Drive

"I think you've found your calling!" Ben said to Sam with a wide smile.

"She loves to sing, and she's wonderful!" Hal said proudly and received a hug and a kiss on the cheek from her.

The hour was late when everyone went their separate ways with promises to meet for breakfast the next morning. Willow and Sam exchanged hugs as the two really bonded in the brief time.

Hal let Sam into their room, and she went directly over to the window to take in the view.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here, Hal," she sighed as she watched the lights below.

"When I get home, I'm going to have to thank Eve for forcing me to give you a lift to Erie," Hal chuckled.

Sam turned, and she looked a little sad. "Can-can we not talk about going home? That place never made me feel as happy as this did."

He nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't connect those dots. You're right, I mean, aside from that brief interval when we were attacked by thugs, being here has been pretty amazing!"

Sam snorted at his attempt to lighten the mood. She moved closer and put her hands on his shoulders as she rested her chest against his. He looked down, then raised an eyebrow at her. That got another small snort. She pressed a little harder.

"I want to show you how much I appreciate your protecting me from the bad men," she said with a cute pout.

"I want that, I do, but it has to wait until tomorrow night," he said with a sigh.

"May I kiss you?"

He leaned forward, and her lips moved to meet his, and he lost himself to her soft kiss.

When she pulled back, she saw his dreamy expression and smiled happily as she knew he was feeling as good as she was.

Hal felt the pleasure rushing through his body and knew he had to stop now, or he soon wouldn't be able to.

He wanted to face Lisa tomorrow, knowing he hadn't crossed a significant line. It was true he'd kissed Sam, and those kisses weren't innocent. Still, his mind flashed to the moments he'd interrupted Lisa with other men, her lipstick on their mouths or worse, their cocks, the men with her wetness on their fingers, and finally settled on the man trying to stuff his cock into her ass while she writhed under him.

He understood Lisa had just done these things to torture his mind, to make him unleash the monster, the part of him she'd never tamed. Her need to dominate him, every side of him, was a sickness he could no longer accept. If she continued, he would kill her, and that wasn't blood he wanted on his hands, regardless of how manipulative she'd been to him and all of the men he'd fought for her.

Lisa didn't truly understand that the creature she was trying to control couldn't be reasoned with and wasn't capable of human empathy. She wouldn't listen to his protests and flew into a rage or burst into tears each time he tried. He couldn't live like that anymore. He understood he didn't deserve it, but he desperately longed for a little happiness in his life. Now that he knew what it felt like.

Soft hands touched his face, thumbs stroking his cheeks, and was surprised to feel wetness there. Tears? He returned to the now and saw Sam's compassionate eyes watching him.

"There you are. You slipped away for a moment, lost in your thoughts. They made you sad?" she asked.

He loved the feel of her hands on his face. "No, these are tears of happiness. Finally, happiness after so long."

She made a little sound, then her lips were on his, and he kissed her softly, enjoying the tender moment. He pulled back and hugged her against his chest.

When he released her, she smiled at him, her cheeks glowing happily. He led her to the bathroom, where they brushed their teeth together. He left to get changed into his shorts as she continued getting ready. He promised to help her wash, dry, and braid her hair the following morning.

He looked at the single king bed in the room and noted the sofa was a pull-out bed as well. He opened it, and the mattress was reasonably comfortable when he stretched out on it. He stood and moved to put away the clothes he'd worn today.

"Could you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Sam said as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Hal saw she was wearing his black t-shirt again. He looked to his laundry, and she grinned. He just snorted.

She saw the sofa bed was open and looked at him hopefully. "Just for a while?"

He smiled and nodded, bringing a happy smile to her face. She rushed over to the bed and got under the blankets. He stretched out on top, and she snuggled up against his side with her right arm over his chest.

Her breasts were pressing against him, but he did his best to remain calm. He started stroking his fingers through her hair, and she purred happily. He found it comforting for him, as well. He reached over and shut off the light as he ran his fingers through her hair. The bathroom light was still on, but it only threw a dim light into the bedroom. He settled down a little more, bringing his face closer to Sam's.

This... this was what contentment felt like. Hal liked it. He wanted more of this in his life.

He looked at Sam in the glow from the next room and saw she was looking at him. She smiled, and he felt a bloom of warmth in his chest.

He marveled at how her emotions were so easy for him to read. He was usually so stupidly blind to the simplest nuances, but her story was painted in bold capital letters across her face.

Her eyes were filled with joy, just for being next to him. For the first time in his life, he didn't have to prove anything for a woman to need him and want him. She wasn't judging him even though he had so much to account for.

Her body was pressed firmly against his, and he could feel her trembling. Something in him screamed at him to kiss her, just once before they rested. He shifted on the bed as she looked up at him, hope in her eyes.

His mouth found hers, and she kissed him hungrily. Her need for him swept through his mind and body, and he kissed her more boldly as she melted against him, making needful little mews of need.

Hal's need for her surged, and he slid his fingers into her hair on the back of her head. She gasped, and his tongue dipped into her mouth only to meet hers thrusting into his.

He moved his body over hers but discovered she was tangled under the bed covers. It took only seconds for him to leap off the bed, yank the sheets down, and cover her with his body once more. Her arms and legs immediately wrapped around him, and she moaned louder when she pulled him tight against her.

Their bodies lined up perfectly to press their most sensitive areas together, and both trembled at how good that felt.

Sam's hands went to Hal's back, but she found scars there. She pulled back from their kiss to look into his eyes. "Does it hurt when I touch your back?" she asked cautiously.

He saw her concern and shook his head. Then his doubt surfaced. "Do they disturb you?"

She answered by kissing him again and sliding her hands down his back and under his shorts to squeeze his ass. Or try to. She pulled back from the kiss again. "Oh my god, Hal! Your butt is so firm!"

He laughed in surprise, and she burst into giggles as her hands caressed the muscles in question.

Something else was getting firmer, and Sam loved that sensation rubbing against her. "Hal! I need you!"

He smiled. "I need you, too!"

She giggled that throaty chuckle he loved so much. "Yes, that, too, but I need you... inside me!"

"Oh!" Then it was his turn to chuckle. He moved down her body, and when he was near her waist, she pulled her t-shirt up and off. He was presented with a glorious view of her spectacular breasts. She had lovely large areola and cute pink nipples, which were stiff and very sensitive when Hal took one in his mouth. Sam gasped and grabbed his head, pressing his face more firmly against her large soft breast. When he came up for air, she was panting with need, but he gave her other nipple the same loving attention as she arched her back under him.

"Please, Hal, I need it!" she begged.

He knelt back on the bed and slipped her panties off. He was tempted to taste her, but she was tugging impatiently on his arm. He pushed his shorts down and slid his body back over Sam's.

"Oh! Oh my! Oh... yes! You're so hard!" Sam cooed.

He looked at her in surprise as his cock hadn't reached its target yet. "But... I haven't—"

"Your body! Your muscles! So hard and strong!" she sighed.

"Ah!" Hal sighed. Sam wasn't a thickly cushioned woman by any stretch of the imagination, aside from her breasts, that is, but her skin was incredibly soft.

When he did reach his target, she knew it.

"HAL! OH MY GOD!" she cried out.

He eased the tip back to the opening. She was very wet, so his entry had been smooth. "Sorry, did I hurt you?" he asked contritely.

She was shaking under him. "No! You just surprised me, that's all. Damn, you're big!"

His eyebrows went up. He wasn't huge or anything. He guessed it was what you were used to.

"Again?" he asked.

"Yes... I'm ready," she breathed.

He pressed a little more firmly, and the tip slid in once more.

"OH!" she gasped, and her ankles landed on the back of his legs. She seemed to be pulling at him, so he pushed forward again.

"Oh, Hal! You feel so good inside me! You're filling me up!" she purred as her hands went back to his ass.

"You feel amazing, too!" he sighed.

Sam moved a hand to the back of his head to pull his face down to hers, her mouth hungry for his. This forced him to lean forward, driving himself deep. She cried out into Hal's mouth, and he fought back the urge to laugh. She was so excited!

Her legs locked him in place, and she thrust her tongue into his mouth again. He sucked on it, and he began to slowly rock his hips against hers, grinding her clit between them.

"HAL! OH! SO GOOD!" she cried out as she moved her face to his shoulder to nibble on it.

He started drawing back and thrusting forward with a grind at the top of each stroke. It felt amazing for him, but Sam was becoming incoherent.

She wasn't pushing him away, so he increased the force of each stroke, and it felt better and better.

"Sam! Sam, you feel... so good!" he growled out between strokes.

She no longer seemed able to speak and just clung to his body. He thought she might be getting closer as she was shaking with each bump. He was seriously reaching his limit. She was squeezing him harder and harder, but he was driving himself faster and faster.

"Sam, I'm almost there. How are you doing?"

"NOW! DO IT!" she cried out, and his eyes widened in surprise at her volume.

His hips took her words as their command, and he accelerated his thrusts, their bodies slapping together until the world threatened to white out.

"My God! Sam!" he growled out as he felt his heat surging into her. She pressed her lips to his neck and shook almost violently in utter silence.

They clung to each other, basking in their pleasure, in their mutual joy, in the intimacy.

Hal had never experienced anything quite so emotionally profound. When they both finally caught their breath, Hal gently kissed Sam's cheeks, her nose, and her forehead. She looked up at him in exhausted bliss and smiled tenderly.

"What was that for?" she asked quietly.

Hal couldn't express in words what he was feeling. It was entirely new for him, uncharted emotional territory. He just smiled and shook his head. She snorted and let her legs slide down the sides of his hips to drop on the bed.

That sent spikes of intense pleasure through both of them. They cried out again and hissed from the intensity.

"No more, I'm done for tonight! It was too good!" she begged weakly.

He chuckled quietly, then gingerly pulled himself free of Sam, who sucked in a sharp breath then sagged.

He eased his body off her to the bed next to her. He admired her body and her sweet face. To be completely truthful, he ogled her boobs for a while, too, since he had the chance.

Eventually, he heard her breathing slow and deepen. He eased himself from the bed and lifted the sheets back over her. Not wanting to leave her just yet, he laid down next to her to watch her sleep.

Now that he was able to think with a rational mind, he cursed his weakness. He'd utterly destroyed his high ground with Lisa. He'd had sex with another woman while he was married. Could he say, after what he'd just done, that he was better than her?

He pondered that for a while until a singular difference surfaced in his mind. It was significant.

He had a deep emotional connection with Sam, and Lisa just used men as a means to an end. They meant nothing to her.

But then, he meant nothing to her either.

Chapter 10

Hal sat in a plush chair in the lobby of the hotel Lisa was staying in, up the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center. It was a very comfortable chair, and he really didn't feel like moving from it. He was so tired.

When he'd arrived, hours ago, he'd cased the neighborhood looking for possible spots Chet might be watching from but saw no evidence of his presence. Not that he expected to.

Next, he'd silently slipped into Lisa's room and quickly inspected it for signs the man had been there. Nothing.

Moving back outside, he found a good vantage point and waited. Eventually, he watched Lisa return from the convention center. She was dressed to impress in a lovely, form-fitting deep red and blue dress that ended just above the knees. Her high heels made her legs look good, but they couldn't have been comfortable. As she walked along the street, he saw the suppressed excitement in her step as she approached the hotel. She was smiling as if she knew he was watching.

Maybe she did.

After all, Chet had given him the date and time to arrive, and Lisa... his mind flashed back to her behavior when he'd first confronted her about Chet. She'd even left a note about her hotel where Hal could see it. The pattern was so clear to him now! Why hadn't he seen it all those years? Her emotional manipulation as she set him up for yet another violent encounter. She'd known he'd come to Los Angeles.

She got back to the hotel a little after 5 PM, and he'd been tempted to charge after her, but he caught himself in time. He wasn't going to confront her. He'd told Sam that wasn't his plan, and it wasn't.

Speaking of Sam, he'd recalled with wonder, waking this morning in bed with her breath gently tickling his chest. He'd slept through the night in the arms of the woman, and not once had he awakened in terror or reacted violently to her holding him. He didn't recall falling asleep, but it had been an enormous gamble that paid off—this time.

She'd woken slowly and smiled at him sweetly. She'd slept well, too.

They'd gotten ready for their days and went down for breakfast with their new friends. Sam had kissed him before he left for the airport, and he'd seen the hope in her eyes.

After he'd let Lisa pass by and enter the hotel, he set himself up in the lobby to wait. 6 PM came and went, and Chet hadn't shown.

At fifteen minutes past the hour, he took the elevator and went up to her floor once more. He let himself into the room and immediately stopped when he smelled a familiar odor, blood.

He pulled his gun and eased himself forward until he got a clear view of the bed.

Chet had already come and gone. Lisa was still on the bed, her head resting back over the edge. Her arms and legs spread splayed wide, her body naked. His mind rejected the scene, so the monster came forward to share the burden.

She was watching him with wide, terrified but vacant eyes, her mouth open to scream but no breath to make a noise. Her throat was sliced open, as was her chest, abdomen, and... the violence was extreme.

Hal's monster categorized each stab and slash wound, mapping the actions and strength needed to make them. It tracked the blood splatter on the sheets, carpets, walls, and ceiling. The savagery of the attack was severe, as Chet had been in a rage. He wasn't like Hal, after all.

There was a muted thump from the next room, followed by a second, then a third. Someone was slamming the dresser drawers. Someone was dealing with their rage.

It came to him then. Chet wasn't going to visit the hotel because he was already here. Just next door.

Hal paused and knelt before his wife to gently close her eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you wanted, Lisa," he whispered.

Standing, he took a slow breath then released his control to let his monster out completely. It took a deep scent of the room then moved to leave the room. It paused at the door leading into the adjoining room. Could the door be unlocked? If they were having an affair, it seemed likely. Hal slid the pocket door open and stepped through, looking to his left.

Chet reacted to his entry with almost inhuman speed. He lifted a big gun and squeezed the trigger as Hal fired two rounds. A train hit Hal in the chest and tossed him down the hall to slam into the door, his gun bouncing free of his numb fingers. He slid down the door to the floor, straining to suck in a breath.

He couldn't see Chet as the young man fell to the left behind the bed. But he could hear him.

"Fck! Fck! Fck! You're pretty fast for a fucking old man, Hal!"

He couldn't get much air inside and shouldn't have used it for talking, but he had to know. "Lisa..."

"Shit, yeah, I didn't intend to take it that far, but the bitch got under my skin," Chet sighed. "She was an awful fuck, too."

"Why..."

There was some muffled swearing as Chet dealt with the pain of his injuries. Then his voice came back.

"Can't you figure it out? Shit! How did you get to be number one? She was bait, but you were late! She freaked out when you didn't show. Are you normally that punctual? That's just sad. She must have had you around her little pinkie. When you didn't show, she tried to stop, mid-fuck! I was balls deep, and she tried to scratch my face! Stupid bitch!"

Hal was able to breathe a little better, but still, he wasted it on questions. His monster was getting very impatient.

"Why... do... this?" he panted.

Chet made a rude sound. "I broke into the records office to see the rankings of all of the agents in the program. I'm rated higher than all of them except for one, you. Yet here you are dying on the floor while I'm on my feet. There is no glory in being number two. Time for a new number one."

Chet lurched into view but stumbled sideways and crashed into the TV stand while pointing his gun down the hall. He was grimacing in pain from a shattered left shoulder joint. More painful was the groove carved down the left side of his face and through his ear. It threw his equilibrium off.

He grinned maniacally when he saw Hal leaning up against the door, arms at his sides and hands on the floor, with his gun out of reach beyond his outstretched legs. He chuckled to himself.

Chet leaned forward to stumble toward Hal. He tried to aim the gun at Hal's head, but his arm was unsteady as he squeezed the trigger. A chunk of the door blew out by the left side of Hal's head as he leaned to the right. His left arm lifted from the floor with his second gun and shot out Chet's knees.

The man crashed forward onto Hal with a high-pitched scream. Hal drove his knife deep into the younger man's throat and watched the shock and dawning realization appear on his face.

Chet tried to gather the last of his strength, but it wasn't enough as Hal twisted the big gun from his hand.

Hal finally managed to suck in a deeper breath but felt sharp pains in his chest. He probably had some broken ribs.

He rolled Chet's body aside and looked down at him. He felt his monster's hunger, so he fed it. Holding the dying killer's eyes, he twisted and yanked his knife sideways to rip out his throat. Hal felt the monster's satisfaction seeing fear and despair surge before the life faded behind Chet's eyes. He wiped the blade clean on the dead man's shirt.