by J. E. Parker
“Jesus, Brantley,” I whispered, transfixed by the sight. “That can’t be normal.”
He smiled as he ran the tips of his fingers along the sides of my breasts, over my soft belly, and down the outsides of my thighs. “Maybe not, but you better get used to it, bella dama, because it’s the only cock you’ll ever see, touch, taste, or feel again.”
His possessiveness rolled over me in waves.
Considering my past, I should’ve been scared, terrified even, at such a declaration, but I wasn’t.
Not even close.
This is Brantley, I thought. This is different.
Beside the bed, he dropped to his knees.
His breath ghosted over my sex and my thighs quivered in response.
“Tell me you’re mine, Clara,” he whispered before pressing a soft kiss to the inside of my knee. “Tell me I get to keep you, baby.” When I didn’t respond right away, he continued. “Say it.”
His words were forceful yet lacking malice.
“I’m yours,” I replied, pushing to my elbows. “Always.”
His hands flew to my center, his thumbs spread my bare lips. “Fuck yes you are”—he stared down at my glistening flesh—“and I won’t let you forget it either.”
Before I could take a single breath, his head dipped down, and his tongue met my clit.
My head flew back, my neck arched, and I screamed. Loud.
“Brantley,” I cried, my hips flying off the bed.
Holding my hips still with his muscular forearms, he ate at my flesh like a starved animal.
Biting, licking, sucking, nipping.
Just… Oh. My God!
Brantley hummed against my flesh, and the ball of weight that had formed in the pit of my belly grew. It consumed me, rendering me speechless. Thrashing my head back and forth, I clutched the bedspread with my fingers and sunk my teeth into my bottom lip so hard I expected to taste blood.
Luckily, I didn’t.
Sliding his forearms up my belly, Brantley pinched my nipples between his fingers as he speared his tongue inside me, giving me a taste of pleasure I’d never felt before.
My mouth fell open as my hands flew to his head where I slipped my fingers in his silky strands and tugged. Hard.
Brantley grunted, but he didn’t jerk away nor tell me stop.
He pressed his thick tongue against me harder, lapping at the small button of nerves that would send me hurdling headfirst into an explosive orgasm that would tear me apart from the inside out.
“Brantley,” I choked out. “Baby, I’m going to—”
The words died on the end of my tongue as my entire body tensed and the weighted ball in my belly exploded. My back bowed, and my thighs slammed shut, holding him in place. His arms curled around my outer thighs and his muscles flexed against the smoothness of my skin.
Bright lights flashed behind my closed eyelids and I screamed.
Loud.
Pleasure, white-hot and blinding consumed every inch of me as wave after wave crashed over me, zapping me of my energy and leaving me boneless. Aftershocks slithered through my nerves as I relaxed into the mattress, fighting to catch my breath and recover.
Brantley, however, wasn’t having it.
Snaking one arm under my hips and the other behind my shoulders, he lifted me from the edge of the bed, and placed me on the center of the mattress. His big body hovered over mine as his huge cock jutted out, the head red and angry looking. White beads decorated the tip and my mouth watered to taste it…
… to taste him.
Brantley must’ve read the thoughts running through my mind because a second later, he shook his head. “Not today, bella dama. You want to suck my dick, you can get on your knees any time you want, but right now I want to feel your tight little pussy wrapped around me.”
The filthy words that spilled from his lips made my thighs clench.
Sliding my hand between our bodies, I wrapped my fingers around his cock, and slid my palm up and down his impressive length. “Then quit talking and fuck me,” I replied, surprising myself. “If you want to be inside of me so bad, Pretty Boy, what are you waiting for?”
It wasn’t a question. It was a challenge.
A challenge that Brantley answered.
Grasping my wrist, he ripped my hand from his cock, sat back on his knees, and placed his trembling hand on my hips. Then he pulled me toward him, resting my butt on his muscular thighs. Releasing my hips, he fisted his cock, lifted up the slightest bit, and ran the mushroomed crown through my slickness.
Stopping at my entrance, he looked up at me. “Do you want this, Clara?” He didn’t give me a chance to reply before continuing, “Do you want me balls deep inside you, baby?”
Lips parted, I nodded.
“Say it,” he demanded. “Say it’s okay for me to take you.”
Eyes locked on his, I replied, “Take me, Brantley. I’m yours. Always.”
He didn’t wait another second.
Without hesitating, he slammed inside me.
Rough. Hard. Unapologetic.
My breasts bounced, my legs tightened, and my mouth fell open as I watched Brantley’s entire torso tense each time he thrust deep, pushing me higher and higher toward the bliss I craved.
Digging my nails into his forearms, I held on tight as he slammed into me, his heavy balls slapping against my ass with each violent thrust. Needing to see what he was doing to me, I forced my eyes to remain open and lifted my head. When I looked down to the place where he was driving in and out of me, sweat dripping from his brow and down his chest, my insides clenched.
I’d never seen anything more magnificent in my life.
But wait…
Shit!
“Brantley!” I shrieked, drawing his attention. Gaze flitting to mine, he kept slamming himself inside me. I screamed when he tapped my G-spot, making my entire body jolt. “C-condom,” I half stuttered, half moaned.
His jaw ticked.
Still, he kept fucking me as he rolled his hips, hitting where I need him to.
My brain short-circuited, and I lost the ability to argue.
“I like you bare,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Feeling your skin on mine… I‘m fucking ruined, Firecracker. I’ve never…”
Lifting my hips a little higher, he sank deeper.
Rapidly reaching the point of not being able to speak at all, I said one word that I thought would get through to him for obvious reasons. “Pregnant…”
My pleasure grew, the weight built.
Brantley’s face twisted in an emotion I couldn’t read. “You’re not on birth control?”
I jerked my head left, then right. “No.”
Again, he rolled his hips and my body tensed.
Building, building, building…
Leaning forward, he slipped an arm under my lower back, and another under my shoulders. My back left the bed and suddenly we were face-to-face, him holding me tight, and me still impaled on his cock.
I whimpered as he swiveled his hips, stretching me. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked. “All you have to say is the words and I’ll pull out.”
Did I want him to stop?
It was a question I should’ve had an answer to, but I discovered I didn’t.
He slowed his pace, allowing some of the fog that clouded my brain to disappear.
My arms circled his neck and I leaned forward, pressing my chest to his as he continued to slide in and out of me—slowly, softly, passionately. “I’ll”—I gasped for breath—“get”—another gasp—“pregnant.”
“I”—thrust—“don’t”—thrust—“care.”
It was wrong, so dang wrong, but my sex clenched at his words.
Brantley’s eyes widened.
His chest swelled.
“Oh fuck me,” he groaned. “You like the idea of me giving you my baby, don’t you, bella dama?”
I couldn’t answer him.
“Clara, answer me.” Slipping a hand into my hair, he tu
gged, forcing my gaze to meet his. Face twisted in pleasure, he rested his soft lips against mine. “Baby, I’m moments away from coming in your tight, unprotected pussy. If you want me to stop, say it now. If not, then you’re about to get a fuckload of me inside you.”
Tightening my arms around his neck, I panted.
“Tell me, Clara,” he demanded, shoving his hips into me harder. “Tell me you want it…”
“I—” I can’t think!
Snaking a hand between us, Brantley pressed a lone finger to my clit, caressing my nub. His touch was gentle, yet it made fire roar to life inside me. I was only seconds away from flying apart…
“Say it,” he demanded again. “Just tell me what you want!”
Thrashing my head back and forth, I cried out as my orgasm took hold. “Brantley!”
His finger moved faster, his hips pumped harder.
“Come on, bella dama, I need to know what—”
Screw it, I thought.
“Come in me!” I yelled, not giving a dang anymore.
Brantley became unhinged.
In one flawless move, he lifted me off his lap, tossed me to my back on the bed, climbed on top of me, hooked my legs over his hips, and drove his thick cock deep. When his finger found my clit again that was it for me.
I exploded.
Screaming. Jerking. Coming.
Brantley rode me through my orgasm, giving me everything he had to give. “Clara!’ he shouted, “baby…”
His hips jerked erratically, his thrusts grew sloppy, and his cock swelled. Burying himself as deep as he could, he gripped my outer thighs and squeezed hard. Head tossed back in pleasure, face tilted to the ceiling, he roared like an animal as he emptied himself inside me, bathing me with his wet heat.
Zapped of energy, I closed my eyes and melted into the bed.
Brantley’s weight covered me, comforting me.
“That was—” he started.
I held my breath as I waited for him to say what we’d just done was a mistake.
That having sex without a condom, that coming in me were both big mistakes.
His ex-wife had gotten pregnant on purpose, what if he thought… Crap!
“—perfect.”
I smiled as my pounding heart calmed. “You know what we just did, right?”
Pushing to his elbows, Brantley looked down at me. “Yeah, gorgeous, I do.” He slid a knuckle down the side of my face, making my toes curl. I loved when he touched me so sweetly. “I may have just given you a huge part of me.”
A lump formed in my throat.
“Seems fitting since I already gave you a huge piece of me.”
Brantley’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
I cupped his cheeks. “My heart, Brantley. I gave you my heart.”
Smiling, he ran the tip of his nose down the sensitive column of my throat. “And I’m keeping it, bella dama,” he whispered in reply. “Always.”
Clara
A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER
I woke up screaming.
Above me, a shadow loomed, its blackened hands wrapped around my neck.
Panic overwhelmed my system as fear assailed me.
Scared out of mind, I twisted from side-to-side, and clawed at the blackness that gripped my throat, cutting off my oxygen, and squeezing the life out of me.
My fingers met no resistance.
My hands found no purchase.
A familiar chuckle—one which was cold and sinister—filled the darkened room and echoed through my mind, shaking me to the core.
I recognized who it belonged to immediately.
Colin…
My heart clenched, terror sliced through me like a surgical scalpel. Sharp and precise, it carved away the layers of confidence and happiness I’d worked so hard to build, destroying them one-by-one.
The strength I’d fought to obtain disappeared.
In its place weakness seeped in.
The shadow’s hold tightened as the metallic smell of blood, and stench of Irish Whiskey assaulted me, propelling me straight back to a place I swore I’d never return to. The sound of terrified shrieks echoed off the walls as Polaroid-like snaps of the hell I’d suffered flashed before my eyes.
The beatings.
The rapes.
The chain.
The darkness.
Picture after picture, it all came rushing back.
My agonized begging.
Liam’s panicked screams.
Declan’s fearful cries.
Colin’s threatening words…
… I’ll never let you go. If you run, I’ll kill you.
My stomach twisted, my skin burned, my bones ached.
Fight him! The voice in my head shouted. Fight!
I kicked at the shadow with my legs, slapped at it with my hands.
Heart-hammering, I arched my neck and fought back with everything I had.
But like always, my everything wasn’t enough.
Even in death, my dead husband was strong, his hold unyielding.
I can’t breathe, I thought. I can’t—
My thoughts dissipated as a pair of hands stronger than those of the shadow gripped my shoulders. “Clara,” a second familiar voice screamed. “Come back to me!”
Brantley…
“It’s just a dream, Firecracker,” he continued, sounding panicked. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt you. Not anymore, baby.”
The hold on my neck disappeared.
The shadow hovering above me began to recede.
In its place, Brantley appeared.
His warmth, followed by his strength bled into me, giving me courage.
“Breathe, Clara,” he demanded.
Latching onto his presence with both hands, I took a deep breath.
“Good girl,” he praised. “Now take another one.”
I did as he said.
Breathe… Just breathe.
The shadow dissipated. The foreboding presence surrounding me vanished.
“Brantley,” I whispered as tears filled my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. “I…”
Brantley blew out a breath as he stood from the bed where he hovered over me and scooped me up into his muscular arms. Cradling me like a baby, he held me tight. “Don’t talk, bella dama,” he whispered, his voice shaky. “Just breathe, baby. I have you.”
But I couldn’t breathe. Not freely.
And I wouldn’t be able to until he knew the truth.
The whole truth.
“I can still feel it,” I whispered, my heart heavy with grief.
Brantley held me tighter. “Feel what?”
Shame swept through me.
He’ll never look at me the same again…
“The c-chain holding me in place,” I stuttered. “The blackness surrounding m-me.”
Brantley’s entire body stilled. “Tell me, Clara.”
I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck.
Then, I took a steadying breath.
“The darkness was my punishment,” I explained. “The daily abuse, the rapes… those were only about Colin’s need to overpower and humiliate me.” I paused, taking another breath. “But the darkness was where he took me when he wanted to hurt me... When he wanted to break me.”
Brantley’s lips touched my temple. “I’m right here, bella dama.”
My eyes slid closed. “I swear I fought him every time…” My voice trailed off. “But he was so strong. He’d laugh as he dragged me down the basement steps and into the blackness that awaited us. At the bottom of the stairs, he would drop me to the concrete and drag me into the corner.”
Stomach twisting, I felt like puking.
Still, I kept going.
“He would wrap the chain around my wrist and secure it with a heavy lock.”
In my head I could still hear the lock clicking into place. It would haunt me until the day I died.
“What did he do, Clara?” Brantley asked, nuzzling the c
rown of my head. “Let it out, Firecracker.”
“He did the same thing as he always did. He hurt me. Only difference was, the pain didn’t stop when I was in the blackness.” My stomach continued to roll and twist. “When he was done hitting me or violating me, he would leave me alone in the silence. It was so dark, I couldn’t see even when my eyes adjusted.” Another pause. “But I could hear. I heard everything.”
“What did you hear?”
“My boys,” I said around a sob. “They were just babies, and I could hear them crying for me. Declan would scream so l-loud.” So much shame, so much disgust. I hated myself so much. “Colin never hit them, but he wouldn’t feed them, wouldn’t take care of them. If it hadn’t been for Liam, if he hadn’t been so damn strong…”
… They would have died.
“I broke my wrist trying to get to them, and I clawed at my skin each time, making it bleed because I thought the blood would help me slip free. But it never helped. The chain was too tight.”
Brantley’s heavy breathing filled the room.
His anger was palpable, his fury unmistakable.
As messed up as it may sound, his rage comforted me.
He’s angry because he cares…
“That’s how he broke you?” Brantley asked, his chest heaving. “By making you listen as the boys screamed for you, knowing you couldn’t get to them?”
I nodded against him. “All I ever wanted was to be a good mother, but I failed. I couldn’t even protect them. I was weak, and I—”
I snapped my mouth shut when we suddenly crossed the room.
Readjusting me in his arms, Brantley sat me atop his dresser.
Hands gripping my hips, he looked me in the eyes. “You are not a failure, Clara. Do you fucking understand me?”
I shook my head. “I am. I stayed for so long. I let my fear trap me, and because of that my sons suffered.” Unable to look at him any longer, I dropped my head as sob after sob jerked my entire body. Mania set in and every ugly truth I’d kept hidden from everyone—even Hope—bubbled to the surface. “I don’t deserve my boys.” The words tasted like acid on my tongue. “Just like I don’t deserve Bella, and I don’t deserve you.”
Brantley’s hands on my hips tightened. “Clara, goddamn it—” he started.
“I deserved to die,” I interrupted. “For not protecting them, for not saving myself, for giving up so damn easy… I should have died in that basement!”
