First things first, I have to deal with the Robbie situation, figure out some way to get her out of here without anyone seeing. This search party thing is blowing up quickly. That, and Robbie's father has surveillance cameras stationed around his house. I have no idea how much of the altercation they might've caught, but if he gets it in his mind to check them and sees me … I'll be in twice as much trouble as I'm in now.
I open the bathroom door, just a sliver, and accidentally catch sight of Robbie's naked body, sprawled out on the floor. Panic sets in, slicing my heart with cold shivers.
“Robbie!” I fall to my knees next to her body, hands grasping her shoulders and dragging her into my lap. She gasps, blue eyes flicking open, palms pressing into my chest as I cradle her close. “What happened?” I ask, wanting to feel her over for injuries. As far as I can see, however, Robbie's in perfect shape. Perfect shape.
“I was a little warm, so I climbed out and sat here to wait. I forgot that the door was unlocked. I was expecting you to knock.” Robbie flushes, and I cringe. “I know it's weird, but I like to sit with the steam sometimes and just, you know, think.”
“It's not weird,” I tell her, trying to force myself to release her naked body and step away. My cock is rigid and full, pressing against the denim of my jeans. It would only take seconds to bury myself inside of her. Seconds. “You need to go home,” I say instead. Robbie nods her head and starts to pull away. I release her with a physical shudder passing through me.
“I know, but I'd rather kiss you.”
“Robbie,” I try to stay firm, but when she raises up to her knees and presses her wet mouth to mine, I give in. My arms slide around Robbie's warm body, pulling her close, tucking her small form between my legs. Our kisses sear but don't burn, don't leave blackened flesh in their wake. These are the kinds of kisses that wars are started over, books written about, that flush poems from the hearts of poets. I've only had a handful of kisses like this in my life – all of them from Aliyah. When my mouth is on Robbie's, it's not so hard to imagine that I really am eighteen again. I wish I could start over. I'm certainly not the only person on this earth who's had that thought, but I do believe I'm the most passionate. I really wanted a life, desperately craved one, and here I am with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company. “Robbie.” I try to get her to move back, but she won't and I'm not in the position to force her.
“Luke,” Robbie breathes, reaching her fingers up under my shirt, tracing my abs with a tentative touch that undoes everything inside of me. My demons rise to look, ripe with anger at Clarice, at the police, at the world. They're always angry at the world; that much is a given. I let them see Robbie's purity and beauty, but refuse to allow them to break through. Audra is the type of girl that can take the darkness and allow it to spill out and around her. Robbie is the exact opposite. “Thanks for coming out to get me last night,” she whispers, taking her mouth from mine and placing the feathery softness of her lips against my neck. “I … was confused about everything between us. I only meant to have one drink, but one turned into … a whole hell of a lot. Jules … he was trying to … ”
“To rape you.” It's a statement of fact, but it sounds so ugly that I want to vomit. I hate rapists with a passion. “He's lucky I didn't kill him.”
“That other man,” Robbie says, breathing hot, sweet breath into my ear. “Is that why you and Audra killed him?” I wait a moment before answering, letting her feel my bare chest with her fingers, sitting back a bit, so I can pull off my shirt.
“It is,” I whisper, kissing her cheek, her forehead. It's so unlike my usual style that I start to falter, to feel unsure of myself. Lucas Carter is never unsure, but maybe Luke Carter is?
“Thank you,” Robbie says again. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”
Our naked bodies press close, my jeans the only thing keeping us from the next level, from an all-out brawl on the towel covered surface of my bathroom floor.
I reach my fingers under Robbie's bare ass and scoot her backwards, laying her flat on the ground beneath me. When she looks up, her eyes are filled with questions, with curiosity, affection. I have no idea why she likes me, but sometimes that's okay. Sometimes, a boy with green eyes and dark hair gets up and moves across the room to sit next to the weird girl in art class, the one with faux pink eyelashes on, a leafless tree bleeding on the page in front of her. Sometimes he falls in love with this girl. Sometimes he loses her.
God, Aliyah, I miss you so fucking much that it's hard to breathe. I've given my life over to the demons. They own me now, body and soul.
“Are you certain you want to do this?” I ask. It doesn't make up for my lack of attention last time, but I feel like I have to at least voice the words, get a verbal confirmation. My mind rewinds back to last night, to Robbie telling Jules no.
“Luke, if I didn't want to, I would say something.” Robbie puts her hands on either side of my face. “In the kitchen, I wanted to be with you. It hurt more than I thought, but I wanted it anyway. Stop beating yourself up about it.”
“I don't want to become anymore of a monster than I already am. Does that make me selfish?”
“No. And I don't think you're a monster at all, Luke. Monsters couldn't possibly kiss the way you do.”
Robbie wraps her arms around my head, threading her fingers together against the back of my neck. My tongue tastes her lips, her teeth. I can barely bring myself up for air. All I want is to be wrapped in Robbie, drenched with her sweetness.
I pull back suddenly and stand up, removing my jeans and flicking off the bathroom lights. There's no window in this room, so we're left together in darkness. Robbie fumbles for me, but I push her hands back, dropping between her legs and putting my mouth to the sweet heat between her thighs. I close my eyes against the sudden urge that cripples my body, begs me to skip this part of the exercise and go straight to the finale. But I did that last time, and I owe Robbie a proper experience. That, and this has to be the last one between us. If I keep on this path, things are going to get messy.
I breathe softly against Robbie's pussy, teasing her without touching.
The soft gasps of air from her throat mix with the sound of running water from the shower.
“Luke,” she whispers as I lean in closer, wondering what the fuck I'm doing trying to give a teenage girl oral sex. No matter what I do, how I behave, how Robbie looks at me – Roberta Carrell is not Aliyah Owens. But what if I said I didn't care, that I didn't want her to be? I growl, and the sound makes Robbie squirm. “Luke, I'm nervous.”
“You've never had anyone go down on you before?” I ask, purposely letting my words steam against her skin. She shivers, but not from the temperature. If anything, it's overly warm in here, heated by the still scalding water of the shower. Oh how I love a good water heater.
“I've never had anyone go anywhere before,” Robbie laughs, and I'm happy to see she's not one of those self-hating women who can't stand the idea of anyone looking at their vagina. Robbie simply lies there, legs open, trusting in me. Like Audra. I let my eyes flutter closed; darkness washes over and through me. This time, though, it's a different kind of darkness.
I open my eyes.
“Robbie, you're beautiful.” It's all I can think to say. Me. Lucas Carter, rendered speechless. I never thought I'd live to see the day. Well, after Aliyah passed, I never thought I'd live at all. Some may even argue that I haven't, not since the day I went to pick her up and found her missing. Not since the search parties, the funeral, the trial. Not since I let that sick son of a bitch escape my notice.
I push the thoughts back and take a deep breath, leaning in close, flicking the tip of my tongue against Robbie for a taste. She gasps and arches her back, pelvis thrusting up against my face. I feel a smile crawl across my lips, a real one this time.
“I like the way you move, Robbie,” I tell her, pressing a kiss against her folds, moving my way up until I'm hovering over her hooded clit. I press my mouth against the warm fl
esh, feeling her curls brush against my face. Yet another thing I like about both Audra and Robbie – they're real women. That shaved pussy crap doesn't do it for me. Actually, it disgusts me. Only little girls have naked flesh. “And I like the way you taste.” I kiss her again, gauging her reaction to see how fast I should move. If I were to dive right in on a virgin like Robbie, she'd lose it real quick. I have to take my time, warm her up for more, tease her clit out of hiding.
When her hands come down and curl in my hair, I stiffen, but only for a moment. If it were anyone else, the move might seem commanding, domineering, but on Robbie it doesn't matter. Even if she wanted to control me … I would let her?
I'm glad she can't see the shock come over my face, can't see me lean in and run my tongue down her folds, digging the tip into more sensitive flesh. Instead of moaning or whimpering, Robbie just breathes faster and faster, like she's running a marathon. I try to see how fast I can get her to go.
I start kissing again, teasing her down to her ass and back up to her clit, getting her twice as wet as the shower ever could. When I slip two fingers inside, Robbie is more than ready for me.
“Oh my God, Luke,” she gasps, fingers clawing gently at my scalp. “It feels so good.”
“That's the idea,” I whisper back, wishing I'd taken her down this path before. If I hadn't let my demons take control, I might've been able to give Robbie a proper introduction to the world of sex. Or pushed her away instead, my thoughts chime in, reminding me that I haven't kept this girl's best interests in mind. If I had, I wouldn't have fucked her in the first place. I stop talking because, really, who likes to listen to chatter during sex? I decide to shut down my brain – and my mouth – and move right in, pressing my knuckles gently into Robbie's pussy as I dive in deep. I withdraw my hand and add the circular motion of my tongue, swirling it around her hardening clit. Robbie's fingers tighten unbearably on my scalp and her breath quickens another few paces, the rise and fall of her chest a tantalizing shadow in the darkness.
I start to move my fingers faster, in and out at an even pace that's quick but not frenzied. Only when Robbie's fingers start to loosen and her breath starts to slow do I stop. When I do, pulling my fingers out and running my tongue across the wetness, Robbie sits up onto her elbows. The tiniest bit of light seeps in underneath the door and illuminates the lines of her face, her chin, the roundness of her shoulders. In my mind's eye, I can see her blue eyed perfection staring back at me.
“You can't come just yet,” I explain, moving forward, settling myself between her thighs until I'm looking down on her face. I can't see the subtleties of her expression, but I do catch slightly parted lips and fluttering lashes. “First, though, I want to hear you say it.”
“Say … what?” Robbie asks, her voice faraway and dreamy. Just knowing that she's enjoying it makes it all worthwhile. A thrill crawls through me that has nothing to do with monsters or demons or darkness. If I can hear her say it, just once, just fucking once, then I can really be that person. Luke. For one last moment, I can remember what it felt like to feel.
I suppose Robbie gets what I'm trying to say, somehow reads my intentions in the silence.
“Luke,” she says simply, perfectly. “Luke.”
I grab Robbie under the ass, tugging her pelvis against me. The head of my cock finds her warmth, spreading her open and sliding in slow and deep.
“Luke.” More of a drawl this time, like I'm drawing the sound from her throat.
“Say it again,” I growl, sliding my hands up Robbie's sides, over her perky breasts, trailing my fingers down her belly. “Robbie.”
“Luke!” she chirps, grabbing my arms, squeezing my wrists with her fingers at the same time she squeezes my cock with her tight pussy. It's so fucking hot and perfect, and I get this terrible thrill knowing I'm the only man she's ever had sex with. That's a rarity worth savoring. “Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke.” Robbie gasps and grabs at me, trying to push me back, to still my thrusts by putting her palms against my chest. “Luke, I feel strange. It feels weird. It's weird. Oh God, it's weird.” I don't stop or even slow down and most importantly, I don't speed up. It's all about keeping a steady rhythm.
“Relax into me, Robbie. Let go. Just let it all fucking go.”
When she comes, the sound of her gasping cry is like the finest music to my ears. It's so beautiful, so perfect, that I don't finish inside of her. I can't. All I can do is roll over and take her into my arms, hold Robbie's shuddering body, and brush the hair back from her forehead.
“Luke,” she whispers, just once more. One last, little perfect sound before she falls asleep in my arms.
“Get up.”
The voice that wakes me from my little dream world belongs to Audra Holiday. The very fact that she's standing in my house without a key is disturbing, but her tone books no nonsense. Carefully, oh so carefully, I extract myself from Robbie's arms and sit up, snatching a towel on my way out of the bathroom.
“How the fuck did you get in here?” I growl as I close the door behind me. Audra is standing near the window, arms crossed over her tight, black mini-dress, fingers peeling the curtains apart.
“Lucas, you done gone and fucked up big this time.”
“Pardon your fucking French,” I tell her, trying to ignore the way the porch light illuminates the ruby red of her hair. On my way into the kitchen, I pause.
Porch lights.
Nighttime.
Fuck.
Fuck.
“Fucked up. How.” I don't make it a question.
“Lucas, the police are outside. They stopped me on my way in. Apparently, Robbie's father has surveillance footage?”
“My God.” I hit myself in the forehead with the butt of my hand, trying my fucking damnedest not to freak out. All those warm fuzzy feelings Robbie stirred up inside of me are wrenched away, leaving a gaping hole that the demons are all too happy to take up residence in. The stress of Mrs. Braxton and Mark, and then this whole fiasco? It's too Goddamn much. My peaceful, quiet solitary little life could very well be gone forever. There are only two ways that can happen: my way or the monster's way. I have to take control of the situation.
“So why haven't they busted down the door yet, hmm?” I'm trying to convince myself of what I already know. This is not going to end well.
“Waiting for a search warrant, I guess. They've been knocking on the door, but you didn't answer. I figured something like this,” Audra gestures absently at the bathroom, “might be happening. I let myself in with the key I stole on my way out.”
“You are wicked.”
Audra smiles tight.
“You're off your game.” Audra holds up her hands before I can protest. “I mean, I know I don't know you all that well, but nobody as sharp as you fucks up this bad.”
I rake my fingers through my hair. A quick fix, that's what I need.
“How much time do I have?” Audra shrugs and shakes out her hair. My eyes catch on the flickering waves of red.
“I don't know, minutes?” Her green eyes sparkle as I open the door to the bathroom. Small, thin shafts of light break across Robbie's nude body. Audra immediately sidles up and glances over my shoulder. “She's a cutie, Luke, but come on, jail bait?”
“She isn't jail bait,” I growl, bending down and touching my fingers almost reverently to Robbie's foot. “She's eighteen.”
“Oh ho! You really like to walk the line, don't you, partner?”
“Don't call me partner,” I snap, pushing her back with my elbow. “A little privacy, please?” Audra rolls her eyes and retreats, allowing me to close the bathroom door and flick on the lights.
“Mmm,” Robbie groans, rolling to her side and dragging a towel over her eyes. “Luke?”
“We have a situation,” I tell her, wondering how in the fuck I managed to let an eighteen year old disarm me so thoroughly that I forgot to cover all of my bases. If I get tagged with some sort of statutory rape charges or something, I'll deserve the jail time.
How could I have been such a moronic idiot? “Your father saw the surveillance video of me carrying you into the house.”
Robbie sits up with a gasp, like a vampire rising from the grave. The towel falls from her face as she scrambles to get up and get dressed.
“I'm an adult,” she mutters, but not like she really believes it. That frightens me. “I make my own fucking decisions.”
“Robbie, we have to handle this just right or I'm going to be in serious trouble. I may already be in serious trouble as it is, for lying to the police.” This gives her pause and she looks up at me, the blue color of her eyes blindingly beautiful.
“I'll tell them I asked you to lie, so my dad wouldn't know how bad I fucked up. I'll tell them that I drank too much and I didn't want anyone to know, so you and … ” Robbie swallows hard. “You and your fiancée let me stay here.” I nod, but I have no idea if that's going to be enough to get me out of trouble.
“You have to go,” I say, letting Robbie get her panties and bra on before I open the door. Audra and Robbie make eye contact, but neither says anything. “You need to go out the back and hop the fence. If your father still has that ladder sitting out, use it and get to your room. Put on some sweats and climb into bed. Don't tell anyone how long you've been there.”
“Um … yeah, okay.” Robbie slips her gingham print dress on over her head and stares warily at Audra Holiday. The redhead returns the stare and the two size each other up.
“I'm going to put on a suit, act as if nothing is amiss. Audra and I are simply on our way to dinner.” I see the flicker of pain on Robbie's face, the flash of triumph on Audra's. If, among all of this crap, I've become entangled in some kind of … triangle … I'll grab the soonest flight out of the country and never come back.
Taboo Unchained Page 21
