Page 44 of His Reward
I can’t get rid of the memories and I don’t want to.Every night, I allow them to torture me because a memory is all I’ll ever have now.For one incredible moment, I had her moaning for me and gasping my name.
What I enjoy remembering the most is the anticipation on her face after I made her come.Despite her protests, June wanted me to fuck her, and I was about to give her what she wanted.Self-restraint kicked in at the last second.
Everything we’d done so far was pretty wrong, but they didn’t have serious consequences.If I’d crossed the line and fucked her, I’d quickly cross the other one and come inside her too.A primal, savage need burns in my gut to claim June completely by getting her pregnant.
I finally pull into Paul and Nicole’s driveway in the same spot I used to park when I lived here.It’s a relief to get out of the vehicle and stretch my legs after the long drive.
June and I head for the porch stairs.The front door opens and Nicole steps out.She’s beautiful in a loose, calf-length summer dress of bold red, gold, and green, her braids tied back in a low ponytail with a matching hair tie.
“They’re the colours of Ghana,” she once explained, a piece of history passed down by her Ghanaian parents.“Red is the colour of the blood of the people, gold is the wealth, and green is the natural beauty of the country.”
Nicole’s parents immigrated to Canada in the seventies so that her father could further his education in medicine.
Before Mr.Akoto passed away, he was a stern, traditional man with a hidden sense of humour that came out once he had a little alcohol inside him.
Though, he definitely wasn’t amused when his daughter, a straight-A student destined to be a doctor like him, got knocked up just weeks after she graduated high school.
Paul has always been a charmer.He managed to woo a smart girl into questionable choices in the back of his car, and he managed to win over Nicole’s dad.
It helped that Paul is the son of immigrants too, his parents leaving behind their home in Ireland for a new life in Canada like the Akotos.
Nicole opens her arms wide and June hurries up the stairs to give her mother a tight hug.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, baby,” Nicole says, her eyes closed.
She rocks with June in her embrace, then peppers her daughter’s face with kisses.
“Mom!Mom!”
June laughs, twisting her face away to escape her mother’s persistent affection.She squirms free and Nicole grabs me next.
“And thank you for keeping her safe, Mal.”
You wouldn’t be thanking me if you knew what I did to your daughter.
The look on June’s face says she’s thinking the same thing.I hadn’t felt guilty about what I did to June until now, as her mother hugs me, her tight embrace a sign of immense gratitude.
Relief fills me when Nicole finally releases me and invites us into the house.
* * *
Paul rotates the chicken on the grill as I give him a rundown of everything that happened with the intruder.Of course, I leave out the filthy parts where I got more than a little handsy with his daughter.
He closes the grill when he’s done arranging the meat, waving the tongs as he speaks.
“Did the detective give you any updates about the ex and the friend’s cousin?”
“He said he’s still looking into their alibis.”
“And what about the landlord?You told him about that guy?Sounds like it might be him if you said he looked like the intruder.”
“I mentioned him to the detective.Yeah, he was about the same height and build, but the guy looks like he’s in his late fifties.”
Paul takes a sip of his beer and scowls.“So?Lots of old perverts out there.The fucker knows he’ll never get a chance with my Junebug so he got desperate.Tell me where he lives.I want to kick his ass.”
You’ll have to kick mine first.
“I’m with you that he has motive and that he fits the description, but I don’t know if he’s athletic enough to outrun meandjump over a ten-foot wall.”
