Chapter 22

NOVALEE

“ A re you going to kill me?”

It was a serious concern. Why else would someone like Gio take someone on a rowboat in the swamp at night? I didn’t see any cinder blocks anywhere so the cement shoes Memphis talked about probably weren’t an option, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t feed me to the gators.

Gio rolled his eyes and held out his hand, “just get in the boat.”

“That wasn’t a no.”

“I haven’t fucked you yet, why would I kill you?”

Alright, that was a valid argument, but let me paint the scene. A powerful, armed man—I saw him tuck the gun in the waistband of his pants—stands in a rowboat on the moonlight murky waters of the swamp while frogs croaked in the distance and Spanish moss swayed in the breeze. Sounded like a murder scene to me.

“Maybe you’re going to strangle me while you fuck me.” Given our past history that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.”

“If you don’t stop being annoying and get in the boat, then I will strangle you.”

And there was the flaw in his demand. “I’m always annoying.”

“GET IN THE DAMN BOAT!”

“Geez, okay.” I lifted my foot and stepped in the boat. “But just so you know, I’ve fought gators before, so feeding me to them isn’t going to be that easy.”

“The gators are why I brought the gun.”

Oh. I guess that made more sense than a moonlit murder boat ride. I was a little disappointed.

Gio pushed the boat off the bank into the water and jumped in. He plopped down on the seat across from me, grabbed the oars and began rowing.

I looked down at the bottom of his pants and feet. “Your shoes are wet.”

“Thanks.” He sighed. “Any other obvious facts you’d like to point out?”

“No, I’m good.”

I could point out how the muscles in his arms bulged against the fabric of his suit as he moved the oars, but I figured I’d keep that to myself. Wouldn’t want him thinking I liked looking at him or something.

We moved across the water as lighting bugs twinkled throughout the bayou. In other circumstances this might be romantic. Two lovers on a boat at night with nothing but a lantern and the moon to light their way. Ah, who was I kidding. This was romantic. All we needed was the singing violin player.

Then again…

My eyes fell down to the folded blanket and black duffle bag Gio grabbed from the back of his Range Rover. That bag was a little suspicious. I had no idea what was in it. So, murder could still be a possibility.

“You want to know what’s in there?”

Gio must’ve seen me looking. I really needed to work on my nonchalant skills.

“Go ahead,” he nodded at the bag. “Look.”

That felt too easy, but who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth. Plus, I was a nosy bitch. He’d barely finished speaking before I reached out and unzipped the bag. Let me just say, the contents were not what I was expecting.

There was rope, a knife, some band aids—both the kind with smiley face and cloth wrapping up kind—a sock, some kind of rubber ball on a belt, 3 chocolate bars—one of which I ate while continuing to rummage through—a cloth, hand sanitizer, a bottle of lube—which I carefully nudged to the side—a pair of sweatpants and matching hoodie. Those made me stop.

Not only were the clothes nowhere near Gio’s size, but they were dark brown with a smiley face emoji on the shirt.

“Whose clothes are these?” If they were Carissa’s I was going to toss them in the swamp. I might keep the shirt though. That smiley face was cute.

“They’re yours.”

Nice try.

Holding up the pants, I said, “these are not mine.”

I think I would remember buying something like that. Maybe. It would depend on how drunk I was at the time. That’s how I wound up with the cat clock that sounded like a dog and my sequin orange running shoes. Never go shopping after a bottle of tequila.

“I got them because you keep fucking up your clothes.” Gio explained.

“You got them for me?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“But they’re brown.” I would expect him to get something pink or purple.

“Your favorite color is brown.”

He wasn’t wrong. Brown was my favorite color, mostly because no one else liked it. Brown was the shit hue on the color wheel, and I thought it could use some love. But how did he know that?

Wait a minute…

I looked back at the contents. Chocolate, change of clothes, hand sanitizer, and Band-Aids.

“You have a Nova go bag?” Awe, that was so sweet.

No one had ever prepared for me before. There were a few questionable things, like the rope and knife, but given who packed the bag, I understood it. Well, I understood most of it.

I held up the ball belt thing. “What is this?”

“Keep running your mouth and you’ll find out.”

I didn’t like the sound of that or the look on his face, so over the boat it went.

“Hey,” Gio said as it plunked in the water, forever to be swallowed by the murky depths of the bayou. “You’ll pay for that.”

“You have no one to blame but yourself.” He was the one who told me I could go through his bag. What did he think would happen? I was tempted to dump the whole thing over the side. If that shirt wasn’t so cute then I might’ve.

I sat back and enjoyed some chocolate as Gio steered the boat towards an island in the middle of the bayou. It was so small and tucked in that I almost didn’t see it. Not necessarily unusual out here. There were lots of patches of land and structures forgotten over time. But as we got closer I noticed a few strange things.

The first of which was the lack of sound. There were no croaks, or chirps in the distance. No lighting bugs flying in the air or owl staring back from a tree. It was quiet as if the animals avoided the area.

If that wasn’t eerie enough then the land sure was. It was bare. There was no moss or grass covering the ground. Just a few cypress trees and a patch of yellow flowers that almost seemed to glow in the darkness. And the trees did not look right. They were twisted and dark with thick curtains of Spanish moss.

A sense of unease settled in the air as Gio rowed the boat closer.

I looked around while he hopped out and pulled the boat up onto the bank.

This place was unnatural. It was so quiet that I could hear the moss swaying in the breeze.

“Come on,” Gio held out his hand for me.

I got the distinct feeling that we shouldn’t be here. “What is this place?”

“LaBelle island.”

LaBelle? “As in the voodoo priestess?”

He brought me to a voodoo island? What the hell was wrong with him?

“You don’t believe in all of that nonsense, do you?”

“Uh, yeah. I knew a guy who knew a guy, who was cursed and lost all his hair.”

Voodoo was serious business. No one should mess with that stuff.

Gio folded his arms over his chest. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I am not being ridiculous. This place is obviously cursed.”

His eyes rolled. “It’s not cursed.”

“Oh yeah, then how come there aren’t any animals?”

“Because there’s nothing to eat. No grass or moss means no small animals for the bigger animals.”

“Don’t logic me.” He was the one who brought me to the island of the damned. “Where are the lighting bugs then, smart guy?”

They were everywhere. On the left, off to the right, behind us and in the trees on the other side of the bayou.

“They’re right there.” Gio pointed over to the flowers that I could now tell were daffodils and sure enough, there was a batch of lighting bugs fluttering around the flowers.

That made me feel a little better.

“Are you going to get off the boat or do I have to drag you off?”

I don’t know. On one hand the boat would take me away from possible voodoo curses, but on the other hand I was curious. Not much was known about Mama LaBelle. I only knew the name because I came across some vague reference while doing research in middle school.

All I knew was that the Atkins family died shortly after their servant – Mama LaBelle – disappeared. There were no references to where she lived, where she came from, or how she died. She was there, and then gone.

It was weird. Everyone had a path that could be tracked, but not her. It was like someone erased her from history. I became a little obsessed with figuring it out. For two years I searched through records and old newspapers. It got so bad that Memphis stopped talking to me for a month. And Gio was the one who found her.

I eyed his crossed arms.

Maybe there was a reason for that?

“Alright,” I stood up and took his hand. “But we are not doing any dirty things on voodoo island.”

We were tempting fate just being here.

“That’s what you think.” Gio said as we ducked down and cut through some hanging moss.

The island wasn’t as eerie as I thought, but it wasn’t welcoming either. I couldn’t explain why, just that when we walked over to the ruins of a stone cottage, I had an intense feeling of loneliness. Maybe it was the seclusion of the area, or the absence of any lasting memories that made me feel that way. To think that someone spent their life out here alone was sad.

“How do you know Mama LaBelle was here?” There were no distinguishing markers that I could see. The daffodils were odd. They didn’t typically grow wild around here, and they were neat and clean of weeds. As if someone had taken care of them.

“I found her journal.”

My eyes snapped over to Gio. “She had a journal?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I read it?”

“No. They are her private thoughts.”

“It’s not like she’ll get mad.”

“I don’t care. They aren’t my secrets to tell.”

Was Gio protecting a woman who had been dead for more than a century? That’s when I realized, this place meant something to him. I didn’t know why, but the way he looked around it was as if we were standing somewhere sacred. If that was true…

“Why did you bring me here?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I come here when I need to escape.”

“And you wanted to escape with me?” That didn’t seem right.

“Maybe?” He tipped his head to the side and raked his eyes down my length. “Maybe I wanted a quiet place to fuck you? Take your clothes off.”

Uh huh. He was not going to change the subject that easily. “We’re not done talking.”

“I’ve been thinking about fucking you since I saw you kicking Carissa’s ass.” He pulled his tie loose and shrugged his jacket on the ground. “Now take your fucking clothes off.”

Speaking of Carissa…

“Gio I?—”

He bent down, pressed his lips to mine and swallowed my argument. It was a quick kiss, but enough to daze me.

“Stop fighting me,” his breath warmed my lips. “And do what I tell you to do for once.”

“You like it when I fight.”

“Not tonight.” He leaned in and grazed his mouth off the shell of my ear. “Tonight I’m going to show you what you get when I’m yours.”

I stared back at him and I don’t know why, but I did what he asked. I lifted my hand and pushed the strap of my dress over my shoulder.

Gio followed suit and striped his clothes off. Not as gracefully as I did, he tore his shirt open, sending buttons flying off into the night, and tossed his belt somewhere on the ground. But by the time my dress pooled at my feet he was standing in front of me, naked as the day he was born.

There we were, standing on a possibly cursed island, with nothing to shield ourselves but hopes and dreams. It was very exposing. Especially when he didn’t touch me. Gio stood there, letting his eyes roam over my body. It wasn’t long before my eyes began to wander too.

Down over his chiselled chest to the hard abs the moonlight seemed to accentuate, and finally the hard rod pointing at me. Why did his dick always look angry? I swear that thing hated me. It was like it was ready to attack. Something my pussy apparently liked. My walls pulsed every time that thing twitched.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Wait… what? “Well, this just got too awkward for me.”

I turned around and walked into the broken cottage, where Gio had placed the Nova go bag.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Waving over my shoulder, I said, “come find me when you’re an asshole again.”

We did not play the nice game here.

In retrospect, bending over in front of a naked and turned on Gio probably wasn’t the best idea. I had the sweat pants in my hand when a crack rang through the air as the fiery burn of pain spread across my ass, and I landed face first in the bag. Next thing I knew, two fingers were thrust into my pussy.

“You want asshole,” Gio growled while banging his fingers against that spot inside that made my toes curl. “I’ll give you asshole.”

I would’ve told him off if my head wasn’t in a bag with me chomping down on the sweat pants I planned to put on. Not that I could’ve said anything if I wanted to. Gio was finger fucking me so hard that the mixture of pain and pleasure had my brain confused. It didn’t know whether I should wince, scream, or moan.

The sound that ended up coming out was not attractive at all. I wasn’t even sure if it was human. All I did know was that I didn’t care, as long as Gio kept doing what he was doing. The random smacks landing on my ass did not help my situation any. Before I knew it my eyes were rolling in the back of my head as I crested the edge of a blissful cliff. Then, Gio yanked his fingers away.

Frustration slammed my fist down on the bag. “Motherfucker.”

“Don’t cuss at me, you asked for this shit.”

That was fair, I did ask for it. An act that I was starting to regret now.

His hand wrapped around the back of my neck, pushing my face further in the bag. “If you want to come, you better do every fucking thing I say.”

Son of a bitch. I hated that he could get me worked up like this. I really, really wanted to kick him in the balls right now, but I also really wanted to come. My entire body was aching for release. It was like Sophie’s Choice. I’d lose either way.

“Arch your back,” his palm cracked off my ass. “Stick that ass in the air.”

I did as he instructed and bowed my back. Not because he told me to, but because I was supposed to play good girl. I’d be damned if Atlee’s bet was not going to be the first one I lost. At least that’s what I told myself.

“That’s it,” the thick head of his cock lined up with my opening. “Stay just like that.”

When Gio thrust inside me, I learned two things. One could indeed get used to having something in their butt. I completely forgot about the egg thing until Gio pushed in. And the strength of a vagina did not beat the strength of a dick.

My walls fought his intrusion, clamping down around him, but he snapped his hips, forcing half his length inside me in one go. The sudden stretch warmed through my core sending a zing of pain to my clit.

Then the bastard turned on the thing in my ass, and I no longer cared that we were on the island of the damned. All I could think about were the vibrations being pushed up my body with every thrust pounded into me.

“You want me to be yours.” He growled and fisted my hair so hard I felt a few pull away from my scalp. “Well, you’re gonna fucking take me.”

Gio thrust in until his pelvis smacked against my butt. On a side note, arching my back while someone as big as Gio was fucking me, was not a good idea. It let him go deeper and bang up against my cervix. That was not comfortable.

Not that I could change anything. I tried to bow my back the other way, but Gio just smacked his palm on my ass and told me to arch my back again. And when I couldn’t keep it that way, he tightened his hold on my hair and lifted my front half off the ground, forcing my back to bend how he wanted.

Gio was relentless. He fucked me hard, driving his cock in as deep as he could go. I hated him for it, but loved the way he felt at the same time.

I screamed.

I whined.

I moaned.

I came.

I growled some inhumane things in a voice that sounded like I was possessed.

And, I gave up. I stopped fighting the sensations coursing through me and let Gio take me where he wanted. His hand roamed over my body, caressing my breasts and digging into my hip, while his tongue laved up my neck so he could whisper dirty things in my ear. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I felt free.

Gio nipped my earlobe and growled in my ear, “you’re so sweet when you give in.”

“Fuck you,” I hissed while grinding my hips back into him.

My body was coated in sweat and I was so sensitive that I could feel the breeze grazing over my skin. Every touch from Gio caused my skin to tingle. It was utter euphoria.

My stomach quivered as Gio’s hand grazed over my hip to press down on my clit. I whimpered at the jolt of pleasure shooting up my core.

“No more.” I didn’t think I could take any more orgasms. The last one hurt.

“I told you,” he swirled his finger, drawing another tiny orgasm out of me. “This is my pussy.”

I could argue, but let’s face it, he was right. Gio worked that thing better than I ever could.

“But I’m not going to come in your pussy tonight.”

What was he going to do, come on my ass? That seemed to be a popular spot in porn. That and the face, but if he shot his load on my face again, I was going to bite his dick off.

Gio loosened his grip on my hair and gently laid me down to rest my face on the bag. I was too exhausted to argue. I just laid there and enjoyed the soft feel of his hand trickling down my spine, while the night air cooled my fevered skin. When he pulled that thing out of my ass, I was too relieved to notice that Gio had stopped thrusting.

Closing my eyes, I listened to the sounds of the bayou. Spanish moss swaying against the ruins of the broken stone structure. A distant splash as something jumped in the water, and the click of a cap being popped open.

What…

I opened my eyes as something cool and wet dripped down the crack of my ass.

“What is?—”

“Shh,” Gio cut me off. “Relax, or this is really going to hurt.”

What was going to hurt.

“I told you,” he pulled his dick out of me and pressed it against my backdoor. “I’m not gonna come in your pussy tonight.”

I shot up as my eyes went wide.

“No fucking?—”

That was all I got out before the head of Gio’s cock breached that tight ring of muscles. Surprisingly it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It hurt, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t omg kill me now pain. That is until he pushed more of his girth in.

I whimpered, winced and tried to crawl away, but Gio had a firm hold of my hips. I struggled while he worked his way in then went limp when he began to fuck me. There was nothing I could do but desperately clutch on the fabric of the bag.

“Fuck,” Gio grunted. “Now I own every hole you have.”

“I hate this,” I whined.

There was nothing pleasurable about any of this. My ass was on fire, I felt way too full, and I was a little nauseous.

Gio let out a masculine grunt and something switched. The feeling went from being painful to uncomfortable and a little pleasurable. I didn’t completely hate it, but it wasn’t pushing me closer to orgasm either.

Before I could decide if I liked it, Gio snapped his hips forward and grunted out his release with a long, “fuuuuck.”

He collapsed down on top of me and panted in my ear, “don’t worry Gattina , it’ll be easier next time.”

Next time?