The Vessel

by Jenika Snow

  I was never letting her go.

  26

  Elise

  I was floating, reality leaving, the world spinning as I let Lucius take me to oblivion and beyond.

  Oh. God.

  I moaned, unable to stop myself, not even trying, not wanting to. I wanted Lucius to hear me, to know what he did to me, how he made me feel.

  Lucius continued to thrust his massively huge dick into me, over and over again, knowing just what I needed. He’d be the only man to ever give me what I needed and wanted, what could sate me. All of my senses were heightened, everything in me tuned to what he did. I heard his breath sawing in and out of his lungs, felt it coast over my damp skin. I felt the coarse hairs on his legs moving against my inner thighs as he pounded into me.

  I felt his sweat-slicked skin glide effortlessly against mine, his skin so hot, everything so erotic. God, I’d never felt so consumed… so filled before. I gripped him harder, tighter, pulled him closer, needing us as one.

  And all the while, Lucius pistoned his thick cock into me, the slickness of my pussy making his movements fluid. The tip of his dick hit the very end of me, and I gasped as shockwaves traveled through my core.

  “Jesus Christ, baby.” His voice was hoarse and guttural. He had his hands on my inner thighs, pushing them open even more, spreading me wider to make room for his massive body. And I took it all. I took all of him.

  My vision wavered, and the tendrils of another orgasm threatening to take everything from me. And I’d never wanted to be so lost than I did in that moment. I gasped his name, begged Lucius for it harder and faster. I didn’t care if I sounded needy and pathetic.

  And as he shoved his dick into me so hard I shifted up on the bed, I cried out as my climax broke free inside me, exploding like fireworks in the sky on the Fourth of July.

  “Fuck.” He thrust three more times into my very willing body, but I knew—could feel in the tightness of his muscles, the way he grunted and groaned—that he wasn’t done with me yet.

  Lucius leaned back slightly, reached between our bodies, and rubbed his thumb on my clit at the same time he slammed his hips forward, sliding his dick in and out of my still-clenching pussy. I was going to fall over the edge again.

  “Elise,” he whisper-groaned. “Come for me again, baby. Do it for me now.”

  And just like that, from his words and actions, another orgasm ripped through me. I felt the world drift away, but not before I heard Lucius growl out so fiercely it was all I heard, felt, and saw.

  He was all I saw in my life.

  His big body stilled as he slammed forcefully into me, burying his massive cock deep in my pussy, filling me up with his seed, making me take every last drop. And I did. I wanted to have him saturate me in his masculinity.

  And the sight of him coming, how very male he looked, his neck strained, the muscles, his veins and sinew and tendons standing out under his golden flesh, had me nearly orgasming again.

  After long moments, Lucius sagged against me, both of us panting and sated. I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, but the moment he rolled off me, his cock slipping free from my pussy, his arms wrapping around me, I let myself slip into oblivion. His warmth, his protectiveness, the proprietary aura that poured off Lucius and wrapped around me, was unlike anything else I’d ever experienced.

  And I never wanted to let that go. I never wanted to let Lucius go.

  27

  Lucius

  The fact that I was nervous should’ve been a lot more alarming than it was. Nothing rattled me. But then again, Elise turned my world upside down in the best of ways since I met her, since I fell in love with her.

  I was able to turn my emotions off and focus on the task at hand on any given day. It was how I’d been able to help build the Blacksmith empire with a clinical mind, rational logic. But meeting Elise’s mother and aunt made me feel on edge. It was all because I wanted to make a good impression.

  Elise must’ve seen the nervousness in me, because she reached out and took my hand, twining her fingers with mine as we walked up her family’s walkway to the front door.

  “They’ll love you,” she said in the sweetest voice.

  As soon as I’d seen the house, the first thing that had come to mind was I wanted them in a better place, because I knew it would put Elise at ease. I didn’t like the neighborhood. It was too busy, too loud… too dangerous for women, especially older women. I’d already fallen fast and hard for Elise, knew she’d always be in my life, and because of that, her family would be too. I’d never let her go, and that meant her family was now my family.

  I wanted to take care of them just as much as I wanted to take care of her. And so I filed that in the back of my brain, knowing I’d make things better for them.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you nervous before,” she said softly in this teasing voice, a chuckle leaving her. We stood by the front door, not entering yet. I groaned low right before I leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

  “You’re the only person who can bring that out in me,” I murmured against her lips, only loud enough she’d be able to hear, be able to feel the vibrations from my lips to hers.

  I felt her lean into me, the kiss already affecting her. I loved the fact that my touch, my words, and my very presence seemed to instantly make her needy, wanting more from me. I hoped it was always like this.

  She pulled back far too soon for my liking and opened the front door, leading me inside. Although the house was old, run-down on the outside, I was surprised to see the inside was quaint, with this cottage-esque feel to it. There was dried lavender hanging on the walls, ribbon tied around the stems. Rustic-style decor lined the walls, farmhouse milk jugs in the corners and holding more dried flowers.

  I could hear women talking softly in another room, and Elise smiled over her shoulder at me as she led us into the kitchen. Once in the room, the woman by the sink stopped washing vegetables and glanced at us. There was another woman, Elise’s mother, who sat in a wheelchair at the table cutting up fruit. Both women eyed me, and although their expressions were clinical, I knew they were checking me out and making sure I was good enough for their girl.

  I prayed like hell I passed whatever silent test they were doing.

  “Mom, Frannie, this is Lucius.” Elise leaned into me, and I instinctively wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her in closer. I realized how proprietary that probably seemed, but it was who I was when I was with my woman.

  “Ladies, it’s nice to finally meet you.” God, was that my voice, all tight and anxious and shit? I cleared my throat and ran my free hand up and down my denim-clad thigh, wiping the nervous sweat from my palm.

  There was more silence, and I hated it. I felt on edge, like I was under a microscope, but I knew they were unsure of me. I respected that, and I was on their terms.

  “It’s nice to meet you too,” they said in unison, but I could see they were still hesitant of me.

  Elise cleared her throat and said, “Lucius was the one to actually speak with the landlord and… convince him to let you keep the garden.”

  There was a collective heaviness in the room, and then Frannie stepped away from the sink, grabbing a towel from the counter to dry her hands, her focus on me as she went to stand by her sister.

  “You did that?” Elise’s mother asked, and I straightened my spine, nodding.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Both women looked between each other and then to Elise before all three women started laughing. I was confused on what was going on right now, and my expression only made them laugh harder.

  “Elise, he’s adorable.” Elise’s mother gestured me forward, and I looked at Elise before moving away from the love of my life and facing the “firing squad.” “Thank you for doing that for us. You don’t know how much that meant to us.”

  I gave them a smile and a tilt of my head. I was never any good with compliments.

  “But don’t call us ma’am. It makes us
feel old,” Frannie said. “We don’t want to feel any older than we already are.”

  Elise’s mother started laughing at that before sobering pretty damn fast. “You love my daughter?” Elise’s mother asked bluntly, and I felt my eyes widen. I hadn’t expected that.

  “Um,” I mumbled and looked back at Elise. She covered her mouth with her hand, the suppressed amusement clear on her face. I narrowed my eyes teasingly at her before facing her mom again. “I do. I love her more than anything else.” I looked at her aunt then. “She’s my world.”

  The women looked at each other, and I could see there was this silent communication between them. They faced me once more.

  “That’s good to hear, because our Elise only deserves the best. She deserves someone who knows how special she really is.”

  I nodded instantly. “There’s nothing more special to me than Elise.” I meant that with every fiber of my being, and I hoped they saw that too.

  The smiles they gave me told me they knew I was being genuine and sincere.

  “Good thing you said that,” Frannie remarked. “Any other reply and we may have had to boot you out the door.”

  “Frannie,” Elise’s mother scolded, but they were both smiling.

  I could see where Elise got her strength from. These two women were rocks, held their own, and I was so happy the woman I loved had that in her life. I was so glad I now had that in my life too.

  28

  Elise

  Five weeks later

  My hands shook, my heart raced, and I was sweating.

  Nervous as hell was a good description of how I felt right now.

  I looked down at the plastic bag in my hands, the items in there random… except one.

  I still couldn’t believe this was a possibility, that I could be pregnant, but the fact remained I was late, my boobs were sensitive, and the major telling sign… Lucius and I didn’t use condoms when we had sex. Maybe it was the stupidest thing I’d ever done in my life, and irresponsible, but the one emotion playing through my mind was worry and anxiety.

  Would Lucius want this if I was pregnant? Would he want a baby, especially with me? I knew he cared for me, but this went far beyond sex and having a relationship with a woman. This was a forever kind of thing. We didn’t talk about babies or marriage or anything like that. It was far too soon for those kinds of things, but I wouldn’t lie and say I didn’t think about them.

  I loved Lucius. I truly did. I didn’t see myself with anyone but him.

  Did he feel the same way?

  Sure, I knew what he told me, how he felt for me, but when faced with something like this… things changed; people’s feelings changed.

  Over the last few weeks, Lucius seemed insatiable with me. It wasn’t just about the sex though—which was incredible—but about the quiet time we shared, the moments when he just held me, when he told me he cared for me.

  Lucius lavished attention on me, showed me that he was so much more than he showed everyone else. His protectiveness was intense at times, his need to keep me close very real and potent, but I liked that. I’d never had anyone want me the way Lucius did, the way he touched me, spoke to me… looked at me.

  I felt owned by Lucius, but not in that proprietary way, like an object, but in the way that someone cared so much about me that he wanted me as only his.

  Surely, he’d have known this could be a result? It wasn’t like we used protection, and well, sex without that could very well end up where I was at right now.

  I closed my front door and headed to the bathroom. I turned on the light, the florescent bulb flickering a second before it stayed on. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, the glass murky-looking from age, the corner having a spider line crack in it. The girl who stared at me looked terrified.

  Once I had the test on the counter, I looked inside the plastic bag at the random shit I bought so it didn’t seem like that’s all I’d gone to the store for.

  A bottle of water, a bag of candy fish, three packs of gun, and a trashy magazine.

  I snorted at my contents and shook my head as I set the bag on the counter and went about figuring out how the hell to use the test. I read the box a couple times, the process simple enough, yet it felt so hard at the same time.

  After doing what needed done, I set it back on the counter, closed the lid of the toilet, and sat down, waiting. Those few minutes it took for the test to do its thing seemed like an eternity.

  I set a timer on my phone, and when the alarm went off, my heart stopped. I straightened, looked at the stick, and reached out to pick it up with shaky fingers. My heart was beating so hard and fast I felt it everywhere.

  And then I looked down at the little clear window, my throat tightening even further at the results.

  Positive.

  I stared at that display screen that showed two pink lines. And then I exhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my breath. Slowly, I set the test back on the counter and stared at the tub, my mind blank, maybe shock settling in.

  I was pregnant. I was pregnant with Lucius Blacksmith’s baby, and I didn’t know how to tell him.

  I was terrified at the prospect of being a mother, of telling Lucius about this, and I couldn’t help but let those negative thoughts play through my head.

  Will he leave me because of this? Will he blame me, as if this was solely my fault?

  I felt like I knew Lucius pretty well, even after this short time of us being in each other’s lives, but how well do you really know someone when you’re both faced with the hard truth of your lives changing forever?

  I guess I was about to find out.

  29

  Elise

  My entire body was humming, my hands shaking, adrenaline rushing through my veins. As I stepped into the elevator of the massive skyscraper where Lucius’s office was located, my heart was in my throat. I should’ve waited until he came home, because honestly this was a private matter.

  But I was excited, nervous… terrified.

  And so I found myself hopping in a cab and going straight to his office without even thinking about it, not even calling him, just surprising him, because if I was going to be shocked, I figured he should be too. I shook my head and stared at the electronic numbers as they counted down each floor I ascended.

  The Blacksmith corporate office was at the very top, and although I knew it wasn’t realistic, I swear I felt the air start to thin because we were so high up.

  I placed a hand on my belly on instinct, butterflies moving in there... a baby growing in there. Lucius’s baby.

  God, what would he say? How would he react? This certainly wasn’t how I’d ever seen myself getting pregnant—unwed, having only been with the father such a short time. But our romance had been fast, passionate. Intense.

  And it still was, growing every single day.

  It seemed to take the elevator forever to reach the floor I needed, but at the same time, it was like it was over before it really began.

  The doors opened silently, and I stepped into the lobby with shaking legs. I was buzzing, every part of me feeling like I was underwater, like I was swimming against a current. The front desk was sleek and modern, everything around me glass and steel.

  There was a gorgeous, svelte blonde sitting behind the front desk, the phone to her ear. She glanced up at me, eyed me for a split second, then went back to whatever she was doing. I looked down at what I wore. Jeans, a white, slightly wrinkled tee, and my running shoes that looked like I’d been gardening in them. Which I had.

  Yeah, I definitely didn’t fit in, which was probably why she paid me no attention after the quick onceover.

  For several seconds I thought about just turning around and going home, waiting to talk to Lucius about this later, but I was already here, nervous energy moving through me. I didn’t want to wait. And so I went up to the front desk, the receptionist all but ignoring me. I listened to her sickly saccharine voice as she spoke to whoever was on the other end of the line. Afte
r a moment, she hung up and lifted her wing-tipped eyes to me to give me the blandest expression imaginable.

  “Can I help you?”

  I licked my suddenly dry lips and cleared my throat. My palms were sweaty, and I ran them up and down my denim-clad thighs. “Y-yeah. U-um,” I stuttered out but told myself to get my shit together. “I need to see Lucius, please.”

  She lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow but didn’t say anything for long seconds. “Do you have an appointment?” she finally asked.

  Why was this woman making me feel so on edge? She was intimidating as hell, and I hated it, but I was stronger than this. I shook my head. “No, but he’ll see me.” And I knew he would.

  “Is that right?” I gritted my teeth at her tone. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Blacksmith is very busy with meetings all day. If you don’t have an appointment, you’re going to have to call later and set one up.” She looked me over once more. “May I ask what this is in reference to?”

  It was clear she was curious on what someone like me was doing in a place like this, where Armani and Gucci, designer and expensive everything was in abundance. Surrounded by all this stuff, I looked like I’d been shopping at the thrift store. Which I had, but that was beside the point.

  Before I could say anything, someone called for the receptionist, and of course her name was Buffy, as if she were born and bred to be in a country club. She faced me again and said, “Unless you need anything else, you’re welcome to show yourself out.” And just like that, she dismissed me, as if her time were far more precious than mine.

  What a bitch.

  She stood and walked down the hallway to speak with whoever had called her over. I looked at the elevator then at the hallway she just disappeared down. I glanced in the other direction, to the other corridor. I had no idea where Lucius was, but leaving was most definitely not what I was going to do. I was breaking all kinds of rules, but I figured if I was going to get in trouble, at least the owner of the company was the man I was in a relationship with, and the father of my child, so how much trouble could I really get into?