Chapter 7

By the time Gus returned to the bedroom She was shivering as much from fear as from the cool air. She needed Gus' warmth to chase away the chills and the terror. When Gus climbed into bed beside her she went into his arms and huddled against him.

"I still don't know how you can even touch me," she whispered. "You know, after everything I told you."

"What you told me was not about you," he told her. "It was about Virgil Branson and his evil business. I know what happened tonight brought it all back, darlin', but nothing Virgil didor threatened to do—could make a difference in who you are or the way I feel about you. You've come so far, Anya. We're building something so good. Don't let him take it from you. From us."

"Oh, Gus," she half sobbed. "Help me."

"Close your eyes," he instructed. "That's it. Now. Just think about me. This is my hand moving over you. My mouth sucking and drinking. My tongue lapping at your body. Just me, Anya. Just me."

His hand drifted across her breasts, cupping each one before lightly pinching each nipple. He drew a line from the pulse at her throat to her navel with the tip of his tongue, lifting her body to him as he licked and lapped.

Suddenly Anya knew what she had to do. What she needed to do to make this about her and them and not the nightmare she'd thought had finally disappeared. Pushing at him she rolled up to her knees and pushed him flat on his back.

His hands reached up and gripped her arms. "You don't need to do this."

Yes," she protested. "I do. And I want to."

The first three days Virgil had kept her at the house, coming to her room at all hours, smooth-talking as he stripped her of her clothes and examined her as if she were a package on display, she'd made up her mind to attack him any way she could if he tried to fuck her. Penetrate her. Put his cock inside her.

But that hadn't been number one on his to-do list. The mouth, he'd told her. That's where the real talent was, and hers was just made for what he wanted. For weeks after moving in with Gus she'd gagged just remembering the image of herself kneeling on the floor, naked, hands bound behind her back, while Virgil gripped her head and plunged in and out of her mouth.

It had taken weeks for Gus to convince her that what Virgil did and what he wanted for the two of them were worlds apart. The first time she'd hesitantly taken his rigid shaft into her mouth, tasting the velvety skin with her tongue and licking the smooth head, she'd moved slowly, forcibly pushing Virgil from her mind. But the pleasure she'd given him had been so intense she'd actually looked forward to doing it again. And again.

Now she knew it was what she needed to put this new nightmare in its place. To deal with what was happening and know in her own mind that what she had with Gus was truly something special.

Kneeling beside him, she cupped his heavy sac with one hand and wrapped the fingers of the other around his pulsing cock. In the soft light from the bedside lamp she could see how dark the head was, how thick the tiny drop of fluid already seeping from the slit. She took a tentative swipe with her tongue across the surface, feeling power surge through her when a strangled groan rolled from his throat.

The sound empowered her. She tightened her grip at the root of his cock and lowered her head over him, taking him into her mouth as deep as she could. She waited tensely for the feeling of dread to return, the one Gus had banished with loving patience and attention. But Gus' essence filled her too completely, leaving no room for anything else.

Rolling his sac in her fingers, she sucked his cock into her mouth as deeply as she could, setting a steady pace. The thick vein that wrapped around his shaft pulsed against her tongue, his erection flexing and swelling as she pulled and drew on it. Her small fist moved up and down in rhythm with her mouth while her fingers continued to squeeze and play with his balls.

Gus lifted one of his hands to tangle the fingers in her hair but yanked it back down quickly. She had described to him so vividly how Virgil had held her head in place that he'd schooled himself not to repeat anything that could remind her of that action. But tonight she needed him to do it, to erase every vestige of memory of that horrific time. Momentarily removing her fingers from his cock, she reached out for his hands and placed it against her temple. She held his wrist in a tight grip until he finally threaded his fingers through the fall of her hair, his mouth making small sounds of satisfaction.

Anya smiled around the width of his cock, reveling in his touch. The glide of his fingers through her hair reminded her that this was Gus, not someone to be feared. Gus, who'd taught her how to enjoy her body and his. Gus, who gave her sanctuary and a future.

As she moved her head and fingers up and down she lost herself in the rhythm and the taste of him. Everything faded away but Gus, his body, and his wonderful response to her. Beside her he tensed, hands clenched into fists, body arching up to meet her mouth. His taste was intoxicating, his response even more so. Faster and faster, she moved, her fingers busily manipulating his balls in the soft skin of his heavy sac.

"Jesus!" he groaned.

Anya worked him harder, mouth stretching around his erection, tongue licking, fingers busy, until his entire body tensed and arched nearly off the bed. He exploded in her mouth, coming in great spurts. She swallowed it as fast as she could, his semen coating her tongue and her throat, the slide of it heating her body and sending jolts of passion to her cunt.

She sucked him until the last of his release jetted from his body and then slowly slid her mouth up the length to the head, letting her lips glide over it in one last caress.

Gus still had his fingers tangled in her hair and he exerted gentle pressure to urge her to move on top of him. His lungs strained for air and as she laid her head on his chest she could hear the heavy staccato beat of his heart, a sound that gave her immense comfort.

"You're amazing," he said when he could breathe again. "Incredible. Astounding. Unbelievable."

She smiled against his chest. "I don't think so, but I love the words."

He slid his hands beneath her arms and tugged her until her face was level with his.

"Feel better, darlin'?"

"Mm-hmm." His warmth seeped into her, wiping away that last vestiges of chill.

"But I think we didn't do this right." He tilted her head so she was looking directly into his eyes.

"W-What do you mean?"

"I mean, I was supposed to be taking care of you. Making you feel better." His fingers tap danced up and down her spine.

"Uh-uh. You're always making me feel even better than good. Tonight I wanted to know that I could do that for you. That your pleasure came from me."

He looked hard into her eyes, as if trying to see to the very bottom of her soul. "Don't you know that you make me feel good just by being with me? Anya, The best I ever had doesn't come close to how good this is. And only with you. Virgil Branson is an animal, a bug, and we're going to squash him. I won't let you think less of yourself because of him."

The knot that had tightened in her stomach when the phone call came, that seemed to reach upward into every part of her body and coil her more tightly than a spool of wire, unwound with a distinctive snap!. She inhaled Gus' wonderfully familiar scent and placed feathery kisses on his chin and jawline.

"What would I do without you?" she sighed.

"That's something I don't intend to find out." He rolled her onto her side, spooned her against him and pulled the covers up over them both. "Sleepy time, darlin'. I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be a busy day."