Because the Night

Chapter Eighteen



I allowed Lisimba to carry me from the car to his flat even though I knew myself strong enough to walk. He placed me gently upon the microsuede sofa; then he retrieved a soft blanket to wrap around my legs. Before long, I found a tray of delectable, yet gentle on the stomach, foods sitting in front of me.



“Eat slowly, ma chére. You do not wish to make yourself ill. Remember that your stomach has not held anything for a week.”



I savored the bland chicken. After only a dozen bites, I felt full to overflowing and had to push the tray away. Lisimba took everything to the kitchen. Then he came back and sat in the corner of the sofa. He gathered me into his lap, pressing my head against his chest. The steady beat relaxed me, as did the soft hand sliding up and down my spine.



“Tell me of your life, sweet Cecilia.”



“There isn’t much to tell that you don’t already know.”



I felt him smile. “Begin all the way back, my love. Your parents—they no longer live. Correct?”



I shrugged. “I have no idea. I don’t even know their names, really.” I tucked my arm around his waist, sliding the other up to rest on his shoulder.



He pressed his lips to my temple and smoothed my hair down my neck. “I could read through your thoughts, but I prefer you to tell me the story, if you are comfortable.”



“There’s not much to tell. The state passed what they labeled as the ‘safe-haven’ law. Basically, it meant that parents could abandon their children at designated safe havens-hospitals, police departments, places like that-and they would not face endangerment or abandonment charges. According to the case file, I was found by a janitor in the hospital waiting room. He tried finding my parents, but no one knew when I’d shown up. There was some sort of accident that had the ER staff hopping, people coming and going, basically, it was chaos.



“Child Protective Services ran information in the paper, hoping to find anyone who knew anything about me. As far as they could tell, I was around two years old. After a month, with no one coming forward, they declared me part of the safe haven program. The only problem was that no one even knew what to call me.



“One of the nursery workers at CPS used to read to me at night. She said that I always dragged the same book over, night after night, and when she read the girl’s name, I clapped my hands. So, they gave me the name of Cecilia, after the character in the book I loved so much.”



The hand across my legs squeezed lightly, a show of support for my story. “How did you end up with a last name?”



I chuckled. “That was given to me out of deference to the center. I was housed in the Malcolm Center for Children until they could arrange the paperwork to start the foster care cycle.”



“You never found your parents.” It was more of a statement than a question.



“No. The case worker ran my DNA profile and entered into the NCIC database, thinking maybe there was a criminal link. That came up empty. He kept checking back every couple of weeks, all the way up until his retirement.” I shrugged. “It never really mattered to me because I had no memory of them. It’s very hard to miss something you never really had.”



Lisimba stroked my hair. It was so relaxing.



“How is it that you never ended up adopted? You were so young that you should have found a family easy enough.”



I nodded. “You would think so, wouldn’t you? I don’t know why it never happened. It just didn’t.” I traced my fingers along his collar bone. “The interesting thing is that they all said I never cried out for my mommy or daddy. I guess maybe that was part of the placement issue. Even as a toddler, I seemed content to be on my own. By the time I hit my teen years, I decided that there was no point looking for them anymore. They obviously didn’t want me, and I didn’t want to know who they were. CPS marked my assumed second birthday as being the date I was found at the hospital, since they had no information otherwise.



“I had eight different foster homes over the course of sixteen years, never staying longer than two years in any one home. The last two years were spent with my case worker and his wife. They took some graduation photos for me, and let me stay for a few months after I was officially ‘out of the system’ so that I could find a job and save a little money to pay for rent. The court stepped in, though, and declared that anything beyond three months would be considered inappropriate, and Jim would lose his job.”



I sighed. “That’s pretty much my story. After that, I worked my way through college, with the help of a lot of financial aid, started my career, and the rest is history.”



My hand opened, palm down, against his chest, sliding slowly. “I never got to ask you, did you enjoy your meal?”



Lisimba gave a low rumble. “Not nearly as much as I enjoyed that night, watching your eyes glow, seeing your inhibitions fall away, feeling your orgasm explode through every cell in your body.”



My heart skipped several beats hearing the sensual, predatory growl within his words. “Tell me,” I whispered breathlessly.



He shifted me in his lap until I straddled his legs, facing him. “At first, I watched the glimmer as the alcohol entered your system. Your beautiful eyes changed from the normal yearning glow to one of wild abandon. Melinda had something to do with that, I’m sure. However, after we shared a bit of your dinner, I would claim the fault on the resulting excitement.”



Gentle hands slid along my arms, up my neck and traced my face. “Your naturally pale cheeks flushed as the blood pumped harder.”



My eyelids fluttered shut. I let his words wash over me, eliciting much the same response.



“When Lin asked you to call the twins, I watched the scenes of potential slide through your mind.”



I gasped.



“Oh, yes. I know your secret longing, ma petit amour. I know what you wish to do, and with whom.”



A light caress across the base of my spine, just above the waist band of my shorts, sent tremors along the rest of my back.



“By the time we arrived at Dans les Ombres, my cock was rigid for you. The line of your neck as you tossed your head back in laughter, the rise of your breasts when you breathed, the gentle womanly sway of your hips while you walked, I fought to contain myself.



“I have wanted you so much. I want you in my bed, in my arms. I want you over and under me at the same time. When you suckled my neck, I nearly lost all control. The gasp of the blond woman was all that held me in check. That feeling, my love, is so close to the feeling of taking communion with your beloved. There are no true words to describe the amazing sensation of taking communion from the love of your heart.”



He trailed his hands around my waist, sliding them along my thighs. My breath caught.



“When you shared Lin’s tuber, I watched your lips move against hers. I didn’t think my dick could get any harder, but it did. You were already so sensitive that I knew you wouldn’t last much longer. I could see your climax rising quickly. Then Lin pressed her breasts against you.”



He closed his eyes, apparently reliving the experience behind his eyelids. They stayed shut for only a moment before he opened them, training his chocolate orbs on me.



“My god, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. You were made for pleasure, Cecilia. Your body begs to be brought to peak, over and over until you are little more than a quivering mass, barely able to breathe for fear that even that will cause you to climax.”



Lisimba leaned forward, caressing my lips with his, urging gently until they parted, and then delving his tongue inside. I closed my hands over his shoulders, gripping hard enough that I’m sure my nails dug into his skin, regardless of the shirt he wore. I felt his enthusiasm where I straddled him, and that caused my own excitement to increase.



Long before I wanted, Lisimba pulled away, shifting my weight until I rested in his arms like a child. Then he stood without the slightest stagger and made his way to the bedroom. He rested me gently on the bed, making quick work of tucking the blanket gently around me.



I cocked one eyebrow upward. “Not what I expected.”



He leaned down and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “You are still too weak to handle my intensity, ma chére. For now, you rest. Once you are stronger, we will continue.”



“I’m not that—.” A yawn interrupted my argument.



He chuckled. “You are. And you will rest.”



I puckered my lips into the best pout I could manage. That only made him laugh. I huffed, and then I pulled the blanket down on the other side of the bed. “At least lay with me.”



Without a word, Lisimba stripped off his shirt, dropped his shoes to the floor, and slid in next to me. I curled close to him, tucking myself into the crook of his shoulder and throwing my right leg over his, locking him in place. In mere seconds, I slept.



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