Five O'Clock Shadow: A Standalone Dark Romance (Snow and Ash)

by Heather Knight

  I suck in my breath and spread my legs wider.

  “Your pussy is the whole thing, outside and inside.”

  “What did you just do to me?”

  “What? This?” He runs his tongue up my folds again and teases the nub at the top.

  I moan.

  His tongue continues to tease me, and the feeling is exquisite. I bring my knees up and dig in my heels, hoping he’ll never stop. Ever.

  “What are you doing to me now?”

  “I’m tonguing your clit.” He flicks it over that magic spot again.

  “Oh.” It’s a gasp, not a word. “Do it again.”

  “Touch your tits for me, baby.”

  My hands shake as I comply.

  “Play with your nipples.”

  Feeling a little self-conscious, I pass my palms over them. It feels nice, so I tweak them between my fingers. At the same time my soldier tongues my clit, and the combination of sensations is too much. “That feels so good.”

  “Some people call this eating you out, but it’s also called going down on you. If a guy asks you for a blow job, he’s asking you to suck him off.”

  “Oh.” So many terms.

  His expression darkens. “But there won’t be another guy for you. Just me.”

  “I don’t want someone else.” The words are out before I understand what I’m saying.

  His nostrils flare, and he lifts his chin. “When I put my cock in your cunt, we’re fucking.”

  I cringe. “It hurts.”

  “You were a virgin. It always hurts the first time.”

  “Why?”

  He gives my pussy another lick. “It’s how you’re made. You’re only supposed to have one man, and letting him breech you is your gift to him. It’s how you show him you’re pure.”

  I frown. I particularly remember it being okay to sleep with several men, as long as you were in love with them.

  “And then at the end I come,” he continues.

  “Oh that. Sperm.” I nod, glad that I know something at least.

  His eyes dance. “Okay, yeah, but you don’t say it like that. A man comes or he shoots his load or he fills you with his jism. Don’t say sperm.”

  My whole body blushes. “Well, how am I supposed to know?”

  His shoulders shake.

  “Ted.”

  He eyes me askance.

  “Do girls come?”

  “Sometimes. If her man does it right.”

  “What does it feel like?”

  “No idea. If it’s anything like what a man gets, you’ll be a lucky bitch if you have one.”

  He plays with my clit some more. “Someday I’m going to suck your clit until you scream.”

  I want him to do it. I feel something wonderful build inside of me, something tense and explosive, but then he stops and moves back down to my slit.

  “Soon I’m going to shove my cock in your ass.” He nibbles me some more, and I shudder.

  “Why?”

  “Because it feels good. Really good. It’s what men do when their girls are on their period.”

  My eyes go wide. He said period. “I don’t get periods.”

  He hesitates. “What do you mean, you don’t get periods?”

  My face flames even more. “I got a couple in the beginning, but then they just stopped.”

  He stares at me for a moment and God, how embarrassing. Then his eyes flash and he grins. “Even better.”

  He sticks a finger in my pussy and I stiffen, but I’m wet and it slides right in.

  “Why am I all wet?”

  Again I cringe. I’m disgusting.

  “Your body is preparing itself for me. When you’re warm and wet, it feels good. Men don’t like a dry cunt.”

  He pushes his finger further in and massages just inside my opening, and despite the sting, there’s pleasure too. I have a “wow” moment when he gives my clit a gentle suck. I even raise my hips to meet him.

  He turns me over and runs his tongue over my neck and shoulders, traces his lips and tongue down my spine until he reaches my backside. By now I’m so filled with need I’m practically blind.

  He massages my butt-cheeks. “I want you up on all fours.”

  I do it. My limbs shake and I’m not sure what I want, but I want. It’s like he enjoys torturing me when he runs the head of his dick all over my wet pussy. I moan and move back against him.

  “Christ.” He braces himself with one arm and grits his teeth. A moment later he loads up with more of my juices.

  “Lean forward. Cradle your head in your arms, but keep your ass up high for me.”

  I obey, but I’m already tensing up. There’s a mixture of wrong tinged with craving going on inside me, and I’m not sure what to expect.

  He positions the head of his cock over my pucker and runs his hand down my back. “Relax.”

  I start to shake. “I don’t know if I can.”

  “Try for me, baby. It’ll go much easier for you if you loosen up.”

  I take a deep breath and tell myself to calm down, and in that moment he pushes the head of his cock against my hole. He gets about a half inch in before I suck in my breath and hold back a cry.

  “Easy, baby.” He strokes my back, my hips, my stomach. “It’s okay. It’s just your other virginity. See if you can let go.”

  His soft tone soothes me, and I swallow back my fear. He pushes a little farther in, and a little farther. “Oh baby. You feel so good.”

  His praise gives me a thrill of pleasure, and I find I like pleasing him. I arch my back some more. Taking deeper breaths helps me open to him. He pushes in farther and farther, until at last his balls rest against my ass. He’s breathing hard, and drops of sweat spill down on my back.

  “You took it all, baby. You’re such a good little slut.” He begins moving, and at first it hurts, but I force myself to take him. Reaching down, he scoops up more of my wetness and smears it over his cock, then starts moving again.

  “You’re so tight, so fucking tight.”

  I adjust my position to try to find comfort.

  “That’s it, little whore. Wiggle that ass for me.”

  He begins to fuck me in earnest. All I feel, really, is pressure. With each of his thrusts, my body rocks forward.

  “I could come right now, but I won’t.” He reaches around and starts massaging my clit. The jolt of pleasure this brings sends me back onto his cock.

  “You like this, don’t you?”

  I think about it. This strange invasion is nothing earth-shattering, like when he sucked my clit, but I wouldn’t call it hideous. The fact that I’m pleasing him gives me a rush, and touching my clit drives me just a little bit wild.

  “Yes,” I admit.

  “Jesus. You look so good with my dick in your ass and your face pressed down in the carpet.”

  He’s thrusting faster now, and his hand moves furiously over my clit. I can feel the pressure building again. My pussy clamps down, but there’s nothing there and I squeeze my eyes shut, praying for release.

  “Jesus. Fuck. Oh God, tell me you love me. Tell me!”

  “I love you,” I say.

  He lets out a cry, delivers a series of slapping thrusts into my ass, and then collapses over me. He pants like he’s just been chased by a homicidal maniac as he hugs me around my middle.

  He holds this position for several minutes, and then he pulls his softening cock from my pucker. Immediately I feel a trickle of his cum leak out. Jerk smacks my ass.

  “Ow! What’s that for?”

  “That was great. If you behave yourself again tomorrow, I’ll let you come too. I’ll even feed the cat.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Jackson

  “What was it you wanted to see me about, Sergeant Martell?” The company commander remains seated at his desk. A manila folder lies open in front of him.

  I snap a salute. “I found a diary, Sir.” Amelia’s knowledge is a goldmine. I can share some of what I’ve learned, perhaps use
it to my advantage.

  He sighs. “And what does this diary say?”

  I take a step forward. “It’s sort of a documentation of what this individual experienced before the occupation of Charlotte. For instance, the writer talks about how she’s able to identify on sight whether someone’s a cannibal or not. Apparently the healthy people running around in packs are the cannibals. They tend to stay put because they have a ready, unprotected food source right here. The skinny ones—the ones who refuse to eat human meat—are the prey.”

  The commander writes something down. “Go on.”

  “The cannibals tend to form into communities, with the advantage of offering better protection for themselves and their families against other predators as well as making for larger, more efficient hunting parties.”

  “Well, dogs travel in packs now don’t they?”

  “Yes, sir. The cannibals are known around here as “the tainted ones,” or “taints” for short. Those who refuse human meat are simply ‘survivors.’ The author makes the observation that there are certain protocols observed by the survivors, a code of ethics they all follow, although few if any are in contact with each other.”

  “Interesting, Martell. What sort of ethics?”

  “Well, sir, you never try to follow anyone, especially to their hiding place, unless you plan to kill that person and take their things. If a person is followed, they are permitted to assume they are being stalked and have the right to kill their hunter, no questions asked. If you see another survivor, even someone you knew pre-ash, don’t assume they’re a friend. You are both to look the other way and go in opposite directions. There are more things like this. I thought it an interesting study.”

  He folds his hands on his desk. “I’d like to see that diary if you don’t mind.”

  “I still have it, sir.”

  “I want it first thing tomorrow, Sergeant.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That is all.”

  I scrape my feet. Amelia shouldn’t be grouped in with the taints. The Japanese woman in her diary, either. “Request permission to speak freely, sir.”

  The commander removes his glasses and rubs his eyes. “Go ahead.”

  “Up until now we’ve targeted all survivors, assuming of course that all are cannibals. I have no problem taking them out, but the others—if they’ve survived this long, they’re strong and they’re smart. I was thinking; aren’t those the kind of people we’d want? They’d be an invaluable source of labor once the Arc starts the rebuilding process.”

  “Sergeant Martell, you’re a grunt. Grunts don’t think; they do as they’re told.”

  The man is as stupid as water. I grit my teeth. “With all due respect, sir, I had an advanced placement scholarship to Cornell and I had a 4.0 in biological science.”

  The commander shakes his head and flips to the next page. “Questioning policy doesn’t look good for your future, Sergeant. I don’t want to see any more behavior like this. You are dismissed.”

  I salute him, do an about-face, and leave the office, but my throat closes up. God-fucking-damn it. I’ll never get my ideas past the commander, no matter how good they are. Shit. Why did I even try? Why did I have to think? All I did was make myself look bad.

  Amelia. Having her around is too much of a distraction and now I’m getting sloppy. She’s a threat to my entire future. Fuck. Why did I ever take her?

  When I get home, that goddamned cat is perched on Amelia’s chest, licking her chin. She’s actually cooing at the thing. I pause in the doorway, and the cat hisses at me and takes off under the bed. You’d think it’d show some gratitude.

  Amelia’s eyes brighten. Her arms are cuffed over her head, she’s naked, and I’ve shoved a ball gag in her mouth. The last thing she should feel is happy. I grind my teeth, head for the bathroom, and throw cool water over my face.

  Damn it. Everything was going great until I fucked up with that Japanese woman. Those stupid diaries. A pile of pathetic little stories and worthless memories of hiding underground. Somehow she’s gotten to me and now look. I mouthed off to the company commander. My entire future is on the line, and all because of my obsession with this stupid little girl.

  She’s made me weak.

  I strip naked. I don’t even bother faking modesty. I stride into the room and undo her handcuffs, but I leave the gag in.

  “Had a great conversation with my commander today,” I say, feeling up her tits. “Seems I’m too soft for the job. I let your Japanese friend get away.”

  She blinks up at me. She raises her brows and says something, but the gag muffles it.

  I smack her. “You’re here for me. Not the other way around.”

  Her eyes go round as I kneed and suck her tits. God, she has great tits. I’m going to fuck them sometime, but not tonight.

  “I knew you were bad news, but I had to have you. For a while I tried to please you, but there will be no more of that weak shit. Oh, and if you can’t keep that cat under control, I’ll serve it to you for dinner. Get on your knees.”

  She shakes her head at me, this fucking wounded look on her face.

  “On your knees!”

  She flinches, but she scrambles to obey. I smack her ass. “Don’t tense up. You’re just going to hurt yourself if you do.”

  I don’t prepare her. Despite my rough handling, she’s wet, but not nearly wet enough. I use what moisture there is to smear the head of my cock and position myself at her asshole.

  Amelia whimpers and takes in several shallow breaths.

  I press my dick into her pucker and shove with all I’ve got. She cries out, and it’s definitely pain. God, the rush. She can’t scream, can’t do anything but take it. This is exactly what I need, and I thrust farther and farther into her. “Feel my cock? Do you?”

  She babbles into the gag.

  “You and your fuck-me eyes, you’re ruining my future.” I pummel her ass. Mastering her is the shit. She squeals and tries to struggle, and that just makes it better.

  “From now on,” I pant, “you’ll keep your mouth shut unless you’re sucking my dick. Got that?”

  Her shoulders shake. She makes an inarticulate sound that could be a yes, and she bobs her head. I shove her face down into the pillows.

  Christ, she’s tight. She’s so sweet, so innocent, and degrading her this way gives me a high like nothing else. I could fuck her all night.

  My balls slap against her ass, and the tension builds. Her tits sway with each of my thrusts, and I reach around and clutch them. I clamp down on her nipples and twist, and I’m rewarded by her yelp of pain.

  “Yeah.” God, she feels good. So good.

  I pound her hard until my balls tighten. I’m seconds away.

  “That’s it, bitch! Take it!” I shoot my load.

  Only when I catch my breath do I remove the gag. The vacant look on her face gives me a twinge. I lick her pussy anyway. “Tell me you love me.”

  Her breath hitches. “I love you.”

  “Now tell me you’re sorry.”

  “I’m sorry.” She’s crying. Damn, but I could screw her all over again.

  I square my shoulders and look down my nose at her. “Now thank me.”

  She wrinkles her brow.

  I’m a rude bastard, I know. I nudge her with a knee. “You know what for.”

  She opens her mouth twice before she gets the words out.

  “Thank you.”

  That lost, hurt look on her face. I feel like a prick, and I hate her for that.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Amelia

  He’s in the bathroom washing up. My muscles are too weak to support me, and I lie on the bed where he left me. My lungs constrict, making it difficult to breathe. Charlie’s still hiding under the bed, and I can’t help thinking it’s better that way. It’s not just the pain that leaves me shaking. I’m shocked. Somehow despite everything I still thought of him as my soldier, and I thought I was still his little dancer. Call me stupid. The han
dcuffs and the gag aside, it never really hit home that I was his slave. I’m a thousand pieces of shattered concrete.

  He pauses in the doorway. “What are you doing? I untied you.”

  I bite my lips. I have nothing to say.

  “Jesus Christ. So I fucked you in the ass. Stop sulking.”

  This gets my blood going, and I sit up. “Why are you blaming me?”

  “Shut up.”

  “I’ve done everything you asked.”

  “Leave it, will you? I don’t want to talk about it.”

  I pull the sheet up over my chest. “I know you saved my life and I’m grateful you got Charlie for me, but I didn’t sign up for this. If I’m doing something wrong, then you have to show me what.”

  “You don’t know when to shut up, do you?” he demands, moving into the room.

  “I said I’d do whatever you wanted and I will, but if you ever expect me to say I love you and actually mean it, don’t blame me when you get in trouble for what you do.”

  He sneers. “I don’t expect you to understand. You’re just some ignorant girl from the gutter. Your kind could never understand ambition. This isn’t enough for me. I need more than a shitty job as a security guard.”

  Ignorant girl from the gutter. I feel as though I’ve been slapped, and the blood leeches from my face.

  “My kind, huh? I guess you’re right. I never did finish seventh grade, and the only real goal I’ve ever had is to stay alive. I don’t know a thing about how your world works. Heck, I don’t even know what year it is.”

  He raises his brows and grunts.

  “Maybe you should throw me back in my gutter and get on with your life.”

  He rolls his eyes. “You can’t go back. Your place is on our grid. We’re hitting it sometime this week.”

  My little home. My safe little haven where Charlie and I nestled together. Gone. He’s looking at me like I should be glad. I’ve been lying to myself thinking I’m safe with this man. He will never protect me. He won’t even tell me his name. “Okay.”

  “Okay what?”

  “If you find me some shoes and clothes, I can be outside of Charlotte in a day. Two at the most.”

  He snaps his head up and glares at me. “You’re not going anywhere.”