In her beautiful pale pink gown, her tiara on her head, she looked like the angel. The music was swelling for the first dance at her Quinceañera. Her father took her hand to lead her out to the dance floor. Her attendants, fifteen pairs of damas and chambalanes, formed a line through which Vanessa and her father walked.
Once at the other end, she sat in a chair and her father changed her shoes, from flats to high heels, signifying his daughter was now a woman. The music started up and father and daughter danced, with the attendants joining in.
Lucia watched the proceedings with a heavy heart. Her own father had not given her a Quinceañera, saying that she didn’t deserve it. Quinceañeras, he said, were reserved for daughters who obeyed their fathers and lived a traditional life, which Lucia did not.
She was thrilled to see the Cassas family so happy. She knew the party would go on well into the night, maybe even ending the next morning.
After the first dance they would cut into the fifteen cakes Lucia and Carmen had slaved over all week. The workload had proved both a blessing and a curse. It was a curse because Vince called on Monday to say he needed time to think, to try and work out the feelings her refusal to tell him about Jaymes had caused.
He didn’t come out and call it a betrayal, but she knew that was what he considered it. She had to find some way to make it up to him, some way to let him know she wanted him in her life, that she loved him. It had been Tuesday, when she was crying herself to sleep, that the realization had hit her.
Vince meant more to her than anyone. The things they had shared, and the feelings he invoked in her made her tingle with delight. And she’d ruined it. Just like she’d ruined every relationship she’d had in her life.
She’d been so busy all week she hadn’t had time to call. Oh, she could have, but it would have been a rushed call, and she didn’t want that. She wanted the time to talk with him, to let him know she cared and she was so very, very sorry.
The dance ended and she stepped back from the table as Vanessa approached with her parents. They cut the cakes together, taking a bite from each one, one for each year of Vanessa’s life so far.
Then, her parents presented her with the traditional doll, the last one she would ever receive. When the attendants moved in to serve the cake and cookies, Lucia stepped back.
“Thank you so much,” Yolanda said, pressing a check into her hand. “It’s so perfect.”
“I’m glad you’re pleased,” Lucia said. “Remember to tell all your friends.”
“Oh, we will. Do you need anything back, the trays or anything?”
“No. They’re yours to keep. Enjoy the food, and the dance and the party.”
Lucia gathered her things. Now that the cutting of the cakes was finished and the dancing was in full swing, she could leave.
She passed tables piled high with casserole dishes, tortilla chips and queso and other dishes the guests had brought to snack on during the night.
When she was seated in the Dulce Tienda van she thought about Vince. It was Saturday night, and she didn’t figure he was sitting at home. She dialed the number anyway and got no answer. She tried his cell phone, which went straight to voice mail. He was probably at Jaguars.
Probably playing with another sub. The idea made her cringe. She needed to talk to him. Tonight. She went down to Old Town and swapped the van for her car, going inside the shop long enough to take off the sedate dress she’d chosen for the party and change into jeans and a T-shirt she’d left there.
She drove to Jaguars, parking near the door, and hurried up to Nate. The hulking sub smiled at her.
“Hello, subbie in training. Sorry, I don’t remember your name.”
“Lucia. And I’m here to see Sir Vince.”
“He’s not here,” Nate replied. “Sorry.”
Lucia started to cry. The stress of preparing for the party, the confrontation with Jaymes, and the loss of Vince was just too much to take. She sobbed into her hands and sighed when Nate pulled her into his chest.
“Don’t cry. Master Knox is here. I’ll call for him.” He lowered her down into a chair and picked up a phone. Seconds later, Lucia lifted her tear-stained face to Knox. Tatum stood next to him. She knelt down and hugged Lucia close.
“Where is he?”
“Camping. Watching some meteor shower. He said he wanted to be alone for a little while.”
“Tell me how to find him, please.”
“Lucia, I have a general idea of where he’s at, where we’ve all camped before in the Sandias. But it’ll take you hours to find him. I can’t let you go wandering around up there by yourself.”
“That’s right,” Tatum said. “We’ll take you. Right, Master?”
Knox shook his head and snorted. “He’s gonna be really pissed. But then again, it could be just what he needs.”
Both women remained silent, and then he sighed. “Get in the truck.”
* * *
Vince stirred the small fire he’d made, conscious of the fact he wasn’t in an approved campground and could pay a hefty fine for this. He stared up at the dark sky. It would be a few more hours before the meteor shower was in full swing, with bursts of light flying across the sky.
Kinda like the bursts of light that fly through my life.
He missed Lucia with a passion. He missed her beautiful smile, her smoking brown eyes, and her generous curves. Most of all he missed her laugh, and the way she looked at him. He should have called her this week, but he hadn’t. He’d been an ass and kept to himself.
Shit, he didn’t even have Rodney Baker to keep him company anymore. Baker had appeared the night of Jaymes’ arrest. He’d sat in the chair and shook his head at Vince.
“You’re a dumb ass.”
“Fuck you.”
“Shit, no. You let her go and you’re a dumb ass.”
Vince had screamed at him to leave, and he had. The next Monday, he’d gone to the police psychiatrist, who told him the ‘ghost’ of Baker was no more than Vince’s subconscious, anxious about the shooting and its aftermath.
“I realize now it was the right thing to do,” Vince said.
“Do you? Then why is he still coming around?”
Vince had shrugged his shoulders. That evening, at home, he’d spoken to his empty living room, telling Baker he was dead because of his own actions, not because of Vince’s. For the first time in months the man did not reply.
He ran a stick through the dying flames of the fire. He could build it up a little more, or let it die out completely. He hadn’t pitched a tent; instead he’d blown up an air mattress and put it in the bed of the pickup. He would lay there and watch the show, think of Lucia, probably have to jack off at least once.
“Fuck this.” He stood and threw dirt onto the fire, extinguishing it quickly. Then, for good measure, he took one of the huge water jugs he’d brought with him and poured it over the dirt.
He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.
Shit. No service.
He headed toward the truck. He knew Lucia had the Quinceañera tonight. He didn’t know where it was being held, but he knew she should be done with her part by now. She should be home soon. He would go there and wait for her.
But first, he needed to let the air out of the mattress and fold it up. He picked up a few pillows and threw them into the cab, starting back for the sleeping bag he’d put onto the mattress.
A pair of headlights appeared on the dirt road that sat not far from where he was camping. The lights slowed, then stopped. The sound of a car door opening and closing, followed by another one, stopped him short.
He rounded the cab, squinting to make out figures in the dark, debating about whether he should unlock his gun from the glove box. Then, a voice hit his ears. The sweet voice of his Lucia.
“Vince?”
“Over here. But wait there, I’ll come to you.” He was almost to her when he heard the car door open and shut again. The truck took off just as he reached
her.
“Who was that?”
“Knox and Tatum.”
“Lucia, what are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to tell you I love you. And I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
He thumbed away the tears from her eyes.
“I love you, too, Apuro.”
“Do you forgive me?”
“Yes. But I’m going to have to punish you.” He leaned down and kissed her, pushing her lips open with his tongue.
“Promise, Sir Vince?” She sniffled around her tears.
“Oh yes, Apuro, I promise. Take off your clothes.”
Chapter 19
“Now? Here? But it’s cold.”
“It’s chilly, yes. But I’ll warm you up. Do as you’re told.”
Lucia stared after him as he walked toward the truck. She started after him, pulling her T-shirt over her head as she went. The cool night air made her nipples peak. When she stopped near the truck, she took off her bra and started to undo her jeans.
Vince was pulling a bag out of the truck. He dug inside and pulled out a bottle of lube and a few condoms.
“You bring lube with you when you’re camping alone?”
“Well, I was planning on jacking off. Speaking of camping alone, how did y’all find me?”
“Knox said he had a pretty good idea where you were. We drove around for a while; then Tatum glimpsed a light.”
“I’d just put out a fire. I was going to come and find you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
She pulled off her jeans and panties and launched herself at him.
“I love you. Fuck me.”
“Oh no. Not yet. You belong to me, Lucia. You’re my Apuro. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir Vince.”
“I’m Master Vince now. When we get home tomorrow, I’m collaring you. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, Master Vince.”
“Good.” He looked up into the sky. “The meteor shower is starting. Do you know what a meteor is, Apuro?”
“A shooting star?”
“Some people think so, yes. But actually, they’re the tails of comets. The comets orbit the sun and leave a steam of debris. That’s what causes meteor showers. Now, here’s your punishment. You’re going to lie in the back of the truck and count meteors while you play with your pussy.”
“Some punishment.” She giggled and then added, “Master Vince.”
He pulled her close and swatted her bare behind.
“I’m not done yet. While you’re counting, you’re also going to be telling me how much you want my cock, where you want it, how you want it. When you get to fifty, and after you’ve properly begged, then you can come.”
“What if I lose count?”
“You start over. So, if I were you, I’d lie on the mattress, and start counting.”
Lucia scrambled into the bed of the pickup, lying on her back. Her pussy was already dripping wet and her nipples were harder than ever before. Vince’s words had inflamed her.
“One. Two. Three.” The blasts of light flew across the sky, leaving brilliant streaks of light in their wake. She dropped her fingers to her clit and teased the hard nub.
Vince jumped into the bed of the truck and sat down on the roof of the cab, looking down at her. Her gaze drifted to him as he undid his jeans and freed his hard cock, stroking it up and down.
“Oh, Master. May I have your cock?”
“You’d better count.”
“Nine. Ten.”
He made a tsking sound. “Start over. Nine doesn’t come after three.”
Lucia got to seven before she lost her train of thought again.
“Please. I need you inside me. Hot and hard and throbbing. Please Master, please! Eleven.”
“Start over.”
It was becoming hard to focus on the meteors and not focus on Vince’s cock, which he stroked slowly. The meteors were coming fast, so Lucia decided on a new tactic. She counted off twenty very quickly, then groaned.
“I want your cock. Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four.”
The pressure in her clit had built to a breaking point. The bud throbbed under her fingers as she counted up to thirty.
“Where do you want me, Apuro? What part of your body can I take?”
“All of it. Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three.” The lights from the meteors flew in front of her eyes.
“I want details, naughty girl. Be specific.”
“In my pussy. Thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six.”
“And? Rub harder. Go on.”
“My mouth. Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty.”
Her clit was one fire. She moaned out numbers up until forty-seven, then bucked her hips.
“Master!”
“Don’t you dare! Where else, tell me? Where else can I put my cock?”
“In my ass. Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine…”
“That’s where it’s going tonight, Apuro. In that tight little rosebud of yours.”
“Fifty! Master, may I come, please!”
“No. Beg me. Beg me to come. Beg me to fuck you.”
Lucia’s fingers continued to rub. She was seeing lights of her own now, lights that had nothing to do with the meteors and everything to do with the pending orgasm she felt would shoot through the top of her head.
“Beg me!”
“Master! I’m begging. I want your cock. I need your cock. Fuck me. Make me yours. I belong to you. Please, Master, please!”
“Come, Apuro. Show me how much you like belonging to me.”
“Master! Oh, Master!” Lucia came, her hips rolling around as the orgasm ripped through her. She thought it would shatter her heart, her mind. She looked up into the sky as the lights of the meteors continued to streak across the horizon.
Vince jumped from the cab.
“Roll over, sweet one.”
When he came up behind her and entered her pussy in one swift stroke, she gasped. The thrust sent a second orgasm crashing through her as he pounded inside, over and over again.
“Naughty girl,” he said, pulling out and steadying her hips. “You didn’t have permission for that one. Someone’s going to have to get a spanking later.”
He stopped thrusting and gently caressed her cheeks. She sighed when he reached for the items he’d brought with him. He tore the condom package first, then she heard the opening of the lube bottle. The gel felt cold as he dripped it across her anus.
“Relax for me, Lucia.” He caressed her back, then lowered his fingers between her cheeks, rubbing the lube around to prepare her for him, pushing his fingers in and out several times until she groaned with delight.
“Are you ready for me?”
“Yes, Master.”
She felt the tip of his cock press against her anus. The sensation made her shiver. He caressed her hips and whispered, “Shush, my Apuro.” Then, he pushed the head of his cock inside her ass. Unused to the invasion, she tried to push him out. He held her tight and pushed more of himself inside.
“So tight. And all mine.” He pushed more as he groaned out the words. Lucia met him groan for groan and fought to remain still until he was fully inside her. He gave her a few minutes to adjust to him, then started to move; slow, even thrusts in and out about drove her crazy.
“Master, please. Harder.”
“Not right now, baby. Slow and steady.”
He kept up the slow pace, sliding in and out as she grasped the blanket between her clenched fists.
After a few minutes, he lifted her hips and locked his legs under her, changing the angle of his thrusts. He went deeper, pushing Lucia down into the mattress as he increased the tempo.
“Is this what you want?”
“Yes, Master, yes!”
“Tell me who you are.”
“I’m your Apuro.” The words made her heart leap.
“That’s right,” Vince said roughly. She could tell he was right on the edge
. He continued to fuck her with long, even strokes.
“My little troublemaker. Oh, fuck!” He pumped harder as he came. When his fingers came around and pinched Lucia’s clit, she soared along with him.
Afterward, when they were lying in a heap of limbs, both of them breathing heavily, she giggled. “Do I get punished for that last one, too?”
“Not for the orgasm, no. But you didn’t tack a Master on the end.”
“I’m sorry, Master.”
“That’s okay, Apuro. It gives me lots of reasons for correction.”
“Am I forgiven?”
He leaned over and caressed her neck with his nose.
“Tell me why. I want to know why you didn’t call me the minute Jaymes walked into the store.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Vince, I mean…”
“Shush, it’s fine. It’s Lucia and Vince. And Vince wants to know why.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“Enlighten me.”
“My father kicked me out of his house when I was seventeen because I wouldn’t do exactly as he said. He said I was too wild, that I’d been corrupted by the west, which was stupid, since he was born in Santa Fe, and so was his mother.”
Vince laughed and stroked her neck. “Go on.”
“My grandmother took me in, despite the fact my father told her he’d never speak to her again, but he has spoken to her. He just won’t talk to me. She taught me that I had to take care of myself, because nobody else would. I’ve been alone for so long and I thought I could handle it. I went back and forth in my mind. Finally, I knew I had to tell you. Please forgive me.”
She turned toward him, and he kissed her gently.
“You’re not alone anymore, Lucia. You’re mine. Don’t ever keep anything from me again, no matter what it is. Understand?”
“Yes, Vince.”
“Good. And, while we’re spilling secrets under the stars, you’ll be happy to know that Baker is gone.”
“You got rid of him?”
“I think it was the love of a good woman that helped me get rid of him. You helped me that night we talked. You did it.”
“No, we did it together.”
“Together, huh?” He kissed her, his hand cupping her breast and pinching her nipple gently.
Dark Redemption Page 34
