Too Big Taboo Bundle(19)

My eyes widened, and Burke turned to see what I was looking at. That  very moment, Eli slammed the rock against Burke's forehead. My  assailant's eyes crossed and he slumped over, his semi-erect penis  flopping to one side. Eli pounced on him and smashed the rock against  Burke's head again and again, crushing his skull.



It was a level of horrific violence I had never seen in my stepfather.  The sound of crunching bone was brutal, and I wanted to gag. But Eli had  saved me.



When he was sure Burke could never hurt me again, Eli's rage was  replaced with concern as he turned his attention to me. He wrapped me in  his arms and held my trembling body, rocking me and stroking my hair as  he helped me to calm down.



"Did he hurt you?" Eli asked.



"No," I said.



He took my chin in his hand and turned my face, examining the bruise  that Burke's knuckles had left on my cheek. Eli's shoulders were  trembling with the remnants of his anger.



"That bastard hit you," he said.



"It doesn't hurt," I lied. "I'll be fine, I promise."



"No one lays a finger on my little girl."



I smiled weakly, knowing my stepdad was there to protect me. Eli looked  at the bruise, then politely locked eyes with mine as he helped me pull  on my panties and jeans, which had bunched around my left ankle.



When I was fully dressed, Eli glanced at Burke. Blood was congealing around the dead man's head.



"We have to go," he said. "Now."





5.



We dashed down the hill and through the woods, with only a general idea  of where we were headed. I had my cell phone, of course, but it was of  no use. I couldn't get a signal this far out in the boonies, and then  the battery died. I had no one to call anyway.



We waded a creek and swam across a swift but narrow river, its water  cool and black as the night. We came to a field of waist-high wheat, and  Eli stopped.



"Look," he said.



At the other end of the field was a small house next to a wooden barn.  No lights were on. We warily approached the structures with no clue what  we might find.



A gray dog barked and trotted over to greet us. Eli patted the dog's  head and scratched behind its ears. When he removed his hand the dog  whined, and Eli nuzzled his ears again. Creeping past some rose bushes,  we peered into the house. Moonlight shone through a bedroom window, and  we saw an older couple nestled together in a double bed, a quilt warming  their bodies. The man's irregular snores practically rattled the  windowpane.



Watching the cozy scene, I couldn't help but wonder if Eli and I would ever be able to grow old together. I hoped so.



Eli tapped my shoulder and motioned toward the barn. Inside, we found an  old farm truck. Of course, the keys were dangling from the ignition.



Eli pointed at me, then pointed at the steering wheel. I got behind the  wheel and put the pickup in neutral while Eli went behind and pushed.  The dog started barking again.



"Shush!" I scolded, to no avail. "Shush!"



Eli was pushing fast now, his hands pressed against the tailgate as he  sprinted down the long gravel driveway. The dog was nipping at his  heels.



Eli hopped in the back of the truck, and I turned the key. The truck  rumbled to life, the tires squealing when I threw the clutch into second  gear.



I drove a mile before Eli tapped on the back of the window. I stopped,  and Eli took the wheel. I looked back at the little farmhouse, thinking  about the couple resting in their warm bed. Their lights never came on.  My stepdad and I had committed grand theft auto, and our victims had  slept through the entire heist.



I glanced at Eli, and it's like he could read my mind.



"Twenty-two-fifty-seven Hollow Oak Lane."                       
       
           


///
       



"What?" I asked.



"Twenty-two-fifty-seven Hollow Oak Lane," Eli repeated, as if I hadn't  understood him the first time. "That's the address. Someday we'll repay  those people for loaning us their truck."



I laughed. Eli was crazy, but I believed that he would do his best to make good on his promise.



"So, my noble thief, where exactly are we going?" I asked.



"We're going home," Eli said. "And we're going to find your goddamn mother. She's the only one who can prove my innocence."



"My mother? How will we even find her?"



"I have a hunch."



Never taking his eye off the road, Eli stripped off his torn and wet  prisoner garb and shoved it behind the seat. He drove in his tight white  underwear. Even in the dark I could see the silhouette of his arms and  bare chest, not to mention those muscular thighs, and my imagination  told me what was waiting beneath those undies of his. We were running  for our lives. Eli was a fugitive and I was aiding and abetting him, but  all I could think about was Eli's body so close to mine for the first  time in so many months.



I scooted closer, and Eli put his arm around me. I breathed in his  scent, a delicious smell that was one hundred percent Eli. It mingled  with the strong leather smell of the old pickup truck.



God, why did I have to get these inappropriate urges? I placed my hand  on Eli's thigh. I could feel the contours of his muscles beneath his  smooth skin. Little sparks of electricity shot up my fingertips as I  moved my hand up, up, closer to his manhood. I felt that familiar  tingling between my legs. My mouth watered as I imagined the taste of  his hard, meaty cock sliding between my lips, filling my mouth and  dominating me.



My fingers were nearing his bulge when Eli placed one hand on top of mine. Then he lifted my hand and removed it from his thigh.



"Avery, we need to talk," he said. "It's something that's been on my  mind the entire time I was in prison. You see, I'm sorry for the the  things that  …  that happened between us on the night I was arrested.



"You are a beautiful young woman. Every time I see you I am amazed at  the lovely, kind and intelligent person you have become. But you're  still my little girl, and you always will be. I never should have  crossed that boundary. I feel like I was about to steal your innocence. A  father should never put his daughter in that kind of position."



"You're not my father," I corrected. "You're my stepfather. And I don't  care about any of that. I love you, and I know you love me, too."



"I love you so much, Avery," Eli said. "I cherish you more than life itself."



I pulled away from Eli. "If you really love me," I said, "then you'll give me what I want. And I want you."



Silence enveloped the cab of the truck. Neither one of us talked for a mile or more. Finally, Eli spoke.



"I'm sorry, baby girl," he said. "This is tough for both of us. But someday you'll understand."



I felt like such a fool. I tried to choke back the tears, but it was no  use. I had been certain that Eli felt the same way for me that I felt  about him. For the love of God, I even helped him break out of prison so  we could be together forever. Eli had saved me from that monster who  wanted to rape me. But now Eli had spurned me in the worst way, and he  had pushed me away.



Eli's rejection hurt more than I could possibly bear.



"Pull over."



"No," Eli said.



"I said pull over!"



"I said no, Avery."



We drove through the night in silence. In the early morning Eli pulled  into the parking lot of a large department store. He killed the  ignition.



"You have some money, right? Please tell me the cash wasn't in the trunk too."



I glared at him, still angry from before. He didn't wait for a response.



"Go inside and buy me some clothes. I can't keep driving around in my  undies like this. Any extra large shirt will do. And a pair of jeans.  Size thirty-four by thirty-six. Now go!"



I climbed out of the pickup and reluctantly walked into the store. I'd  been running from the law for thirty-something hours, and it felt  strange and exotic to find myself back in the everyday world of shopping  carts and fluorescent lights.



I went straight to the bathroom to inspect my appearance. When I saw  myself, my jaw nearly dropped. My face was dirty, and my hair was a  tangled mess. My T-shirt was tattered and stained. I splashed water on  my face and did my best to tame my wild hair. Then I went straight to  the women's section and picked out some new clothes for myself.                       
       
           


///
       



The men's clothing area was nearby. I didn't walk over there  immediately. There was so much on my mind. If Eli really didn't want me,  this would be the perfect time to walk away from him.