Ransom (6 page)

With one eye swollen shut and just turning a horrible shade of blue, and my t-shirt bloodied from my cut lip, Lydia had tried to hold me, comfort me even. It had rapidly turned into us stripped naked, sex had followed. Only this time it was different, so much more intense, not a desire but a need to possess and release all my anger into an act that wasn’t violent. In fact Lydia had commented afterwards on what an amazing lay I had been. I knew then that sometimes I needed to punch something to purge my hatred for Pa, but more times than not it was mind-blowing sex that made everything go away for a while.
 

When I was with a woman, my senses were alive, every nerve-ending in my body was electrified and I was absolutely and utterly free, there was no Pa and…

“Ransom,” Dave’s voice cut knifelike into my thoughts, and I was shuttled back to the present.

“What’s your name?” I said to the blonde, ignoring Dave.

“Charity,” she said, gazing at me with lidded eyes.
 

“I’ll see you inside Charity,” I said, letting her name roll off the tip of my tongue in almost a growl. She drew in a sharp breath; I knew I had her.

“Check and mate,” I said under my breath, as I strode toward Dave.
 

Paula and Jose were ahead of him, locked in a passionate kiss. Dave shook his head, the agony in his expression was palpable. I felt more than a little guilty for leaving him out to dry when he clearly needed moral support. It must have been hell for him to see Paula, the so-called love of his life, snogging another guy barely a foot away. I still wasn’t sure why he had never bothered to ask Paula out before. He didn’t seemed to have an issue with talking to girls in the bars we frequented, but for some reason it was different for him with Paula. I wondered if love made you act in ways that were so uncharacteristic.

“Let’s get shit-faced,” I said.
 

I threw an arm around his shoulder and tried to guide him forward. He pulled away from me as if I was trying to make a move on him. I laughed.

“Don’t worry man I don’t think Paula will get jealous,” I said, winking seductively. Dave was less than amused and seemed to tense to the point of constriction. He remained quiet as we waited for the line to move. But when I struck up a conversation about his favorite topic, cars, he unclenched and started talking again.

Half an hour later, much to my relief, we were inside the bar. I welcomed a break from the constant stream of nonsense I’d had to direct Dave’s way to keep him distracted. I didn’t give a shit about cars, engines, horse power and whatever else came with his obsession. It wasn’t like I didn’t like nice cars because I did. I imagined that there was probably nothing better than zipping down a deserted road at super sonic speed in a sports car, but since I knew that it would never happen, thinking about the impossibility was an exercise in futility. Besides, if I was being honest my obsession was with women and how I could pleasure them, not exactly the kind of thing that I could talk about standing in line to go into a bar.
 

Just the thought of the things I was going to do to Charity made my breathing pick up. Even though I had suffered a dry spell, I couldn’t think too far ahead, because if I did my body was liable to start showing just how horny I was. The car talk had dampened my sex drive marginally, but what really helped was when Charity disappeared into the bar and out of my line of sight.

Inside, the music was loud and the beer was cold, a perfect combination for the absolute quintessential night. I didn’t waste any time, honing in on Charity and her friend. From the glow of her cheeks, Charity had already had a few drinks. I made sure I caught up to her, chugging back a few pints in minutes. The buzz that I was left with was exactly what I had been working for.
 

Dave was too quiet, hardly speaking to Charity’s friend, whose name was Patricia. She wasn’t as cute as Charity, but she definitely wasn’t a dog. And from the way she was eyeing Dave she was interested. But everyone had their limits, and if Dave didn’t get his sexy on soon he was going to lose her. I wasn’t about to let his wet blanket attitude screw up my chance to have fun with Charity, who had seemed to have been created to my strict specifications.

“Where are you guys from anyway?” Patricia said, directing her question toward Dave.
 

He stared straight ahead sullenly. I gave his shoulder a punch, a little harder than was needed, then cocked an eyebrow at him that said he better get his shit together soon.

“All over, right Dave?” I said with one more piercing stare in his direction. Finally, he seemed to get that I wanted him to stop playing the starring roll of cardboard cutout. He perked up a touch, locking his puppy dog stare on Patricia. When he realized for the first time that Patricia was seriously easy on the eyes, his expression shifted ever so slightly.
 

She was curvier than Charity with Chestnut hair that fell in soft waves to well beyond her shoulders. Her eyes were an unusual blue with specks of brown, and she had a sweet dimpled smile. The only problem was that she had virgin written all over her, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted Dave to be the one to deflower her. Girls like her deserved more than a one night stand from a guy she would most assuredly never see again.
 

With Dave finally in the mix we went through the mindless banter that strangers did in bars. An hour later and after several more drinks I had learned that Charity was a stripper at a club one town over. I had tried not to laugh when she had told me that nugget of information, since I had pegged her exactly right. Patricia, to my utter astonishment was Charity’s younger sister, back from college for the summer break. They no more looked alike than… I paused. I guess it was the same for Gabriel and me. No one in the world would ever have presumed that we were related.

 
Unexpectedly, Charity leaned in close, giving me an unobstructed view of all her assets. Without a word she wrapped her wet pink lips over mine. Slightly surprised by the suddenness of the move it took me a few seconds to register what was going on. When I did, I tugged her close, cupping her ass in both of my hands. I shoved her pelvis against my hard-on, letting her know without a doubt that all pistons were firing and ready when she was.
 

Charity, unlike her sister had clearly been around the block a few times before. She latched on to my lips like a pro who knew every part of the human mouth, and each spot that needed to be tantalized. She shoved her breasts against me until they pushed up into mounds above her dress. I was more than encouraged that she had shown so much initiative, it meant that I would get to the soft center of the hard candy without even having to try.

“Let’s go,” I said against her mouth, pleased that I was going to get what I needed a whole lot faster than I had estimated.
 

Charity giggled softly and nodded. With the green light glowing bright, I was ready to ditch the wall to wall people and get down to some one-on-one time. Charity moved ahead of me just enough that she was out of earshot. She swayed a little in the crush of people, clearly more than a tad tipsy. I hoped she sobered up a bit before we had sex because I wasn’t into girls that were passed out and unresponsive. I liked them completely aware so they could enjoy all I had to give.

“I’ll meet you guys back at the car at say…” I glanced down at my watch. It was just after 10:00 p.m. If everything went as planned I would definitely be finished by midnight.
 

“Twelve-thirty,” I said to Dave, tacking a half hour on for good measure.
 

He didn’t attempt to hide the eye roll he directed my way. It was the only negative response that he showed for me bailing on him so early. But I knew he wasn’t really pissed because if anyone knew me, it was Dave, and that when we had been on the road for a long time I needed to get down and dirty. I didn’t feel too bad though, because from what I could see he and Patricia, after some initial awkwardness, seemed to be getting along pretty good. I hoped it was enough for him to forget Paula, at least for the night. He gave another stiff nod then quirked a half-smile. It was all I needed to free up any reservations I’d had about leaving him.

I pushed through the people that separated Charity and me, catching her hand in mine. Her fingers were long and slender, bony even, but the contact felt good. I leaned closer, pushed aside her hair and planted a soft kiss on the nape of her neck. I breathed in her scent that was a mix of bubble gum with a hint of jasmine. She smelled as good as she looked. I nipped the smooth skin of her bare shoulder before I let her hair fall back into place.
 

As soon as we hit the night air the half-dozen beers that I had guzzled hit me hard. I staggered a bit then cursed that I hadn’t paced myself better. I had learned long ago there was a fine line between getting a buzz on and getting plastered. It was no fun doing the latter because sex was never as good, like a nerve pathway had been dulled.
 

The sky was clear, black velvet with stars that looked like scattered diamond-bright lights. As soon as we had cleared the people lining the sidewalk I tugged Charity into my embrace for a long kiss. This time I did the exploring, and she groaned against my mouth. When our lips broke apart, I guided her to the privacy of a alleyway that had a half wall blocking the entrance. It was as if it had been put there specifically for us. Soft light flooded the space so I could see exactly what I was getting.

Then the memories came like they always did when I had sex. Images of Ma, broken and battered. Pa’s fists pummeling me, sometimes hitting her too. Of Gabriel, who despite being the only person in the world that I loved, still tethered me to a man who I hated just as much.
 

I pushed away the thoughts that were too early, too vivid. My heart thrummed against my ribs. I was almost there and soon would go to the place where nothing existed but heady and undeniable pleasure and sensations. Skin against skin, lips pressed together, being in control, even for a little while, then release.
 

Charity kissed me with an intensity that said she wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. Where most girls might have said that they didn’t do this kind of thing all the time, Charity had no such qualms. She obviously liked sex and wasn’t embarrassed to let me know.
 

“Do you have a place we can go?” I asked, breathless with excitement. I didn’t even know why I had asked her because I was ninety-percent sure that I wasn’t going to be able to wait that long.

“My car,” she whispered.
 

Her breath hitched when I brought my hand under her dress and trailed my fingers up the curve of her thigh to her hip. I grinned when I realized that she wasn’t wearing panties.

“Naughty girl,” I said, catching her top lip between my teeth gently. Her breathing came in short bursts. I worked my hand up a little more to her waist, running my thumb over the satiny skin of her flat stomach. She moaned, which said that she was already more than a little turned on by my touch. Her over-the-top response was almost too much for me to take after so long without sex. She tried to dig her hands in my hair, but soon realized that it was too short to get a grip. Abandoning the move, she cradled the sides of my head.

 
For a moment I wanted to pull away because her touch was too intimate, too sweet. I didn’t care what part of my body women went for, as long as it was because of a hunger that needed to be satisfied, not anything like tenderness. Love and all that other bullshit was completely separate from sex. It was one of my golden rules, one I would never break.
 

When she brought my face to her heaving chest, I was more than relieved that I had read her moves wrong. Without hesitation I slipped the skim of fabric away from her breasts and they bounced into view. They were round and beautiful, one hundred percent fake, and absolutely perfect. Her invitation was as clear as every other move she had made so far, so I rapidly got to work.
 

“Holy shit that feels so good,” she said, panting as I ran a few fingers inside and between her legs. She was Brazilian baby smooth and was already slippery with excitement. She moved against my hand for a few seconds then seemed too impatient to wait. In a smooth move she reached down and unzipped my fly, slipping her hand inside, then wrapping her fingers around me in a firm grip. I grinned and just managed to hold in the sound that would have given me away too soon.
 

She fumbled with my belt, releasing the buckle. With the zip down and the belt opened, my pants slipped down my hips just enough. Charity helped me out the rest of the way, practically ripping my boxers down my thighs. Hot with desire, I took a minute to pull my shirt off, tossing it onto the littered ground beside me.

Charity’s eyes widened in apparent appreciation. She ran her fingertips across the tiny silver barbell that I wore in my nipple piercing. I had gotten it a year and a half before, when Dave had somehow convinced me that it was something I absolutely needed. I had been too drunk to care and the rest was history. At first I had hated it but when Pa had seen it, and had said that only pussies got earrings in their tits, those exact words, I had embraced it with all my being.
 

A black tribal tattoo that covered half of the opposite side of my chest, was my next screw-you act, then more tattoos here and there. All were black, some were symbols, like the Chinese characters for strength I had right above my belly button. The marks of course were hidden by my shirt because even I didn’t have the balls to defy Pa by showing them off. In the eyes of the world, the Sanders had a squeaky clean image and there would be hell to pay if I ruined that fallacy.
 

Charity’s mouth replaced her fingers and she sucked and licked at the barbell. I continued fingering her until she groaned with pleasure, arching her neck back so I could get to work on her breasts, kneading them as I flicked my tongue over her swollen pink nipples. She gasped, then cupped my balls, guiding me closer.