His appetite for her only grew stronger with every passing day. She never left the fifth-wheel since that fateful afternoon she first entered it. He never told her to get up unless he wanted to screw her standing. He let her go to the bathroom. That was all. He brought her meals to her in bed. Sometimes he handcuffed her foot to the bed rail while he went out for a few hours. He never told her where he was going.
She must have fallen asleep watching him. He soothed her mind. As long as she could keep him in sight, she hadn’t lost him yet. As long as he slept with her at her side, he still wanted her. He hadn’t thrown her away to go off and die by himself.
As long as she could be there when it happened, she could let go of everything else. She couldn’t cope with this world, knowing he was out there in it somewhere. She had to be with him in it, or be nowhere.
She woke up again several hours later to sun streaming through the windows.
The sizzling salty smell of cooked bacon filled the cabin, but no flame burned on the stove. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. She would ask him to let her take a shower today, although he didn’t give any indication that she needed one. He ate her out and pumped her full of his cock just the same as when she showed up fresh on his front porch.
She peered out the window to catch some glimpse of him. She almost pulled back when she spotted him sitting on the camper steps. He cradled a steaming coffee cup in his hands and gazed at the sun climbing into the sky.
Cloe looked around. Should she chance it? She got out of bed and threw a bathrobe around her shoulders. She flirted with disaster doing this, but what was life for, anyway? She never found out what he would do to her if she disobeyed him. She might as well find out now.
She stole down the center aisle to the door and eased it open. She stepped down and sat on the step next to him. Instead of fuming, cursing and threatening, he smiled up at her. “Here’s Sleeping Beauty.”
“You’re Sleeping Beauty,” she returned. “Don’t you know I lie awake watching you?”
He put his arm around her shoulders. “That’s my girl. What are you doing up anyway? I thought I told you to stay put.”
“What are you doing out here by yourself?” she asked. “Are you contemplating the meaning of life?”
He snorted. “Something like that.”
“So tell me. What’s on your mind?”
He sighed. “My truck is ready to pick up.”
Her head whipped around. “Oh. I guess you want to get going.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I would love to stick around to fuck you day and night. I never had a better time in my life, but you’ve got your own life to live. You don’t want to spend the rest of your days chained to my bedpost.”
“Who says I don’t?”
He laughed. “Come on, baby. We’ve had a good time, but I’m old enough to be your grandfather. You want a young stud your own age who can keep up with you.”
“You keep up with me just fine,” she told him. “It’s me who has trouble keeping up with you.”
“You know what I mean. You’re young. I’m dying. You don’t want to hitch your wagon to my star. That would be a recipe for disaster for someone like you.”
“So what am I supposed to do—go back to working on the paper? You think I should carry on with my brilliant career doing write-ups on washed-up boxers and horse races? Is that your idea of me living the rest of my life?”
He studied her. “Well, what did you think was going to happen? I’m a dead end for you. What do you want to hang around with me for, anyway? You should be out there having the time of your life.”
“What do you think I am doing?”
He clucked his tongue. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, honey. I don’t have any reason to stick around here. You’re the only thing keeping me here, and I can’t stand seeing you waste your life on me.”
She rounded on him. “You think I’m wasting my life on you? Is that what you think this is all about?”
He got to his feet. “Come on. Get up and get dressed. It’s time you went back to work and got on with it.”
She stood up and smoothed down the bathrobe like she could preserve her dignity that way. She pursed her lips. “Listen, Sonny. I’m not wasting my life on you. I think I can decide for myself what to do with my time and who to do it with. I never met anyone like you before, and I don’t want to spend my time doing anything except what we’ve been doing. If you want me to leave, I will. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking this is mutual. I came here because I wanted you. Do you get that? I don’t want a box full of Sonny McCain memorabilia worth a couple million dollars. I want you. I want you alive and living. I want to kiss you, hold you and watch you sleep. If you don’t want that, just come right out and say so.”
He doubled over like she kicked him in the guts. “Don’t do this, baby. You know I want you, too. You know I want you more than anything.”
“Then why are you dumping me?” she shrieked. “Why are you throwing me out on my ass? Haven’t I don’t everything you asked? Haven’t I gotten on my knees and begged you for it? Haven’t I done everything to please you?”
“Of course you have,” he murmured. “You’re my dream come true.”
She couldn’t stand here arguing with him anymore. He could give her everything she ever wanted. When it came to her giving something back to him, he couldn’t let her do it. He couldn’t let her love him. She threw up her hands. “Just forget it, okay? Just forget all about it. Just pretend like none of this ever happened.”
He started to say, “I don’t want to pretend it never happened,” but she wouldn’t listen. She stormed back into the camper, threw on her clothes, and hit the bricks. He stood back and didn’t try to stop her. She rushed down the street. She dared not look at her reflection in a car window. Her hair must look a fright.
She hurried all the way back to the duck pond and threw herself down on the bench. Why did he have to be such an insufferable jackass? Why did he have to be such a tough guy? Didn’t he know how she felt about him?
She watched the ducks until her heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. The park shimmered in the heat all around her. The ducks bobbed and dabbled on the glassy surface. She might as well have never left. The last three days never happened. She was still a lonely virgin going on forty-five.
She let out a deep sigh and got to her feet. She started walking, but she had no idea where she should go. She couldn’t go back to the paper. That was final. She could go back to her apartment and take a shower. She could change her clothes and give herself a douche. She could catch up on lost sleep and deal with the world in the morning.
She didn’t do any of those things, though. She just kept wandering the streets for hours. She passed the paper, but she turned on her heel and rushed the opposite way. She avoided that place like the plague. She never wanted to see it again, much less go inside, or answer any questions.
She got herself a donut and a latte from the coffee shop, but a full stomach did nothing to quiet her mind. She had no idea what to do with herself, so she went back to the duck pond. Nothing else made sense. She sat there for more than an hour, but agitation drove her on again.
Aw, what the hell. Who was she kidding? She didn’t want to be anywhere except at Sonny’s house. If he left town, she would just hang around on his sidewalk like a lost puppy. She might as well kiss the rest of her life goodbye.
—Cloe waited outside the gate.
He jumped out of his skin when he came out of the fifth-wheel and saw her standing there. He opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything.
They stared at each other over the picket fence.
Finally, he came forward. “Look, Cloe. I’m really sorry about all this. I should never have messed around with you.”
She cut him off with a shake of her head. “Take me with you, Sonny.”
His eyes widened. “Take—what are you talking about?”
It all came out
in a rush, “Take me with you. Let me come with you on your solitary ramble. Let me share the last few months of your life.”
He shook his head. “I can’t let you do that. You don’t want to hang around me for the next couple of months. Believe me.” He laughed to himself.
“Will you stop telling me what I want and what I don’t want? I want to come with you. I want to be there. I want to be with you, however it turns out.”
“You don’t understand, baby,” he pleaded. “You don’t know what it’s like when I get my headaches. It hurts so much I fly into these rages. I break things. I say terrible things I don’t mean. You don’t—I mean, I don’t want you around me when I get like that. It’s not that I don’t want you. Man, you don’t know how much I want you. I can’t imagine walking away from a woman like you, but I would hate to hurt you. I want to spare you. I want to protect you from myself.”
“Look, Sonny. I don’t care how bad it gets. The worse it is, the more I want to be there. I can’t stand you going out there to face this alone. You’ll die alone out there. I can’t live with—that.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
He put out his hand, but he let it fall before he touched her. “Oh, babe. Please don’t do this. You’re so fine, good and true. I can’t bear to see you throw your life away on me.”
“I won’t be throwing my life away. I’ve got the whole thing planned out. I’m going to write a book about your life. I’ll have plenty of time to interview you on the road.” She talked faster when he shook his head. “The book will never be published while you’re alive. No one will bother you. No one will come knocking on your door. You’ll have the last months and years of your life to live in peace, but you won’t be alone. Come on, Sonny. Let someone care about you. Let someone know your secrets and share your pain. You want to give me the treasure hidden under your bed? Give me the treasure hidden in your heart, too. Tell me everything you never told any other journalist. I’ll write the story of your life, and after you’re gone, people will get to know you the way I did. Come on. What do you say?”
He stole a peek at her under his chiseled brows. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want to go back to the paper. I don’t want anything ever to be the same. You made me whole, new and complete when you took my virginity. I only want to be with you. I want to study you and know you. I want to show the world what you are and what you’re made of. You don’t have to push me away because you’re dying. Let me love you. Let me be there. I want to be there ‘til the end, no matter what.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I never wanted you to leave. I never wanted to see you go—not ever. I couldn’t ask you to stay, though. We were supposed to be a little fling to pop your cherry. I never planned to take over your life. I just couldn’t stop touching you. I couldn’t stop fucking you once I started. I never touched any woman like you before.”
At this confession, hope sprung up fiercely inside of her as she took a step closer. “Will you let me come with you? Will you let me be there for you?”
He sighed. “If that’s what you want, I won’t try to stop you.”
She rushed at him and threw her arms around him. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much. You won’t regret it.”
“No. It’s you who will regret it. You won’t be thanking me when this is all over.”
Chapter 8
Sonny slid into the driver’s seat of the big white pickup. He buckled his seatbelt. “You ready?”
Cloe nodded.
“Do you want to stop by your place and get any of your clothes or anything?” He scanned her up and down. “Don’t you want to bring anything at all?”
“Just my laptop,” she replied. “I’ll need that.”
He swung the truck into the street, and the fifth-wheel glided behind them. He drove to her apartment and kept the motor running while she dashed inside. She snatched her laptop from her desk. She started to turn to the door, but she cast one last look around.
She used to think this apartment was so nice. She never wanted to live anywhere else. Now it looked dingy and depressing. It represented that frigid part of her life she never wanted to think about, much less keep living. Everything in this place dragged her down. It made her into something she no longer wanted to be.
She patted her pockets. She had her phone, her wallet, and her computer. She could build a life anywhere with those three things. She scribbled a hasty note to her landlord and dropped it, along with her keys, into his mailbox downstairs. Then she hurried out to the truck.
Sonny smiled when she got in. He eased into the street and headed down the highway. About a mile out of town, he cast a sidelong glance her way.
“What?” she asked.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sure glad you’re coming with me. I really didn’t want to go alone.” He took her hand and squeezed it across the seat. “How did you know I needed someone like you?”
“The same way you knew I needed someone like you. You saved me from myself.”
“Damn, baby. I didn’t do anything. I’m just a man. Any man with two balls would want to nail your cherry ass.”
She blushed. “I never would have thought that was a compliment. You taught me the error of my ways.”
He bit back a smile. “You better stop talking like that, or I’ll be pulling over to take you out back.”
She shot him a wicked grin. “Anytime you say, boss. We don’t have anywhere to go.”
“At least wait until we get to the trailer park. We might be stuck there for a while.”
Cloe laughed, and he put his hand back on the steering wheel. “So where do you want to go first?”
She fished the atlas out of the glove box. “I should be asking you that. Do you have any particular spots on your bucket list?”
“I don’t have a bucket list. I never really even wanted to live before I met you.”
She whapped his shoulder. “Cut it out.”
“It’s true. I never wanted to see anything. I just wanted to go to bed and never wake up.”
“Well, you’re not doing that on my watch. We’re going to see the sights, and starting today, you’re gonna make a bucket list.”
He laughed. His smile brightened up his whole face.
She never saw him like this before. The shadow haunting him lifted off his shoulders. He could face the world and be happy about it. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“What about New Orleans? I always wanted to go to New Orleans. Have you ever been there?”
“You wanna hear something crazy?” he asked. “I’ve been there three times, and I’ve never seen any of the town. I’ve never seen one jazz band play. I’ve never had seafood gumbo or jambalaya. I’ve never seen any of it.”
Cloe gasped. “Why?”
“I came into town on the red-eye, did my fight, and left that same night. I did that three times. I can safely say I’ve never been to New Orleans.”
She closed the atlas and put it away. “Well, then, that’s where we’re going. You haven’t lived, Mister.”
He beamed at her. “You’re right.”
She unclipped her seat belt. She slid across the seat and cuddled next to him. “We’re gonna see everything. We’re gonna go dancing and make love in a fancy hotel. We’ll see the French Quarter and go for a boat ride on the bayou.” She threaded her fingers over his thigh while he drove. He leaned into her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “We’re gonna have the time of our lives.”
He rubbed his cheek against her hair. “Thanks, babe.”
“Hush,” she told him. “You’re giving me as much as I’m giving you.”
He pressed his foot on the accelerator, and they rumbled down the highway into the sunset.
**THE END**
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Copyright 2017 Cassandra Bloom; All Rights Reserved
Obsession
Chapte
r 1
(Tanya)
As I walked through the luxury shops, Christmas music was playing all around me. It was cheerful and merry, lifting my spirits despite the long day spent at the office, running from one errand to the next.
I work at Walton Incorporated, a large investment firm that managed billions and billions of dollars. Hugo Walton had started the company in the early 70s, riding the economic boom until he came out on top. Now, he was known as an old shark. He still had a ferocious bite but lacked the energy required to keep the company up and running.
So, his son, Everett, had taken over, proving himself worthy of the throne, nearly tripling profits within five years. The man was a genius.
The man was my boss.
And he sure knew how to work me to the bone.
I sighed, walking into Men’s Express, a high-end suit shop. Everett never did any of his shopping. He always left that to me. I had memorized his measurements and knew exactly what he liked.
Chestnuts roasting…
The familiar song was playing. It was one of my favorites. I hummed the tune as I walked to the counter, holding out my garment tag.
“Picking up?” The attendant asked with a friendly smile.
“Yes, please. For a Mr. Walton.”
She nodded, quickly disappearing into the back.
As I waited for her to return, I started to browse a nearby rack. This was the kind of store where everything was so expensive that they didn’t even bother with price tags.
I guess it didn’t matter to Everett Walton. He had more money than he could ever know what to do with.
Must be nice.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to deal with the student debt I had accumulated, foolishly pursuing my passion for art. I should have known it would never work out, but I had naively followed my heart, thinking it would take me in the right direction.
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