The Lucky Bullet

by H. S. Strickland

  “I love you so much, Ray. You will never understand how much,” he murmured at my ear.

  I pulled out of his arms and looked at him in confusion.

  “I love you baby, what’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I need to tell you something that I should have told you a month ago.” I swallowed roughly; I was scared out of my mind to hear what he had to say. My first thought was he cheated on me and was finally going to tell me.

  He led me back through the bedroom and down the hall to the living room and sat me down on the couch. He then began to pace the floor with a contemplative look on his face. I sat on the couch for a good five minutes watching him, my head moving to the left and right with his movements. I was amazed that the carpet hadn’t caught on fire with all his pacing. He finally sat down a second later and ran his hands through his hair roughly before grabbing my hands and setting them in his lap.

  “First I want to say that I should have told you as soon as I found out and I didn’t because you’ve had enough bad in your life,” he started.

  I was already crying out of fear. He needed to spit it out already!

  “When Luke found me at the park he told me something very disturbing and that’s the reason I beat his ass,” he stopped speaking for a minute so he could gather his words, “He told me that he drugged you and had his friends over. He also said that he wasn’t Liam’s biological father, one of his friends is his father,” he finished.

  I sat staring at Mace for what felt like hours. I couldn’t absorb the information he was giving me. Luke not only raped me, but drugged me and allowed his friends to rape me as well? What was I, a fucking sex slave?

  Holy shit, I thought. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. I could feel the air that I needed to push out, stuck in my lungs, which had started to burn. The room began spinning and my ears were ringing. I watched Mace’s mouth move but I couldn’t hear what he was saying due to the ringing in my ears.

  I was going to have to get Liam a paternity test and talk to Luke’s friends. I was going to have to root up Liam’s happy life and explain who Luke was. He was going to grow up and figure out that his ‘dad’ was a rapist. When he got older he was going to think he would turn into that. That was the last thought I had before my world went pitch black.

  Chapter 19

  Mace

  Ray fell backwards on the throw pillows she had insisted on buying two weeks ago. After I made sure she had fell back without hitting her head I ran through the house to get a rag and a bottle of water. I came back to the couch and put the rag on her forehead and set the water down.

  While I was waiting for Araylia to wake up I thought about how bad she had been feeling. She had been having horrible migraines and had thrown up a few times. She didn’t think I knew about her calling her doctor but I did, and I really hoped her doctor could figure out what was going on.

  I was so mad at myself for not telling her sooner but she was finally getting better. She was finally healing from the traumatic things Luke did to her. I was scared to mess up any progress she had made but this was bigger than her, this was about an innocent little boy. My Liam, my little man.

  I was still shocked that he had accidently called me daddy. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I wanted to be happy but I couldn’t muster up any happiness. I couldn’t suppress the memories that came along with being called daddy.

  I was taken out of my head when Araylia started to stir.

  “Liam,” she groaned in pain.

  “Babe, Liam is with Nanny, remember?” I said softly.

  “I know,” she mumbled.

  “What is it then, bright eyes?” I inquired

  I had taken to calling her bright eyes in the past month because her eyes had been so bright. They would light up any room she walked into. Ever since she found out Luke was going to prison her eyes were the brightest I had ever seen them.

  “Liam is going to have to know about his ‘father’.” She held up her fingers in quotations around the word father.

  “Why don’t we pick him up tomorrow, like planned, go on our vacation, then worry about it when we get home?” I suggested, I hoped that it would ease some tension she had building up.

  “You still want to go on vacation?” She asked in a hopeful tone as she sat up.

  “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?” I pulled her into my lap and sat back. I know it was the most inappropriate time but her ass was snug against my cock, and he stood at attention. I tried shifting her so she wouldn’t notice but I knew she had when she turned to face me and her eyes were dark.

  “Because you’ve been acting distant for the past month. I thought I had done something wrong,” she told me.

  “Babe, I’ve been acting that way because of what Luke told me. It’s been weighing on my mind and I didn’t know what to do. Other things have been on my mind as well, but I’m not ready to talk about that yet.” I said in a defeated tone.

  I was ashamed of myself for not telling her until now. It was wrong of me and I would never forgive myself. I have always told her that she would be treated right by me and I was not living up to that promise.

  “I understand why you waited so long but that doesn’t excuse it. I’m very upset with you,” she said and her eyes conveyed the same thing, that she was upset with me. She rested her head against my shoulder and I placed a tender kiss to her forehead.

  “I understand bright eyes.” I said.

  She yawned and burrowed closer in my shoulder.

  “You want to go to bed?” I asked.

  “Yeah honey,” she replied.

  I kissed her forehead again and got up with her firmly in my arms. I strode down the hall and into our bedroom. I laid her down and stripped off her clothes then pulled the comforter over her body. I stripped out of my own clothes and climbed under the covers with her.

  I didn’t want to make love to her tonight. Tonight she needed me to cuddle her and show her how much I loved her.

  I pulled her across the bed and laid her head on my chest. I took her hand and placed it on the other side of my chest, where my heart rested.

  “Did you feel my heart speed up as soon as your hand landed on my chest?” I asked quietly.

  I felt her nod against my chest and continued.

  “That’s because of you. My heart speeds up the closer you get to me. My heart slows down when you move away. My heart beats in time with any movement you make. If you were to ever walk away from me my heart would slow until it came to a stop. It would kill me to lose you, bright eyes. You light my world up and you mean the world to me. I love you babe, heart and soul, body and mind. You and me till the end,” I said tenderly.

  She was crying softly and stroking my chest right above my heart.

  “I love you, honey. You and me till the end,” She choked out between her tears.

  I pulled her head to mine until our lips met then kissed her passionately. I stroked her tongue with mine and wrapped her hair around my fist to tilt her head back for better access. She moaned her approval and tilted her head back for me.

  When the kiss began getting more passionate she started clawing at my abs. She pulled away from my mouth.

  “Mace, I want you,” she whimpered in need.

  “Not tonight, bright eyes.” As much as I hated to deny her, I had to. She needed to know I loved her, without using my body to show it. She needed to feel loved without my cock in her.

  “Please fuck me baby,” she goaded me.

  “Araylia, you’re testing my self-restraint.” I said in a warning tone.

  “Good-” She began saying, but my palm connecting with her ass halted her words. She looked at me in shock, completely surprised I slapped her tight ass.

  I grinned wickedly. “You want to test me again?”

  “Will you spank me again if I do?” She retorted, making my grin die and my dick jump.

  “Fuck woman,” I growled.

  I fell back against the bed and scrubbed a hand over my face. This wo
man was going to be the death of me.

  She climbed on top of me and because I stripped her earlier, her breasts were right in my face, teasing me. I groaned and it was her turn to grin wickedly. I threw my arm over my eyes so her perky breasts weren’t in my face.

  I felt the bed shift with her movements then felt her lips at my neck. She sucked and nipped her way all over my neck then down my chest. My abs flexed in response to her tongue dragging down them.

  She got to my hip bones and nipped them, causing a guttural groan to find its way out of my throat. She reached between us and took a hold of my hard, throbbing cock. She began stroking me and I felt a slow fire start to build so I pumped my hips in time with her strokes. I felt the bed move again and suddenly her mouth replaced her hand. My hips surged up causing my cock to hit the back of her throat. She took all of me and didn’t gag or make any noise.

  She swirled her tongue around the head of my cock and I felt that slow fire spread from my balls to my spine. I felt her whimpers around my dick and moved my arm off my face to see what she was doing.

  The sight before me had my balls tightening so much, I was afraid I was going to blow right there. Araylia was on her knees, her head bobbing up and down, and her hand was between her legs. Fuck… that was a beautiful sight.

  I figured Araylia would appreciate my mouth between her legs versus her hand, so I picked her up by her arms and twirled my finger around, indicating her to turn around. She did as I silently asked and turned around so her bare pussy was in my face and my cock was in hers.

  I buried my face between her legs and swiped my tongue through her soaked folds. She cried out and ground her pussy down, riding my face. After she got over the shock of my tongue being in her, she bent her head and sucked my cock back in her mouth.

  I groaned and lifted my hips just to feel the back of her throat again. She sucked harder and faster which caused the fire to start spread again. I knew that I was ready to come any minute so I lifted a hand off her luscious ass and dragged it through her wet folds. I found her clit and massaged it vigorously.

  Araylia bore her pussy down further and my tongue moved in and out of her. She hummed around my dick and it caused the fire to spread to my spine. I felt the tingle begin so I pinched Araylia’s clit and sent her over the edge.

  Her orgasm made mine that much closer.

  “Babe, unless you want my come in your mouth, I suggest you move,” I panted, the need to come getting stronger.

  She hummed again and rolled her tongue, encouraging me to come. I didn’t need any more encouragement, I pumped my hips a few more times and felt my balls draw up tight and I roared out my release. I came harder than I had ever come before; it felt entirely different as well. As I was coming down from the high of my release I saw Araylia sit up and turn around to face me. She gave me a small, timid smile and wiped her lips off. I shook my head at her and chuckled lightly.

  How Araylia could be so shy around everyone else and a minx in bed, I would never know.

  “You happy with yourself, babe?” I asked pulling her down on top of me.

  “Yes, yes I am. I do believe you are too.” She winked then laid her head on my chest.

  I smiled at my girl and wrapped my arms around her tighter.

  “I’ve always loved listening to your heart beat at night,” she said quietly.

  “It’s my favorite part of each day,” I told her and it was the truth.

  At night, with her head on my chest was when we were closest. It was the time of day when we told each other about our days. When we talked about the important things and the unimportant things. In our bed at night, was my haven.

  “Go to sleep, bright eyes. We have an early start tomorrow,” I said to her while kissing her forehead and lifting my hand to play with her hair.

  Tomorrow we had to get the rest of our stuff packed for our vacation. We had to leave around five in the morning to get Liam. Ray’s Nanny had insisted on keeping him tonight since it would be the last time she saw him for a week and a half. Afterwards we would have to start the exhausting 28 hour trip to my cabin in the Colorado Mountains. We were going to stop about half way there and get a hotel then leave out again early the next morning. It was going to be tough to keep Liam occupied the whole ride, so I went out and bought Liam a tablet with his favorite shows. While I was out I went to the jewelers and got something custom made for Araylia.

  I planned on having a romantic dinner with her one evening and give her the surprise then. I was nervous to give it to her; I wanted to make it as special as possible. The last thought I had before falling asleep was I hoped everything wasn’t a shit storm when we got back.

  I had just gotten back from doing rounds when I got the call that changed my life. I felt like time had stopped, it froze.

  Dead. My girls.

  House fire. Possible arson.

  My girls were dead.

  I sprang into action and immediately went to find my commanding officer. I don’t remember talking to him. Dead was what rang in my head for the next two days on the way back home, well a hotel. I planned their funerals as soon as I got home.

  I was 20 years old and planning yet another funeral for family.

  My girls were dead.

  The funeral was beautiful. They would have loved it, had it not been their funerals. For the first time since getting the call, I cried. I was a grown man weeping for the loss of his wife and daughter. No man should have to bear this kind of pain, yet I had to do it.

  I woke up gasping for air. This wasn’t the first time I had this dream, well memory. It was painful and not something I wanted to relive.

  I looked toward the bay window and saw it was still dark outside. The clock on the nightstand read 3:03 A.M. At least I got a few hours of sleep before the dream woke me.

  I slipped away from Araylia as quietly as possible so I didn’t disturb her sleep. I loved my woman to death, but I needed time to myself. I need to deal with this in my own way, just like I had done all those years ago. I wasn’t ready to tell Araylia yet, so talking to her was out of the question.

  I went through the house and put everything we needed for vacation in suitcases. Within the hour everything was packed and put in my truck.

  When I was done filling up the truck, I went up in the attic. I moved around other stuff and looked for one particular box.

  I found the one that had hearts and flowers and stickers all over it. Khloe had made it when she was about two. She had given it to her mom and said to keep the important things in it.

  I ran my hand over the colors and stickers. What I wouldn’t give to have it back. I flipped the top up and in the lid was my favorite picture of my girls.

  Lauren had her arm around Khloe’s shoulders and she was smiling so big. Her dark brown hair had been blowing in the wind the day I had taken this picture. Her brown eyes had this beautiful twinkle in them when she was truly happy.

  Khloe was looking up at her mom with a look of adoration on her face. Her dark brown hair, much like her mom’s, had also been wind-blown. Her eyes were my emerald green but she had the same twinkle her mom did.

  I set the picture back down in the box and slammed the lid closed. I couldn’t believe it had been over 10 years since they were murdered.

  I tried holding back the tears, but couldn’t, they fell fast. I couldn’t hold down the emotion that had swallowed me, it was suffocating and I couldn’t get away from it. I felt like I was falling into a black hole of despair. Every time my girls were on my mind, I went into this hole. The pain of losing my wife and my daughter was too much. I couldn’t handle the pain. I stayed in the attic for another 15 minutes trying to gain my composure.

  When I finally did gain my composure, I put Khloe’s box back where it was and climbed down the stairs.

  I went back in the bedroom and Araylia was sprawled out on the bed, still asleep. She was lying on her stomach, her head under the pillow, and the blanket up to her waist. I smiled, even though my despai
r had swallowed me. It was amazing, even asleep, Araylia could make me smile.

  I went in the closet and got jeans and a T-shirt out. I stepped into the bathroom and turned the knob all the way to hot. I needed to step in the shower and let the water wash away everything.

  I needed to remember the good memories of Lauren and Khloe, not the bad ones. I also needed to remember the good woman in my bed and that little boy of hers. The love they gave me was phenomenal. So much so that I sometimes felt like I didn’t deserve her or she was too good for me, which she more than likely was.

  I moved into the spray of the shower and sighed. The hot water felt wonderful on my coiled up muscles. I snagged the soap and squeezed some into my hand then lathered it in my hair.

  I wanted to stay in the shower for hours but I knew we had to leave soon and Araylia needed to shower.

  I rinsed my hair out and lathered up my body then rinsed that off quickly. I dried off and stepped into my clean clothes. I strode back through the open bathroom door and threw my towel in the hamper. I looked on the bed, but Araylia wasn’t there.

  I strolled into the closet, with no luck in finding her. I ambled in the kitchen and saw Araylia sitting at the breakfast bar. She had her left arm resting on the bar with her head on her arm and her right hand was on the counter, holding a cup of Joe.

  “Long night, bright eyes?” I asked and placed my hand on her back.

  She jumped as soon as my hand touched her back. When she jumped, her coffee spilled all over her hand and the counter.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” She chanted while shaking her hand out, trying to get the coffee to stop burning her.

  She got up and went around the counter and turned the water on. While she was washing her hand, I got a rag and cleaned up the counter, chuckling the whole time.

  “Stop laughing at me!” She mock-yelled, stomping her foot for dramatic effect.