The wedding is a small one, held in the backyard of my new home with my handsome husband. He is white, British to be exact. Pa must have left out those part or maybe if I had gone through the file like Pa asked me to do, I would have known.
I steal more glances at him as he saunters to greet one of the many unfamiliar faces, doing my best to be subtle. His brown locks are swept back, staying in place with the amount of gel that has been put in it and I feel a warm sensation spread through my chest.
He's a beautiful man to look at. His lips are not as thin as you will expect from a British man, they are pouty, full and his eyes are brown--amber. His nose is crooked like it has been broken and fixed one too many times. All of these features sit on a face that tells a story, a dangerous one at that and I find myself getting attracted to him.
Pa did try to set us up many times, I never showed up. I wonder now if that will put me in my husband's bad book, he looks like one who never forgets. My husband? The word tastes like sour grape, I'm unsure if I like it.
A smile crawls to my lips when he throws his head back in laughter, my heart clench and I find myself grinning. I must look stupid, standing a few feet from the main event, smiling alone. Swallowing the imaginary lump in my throat, I swipe at the strand of hair falling over my forehead.
"You look so beautiful, El," Ma is saying. My head snaps in her direction, I offer her a smile. She takes a sip from the flute of champagne perched between her fingertips with an elegance that surprises even me. My smile widens, I squeeze her in a brief hug, she cleans up real good.
Her fingers brush my hair, keeping in place that stubborn strand that has come undone from the high puff I managed to make from my wild curls. My hair has a mind of its own, today, it will have to deal with the style I want.
"Thank you. You look wonderful yourself," I repay the compliment and she smiles as she does a little twirl.
She is dressed in a black off-shoulder gown that stops just above her knees to reveal her toned legs. Her skin glistens in the sun, she has truly been sun-kissed and her dimples are prominent when she smiles. Ma no longer has those hollow spaces in between her collar bone and I am glad I decided to marry this man, Brandon.
The name is foreign like many of those rich kids I attend school with but I don't scoff at hearing it. Instead, I like the way it settles on my tongue like it's my favourite candy and I bite down on my lip to keep from staring in his direction.
Speaking of the devil, Brandon walks up to us with a glass containing similar content as Ma then whispers into my ear, "Your mother is right, Elna, you look beautiful."
His voice takes a few seconds to settle in, when it does, my heart goes into overdrive and my nipples harden behind my armless gown. I suck in a sharp breath, the mirthless giggles escaping him tells me he noticed my little disorientation in his presence. He places a kiss on the back of Ma's hand and she excuses herself, something about giving the new couple privacy.
Without Ma, the atmosphere grows awkward real quick. I clear my throat, he shoves a hand into the pocket of his pant and I turn away under his smothering gaze.
"Are you enjoying our..." he trails off at the speed my eyes return to his face and that mischevious smirk returns to his lips. "Are you enjoying the party?"
"Yes." My voice is raspy, the nerves have seeped into it so I clear my throat and say, "Yes, are you?"
Brandon arches an eyebrow like he knows I am lying. But does he expect me to say otherwise? It is my wedding, I am supposed to be happy. I have to be happy.
Casting a glance at the guests, he offers me his hand but I am hesitant to take it. "Can you dance?"
Dancing has never been my forte but I don't want him to know that. "I don't feel up for dancing."
Brandon nods, I bite my lip when he strokes my cheek, trying and failing to meet his gaze. My eyelids flutter, his breath fans my face as our eyes finally meet. I forget everything around me and wait, wait for a kiss that never comes.
"You had this on your face," he mutters, his eyes darting to the almost invisible speck of dirt on his index finger. I grunt in reply, it must have gotten there when I hugged Ma.
Seconds later after he steps away from me, my eyes follow his which are fixated on a couple. They are watching us and I can't help feeling the show of affection was solely for their sake. He raises his glass to them and they do the same.
"Cheers," he says and comes to stand beside me. Maybe it is just me but I detect sarcasm in that word.
The band on the makeshift stage continues with their soulful rendition, they play all kind of songs, the type I would have wanted at my wedding. I do not consider this wedding mine, it's too flashy and the only people I know here are my parents.
Brandon dumps his glass into the tray of a passing server, wraps his hand around my waist from behind. He tucks his head into the space between my neck and shoulders.
"Relax." The knots in my joints loosen, I nod and his arms tighten around me. "Relax and enjoy the moment."
There's a strange sense of comfort I feel at having him in such close contact with me as we watch different couples dance in the space we created at the centre of the small field like it is their wedding. I feel it then; I know we'll get along.
* * *
"We should bath together," Brandon says for the third time. I can tell his temper is hanging by a thread with the way his jaw clenches but it doesn't stop me from shaking my head in the negative. I feel shy.
I am standing in nothing but a yellow lace bra with matching panties. Ma gifted it to me for my honeymoon night. She claims the colour brings out my beautiful melanin skin in a way no other colour can and I need to look my best for my husband. I cringe. I hope I can get used to saying that word.
My breasts threaten to spill over in this--this barely-there lingerie and I cover my chest with my arms. Brandon is standing naked by the bathroom door, unashamed as he strokes his dick lazily and I avert my eyes.
"I will say this one more time, as long as we are a couple, we will bath together." There is an edge to his voice that I do not dare disobey and my head bobs up and down of its own accord. This man scares me.
His lips twitch like he is fighting a smile and he leads the way for me to follow behind.
The interior of the bathroom leaves me gaping in awe. It is bigger than my living room, tastefully furnished than his master's bedroom that looks like a bachelor's crib. When Brandon settles into the bathtub, I tell myself that the floor to ceiling windows are made with one-way glasses or he simply doesn't care. I hope it is the former.
"Come."
I quickly dispose of my underwear, joining him in the large tub. My teeth chatter at the contact of cold water against my skin and he pulls me closer to himself, letting me go when the water becomes warm.
Taking a look at the window that shows our reflection, I catch him staring at me. I turn to face him and my breasts rise above the water. My nipples harden under his gaze and without a thought, I push myself up till we are locked in a passionate kiss.
He breaks away from the kiss first, mutters inaudible words under his breath and reaches for the body wash. I bite my lips to stifle a moan when he runs the loofah over my nipples and sticks a finger into my vagina but it edges him on to add one more finger and another till I'm crying out.
When my eyes finally open, he is staring at me with an arrogant smirk and his hands are no longer inside me. I feel empty and angry at his withdrawal, the need to pay him back pushing me to roughly caress his balls. He doesn't flinch or act like anyone is touching him and I retract my hand.
We finish bathing without any more drama, both of us keep to ourselves. As soon as we step into the room, I hurry to change into a new set of lingerie which is also all thanks to Ma. She filled my bag with them.
"No. Don't do that."
Brandon attempts to grab the lingerie from my hunched frame; when I don't give it immediately, he sends me a glare which earns him an eye roll from me.
"Stay here," he commands, leading me by the hand to the foot of the king-size bed.
"You have a beautiful body, you should flaunt it," he adds when he sees me trying to cover my breast and feminine area.
I'm not one to take orders from people but hearing them from Brandon makes me excited, wet even. When he asks me to lay on the bed with my legs spread open, hands above my head, I willingly oblige him.
He lowers himself to the floor until his face is directly in front of my vagina, blowing air into it. His fingers lightly graze my clit, making me shiver in anticipation of what is to come. He inserts two tiny balls into my wetness, motions for me to stop squirming when the thing begins to vibrate. But I cannot stay still. How can I?
The sensation that courses through me has my legs vibrating and tingles running up to my erect nipples. Goosebumps, the good kind, crawls up my skin and I forget everything for a moment except the feel of his expert fingers running in circles around the entrance of my core, doing me justice.
"You can't come until I say so," he mutters and I nod, unable to form any words.
Brandon leaves but the tiny balls continue their work. Without looking, I know that I have thoroughly soaked the sheet with the liquid I can feel running down my thighs. He returns later with a bowl and retrieves a strawberry from it, his tongue swirls over it as he watches me. He bites into it, coming to kiss me as he inserts that bit into my mouth. I chew it and transfer it back to him, my gaze set on his lips as he does the same.
We go at it for a few more times till he decides it's enough and I close my eyes in heavenly bliss at the contact of something cold on my nipples, navel and the line down my stomach. My vision returns when he removes the balls without notice, clamping my legs shut to place ice cubes on my clit.
I buck from under him, the pleasures too much for me to bear. My legs tremble and my nails dig into the sheets, there is a tightening in my stomach, the urge to let go.
"Stop moving."
His voice is hoarse as he pushes my legs apart and the ice cube slides into my vagina. I nearly jump out of the bed in surprise and shock at the desire that floods my body when that happens but his hands keep--or try to keep me in place.
When I don't stop moving, he bites down on my nipple, making me groan in sweet pain. His tongue comes to stay between my breasts, licking their way down to my navel while eating up the sliced bits of strawberry he had put there. I shudder, his touch is fire.
"If you move, I'll stop," he murmurs and pushes my hand that has come to rest on his back away as I struggle to remain still.
He comes back up to my nipples, taking turns to suck on them, while his fingers worked my dripping vagina. Inserting one, then another finger, he goes on till he has three fingers thrusting in and out of me.
I squirm under him, doing my best not to close my legs as the waves of pleasure take over me. There is no way I can stop moving, I'm too hot, my body is on fire, this, I need it to go on and on. Why did I ever stay away?
Brandon must have hated my constant movements because he turns me over, spanks me and keeps his hands to himself.
"Please." I don't know what I am begging for but I want him back. I need him to continue.
He takes a long look at me, sighs and leaves the room. A cry of frustration escapes my lips as I rub my legs against each other, going on to touch myself like he would in an attempt to ease the ache that only he can take away when he returns with handcuffs.
"Will you stop moving now?"
The nod I give isn't convincing enough for him, he goes on to cuff both of my hands and one of my legs to the bedpost. He trails kisses down my neck till his lip is hovering above my entrance, his hands massaging my breasts. His breath tickles me down there. I shiver, a moan slips from my lips. Without warning, he pushes my leg apart till they form a triangle without a base.
He dips his tongue inside me and retracts it almost immediately, he moans, his eyes close briefly before he flashes me a smile of approval and I am hot all over again. The tongue work resumes, this time, there's no gentleness and the only reason my body remains on the bed as he eats me out like a midnight snack is because of the cuff.
I try to wrap my free leg around his neck, to bring back some sort of control but he pushes it down and bites on my clit to show his displeasure. His tongue continues the good work, causing me to scream his name over and over again. This is a taste of heaven and my husband has successfully branded me with his seraphic touch.
He enters me abruptly, making me freeze at the size of the dick I had to accommodate. He thrusts into me sharply again and I cry out in pain as my vaginal walls clench tightly against his penis; he is gigantic.
"Is... is this your first time?" I nod my head shakily, jerking my hips forward so he can continue; this is a beautiful kind of pain.
His eyes cloud over in anger, his jaw tenses and he backs away from me like I have Ebola. "Why didn't you say something?"
"We were not doing any talking," I defend. My voice is barely above a whisper; I'm surprised he can even hear me.
I try to reach for him with my free leg but he backs further away from me. It sends a pang through my chest, confusion washing over me. I don't understand his reaction, shouldn't he be glad his wife is pure? I'd been tempted to sleep with a random guy after finding out I would be getting married but my conscience had not let me. I am a firm believer of no sex until marriage.
"I don't fuck virgins," he says with anger tainting his voice. He walks out of the room, leaving me with an ache in between my thighs, emptiness and sadness in my heart.
I wake up to light caresses on my face and a hand squeezing my ass. I moan but keep my eyes shut, afraid that if I open it, he might stop. He runs the edge of his palm between my buttcrack, creating friction that has me raising my hips to get access to more of his touches. His fingers pinch my clit before dipping into my wetness. My eyes fly open and I forget all about keeping quiet.
"You are beautiful. You are strong. You are awesome. You are tough, you are not the student body president for nothing," I say the last bit in a low tone and laugh.I should be proud of myself and ignore my husband's treatment of me. I am tough, the first female student body president my school has had in the last thirty years, it's a big fe
I don't recall how long I stand there after Brandon leaves but it's long enough for my legs to ache and my knees to feel like jelly. I crumble to the bed and in annoyance, put my hair in one big, messy bun and unbutton the first three buttons of my gown.To hell with Brandon and my attraction to him. I am so over him. My body seems to disagr
When my eyelids flutter open, a head full of blond curls is fussing over me. I blink twice and my vision clears. I see now that it is the bimbo who was touching Brandon, I shriek and push her off me. How dare her? She can touch, even have Brandon but not me.A small yelp escapes the bimbo's
A yawn escapes me, I blink to clear the rest of the sleep in my eyes with the back of my hand going over my mouth to prevent another yawn from slipping out. I swipe at the errant strand of hair over my face, putting my messy curls into a bun with a few tendrils falling out as I move into a sitting position to observe my environs. This is a new place.
His gaze on me forces my eyes to return to my fingers on my lap. "Why did you do it?""Because..." A sigh leaves my lips and I start all over. "I know you won't touch me and when she offered, I could not say no, my body wanted it. I need to feel like a woman."
Once the door of the private jet slides open, I am blessed with a view of the limousine waiting for us. The chauffeur in black suit is standing by the side, a hand on the door handle, ready to open up. I chuckle at the sight, I have never had a chauffeur, I don't even have a car and I can't help but think about how much my
No words leave my lips after that and he seems to find it okay. We step into the building and I see it's a hotel, a big, fancy hotel with no one in the corridor except for the pretty receptionist. Her face lights up in a smile as she walks over to hand Brandon a key card without a word spoken to me or an acknowledgement of my presence.
"You promised," he whispers. He lets go of me to run his hands through his hair. "You promised me, Elna. Your beginning, middle and end." Jumping to his feet, he folds his hands behind his head and murmurs, "You promised. You can't leave me. Baby, please."Unable to look him in the eyes, I bury my face into the pillow and continue shaking my head. I know the answer to his question now, I am so certain of it. Do I still want him? Yes, I will always want him, more than I have ever wanted anyone but I can't have him.Murder is murder and he killed his brother.And it hurts.It hurts every fibre of my being. I love him so much it hurts to think of a future without him. I don't think I can stop loving him but when I look at him, all I see is a killer. If I cannot look past his sins then I shouldn't be in his life. It will be our secret, it's not in my place to tell other people and I am fine with that. I wi
It is hard.Really hard.
He doesn't regret it. But he feels bad. What does that mean? I race down the stairs as fast as I can, my car keys dangling in my hand. Hopefully, I look sane with the way I hurriedly dressed and left. I need to talk to Clarissa but about what? Do I want to tell her what Brandon said? What if she calls the police on him? Will she do that? She won't.
I wake to amber eyes staring down at me. I flash Brandon a sleepy smile, he presses a kiss to my hair and I giggle, he must love my new shampoo. "You slept well?" I ask.He nods, placing another kiss on my temple. "I did, you?" he says against my skin and I hum in response, loving the wet kisses he litters on
The next day, my phone is pinging with notifications. David shoots me a grateful text I don't reply, I am sure he doesn't expect one, we are not friends. My finger hovers over the delete option on his contact, I hesitate. It won’t hurt to have it so I save his number, something I had failed to do. Bored, I send Brandon an SOS and switch off my phone.Time to take matters into my hands.Bathed, shaved and clad in lace lingerie that barely holds my breasts and reveals my bump, I sit up, legs crossed while awaiting that click that will announce his entrance. He won't talk to me like a normal person and now, I am pissed. And horny. And frustrated.The click to signify his presence sounds, reverberating in the room. I shoot up from the bed as fast as a pregnant woman approaching her third semester can and saunter to the door, swinging my hips. Brandon eyes me from head to toe, the appreciative glint in his gaze is missing but I shrug tha
Curiosity kills the cat. Satisfaction brings it back. It has to. That is the reason I am in this café, waiting for David after I made the spontaneous decision to see him. I pull my oversized tracksuit over my belly, trying and failing to blend in with the scanty crowd.A wave of nostalgia hits me when someone passes with a tray of fish and chips. I need to call Clarissa. I don't understand how we let life, thesis and coursework pull us apart but we need to meet. Sending her a short text, I roll my lip between my teeth while awaiting her reply. If she replies before David comes, I will cancel our meeting. She comes first.I shouldn't be here.That seems to have become my new mantra and each time, things turn out better than I expect. I hope it's the case today. Taking a swig from the water bottle on the table while I wait for the first person to show up, I try to push the nagging thoughts out of my head.
Seconds of silence pass, when Josh doesn't seem to be leaving, I ask, "Who is Brendan?""Our brother, Brandon's twin." I blink, my head spins from the sudden information and my thoughts crash to a stop when he adds, "He is dead." Josh's smile is pitiful, I don't know when I move to stand beside him. I pat his shoulder. "He died in an accident."Brandon has a twin, a dead twin. It's all I can think while my hand meets Josh's shoulder in an awkward show of comfort. He pries my hand off him with a smile I don't comment on because of how fake it is. I rub my hand against my hip. Brandon has a dead twin.Seeing how shaken I am by the news, Josh pushes me into his seat, I sink gratefully into it. I shouldn't have asked. My husband should have told me himself. "When did he die?""A while ago."I snap. "How long is a while ago?""Five years," he rep
Josh catches up to me before I reach the house, he offers me a smile, I shrug. None of this is his fault. We take a seat by the kitchen window, staring at the trio seated inside the gazebo. From our position here, we can't see their lips moving but I can't help wishing they will start a conversation. Talk to each other even if it ends in a screaming bout."Do you think they will reconcile?"Josh snickers. He hops to the fridge like he pays rent and returns with a huge chunk of cake. The leftover I had saved to munch on later because I can't resist anything sugary and his family didn't let me enjoy it. Fleeting anger surges through me, I close my eyes."Nope. Not a chance," he says. I turn to see him dragging another stool close to me.The poise and gracefulness he was forced to adapt when we were outside vanish when he gobbles the cake. I smile foolishly, this is the Josh I know. Slapping his knee, I mot
The gazebo is deathly quiet and the tension promises to suffocate us. Everything is going well, if you count the curt greetings from Brandon's snobbish parents. Queen Elizabeth doesn't hold a candle to Brandon's mother with her prim and proper manners, wrinkles and white hair cropped short. All she needs is a crown and I'll genuflect before her.Brandon's dad is an older beardless version of him with thinning hair. He is so quiet, the kind of quiet that allows his haughty wife freedom to speak to people as she pleases. A minute after exchanging greetings and I can already tell it was a bad idea to invite them.Seated beside Brandon, muscles tight and frustrated at my lack of release, I drum my fingers on my legs hidden under the table. He didn't have to punish me this way. I am pregnant, he shouldn’t leave me horny. One look at him shows that's the least of his worries.He is as tensed as I am, maybe even more and a wave of gu