in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “Nothing more than that. I just want to see your face while you come one more time before I leave you.”

  I met his eyes in the mirror, noting my flushed cheeks and parted lips. “Yes.”

  One of his hands slid down the front of my thong, then fingers spread my pussy lips and began to fly across my clit once more. I fought to keep my eyes open through the haze of alcohol and exhaustion and pleasure, struggled to hold his gaze while he stroked my already sensitive nub. It didn’t take long to bring me there again; he caught me around the waist with his free hand as I staggered and finally looked down and away.

  “God, you’re beautiful.” He suckled my neck gently while I caught my breath, and dragged his hand up my stomach. “I’ll be thinking of you later.”

  I drifted back to the bed on unsteady feet, guided by his hands on my hips, and snuggled against the pillow as he brought the blanket around my chin. “You’re always taking care of me when I’m drunk.”

  “I’d like to take care of you when you’re not drunk, too.”

  “Hmm.” My bed was so warm, and with Rhys sitting next to me on the edge of the bed I felt safer than I had all night. “I’m gonna hate you again in the morning.”

  “We’ll see about that.” He smoothed down my hair and pressed a kiss to my head. “I’ll be back for you, Ellie.”

  *

  I was miraculously without a hangover the next morning, and microwaved some leftover pancakes from the pre-wedding brunch the day before. There was plenty of fresh food in the fridge, but I never really learned to cook, so I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do for my meals all week while Mom and Carson were in Florida on their honeymoon. But I’d have plenty of time to ponder it while I did everything I could to avoid thinking about what Rhys and I had done the night before. Twice. Nope, definitely not thinking about it.

  I was on edge all day wondering when he’d show up and finish what we started the day before, but he didn’t appear until late afternoon, just as I was contemplating ordering pizza for dinner. The glass door to the patio let me see him coming, and I raced across the room to lock the door. He just smiled and pulled out a set of keys before letting himself in.

  “Glad to see you, too,” he said, grinning down at me. I folded my arms and glared.

  “Why are you here?”

  “Figured you might be hungry. I know you don’t really cook.”

  I’d braced myself to be pounced upon the moment he showed up, but he did nothing more than touch my shoulder briefly before brushing past me to the kitchen. I watched him retreat, dumbfounded, then scurried to follow him. “Where were you all day?”

  “Did you miss me?” He glanced at me over one shoulder, then rummaged around in the fridge before coming up with an armful of ingredients. “I was at some open houses. Can you set the oven to 450?”

  The oven beeped as I entered the temperature and pressed start. “Did you find anything you liked?”

  He nodded as he washed a couple of red peppers underneath the water in the sink, then set them aside to dry. He turned back toward me with a cutting board and knife, then set about cutting the peppers in half and tossing away the seeds. “There’s one strong contender. I put in an offer.”

  I couldn’t help being excited for him. I couldn’t wait to own my own home one day, when I wasn’t in school anymore and was able to get a good-paying job rather than working for tips. “That’s fantastic! Are you excited?”

  Setting down the knife, he turned to grab a pan. I snagged it and cut off a slice of pepper. When he turned and saw me munching on it, he smiled and shook his head. “Yeah, I’m pretty stoked. It’d be a great family home, some day.”

  I choked a little on the pepper. “‘Stoked’? How old are you?”

  He leaned across the counter to me, snagging my chin just as I swallowed the final bite of pepper. “Old enough to know what I want, and go after it.” Planting a quick kiss to my lips before I could escape, he went back to arranging the peppers on the tray, and slid them into the oven just as it announced it was ready. “Start a pot of water, please. We need pasta.”

  That I could do. I worked on the pasta while he chopped a shallot and some garlic, then watched while he cooked it over the stove with some oil. When the peppers were ready, he showed me how to peel off the skins, then dumped all the veggies into a blender with some milk and a bunch of something he called nutritional yeast. To finish, he sautéed some tempeh in a pan with oil and then tossed it together with the sauce and pasta. Grabbing both our plates, he led me outside where we sat by the pool to eat.

  “That was really good,” I conceded, setting aside my empty plate, resisting the urge to lick it clean. “It tasted cheesy.”

  “That’s the nooch,” he said. “Nutritional yeast. Gives it that flavor when you don’t want actual cheese.”

  I stretched out my legs and sucked in a deep breath of evening air. This hadn’t gone quite how I’d expected it to. What kind of sex-driven fiend shows up and cooks you dinner first?

  One who wants more than just sex. I shook the thought away. I didn’t know why he was after me now, but it surely didn’t mean more than getting off.

  “You seem happy.”

  I side-eyed him. “I guess I am.”

  “Happy with me.”

  “For now. I’m sure you’ll piss me off in a minute here.”

  He stood and grabbed me, pulling me to my feet along with him. “Let’s see what I can come up with.”

  I struggled to breathe. My chest pressed against his, and I could feel how my nipples became instantly hard beneath my bra. Judging by the grin on his face, so did he.

  “You’re insufferable,” I whispered, as he reached behind me to open the door.

  “Watch your step.” He lifted me a few inches to help me over the threshold.

  “I don’t need your help.”

  “Such a brat.” He bent over to nuzzle my neck. “You need to be put in your place. I want to be the one to do it.”

  His hips thrust forward into mine, and I couldn’t suppress my whimper. God, he was big. His hands traveled to my breasts, kneading them through my shirt. The tingling between my legs was too much to bear, and I could feel the arousal pooling between my legs.

  “Open my pants,” he whispered against my lips. His tongue was velvety soft against mine as he invaded my mouth.

  I shook my head. “No.”

  He grinned as he grabbed my hands and pulled them to his waistband, forcing me to open his belt and then his button and zipper. I tried to back away, but he held onto my waistband with one hand while pulling himself out with the other. The entire time he never stopped kissing me. He sucked on my tongue, bit my lower lip, ran his tongue along the top of my mouth as I struggled to breathe.

  “Look down.”

  My eyes obeyed. His hard cock was fisted in his hand, and God as my witness, it was the largest I’d ever seen. I’d had my share of sexual partners, but none compared to him. There was a full five inches protruding from where he grasped himself with his large hand, flat against his base.

  I looked up at him, eyes wide. “You’re not putting that in me”

  “You bet your ass I am.”

  I backed away but he was on me in an instant, pressing me down with his body, pulling me to the floor as he produced a tie from his pocket. He’d come prepared. I wiggled, but he held me just tightly enough.

  “Hold still,” he grunted, wrapping up my wrists and tying them to the foot of the couch. I tugged but it was too heavy for me to move. I was trapped. The desire in my stomach stoked hotter no matter how hard I fought to turn myself off. This was going to happen. He was going to fuck me, and I was going to love every second of it. He grabbed my chin and twisted my jaw toward him, mashing our lips together in a possessive kiss.

  “Now hold still,” he said, and tied a cloth over my eyes.

  Just like that, every trace of lust fled my body like a flock of birds taking flight.
His fingers in my skin turned to crawling spiders; the only thing I could hear was the rushing of my own blood in my ears.

  “Stop,” I begged, but my voice was a croak. I struggled to breathe deeply enough. “I don't like that.”

  “Let's get these off.” He pulled down my pants while I struggled. My breath was coming too fast, stars flying before my closed eyes. The world was just there, just beyond the blindfold, but I couldn’t see it.

  “Rhys, I'm serious.”

  “I'm seriously going to come in you,” he whispered as he stroked my ass. My pants and underwear were gone, disappeared without my realizing it. His hand fell lower, through my slit until his finger touched my clit. Pleasure took over for a moment, but then his other hand came down on my ass. “Do you know how long I’ve dreamed of this?”

  When he’d spanked me in his house the other day, I was been completely ready to go, even if I was putting on a good show. That time, he had been holding me so loosely I easily could have gotten out from under him if I wanted to. But now … now I was helpless. I had lost my most important sense, and suddenly I was a child again, trapped in the endless black with no way out. He could do whatever he wanted, and I had no way of stopping him. Full-blown panic took over and all I could think about was getting away. Getting out of this house, away from this man. He wanted to hurt me, and I couldn’t let him.

  “I CAN'T SEE!” I squirmed and kicked as hard as I could. “Stop! I'm saying no! Untie me!” I kicked as hard as I could but I couldn’t make contact with him, he was too fast, he didn’t care that I was saying no…

  “Shit. Shit. Fuck.”

  For one wild second, I thought he would refuse, but he was pulling my pants up around my waist and then he reached for my hands, freeing them from the tie not a moment too soon. He tugged off the blindfold and I could suddenly breathe again, but none of the images I was seeing made sense. There was light. The walls were white, not stone. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up to sitting then moved back, trying to give me space, but I threw myself into his arms and clung to him with every ounce of my strength.