The Lottery

by Alexandra O'Hurley

  Taking one last look in the mirror, knowing it would get no better, she sighed. Turning from the vanity, she stalked out to the living area where he waited for her, gathering up the courage she would need to make it through this morning. She hated meeting new people, her shyness always held her back. Never knowing what to say, she usually was the wallflower, trying to avoid attention in social settings. One on one was worse, as she had no way to hide.

  Looking up at Ethan, he smiled in support, seeing the nerves in her expression. Grasping her hand in his and squeezing, he led her to the door and down the flights of steps to the building’s entrance. Feeling the sun reach her face upon exiting, she allowed the heat to fill her body and give her strength. They walked down the street, hand in hand the eight blocks to Our Lady of St Francis Hospital. As they passed women in the streets, many turned to look at Ethan.

  Pride rushed through her as she saw the jealousy and curiosity on their faces. She had never been in that situation before, the object of envy from other women. It felt good, and warmed her almost as much as the sun did. Glancing at Ethan, he did not seem to notice the looks the other women gave him. Many of the women were like her, not rich, not able to afford a male companion, let alone one as handsome as he. Most of them had probably never seen a man like Ethan up close before.

  Then as she looked across him, she noted that several of the women on his side were actually grabbing him and stroking his arm, thigh, and stomach. The other times they had exited, to walk to various places, they had been stared at, but they had never been accosted such as this. As she watched one woman’s hand glide down and begin to grasp his cock, she opened her mouth to complain. Before one word could be said, he casually brushed the hand away and continued to walk as though nothing had happened.

  Suddenly, Karlyn knew exactly why Ethan usually asked to go to various spots so early in the morning on numerous occasions. Most women would be at work, or sleeping in, and he could possibly avoid this situation, and she had just assumed he was an early riser. She felt sad for him, being looked at like a piece of meat, and then she felt guilty for the feelings she had had earlier in their walk. In that moment, she had been just like every other woman out there who had abused him. She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him.

  One more corner, and the hospital loomed just ahead of them, and she took a deep breath of relief. Gaining the stairs outside, they quickly walked inside. Once there, Karlyn looked out the frosted panes of the double swinging doors to see a couple of the women standing outside, looking longingly in Ethan’s direction, though not seeing him. There wistful glances mirrored the millions of lonely women on the planet. It broke Karlyn’s heart that in a few short months, she would be back in their shoes, although, she wasn’t really out of them now. A brief friendship had bloomed but nothing more, and she was afraid to try for more, since she had specifically told him she wanted nothing from him.

  “Hey, are you coming?”

  Karlyn turned away from the doors and briskly walked back to him and they then traveled the long corridor to the bank of elevators. Watching the women fondling Ethan had been a great distraction, for she hadn’t thought of meeting his sister through the entire walk. But now she would have killed for another distraction, one where no one abused Ethan.

  Entering the next available elevator, Ethan’s hand at her lower back sent tingles up her spine. And then he turned and struck the number seven button on the panel. They were alone in the car, and his hand was still centered in the middle of her lower back, caressing her slightly. It was as if he was trying to gentle a nervous beast. Regardless, it was working, and she appreciated the care he showed her.

  When the elevator stopped and opened its doors on the seventh floor, he grasped her hand in his again and led her out. Walking a short distance, they entered a dark, sterile room. Karlyn felt sorry for anyone who had to spend their days in here. It was a depressing room, devoid of color and life.

  Turning to look around the room, she almost missed the pale face peeking out of the white bed linens. Serene in sleep, Karlyn could see the gaunt cheeks and dark circles smudged under the woman’s closed eyes. Although pale and withdrawn looking, she could also tell that his sister was a beautiful woman.

  Ethan went to the large row of windows and opened up the slats on the blinds a little. Not much of a view, but the additional sunlight did improve the room a bit. It roused the sleeping woman. Eyes fluttering, she looked towards the windows and a deep smile came to her face upon seeing him. Karlyn turned towards Ethan and saw an identical smile cover his face, and the resemblance was enough for her to lay to rest the errant thoughts about Ethan’s motivation. She could see how much he cared for his sister in that smile, and for some reason that was very important to her.

  “Well, good morning, sleepy head. I brought you a visitor.”

  Bailey looked around the room, stopping on a nervous Karlyn. Karlyn smiled, hoping she wasn’t turning green from the nervous ripples in her stomach. After looking at her as if she had seen a ghost for a few moments, the left side of her mouth twitched slightly and she turned towards her brother.

  “Changed your mind, huh, big brother? I thought I was not going to get the chance to meet your new…umm…friend.”

  Ethan pushed away from the wall he leaned on and walked towards Karlyn, resting a casual hand on her arm. “Bailey, this is Karlyn. Karlyn, my sister, Bailey.”

  Karlyn stepped closer to the bed and lifted a hand to the other woman, smiling as she did so. For some reason, it was exponentially important that this frail woman like her. But she feared the worst.

  To her amazement, Bailey grasped her hand with more strength than Karlyn had expected, and smiled. The glow from the grin was amazing. “It is very nice to meet you Karlyn. I understand you are a painter?”

  “That I am.”

  “I am quite intrigued, my mother was a huge fan of the arts and she used to take both of us to galleries in her pursuit to collect. Every wall in our house used to have beautiful paintings….” Bailey’s eyes glazed over as her comment drifted away. After a few seconds, her gaze cleared as if awakening from the dream. “I think I would like to get to know you more, especially since my brother refused me the chance to meet you just a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Bailey…” Ethan started warningly.

  “Stop it, Ethan. I have found that the prospect of potential death under the knife has given me a newfound honesty in life.”

  “Please stop talking like that. It’s morbid.”

  Karlyn sat down on the edge of the bed, dumbfounded by the statement, confusion gathered within the lines of concern on her face. “Ethan told me of the surgery, but he didn’t tell me the prospects were so dire.”

  “Because they aren’t. She will be just fine.”

  “Ethan, stop lying to yourself. We hope everything will be fine, but we need to face the fact that tomorrow may be my last. To ignore that fact is a waste of what time I may have left.” Her tone was sharp, as if she was scolding a child. She released a deep breath and started again, a little softer. “As I said, honesty. We need to be honest with each other. Our grandmother visited yesterday evening, and I was able to put it to the test. It was very informative and freeing. I was able to tell her a lot of things that have been on my mind.”

  “Evangeline? Why did she even bother?”

  “I asked just about the same thing, but maybe not with as much couth. Evidently, you came to her looking for help. I really wish you hadn’t, Ethan.”

  “I did what I had to.”

  Turning to Karlyn with an electric watt smile, Bailey grasped her hand. “There is much I need to tell you about my brother.”

  “Do not bore her with stories about me, Bailey. There is nothing she needs to hear. Don’t lie and make me out the hero. I did what had to be done, and it no way removes the stain of every bad thing I have done in my life. Don’t paint a picture of me that isn’t true.”

  “I disagree. Most of the bad things you have d
one were with good intentions behind them. You have been my knight in shining armor, and there needs to be someone else who knows what you have done for me.”

  “No.” The pure anguish in his face was enough to make Karlyn want to hold him close to her and try to wipe away the pain.

  “Ethan, you are with Karlyn because of me, why not tell her?”

  Karlyn turned towards Ethan, and seeing his grim expression, she did not want to be in the middle of an argument, especially with one participant being obviously unwell. Looking back at the frail woman, she wanted to know more, but refused to push.

  “Karlyn does not care why I was in the lottery.”

  “Maybe I do.” Looking him fully, she smiled. She knew at that moment, this was a man she could lose her heart to. He had gone into the lottery to save his sister. Bailey did not need to tell her the answer, she knew it. He had offered his body and soul up for sale to save the sister he loved. Tears formed in her eyes, but they did not fall. She felt her hand being squeezed, and she looked back to Bailey.

  “Yes. He is with you to save me. I never asked him to, and part of me does not want him to be there, especially considering I may not survive this. But the fact he has brought you here means something. Hopefully you are not like the other women he has had to give himself to over the years. I may not have much more time, so I only ask that you be good to my brother while you are together, and know that no matter how big of a jerk he can be at times, deep inside he really is a good, caring person.”

  “I think I already sensed that, but coming here today proves it.” Looking up at Ethan, she thought he looked much older when he gazed at his sister. A deep frown furrowed his brows, crinkling the lines she normally adored when he smiled. He sat down on the other side of the hospital bed and the three spent nearly all day talking, laughing, and becoming good friends before the nurses came in and kicked them out later that evening.

  Chapter Eleven

  Walking out of the hospital at dusk, Ethan suggested an aerocab to get home. Hailing the vehicle, they both climbed in and raced towards home. He was mentally exhausted, but the day had been a good one. He stole glances at Karlyn during the first few moments inside the cab.

  Ethan felt the desire for her coil in his gut after seeing the easy friendship she had shared with his sister. Bailey had always been a good judge of character, and would not have opened up to someone she didn’t feel at ease with. It meant a lot to him that his sister had liked her. Reaching across the cab, he softly grasped a handful of her hair, rubbing the silky threads across his fingers. Smiling up to him, she sighed at the slight tug of his fingers in her hair. That was all the urging he needed.

  Sliding across the seat to be closer to her, he wrapped one arm about her shoulders and then used the other to coax her chin up so she faced him. Their eyes met, and he felt electricity race through their connection, as his cock began to lengthen. Noting her scent in the air, he knew her pussy wept with her longing. Hope filled his heart, and his body readied.

  Ethan ducked his head down, laying a light, tentative kiss on her full lips and licked the crease, begging for entry into her mouth. Slowly, she opened to him, and he increased the pressure leisurely. Pulling her closer, he felt her give in as she crushed herself into him. Kiss deepening, he splayed his fingers around the top of her thigh, trying to pull her even closer as his tongue warred with hers. Her fingers pressed under his shirt, seeking skin, as if she could not live without touching his heated flesh.

  Neither paid attention to the cabbie, who watched through the rear view mirror as the pair opened themselves up to the desire exploding within them. Fingers explored hidden spots and tongues tasted supple skin, as the back windows of the vehicle steamed. Droplets slid down the fogged glass, allowing sparkles of light from the streetlamps to dance on their skin, illuminating the way for their fingers.

  The areocab landed just outside her building, and after the cabbie coughed for their attention, Karlyn thrust her thumb into the slot, paying with her thumbprint. They exited the cab. Climbing the stairs to her studio was torture; the ascent took much longer than Ethan wanted it to. Ethan yanked the door open as quickly as he could and pushed Karlyn inside the entryway.

  ****

  Slamming the door shut behind him, Ethan turned to her. Standing within inches of the door, too afraid to move further, Karlyn stared at him, breathing roughly. Wanting this so much, she thought back to her demand for Ethan to only be her friend. Damn her for her stupidity. He needed to break that promise, and break it now. Body clenching, demanding his attention, she willed her errant thoughts away, as him being her friend was the last thing she wanted at this very moment. Her head needed to stay out of this. For tonight. She wanted to feel tonight.

  She realized she needed to make it abundantly clear that she wanted more. Beginning to slowly undo the buttons of her shirt, she tore it free from the waistband of her skirt and threw it to the floor. Rubbing her hands across the black lace, she felt her nipples tighten in response to her own touch and the weighted feel of his eyes on her. Grasping one with thumb and forefinger as she watched him, she felt the pulse of her clit more deeply than ever before. The coiling sensation emanated from her core and she could only think of his fingers on her skin, on her nipples, inside her sex.

  As he only stood there, unmoving, she felt a wave of panic. Unsure of what to do next since she had never before seduced a man, she gazed at him. Their actions in the aerocab made her confident that he did want her, perhaps as badly as she wanted him. Her own inexperience got the best of her, and she felt herself stiffen.

  ****

  Staring at her, a visual feast in just her lacy black bra and pencil skirt made his blood boil. His body trembled with need. Karlyn’s eyes were as large as saucers, and she was skittish in her attempts at seduction, but that in itself made her all the more tempting. She was not a jaded whore, and he wanted to share in her inexperience. Smiling at her, he hoped to qualm the batch of nerves she appeared to feel.

  Karlyn approached him slowly, standing in front of him. Reaching for the back of his head, she pulled Ethan down to capture his mouth, demanding his tongue war with her own. Allowing her to continue the advance, he needed her to show him that she truly wanted him. He refused to push her further than she was willing to go.

  Tugging at the belt around Ethan’s waist, she then jerked at the buttons of his jeans. Sliding her hands inside the waistband, she began to tug them down, struggling as she refused to release his mouth. She pulled back at the last moment to get his shirt over his head, and then Ethan’s hands were tugging at Karlyn’s bra, while she kicked off her shoes and shimmied out of her skirt.

  Descending his hands down her back and under her panties to rest on her plump rear, he kneaded the skin, pulling her close to the erection hidden by the thin fabric of his boxer briefs. Suddenly it was too much material to bear between them, and he began ripping off his as she removed her own. Ethan stepped out of his shoes and pants before lifting her into his arms, and carried her to bed, resting her head against the pillow.

  He lowered himself to her pussy, kissing his way down her body, knowing he would have to make her delirious with her need to prevent too much pain. Licking around her hooded nubbin, he tasted her desire. Sliding a strong finger just inside her opening, he tested her tightness. He kissed and licked every inch of her pussy, using the streaming liquid from her vagina to lubricate his fingers as they teased her clit and her opening folds.

  He licked and gently bit until he felt her tense, and he knew her orgasm was coiling inside her as she stiffened, raking her hands through his hair. Knowing she had brought herself to completion before, he did not worry about easing her into the experience, but wondered if the nights she had laid in her bed alone, had she felt the same when she had rubbed her clit with her own fingers. As she arched her back, he whispered, “Let it take over, relax and surrender to it. Just feel.”

  She gentled at his softly spoken words, and she released a deep brea
th. As if she were letting the fire he was igniting inside her rage, her climax stole over her. She screamed her release, back arching as tremors shuddered along her arms and legs. Her novice reaction to his ministrations pleased him and he kissed her gently on her inner thigh, his own sex harder than he had ever remembered. He knew once he was planted inside her, he would be lost there forever.

  ****

  Fatigue stole over her body as she recovered from her intense orgasm that had ever rocketed through her body. He continued to leisurely play with her pussy while she began to come back down to Earth. Her passion began to spiral once more, when he slid his thick finger deeper inside of her. Her walls stretched to accommodate the new sensation, and she grabbed his wrist, gentling him. Pleasure was walking a fine line with pain, and she did not know how much more she could take.

  Allowing her to calm briefly, he then added one more finger to her opening, while suckling harder on her clit. Blossoming pleasure-pain swirled within her channel as he added a third, stretching her beyond comprehension. It was enough to send her over the edge once more. With a scream of ecstasy, she lifted off the bed and felt like she was coming out of her skin. She felt a slight pinch in her pussy, but the overwhelming pleasure drowned it out.

  Once she gathered her mind again, he had moved to lay alongside her, casually kissing her shoulder as he looked down at her. She also saw the smear of blood on his fingers resting on her hip.

  “It’s gone? Just like that?”

  “Yes. It’s less painful this way. I’m large and don’t want to hurt you more than necessary.” He stood up and walked into the bathroom. She heard the sink come on and then moments later, he returned with a washcloth in hand. He settled back between her thighs and carefully wiped her pussy clean with the warm cloth. It touched her to have him care for her and it made her heart ache a little more. Yet it was incredibly sexy at the same time. Setting the cloth down on the nightstand, he lowered his mouth back to her clit and began licking and biting again, until she was writhing on the bed, moaning for more.