by B. B. Hamel
“Who was it?” I press her.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. Didn’t sound happy, though.”
“Did he threaten you?”
She hesitates then nods. “What are you doing, Cora?”
I sigh and sit down at my table. Mom joins me, glass clutched in her hand. “We’re investigating,” I say.
“Atticus?”
I nod. “Wyatt and I.”
She groans. “Now I understand.”
“They want us to stop because they’re hiding something. You know that, right?”
“Of course they are,” she snaps. “But these people are killers, honey.”
“Exactly,” I say. “That’s why we have to catch them.”
“We don’t have to do anything. That’s what the police are for.”
I roll my eyes. “They’re not going to do anything and you know it.”
She chews her lip. This is new, this whole police thing. Before she was complaining that they don’t care about her dead son, and now she wants them to take over. Suddenly she trusts the police.
Well, I don’t trust them, not at all.
“What did they say to you?” I ask her softly.
She sips her wine and looks away. “It’s not important.”
“Mom,” I say.
“They said I’d end up like Atticus, but they’d rape me first.”
I stare at her, surprised. “Jesus.”
“They said if you don’t stop what you’re doing, I’m going to be next.” She sighs. “Oh, honey. Why did you have to do this?”
I grimace a little bit. She’s clearly afraid, but I didn’t think she’d be this afraid. I thought she wanted to solve Atticus’s killing, and that she’d be willing to do anything to get it done.
“Someone had to,” I say, standing up. I walk over and pour myself some wine.
“But why you?” She turns toward me. “We can just let the police do their job.”
“They’re not doing their job,” I snap at her. “You know that.”
She looks surprised. “I know what I said before. But I never thought…”
“Never thought I’d actually do something?”
“Yes,” she admits. “You and that boy.”
“Me and Wyatt. Mom, you knew we were doing this, or are you too drunk to remember?”
I see the anger flare up, like it does every time I call her out for drinking too much. “Don’t talk to your mother that way.”
“Don’t make me have to.”
She glares at me in silence for a minute. I sip my wine, equally angry.
But all at once, my anger goes away. I realize that she’s not a scared woman, in over her head. She’s the same as me, except I’m going forward, and she’s ready to give up. But she’s been through so much, and she didn’t ask for any of this.
“Look mom,” I say, sitting back down. “Why don’t you stay with me? At least until this is all over?”
She shakes her head. “No, thank you. I don’t want to be a burden.” Her words are meant to hurt me, but I don’t let them dig down deep.
“Come on. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m perfectly fine.” She finishes her glass of wine in record time. “I just want you to know what you’re doing.”
“I know,” I say softly.
“There are consequences. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” I can hear her unspoken words: and I don’t want to end up dead.
“I won’t,” I say to her.
“You always were stubborn,” she says softly, standing.
“Mom, please don’t go. At least stay tonight.”
She shakes her head. “No. I’m going home.”
“If anything happens, call me,” I say to her. “Seriously.”
“I’ll be calling the police, thank you very much.” She walks to my door. “Just… be careful.”
“I will.”
I watch as she leaves. I head to my front window and catch a glimpse of her lighting a cigarette in her car. She drives off and I’m left standing there, feeling shell-shocked and angry.
The bastards are going after my mother. That’s a step too far. They can threaten me, come after me, but my family’s off limits. That’s the kind of people I’m dealing with here. They’re monsters and they have no limits, none at all. They’ll go to any lengths to stop this investigation, because they know I’m going to discover their secrets.
I sigh and shake my head. What the hell am I thinking? I’m not the one doing anything, it’s all Wyatt. I’m just tagging along, trying not to get in the way, and trying not to get hurt. My poor mother didn’t ask for any of this. She never wanted to get involved, that was my choice.
Without thinking, I grab my things and head outside. I get into my car and start driving, not really sure where I’m going, except I end up exactly where I knew I’d end up.
It’s getting late. It’s almost nine, and I know I should go home. I should just turn around and pretend like this never happened, or maybe go to my mother’s house and make sure she’s not drinking herself to death.
Instead, I get out of the car and head up toward his room.
18
Wyatt
When I get back from the bar with Mitch, I find Cora leaning up against the railing outside my motel door.
She looks up as I approach, but doesn’t say anything. Wordlessly, I let her into my room, and I shut the door behind her.
She walks over to the bed and sits down at the end. “My mom got a call,” she says.
I stop in my tracks. “Same guy that called you?”
She shrugs. “I didn’t hear the voice, but I think so.”
“Same threat?”
“Similar.”
“Shit.” I lean up against the desk, crossing my arms. I didn’t expect it to escalate this quickly.
“What do we do?”
“Nothing,” I say. “Although it might be good if your mom could go stay someplace safe.”
“I asked her to stay with me,” she says. “But she refused.”
I nod, not surprised. “Your place isn’t much safer, anyway.”
She looks away, frowning. “I guess not.”
I sigh and walk over to her. I stop in front of her and tip her chin toward me. “It’ll be okay,” I say softly.
She looks up at me, gorgeous eyes defiant. “How can you know?”
“I just know. I’ve done this before, remember?”
“Do you usually get threats like this?”
“No,” I admit. “Not at all. This is unique to Mason.”
“Of course it is.” She sighs and I let go of her chin. I sit down next to her, our sides touching, and she turns to me. “Do you think you could, I don’t know, get a protective detail for my mom?”
I frown. “That’s expensive.”
“The police might do it?”
“I doubt it,” I admit. “They’d have to pay someone to sit outside your mom’s trailer, that’ll cost them overtime for sure… I just can’t see it happening.”
She sighs, looking away. “I got her into this.”
“We got her into this,” I correct. “You’re not alone.” She nods but doesn’t say anything. “We can keep an eye on her, make sure she’s safe.”
“How? We can barely keep ourselves safe.”
I sigh. She has a good point there. This mom thing, it’s fucking complicated.
“I’ll figure it out,” I tell her.
She turns and looks at me, and I can see it in her eyes: fear, but also something more. That something more, it’s the real reason she’s here.
I reach for her, tip her chin closer, and kiss her softly. She reacts instantly to my kiss, melting into it, turning her body toward me. She reacts with intense hunger, almost surprising me, but my body reacts in turn.
She presses me back and straddles my hips. She leans over me, kissing me deep, and I put my hands on her firm ass. I love her taste and my heart starts hammering, and I know t
his is what I’ve been thinking about since the last time I tasted her.
She sits up and pulls her shirt off. I cup her breasts as she kisses me again, lips lingering.
I feel my desire grow, deep inside of me. I can’t contain it. I grab her hips and roll her over, pinning her down to the bed.
She gasps as I kiss her next. “This is why you came here tonight, isn’t it?” I ask her softly. “You could have called. But you didn’t.”
“No,” she says. “I didn’t call.”
I bite her lower lip and she gasps. I pin her hands up above her head. “You wanted to come and get fucked, didn’t you?”
“Wyatt,” she says, eyes wide.
I growl and bite her lip again, kissing her deep and slow. I tease her nipples with my tongue and teeth before releasing one of her wrists. I slide my hand down her skin before unbuttoning her jeans.
“Say it’s what you want,” I whisper in her ear, my hand slowly sliding down her panties. “Say the words.”
She groans and moves her hips, but I don’t give her what she wants. I cup her pussy but don’t move.
“Say it,” I repeat.
“Wyatt,” she moans. “Please.”
“You’re so fucking sexy when you beg,” I say. “Desperate for my fucking cock. But you have to say what I want to hear.”
“It’s why I came,” she admits, and I plunge my fingers inside of her.
She groans, tossing her head back. I slide my fingers inside, deep into her soaking, tight pussy. She was ready for this, dripping and desperate, probably has been since she pulled up here. I bet she didn’t even know what she was doing until right now. That just makes me fucking harder.
I slide my fingers in and out, making her moan, swallowing her moans in my mouth as I kiss her deep and hard. I tease her chest again, biting her nipple, making her groan as I press my fingers in deep at the same moment. She squirms, pushing back against me, but I press deeper.
Just as her movements get more intense, I pull back and get off the bed. I kneel down in front of her, pulling her jeans down off her body. I push her panties aside and kiss up along her thighs until I find that delicious little pussy.
She looks down at me as I suck her clit. She grabs my hair, lacing her fingers and pulling. I like that she’s being rough, so I press my tongue inside that cunt, suck and lick her good. She groans and I grab her hips, feeling her ass. I shove her back down onto the bed, pushing two fingers deep inside her pussy while I lick and suck her clit.
Her moans get louder, filling the room, and I know I can’t hold back anymore. I have to fuck her tight little pussy, stretch her out, break her in two. She groans against me and I love it. I fuck her roughly with my fingers and push her down against the bed, pinning her there.
“You’re all mine now, aren’t you?” I ask her. “Every inch of this little cunt is mine to do whatever I want with. God, you’re so fucking wet, you can’t even pretend it’s not true.”
“Asshole,” she says, but there’s a smile on her lips.
“That’s a good idea,” I say. I pull my fingers from her pussy and slide them down to tease her ass. “Just like this?”
She gasps as I press my finger inside of her ass. “You dick,” she says as I bend down and lick her clit again, fucking her ass with my finger.
She groans, clearly loving it. I knew she would. She’s fucking filthy, and she’s going to do anything I want her to do.
I suck and lick her clit like that, fucking her ass until I can’t stop myself. I pull back and stand, ripping my shirt up over my head, getting my jeans off in a hurry. She slides off the bed, kneeling in front of me, and she helps me get my boxer briefs off before taking my big cock between her hands.
“Look at you,” she says, smiling up at me. “I think you’re the one that wants this.”
I grin at her. “I never denied it.”
She opens her mouth and takes my big cock between her lips. It feels so fucking sweet as she sucks me slow, hands sliding along my shaft, tongue and lips sucking and licking at the head of my cock. I love watching that pretty mouth do its work, and it feels so fucking good. She’s right though, I’m hard as fucking hell, barely able to stand it myself. I don’t think I’ve ever been this hard in my life.
She starts to suck me faster. Pleasure blooms through me and I groan. I take a fistful of her hair and press her down my shaft, feeling my cock slide into her throat. She gags but doesn’t stop, sucking me faster, taking me as deep as she can.
I press her down and fuck that pretty mouth, hips sliding back and forth, cock pumping into her lips. I’m a fucking animal, wild with passion and desire. This is wrong, a fucking mistake, only complicating things for both of us, but I can’t care about that right now.
My cock’s down Cora’s throat, and that’s all I need.
I pull her back and roughly drag her to her feet. I pull her against me, squeezing her ass, kissing her hard. I stroke that pussy again with my fingers before pressing her up against the wall, spreading her legs wide.
I grab her hair and pull her head back just as I press my cock inside. She gasps, and I can see the pleasure and the pain mingling in her expression, driving her wild. I fuck her like that, pulling her hair back, cock plunging in and out of her soaking pussy. I push her just along the edge of pleasure and pain, walking that fine line, making her moans get louder and louder.
This is what I’m fucking good at, my greatest skill in life. I can make this girl come right now if I want, but I’m not ready. I want her to beg for it before I give it to her.
I reach around her hips and stroke her clit, slowing my cock. I bury myself deep inside of her, rubbing her clit, pulling her hair back. She groans in confused ecstasy, and that moan almost pushes me over the edge.
Instead, I drag her away from the wall. I put her on the bed, down on all fours, legs spread wide. I slap that ass, nice and hard, making her gasp.
“Show me that dripping pussy,” I say.
She looks over her shoulder, spreading her legs wider. She reaches back between her legs with her right hand and rubs her own pussy, spreading herself for me.
“That’s right,” I groan. “You’re a dirty one, aren’t you, Cora?”
“Yes,” she groans. “With you.”
I press my cock against her spread open pussy and slowly sink myself inside of her. She groans and presses her face against the bed as I grab her hips, nice and firm. I stroke in and out of her, fucking her pussy deep and hard, filling her up, stretching her out.
We fall into a rhythm like that. I fuck that pussy deep, slapping her ass, while her hips buck and work back against me. She’s clearly losing herself in the moment just as much as I am. I pull her hair and luxuriate in her pussy, pleasure flowing through me, my animal side taking over completely.
I pull her back and kiss her as she pumps her ass along my cock, moaning, sweating, desperate. “Wyatt,” she moans. “God, Wyatt, I’m so fucking close.”
I stroke that pussy deep and hard. I lean over her, pinning her down on the bed. “You want to come for me?”
“Oh god, please,” she begs. “I need it.”
“Go ahead. You’re my fucking dirty girl. Come on my big fat cock.”
I fuck her hard and deep and rough, losing my mind, and I can feel her whole body tense as the orgasm sweeps through her.
I can’t help myself. As her orgasm peaks, I let myself go. I explode in that pussy, my own orgasm rolling through me like thunder, and I fill her up with my hot cum. She groans, practically begging for it, waving her ass around with my cock still spurting inside of her.
Our orgasms finish together, and we collapse onto the bed. I laugh softly and she cuddles up against me. I wrap my arms around her beautiful, naked body, and pull her tight.
“It’s late,” I say softly to her after a little silence.
“Yeah,” she says.
“You should stay.”
“Yeah,” she repeats, nuzzling her head closer.
&
nbsp; I smile to myself. “Good. Because I wasn’t done with you.”
She smiles up at me and I kiss her. I know I can’t let her go tonight. I’m not finished with that fucking tight, beautiful body of hers.
There’s so much more where that came from. This is just the beginning, just a taste of what I have in store. I’m going to make that pussy come, over and over again, until she’s begging, mouth hanging open, losing her mind for my cock.
19
Cora
In the morning, I’m sore, but it’s a good kind of sore. I get out of the shower, grinning to myself, unable to stop smiling.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt this refreshed in a really long time. I didn’t sleep all that much last night, since Wyatt kept me up. We slept together again, in that intense, passionate way he has, but we also spent a lot of time just talking.
We kept talking about the past, about the way things were when we were kids, but also about how things are now. We’ve become different people, but not that different. I still remember the guy he used to be, and I think that guy is still inside of him.
Wrapped up in all of this is the memory of Atticus, but I keep pushing that out of my mind. I don’t want to think about Atticus, as painful as that may be. I know he should be on my mind at all times right now, since he’s the one we’re supposed to be doing all this for, but I can’t let him ruin this.
I’ve let him ruin enough. He ruined my relationship with my mother, and he ruined my relationship with him. He was such a bad, destructive force for so long, and I have to get out from under that force. He’s gone now, and although I’m not going to just let all this go, I have to let him pass on.
I come out of the bathroom and smile at Wyatt. He grins at me, leaning back on his elbow in bed.
“Hungry?” he asks me.
I shrug a little. “I guess so.”
“Let’s grab some breakfast.”
He gets up and walks over, kissing me deep and slow. I kiss him back, a smile on my face. He goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth and I get dressed, unable to contain my excitement.
We go to the Great American and grab a booth. He sips his coffee and watches me while I fidget with the Splenda packets, my mind slowly drifting elsewhere.
