Ember & Ashe Ch. 1

She shook her head again at my incredulous expression. "The alley. You were reaching for a pistol or a knife, but you didn't have anything with you. Do you usually carry?"

"Usually." I kept my eyes on the cabbie. Our eyes locked in the rearview mirror. "Stay cool, my friend. We're almost there," I said to him. He bobbed his head up and down as he continued to drive the cab. I could hear him muttering under his breath. I felt the cab pick up speed.

"Stay the night with me," I asked her

"Of course. I have nowhere else to go. But I'm not going to fuck you. If that's all you have in mind for me, you might as well stop the car and let me out." Her eyes held no hint of challenge in them. They were devoid of any emotion whatsoever. They were flat, black and lifeless, like rough cut onyx before it is polished. "I feel safe with you, Andrew, and I like the fact you don't judge me for what I do. For these reasons only shall I go with you. But never try to take more from me than what I am willing to give you."

What the fuck was all this about? First she offers to suck my cock in the alley, and now she's fronting about not wanting sex? Bitch, please. I motioned the driver to pull over. "Your stop, Eimi. I find your condition unacceptable. I stared at her, waiting for her to open the cab door and walk out of my life forever.

"Is this truly what you want, Andrew? Once I leave, there's no way I'm turning back. But I don't think you truly want me to go. You don't want to remain alone."

Says you. Go. I have known you for how long now, an hour? Not much time for you to start dictating terms to me. So leave. See if I care. This is what I wanted to tell her.

"Drive," I rasped. The cab started to roll. "Pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"Not of myself, Andrew. Only of you," she replied. "It feels as if I've known you since time began."

Whoa! Scary shit, that was. It was too close to the feelings that I had experienced in the alley. It was nice to know that it wasn't only me feeling fucked up tonight.

Despite the supposed connection I had with her, Eimi was still an enigma. How could a street-walking slut be so pure? She could gobble stranger cock, then front about not wanting to have sex with me. Coming from her, it seemed almost natural. Who's to say that it wasn't? The things she did were simply actions, not definitions. They did not touch her essence. She was a dirt encrusted boulder that had rolled into a raging river. The turbulent waters that rushed over and around her only served to scour away the grit. She lost nothing of her inner self in the process. On the contrary, her inner beauty shone more brightly because of the experience. She flourished in adversity. All this I understood just by looking into her eyes. A strange light started to flicker there. A spark struggled to ignite. Hope, perhaps.

I cupped her firm breasts in my hands and tweaked her nipples through the sheer material of her crimson halter. Ah. It was an underwire demi-bra she wore underneath. Her nipples turned to hard stones beneath my caress. "I have decided to keep you, Eimi Yoshikawa. You're welcome in my home."

"I am happy to be going home at long last," she replied. She stroked my forearms as I teased her breasts, gently and with great care. The scars on my arms fascinated her. She touched them with gentle strokes as light as thought. Her legs opened and closed, flexing like the wings of an exotic maroon butterfly. She sighed. The sound carried with it all of the hope that had been lodged within her breast for who knows how long. Now she voiced it for me to hear. I kissed her, my thick dark lips brushing against hers. My tongue teased open her mouth and speared inside. My pink flesh freed her tongue from its imprisoning cage of ivory. Our tongues fused together, melding into one organ capable of bringing intense rapture to us both. My hands never ceased stroking her breasts. I could feel her heat as she breathed her lust into my mouth.

"We're here, lovebirds. How about continuing that inside? The cabbie asked. I tossed the two wallets I had acquired into the front seat of the cab. "Keep the change," I said. I walked around to the other side of the car and helped Eimi exit. Continue our play inside, the cabbie had told us? Indeed. I had every intention of doing so.

We were home.