After that night, I didn't again profess my love for Gabe, but those words had their own resonance, filling silences like the sound of our breathing. Despite Gabe's warning that we should be realistic about the future of our relationship, he kept me close, either at his side or with calls and texts. As weeks passed, I realized I didn't need to give voice to my feelings, for he understood them well.

I only wished I could be as sure of his feelings for me.

"How can you tell if a guy's falling in love with you?" I dared to ask Andrea.

My roommate looked up from her laptop, laser focused on me. "Is this about Mystery Guy?" She'd never stopped hounding me for more information.

Rolling my eyes, I resorted to my usual evasiveness. "Just answer the question, please."

Andrea considered a moment, tapping her chin with a fingertip. "I think a good clue is when he puts you first," she finally said. "I mean, you're not his entire world, but he lets you know you're one of the most important things in it."

Her reasoning, simply stated as it was, provoked an excited fluttering low in my belly. Gabe always made it clear that he wanted to spend time with me; I was at his house practically every weekend. As for being important to him... I had to be, I told myself. Otherwise, he wouldn't risk the bond he'd recently formed with Evelyn.

As spring approached, I began thinking of the summer to come. Once I was back home, I feared I'd have a harder time seeing Gabe. What excuse could I offer my father that would allow me to spend some of my nights elsewhere? I struggled to invent one that wouldn't rouse suspicion. 

But it turned out that I didn't need to worry.

On a Saturday afternoon in early March, I was lying in Gabe's bed. Though it was chilly outside, his breath felt plenty warm on my slick folds. Beneath the covers, he'd settled between my spread legs. When his tongue grazed my clit, I experienced a rush of bliss, as if my blood had surged in a hot current straight to my cunt.

I heard his satisfied moan as he suckled my tender bud. The faintest hint of teeth sent a delicious shiver through me, for my memories of the clothespin's pinch remained extraordinarily vivid.

After pushing me to my physical and emotional limits, Gabe had gradually assumed the role of a tender lover, less inclined to inflict pain. But I never forgot his talent for doing so. The threat of it always lingered like a punishment I was tempted to bring upon myself.

Lifting the covers to reach for him, I was greeted by the scent of my arousal. Sheer need led me to grasp his hair and press him harder against my cunt. With my eyes closed, I willed myself to surrender completely. Already, I could feel the orgasm building by the way the muscles along my inner thighs tautened.

Gabe must have noticed my trembling; his tongue and lips, and then his fingers, delivered continual stimulation to my pussy, not once wavering.

"Oh, God," I said in that tell-tale guttural voice. "I'm almost there!"

My inner walls contracted around his fingers deep inside me, and I fought back a scream. All the while, warm, rapturous waves undulated throughout my body, made more intense by Gabe's licking and sucking. 

During my comedown from the orgasm, I laughed in elation. "Instant stress relief," I told him.

"Yeah?" Though his voice was slightly muffled, I could easily understand. "I think you need a little more of that."

At first, my clit twitched, ultra-sensitive beneath Gabe's tongue, but his languid teasing soon prompted me to beg. "Please, baby, just like that!"

He had me on the edge of another climax, with my spine slightly arched and my toes starting to curl.

 And then the doorbell rang.

Immediately, my lust was dampened by alarm. Gabe emerged from the covers, his hair tousled and his face slick with my juices. When our eyes met, I was certain he could see my skyrocketing anxiety.

His smile was tight, never reaching his eyes, but he gave my knee a reassuring pat. "It's okay, Opal. Get dressed while I see who's outside."

For a moment, I was too startled to move. I watched him climb from the bed and pull on the lightweight sweatpants and long-sleeve T-shirt he'd discarded earlier. 

He left the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, I scrambled to my feet and threw on my clothes. Moments later, I heard a voice, faint and indistinct. Was it a woman's? At first, I wondered if a former lover of his had shown up out of the blue. Hurrying toward the window, I peeked outside.

What I saw made me feel sick with dread. My father's car was parked in the driveway. He and Evelyn were here.

I didn't know what to do. My first instinct was to hide out in the bedroom, but I knew that would never work. My car was right outside, in plain view. There was no way I could avoid seeing my dad and stepmother.

Making my way to the bedroom door, I noticed that the voice had grown louder. Fear turned my mouth sour. Tentatively, I eased open the door in order to hear the conversation.

"...going on, Dad? Why is Opal here?" Evelyn demanded.

"She stopped by to say hello on her way home," Gabe replied. Despite my trepidation, I was impressed by how calm he sounded.

"Opal didn't tell me she was coming home this weekend," my dad spoke up. "Where is she?"

"I'm right here!" I called while rushing to the living room. With a bright smile pasted on my face, I greeted Dad and Evelyn. I didn't dare glance at Gabe. "I just had to use the bathroom," I went on. "What are you two doing here?"

"Evelyn wanted to do some shopping at that new outlet store, and Gabe's house is right on the way," Dad explained. Though his tone was mild, I saw that his brow remained furrowed. "Imagine our surprise seeing your car outside. We..." 

I waited for him to finish, but he instead narrowed his eyes while regarding me. Inadvertently, I turned to Gabe for help. He was staring at me as well, his expression grim. Panic made me glance down at myself in an attempt to discover what they'd already noticed.

It was then that I realized my shirt was inside out. In my rush to get dressed, I'd been careless, paying little attention. 

"Oh, my God," Evelyn blurted out. Her stare moved from my face to my shirt and then back again. "You two... you haven't..." She cupped a hand over her mouth, as if not trusting the words that might spill from her lips. Her eyes filled with sudden agony as she looked back at Gabe. 

He and I exchanged a glance, both of us knowing we could no longer hide. I saw the flash of pain on his face before he regained his composure.

Evelyn didn't give him a chance to defend himself. I let out a startled cry as she advanced upon her father, ready to attack.

"How could you do this?" she shouted, then placed her hands on his chest and shoved him. He didn't try to fend her off. He merely stood there, taking the blame as he always had.

"She's my stepdaughter!" Evelyn screamed in his face. "You sonofabitch!"

"Stop it!" I yelled. "He hasn't done anything wrong." Desperate to protect him, and to convince her, I did my best to appear outraged by her accusation. 

But Evelyn ignored me. As she stood before Gabe, revulsion twisted her normally pretty features into something ugly. 

"Jesus Christ, I can smell her all over you!" she wailed, tears grating at her voice.

Mortified, I met my father's eyes. He blinked at me, as if dazed by what was unfolding.

"Opal?" He made my name a plea; I knew he wanted me to assure him none of this was true.

I opened my mouth, praying I could undo all the damage. Dad would believe me, I told myself. I just had to come up with a persuasive lie.

But I felt like I'd been struck mute; I couldn't make the slightest sound. And Evelyn pounced on my silence. 

"You are nineteen years old!" she said, jabbing a finger at me. "You fucking know better, Opal! Why the hell would you hurt me, and your own father, like this?" A tear streamed down her cheek, but she seemed oblivious to it. "I've been nothing but kind to you, and this is how you repay me? By sleeping with my dad? You're a spoiled little brat!"

I looked to Dad to defend me. He'd been married to this woman less than a year, but I was his flesh and blood. 

Almost immediately, I knew he wouldn't come to my rescue. He was stricken, obviously torn. But just as my silence spoke for me, his spoke for him.

It was Gabe who stepped forward, placing himself between me and his daughter. "None of this is Opal's fault," he said quietly. "I'm the one who seduced her."

"That's not true!" I insisted. "I threw myself at you."

Only now did my father's rage rise to the level of Evelyn's. "You bastard," he growled at Gabe. "I invited you into my house, and you took advantage of my eighteen-year-old daughter?"

"He didn't!" I practically screamed. 

Dad started toward Gabe, but Evelyn grabbed his arm. "Let's just go," she said in a dangerously low voice.

"I'm not leaving Opal here with him!" Dad protested. "She needs to come home with us so we can talk about this—"

"No!" Evelyn snapped. "I don't want her in my house!"

My house. Those words made me lose all reason. Instantly, I was consumed by rage.

"It's not your house, you cunt!" I lunged forward, and only Gabe's grasp prevented me from striking the woman I'd loathed from the start. 

Evelyn's eyes grew wide. She stared at me as if I were a formerly sweet animal that had suddenly decided to bite. 

And my dad? He regarded me with a coldness I never imagined I'd see on his face. 

"Fine, stay here then," he said. "Don't come home until you're ready to apologize for what you've done." Wrapping a comforting arm around Evelyn, he started guiding her toward the door. Before they reached it, he looked back over his shoulder. "I'm ashamed of you, Opal. I'm ashamed of the daughter I've raised."

I let out a pitiful sound, my knees threatening to buckle. Inside, I felt utterly broken by his contempt. 

Once Dad and Evelyn were gone, Gabe moved to shut the door and lock it. His back was to me, and I watched his shoulders rise and then slowly fall. I heard his heavy sigh. 

When he turned to me again, I was terrified of what I'd see in his eyes. Would it be regret? Anger? The contempt my father had displayed?

I saw none of those emotions. Instead, he studied me with a mixture of sorrow and tenderness. 

Closing the distance between us, he took me in his arms. "I'm sorry, Opal. I'm so sorry."

I burst into tears, sobbing against his shirt. As he stroked my hair and rocked me back and forth, I desperately clung to him.

"Your father will forgive you," he continued in a soothing voice. "Just give it a little time."

"No." I lifted my head, gazing up at him. "I won't apologize. Not for any of it. Today, he made his choice." 

Gabe pressed his lips to my forehead, then whispered, "And I made mine."

I almost broke down weeping again, for I knew what he'd lost. Though I'd always taken a twisted pleasure in secretly betraying Evelyn, I never allowed myself to consider the consequences of me and Gabe being found out. I chose to foolishly believe we could go on hiding forever. 

But looking at him now, I sensed he'd known how this would end.

I let him take me back to the bedroom, where we lay together in silence. My back was pressed against his chest, and he held me close. I found comfort in the sound of his breaths. 

Finally, I grew brave enough to ask, "Do you regret getting involved with me?"

"Not for a minute." Gabe eased me toward him until we were face to face. The kiss he planted on my mouth served as a balm for my grief. "I love you," he whispered, his eyes full of such emotion that I had to blink back tears.

And though I knew he didn't need to hear those words from me, as I'd already made my feelings clear, I said them anyway.

Again, we kissed, deeper now. My hand slid under his shirt, seeking contact with his bare skin. A moan, faint but edged with arousal, emerged from his throat. 

Was it wrong that I quickly grew wet and ready for him? Wrong that I wanted him inside me after the fracture in our family had just occurred?

Maybe. Perhaps it was a reflection of how wicked I really was.

But Gabe had always loved the darkness within me.

While stripping out of our clothes, we continued to exchange fierce kisses. The moment I was completely naked, I lay down and opened my legs wide. Gabe took his hard cock in hand, positioning himself at my entrance.

We both groaned when he claimed me with a powerful thrust. I ached for him to hold me down. Once his hands pinned my wrists, I pleaded for him to punish me.

"Is this what you wanted?" he asked in a guttural voice. 

Our eyes locked, and the wild need I saw in his face made me hesitate to answer. 

"Tell me," he demanded, his hips never slowing.

"I never wanted to share you," I confessed. "I always wanted you for myself, Gabe."

A hint of a smile twisted his lips. Of course, he knew just how deep my rot went. 

All the way to the core.

"Now you have me." His grip on my wrists tightened, and I swore I felt his cock swell even more inside my cunt. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips against mine. It was a tease of a kiss, offered to ignite my craving. "But just remember, Opal, I have you, too."

Closing my eyes, I pictured twisting vines, interwoven and inseparable. Gabe and I would be forever linked by the damage we'd done. Throughout his life, he'd sown much despair, whereas I'd just gotten started. How much more harm would I have inflicted in the coming years if he hadn't made me admit to what I was? 

Now, I longed for him to temper my worst impulses. I imagined myself as a night-blooming flower, thriving in the shadows, while his steady, unwavering presence contained my toxic nature. 

And maybe my devotion would contain his. 

"I love you," he whispered over and over, as if to make up for the times he couldn't say it. 

"Even the bad parts of me?" I clawed at his back, delivering a wound he didn't deserve.

"Especially those." 

I came then, my orgasm wrenching me in Gabe's grasp. He fucked me through the contractions, withholding his own climax.

I whimpered when he withdrew, and I let him haul me onto my hands and knees. With my cheek lowered to the pillow, I watched him retrieve a bottle of lube from the drawer. 

The sensation of his fingers delving between my buttocks and lubricating my puckered hole made me gasp. Still, I trusted him completely, knowing he would do only what I allowed.

And I allowed him to work one finger, and then another, into my ass. Though I hadn't prepared for this, I found I loved how dirty it made me feel. I loved the twinge of pain from his fingers spreading apart inside me.

When I began rubbing my clit, Gabe laughed low and soft. "How do you want me to punish you, Opal? Is this enough for my bad girl?"

It wasn't, and he knew it. Yet he waited until I said, "Take my ass."

I felt his slick tip at my hole, insistent as he gradually penetrated me. The pain made me muffle a cry with the pillow. Still, I longed for him to keep going. 

"My God, baby, you're perfect!" Gabe groaned. "My dirty little whore."

I'd never guessed how sensitive I would be to the fullness of his dick while it slid deeper. Finally, he bottomed out with a satisfied grunt.

"Is it too much?" he asked, caressing my skin. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No. Don't stop." To prove my words, I resumed massaging my clit. That pleasure mingled with the sharp ache of my ass being stretched wide. 

Gabe started to move, remaining careful. The ample lubrication, and his gentle thrusts, dulled my initial suffering to a throb. Oh yes, I was being punished, but within that punishment, I discovered my reward. 

The slide of his cock stoked an unexpected desire inside me. Just as he had so many times in the past, Gabe used pain to fuel my lust. "Ah, it's starting to feel good now!" I told him.

"I'm already too close." The strain in his voice let me know he was struggling to last.

As my fingers worked faster at my clit, a tremor coursed through my thighs. "I want you to fill my ass with your cum!" 

"Come for me," he panted, "and I'll give you what you want."

The orgasm made me succumb to a wave of violent spasms, and Gabe cried out when my flesh rhythmically clenched around his dick. Even as a fresh layer of pain settled over me, the climax continued. I experienced that familiar panic at being stripped of all control. 

"That's it, come around my cock!" Gabe dared to fuck me with several shallow thrusts. His erection pulsed in my ass just before he released a loud groan and surrendered to his own orgasm.

Afterward, he was gentle withdrawing, taking care not to hurt me. When I lay down on my back, he opened my legs...