Riding Bitch (13 page)

“Suffering?” He’d sat back.

“You know what I mean.” At least she hoped he did, because she wasn’t sure she could explain. “You have to make me come, please!”

“No, what I have to do is let it build until you come so hard you pass out.”

He went back to work, drawing lines and circles on her skin until she was screaming. If he’d had neighbors, they probably would have been calling the cops by now to see what was happening up at the Chee place. She supposed he must have been satisfied with her reaction, because he moved on to her ankles. He tickled them with his fingers and then painted around the ropes in the exact same fashion as he’d done with her wrists.

From time to time his hair would caress her skin. Wouldn’t it be interesting, she thought, if she came from his tickling her with his tresses?

She wasn’t screaming anymore, but Felicia didn’t know if that was because she didn’t have the energy or she didn’t enjoy having her feet played with as much as her thighs or her arms. It was something they’d have to explore later.

“Are you still with me?” Ash’s voice sounded in her ear, soft and gentle.

“I think so,” she said. “I need to come.”

“I know, babe.” He nibbled on her earlobe. “Tell me how. Do you want me to fuck you? Do you want me to eat you? Do you want me to play with your sweet pussy until you topple over the ledge that you’re holding on to right now?”

“All of it,” she said with a deep sigh.

“How about I use my fingers so I can watch your pretty face when you slide into the abyss.” It wasn’t a question, and he didn’t wait for a response. His fingers found her clit expertly, but if Felicia had thought he was going to make her come quickly, she was wrong. He stroked her clit, pinching it, then backing off before he did it again, and again.

When his fingers were still, his lips went to work, not on her clit but on her nipples, sucking first one and then the other.

Felicia was back to begging, screaming out for him to please, please let her find some satisfaction.

She wasn’t sure how long he tortured her this way. All she knew was when he finally kept the pressure on her clit and she came, her eyes pulsed and she saw stars, and not just the ones up in the sky.

When the fake stars had faded, replaced by the real ones, Ash was propped up beside her, a big grin on his face.

“Free my hands so I can do the same for you,” she said, wanting to touch him more than she ever had before.

“I already came, sweetheart,” he said. “I used one hand on you, the other on me.”

“Not fair.” She pouted. “I wanted to play with you.”

“Next time.” He kissed her deeply, and then he undid her bonds.

“I need to shower,” she pointed out.

“We’ll take a fast one and then hop into bed. We have a busy day tomorrow. Are you worried about it?”

“A little. I’ve never been very good at standing up to my father.” She sat up slowly, rubbing her wrists and then her ankles. Her muscles ached from being in the same position for so long. “But now I have you to help me through it.”

“He is a bit of a tyrant.” Ash put his hands on hers. Then he lifted one of her hands to his lips before he continued, “But we’re in the right, Fee. We were then too, but he got the best of us. It won’t work this time.”

She nodded. He was right. Her father wouldn’t ruin things this time, and Felicia was determined to get an answer to a question that had bothered her for the last thirteen years.

Why.

The smell of cinnamon wafted out from the oven as Felicia checked the rolls. She decided they needed a few more minutes and shut the door just as Ash came in from outside.

“You’re letting out the heat when you do that, you know. That’s why there’s a glass window for you to look inside.”

“Nag, nag, nag,” she said with a grin. “I know what I’m doing.” She looked at the clock. It was eight fifteen, and she’d been up since six. She hadn’t been able to sleep, even after the extremely relaxing, incredibly erotic night with her future husband.

“I hope so. I’m looking forward to some home cooking.”

“Are you marrying me for my ability to make dinner?”

“That and your tight pussy.”

Felicia had just picked up her coffee cup and taken a drink when Ash made his last pronouncement. Hot liquid spewed from her mouth and hit the counter as she laughed. After she set the cup down, she picked up a towel.

“You’re terrible,” she said as she wiped up the mess. “Plus, how do you know I can cook?”

“If you can’t, we have a problem.” He walked to where she was and then wrapped his arms around her from behind. When he’d pulled her into his chest, he said, “The love-slave thing might not work because we’ll need your salary to buy lots of takeout.”

“I can cook,” she said. But his statement pointed to something she didn’t want to think about. They didn’t really know each other in the everyday sense of life. The time they’d spent on the road was not normal, and their time here had been casual yet hurried to get to the showing, and now in dealing with their parents.

She’d figured out he slept on the right side of the bed because of the nights they’d been together. But other than that…

“We haven’t discussed children or religion or…anything.”

“We know what we need to, that we love each other,” Ash said. “Maybe it’s naive of me to say it, but I think we’ll make it work. We’ll make a pact with each other to always talk about things, to always let the other know how we’re feeling, and to always, always hold on to our love.”

Her heart raced. “It hasn’t disappeared in the thirteen years we’ve been apart, and I’m not sick of you after a week together.”

“Good to hear,” he replied.

The grin on his face made her love him more. They both turned their heads toward the back door as the sound of an approaching car could be heard. Felicia checked her watch.

“Twenty minutes early,” she said. “That would be my dad. He’ll think that if he’s here before your parents, he can get what he wants to say in first.”

Ash crossed to the door. “Yup, it’s your parents, but mine are right behind them. I wonder if they met earlier to go over strategy.”

“I can hear it now.
It’s too soon. You’re rushing it. You need to wait.
”

“Don’t let them get the best of you,” Ash told her. She went to him, and he hugged her. “I should have spanked you this morning to give you a sore ass to think of instead of being worried.”

Felicia laughed as he opened the back door. Her father came in first, followed by her mother and then Ash’s parents.

“Hello, Dad, Mom,” she said. She walked to them, thinking that maybe he would hug her. He didn’t make a move, but her mother did.

“Good morning, dear,” her mother said as she hugged her daughter. When she released her, she turned to Ash. “This is a beautiful house.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Montrose, but it’ll be much better after Fee’s put a woman’s touch on it. Hello, Mr. Montrose.” He held out his hand, and her father ignored it.

Felicia’s temper flared. “Don’t be an a—” Before she could get the word out, Ash put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. She took the warning and closed her mouth. She turned to her future in-laws.

“Mr. Chee. Mrs. Chee.” She inclined her head slightly to both of them in turn.

“Hello, Felicia,” Mrs. Chee said, moving into the kitchen as if she owned the place. Ash’s father, however, went to the side of her body that was free and did the same thing his son had just done.

“Call me Charlie,” he said.

Felicia wasn’t sure how to respond, but a split second later she realized that in all the troubles of the past, she’d never heard Ash say one thing about his father being against their relationship. It had always been his mother he’d talked about. She’d just assumed that his dad had wanted to get his son away from the white girl too.

She felt a sudden kinship with the man who was smiling down at her. “Thank you, Charlie.”

“Fee made breakfast, if anyone is hungry,” Ash said. He walked toward the island in the center of the large kitchen. “The rolls will be out in a few minutes, as will the frittata. There’s fruit, and we have coffee.”

The tension in the room was so tight Felicia wondered if they all might spontaneously combust.

Finally, her mother said, “I’d like some coffee, please.”

Felicia could have kissed her. The simple request started the others off on their requests for beverages, and by the time they’d been served, everyone had something to drink, except her father, who still looked as if he wanted to slap everyone in the room.

Felicia took the food from the oven and served up plates. They moved to the dining room table, where the six of them sat comfortably. After they’d eaten a little, Ash started the conversation.

“I think we know what everyone is going to say, but let’s hear it anyway.”

“It’s much too soon,” her father spat out. “Felicia needs to come back to Shiprock, and if the two of you want to have a relationship, you can wait awhile to see if things work.”

“Long distance?” Felicia shook her head. “Not going to happen.”

She was floored that her father had made such a suggestion. Then she realized what he’d been thinking: make it seem like he would accept the relationship if they waited awhile, but when she was away from Ash, he would chip away, berating her for making a bad choice.

“Felicia and I are getting married,” Ash informed them. “If you don’t agree with our decision, we’re sorry for that, but we’re adults now.”

“You don’t know each other,” her father said. “Sex does not build a relationship.”

“Love does.” Felicia could feel her voice breaking. “Ash and I spent hours together, talking and getting to know each other. I didn’t sneak out of the house all those years ago just to get laid.”

“Felicia!” Her mother’s mouth dropped open. The older woman was blushing. “How could you say something like that?”

“I’m sorry, Mother, but I don’t think we should dance around the situation, even if we’re talking about thirteen years ago.”

“You mean when he defiled you?” her father interjected.

Felicia pushed back from the table. “That word makes it sound as if he didn’t have my consent. We made love, Father. I was in no way defiled!”

“You were a child.” Her father stood, and she thought he was going to launch himself at Ash. Ash must have thought the same thing, because he stood too, his hands balled into fists.

“I was old enough to make decisions, according to the state of New Mexico.” Felicia tried to keep her voice calm and even. “Whether you believe it or not, I was seventeen when Ash and I became lovers.”

“And what do you know about him now?” She could tell her father was trying to use the same restraint as her future husband.

When she spoke again, her voice was soft but insistent. “I know he’s a successful artist. I know he still loves me, despite the fact that I ignored him when he made an overture to come back into my life. I know I’m lucky to have him, and that I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“You can’t trust him,” her father muttered.

“What did you say?” Ash leaned toward him. “May I ask what you’re basing that opinion on?”

Her father glared at Ash, and once again she could see the threat of violence just under the surface.

“Let’s just say I know what your people are capable of.”

“My people?” Now she thought it was Ash who would throw the first punch. “Are you talking about my family or my race?”

“Figure it out,” her father retorted. He stood. “Felicia, if you marry this man…I…”

She thought he was going to say he would disown her. Instead he started toward the door. “Come on, Betty. We’re leaving.”

Felicia’s hands shook; she was crying so hard now she couldn’t catch her breath. Ash’s arms were around her, holding her as he murmured in her ear that it would be all right, that things would be fine without her father in their lives.

What she heard next shocked her to her core.

“No.” Her mother’s voice was calm, but the tone said her mind was made up.

“What?” Her father sounded shocked.

“I know it’s not a word you hear from me very often, Harold, but I said no. My daughter, my only child, wants to get married, and I’m not going to be left out of it because of you. It’s been twenty-four years, Harold. You can’t let your disappointment ruin your daughter’s chance for happiness.”

Felicia hiccupped and tried to catch her breath. Ash handed her a napkin, which she used to wipe away her tears. “What are you talking about?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“It’s none of your business,” her father said.

“Oh, it is, since you’re using it as an excuse here,” her mother told him. “While you’re talking of honor and defilement, shouldn’t your daughter know you had an affair that ended in a woman’s death?”

“Daddy?” Felicia focused on her father. She felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. “You had an affair?”

He didn’t respond. Instead he continued to stare at her mother, as if she’d just betrayed him in the worst way possible.

“He did,” her mother said when the silence continued.

“We should go,” Charlie said, standing.

“No, sit,” her mother said. Felicia had never heard such forceful words come from her mouth. “It’s better to hear things firsthand. Your father fell in love with another woman, when you were about six. Before you ask, I will tell you she was white. Things like this happen, and rather than fight it, we separated. But this woman, well…she had another lover. She liked to play them against each other.”

“A Native American,” Ash said.

“Yes.” Her mother was angry now, her voice tight and high. “One night she invited the both of them over, knowing they’d be there at the same time. A fight ensued. The other man, Jim Stone, had brought a gun. The two of them fought. It went off and hit her.”

Felicia looked at her father. He was staring at the floor, the fight gone out of him.

“She died instantly, or so they say,” her mother continued. “Both men were charged with involuntary manslaughter and spent two years in prison.”

“Prison?” It was as if someone had sucked the air out of the room. Her father was a felon?