The Quest of Perkins Vale

by L. B. Dunbar

  “You already are. Maybe not what your body has done, but in what you can feel. Feel me, Hollister,” he pleaded, as he reached for my hand and pulled it over his heart. It was thumping so hard under his shirt; it matched the rhythm of mine.

  I shook my head again, and Perk was suddenly behind me.

  “Hollister,” he pleaded, as he pushed my hair aside and kissed my neck. I groaned without a thought to control myself. He was pressing into my backside and my stomach hit the island edge. His hands skated down the side of my dress.

  “You’re so soft, Hollister.”

  “I’m hard,” I moaned back, as he nibbled my collarbone and slowly pulled up the sides of my dress. My head was screaming stop him, but my body wanted the connection. I was fighting it. Fighting him, but at the same time I wanted him.

  He’d cleared my backside of the dress before my thoughts caught up to me and his foot slid between mine, forcing my legs to separate as his thick thigh wedged between me. His hands rubbed over my ass and slipped around to the front of me. He hadn’t touched me, but paused over the mound of hair under the thin material of my panties.

  “You’re soft,” he said spreading his fingers over that mound, then in a counterattack, slipped a finger under each side of my underwear and slipped one into me. I bucked backward into him and felt his excitement wedge against me.

  “So soft,” he whispered.

  “So hard,” I groaned, as I pressed into him.

  We were on the side of the island. It was long and sturdy, and in one tug, my dress was removed over my head. I raised my arms, feeling seductive and powerful again as the soft material caressed my skin, while he pulled it up over me. He let his hands cascade down over my skin in a reverse of the dress, and continued the path until his hand entered my panties again and a finger slipped into me.

  “Soft,” he said as he kissed my shoulder, then neck. He rubbed his nose over my ear then twisted my face so his mouth could cover mine. He devoured me with his lips as his finger forged on below.

  “Soft. And stunning,” he moaned against my mouth. My shoulders were relaxing each time he said words. He’d wiggled his leg enough that my legs were spread wider. He removed his finger quickly, and I let out a whimper at the loss. He was examining me from behind as his fingers spread wide and his hands palmed down my back to my hips. He pushed down my panties, so I stood with only my shoes and my bra. My back was still to him.

  “Soft, stunning, and sexy,” he said, as he gripped my hips and pushed me forward to bend over the island. He set each of my feet, still in the heels on the footrest of a chair. I yelped as I let him lift me. Then his mouth hit me. It was the strangest sensation to be taken with such warmth from behind. He slowly lifted me as his mouth continued to feast on me, and soon my knees where on the island edge.

  “Soft, stunning, sexy, and sumptuous,” he growled, as I crawled forward a bit to be centered on the island. I had to push one of the vases out of my way, so the heady smell of roses was level with my head. I vaguely heard the unzipping of his pants and the removal of his belt buckle. I swear I felt a release at the sound alone. He’d removed his mouth again as I was growing close. I whimpered while I waited for him. I was on my knees, but I lowered to my elbows. I tried to look over my shoulder, and I saw Perkins use a stool for leverage as he climbed behind me. It fell over from the weight of him, and I worried for a moment this island couldn’t hold us both.

  “Perk…” I choked on his name as he slid into me with such force I moved forward. He was on his knees behind me, and one large hard slipped over my stomach as his chest hit my back. He kissed my shoulder and whispered.

  “I’ve missed you.” He pulled to the edge of me. I was almost in tears. I was so close, but he kept denying me. He waited.

  “I missed you, too.” He rammed into me, and I cried out again at the fullness. I’d never done it like this. I couldn’t think of the reasons why I hadn’t, or the person whom I hadn’t, but I had never done it this way as facing one another was to fulfill a mission. In this position, I simply felt free. Full of Perkins Vale. My body loved it. I loved it.

  He pulled to edge of me again. Waited.

  “Again,” I whined.

  “I love you,” he said. He waited a beat. I couldn’t say it, I thought.

  He slammed into me again. I grunted.

  My hips rose. I could slightly see that he was still kneeling, but lifting me to match his position. He kept up a steady rhythm now. The slapping of skin and the moaning of voices filled the otherwise silence of the room. I was on the precipice and beginning to worry he would deny me when he warned me.

  “I’m going to fill you. And you’re going to love me.” His voice had a tone I didn’t recognize. My soul longed for him. He pulsed inside me and warmth rose from my toes. I screamed as it climbed and burst forth over him as he continued to rock into me. We were both panting aggressively as he slowly set me down and slipped over me. I was flat on my stomach; he was draped over my side. We both breathed heavily until he spoke.

  “That was incredible.”

  I rotated my head to look at him.

  “Yes, it was,” I whispered. His mouth took mine in a slow caress. He kissed me like he wanted to enjoy each curve, each layer of my lips. His hand eventually made its way to my cheek, and he continued to kiss me. I was a taste test. He wasn’t rushing. He was sampling. He was savoring. He was swirling my flavor in his mouth.

  We were slowly shifting on the large island, and I got another whiff of those roses right behind our heads. He had rolled onto his back, which caused us to shift so I was draped over him. He continued to seductively kiss me without rushing. I straddled him and relaxed onto his chest as his large hands gripped my head, holding me in place to kiss him. He was drinking me in. Thirsty for me.

  When I felt him grow hard again between my thighs, I slowly slipped over him, bracing him at my entrance and sliding down onto him. He moaned as he released my lips. I sat up over him. He watched me as I took control. I still had on the power heels, but in the process of our moves, minutes ago, my bra had been removed. I began a slow ride on him, rolling my hips forward and back. My hands were balancing on his chest and his eyes were fixed on me.

  “Soft,” he said as he stared into my eyes.

  I picked up the pace without responding to his words. I sat up a bit more, releasing my hands from his chest. I felt impaled by the depth of him inside me. I continued to rock over him. My hands slipped up to lift my hair, as I was clammy and sticky all over.

  “Stunning,” he breathed, as I rolled back and forth over him; my rhythm picking up tempo at the sound of his voice. His large hands had covered my hips, but now trailed upward to encompass each breast. I sat up straight as I let the sensory overload take over. In me, under me, on me: Perkins Vale was everywhere.

  “Sexy,” he groaned as I found a spot that maximized the sensation and rocked over him. I let my eyes close, my head fall back, and my throat moaned his name like a prayer as I crashed over him. He followed, holding my hips as he sprang inside me. We played on for a moment before I collapsed on top of him. His heartbeat rapidly under my ear against his chest; it was calling my name. Hol- li- ster. Hol- li- ster. Hol- li- ster. Ta- dum. Ta- dum. Ta- dum.

  Some truth…

  [Perkins]

  When the timer on the stove went off, I startled. Hollister was laying so peacefully on me, and I was still resting inside her. I didn’t want to move. In that moment, I felt fulfilled in a way I’d never known before and didn’t expect to know again, if she left me. I kissed the top of her head and then slowly lifted us upward. She was like a ragdoll against me, and for a moment, I thought she’d fallen asleep.

  “Did I hurt you?” I wondered, suddenly worried that by taking her in the way I had, that I’d done something wrong. I didn’t know much about this position other than things Tristan described and I tried to ignore. But her tight dress, in that soft material, hugging her body just drew me to her. While I wanted to see her fa
ce, I felt almost animalistic in my desire to be close to her, immediately. She wouldn’t admit she loved me and a pinch of anger took over as I said the words to her without response. I’d worried that I’d been too aggressive in my attempts to literally force her to say it.

  She sat wrapped in my lap as the buzzer chimed on. Her response to my question had been to shake her head against my chest. I helped her off the island, which was awkward at best, and then slowly followed her. When she reached the ground she kicked off her shoes, which had remained on the entire time. She almost undid me again when she bent forward to pick up her dress, and her bare ass was fully exposed to me. I wiped a hand down my face to clear my thoughts and quickly responded to the stove that was still droning on.

  I was completely naked as I opened the oven, pulled out the turkey, and turned to face Hollister. Who had disappeared.

  “Hollister?” The panic in my voice was immediate.

  “In here,” she called. I followed the sound of her voice and peered inside my bedroom door. She was hanging up her dress and wore the dress shirt with the torn buttons over herself. My heart skipped at the thought that she was making herself at home by wearing my clothes and hanging up her own.

  We were famished. She wasn’t convinced it would be safe to eat on the island, so we had a picnic on my living room floor. Using a bedsheet and some couch cushions as support, we feasted on turkey and reheated potatoes. It wasn’t what I had imagined for a Thanksgiving dinner. It was better. Not one second of this night had gone like I had planned, but I was physically satisfied. I didn’t want to continue to think.

  We talked for a long time about her solitude in the past and my being bullied as a teenager. She told me minimal details about the kidnapping. I talked about the band and how my journey back to the woods had not been fruitful. I didn’t mention her uncle. I sensed she was holding back something just under her tongue. She was opening up to me, but it was a slow process. Like the blossoming of the white flower she was nicknamed after, it would take time for her to bloom with full truths.

  In discussing the band, I mentioned that we needed three songs to fulfill the album, and how Arturo had two unfinished. I also commented on how we had decided collectively that Arturo would not be replaced, and we’d just have to figure something out. Scrap the unfinished songs, or write new ones, or hire someone to write lyrics, but no one was replacing Arturo. It was unspoken between us remaining three – Arturo continued to be part of the band in spirit, if not in body.

  I didn’t even offer for her to return back to the shelter, and she didn’t mention she needed to leave. When we finished our feast and a bottle of wine, we left everything behind on the floor and headed to my bed. She crawled to the center wearing the loose fitting dress shirt. I had slipped on track pants and a t-shirt myself before we ate, but I stripped down to my boxer briefs to sleep next to her. Warm from wine, exhausted from our conversation, and satisfied by our rounds of sexual play, we fell asleep almost instantly.

  More truths…

  [Hollister]

  I was extremely warm as Perkins surrounded me. He was like a blanket over me, and I melted into the comfort of him. He’d said he loved me, and as much as I told him I didn’t want him to, deep down I knew I did. I wanted someone to love me. Not as someone chosen for some mysterious purpose. Not as someone to fulfill inappropriate fantasies. But me, as I was, flawed and all.

  I was lazily awakening. It was still dark outside but the loose snowfall from earlier must have grown heavy as the orange glow of the streetlamps reflecting through the blind slants seemed bright. The hashtag effect of the safety bars and the mini-blinds crisscrossed on Perkins’ ceiling and I stared at the tic-tac-toe board for a moment. Suddenly, a shadow passed across the orange and black image. I wanted to ignore it.

  It could have been a bird flying through the stream of light. It could have been a branch from the trees blowing fiercely in the wind. It could have been any number of things, until it passed again and paused. The outline of something round fell within the perpendicular lines of the light. I slowly rose to be level with the window. Perkins’ arm shifted down my body, and his hand tightened around my hip, but he seemed relatively undisturbed.

  My heart was slowly increasing and a cold sense of dread filled my blood. My hand shook as it reached out for the blinds. Slipping my fingers between the slats, I scissored them to open and took a brief peek outside the window to find someone causing the shadow. I leaned forward for a better look as my heart raced. It thumped so hard I felt a vein pulse in my neck. Peering harder through the thin opening, I screamed.

  Perkins sat up immediately.

  “What?” he said in a groggy voice. I couldn’t speak for a full minute as I let my hand drop and heard the rustle of the wooden slats against each other. My body shook in disbelief. My finger hesitantly pointed toward the window while my other hand covered my mouth.

  “Hollister?” Perkins gripped my arms and spun me to face him.

  “Outside,” I whispered. My voice trembled. Perkins reached around me and forcefully looked between the blinds. He let go almost instantaneously.

  “It’s a homeless man,” he said, clearly trying to calm me as he rubbed a hand up and down my arm, then over my shoulder and around my neck.

  My head shook rapidly and I closed my eyes.

  “What is it?” Perkins asked, kissing my shoulder. I flinched and he pulled back.

  “Hollister?” he repeated my name in a more panicked voice.

  “It’s Jordan,” my voice squeaked. Perkins leapt from the bed. I watched in frozen horror as he slipped on his track pants and roughly forced his feet into his boots. He pulled the t-shirt from a pile of clothes on the floor and stood while he tugged it on. He was heading for the door when my voice finally caught up to me.

  “Don’t go,” I whispered. He stopped and turned back to me. Rubbing my arm in that reassuring manner, he looked directly into my eyes.

  “I’ll be back,” he said, and I mentally added for you, then began to shake in earnest. I crawled on my knees to the window as I heard the heavy slam of the metal entry door. It seemed only a matter of seconds before Perk was outside in the drifting snow, facing Jordan Waters. He hardly stopped to pause as he marched directly up to him and slammed him in the face with his fist. Perkins Vale did not seem prone to violence, but the rage coming off him was eminent. I could almost see it shadowing him.

  He got in several blows before Jordan responded and Perk took Jordan down with him. For a moment, Jordan was on top of Perkins. I knew I had to do something. Not bothering to think of my attire, my bare feet, or the falling snow, I ran through Perk’s home, following the path to the back that faced the river and met Jordan Waters again in the dark of night.

  More truths continued…

  [Hollister]

  “Jordan,” I said in a tone that was actually calm, despite the hysteria I felt inside. I didn’t speak loudly, but he turned to me. Perkins rolled them over and pummeled Jordan’s face again, before I yelled for Perkins to stop. My softer tone was not going to subdue the rage coming off the larger man. I stepped closer, reaching for Perk and touched his back. He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. That’s when Jordan cut him.

  It was hard to tell if it was deep, but the line was long and the red instantly spilled onto Perkins’ shirt, soaking the bright white with a thin seam of dark red. Perkins pushed back from Jordan who remained on the cold ground for a second, staring at the stream of growing crimson on Perkins’ abdomen.

  “What have you done?” I yelled at Jordan as I gripped Perkins’ bicep.

  “This is your fault,” Jordan replied in that monotone voice of his that eventually brought me to submission in the past. “If you had waited for me, like you were supposed to, I would not have to hunt for you, my Promised One. I told you I’d return for you.” Jordan took a step to approach me, but Perkins wedged between us. I cowered behind him. I chastised myself for my weakness. If I went with Jordan, he would
walk away from Perkins. If I had waited for Jordan, Perkins would not have been hurt. I slowly let my hand drop from Perkins bicep and stepped to his side.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Perkins growled low next to me. Jordan reached out a hand for me to come to him, but Perkins wrapped an arm around my lower back and pulled me into his side.

  “You’re fucking crazy,” Perkins addressed Jordan, “if you think for one second she’s coming with you.”

  “She’ll come to me,” Jordan spoke in that soothing sound that was like nails on a chalkboard to me. I shivered. “Or I’ll take her again.” His deep smile was sinister. I took a moment to look at Jordan. His eyes were glassy, dark, and black. He looked like a drug addict. His hair hung loose, lank, and long, weighted down with the flecks of snow that fell on it. He wore a black overcoat and appeared slightly modernized compared to the simple frocks he made us wear in the woods. I couldn’t understand again how this man had gotten off for good behavior. His very presence spoke of sly villainy.

  “You breathe the same air as her and I’ll…” Perkins broke off.

  “You’ll what?” Jordan turned his beady eyes on Perkins. It was as if he was trying to hypnotize Perkins with his stare. Perkins shook his head.

  “…I’ll kill you.”

  Jordan looked Perkins up and down then laughed. The sound was wicked and echoed into the lightly swirling wind. I shuddered further as the cold beneath my bare feet took over, and the thin dress shirt became stiff with snow. I wrapped my own arms around my stomach to cover myself and Jordan’s eyes flinched to me.

  “You’ve sinned,” he said, as his eyes roamed my body clad in Perkins’ shirt. While his eyes pinned to darts, his smile grew in revenge. “You will have to atone for those sins.” I full onset trembled as Jordan Waters used the words of Michael McMann against me.