Under one's skin

I knew that when Mike left, that was it—there was no coming back from it, and there would be no chance for he and I to ever start a romantic relationship. Scott and I were no more. Any chance with Vic was also gone, though in truth, there really hadn’t been much of a chance to begin with. And Vince, it seemed, would be happier with Emily than he ever was with me, so any relationship I might have had with Vince, with Emily in the picture, would have been complicated. And my sweet friend Ronan was—and still is!—a great man, but not what I needed or wanted in a relationship. He took great care of me while we briefly dated back in college and never treated me like I was a charity case because of the financial circles we ran in; however, I planned and organized all the dates, and he would simply show up when and where the date was and pay for it.

Later that night, my phone buzzed.
Vince: Hey. I wanted to let you know I’ve got a concussion and some bruised ribs from hitting the seat in front of me, but I’m ok and finally home.
Me: Thankfully, that’s all you have. Are you being taken care of?
Vince: Yeah. Emily’s taking good care of me and ordered food from a local place.
Me: Good. I’m glad she’s staying with you.
A few minutes later, another text came in.
Vince: She’s leaving when I go to bed…. she didn’t want me to think poorly of her. I asked her how I could after bringing me to the hospital, waiting for me, and keeping her promise of having dinner with me tonight.
Me: After spending just over thirty hours with her over the last six weeks, I can attest no one could think poorly of her. I am happy that she’s keeping her promise to have dinner with you. Anyone staying with you tonight?
Vince: I told her that when I am feeling better, I’ll make it up to her. My sister is. You?
Me: Yikes. Hope she doesn’t cause bodily harm! We both know she hates me and she’ll hate me even more when she finds out I was involved in your injuries. Not sure if I’m up for company. Mike’s long gone once I told him that I know that his uncle was my stalker…. he’s known for over six weeks and still didn’t say anything.
Vince: She knows that you’re important to me, and if she says anything negative about you, she knows she’s getting booted from the house and I’ll go no contact. Want me to send Bob?
Me: Woot woot! We both know that if you call Bob, he’ll come running over and try to move in with me. I love my brother, but the last thing I want is for him to move in with me. The last time we stayed in the same Airbnb, it  got ugly.
Vince: Fair enough! And I don’t want to know. Vic is a no-go, Matteo maybe? Unsure if he’s still in love with you.
Me: Vic is a go, Matteo is a no-go….. he’ll always be in love with himself first, then sports, followed by me.
Vince: I’ll text Vic in a few minutes as dinner just got here. Going to help Emily unload the bags and get situated, then I’ll text him. Want Bob to know?
Me: Sounds good. Thanks. And no, I do NOT want Bob to know. It’s like me asking you if you want your ex-wife to know.
Vince: Fair enough, ha ha! Have a good night.
Me: You too! Make sure you walk Emily to her car.
Vince: I will!

After putting my phone back on its charging base, I got up and finished cleaning up from dinner with Mike. It wasn’t hard, as we ate most of the food and we had so few dishes. I cleaned the bathroom, sprayed the kitchen counters to clean them, and lit a few candles. Once done with all of that, I turned the TV to select a channel that played music. As I was about to grab wine glasses out of the cabinet, I heard Vic’s familiar knock on the door. I quickly shuffled over to the door and opened it.

“Hey, Papa,” I said, breathing in his familiar scent. “Come on in.”
“Hey, Amore,” he whispered as he kissed me. “Thanks. It’s getting cold.”

He stepped inside, and I closed the door behind him, the lock clicking softly into place. Vic turned to face me, his eyes searching mine.

“How are you feeling?” he asked gently. “Do you need anything?”

I shook my head slowly. “I don’t need anything… except you. And one of your hugs.”

A soft smile spread across his face. “I can take care of that.”

He opened his arms, and I stepped into them, fitting against him like I belonged there. He wrapped me up tightly, one hand resting against my back, the other at my waist. We didn’t speak as we held each other—just stood there, breathing, steady and quiet. About twenty minutes passed before we finally loosened our hold on each other, neither of us quite ready to let go when we did.

Vic looked at me again, concern softening his expression. “Seriously… what else do you need right now?”

I glanced at him and smiled. “Honestly… maybe a glass or two of wine.”

He shook his head gently. “I don’t think that would be good with the meds you’re taking.”

I nodded. “Yeah… you’re right.”

I headed to the kitchen, opening the cabinet for my muscle relaxer and the bottle of Ibuprofen 800 mg. I poured myself a glass of milk and grabbed a single-serve cup of creme brulee flavored yogurt. Though I had eaten about an hour ago, I preferred to have a little something before taking the Ibuprofen—I didn’t want my stomach destroyed. I ate the yogurt slowly, savoring the flavor, then took the muscle relaxer and Ibuprofen with the milk. After finishing, I tossed the glass and spoon into the dishwasher and placed the empty yogurt cup into the recycling bin after rinsing it and the sink.

I turned back toward the living room, finding Vic still waiting for me, his gaze calm and patient.

“All set?” he asked softly.

“Yeah,” I said, moving toward him. “Thanks.”

He offered his arm. “What are you up for now?”

I hesitated briefly. “Are you cool if we just listen to music and chill?”

He tilted his head, considering. “I’d prefer a movie… but I know that your head hurts from the concussion. We’ll do music.”

I smiled, feeling a small wave of relief, as he reached for the TV remote to change the “station” to a different music channel that was still playing when Mike was over. I grabbed a thick blanket and draped it across the couch, then held it open for him.

“Here,” I said, patting the spot next to me. “Come sit.”

He sat down, pulling me close under the blanket. “You know,” he murmured, “even when we’re just listening to music, it’s perfect being here with you.”

I snuggled against him, resting my head lightly on his shoulder. “I couldn’t agree more.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and then asked again, softly, “Anything else you need?”

I shook my head with a small smile. “No… we’ll, just you. And maybe one more hug.”

Vic chuckled quietly. “I think I can manage that.” He pulled me in again, and this hug lasted long—long enough that my body relaxed completely, melting into his arms. The warmth, the steady heartbeat against mine, and the quiet music made the world outside vanish. My eyelids grew heavy, and slowly, I fell asleep in Vic’s arms, safe and utterly at peace.

Hours later, I woke up next to Vic in my bed. God, I love this man. I know that he isn’t mine but I appreciate the love and the care he provides me. He’ll never leave the wife nor do I expect him to. He pulled me to his chest and pinched my nipples.

“I thought you were sleeping, Papa,” I moaned as I arched my back.

“I was but I’ve learned to wake up when you wake up, amore,” as he kissed my neck. “I want you!”

“I want you, too,” I whispered as I rolled onto my stomach and spread my legs.

“Condoms, bebé?” Vic asked as he got situated between my legs.

“No, Papa,” I said as I lifted my hips. “I want just you.”

“Good,” Vic grunted as he pushed the tip of his massive dick into my wet pussy. “God, I have missed this with you, amore.”

His hands were already on my hips when he began to push his dick in me, slow at first—just enough to make me suck in a sharp breath before he filled me in one smooth, ruthless thrust.

“Christ,” he muttered. “You’re still so fucking tight. You’re perfect.”

I braced my hands on the bed, looking back at him over my shoulder. “You don’t get to talk like you own me.”

His grip tightened. “Never said I owned you. I said I wanted you.”

The difference hit harder than the hard thrust he gave me right after.

“You feel that?” he growled as he ground his hips and dick into me.

I pushed back into him deliberately. “You mean how you’re losing control?”

A breathless laugh left him as he snapped his hips forcefully forward again. “You always run your mouth when you’re winning.”

“And you always fuck harder when you’re challenged.”

His forehead dropped between my shoulder blades for half a second before he surged again. “Equal power,” he said through his teeth. “Definitely not how you like it.”

“Face it, Papa, you love it when I am in charge, too.”

The sound of skin on skin filled the room, the rhythm fast, dirty, unapologetic. His fingers dug into my hips, guiding me back into every thrust.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” I gasped. “My god, Vic, I can’t get enough of you.”

“You going to stop me?”

“No.”

“Then don’t pretend this isn’t what you wanted.”

I pushed back harder, earning a low, broken sound from his throat.

“Still feral as fuck,” he said. “I have always loved how feral you are.”

“Still arrogant.”

“You’re soaking,” he shot back.

“Shut up and don’t slow down.”

“That’s not a denial.”

My head fell forward as his thrusts turned brutal, relentless. Every nerve lit up. The room felt too warm, too loud, too small for what we were doing in it.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured.

“Not from fear.”

“Good,” he said darkly. “Because I’m not being gentle.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Another hard thrust stole the last of the sentence from my mouth.

“This is dangerous,” I panted.

“You were never scared of danger with me.”

“That’s because you’re the danger.”

His hands slid up my back, one wrapping around my throat—not squeezing, just holding, claiming.

“Say it,” he commanded quietly.

“Say what?”

“That you want this.”

I met his eyes in the reflection of the dark window.

“I won’t deny it,” I moaned. “You’re about to cum.”

His control snapped.

The rhythm broke into something savage and reckless and full of everything we shouldn’t be doing and were doing anyway. My nails scraped against the bed, then against his forearm as the edge closed in.

“Vic—don’t stop—”

His name ripped from my throat again and again as everything shattered at once—my body locking, his breath breaking apart behind me as he buried himself deep and stayed there, shaking as he filled me with his cum.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then he pressed his forehead to my back, still inside me, still holding me like he wasn’t ready to let go of the damage we’d just done.

“We just crossed every damn line,” he murmured.

I was still catching my breath. “We’ve been crossing that line for years.”

His hands slid slowly back to my hips. “And you still don’t run.”

I looked back at him.

“Neither do you.”

Vic pulled out and rolled me onto my back.

“How’s your head, amore?” he said as he kissed me.

“It’s fine,” I said with a sly smile. “How’s yours?”

“Ya estoy listo otra vez.”

“Lo se,” I said. “¡Siempre lo estás!”

“I find it sexy when you speak Spanish, bebé. I can’t get over how tight you are.”

Vic pushed his giant dick into me hard, the force of him driving me against the mattress. I gasped, nails digging into his shoulders as he didn’t give me a moment to adjust.

“Fuck… you feel so good,” he growled, voice low and dangerous as he was thrusting in and out of me.

I arched, trembling. “Vic… don’t stop.”

His hand slid along my side, gripping tighter. “I wasn’t planning to.”

“You’re insane,” I hissed, knowing that he would pleasure me as long as I needed and wanted him to.

“Insane for you and this pussy of yours,” Vic grunted as he was thrusting his dick deeper into me. “You have no idea how much I missed you the last few weeks, amore!”

“I’m gonna…” I started.

“Cum!” both Vic and I screamed as we both climaxed.

Vic put both of my thighs over his shoulders, thrusting in and out of me  in a frenzy as he shot his cum deep inside of me.

“Marry me!” he grunted as his body shuddered as he finished cumming in me. “My god, I could spend the rest of my life with you.”

“No,” I said as I pushed him off me, the last few drops of his cum fell onto my stomach. “You have a wife and kids.”

I got up from the bed and headed into the bathroom. I am not going to lie….it’s true that I love Vic and I have loved him since the first time we had sex so many years ago. I wasn’t going to admit that to him nor was I going to tell him to leave his wife and kids behind for me.

I sighed then turned the water on for the shower.  As I moved to grab a towel to hang up next to the tub, I felt his cum drip down my leg. I regretted not using the self-injection Depo birth control after getting home from the flight and hospital but I knew that I was going to use emergency contraceptive after getting out of the shower. I got into the tub to take my shower and the hot water felt amazing. I took my time washing and conditioning my hair.

“Do you want to remain being my side piece?” Vic asked as he joined me in the shower.

“Yes, I do,” I said as I turned around and put my hand on his giant dick. I began to stroke him. “I’m not getting married again, Papa. No matter how amazing their dick is.”

I continued to stroke his dick as he washed his hair. In no time, he came in my hand several times. He moaned my name as he came.

“Stop wasting my cum,” he muttered as he pushed me against the shower wall, spread my legs and shoved his pulsating dick into my pussy from behind.

“Faster, Papa,” I moaned.

Vic fucked me as hard and as fast as he could and I loved it. We came hard and often. Ten or fifteen minutes later, he pulled his dick out of my ass and moaned my name.

“I want you in the kitchen after our shower,” he moaned as he bit my shoulder.

“I love when we screw in the kitcen,” I said as I quickly lathered my body with soap. I rinsed off and got out of the shower. “Find me when you’re done!”

I dried off the best that I could, brushed my hair and applied deodorant. Before heading downstairs, I hung up my towel so it could dry properly. Once downstairs, I grabbed a paper plate and a napkin, carefully placing both on the kitchen peninsula. I got up on the peninsula and sat on the plate, spreading my legs. Seconds later, Vic found me in the kitchen.

“Hungry?” I asked.

“Always,” he murmured as he dropped to his knees.

Vic ate my pussy for who knows how long that night. I came on his tongue repeatedly and screamed his name; I didn’t want him to stop. When my body stopped shuddering from the last orgasm, Vic stood up. He headed to his overnight bag to grab his toothbrush and headed to my bathroom to brush his teeth. He knows how important it is to me for him to brush his teeth after eating my pussy.

I got off the counter, threw the paper plate and the napkin out, cleaned the counter and headed upstairs to take a quick shower. After drying off again, I tackled the sheets from my bed. I stripped my bed, threw the bedding into the hallway then grabbed fresh bedding and made my bed. As I was heading downstairs with the used bedding, Vic said that he’d start the wash for me. I thanked him.

I grabbed us water for our respective nightstands. I climbed into bed and once situated, I checked my phone for emails and texts. I had one from Mike.

Mike: You might want to keep it down next time—some of us didn’t sign up to hear your reunion tour.
Me: Then maybe you should learn how to mind your own business—or invest in better headphones.
Mike: You’re lucky the kids weren’t here.
Me: Even if they were, they would be asleep. Maybe invest in some white noise machines.

Vic joined me a moment after me putting my phone down. He knew that I was upset.

“Mike?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said as he got dressed.

I tried to sleep but I couldn't. I was worried about the both of them, Vic more than Mike and I also heard raised voices. Their “conversation” lasted a long time and I eventually fell asleep. When Vic returned to my house, he woke me up to let me know what happened between he and Mike.

Vic was sitting on the edge of the bed next to me, his hand brushing my face as he exhaled slowly. “I talked to Mike.”

My stomach tightened. “And?”

“He’s hurt,” Vic said quietly. “Not about the sex. About you shutting him down when you confronted him about Patrick.”

A short, hollow laugh left me. “Good. Because I was hurt when I found out he’s known for years that his uncle was a stalker.”

“He said he didn’t know it was you until recently.”

“And yet he still moved in next door two and a half months ago without telling me he even had a clue,” I snapped. “That part seems to get skipped over every time.”

Vic nodded once. “I told him that.”

My eyes flicked to his. “What exactly did you tell him?”

“That Patrick didn’t just ‘bother’ you,” he said. “That he destroyed your sense of safety. That he messed with your head and that he did real emotional and mental damage to you.”

My throat tightened, but I stayed quiet.

“And I told him,” Vic continued, voice firm, “that you don’t trust him anymore because he didn’t tell you he knew that Patrick was stalking you when he moved in next door. That he took away your ability to choose for yourself.”

I swallowed. “What did he say to that?”

“He said he thought staying quiet was protecting you.”

A bitter sound tore out of me. “That’s bullshit.”

“I told him that choosing silence isn’t protection—it’s a decision,” Vic said. “And he made it for you.”

My hands curled in the blanket. “That’s exactly it.”

“He also said he feels like he lost you the moment you realized how much he knew.”

“He did,” I said flatly. “The second he admitted it, something broke. I don’t know if it can be rebuilt. I just know I don’t trust him anymore.”

Vic studied my face. “I told him that too.”

I finally looked at him. “You did?”

“I said you’re not reacting out of anger,” Vic said. “You’re reacting because the ground under you isn’t solid anymore.”

Silence stretched between us.

“He asked if there was any way back,” Vic said.

My voice came out steady, but tired. “And?”

“I told him he doesn’t get to decide that. You do.”

I exhaled. “He was hurt that I shut him down?”

“Yeah.”

“I was hurt that he watched me live under a shadow and stayed quiet,” I said. “I think that’s worse.”

Vic shifted slightly closer to me. “Before I left, he offered to move as soon as he could.”

That made me pause. “He did?”

“Yeah,” Vic said. “And I told him he should—because I was positive that you weren’t interested in knowing he was still your neighbor.”

I didn’t hesitate. “That was the perfect answer.”

Vic’s mouth curved slightly. “I thought you’d say that.”

“Thank you, Papa,” I said as he kissed me on my lips. “Let’s get to sleep. You need it.”

“So do you, viejito,” I said as I smiled.

Vic stripped and joined me in bed. He pulled me close to his chest, wrapped me in his arms and we fell asleep in seconds.