Page 29 of The Wolf

“If that's alright with you, yes.”

“Do I have a choice?” she asked. Her jaw went crooked as she tapped her cigarette against the edge of the sink. The hot ash dropped into the basin, sizzling into silence. “Because it doesn't seem like I do.”

“I'm asking you for help.”

“You're not asking me for help because you need me.

You're asking me because you have nowhere else to go.” She turned on the water and doused the cigarette.

“You can use the spare room. It's the last door on the left down the hall.

There's extra sheets and blankets in the closet.

Shower if you feel like it. I want you gone in the morning.

I'm going to bed.” My mother waved a defeated hand and walked off, leaving us alone.

Poppy looked up at me and gave me a slack smile. “That wasn't awkward at all.” She giggled softly. “So, that's your mom? Pleasant.”

“Yeah. Not what you expected?” I asked.

“That was definitely not what I expected. Not that I had any preconceived thoughts because I didn't expect to be meeting your mother.”

“She wasn't always this way. But she's had a tough life. She has her own demons.”

“Don't we all?” Poppy asked. She walked around the table and took a seat. “So, this is where you grew up?”

I opened my eyes wide and shook my head. “No. I grew up a couple of towns over. This is where she moved after—”

“Your father died?” Poppy asked.

“After she lost everything,” I answered. I sat at the table with her and wrapped my hands around my head. “We need to keep moving. We can't stay here long. I've already caused her enough pain. I can't cause her any more.”

“We're safe here, right?” Poppy leaned forward and touched my shoulder.

“We're not safe anywhere.” I lifted my gaze to hers. “Not yet.” I exhaled a stressful breath and frowned. “Let's get cleaned up and just get some sleep. I'm so tired I can't think straight right now. Tomorrow I'll be able to see more clearly.”

Poppy nodded in agreement. We found the spare bedroom.

The room was hoarded with stuff: stuffed animals, clothes, shoes, and baby toys.

There was an old crib against the left wall and a twin-sized bed against the right.

I had to climb on top of a pile of junk to get to the closet and retrieve the blankets.

The shelves, the ceiling fan blades, and the corners of the room were all covered in a thick layer of dust. Cobwebs decorated the cracked and peeling crown molding like Hell's ivy.

My mother really had spiraled into someone I didn't recognize.

Her home was a disaster. She didn't care about anything, even herself.

I sifted through the clothes on the floor and found some that looked like they could fit Poppy. “Here, these should work for you.”

“Whose clothes are they?” she asked.

“I have no idea. But they have tags, so they're new.”

Poppy took the outfit from my hands to examine it. “It looks like it's new from twenty-five years ago.”

“It's better than nothing, right?”

“I guess,” she said.

“You can go shower first.”

She gave me a gentle smile and then went back into the hall. Poppy showered, and then it was my turn. The water felt good. I didn't have any clean clothes, so I wrapped myself in a towel and went back to the spare room.

“Nice towel,” she said.

I looked down at my waist and smiled. “I don't have any extra clothes, but I'm sure we can find something in this mess.”

“I'm sure we could, but why rush it?” Poppy asked. She reached up and ran the pads of two fingers down my chest. Her fingers danced across the top of the towel and back to my navel. “Come here,” she said as she rolled onto her side to face the wall, and patted the mattress.

I wasn't going to say no. She was inviting me in willingly.

The way her eyes turned sultry and she bit her lip made my cock jerk.

I slipped into the bed, curled up behind her, and molded my body around hers.

Her ass fit perfectly into the dip of my hips.

Her back rested against my chest as the top of her head snuggled under the curve of my jaw.

Poppy's skin was warm, and her breathing was slow but deep. She pulled my hand up between her breasts and braided our fingers together. I could feel her heartbeat against my palm, drumming a steady rhythm. I rubbed my thumb up and down the center of her chest, drawing circles between her cleavage.

She inhaled a deep breath as her pulse began to quicken. Poppy's fingers tightened around mine and then loosened, tightened and loosened, she repeated the cycle over and over. Her ass began to rock back and forth, massaging my dick.

My cock was growing hard as she kept rubbing.

I was ready to take her without question.

Permission had been granted as she glanced over her shoulder and looked up at me.

Her eyes said everything I needed to know.

Poppy wanted me. She was begging for me to take her again.

To soothe her troubled mind with a taste of the freedom I could give her.

I glided my hand down her belly and slipped my finger into the trim of her pants. She bit her lip and lifted her hip to help make it easier to pull them off. Poppy opened her legs as my fingers moved to her inner thighs. I could already feel the heat of her pussy and I hadn't even touched her yet.

The tip of my index finger teased her pussy.

I softly caressed the folds, smearing her silky juice all around.

She was dripping wet. Her body was rocking harder and with more intensity as my finger circled her clit.

Poppy groaned. I needed her to stay quiet.

There was only a thin wall between our room and my mother's.

“Shh,” I hushed into her ear.

Poppy looked back at me as she sucked her lips into her mouth with a nod. “I'll try,” she whispered.

I ran the tip of my dick up the crack of her ass. I was rock hard and ready to fuck her. I slipped my finger into her heat. Her pussy was so fucking tight. I fingered her a little, working her body up, and getting her ready for the main course.

My cock was swollen and eager to feel her.

The tip of my dick was slippery with precum and my shaft was so firm, I could see every vein.

Poppy laid her leg over my hip as she twisted so she could kiss me.

I slid my hand under her shirt and squeezed her tit, pinching her nipple and rolling it between my fingertips.

She cooed the sexiest little coo. I swiftly swallowed her moan with a kiss.

My tongue swept into her mouth, tasting and licking.

Poppy kissed me back as she drove her fingers into my hair and tugged at the roots. “Fuck me,” she quietly said against my mouth.

I didn't need her to repeat herself. I thrust my cock into her warm heat, pushing all of my length in until her ass hit my base. I steadied myself, pausing to let her body adjust around my girth. Her walls tightened, bearing down on me as she arched her back.

I slowly began to gyrate my hips, pulling out and then pushing back in. Poppy's fingers tickled my nape, then raked up my scalp and deep into my hair. She ripped at the roots, yanking to the point my scalp burned. But I liked it. I enjoyed the twinge of pain. It made me feel alive.

A growl escaped my throat as her wet pussy slicked my shaft with each thrust. I fucked her hard but slow. Her breathing became labored, and she started to moan. If we were anywhere else, I wouldn't care how loud she screamed, but in my mother's home, I couldn't have it.

I didn't know why I felt the need to silence her. Maybe it was because I still respected my mother. Maybe it was because no matter how old I got, my mother would always have a higher level of power. It felt wrong to let our inhibitions be heard.

I covered Poppy's mouth with my hand to silence her pleasure.

She groaned against my palm, her moan delicate yet strong.

My heart stilled in my chest as her eyes closed and her back bent hard.

Poppy's hips rocked with mine, forcing my cock so deep inside her body my swollen tip hit the back wall of her pussy, making her scream into my hand.

I fucking loved it. I loved the way her body moved with mine. I loved the way her skin glistened and the lump in her throat bobbled with every thrust. I loved the rosy color of her skin and the goosebumps prickling across the back of her neck like rows of tiny mountains.

Poppy grabbed the outside of my thigh as I fucked her from behind.

Her right leg was splayed over mine. I could see my cock as I split her lips apart with each pump.

She dug her nails into my leg as the orgasm swiftly took control.

Her entire body began to shake and her pussy clamped down around my length as she moaned.

My own release came quickly behind hers.

I thrust inside her a couple more times.

My stomach clenched, and my balls drew up tight.

The orgasm swept through me like electricity, making every hair stand on end.

I came hard and fast. My cock jerked and twitched inside her pussy, spilling its life blood.

We lay in silence. Our breathing was in sync. Chest to chest rose and fell in unison. Her gaze softened as sparkles fired off inside her pupils. Poppy's skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, and her muscles went slack.

“Wow,” she breathed out.

“Yeah. Wow is right,” I said.

Her fingers were tangled in my hair, but we didn't unwind ourselves.

We lay like that in the small bed, our bodies still connected.

Her smooth back pressed against my chest as her breathing leveled out and she drifted off to sleep.

I slipped carefully out of the bed and began to sift through the piles of clothes in the room, searching for something to wear.

I dug through two piles, but only found women's clothing.

A stack of boxes against the wall contained broken, dirty toys and miscellaneous items like hair brushes, glassware, and potholders—nothing I could put on.

Another stack of boxes was hidden under a pile of stuffed animals and baby dolls.

I pulled out one of the boxes and opened it.

The scent hit me first, stopping me instantly.

It was sandalwood and citrus. I held my breath for a moment, then pulled out a shirt from inside the box.

I brought it to my nose and took a second breath.

I then pulled out another shirt and a pair of pants and smelled them, too. I wanted to be certain, and now I was.

These are my father's clothes.

My mother had kept a box of my father's clothes.

After all these years, she hadn't parted with them.

I thought she had thrown everything away.

At his funeral, I asked her if I could look through some of his suits, and she told me she burned everything.

Those were her actual words. 'I burned all his shit. ' And I believed her.

She lied to me.

I poked through a couple more boxes and found a bunch of my father's things: his books, his daily planner from the year he died, his leather gloves, and his glasses.

I put on one of his shirts and a pair of pants.

It felt oddly comforting to smell his cologne and wear his clothes.

It had been years since I had smelled his cologne.

I had forgotten about it entirely, but knew what it was the second it hit my face.

I climbed back into bed. Poppy made a muffled groan as she rolled over to face me.

I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.

I had never thought about what it would feel like to share a life with someone.

Never thought about what it would feel like to share thoughts and feelings.

Never thought about what it would feel like to love someone.

A sense of calmness filled me with Poppy in my arms. She was safe there.

Nothing could reach her. No one could hurt her.

And I drifted off to sleep feeling complete.

It was the first time in years that I slept without having a nightmare.

I actually slept through the night. I didn't wake up once.

Not once. Usually, I wake up a few times in a cold sweat. Not tonight. Not with Poppy in my arms.

Tonight I slept like a damn saint.