Lost Highway (8 page)

Odessa

R
elief washes over me once we
leave the outpost and gain enough distance from the pungent meat scent clinging
to the air. Ahead of me, Quill moves unflinchingly through the thick brush,
shoving aside low hanging tree branches. I struggle to keep up with his pace.

The crunching of our footsteps
on dried leaves echoes through the woods, making me think people walk all
around us. Before I can adjust to all of the noise, the day goes silent. I
can’t even hear myself breathing in the cooling day.

“Keep up,” Quill mouths to me.

I speed up my pace, even as my
right leg throbs. Around me, the woods wake up. The crunching noise returns
along with what I think is growling. I stop more than once, feeling certain
something is directly behind me. Every time, I find nothing, even as the growling
circles me.

“Odessa!” Quill calls out from
yards ahead of me. “Keep up!”

Nodding, I walk again and
ignore the growling. Even when I hear what sounds like animals running nearby,
I don’t stop.

The wind picks up around me,
throwing leaves and dirt in my eyes. I don’t think I hesitate. I’m certain I’m
still walking. Except at some point, I find myself standing alone in the woods.

The dancing leaves distract me
from worrying about where Quill went. The wind’s power remains silent, though
the voices return. They tell me how I was born with fanfare and welcoming
faces, but I’ll die alone and unloved.

I feel someone holding my hand
and turn to find Athena staring up at me. Her face is just as I remember her
from the day she died. Her hair is in short pigtails. Her clothes are covered
in blood.

“I didn’t want to die,” she
says in a singsong voice.

My mind struggles against the
power of the Lost Highway’s tricks. I think I take a step forward, but I’m
unsure if I do. The woods’ fury switches back on, and the intensity deafens me.
The voices laugh. The animals growl. Athena squeezes my hand. Through it all,
I’m powerless to flee.

Suddenly in front of me, Quill
shakes me hard enough to break the fog. His angry face is a relief, and I reach
for him.

“Eat this,” he says, shoving
something into my mouth.

“I’m not hungry.”

Chewing the little bite, I
struggle to understand what I taste. The flavor rushes back a long dead memory
of enjoying Skittles with Athena. We ate them until the sugar gave us a
giggling high.

Focusing on Quill, I smile. He
nods at my reaction and then leans down until our gazes are level.

“Night is coming. We need to
run if we want to reach the cabin before the darkness reaches us.”

“My leg is…”

“No, it’s not. The Lost Highway
doesn’t work that way. You aren’t really in pain. It’s all in here,” he says,
tapping my left temple. “You need to run and keep running until we’re inside.
If we’re out here in the dark, I suspect I can’t protect you from the wolves or
anything else living in the night. Do you understand?”

Nodding, I take a deep breath
and look at where we’re headed. “I’ll follow you. If I can’t keep up, don’t
wait for me.”

Quill frowns at my words, and I
know he won’t leave me to die. Something awoke in him in the basement, and he
fears losing the feeling before understanding what it means.

My only concern is not getting
him killed, though.

We run, and I work to remain as
closely behind Quill as possible. His large build busts through the overgrown
brush, leaving enough space for me to follow. His pace is steady, but I can’t
keep up. While I don’t fall too far behind, his distance from me increases.

I focus on him rather than the
darkening woods. His long legs pump hard even though he carries at least thirty
pounds of supplies on his back. Quill moves like a machine, but I felt his
heart beating in the basement and know he’s a man.

Wanting to feel his face again,
I run faster. No matter how far ahead he becomes or how much the woods darken,
I don’t stop. My tongue still relishes the sweetness of the candy, and my
fingers tingle at the feel of his cheeks.

If I make it to the cabin, I
plan to kiss him. His kiss in the basement felt clumsy, more hostile than
passionate. He didn’t know what to do, but I’ll teach him. Quill never knew
kindness. That much is clear based on his rough ways. I’ll show him how to
treat me gently and how to pamper himself with small gestures.

When I run now, my leg no
longer hurts. I only see Quill’s back in the distance and know I will reach the
cabin before the darkness does.

The woods suddenly end, and I’m
in the clearing. Quill stands at the foot of the porch steps. He calls my name,
and I hear his panic. He knows the darkness is closing in on us, and he also
hears the growling. We aren’t alone here, but I won’t allow fear to slow me. I
keep running right past him and into the cabin, knowing he’ll follow.

Quill bolts the door closed and
glances out the window. Based on his reaction, we barely made it. He closes the
shades and turns to me.

“Thank you for the Skittle,” I
say, sliding off my jacket. “It helped a lot.”

Quill’s face is a mask of rage
and fear. He hates me now. I slow him down and make him care if I am left
behind. He doesn’t want to feel anything. Indifference is all he knows, but
it’s not what he needs.

Deep inside, Quill is curious
about the warmth and care I offer. He isn’t blind to everything he missed in
his odd, militaristic upbringing. Until now, he believed nothing he lacked was
worth wanting.

I’ve changed everything for
him, and now my weaknesses threaten to steal it all away.

Quill

A
fter unpacking the supplies, I
wait for Odessa to listen to music or eat a piece of fruit. Rather than embrace
the sounds and flavors of her old life, she watches me. I narrow my eyes at Odessa,
wanting her to take the hint. She only narrows her eyes at me and then smiles.

“Have a peach,” I mutter.

“Will you eat some too?”

“It’s not poisoned.”

“I hope not,” she says, walking
to the kitchen.

As her fingers slide over the
peach, their movements mesmerize me. I remember the way they moved against my
forearm. How they felt teasing my face. I need to stop thinking about her
fingers, but they’re all I see until her lips press against the peach’s flesh.

Stepping back, I glare at her.
Odessa’s infected me with her limitations. My body doesn’t feel like mine
anymore. It craves activities I don’t need or want. I’m unsure how to feed the
desires. Odessa would know, but I refuse to ask. If a modest taste of affection
turns me into this mess, I can’t chance taking things further.

“Have a bite,” she says,
cutting a slice and placing it against my lips.

I eat the peach without tasting
its sweetness. I can only think of Odessa in the shower back when she arrived
at the cabin. The sight hadn’t affected me then, but now I am very aware of her
small breasts under the yellow shirt she wears. I know her nipples are pink and
harden in the cold. I recall the slight patch of dark hair covering her pussy.

Why can’t I stop thinking of
her naked?
I
wonder if the Lost Highway is using her to destroy me.

Odessa slowly eats the peach,
enjoying each bite. When juice drips down her chin, I ache to reach out and
wipe it away. My fingers yearn to touch her.

I saved her. Not only today but
since the first time I saw her in the Lost Highway. I deserve to take what I
desire. Odessa wants to be punished, and I can be the man to hurt her the way
she wants. I’ll give her what she craves, and she’ll provide what I need. We
can make the same agreement she had with John.

I’m relieved the man is dead. I
don’t want him walking around knowing how Odessa’s body feels. He needs to be
dead, and she killed him, but I find myself wishing I could be the one to end
him.

“What are you thinking about?”
she asks, handing me another slice of peach.

My mind is on how she can
relieve my painful erection. Except I refuse to give into this weakness.

The other Death Dealers haven’t
disappeared simply because I feel lust. The wolves still hunt near the cabin.
We aren’t safe, and I must remain on guard. Licking the juice from Odessa’s
lips is a distraction I don’t need.

I’m startled from my thoughts
by a loud popping sound. I realize I’ve crushed a ceramic cup in my hand.
Looking at the jagged pieces, I hadn’t realized I was even holding anything.

I study my hand and then look
to Odessa. She watches me with a soft gaze, and I think of how easily I could
snap her neck. Without thinking, I could tear her apart just to have a few
moments of pleasure and relief.

Despite knowing I’m too
dangerous to allow my lust free, I can’t extinguish the hunger. For the first
time, I understand the weakness inside others. I’ve never hated being human
more.

Quill

T
he basement is the last place I
normally want to be. I don’t like the nagging voices or the smell of bleach and
blood. Now I view the brightly lit torture cell as my salvation. Walking down
the stairs, I know Odessa will follow. She won’t let me out of her sight since
we returned from the outpost. I’m her salvation.

I remove and fold my shirt
before setting it on the work bench along with the key for the chains. Sitting
on the ground, I wrap one of the metal cuffs around my left wrist. Odessa
watches me, still standing on the stairs.

“Come latch my other wrist.”

Odessa hesitates before finally
obeying. Once I’m chained, she steps back and wraps her arms around her body.

“You did this,” I tell her.
“This is your fault, so you need to fix it.”

Confused, Odessa only watches
me. Her inability to understand infuriates me, and I jerk against the chains.

“You wanted comfort. You did
this to me, and now you need to fix it. I can’t think with this fire inside me.
You need to make it stop.”

Odessa shuffles closer and
leans forward, so her soft hair drapes my face. “Does it need to be this way,
Quill?” she gently asks.

“I want to hurt you,” I growl.
“The heat makes me want to tear apart the world.”

Resting her hands on my
shoulders, Odessa lowers herself onto my lap. Her inner thighs nuzzle my hips
while her hands slide from my shoulders to my chest.

“Make it stop,” I whisper.

Her mouth covers mine, sucking
at my lips. I squirm at the feel of her tongue forcing its way into my mouth.
The feel of her hips rolling against mine sends a blistering wave of rage and
desire through me. I don’t know how to respond to such powerful sensations. I
bite her bottom lip, but she only pulls away and kisses my forehead.

“Quill, do you remember when we
first met? How you came out of the woods like a ghost and swept me off the
ground as if I were a feather?”

Her words mean nothing in my
mind saturated with hunger. I can’t think of anything besides I need her to fix
what she broke. Despite my insanity, I understand how her tone promises relief.
Her lips on my cheeks are rainfall against my overheated skin.

“You are so powerful. Nothing
can hurt you,” she promises even though her very existence is destroying me.

I want to tell her how much I
hate her for making me feel so out of control. Her lips cover mine before I can
speak. Soon, her fingers linger on my chest before reaching for the button on
my pants. Bucking, I want her off of me, but Odessa refuses to stop.

Once her fingers wrap around my
scorching hard flesh, I’m blinded by pain and pleasure. After years in this
place, I’m undeniably lost.

Odessa

Q
uill howls with relief when his
body releases a lifetime of pent-up need. I stroke him as his body erupts,
sending liquid heat over my fingers. My other hand presses against his chest,
holding myself steady over his writhing body.

Tears burn my eyes when I see
Quill this vulnerable. Unable to understand his body’s desires, he’s innocent
in a way I can’t fathom. Death he knows, yet tenderness remains a mystery.

I can’t bear to see his primal
expression. Or how his wrists bleed from his frenzied movements. Quill remains
part beast even after he softens in my hand. The orgasm brings him no relief,
and I know I can’t unchain him yet. He’s out of control. If I freed him, Quill
would likely kill me.

Never could I redeem my soul
after letting Athena die. I hated knowing I got to live when she didn’t. My pleasure
was always a cruel joke and worthy of punishment. Much like Quill punishes
himself now. He doesn’t do it out of guilt but from innocence that he shouldn’t
possess. I can never fix what I did to Athena, but I’ll find a way to save
Quill from the madness I see in his eyes.

My mouth welcomes his cock. I
hear him growl in anger at how his body betrays him. He wants the desire to
disappear. He needed relief, but once won’t be enough after a lifetime without.

His shaft swells, hardening as
the head presses against the back of my throat. I steadily suck at him, wanting
him to find a release. Quill yells my name, and I look up. He’s enraged at his
body’s reaction. Or he doesn’t like how I use my mouth on him. I don’t know
what he wants. The never chatty man is barely verbal now.

“You’re so beautiful,” I
whisper, stripping out of my clothes.

I straddle him and guide his
hard flesh between my legs. Quill instantly yanks at the chains, wanting free.
I don’t know if his hands would caress my body or tear me apart. What I do know
is his furious expression turns angelic once the head of his cock enters me.
The more of him I take, the more relaxed his face becomes. His body only wants
carnal pleasure, yet the terrified man inside Quill needs reassurance. He finds
it when I whisper to him while our hips move together.

“You’re the only one,” I tell
him. “The strongest man I’ve ever met. You’re so powerful and handsome. You
always protect me.”

Quill watches me. His face is
tranquil, though his eyes remain wary. I don’t blame him for fearing me. No
doubt he hears lies from the voices, just as I do. They probably warn that I’ll
destroy him by making him weak.

“They’re jealous of you,” I
whisper in his ear while my pussy sucks hungrily at his flesh. “The voices want
to be strong, but they’re weak. They want to be you, but they failed. Don’t
listen to them.”

Quill hears the reason in my
words, but I still see fear in his gaze. He doesn’t want to be locked up. He
hates the lack of control. Pleasure and violence mix inside him, and he doesn’t
know what he truly desires. Killing me might feel as amazing as fucking me
does.

“Claim me,” I say, staring into
his dark eyes. “Make me forget everyone before you. Demand I only see you.
You’re a man, and you need to make me belong to only you.”

Quill responds immediately. His
hips drive harder into me, and the head of his cock beats steadily against my
cervix. If he could fuck me harder or deeper, he would, but my body can’t take
more of his flesh.

A voice in my head says I don’t
deserve this pleasure with Quill. I’ve committed a sin too dark to enjoy even a
moment of happiness. They tell me to deny Quill and pay my debt. As long as I’m
happy, I’ve done wrong by Athena.

“No,” I tell the voice. “I’ve
paid for my sin, and I won’t give him up.”

Quill doesn’t react to my
words. His head rests against the wall. His eyes are closed. His hips pump
mercilessly. He’s close to an orgasm. I see the way his gut muscles tense and
feel his cock thicken.

“Claim me, Quill. I want to be
blind to every man before you. Make me worship you. Make me yours.”

When he lets loose, the room
shakes with the power of his rage and passion. He howls my name, both exalting
and cursing me with one word. I can’t handle the pressure of his desire and cry
out his name in relief.

Wrapping my arms around him, I
hold onto his thrashing body. He’s in a state of violent awakening. Much like
how his seed fills me with his ferocious arousal, a warm and welcoming freedom
washes over my heart.

To make myself worthy of caring
for Quill, I must forgive myself for wronging Athena. All of these years, I’ve
denied the urge to soothe my guilt. Never wanting freedom from the pain until
suffering was all I understood.

Now, for Quill, I let go of the
shame and grief to make room in my heart for him.