The other shoe has finally dropped. It all makes sense now. The abused became the abuser.
“You should’ve broken the cycle,” Patrick says angrily.
“I prayed and prayed, seeking guidance, but I was weak.”
“What happened to them?” I have an inkling their deaths were tragic.
“He came home drunk on a Saturday night, which wasn’t uncommon, then the beating started. He punched her until she stopped moving, and I was powerless to help her.” His eyes glaze over as he recounts the horrific details of my grandfather’s violent crime. “Afterwards, he loaded his gun, pressed the barrel to his temple, and pulled the trigger. Blood and gore splattered my face. I kneeled beside my mother, held her hand, and waited for paramedics to arrive. She was pronounced dead on the scene. Blunt force trauma to the head was the official cause of death.”
A lump forms in my throat and tears fill my eyes. Misfortune taints the Bryant lineage. Patrick slides down the wall, looking sick to his stomach.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” My voice cracks.
“I wanted this buried and forgotten.”
“This isn’t something you keep from your children!” Patrick shouts.
“I thought it was for the best.”
“You don’t get to decide that!” Patrick jumps to his feet and storms out of the house.
“Can you forgive me for the way I treated you?”
“I will. Just give me time.”
He nods. “I’ll pay your college tuition and for anything else you need.”
“Have you ever spoken to a therapist?”
“No.”
“Can you? For me, please?”
“Yes, I promise.”
“Thank you.”
This is a new beginning for my father, Patrick, and me.
Dom kneads my bottom while the tip of his tongue diligently explores my throbbing vulva. His proficient mouth fastens onto my swollen clit and sucks vigorously, creating an unbreakable suction that renders me incoherent. His long, tapered fingers tunnel through my pulsating portal, stimulating my G-spot. My sweaty body undulates, riding his face in rapture. The cool sheets stick to my heated skin. I’m a live wire, close to electrifying us both. My head thrashes from side to side, and my back arches as I orgasm.
Dom licks his way up my quivering belly and settles between my spread legs.
“I love you, Pepper.” He kisses my lips and positions his thick manhood at my sopping entrance. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”
“I love you too.” Tears spill from my eyes. “Please never leave me again.”
He gradually penetrates my center to the hilt. This man is my soul mate. He was born for me and I for him. Dom presses his forehead against mine and rolls his hips, plunging in and out of my depths. This play of his rippling, sleek muscles is spellbinding. I slide my hands over his hard flesh. If this is a sin, take me to Hell. I don’t give a damn. I’ll burn for him.
“Pepper, will you marry me?”
My eyes pop open, and I jolt up in bed.
A dream… it’s just another dream.
I’m drenched in perspiration. My heart pounds in my chest, and my breathing is rapid. The sky beyond my window is pitch black. I couldn’t have been asleep long. As always, his touch felt so real. Dom haunts me. Asleep or awake, his presence surrounds me every single day. It’s difficult to concentrate at work and school. My manager pulled me into his office to discuss customer complaints about incorrect orders, moving too slowly, and not being attentive. I was given a verbal warning, the first since starting the job freshman year. And the subpar assignments I’ve turned in have my professors side-eyeing me reprovingly. I delve my fingers beneath the waistband of my soaked panties and skim through my saturated folds. I moan, still feeling his length stroking inside of me.
“Oh God!” I wail. “I can’t take this torture anymore!”
