Stories by Kiera Dellacroix

by Dellacroix, Kiera

  "I bought him a bunch of crap earlier. It's in the trunk."

  "Goody."

  "Did you want to stop at your place for clothes or anything?"

  "Nah, I'll just go commando."

  I smiled.

  "Or I'll wear something of yours."

  My smile faded. "I'd rather you went commando."

  "I'll think about it. Maybe if you joined me."

  "Okay!"

  She snickered. "What happened to the Maddie that was all bashful about posing for me?"

  "That Maddie was a skid mark."

  "Meow."

  "You did that on purpose!" she accused, slapping me on the arm.

  "I think that's so funny," I chuckled.

  She ignored me and spoke to the cat. "Don't you listen to her."

  "Quit turning him against me."

  "I wouldn't have to if you'd behave."

  "Fine. Do you know how hard it'll be to get him to respond to another name?"

  "I don't care."

  "What do you want to call him then?"

  "Haven't decided," she said haughtily.

  "Do I get a say in it?"

  "No."

  "Well gee, lemme know what you decide."

  "I'll put it in writing."

  I chuckled and pulled off the street to park.

  "Can I have the keys and I'll take him upstairs?"

  "Sure," I replied, turning off the car and handing them to her.

  I got out and filled my arms with grocery bags before following her up the stairs. When we got inside, she immediately ran over and set the cat on the couch, plopping down beside him. I dumped my burden on the kitchen counter and stared at her. Apparently, she had no intention of getting up to help me carry the rest of the crap inside. Muttering under my breath, I ended up making three trips up and down the stairs while she relaxed with Skid mark.

  She finally rose when I kicked the door closed and hurried over to look at what I had brought in. I stood there and watched as she took all of the kitty toys out of the bags and returned to the sofa, leaving me to put up all the groceries.

  As I went about my chores, I wondered if this what guys felt like. Dutifully taking care of everything in the vain hope that when they were finally finished, they might get to storm the castle.

  "What do you want for dinner?" I asked grumpily as I put the last of the groceries away.

  "Frozen pizza is okay with me."

  I suppressed a groan, rolled my eyes, and turned on the oven.

  "Want something to drink?"

  "Did you buy any pop?"

  "Pepsi."

  "That's fine."

  I dug a can out of the fridge, delivered it, and returned to toil over dinner. The oven took a while to heat up, and I didn't want to go in the other room just to be ignored so I whipped out my smokes and loitered.

  Sudden sounds from the stereo sparked my memory and I spun around. I couldn't help but wonder what possessed her to play that particular track and I brought a hand up to cover my mouth. She jumped to her feet and started warbling along with the music. I started to laugh.

  Years ago, Sophie and I had been sitting around chattering and playing some of Joey's old records. We found most of them to be pretty awful and decided to go through them all to choose which one was the worst. We were gagging over the current selection when Gus and Joey burst into the room singing along with the music at the top of their lungs.

  "Let the sunshine! Let the sunshine in! The sunshine in!"

  We stared at our respective father figures in complete astonishment as they cavorted around performing the dumbest, corniest dance moves we'd ever seen. Neither of them could hold a tune to save their lives and we quickly melted into helpless giggles. A new voice joined the chorus and our jaws dropped to the floor as Carla glided in waving her arms over her head. The lady could sing and she belted out the words with an infectious passion. Before we knew it, we were careening around the room with them and crooning along excitedly.

  "Let the sunshine! Let the sunshine in! The sunshine in!"

  We were both sorry when the song ended.

  "What's the matter, Maddie?" Anabel asked and I blinked to find her standing in front of me.

  I wiped at my eyes and gave her a smile. "Just memories."

  "Good ones I hope?"

  I smiled. "Yeah. The song reminded me."

  "Wanna share?"

  I nodded and told her the story, charmed as she began to laugh.

  "You know, I was wondering why someone your age would have a hippy CD."

  "Just sentimental I guess."

  She pecked me on the cheek. "You're a soft touch, Maddie."

  "I am not."

  She shrugged. "Did you hear that?"

  My brows knit. "I just hear the stereo."

  "You didn't hear my stomach rumble?"

  I sighed. "I get the hint."

  "Good," she said, giving me a poke and spinning to meander into my bedroom.

  I narrowed my eyes as the cat followed after her enthusiastically. The traitor had already chosen sides. I threw the pizzas in the oven and slammed the door.

  Seething, I kept an eye out for their return and sure enough, the cat trailed her back into the living room. However, my ire ebbed away when I noticed Anabel wearing nothing but one of my T-shirts. I watched her approach in growing arousal.

  "I'll finish up. Go change, Maddie."

  I smiled and hurried out of the kitchen, but I paused and turned to look over my shoulder at the cat.

  "Here, kitty," I called, hoping he'd follow me.

  He cocked an ear at me and hopped up on the counter.

  "Here, kitty, kitty."

  He flopped down and began to bathe himself.

  "Come here, Skid mark."

  "Meow," he cried, springing off the counter and running over to me.

  "Maddie!"

  I ignored her, picked up the cat and strolled into the bedroom. He needed to spend some time with his wicked step-mom.

  ----------

  I reemerged fifteen minutes later and bounded over the back of the couch with Skid mark. He didn't appreciate my acrobatics and ran into the kitchen to suck up to Anabel. My eyes followed him unhappily. I had tried to get him to play with me while I got out of my clothes, but the little bastard had just sat in the middle of the bed and stared at me as if I were the dumbest thing he'd ever seen. Ungrateful fucker.

  I started channel surfing, and was still at it when Anabel appeared with the food. She took a seat next to me and I got a glimpse of whisker biscuit as she tucked her legs up under her. I wanted to see more and was disappointed when she got herself situated.

  Still hoping for another peek, I was unprepared for the grab that relieved me of the remote. I bit down on my annoyance as she gave me a look that signified that she was somehow entitled to it.

  "Maddie, is Sarah that girl I met over at Gus's?"

  Uh oh. "Yeah, she runs a shelter on the east side."

  An eyebrow rose. "Really? The one on Foster?"

  "Yeah," I said slowly. "How would you know?"

  She shrugged. "Visited a friend there once."

  I rolled that over a few times as she ran through the channels. "Wait! Go back," I demanded.

  She flipped back a few channels and passed it again. "This?"

  "No, go forward."

  She landed on the right one and I grinned. "This is my favorite show."

  "You're kidding?"

  "No, it's hilarious."

  "I'm not going to watch 'Celebrity Deathmatch'."

  "Have you ever seen it?"

  "No."

  "Then what's the problem?"

  "It's stupid."

  "Uh huh. So who do you think would win between Christian Slater and Robert Downey, Jr.?"

  She started to smile. "Robert Downey."

  "No way! Christian Slater would kick his ass off the planet."

  "Why do you think that?"

  "Downey is a sissy."

  "Sissy's
fight dirty, Maddie."

  I raised an eyebrow. "Good point. Let's watch and see."

  She sighed, but leaned back to watch while she nibbled on her pizza. Within seconds, I was laughing idiotically.

  "This is dumb and it's gross," she announced distastefully.

  "That's why it's funny, Annie," I chuckled. "I suppose you'd rather watch the Disney channel?"

  "Over this, sure."

  "Gimme a break, I've seen you smile a couple of times."

  "You have not."

  "Uh huh."

  "I did…" she broke off and threw her hands in the air victoriously. "Yes! I told you Downey would win!"

  "Huh?" I said, turning to look.

  "He had an industrial meat slicer hidden in his shirt!"

  I started laughing. "You were just protesting because you thought your guy was losing."

  She gave me a coy smile. "Maybe."

  I giggled triumphantly.

  "Are you done eating, Maddie?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "Because I want dessert."

  My eyes widened at her tone. "You're not gonna tackle me are you?"

  She smiled and rose to her feet. "Not this time," she purred, pulling her shirt over her head and dropping it on the sofa. "Join me?" she asked, extending a hand.

  I was on my feet in a nanosecond, taking her hand excitedly. She starting leading me toward the bedroom and I tried, but I couldn't quite keep from prancing as I trailed behind her. It was time to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl!

  IV

  When I opened my eyes in the morning, I found myself face to face with pair of sinister green orbs. They stared at me from extremely close range, inspecting me with an unfathomable expression.

  "What do you want?"

  No answer.

  "Where's your wicked step-mom?"

  "I heard that," Anabel said.

  I was about to roll over, but a body climbed on top of me and made itself comfortable. "Good morning," she whispered in my ear, leaving a kiss behind.

  I purred. "Morning."

  "What ya gonna do today, Maddie?"

  "I gotta run downstate to see a prisoner," I mumbled, enjoying the feel of her body on mine.

  "What for?"

  "Work stuff."

  "Oh. How long will you be gone?"

  "Most of the day I guess, but I'll pack some things unless I have to stay the night."

  "Why would you stay the night?"

  "She may not cooperate or I may want to talk to her again after I've thought about what she had to say."

  "Hmmm. When are you planning on leaving?"

  "It'll take me a couple of hours to get there so maybe after lunch."

  "I'm working the night shift again. I was hoping to spend some time with you today," she grumbled disappointedly.

  "I'm sorry," I said, rolling over in her embrace to find a naked body on top of me. "I can make it up to you."

  "How so?"

  "I can think of something, I'm sure," I rumbled, running my hands teasingly over her back.

  She giggled and buried in her face in the crook of my neck. "Stop."

  I smiled.

  She lifted her head and gave me a sulky look. "I don't want you to go."

  "You don't?"

  "No."

  "How come?"

  "Because I don't want to go home and sit around the house until you come back."

  "You can hang out here if you want."

  "You wouldn't mind?"

  "Nope."

  She grinned. "Wouldn't you be worried that I'd look in your sock drawer?"

  Oh…my…God!! Surely, this is what a massive coronary felt like. I closed my eyes and waited for the comforting arms of Death. What was taking so long? Why wasn't I dying? I was willing to die. Why was he moving in slow motion? Couldn't I be shown just a little mercy? What was the hold up?

  The sounds of out of control laughter slowly penetrated the fog surrounding me and I was dimly aware of her rolling off of me.

  "I…I've never seen… a more complete look of horror…in my whole life," she howled.

  I craned my head to the side and observed as she clamped her hands over her belly and kicked her feet fitfully. I mustered a sigh, disappointedly realizing that God was gonna allow me to live, and thus, endure yet another humiliation. I pulled the sheets over my head and wished that my gun were within reach.

  The laughter finally began to dwindle off and I was subjected to several minutes of heavy breathing as she reclaimed her faculties.

  "Are you finished?" I asked irritably.

  "I think so," she said with a quick snicker.

  I grunted and rolled over to present her with my back.

  "Oh, come on, Maddie," she giggled, giving me a poke.

  "Humph."

  The sheets ruffled behind me and hands tugged on my hips. "Roll over."

  "No."

  "Fine."

  Lips on my waist prompted me to open my eyes and they widened as kisses soon followed. I groaned against my will as they became increasingly intimate, leaving a trail over my hips, lingering over my ass, and then finally reaching their intended destination. I was falling fast.

  "Let me in, Maddie."

  What can I say? I'm weak.

  I rolled over and she immediately positioned herself between my legs. "That's better," she said, her breath so close that it raised gooseflesh in expectation.

  My fingers and toes dug into the mattress as she caressed me and I instantly abandoned any sense of resistance. My legs came up and I held them out of her way, wanting to give her anything she desired.

  She took her time, exploring with a leisure that was both maddening and undeniably electrifying. It was lovingly slow and so sweetly provocative that I was torn between wanting it to last forever and the involuntary demand for immediate release.

  She could sense my state of arousal and withdrew every time I approached the edge, finding a tender interest elsewhere until deciding to return. Her attention was overwhelmingly erotic yet she nimbly avoided concentrating where I increasingly needed her to be. She teased me until I grew frantic and retreated when I began to thrust myself toward her demandingly, her lips gently whispering over my thighs. Desperate, I dropped a hand, but my wrist was seized in denial and resolutely led away.

  I splayed my arms out to the side, clenching the sheets and pulling them free of the mattress in exasperation. I wanted to squeal with frustration, and seeing no sense in denying it, I did. When I was able to stop, I begged.

  "Annie, please!"

  Her hands landed on the back of my thighs with a determined power, forcing them to stay were they were. I knew what it meant, and I groaned loudly with anticipation. Her lips covered me and I threw my head back in liberation, riding the wave overtaking me with a carnal growl that merged into a series of helpless shrieks. It was a journey into insanity and I savored it to the very end.

  When I finally subsided and the world came back into focus, the only thing I was capable of was complete collapse and I lay there pitifully as I caught my breath. If at that moment, a wino had wandered into my bedroom and jumped up on the bed to take a dump, I would've been powerless to assemble a protest.

  Belatedly, I became aware of the light kisses being plastered on my face and neck. I gave her smile that felt an axe handle wide.

  "Wow," I croaked.

  "You liked?"

  I nodded enthusiastically.

  She smiled and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I'll take care of you now, Maddie."

  I didn't get a chance to respond as she placed her mouth on my own. I quickly melted back into the mattress, but as abruptly as it began, it ended. I frowned my displeasure.

  "I worked up an appetite," she announced with a smirk, rolling off of me to hit the floor.

  I extended a hand. "Come back to bed."

  She shook her head. "Nope, gonna go fix breakfast," she said, sauntering out of the room bare assed before I could object.

  "Here, kitty," she chirped from
the other room.

  I glowered at the unfaithful cat as he trotted out after her.

  ----------

  I came out of my closet carrying my overnight bag and dumped it on the end of the bed. Anabel was leaning against the headboard with Skid mark in her lap.

  "Want any help?" she asked.

  "Nah."

  I dropped to my knees and dug a gym bag out from under the bed, tossing it next to my other one.

  "What's in that?"

  "Just stuff," I said dismissively over my shoulder as I reentered the closet. I returned a second later to find her digging through it curiously.

  "You're pretty damn nosy," I said, not sure if I should be upset about it. I mean, she couldn't possibly find anything more embarrassing than Stephanie.

  She shrugged. "True."

  "Gee, that doesn't seem to bother you at all."

  "It doesn't. I thought you were going to visit a prisoner?"

  "I am."

  "Then why do you need the stuff in this bag?"

  "Just in case."

  She frowned. "I don't think I like your job."

  "It's a job."

  I didn't like it much either, but I was too lazy to look for a better one. That, and I really had no idea what else I might be suited for. Besides, I don't think they'd let me carry a roscoe at Taco Bell. With that in mind, I undid my belt and walked over to the dresser to get my guns.

  "You ever shot anybody, Maddie?"

  I didn't want to answer that. It wasn't something I liked to think about.

  "Have you, Maddie?"

  "Up close and personal, no."

  "But you have?"

  "I flew an attack helicopter in the war, Annie."

  "Oh. I should've guessed that. I'm sorry," she said quietly.

  I tried to shrug it off. "I did what I had to."

  "Will you call me if you can't make it back tonight?"

  "Of course. If you'd like to come over after work…" I hesitated, but then forged ahead. "Or if you'd like to come over anytime. There's a key in the nightstand you can have."

  She beamed. "Really?"

  "Really."

  "Can I ask you a question?"

  "Sure."

  "What's gonna happen to Gus's house and things?"

  My brows knit. I hadn't thought about it. "I dunno. I'm sure he left a will. I'll have to ask Woody."

  "Oh."

  I threw the rest of my stuff in the bag and shouldered it. I was ready. "Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off?"