“Shh,” he urged, pulling me down to him, kissing me quiet as he thrust up into my flesh. I couldn’t help rocking with him, feeling the cool morning breeze caressing our sweat-dampened skin. Dale was so warm and solid, I clung to him, burying my face in his neck, my breath coming hot and fast. His hands were back on my hips, rocking me against him with every upward thrust. I felt how swollen he was inside of me, ready to burst. And I was too.
“Oh sweetheart,” he moaned, thumbs digging into the wings of my pelvis. “I’m so close.”
“Yes,” I urged, squeezing his thick, pistoning flesh with my muscles, massaging him. That elicited a low growl from his throat and Dale rolled me quickly over onto my back, parting my thighs with his and rutting deep into me.
“Yes!” I cried, the sight of him poised above me, arms thick ropes of muscle, belly undulating as he drove himself into me again and again. “Oh God, yes, Dale! Do it! Harder!”
I had forgotten everything but him, seeing the sweet look of pleasure on his face, the way he worked to hold himself back. I knew he was waiting for me, but he didn’t have to—just seeing him like that sent me flying. My orgasm was so sudden and intense I screamed, crying out and thrusting my hips up. Dale cried out too and I felt the exquisite, hot pulse of his cock as he came, emptying himself completely into me, the sensation almost enough to send me over again.
He groaned and finally collapsed onto me. I loved the weight of him and welcomed it, kissing him softly and pulling the sheet and the comforter back up over our damp skin. The breeze felt good but I was shivering. Dale nuzzled my neck and my ear, his breath returning slowly to normal. His lips moved over my flesh, kissing me here and there, whispering words I could barely hear.
“Could you two shut the hell up!” Chrissy threw the door open and it banged against the wall. “Can’t you keep that little bitch quiet?”
I was too stunned to move but Dale reacted instantly, grabbing the sheet around his waist with one hand and striding to the door. I grabbed the edge of the comforter and pulled it up to my chin.
“Get out!” Dale grabbed the handle, swinging the door closed, but Chrissy was in the way.
“Fuck you.” Chrissy was ready for battle. I could tell. Even through the crack in the door—her knee was blocking the way, so Dale couldn’t close it completely. I scrambled around for clothes—t-shirt, jeans. I didn’t even bother with panties or a bra.
“Move.” Dale’s voice was calm and firm. He’d regained his control after being so surprised by her entrance. I was going to have to ask John if we could put a lock—and maybe even a chain—on our bedroom door. I found socks and tugged them on too.
“You think you’re really something, don’t you?” Chrissy sneered. I saw her face in the shadows. She was a very pretty girl, long dark hair and blue eyes. She had her brother’s features, only softer and more rounded. But she could make herself ugly in an instant—it was like some magic trick, a strange illusion. “Mr. Perfect. Mr. Rockstar. You wouldn’t be anything without him, you know that?”
I knew she was baiting him, just like she baited her father. I think they were both too blind to see it. John, I knew, would never take that sort of bait. He realized, somehow, that what Chrissy needed was not the negative attention she seemed to be asking for. It went deeper than that. Dale, though—Dale’s fuse was long, but she’d been wearing him down for two weeks and the whole thing was about to explode. I could feel it crackling in the air, like electricity.
“Dale, I have to go.” It was early yet, but a good enough excuse. I ran a hand through my hair, grabbing my purse. I was small enough to insert myself between him and the door. “I’m meeting Ben for coffee and then I have to drop off those drawings at work.”
He blinked down at me, trying to focus. I knew she’d gotten to him and she knew it too. She just wouldn’t stop.
“Go.” I pushed him back. “Go back to bed. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
He took a step back from the door and I was relieved. I’d broken the spell. Whatever hold she had over him was fading, even though the words still kept spilling from her mouth.
“Oh my God, you are so fucking pussy-whipped!” Chrissy called as I slipped out into the hall with her, closing our bedroom door behind me. It felt like I was stepping into a gladiator ring with a lion. Or maybe a dragon. Up until now, she’d ignored me, but with Dale safe on the other side of the door, I knew she was going to try to use me to bait him.
“He doesn’t love you, you know.” She crossed her arms, leaning against the wall with a smug smile on her face. She was still in her pajamas—red silk, top and bottoms. “He just feels sorry for you.”
It was hard to believe words could hurt that much. Chrissy’s words came attached with razor blades. I tried ignoring it, starting to take a step around her, but she moved with me, blocking the way to the stairs.
“Poor pathetic little Sara. You poor-me’d your way into free room and board and a rich rock star boyfriend. Do you really think he’s going to marry you?” She laughed. “He can’t love anyone. He can’t see anything unless it’s a mirror. That’s all you are. A great big mirror.”
“Get out of the way.” I took a step to the left but she did too.
“Oh Dale, you’re so wonderful and famous and everyone loves you!” She mocked, yelling this so Dale was sure to hear her. “He’ll never be Tyler Vincent and he knows it. All he’ll ever be is some cheap, knock-off imitation of the real thing. And that’s the only reason he keeps you around, sweetheart.”
She used that term of endearment with emphasis and I wondered how long she’d been listening at our door this morning. I was trembling inside and my body was shutting down. System overload. I knew the feeling—it used to happen when the stepbeast got like this. I was having flashbacks, sensory memories of recoiling, withdrawing into my shell as far as I could to hide from the oncoming disaster.
“Shut up!” Dale opened the door—he had jeans on, but no shirt—and strode toward her. I, of course, was in the way. I turned and pushed him back, both hands on his chest.