Tymber Dalton - Pinch Me

How he’d grabbed her head firmly. “Have you come yet?”

She shook her head, mouth still wide open and ready.

Sadistic glee filled him. This was a routine they’d gone through countless times before, one she loved despite the resulting cane strokes.

Loved him taking charge and owning her, loved knowing he would follow through.

How she moaned, the sound vibrating through his cock, deep into his balls, as he fucked her mouth and her warm lips and tongue stroked him.

How she moaned again, harder, louder, with a mix of dismay and gleeful anticipation when he reached down and twisted her nipples.

How she moaned even more deeply when that finished her off and the orgasm washed over her, arching her against her restraints as she sucked him harder.

“There’s your five, baby girl,” he’d told her, loving how she moaned again, sucking him harder, more deeply, writhing against the ropes as she fucked her hips against the air and the bench as the vibrator hummed inside her.

It only made him want to fuck her more and harder, but instead, he withdrew before she could make him come. She whined in disappointment, but he wouldn’t be denied. He carefully tucked his protesting cock back into his jeans and walked around behind her.

First, he prepared a butt plug and, even as the vibrator continued humming inside her, he slowly and carefully inserted it, making her cry out as another series of orgasms washed through her.

And then…

Then, the Hitachi.

How he held it pressed firmly against her clit, still turned off, as with his other hand he brushed the cane against her ass.

“Time to pay up, baby girl. Ask me for it.”

She struggled to speak through the effects of the vibrator and butt plug on her brain. “Please give me my five, Sir!”

“Good girl.” He clicked on the Hitachi, on high, and took the first swing across her ass with the cane.

She screamed, in pleasure and pain, as she came again.

He drew it out, knowing how she loved it, the short-circuiting of her brain as he combined each painful cane stroke with the overwhelming pleasure of the Hitachi.

When she’d taken all five strokes, he turned off the Hitachi and set it and the cane down before returning to her head.

She still shivered, the other vibrator inside her not letting her completely stop orgasming.

He unzipped his jeans again and she opened her lips without prompting.

“Such a good girl.” He stroked her hair as he fucked her mouth, going faster but careful not to gag her, his own groan joining with hers as his balls tightened, then emptied, and she swallowed every drop of cum he fed her.

How later, on Tony’s couch, Laura had blissfully curled up in a blanket, her head in his lap while he talked with their friends.

How they’d gone home and she’d fallen asleep in his arms.

He barely missed rear-ending a car in front of him, jamming on the brakes and forcing his brain back to the present.

What kind of monster am I to think about stuff like that now?

When she looked horrible and had barely begun to heal from the attack?

Now was not the time for those kinds of thoughts.

And if she didn’t get her memory back, he was all too aware of how those thoughts might be all he had left of their former dynamic.

When Rob returned to the hospital a little before six that evening, he found Laura and Shayla both sitting on the bed, cross-legged, side by side. Shayla had her iPhone in hand and was showing something to Laura.

They both looked up when he walked in. The nearly identical expressions on their faces made his heart ache. He and Tony had frequently joked with each other that the two women truly were twins from different mothers. Not just their mannerisms and how they talked, they even looked a lot alike.

“What’re you looking at?” he asked.

“Shayla was showing me the website for the shop and some of the articles I wrote.”

Why didn’t I think of that? He set the pizza boxes on the bed tray table. He’d grabbed three extra large pies, more than enough to feed them and the deputy on duty, with plenty left over to give to the nursing staff. He knew from experience they didn’t always get a chance to get a good meal. “Anything?”

Laura shrugged. “A little. I looked at pictures on the shop’s website. Shayla said I built the website?”

He didn’t miss how it was a question, not a statement. “You did. You taught yourself how to do it.”

“Oh.” She cocked her head as if she didn’t believe him, either. “Really?”

He smiled. “Really. You’re quite good at it.”

“Oh.” She wrinkled her nose as she sniffed at the pizzas. “That smells good.”

He felt the shift in her focus as surely as he could feel a shift in the winds on the open Gulf. Laura was now fully focused on the pizzas.

Part of him hoped that was just a side effect of the memory loss. His Laura would remain almost maniacally focused on one thing for hours on end. It was what made her a great writer, as well as a good teacher.

He moved the plastic bag containing the handful of paper plates, roll of paper towels, and several bottles of water he’d grabbed from the house after walking Doogie. Opening the top box, he said, “Extra cheese, mushrooms, black olives. One of your favorites.”

She peeked in. “The others?”

“One with the works, for me, and one with ham and pepperoni.”

Within a few minutes, the three of them, joined by the deputy, were all eating.

Laura wore a thoughtful expression. “Are you all right?” Rob asked.

She slowly nodded.

“Is the pizza okay?”

She nodded again. “I like it.”

“What’s wrong?”

She shrugged as she stared down at her plate after a quick glance at Shayla. “It’s like I told her. I don’t know if what I’m feeling is because I liked it, or because I’ve been told I’ve liked it. Does that make sense?”

* * *

Laura looked back up at him, relieved when he nodded.

“I get it, honey. Believe me, we all hope your memory returns so that’s no longer a doubt you have to deal with.”

She felt a little guilty that Shayla had spent all day there with her. But after dinner, when it seemed like Shayla was trying to figure out how to say good night, Laura didn’t want her to leave.

“It’s okay,” Shayla assured her. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning. I promise.”

“And I have to work a half shift tomorrow,” Rob said. “So that works out well. When I get off work at eight tomorrow night, I’ll come here. You won’t be alone.”

Laura nodded, sniffling away the tears that tried to break through. It annoyed her that she didn’t know if she was normally a tough person, or emotional and weepy.

Right now, her nerves felt as raw as some of the sore spots on her body.

Add to that the guilt over not feeling the same kind of desperation over when Rob left.

At least Shayla had alleviated some of Laura’s fears. According to Shayla, Laura had been madly and deeply in love with Rob…before.

That damned word again.

Boy, how she despised it.

Yet…

There was something. Like a missing link everyone else was privy to except her. She didn’t know if it was related to the attack or something else. Like a subtext she didn’t have the ability to understand. She didn’t feel like she was being lied to, exactly. She just…

It would drive her nuts if she let it. She decided to drop it for the time being.

Finally, after another series of hugs and good-byes and promises she’d return in the morning, Shayla went home, leaving Laura alone with Rob.

He looked like he wasn’t sure what he should do with himself.

Frankly, it relieved her.

She sat cross-legged on the bed and looked at him. “I’m sorry this feels weird.”

He leaned forward in his chair and took her hands in his. “Please,” he gently said, “sweetheart, stop apologizing. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

She stared into his eyes. Sweet, soft brown eyes she’d no doubt spent plenty of hours staring into before. Here and there, tiny little flecks of amber and green caught the light. His light brown hair hadn’t started going grey at the temples yet, although the occasional stray grey hair peeked through here and there.

He had a kind face, too. Paired with the feelings of love and safety she got every time she was around him, it made her want to fall into his arms and hide forever.

Except part of her still felt afraid to do that. The gaping maw in her mind kept her isolated on the other side of the chasm, staring over it at him from the other side.

“Was I a really fearful person?” she softly asked.

He tilted his head. “No, sweetie. Why?”

“I feel scared. About everything.”

“Do I scare you?”

She needed to think about her answer. “You don’t scare me,” she carefully said. “The situation scares me. Shayla told me how much I loved you before all this. I’m scared that what if I screw something up and you don’t love the new me?”

“Aw, babe.” He stood and slowly encircled her in his arms, waiting for her to lean into his chest before he held her close. “I will always love you,” he whispered into her hair. “No matter what happens. Never forget that. I held your hand and begged you to wake up and come back to me and you did. I will never walk away from you. Ever.”

She let out a deep, relieved breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Okay.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Okay.”

* * *

It was after eight when she started yawning and couldn’t stop. She knew sleep wouldn’t come soon, but something told her she’d reached her daily limit on close, personal interactions. She already felt emotional enough as it was, as if she’d overloaded and couldn’t absorb any more information.

She needed a break.

He brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. “You look wiped out. Do you want me to see if they’ll let me stay in here with you? I can run home and walk Doogie and come back.”

“That’s okay.” She offered him a smile. “I’ll be all right. You need to get some sleep.”

That seemed to help soften the blow. And when she let him hug her before he left, she sensed his reluctance to let go of her.

“Oh, here.” He pulled an index card from his pocket and put it by the phone. “Those are my phone numbers, and Shayla and Tony, and Carol, and a few others.” His brow furrowed. “Although I just realized some of the people you…” He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I guess some of them you don’t remember yet.”

She hugged him again, slipping her arms around his waist. “Thank you,” she whispered against his chest.

The feeling of safety returned as he wrapped his arms around her and held her. She could easily spend all night just like this, standing there anchored to him physically, if not mentally.

Once he’d left, Laura invited the deputy guarding her to watch TV with her. They spent more time talking than watching, with Laura quizzing him on local details.

“Do you know Rob?” she thought to ask.

“Carlton? I don’t know him personally. I’ve crossed paths with him a few times during work. Everything I’ve heard about him is that he’s a nice guy, though.”

“Did I know you…before?” She hated that word. It had quickly become the quantifier by which her life was now gauged.

He shook his head. “No. I’ve never met you before now.”

She let out a sigh as she turned to the TV again. “That makes two of us.”

* * *

Det. Thomas scrubbed a hand over his face as he stared at the printouts on his desk.

Fuck.

He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt Rob Carlton had nothing to do with Laura Spaulding’s attack.

Unfortunately, the records of the text messages pulled from her phone account had just added a wrinkle to his case. One that, if it got leaked, could make life very difficult for the man.

Could even cost Rob his job.

It was half past eight when he picked up the phone and called him. “It’s Det. Thomas,” he said when Rob answered. “I need to speak with you tonight about Laura’s case.”

“Did you catch the fucker?”

Thomas stared at the printouts. “No. But I need to talk with you in person.”

“I’m on my way home from the hospital. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”