Page 6

Six

MELODY

B y the time I’m tucked back in my bed, covers up to my ears, I can’t fall asleep. My eyes dart around the room, half expecting Lincoln to show up here.

Roy was proud to tell me the security officer had changed the codes to my elevator and apartment. I clutched the piece of paper he handed to me with the numbers like I may eat it afterward. Just to protect myself.

From myself mainly.

With a huff, I toss the blankets off and wander into my kitchen to make some chamomile tea. The thing is, I somewhat hope Link breaks in. Whatever he has planned for me, I deserve it.

Part of me was playing a game with him, knowing exactly how in love with me he was when he showed up in high school. My stomach did flips every time I saw him. We started hanging out more, then making out in the supply closet or the dressing room at work. Perhaps it was the thrill of getting caught, but that added something spicier to the beginning.

As I slump on a kitchen stool, the steam from my mug hits my face, and I gaze into my blackened apartment. All the images of Link and I together flood my mind like a movie. One I haven’t wanted to watch in a long time because of the pain.

Things changed for me after only a little while of messing around with my childhood best friend. Maybe it was the way he’d look into my eyes while his fingers were deep inside me. Like he was someone who knew the real me. I started to not want him to leave after we were done.

He never made demands. He never asked if I could be with him during the day, in front of all my so-called friends. It was me that wanted it. I grew tired of hiding him and it wasn’t right; I knew that.

So when Homecoming came up, and he whispered in my ear that he wished he was taking me, I put a plan in place. I had the Reapettes write his name down for Homecoming King, hoping I could get everyone to vote for him.

Only things went south. Everyone thought it was a big joke, that he was the punchline. The football players said they were going to pelt him with rotten tomatoes. That’s it. His white rented tux would get some stains on it, and he’d go away with a splattered ego. But when Bellany informed me of their true plan, to beat him up for taking the crown away from Brad and trying to be with me, I decided to save him. And very publicly denounce him.

It didn’t work. They still hurt him after. And I don’t know if I can forgive myself.

Have I always had a thing for him? Yes. I even scoured the internet for years looking for him, but he was a ghost. No online presence at all. What would I have done if I’d found him?

Apologize. And probably do what I did on the fifty yard line tonight because god, I loved it .

When I slip back under my sheets, I feel sleepy enough to doze off. The screen in my mind won’t stop showing images of Link through the years. Things get confused between what is in my dreams and what is happening in the world outside of my shut eyes.

So when I feel my body being yanked forward, I startle, but wonder if I’m still asleep. Warm palms slides up my bare thighs, taking my nightgown with their climb up my body. Firm legs slip under me, lifting my core.

When I open an eye, I almost scream, but a hand grips my neck, squeezing the air from my lungs. “Time for payback, prom queen.”

Other than his mask and painted face, The Reaper stares down at me wearing nothing else. Black hair covers his ripped body in small tufts with a trail leading down to his engorged length. He’s an enormous man as I already could sense, but seeing him exposed is almost frightening. I squirm under his hold, but it only makes him clench his fingers together tighter. As I still, he relaxes until I pant out, “What are you doing?”

“Taking what’s mine.” His huge cock is already out, waiting for me and he grips the base and lines up. With a squeal, I wiggle my hips to draw away from him, but it’s no use. His fingers dig into my waist as he plunges inside with one sweep and I gasp at the intrusion.

I’m not a delicate flower and I’ve had plenty of men, but his girth is something I was not prepared for.

The breath is knocked from my lungs as I seize for air. He doesn’t move an inch, only holds himself as deep as he can while resting his hands on either side of my head and staring into my eyes as I struggle to adjust to his size.

Link’s hands move up to my breasts as he massages them, pinching and tweaking the nipples between his finger and thumb. I press on his chest as he leans forward to gather one between his lips. Even though I prepare to tell him to stop, nothing in me wants to, especially when his eyes glance up to my face. It’s like they not only seek approval, but dare me to argue with him indulging in what’s his. An expression that makes my clit pulse rapidly for him.

“Link…” I whisper, tossing my head back against the pillow, but he doesn’t respond. Arduously, he draws himself out and as much pain was there with him inside, it’s worse when he’s gone. “Reaper, please.”

His mouth makes its way to my neck where he growls. “You want me to pull out or put it inside you again?” The thick head of his dick rests right on my entrance, which squeezes in anticipation of his return.

I know what he’s doing. He’s going to make me say it out loud. That I want to be violated like this.

“Inside.”

With another formidable shove, he enters again and I surge forward, my fingers latching around his neck. I grunt as he chuckles, “That’s a good slut.”

His words almost send me over the edge, but when he lifts his hips to hit the spot deep inside that I need, I do. My thighs spasm as an orgasm rips through me so quickly, I’m almost embarrassed. Pleasure rampages like wildfire through my core until I squeeze my eyes closed and just feel . Something I haven’t done in so long.

When I come down from my high, my legs cling to his waist, heels dig firmly into his ass to bring him closer. His forehead rests against mine as he heaves minty breaths into my mouth. The woodsy smell of his skin is unmistakable. I remember it . And I need more of him.

Instead of making a snarky remark, Lincoln gazes into my eyes with wonder. Slowly, his hand glides up my side as he caresses my body and gathers me up into an embrace. “That’s my girl.”

He sits up and drags me with him until I perch on his lap while he’s still deep within my pulsing walls. The angle is even more vulnerable. There’s no space of my body he doesn’t fill. My breasts press to his bare chest, the hairs tickling my skin. Our gazes lock as we hold each other in silence.

“Am I?” I whisper, almost afraid to ask the question.

As if he’s scared to answer, the words breath past his barely parted lips. “Are you what?”

“Your girl.”

A guttural war cry erupts from his chest as his mouth claims mine. It’s more of an answer than his words as his body lifts me off his hard cock and slams me back down, our lips never departing. He swallows my huffed grunt as he works my body like a toy.

His cheek smears against mine as his teeth tug on my earlobe and he grits out, “Always.” The sound travels down my spine like a lightning strike in a daring path toward my pussy. Slapping skin rings through the bedroom and I look between us to watch his muscles flex as he lifts and lowers me. He catches where I’m looking and brings my gaze back up with a finger under my chin. “You gonna come for me again?”

My head falls back and I writhe against his lower abs, working my heated clit over him as he thrusts inside me. “Yes!” It’s inevitable. The build up is more intense than the last now and so is the explosion inside my body and brain. His teeth lock onto a nipple as I fall away, but don’t let go of him. My inner muscles clamp down to keep him right where I need him.

He pulls out suddenly, then flips me over with a bounce on the mattress. Fingers dig into my hips to bring me to his center as he slams back into me. A lurching sound squeaks from my throat. How is he even deeper now? Before I can scramble away, he grips my neck and pulls it back so I gaze into his face as he leans over my back.

“You want to know how much you’re my girl, Mel?”

I can’t make a noise with his hands firmly around my windpipe, but it feels so good, I just nod slightly to encourage him to continue.

With a forceful shove inside, he holds himself near my womb and yells through clenched teeth as he fills me with his cum. His hips move slightly to continue pumping out whatever he has left, and he relaxes his grip on my neck, collapsing on top of me on the bed. He leans on an elbow, but doesn’t slip out of me. His hot girth pulses rapidly inside.

“H-how much?” I manage to ask.

His arms wrap around me tight like I’m in a prison of Lincoln.

And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“I switched out your birth control two months ago.” With a tiny peck against my cheek, he whispers, “Congrats. I think you’re ovulating now.”

I stiffen in his grasp. Words won’t even form in my mind at the shock, terror, and confusion wrestling in it. “L-Lincoln!” The end of my word gets cut off as he spanks the side of my ass with an open palm.

“Ah, ah. Reaper. Or soon to be your husband and the father of your babies.”

“I-I-I…” That’s all I can get out. Lincoln Pierce is still inside me, saying he switched out my birth control. Could I be pregnant? How do I feel about that now?

“Shh, it’s okay. I got us. When you wake up tomorrow, everything will feel right as rain.” Even as he says the words, his dick surges and he shifts his hips. “Just relax and go to sleep. I’ll fill you again as you do.”

His hold is even firmer as he says it, rolling to his side and spooning me. He lifts my upper leg and settles in deeper while kissing my neck. My hand grips the opposite pillow, reaching out for help to squirm away. Or to press myself into him.

It’s all too confusing. And I can’t think about it in the middle of the night. All I know is somewhere between my fifth or sixth orgasm, complaining about how very sore I am, I fall asleep with him still pumping away inside of me.

When I wake up, my nightgown is the way it was when I went to sleep. In fact, the only way I know it wasn’t a fever dream is the absolute burning between my legs and the black paint smeared all over my breasts. As I glance around the room, Lincoln is nowhere to be seen. Except another notecard propped up on my nightstand lamp.

Go to the bathroom.

That’s all it says. No weird riddles or anything.

My feet hit the cold tile floor, searching for my slippers that aren’t there. When I pad into the bathroom, I gasp. Steamy water fills the oversized tub while rose petals floating on the surface. Surrounding the edge are my tea candles already flaming with light. Over the back of a chair lays my robe and slippers on the floor nearby.

Seeing the set up, my shoulders relax as I shrug. May as well indulge. Once I slip in, I take a deep breath of the aromatherapy oils wafting with the swirls of heat toward my face. My bath pillow supports my neck as I slide deeper inside. Everything relaxes inside of me, even the pain in my pussy is gone.

If the bath is still this hot, it must mean Lincoln is nearby. And, as if he answered my question, the man skirts around the corner and presents himself.

Without the mask.

My hand slaps across my mouth as my jaw drops. How did little Link grow up to be such a stunner? He looks somewhat familiar to me, but I’m not sure from where.

Carefully traversing the bathroom, he balances a silver tray filled with food and a broad grin slides across his lips. “Morning, beautiful. I'm no cook, but I made what I could for you while you caught up on sleep.”

I sit and grab the coffee from the tray as he sets it on the counter beside me. “Thank you, Link.” After a sip from the mug, I eye him carefully. “Are you going to explain to me why you’re back now ? How you can enter my place at will? Why you switched my birth control ?”

He flips the chair around and straddles it, his jeans stretching against his large thighs. His thick arms cross on the back and he looks into the water like it holds some answers. “I’ve checked up on you for years, Mel. Just hoping that the little girl, my best friend, would return.” A line of black stubble dances as he tightens his jaw. “After your parents died, I saw a change in you.” His deep green eyes find me, causing a shiver to run over my skin despite the heat from the bath. “And I knew I had you back.”

I pull my knees to my chest and swivel to face him while attempting to pin my long, dark hair into a bun. “Have you ever married? Had kids?”

“No. Every woman I was with left because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. So, I just remained single.”

“Where? You weren’t in Crystal Frond. You—” My voice catches as his eyebrow dips and I see it. An image of a billboard in Times Square. “Oh my god. You’re that model. The underwear guy. You’re everywhere .”

One of his hands runs through the top of his black hair as a little chuckle escapes. “Yes. I modeled for a while. But, mainly, I used my money from that to start my own security company.”

“Security…” My chest seizes. “You were doing security for this building. You changed my codes.”

He clears his throat. “Yes.”

“Link, just how far did you go?”

Lifting those summer greens up to my face, he drops his boyish grin. “I’ve watched you on camera for years, Mel. I know everything about you.”

My chest tightens at his confession. Some level of fear overtakes me. “C-camera? Which camera?”

His broad shoulders shrug as if it doesn’t matter. “The ones on the streets. At your work.” He stops abruptly and I know there’s more. Lowering my head, I encourage him to tell me everything. “Your laptop. Your phone… And all the ones I’ve kept around here, too.”