The Worst Days of Our Lives

Chapter 14: Cassandra

“Candy, come here,” Toby called from the other side of the aisle. She grabbed the cheapest loaf of bread within her reach and quickly, but casually, sauntered over to where Toby was standing with the cart. She placed her item down into the basket and looked up at him expectantly. He smiled down at her and she smiled back. “What sounds good for tonight, chicken or pasta?” She bit her lip and looked up, towards the corner of her eye, pretending to ponder this, as if it was the biggest decision she would ever make. Toby chuckled lightly at her face and reached forward with his hand, placing his thumb on her lower lip and pulling it from out under her teeth gently. Her breath always caught in her throat when he did this. “Whatever you want,” she murmured and tilted her head so his hand moved to brush across the side of her face. He smirked and trailed his fingers down her neck and resting them at the back of her head. “I want your opinion.” God she loved hearing him say that.

Things had spun off into a whole different direction entirely that would have been unfeasible to her a mere month ago. It was almost as if she was his equal. It was amazing, Toby had turned from a menacing oppressor, to a man she could actually have feelings for.  “Pasta sounds delicious,” she purred lightly and moved her hands behind his neck, as if to pull him into an embrace. Toby smiled and began to move closer, when Cassandra pulled her hand back with a box full of pasta. She raised her eyebrows at him and he gave her a dark look.

She placed it in the cart, next to the bread and the other items they had picked up. With a push of the cart, she turned on her heel and walked towards the checkout. A month ago, she wouldn’t have dared to test him like this. But now? It was almost fun. He was fun. Life now was far different than life was just a short while ago. She was no longer living in fear because, well, it’s hard to hate someone when you understand them.

Later that night, as she began to drift asleep in Toby’s arm, she smiled dreamily, thinking about the night everything changed.

Cassandra was putting dishes away in the kitchen, Toby had to began to let her cook. The rules had slacked to a degree and she wasn’t completely terrified to break the existing ones anymore. She was wearing one of Toby’s shirts and a pair of mismatching socks when he came into the kitchen. she was trying to get the plates onto the top shelf and she was on her tiptoes, straining to reach as far as she could. She didn’t realize the T-shirt had lifted until she felt Toby’s warm hand rest gently against the small of her back. She froze and began to shake lightly. They stayed there, standing utterly still for what seemed like a millennium before Toby cleared his throat. “Need some help?”

Cassandra managed a faint squeak but nothing more, she hoped he would interpret it as a yes. Toby’s hand, the one that wasn’t resting on her back, grabbed the plates and gently set them on the top shelf. She remained completely immobile. “Candice, look at me,” Toby breathed. Slowly, Cassandra turned to face him. His hands moved as she turned, they now rested on her hips gently.

She held her breath without realizing, the fear of setting him off kept her silent. He sighed and looked down into her face with his big, brown eyes. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me, anymore.” Her eyebrows shot up. “I used to think that you would respect me more if you feared me, but now…” He drifted off and slid his hands up her sides lightly. She looked down at the small space that was between them, letting out the breath that had built up in her lungs.

“Toby,” she started but he cut her off by leaning forward and pressing his mouth gently against hers. It wasn’t forceful like it usually was, it was careful, tentative. Her hands lifted up and rested on his broad chest as she began to kiss him back. The kiss deepened as he leaned against her, pressing her up against the counter. His thumbs trailed over the skin that was stretched across her ribs and she smiled into his mouth.

Toby’s hands moved down to grab the back of her thighs, lifting her up onto the counter. She opened her legs and he moved his body in between them, grinding his hips against her. She broke the kiss to admit a moan of pleasure, her head tilting back slightly. Slowly, the smooth skin of his palm brushed down her skin and hooked behind her knees, pulling them up, so she wrapped her legs around his waist. He met her eyes as he hoisted her up, placing both of his hands on her back.

She gasped and leaned down, planting rough kisses along his jawline, neck, and collarbones. It was his turn to gasp as she bit down on the soft space of skin next to the hollow of his neck. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pressed her head down eagerly. For the first time, his force wasn’t frightening, it was actually very sexy. She complied, sliding down his frame onto her knees and looking back up with him, her eyes open wide with an innocent glimmer to them. Toby had a half smirk etched onto his face, looking down at her like that, this was the first time when she was actually willing to participate, the first time she seemed to actually want this, and Toby was enjoying every second of it.

Her fingernails trailed up and down his jean-clad thighs and his grip on her hair tightened the higher she got. With agonizingly slow motions, she moved up and began to unfasten his belt and jeans, when Toby moved suddenly with extreme speed and agility. He had grabbed her hands, pushed her down onto her back, and climbed on top of her, pinning her hands above her head.

He began to grind his hips into her, harder than the last time as he planted a firm kiss on her mouth, suppressing the moan she was about to admit. He moved the same way she had just done, slowly down his jaw, neck, and collar bones, biting the same spot she had. With the hand that was not currently pinning her, Toby reached down and lifted the shirt above her head, letting it stay on her arms. Continuing to trail his mouth down her chest and abdomen, Cassandra was wiggling anxiously.

“I wonder if you taste as delicious as your name leads on, Candy.” She gasped sharply as his mouth covered her clit completely. Her eyes rolled back in her head and with her now free arms, she moved her hands to the back of Toby’s head, fingers curling into the soft tufts of brown hair and pushing him down into her gently. He kissed her deeper and applied increasingly more pressure until her gasps had turned into loud moans of pleasure.

In this moment, Cass realized that Toby was capable of making her feel something besides terror. She let herself succumb to him completely and let go of the image of an soulless kidnapper she had in her mind. This was Toby, and she loved every minute of it.