Once in position, I was able to place my face near the slightly open window and hear the conversation as if I were in the room itself.
“He was cheating, Mother. I just refused to believe it. I mean…what’s wrong with me?”
“I raised you to be strong, my love,” came the other voice from the phone’s speaker. “That man got too much of your energy. Alienated you from your brother and us. Even from–”
“Don’t, Mother,” she forced out through gritted teeth.
My frozen fingers grabbed a piece of loose siding, crushingand splintering it into small pieces as I listened to Lucy speak with Dr.Coleman. I couldn’t bear to hear any more, and if she gave me this chance, I would show her what real love was. Help her to see that love was not always one-sided.
Fucking Bastard.
She sounded so broken, and I just wanted to kiss all her worries away.
“You know what,” she said, guzzling a glass of red wine. “You’re right, Momma. I am going to have the best weekend of my life. I even have some friends with me.”
What the fuck?
I thought M said he brought her up here alone.
A booming laugh could be heard from the speaker as Lucy held up a vibrator, showing her mother through the video chat. The silence was deafening from inside while the whipping wind mingled with the hooting of owls and howling of the wolves higher up in the mountains. If her mother was anything like I remembered, she laughed awkwardly and bid her goodnight.
This position was painful now, and I was thankful when the door jiggled. The bells above signaled that I should move out of view as Lucy stepped onto the porch.
I could see the lone tear stray down her cheek and shuddered breaths forming a dense fog as she took the tarp off of the large firepit, and threw a wool blanket over a chair.
Alarm bells rang when I lost sight of her, and I immediately sprang into action, following her footsteps until they ran out at the mouth of the trail. Like hell she would be entering the woods by herself.
I’d be there, like I always have. Her college graduation, outside her first job interview. Each time she volunteered at the hospital. Every time she was forced to retreat to a hotel to escape a rough night. I was there…so many nights I wanted to reach for her when I was home. I wasn’t stalking her, more like paying attention.
Over the last fourteen years, I’d spent a fair amount of timeoverseas, and like a good soldier, I did my duty. I couldn’t run any more, though; it was time to spearhead this.
By the end of the weekend, Lucy would be mine. I would suffocate each of her breaths with a longing kiss. She would admit everything to me, everything she’d been holding in.
She would scream my name while I emptied into her, and then beg me for more.
The thought already had my cock straining against my pants as I followed her into the woods.
Slow, calculated moves, Sam.
Chapter 6
LUCY
Thank goodness I’d remembered the trail and wasn’t as blind as a bat at night. Still, it was pretty dark. The falling snow made visibility even harder, and I needed the kindling for the fire. Even if I had one before I left, I’d be happy.
I was a bit nervous. I was out here alone, and the howling had my heart racing. My brother and I had remembered to stop at the tiny shop at the bottom of the mountain, but in the rush, I completely forgot about grabbing a firestarter or lighter fluid. Each breath became dry against the cold night air as I picked up another piece of wood, humming to myself as I worked.
I made sure not to go too far into the woods, and my only saving grace had been the poles that illuminated the area. Each had Christmas lights intricately wrapped around it and glowing brightly. It was so beautiful despite the new neon-like lights. I preferred the vintage ones, but I still enjoyed these.
My family was right. I would use the weekend to clear my head and just have fun. Did I even remember how? My people-pleasing tendencies had turned me into a shell, and now I needed to find myself again. I owed it to myself to live the rest of my life as unapologetically as possible.
My chest heaved when a rustling caught my attention. Allmy senses narrowed as a figure appeared from behind the trees, standing there and watching me with its head tilted slightly to the left. If I wasn’t frozen enough, that did the trick. My body was trapped in place, shaking and not sure what to do next.
“Who are you?” I asked in a warning tone, gripping the small bundle of wood close to my chest. Somebody was trespassing on my property, and I wanted to know the culprit.
Fear encased me as I was met in silence. The only sounds were the crunching of the snow and my erratic breaths. If it were possible, I was sure that you could hear my heartbeat erratically against my ribs.
He took another step forward, and I sprinted, dropping the sticks and pumping my legs as fast as they would take me to get back to the house.
