Sloth, p.9
Sloth, page 9
“Don’t stop,” I replied. “Oh God, it feels so good.”
He went back to sucking on my nub while simultaneously working his fingers in and out of my pussy. It was almost embarrassing how quickly he was able to bring me to orgasm. When I screamed out my release, Huck eased off, laying one more open-mouthed kiss against my thigh.
I collapsed onto my back, my head landed on one of the gifts, which was incredibly soft. “That was fucking amazing,” I panted.
However, my moment to catch my breath was ruined by someone aggressively clearing their throat.
Startled senseless, I squealed and scrambled across the table so fast I nearly tumbled off it. Thankfully, or not, Garrett caught me before I could fall off the opposite edge.
“Don’t let us stop you,” Garrett said with a smirk.
I quickly shoved the skirt of my dress down. Heat flooded my face once again.
Huck smiled. “I just learned that the night we all met, it was Acedia’s birthday. So I was just giving her an extra belated birthday gift.”
“Oh. I had no idea. I guess I will have to give her one as well at some point.” Garrett winked at me, which just made me blush three-times worse, then he lifted me down off the table. “Speaking of presents, open this one next.” He guided me to sit in a chair and handed me a package.
I took a seat at the table, waited for the men to sit as well, then showing the same care I’d used on Huck’s gift, I opened Garrett’s offering. I discovered a knit shawl, a carefully wrapped chunk of chocolate, which I immediately took a nibble of, and a pair of silver filigree barrettes.
After I’d clipped the barrettes into my hair, I turned to Garrett. “Thank you. I love everything you picked.”
Bo hadn’t bothered saying anything, just shoved his package toward me.
I smiled at him. Another careful unwrapping and I found a white lace off the shoulder blouse that would look great with my new skirt and shawl. When I’d unwrapped a small bottle, I’d taken the stopper off and given it a sniff. A sinfully delightful scent had risen from the bottle. I dabbed a drop behind my ear, loving the mixture of vanilla and dark spices that permeated the air. The last item was a wood hairbrush. The handle was silver and engraved with flowers.
“It’s boars’ hair so make sure you soak it in a bit of water before you use it,” Bo said while his stare was fixed on a spot across the room. He seemed completely uninterested in my reaction toward his gifts.
Deciding to be a bit cute, I stood up and walked around the table to where he was seated. I sat down sideways on his knee, being sure to shimmy on his dick, and curled my arms around his neck, forcing him to face me. “Thank you, Bo. I love everything.”
He quirked a reluctant half smile before he kissed the tip of my nose. “There is one gift left. From all of us.”
This was the one my head had hit after my fantastic orgasm from Huck.
Garrett pushed it my way.
When I opened it, I found a large patchwork quilt. I was in awe. I had only read about blankets like these, and seen digital photos, but never thought I would be able to hold one in my hand.
It was fascinating to see so many types of fabrics, all in different colors and textures, stitched together into one fantastic piece.
Garrett suddenly took it from my hands, drawing the large swath of material from the table, and Huck placed a large bowl of steaming stew on the table in front of us.
“Cedi needs to eat. Her stomach has been grumbling since she woke up.”
When I attempted to stand and resume my spot across the table, Bo pulled me back to his knee. “I like you right where you are. I can feed you.”
“I can feed myself, thank you.” I unwrapped my arms from his neck. “You need to worry about feeding yourself. I slept all day while you menfolk worked hard. Honestly, I’m not even all that hungry.”
Garrett groaned. “Now you’ve done it.”
“Done what?”
“Let your brat out to play,” Bo replied. “I will not tolerate lying, little girl. Did I not say that the first night we met?”
“I’m not lying,” I whispered, feeling a sense of rising anxiety at his frowny face.
“So Huck is lying about your stomach?”
My mouth dropped open. Fuck.
“Naughty girl.” Bo scooped a spoonful of stew and brought it to my lips.
“I wasn’t lying,” I huffed, crossing my arms. “I was being polite.”
“Mm-hmm.” He tapped my lips with the spoon. “Open.”
With an exaggerated roll of my eyes, I relented and allowed him to feed me.
When the flavors hit my tongue, I lost all will to fight and eagerly opened my mouth for more. I moaned in appreciation of the delicious combination of savory meat and mouthwatering spices.
“It’s amazing,” I muttered between bites. “Our food was really good in the city, but never like this.”
When I’d swallowed the last bite, I sat back, full, content to listen to the men chat about things that needed to be done on the farm. The gentle lull of their voices had me sleepily snuggling tighter against Bo’s chest.
“Ugh. I hate that I’m always so tired now,” I complained at myself between yawns.
“Stress fatigue,” Bo murmured in my ear. “Don’t fight it. Your body is exhausted. You’ve been through a lot.”
“I’ve been having nightmares,” I admitted as I sat up. “Please let me go so I can help clean dinner and go take a nap.”
“Straight to napping,” he insisted as he straightened me on my feet. He smacked my ass to get me going.
Though the skirt of my dress was between my skin and his palm, I could still feel the heat. It made me smile. I mumbled my thanks, gathered my new blanket, and cuddled up in it on the bed.
Chapter Twelve
I was disoriented when I opened my eyes to darkness. So much for a nap. I slept the whole evening away.
There was a solid arm wrapped around my waist, and my bladder screamed at me for relief, especially since the extra weight pressing on it made the whole issue that much more urgent.
Using care, I slowly removed the forearm from my waist and slipped out of the bed. Glancing out a window, I saw that the moonlight was bright, and thanked the universe that I wouldn’t need to wake up the guys to light a lantern for me. I made a mental note to learn how to do that myself for nights like this when I needed to pee.
I tiptoed across the cool floor, cursing that I had no idea where the men put my slippers or my new boots. I would have to go barefoot. I imagined about all the gross things I might step on—worms and frogs and snakes. I shuddered.
Hoping for the best, I opened the cabin door as quietly as possible. After carefully closing it behind myself, I ran across the yard to the little shed-like building on my tiptoes. The grass was damp and cold, and the soil spongy.
“Ew, ew, ew,” I chanted to myself.
However, I knew I had fucked up when, after opening the bathroom door, I was greeted with a pitch-black interior. “Well, doesn’t this just effing suck.” I looked longingly at the cabin and wondered if I should just get a lantern.
My cramping bladder insisted I’d not make it back in time.
Nearly about to piss myself, I searched the ground until I’d found a branch to prop open the door, so I’d at least have a small bit of light. “Fuck it, good enough,” I muttered, jamming the stick of dry bark into the space above one of the hinges.
Even then, with the moon light shining into it, I still stared into the dark space like it was a portal to hell. I pondered squatting by a tree instead.
“Jeez, woman, stop being such a chicken shit,” I muttered to myself. “It’s just an outhouse.”
Not giving myself the chance to scare myself out of doing this, I’d rushed in and relieved my aching bladder, all while praying to a universal deity that nothing would pop up and bite me in the ass.
The moment I was done, I shook and stood, reached into the small tub of powder and, securing a hefty scoop, I tossed the particles in the hole. “Phew, that was a close one.”
I returned the scooper then stepped out and worked to dislodge the branch. “Come on,” I growled, tugging at the errant piece of wood.
Putting all my weight behind me, I pulled as hard as I could.
It suddenly gave.
The door slammed shut.
Thwack!
Awful, awful things happened simultaneously.
Something fell from the eves of the outhouse. I managed to duck my head and stumble back, but the chirping horror whacked into me all the same. I screamed, it screamed, I tried not to fall on my ass as it flapped in my hair, but in my panic, I stepped on something squishy.
More panic. More screaming. More chirping. More flapping.
“Let go of me, you son of a bitch!” The more I tried to pull the bat off me, the more it clung. I spun in circles, collided into a bird feeder, and locked gazes with the wild-eyed raccoon perched atop of it.
That motherfucker hissed and launched itself at me!
Wailing like a banshee, I took off running, with the bat still stuck to my scalp. I looked over my shoulder to see the raccoon galloping after me. Raccoons were supposed to be cute, cuddly creatures. Why did I have to meet a monster!?
My legs pumped as I blindly fled for my life, all while batting the vicious creature scratching at my head. “Fuck this!” I grabbed the squirming bat around its small body and yanked hard, sacrificing whole locks of hair to get ahold of the furry little beast.
Spinning back to the raccoon at my heels, I stopped short and flung the flapping rodent at the ferocious animal with all my might.
*squee-squee-thump*
The bat hit the bushy-tailed nightmare right in the snout.
The malicious raccoon snatched up the flapping bat in those awful claws and bit the bat’s head off. It seemed to nod at me and smile before scurrying away.
I shuddered in disgust and nearly fell over, dizzy. My head throbbed. My arms were scratched up. I spun in a circle, trying to remember which way I had come from. I was by the property’s tree line, I knew, but I couldn’t see the house from where I was.
An owl hooted nearby causing me to startle. Suddenly, rustling in the brush had me frozen in fear. I felt like I was being watched.
I held my breath as the snorting snarls of something huge barreled through the brush at a high rate of speed. Suddenly an ear-piecing scream shook the air like a hellhound’s bellow.
The devil himself burst from the bushes.
Huge tusks, cloven hooves, and all, he charged at me.
I saw my death in its eyes.
I could not seem to get my legs to move.
A loud boom sounded, and the squealing wild boar hit the ground and slid to a stop a few feet away.
Trembling, I stared at the beast as it shook in the throes of death, and my world suddenly tilted. I could not draw air into my lungs.
Someone caught me before I collided with the dirt and found myself laid out next to the bleeding swine.
“I’ve got you, Cedi,” Garrett said, holding me draped over one arm and his very large gun in the other.
“Oh, my God,” I heard from Huck as he suddenly appeared at Garrett’s side.
“Here, take her,” the middle brother ordered, practically dumping me into the youngest’s arms. He then moved over the suffering beast and pulled out a large blade. “At least we have fresh meat for the rest of the week,” Garrett said, crouching down and slitting its throat. “Fuck, he’s a big boy. Easily 600lbs.”
I vomited. Poor Huck was left again holding my hair and soothing my back.
But nothing prepared me for the assault of guilt that washed over me when I heard Bo, devoid of emotion. “Huck, take her home. Clean her up. I’ll help Garrett.”
Leaning on Huck, I cried the entire way back to the house.
When we got into the kitchen, Huck sat me on a chair and began assessing my injuries. “Jesus, what happened out there.”
“I…had…to…pee,” was all I was able to gasp out.
“Baby, if you had to go, you should have gotten one of us. I know Garrett was out on patrol, but what if an android was nearby? They haven’t left yet. Do you have a death wish?”
“Nnn-no.”
Huck handed me a hanky. “Catch your breath. I’m going to heat some water and collect the salves.”
As I sobbed yet again, wondering if I’d ever run out of tears. How could one person cry so much? Truly, before meeting these men, I hadn’t cried since I was a child. Now it was all I did. Was it because everything felt so much more intense? Is this why my people preferred to feel bored?
When I heard the cabin door open and heavy boots cross the floor, I knew I was in trouble. Like, real trouble.
“I hope you realize how stupid your actions were tonight.”
A fresh burst of tears sprang from my eyes when I looked up at Bo looming over me. I nodded pathetically.
“Leave her be,” Huck clattered around in the kitchen. “She’s traumatized enough.” Huck set a wooden bowl on the table beside me. “What happened to your cheek, Cedi? There’s blood here and scratches all over your arms.”
“Blood?” Bo bumped him out of the way. “What did you do to yourself, woman?”
“It—it was a bat,” I wailed. “It tried to eat me, and then a raccoon attacked me, and I threw the bat at it, so it ate the bat, and then a boar almost killed me.”
I noticed Huck and Bo shared funny looks.
“That’s what happened!” I insisted. “The bathroom door slammed shut and scared the bat from under the overhang, so it attacked me. I hit your bird feeder trying to get away from the bat, so the raccoon eating from it also attacked me.”
“Okay, honey. We believe you,” Huck reassured. “We’ll look after you.”
I jumped when the door swung open, and Garrett rushed in. “You okay, Acedia?”
“Yes,” I replied. Huck ran a warm cloth over my face and down my arms, wiping around the bandage. “I’m okay.”
“You got lucky, girl. Those boars are mean sons of bitches.”
“Thank you for saving me…for killing it...” Another dizzy spell and wave of nausea came, and I could barely hold myself upright. Bo unzipped my poor dress, which was stained yet again with blood, and removed it while I leaned against him to keep from falling out of the chair.
Once naked, he picked me up and put me in the bed.
I felt Huck insist I take a painkiller and some water, and I fell asleep not long after.
Chapter Thirteen
When I woke up next, I was naked and alone in bed. Memories of the night before came rushing back. I had learned my lesson. I would never again wander around outside after dark. I would use a bowl or bucket if I needed to pee, or I would swallow my pride and wear diapers. Fuck going outside.
I inwardly moaned. Why was this anachronistic world so dangerous? Never in my life could I have imagined being attacked by wild animals.
My body was sore. Muscles I didn’t know I had protested the rough treatment from the previous night. I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to hide in bed all day. Could I pretend to still be asleep?
I snuck a glance out of my nest of blankets.
“She’s awake.” Huck was too chipper. “Good morning! How are you feeling?”
I doubled down.
I squeezed my eyes shut, held my body rigid, and let out a fake snore. Garrett and Huck’s laughter rang out.
Heavy footsteps approached. The blankets were yanked roughly off my body. I held my breath, refusing to open my eyes.
“You can quit pretending now, Cedi,” Bo’s deep voice growled out. “There is no use in delaying the inevitable. We need to go to see the doctor today. So let’s get this lecture over with.”
“Doctor?” I mumbled before rolling over and giving him my back. “Why?”
I jolted up when a palm landed hard across my bottom.
“Owww!” I rolled the opposite way out of the bed and ran to the other side of the room, naked as the day I was born. I hid behind Huck and Garrett. “Please, Bo. I’m sorry.” I clutched onto both of their shirts and buried my head between them. “I didn’t know going to the bathroom would result in a near-death experience.”
“Aww, Bo. Cut her a break,” Huck said. “You’re scaring her.”
“Absolutely not. She knew better. She should have woken me or you up.”
I peeked around Huck. “But I have gone to the bathroom all my life without you all. How was I supposed to know this would happen?”
“Acedia,” Bo said quietly, putting a harsh emphasis on my name, “since the night we met, my brothers and I have literally taken shifts guarding this homestead to ensure your safety and prevent an android from taking you back to the city for processing. Do you think we’d want you to risk your life for even a moment by going outside in the dark unprotected?”
Fuck. When he put it that way…
My shoulders slumped. “No.”
“Exactly. Now get your ass over here, bend over this bed, and take your punishment for last night’s debacle.” He removed his belt. “Or I’ll compound your punishment for every moment you make me wait.”
“But I’m scared,” I whispered. “It’s gonna hurt.”
When Bo stalked toward me, the men quickly side-stepped away, getting out of the line of fire. With a terrified squeak, I ran to the far side of the dining table. When Bo pursued, I zipped around the heavy wood furniture, keeping it between us as I worked hard to stay as far away from the angry man as I could.
Huck and Garrett laughed at our cat and mouse game.
Bo finally stopped and slammed his hands down on the tabletop, his breath coming in sharp huffs. “We’re not doing this, Cedi. You promised.”
Hanging my head in shame, I twisted my fingers. “I know. I’m sorry.” I tried to make myself seem very small and timid, like the proverbial mouse I played in our chase. “I’ll try to be brave and come over to you.”
Bo nodded his head. “Good. And bring your hairbrush with you.”
