Sean rocks into me, developing a pattern that makes me crazy. It’s almost like he’s teasing me on purpose, but his dick is deep within me. Even so, I want more. I wish I could feel him deeper. I whimper, and he shifts my ankles and presses them back, folding me in half. He presses them to the counter and smiles. “You’re limber.”
“It’s a good thing, too.”
“Yes, it is.” He kisses the tip of my nose, before asking, “Would you mind holding these?”
I can’t help it, I grin. “So you can do what?”
“Fuck you senseless.”
“I guess so.” I hold my ankles next to my head and then everything changes. When he pushes in this time he’s so much deeper, pressing in a delicious way that makes me cry out. I beg him for more, and he indulges me, thrusting harder, fucking me deeper. He rocks into me, over and over again, teasing, me pulling halfway out and then thrusting hard. He fucks me like that as I watch my face in the mirror. My eyelids are heavy, and my mouth is in a constant O begging for more. I have no idea what I’m saying, but I coo and whimper as he fucks me and, when I can’t stand it anymore, he drives into me rapidly until I feel something deep within. The orgasm hits me hard and fast. Before I realize what happened, Sean drops to his knees and buries his face between my legs, lapping up my come in slow wet strokes. I cry out, clutching the counter. My legs shake and fall open because I can no longer hold them in place. As my body pulses, Sean presses his tongue inside me, licking, tasting, and touching me until I’m completely sated.
When he lifts his face, his scruff is glistening. He grins at me. “You’re perfect.” He backs away from my legs and stands. Then he leans over me, kisses me lightly, and holds up my panties. “I’m keeping these by the way.”
I feel so fluffy and light. I have a dorky smile on my face when I ask, “Why?”
“To remind me that sex with you is better this way.”
I prop myself up on an elbow and inquire, “And what if I want to be scared senseless and fucked hard? Who should I ask to do me then?”
Sean rushes at me, tickling me and scoops me up like I weigh nothing. “Me, always ask me to fuck you. I’ll do anything you want, any way you want. I’m just saying that this kind of sex isn’t off the table. Actually, fucking you on a table would be a lot of fun, too.” He swings me around and then puts me on my feet. My legs feel like jelly, and I wobble for a moment, holding onto his waist and wishing I could bury my face in his crotch for a good long while.
I suck in my lip and look up at him. Sean grins. “You’re perfect, completely, fucking perfect. Never change, Miss Smith.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mr. Jones.”
CHAPTER 14
Sean dresses, eyeing me with a wicked expression on his face. He pulls on his black jeans, wiggles into that tight sweater, and tops them off with a black trench coat. I smile at him and pull on the fabric at his waist. “Where’d you get this?”
Sean smiles boyishly. “Marty. He said one of Vic’s regulars wears this thing, and I’d be less noticeable in it. Henry has one too. Do you like it?”
“Maybe if you were naked underneath.” I grin up at him and kiss his lips softly. I pull away, wishing we had more time.
“I’ll see you later.”
“You know it.” I smile as he walks away, feeling my chest constrict until I can’t breathe. We both act like things will all work out, but if I’ve learned anything, it's that there are no promises in life.
My heart won’t listen to my head as I drive my old car toward Miss Black’s office. This is the last time, the last thing I have to do to be free from her and Vic Jr. This will be the end of it. I just have to survive. Freedom is an enticing goal. People have fought for it, died for it. Generations upon generations of people had it worse than me. I don’t pretend to be leading a revolution. I’m not that girl. I’m pretty sure I’m not this girl either, but at this point, I only have two options—die or fight back. So I clutch the steering wheel until my knuckles ache and veer through traffic until I roll to a stop in front of a pharmacy. The butterflies in my stomach have razor sharp wings and slice me up from within. I’m ready to puke again, but it has nothing to do with Black.
I rub a hand over my stomach in a soft motion. It hasn’t escaped me that I’ve felt tired and nauseous for the past few weeks. It seems to be getting worse, not better. I’m not stupid. I know what it means. I know it’s not stress. But I want proof. I need to know for certain.
I exit the car, head into the store, walk down an aisle, and pluck an early pregnancy test from the shelf. Heart pounding, half wanting it to be true and half dreading the thought of going through tonight with a baby in my belly, I head toward the register. By the time I checkout, my eyes are glassy.
The cashier is in her thirties, sloppy red hair swept up into a bun and impaled by a pencil. She smiles at me. “You look beautiful.”
I glance up at her. “Thank you.” My face is pinched with worry.
She takes pity on me, tipping her head to the side while saying, “There’s a restroom in the back. It’s usually reserved for staff only, but it’s yours if you want. No one will bother you back there. It’s just Tina and me tonight.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She nods curtly, lowers her head and walks with determined strides toward the back of the store. I follow her with my item concealed in a plastic bag. We shove through a door and then into a breakroom. There’s a small bathroom at the back. She turns on the light and smiles kindly at me.
“Life is challenging to live and even harder to plan. You can do it, though. Hang in there.” She clasps my shoulder, and I nearly break down sobbing, only managing to hold it together by not answering.
I nod at her, slip into the bathroom and shut the door. I have to be pregnant. I’m completely insane. Kindness is making me sob, and if I see another baby lotion commercial, I’m going to buy stock in Kleenex. I don’t wait. I don’t linger and look at the box. I rip the sucker out, read the directions, and after doing everything right, I wait.
I fold my arms over my chest at first and look at myself in the mirror. My thumb is between my lips, and I’m ready to chew my nails off. I want to skip, holler, cry, and laugh all at once. As I stand there and watch the control box light up my heart pounds harder. Eventually, my hands wrap aro
und my middle, and I hold on tightly, waiting, watching. There’s a hole in the center of my chest that will fill with warmth if it’s positive. I can feel it. Accident or not, I want this baby. I would never have had the guts to plan a pregnancy and welcome a little life into the world. Not in a million years.
My stomach sours as I wait and watch. It’s two minutes of torture. Two minutes of surfacing dreams, things I’d never say, wishes I never dreamed before now. My nails dig into my arms as I turn away from the test. So far there’s no second line, nothing. I can’t stand looking, watching and seeing nothing happen. Maybe I’m not pregnant at all. Maybe it’s stress going totally batshit crazy. I want to cry. I feel like I lost the baby I never had. A tear rolls down my cheek, messing up my makeup.
“Stop crying," I scold myself aloud. "There are other, more pressing things happening tonight. Focus, Avery!” I suck in a deep breath of air, straighten my spine and turn to pick up the test and throw it in the trash.
When I glance down at the piece of plastic, there’s a second line.
I’m pregnant.
CHAPTER 15
I gasp, and it turns into a happy squee. I giggle and pick up the stick I peed on and jump up and down. I want to tell someone, but I can’t tell Sean yet. We have to get through tonight first. There’s a good chance I won’t make it out of this and he will. He’ll survive because he always has. I believe that. I have to believe it or go nuts thinking about the alternative. I couldn’t let him go through losing a child again. He’ll die inside. The monster will consume him, fully this time.
I yank open the door and beam at the clerk. “I’m pregnant.” My voice is shaking, and my hands tremble. I’m still holding the stick like it’s a bar of gold.
She smiles, full wattage at me. “Congratulations! You’re going to be a great mom. I can tell how much you want this baby. It wasn’t planned, was it?”