For Her

She’s gentle as she guides his hands to the headboard. There are thin wooden slats, large spaces in between for his fingers. The position isn’t comfortable and his muscles are already aching in protest. But he doesn’t complain or try to find a less awkward angle for his arms. He isn’t going to.

Not until she lets him.

She reaches for his pants, crumpled where he’s thrown them on the ground. He watches her slide the belt out of the loops, stroke the leather across her palm.

"Do I need to use it?"

Todd grips the headboard tighter.

"No."

><

"Okay, so it’s honesty time."

Evangeline tenses as Nora settles into the couch. Her friend has that look, the one she reserves for hostile witnesses and disciplining Matthew. She knew it was coming. Nora never needed to talk about something that wouldn’t leave her squirming.

"You and Todd."

Of course.

"What about me and Todd?" Evangeline reaches for her coffee and takes a sip. Nora waits until she’s lowered it back to the table before speaking.

"Do I have to say it?"

"I know." Evangeline shrugs and raises her hands, palms up. "What can I say that you don’t already know?" She smiles. "I’m an open book Nora. Ask me anything."

><

She’s fully clothed, the wrap dress she wore at dinner barely rumpled, but gaping at her breasts. He stares at the dark indention of her cleavage, the hint of lace visible on one side. She touches his stomach, fingers splayed, just above his boxer briefs. His erection has tented the fabric, the flap gaping wide over the head. She ignores it, focuses on the hair beneath her fingers. She plays in the strands, moving higher, her arm brushing against his shaft.

"If you let go." She looks at the headboard, his fingers digging into the wood. "I’ll stop." She meets his eyes. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No." He says this quickly, swallowing against the desperate tone of his voice. Todd closes his eyes when she lowers her mouth to his stomach, her neck pressed against the now slick head of his cock.

"Please don’t stop."

><

"You moved in fairly quickly."

Evangeline nods. "Yes, well I didn’t have anywhere else to go. My apartment’s gone."

"You could have stayed with me."

"Oh come on." She tilts her head and laughs. "You, Matthew and Bo? Where was I going to sleep, on the couch?"

"We have a guest room." Nora pauses. "I know how pushy Todd can be. I just don’t like feeling like you were pressured into anything."

Evangeline adds sugar to her coffee. "I don’t feel pressured at all."

><

She pulls his underwear down quickly. His cock bobs against his stomach, so hard it’s almost painful. She settles between his legs, her hands gripping either thigh. She reaches lower and gently cups his scrotum.

Todd grunts, his hips thrusting up, into air. She shakes her head slowly. "You know the rules. You come…"

"When you say so." He finishes her sentence as he exhales. He nods quickly, his arms trembling above him. She lowers her head, opens her mouth wide on the underside of his shaft. He feels her tongue, light fluttering licks over his skin.

She moves lower, to his scrotum, licking until they draw tight against his body. He’s twitching, leaking with the need for release. But instead he moans her name.

"Evangeline."

><

"I’ve known him a lot longer than you have, and…" Nora sighs, fidgeting on the couch. "I hate to bring this up but…"

"Just say it."

Nora hands are balled into tight fists. "Todd Manning needs to control everything around him. His career, his children…" She pauses. "The women in his life."

"Todd doesn’t control me."

"Not yet." Nora shakes her head. "Evangeline, you can’t ignore who he is. No matter how much you think he’s changed."

><

"What do you want Todd?"

She says this, lips hovering over his cock. He starts to speak but she takes him deep inside, sliding her lips down his shaft. He closes his eyes, reveling in the wet heat. Then it’s gone and she’s watching him again.

"I asked you a question."

"I want." He swallows hard when she licks the tip. She stops to swirl her tongue around the slit, then takes him deep again. "I want…oh…fuck…"

"Tell me."

"I want to…" He closes his eyes, legs spread wide as she cups his scrotum. "I want to fuck you." He’s whispering, struggling to form the words. His body wants to thrust, pump in and out while she sucks him off. But he doesn’t move. His hands are rubbed raw from gripping the wood but he doesn’t move.

She rises to her knees and pulls at the tie around her waist. It falls away, revealing lacy underwear, a thong that barely covers the dark shadow of her sex.

She smiles.

"Not yet."

><

"I’m not naïve." Evangeline shifts on the couch, arms crossed over her chest. "Despite what you and everyone else in this town may think, I am well aware of Todd’s issues."

"Issues?" Nora laughs. "That’s one way to put it."

"You almost died." Nora’s eyes widen. "You almost died Nora and when you came back, how much of the bullshit you cared about before really meant anything?"

"That’s different. I wasn’t best friends with…"

"And I was." Evangeline leans forward. "I closed my eyes and lost two years of my life. They took that from me and I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it." Her hands are trembling. She shoves them under her arms and looks away. "I’m done being a victim. And I am done giving shit what anyone else thinks my choices."

She looks at Nora. "Including you."

><

"Keep your mouth closed."

She’s on her knees, straddling his chest. Todd’s back is propped against the pillow, her sex even with his mouth. She moves forward, presses the fabric covered heat against his lips. He wants to lick her. She knows he wants to. But he does exactly what she says, teeth clenched as she taunts him with her scent.

"Should I take them off?" Her fingers are threaded through his hair. He nods, grunting his approval when she slides the thong down her thighs. He watches as she tosses them to the floor and strokes her hand over the dark lips of her pussy.

"You’re sweating." She touches his lips with that same hand. He fights the urge to take her fingers into his mouth. "Do you have something to say?"

She rises to her knees again and nudges him lower onto the bed. He stares up at her face, waiting. "Okay."

His relief is immediate, a visceral tremor through his body as he opens his mouth wide. He thrusts his tongue deep inside, moaning as she rocks against his face.

><

"I’m not judging you. That’s not what I’m doing…"

"Aren’t you?" Her voice is louder than she intended. She takes a deep breath and extends a hand in Nora’s direction. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you."

"No I’m sorry." Nora shoves a hand through her hair. "I’m just…I’m just worried Evangeline. You haven’t been the same since your attack."

"That’s because I’m not."

><

She guides him inside her one inch at a time, her fingers wrapped around the base of his shaft. He watches the pale column disappear, until she’s settled against his hips, her body gripping his shaft.

She rocks slightly, just enough to make him groan. Then she rocks again, applying pressure to her clit. He wants to thrust. His heart is pounding with the effort to be still. She places both palms flat on his chest and leans forward to kiss his lips.

The movement causes him to slide out completely, the head still pressed against her opening.

"Don’t."

She whispers the warning against his mouth. He leans his head back with a grimace, his hips planted firmly to the mattress. She slides back down, taking him deep again. Then begins to rock, faster this time, her hands still pressed against his chest.

Then she finally sets him free.

"Okay."

><

"I hate the way it makes me feel." She stares at the floor, her body swaying with a slight rocking motion. "Every time I think about it, I just…they took everything. Trapped me in that bed…" She looks at Nora. "Do you have any idea how that feels?"

"Yes I do. You feel powerless."

"Powerless." Evangeline nods, her voice stronger. "Yes. That’s exactly it. And Todd understands that. He understands that I need…" Her voice fades. She meets Nora’s eyes and shrugs.

"He just understands."

><

His muscles cramp as he reaches for her, but he barely feels the pain. He grabs her hips as she leans forward, both hands planted on either side of his shoulders. He digs in with his heels and thrusts, grunting as he raises his hips. Evangeline cries out and he thrusts harder, pumping in a frantic rhythm. She trembles, chants his name and he can feel her coming but doesn’t stop. His stares at their bodies, his cock pumping up and down, euphoric with the freedom he’s been given.

He comes shouting her name, his body arching from the bed. It seems to last forever, and he keeps thrusting with the flow. He pulls her down, presses her body against his, reveling in her warmth as his breathing returns to normal.

She shifts in his arms, her face pressed against his neck. Her voice is muffled but he can still make out the words.

"Thank you."