And now, in my burst of righteous fury, I can kind of understand where Hunter is coming from. His crusade to rid the world of evil bit by bit makes sense to me, even if I can’t quite condone it. I understand it. I just can’t abide it.
Or can I? Is life more complicated than I was taught? Are there infinite shades of gray between the stark black and white? Are the rules of society arbitrary or bendable in the face of such unfiltered, unabashed evil?
Either way, I’m too tired to come up with a sufficient answer right now. Soon, we cross over into Albany’s city limits, and I sigh with relief. This city isn’t perfect, but at least it’s familiar. Plus, it’s where my bed lives. And right now, I am desperate for a lie-down. As I weave the car in and out of the usual early evening traffic, I glance back to see that now Sage is resting, too. That puts a smile on my face. We’re almost home, though, so she won’t get much of a nap. Soon, we pull into the parking lot of our apartment complex, and while I’m backing into my usual parking space, I have to squint at a strangely familiar figure leaning against the outside of the building. It’s not a masculine shape but a feminine one, small and slender. Skinny, with pointy elbows and a rather pinched expression.
Samantha, the homeless girl I talk to on my work breaks. I’ve given her my address multiple times to impress upon her that I have a couch she can crash on if need be, but she’s never taken me up on it. As I wake Sage and take Flora out of her booster seat, Samantha starts slowly sauntering over, casting furtive glances in each direction. As though she’s worried we might be watched. Sage yawns and gets out of the car, giving the homeless girl a nod.
“Hey Sam,” I greet her warily. “What’s going on? You look spooked.”
She starts to ramble in a low, worried voice, “Sorry for showing up like this, but uh...I just wanted to warn you about something that happened earlier. At first, I wasn’t going to, because it’s probably just some guy being weird for no reason, and I didn’t want to freak you out unnecessarily, but--”
“Dude. What’s going on? Just spit it out,” Sage says, walking over to put a hand on her shoulder. Although they’ve only met a couple times (Sage also comes by on my break sometimes to say hi), I think Sage sees kind of a kindred spirit in Sam. They’re both young, fiercely independent, and have some admittedly rough edges to them-- Sam more so than Sage, but the similarities are apparent.
“So, earlier I came over here because I was already in the neighborhood and I wanted to drop in, maybe say hi or something. I realized you weren’t home, so after I waited a while, I decided to leave,” Sam explains nervously. “But as I was about to head out, this man stopped me to ask me questions.”
I frown at her. “What kinds of questions?”
Samantha’s eyes flit back and forth between us, and I can tell she’s afraid to tell us. Just then, Hunter’s vehicle pulls up just a few spaces away and he gets out, walking over with a dubious look on his face. Sam is startled when he shows up, but I put a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s okay. He’s with me,” I assure her.
“What’s going on?” Hunter asks.
Sage steps in to get him up to speed. “Sam here says that there was some guy hanging around earlier asking questions.”
“Like what?” he growls, automatically on edge.
“Questions about...about Flora,” Samantha says quietly, looking at me with wide eyes. My heart sinks and I can taste bile in my mouth again.
“What did he want to know?” Hunter demands, crossing his arms over his chest.
She takes a deep breath and answers, “He asked if Flora was home. I said no. So he asked when I thought she’d get home. I told him I had no idea. So then he told me that he’s--he’s Flora’s father, and he wants to reconnect. But, like, he’s super old, so I don’t see how--”
“What?!” Sage, Hunter, and I all burst out at once.
“Her father?” Hunter hisses, anger flashing in his dark eyes.
“I know, I know. Obviously he was lying,” Samantha says, rolling her eyes. “And don’t worry, I didn’t tell him a damn thing about Flora.”
“What did he look like?” asks Sage.
Sam squints and chews on it for a moment, thinking. Then she says, “Old. Kind of big and burly. Like, stocky. He reminded me of a biker guy or, like, I don’t know. A pirate.”
“A pirate?” I repeat dubiously.
She sighs. “Yeah. Because he had this big tattoo on his arm.”
“Was it an anchor?” asks Sage, half-joking. A flicker of a smile crosses Sam’s face.
“No. It was a bird,” she says.
Suddenly, Flora speaks up in her sweet voice and says, “That’s the man who took me at the store, Mommy.”
My stomach is twisting into nervous knots. Everyone focuses on Flora. “Sweetheart, are you sure? Did he tell you he was your--your father?” I ask her.
She shakes her head sleepily. “No. He didn’t say nothing. He just grab me. I saw a birdie on his big arm when he carried me, Auntie Sage,” she says. Sage looks up at me, horrified.
“Wait, someone took her? What?” Sam splutters, looking shocked.
“Long story,” I murmur, too distracted by this new information. “Did he say anything else to you before he left, Samantha?”
It’s like a lightbulb goes off in her head and her eyes widen. “Oh my god. Yes. He did. How could I forget the creepiest part?” she gasps.
“Well, shit,” swears Sage. “What is it?”
Sam looks at me with an expression of pure apology and says softly, “He mentioned that he likes the new paint in Flora’s bedroom.”
For a moment, I’m so startled that I see black spots crowding my vision, like I might just pass out from the shock and horror. “Holy god,” Sage murmurs. “That must mean the guy has been inside the apartment. And recently, too. They’ve been painting the apartment over the weekend, so he must have gotten inside sometime from Friday and today.”
“Is that how he knew how to find her?” I ask to no one in particular. Tears burn in my eyes as I turn to look at Hunter. He looks serious as a heart attack. He puts an arm around me and one around Sage protectively.
“Thanks for the heads up,” Hunter tells Samantha.
“Don’t mention it. I’m sorry to be the bearer of fucked-up news,” she replies.
“Do you want to come in?” I ask her, worried. I hate the idea of her being on the streets, especially with some Flora-obsessed weirdo stalking around.
But just like every time I offer her help, she shrugs it off. “Nah. I’m good. Thank you, though. I’m gonna get going. Good night, guys. And...be careful,” she says over her shoulder to us as she walks away.
Hunter starts guiding us toward the apartment building entrance, still glowering.
“Oh, we’ll be careful, alright,” he growls. “I won’t let that man get anywhere near you. Not again. Not if I have anything to do with it.”
Hunter
Blossom looks like she’s walking through a dream as we make our way to the bedroom that night. As soon as I close the door behind us, she sits down on the bed and buries her face in her hands, and her whole body shakes as she tries not to cry. It’s been a tense hour or so since getting inside.
Sage was just as alert to what’s going on as Blossom and I, so she didn’t waste any time hurrying to whip up a quick but filling pasta dinner for all of us to keep the girls distracted. We spent the time letting Flora show us around the apartment while Sage cooked, and Sage offered to take care of Flora’s bedtime routine while Blossom got some rest.
I had to admit, she was in the running for the Sister of the Year award.
“Hey,” I say, sitting down next to Blossom and gently snapping her out of her trance. She looks up at me as if she isn’t even sure I’m here. I take her hand and squeeze it softly. “We’re going to be alright. We’re going to keep Flora safe.”
“No child should have to go through this,” she says, sniffling. I nod, closing my eyes and frowning.
“I didn’t say I want you to go,” she says in a quiet but firm voice. I pause, surprised. “Yesterday, everything in my life made sense. Now, I’m between a rock and a hard place. I don’t even know if I know the real you. I’ve spent so many years studying people who live these secret lives, and I never thought one could be so close to me. That’s what they all say, though,” she adds bitterly, shaking her head.
“Do you think I’m like them?” I ask her simply, no anger in my voice.
She’s silent for a few long moments.
“I want to say no,” she says at last. “I want to trust my gut and think I know the real you, Hunter. I want that so fucking bad. Do you have any idea how hard that is, after everything I’ve been through?”
“I can never live your life, no,” I say, and I take her hands in mine. “But I know that I need to make myself better for you. I never knew I was going to see you again, much less that I’m...a father,” I finish, still not used to that word on my lips. “I want to make myself better for you. For Flora. Whatever that means. And I need you for that.”
“And I need you,” she says. “I don’t know who this bastard is who’s coming after Flora or why...but that’s not the only reason I want you here.” She bites her lip, and she couldn’t look more beautiful in the dim lamp light of her room. “You were right, what you said at the cabin. We need to finish what we started. I’m afraid of all this, of everything we have, but I don’t want you to go away. I’ve never felt this way in my life, and I have no fucking idea what to do with it all.”
“Good,” I growl, leaning in, “then we’re on the same page.”
I lean in and press a kiss to her lips. I feel just a second of debate in the tension of her body before she melts into it, and our hands slide around each other almost at the same time. I feel her hands run along my strong, hardened abdominal muscles, feeling up every inch of my body and tracing around the lines of definition I’ve worked so hard to perfect over the years. I’ve turned my body into the perfect killing machine, and knowing that she gets to enjoy that brings me more joy than any workout could. Our lips press against each other fiercely, and I invade her mouth with my tongue. It slips past her teeth and brushes against her warm, wet tongue, and I push my body forward to gently move her back down onto the bed.
I start stripping clothes off. First her, then me. We don’t let ourselves break away from each other, grinding and groping, and I soon feel my manhood as hard as a rock between my legs. I squeeze her bare ass as soon as I expose it, then work the rest of her clothes off before she starts pulling at mine, urging me to do the same. Within a minute, all our clothes are in a useless pile on the floor. The moment I’m naked with her in the privacy of her room, our motions spill into primal, aggressive desire.
My hands slide up and down her sides as I straddle her, a knee on each side, and I bend over her to kiss her neck. My lips brush up and down the sensitive skin, and she squirms, feeling it tickle her. Seeing a smile on her face makes me happy, and I keep going, letting my teeth nip her and threaten the soft skin between sharp edges. Meanwhile, my hands move up to her breasts, and I squeeze her.
Her nipples are getting stiff, and my thumbs are only teasing them harder. The give her breasts offer me is irresistible. I cup them in my hands and feel their shape as we push our hips together, teasing one another as our legs slide lazily against the clean, fresh sheets. I hear her whimper as I start circling my thumbs around her areolas, and she pushes her chest up for more.
We know who we are in these moments together. We’re two lovers who were torn apart, and now that we’re back together again, we couldn’t leave each other if we wanted to. Our lives have grown so far apart, and yet they’ve come so close. It’s a hot mess of desire, and knowing Blossom like I do, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I move to the side and slide my arm under her from behind, pressing my cock against her taut ass so that it sticks up, its soft underside grinding against her cheeks while both my arms wrap around her front. My left hand goes to one of her breasts, where I start gently pinching and teasing the now-stiff nipple. My right hand slides down to her pussy.
She’s already wet, and that makes me smile. The adrenaline earlier is a high unlike any other, even if the circumstances are horrific. That energy has to go somewhere, and that’s part of what’s fueling us right now. We know that we might not live to see tomorrow, and that’s partly terrifying, but it’s also thrilling beyond anything I hoped to feel in these long, lonely five years away from the love of my life.
Can I even call her that?
I don’t know, but right now, that’s what’s burning in my mind. Love.
I push my hips back and forth, grinding my shaft between her asscheeks while my thick fingers find her little swollen clit, and as soon as it touches it, she gasps, clenching her ass and shuddering as if touched by fire. Her nipple stiffens even harder, and I smile, brushing the short hairs of my beard against her neck before I start peppering her with kisses. I move my hand in little circles around her clit, not wanting to deny my Blossom anything.
I’ve never felt closer to a person than right now.
There’s something about lying in bed on our sides, letting my hands roam her and grope her freely, nothing occupying our thoughts right now than pure desire. It puts me at ease, fools me into thinking for just a moment that we have this life together, that there’s nothing to worry about. No threats, no problems, no death, just us. That fantasy is a hot fire under us.
Her whimpering voice is music to my ears as I touch her, getting faster and more steady as I find the perfect rhythm for her. Her body tells me when to go faster and when to be firmer or gentler. I listen to it as if I was made to. If my body can’t please her exactly like she needs, what’s the point of honing it in the first place?
She starts to breathe more heavily, chest rising and falling while I toy with her breast, so I hug her tighter to me. My cock throbs against her, eager to enter something, but I’m not going to indulge it until I feel her come. My rhythm is relentless and steady, so much so that it makes her squirm and whimper as I drive her further and further.
Finally, her mouth falls open, and I feel her whole body pulse as her first orgasm hits her, a wave of release spreading out from her clit to the rest of her body. I can feel it in the smooth cheeks pressed against my cock, and it’s such a satisfying experience that even I can share in it.
She has hardly stopped shuddering in delight when I pull myself away from her. I lean against the headboard, sitting up, and she turns to look at me with lidded yet curious eyes. I grab her by the hips and help her up onto me, spreading out my thighs so that she has a firm seat to get steady on, facing away from me. She realizes what I’m doing and quickly helps get into position.
The sight of Blossom’s ass in front of me, my stiff, girthy cock poised right at the swollen lips of her pussy, is alone almost enough to break me. She’s the most beautiful woman in the world, and I’ve got her here in my lap to do whatever I want with her.
That makes it all the more satisfying when I slowly slide her onto my cock. The gasp of pure delight she gives as her warm lips move down the bulging crown to the vein-ribbed shaft to the very base of my cock is exquisite. Finally, she comes to a rest on me, letting her head fall back, golden hair teasing me. I chuckle and reach up to take hold of it, gently pulling her hair back, and she seems to like that. A lot.
We don’t even talk. I don’t know if we could focus our minds that much if we wanted to. The only thing I can think about right now is raw, primal rutting, and the way she’s acting, I think she has the same idea.
&nb
sp; She puts her hands down in front of her and starts to work her hips up and down in time with my gentle thrusts upward. I don’t want to hurt her, but I remind myself that this is Blossom. She has a taste for getting rough, and I like that. I start getting more aggressive with how I thrust up into her, reaching around her soft hips and squeezing her in place. She helps me move back and forth, but even from below, I’m in complete control. If I want her to go faster, I start using my powerful, defined forearms to make that happen.
Each time she slides up and down, I see my cock, bulging with desire under her perfect ass and thighs. Soon, I can’t stand not being able to touch her breasts, as much as I love her hips. I slide my hands up, releasing her hair so I can hold both breasts. I push myself up higher so that she sits more easily on my cock, and she slides her hands back to feel the thick, defined V of my hips and move herself up and down while I grope her.
“Fuck,” is all she can breathe out desperately as I pound into her, squeezing her breasts and tormenting her nipples. I feel her starting to get tighter around me, clenching her pussy as tension starts to swell up like a string in need of getting plucked. I get fiercer, thrusting up into her relentlessly, pistoning up and down and moving my hands back down to her hips. I squeeze her, making her feel like she has no escape from me, no rest from my endless lust. I’m going to make her feel satisfied in the hands of a killer.
Soon, she can’t even control her own body, and I feel like she’s entirely mine to fuck as hard as I like-- and that’s exactly what I do. I feel her start to quiver in my grasp as she gets closer and closer. Her mouth is frozen open, and she arches her back as my cock grinds against her g-spot and breaks the tension holding her back.
She comes so hard that her body feels like it melts against me. I clap a hand around her mouth to keep the sound of her groan from traveling too far, and the restraint seems to make her orgasm even more intense. I feel her pulsing all around me, slick honey surrounding my cock as I glide in and out of her with expert precision. I don’t let up or lose control for a second. The body tries to squirm away from sensations like this, but I make her confront those ecstatic feelings as her body convulses on my cock.
Hunter’s Baby Page 12
