Love, Family, and Betrayal Ch. 02

All characters are over eighteen. While all present-day sex is consensual, it will include flashbacks/references to nonconsensual sex in the past.

I have a story I want to tell: that of a loyal young woman who eventually finds that the man her husband forced her to have sex with proves to be more trustworthy than her own family. That is unrealistic in real life. If any of this offends you, please leave now.

Please try to leave feedback in the comments section. Constructive criticism is invaluable to every author. I encourage everyone to vote and leave ideas for future stories as well. Finally, I would like to thank my editors for their time and help.

*****

RECAP: After Cody and his wife, Melody, accidentally trespassed on the property of Logan West, Cody offered her to Logan to avoid any charges. Although Melody loved her husband, Logan did his best to make sure she enjoyed it. Three months later, she appeared on his doorstep, nearly frozen to death.

"I'm pregnant."

Logan didn't even remember what happened after that. The next thing he knew, he was carrying a stack of towels while Melody waited in the living room. The poor girl was soaked to the bone and looked at them like they were a gift from heaven.

He didn't want to think about how long she'd been out there, or what would've happened if he hadn't been home.

Even with her coat, she was still drenched from the frigid rain outside. Logan took it and did his best to dry her off before wrapping her in multiple layers of blankets.

"You okay?" Logan asked once he finished.

Melody nodded, but Logan guessed it was little more than a rote response. When she didn't offer anything more, he left to collect her coat, shoes, and what little else she had brought and placed them in front of the heater to help them dry faster. When he returned, Melody was still as cold as ice, staring into space.

Sitting, Logan couldn't help but think, on the exact same couch where they could've made this baby.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked.

Once again, she answered with little more than a nod and a sound.

The longer he watched her, the more concerned he was. Melody had been shy when he first met her three months ago, but nothing like this. Her face was blank. Emotionless. She barely reacted, and she seemed disturbingly unconcerned about her own safety.

Whatever happened to her these last three months, it hadn't been pretty.

Logan did his best to wait patiently while Melody gradually warmed up. She was no longer shaking, but her gaze was still vacant.

"I suppose you want to know why I'm here?"

Her voice sounded hollow and lifeless. She didn't even turn her head to face him.

"Melody?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Logan. I didn't mean to take that out on you."

"What happened after you guys left?" he asked.

"After we got home, Cody said he wanted to forget it ever happened. But he... he started changing. He started getting more possessive, more controlling, even v—"

She shook her head as if to clear an unwanted thought. "Ugh, he started drinking more. A lot more. And he started yelling at me. When he was drunk, he started blaming me for what had happened. So did my dad and brothers. I did my best to just ignore them and wait for things to go back to normal. I loved them. But it never happened."

Melody had to pause because her lip was trembling. "It got worse after I found out I was pregnant. Cody was furious. He said he had a vasectomy while I was taking care of my mother when she had breast cancer."

Despite her shocking words and the sadness written all over her face, some part of Logan's heart couldn't help fluttering like a teenager again. She'd confirmed what he'd barely allowed himself to hope: Melody was pregnant with his child!

Her next words, though, froze his blood.

"Even though he and my family had always been pro-life, they all expected me to get an abortion. But I just couldn't do it. I'd waited so long to be a mother, and this was going to be the only chance I would get.

"Cody and my dad and brothers got worse after that. I tried everything. I even offered to give up the baby, even though I thought that would've killed me, but they didn't care.

"Then, a few weeks ago, I came home and found our apartment was nearly empty. Cody took the car and most of the furniture and emptied most of our bank accounts. All he left was a note saying he'd transferred to a different department and warned me not to contact him.

"Dad was furious. He and my brothers always loved Cody like he was family. Dad fired me, and none of my friends would help me after that. I used what little money I had left to cancel the rent and pay the rest of the bills. I had to beg for enough spare change just to buy a cab ride over here."

Melody couldn't continue after that. Her face showed anguish as she silently sobbed for several moments. Logan's heart felt like it was being ripped to shreds as he started to understand everything the poor woman had gone through.

"Please," she implored. "I don't have anywhere else to go. I just need a place to stay for a few months until the baby's born. Then I can—"

"Melody, Melody," Logan finally interrupted. "Shhh..." he gently placed a finger over her lips to silence her. "It's okay. Honestly? I'm a little hurt if you thought I was going to just throw you out on the streets."

Melody's eyes shined with hope for the first time since she'd entered his house. "So I can stay?"

"Of course you can stay!" he told her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, thank you, Logan," she said, reaching over to hug him.

Logan held her in return until he heard her stomach growling. "Hungry?"

"Um, yeah," she admitted.

"Come on," he said, lifting her to her feet. "Let's get you something to eat."

*****

Logan didn't have most of the things Melody usually preferred, but she was in no position to complain. It was still food and water. Even with her morning sickness behind her, she was already undernourished.

The coldness that seemed to reach into her soul was finally abating, but it did nothing to warm her heart. She knew coming here was the final straw, the one unforgivable sin. She would never again be welcome in her family's home.

"Dinner's ready," Logan announced.

"Thanks," Melody said.

While she ate, she searched her mind for anything she may have forgotten. Taking things one day at a time was how she had learned to live these past few months.

When she realized Logan was saying something, her head piped up. "What?"

Logan flashed her the amused smile she was coming to recognize. "Too tired to talk?"

Melody nodded.

"No problem. Let's get you fed, then off to sleep."

She returned to eating and thinking. Never taking anything for granted was another hard-earned lesson. Her thoughts came to a halt when she felt Logan pull up behind her and place his hand on her belly. Her breath hitched and she gave the tiniest of gasps when he started moving in circles.

"You don't mind if I'm going to be doing this a lot, do you?" he questioned, with his face buried in her red hair and his mouth behind her ear.

"What?" she managed to respond after a moment.

"Caressing your belly," he said in a voice full of affection.

In truth, Melody didn't mind at all. For the past three months, she and the baby had felt completely unwanted and unloved. To feel warmth from another human again was... relieving, to say the least.

"Mmm... you like that, don't you?" she grinned as his hand continued to explore her stomach. She'd meant it as a lighthearted jest, but Logan twisted her seat and raised her chin until she was looking into his eyes.

"Melody..." he struggled to find words. "You're back in my arms. You're carrying my child. This is the happiest day of my life."

His words and the intense look with which he said them made her blush, and she turned away to focus on eating again.

"Thanks, Logan," she said, referring both to her dinner and for taking her plate. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I already ate at the airport," he explained. "Although... I wouldn't mind some dessert."

Melody looked up. "Airport? You mean you were gone?"

"Yeah," he said, his face turning more serious. "You're lucky I got back when I did. I'd almost fallen asleep when you knocked. What would you have done if I hadn't been here?"

Melody's only response was to turn away. She knew, logically, what the answer was, but her emotions had gradually shut down until she reached a point of complete numbness when the reality her husband and family were gone set in. Even now, safe and cloaked against the cold in Logan's home, she couldn't feel anything.

"Melody," Logan repeated more firmly, "what would've happened?"

"I... don't know," she mumbled.

For the first time since she had met him, Logan looked angry. "You don't know?" he repeated, his voice rising in outrage. "Melody, you—"

"Logan, please," she begged, "I don't want to talk about it."

Nothing good would come out of it. The sense of unreality that made it difficult to care about her own safety hung over her like a smothering blanket.

Logan looked unhappy, but he eventually said, "Very well." With a deep breath to calm himself, he added, "Look, Melody, I'm on your side. All you have to do is say, 'I don't want to talk about this,' and I'll drop it. Deal?"

"Deal," she replied. Searching for something else to say, she asked, "Ugh, what about that dessert you mentioned?"

Logan shifted back to his boyish grin. "I was hoping you'd ask."

Apparently, his idea of dessert was to scoop her up and plant her ass on the island bar. For his utensils, he unzipped and loosened her pants before sliding them down her chilled legs. Melody's eyes widened as she realized what he intended to eat was her.

He crouched and buried his face between her thighs but stopped just before he made contact. "May I?"

She nodded.

Logan needed no further permission. He pulled her panties down, and his tongue began working its magic on her folds.

Within seconds, Melody was moaning and tensing. Logan was still the only man to have gone down on her, and she had nothing to prepare her for a master like him. Her thighs tightened involuntarily when he probed deeper, and she grabbed his hair when he began making circular motions.

"Agh!" she cried out when he switched to rapid jabs with his tongue, like a small-scale pussy fucking. Her last thought before her orgasm hit was that he must've somehow improved. In less than three minutes, he'd turned her into a writhing, incoherent mess.

"Agh! Agh! Agh!"

The ceiling came back into focus within a few seconds. Then she realized Logan hadn't stopped; he'd merely changed his technique. He was back on her inner labia, his tongue making spiraling motions before moving up to her clit. As he carefully guided her sensitive, post-orgasmic body, she recognized another climax was building in less than a minute.

"Logan!" she cried when he reached her most potent spot. Logan had taken careful note of her reactions during his previous cunnilingus sessions, and now he was applying his knowledge to its fullest.

"Agh! Agh! Logan! Agh! Agh!"

Melody was cumming. Again. As hard as ever. Despite her exhaustion, a random jolt of electricity sent her upright, holding onto Logan's head for dear life.

"Logan! Please stop! That's enough!" Melody begged. She didn't have enough awareness to tell whether he was still going, but she knew she couldn't take any more.

Fortunately, as soon as she propped herself on wobbly arms and relaxed her legs, Logan rose up. Smiling, he leaned in to kiss her. He'd always found it erotic to let a woman taste her own juices, and Melody didn't seem to disagree.

"That was... nice," Melody panted. But her energy seemed to be proportional to her heart rate. Her fatigue grew by orders of magnitude every few seconds. When her eyes caught the couch a short distance away, her brain saw the comfiest mattress of all time. "But I'm ready for bed."

Logan might have said something, but she couldn't be sure. Her weary body stumbled over to the sofa, grabbed a pillow, pulled up a blanket, and was asleep within seconds.

*****

Sleeping on the couch was a bad idea.

It brought back memories of the first time she'd done it.

"Cody," she'd questioned while gathering a handful of bottles. "Are you okay?"

It had been three days since their encounter with Logan. In that time, he'd consumed two full cases of beer, and he'd just sent her out to buy more.

"Yeah," he'd answered from the chair, not looking up from the TV. "Just fine."

He'd replied the same way the next time she asked, but then he'd followed up with, "Hey, let's fuck!"

Melody's eyes widened. Despite scrubbing herself raw when they returned home, Cody hadn't touched her since their ordeal.

"Sure," she said happily.

Her smile faltered as soon as they reached the bedroom. Her husband hadn't even bothered to remove most of her clothes. He'd just exposed her pussy and tits and shoved himself in. That hadn't been making love; he'd simply pounded her with unadulterated fury.

That was just the beginning. During the act, he'd shouted things like "slut" and "that's what you like, whore" while watching her large tits swing, untroubled or unnoticing of the look on her face. When he was done, he'd emptied himself with a roar, then rolled off like nothing was wrong.

Melody never came every time they had sex. She knew she was lucky enough to be one of the few women who could orgasm at all. But in all the times she had given her body to Cody, never once had it been painful. Now she winced whenever a muscle shifted.

Cody had randomly returned to his rough talk in several brief outbursts until she'd distanced herself. He hadn't objected, and soon after, he'd passed out. Still sore, Melody didn't want to disturb him by climbing back into bed, so she was forced to sleep on the couch instead.

Every day since their return had become progressively worse, but Melody tried to think of the positives. Cody had finished inside her. That was good. If she did end up pregnant, at least there was a chance he would be the father. That thought comforted her enough to allow her to fall asleep.

It was the first time she slept on the couch, but it wouldn't be the last.

*****

Melody managed to awaken without crying or screaming (another trait she had picked up recently), but her transition back to the land of the living wasn't entirely smooth, either. Her sense of gloom returned before she'd even reached full consciousness.

Sorting her jumbled thoughts, she remembered where she was: Logan's home. She prepared herself for another day of facing the harsh reality of her life.

After a few seconds of staring, her eyes narrowed in on Logan, resting in the leftmost corner of her vision.

"Hello, beautiful," he said.

"Oh, Logan," she said, sitting up. "Ugh, how long have you been there?"

"As long as you. I wanted to carry you upstairs, but you wouldn't let me. So I just decided to sleep down here. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Is that really necessary? I just ate." But then her stomach grumbled loudly.

"Actually, it's eight AM."

That meant she had been asleep for almost twelve hours. She didn't object very hard after that. Ten minutes later, Logan reappeared with a plate full of pancakes, orange juice, and a side of everything from bacon to yogurt.

"Thank you, Logan," she said, setting the tray on her lap and placing the glass on a nearby table for safety. "I really appreciate this."

"It's nothing," he said, sitting beside her. "Eat up."

Melody tried to think of something to say, but between her rumbling stomach and the happy puppy-dog look in his eyes, it was easier to just return to her breakfast.

*****

Logan allowed her to finish eating in peace before approaching her again.

"Forecast says the storm is going to last all day, and all non-essential travel is not recommended."

Outside, it was still pitch black. Rain was falling harder than ever, and despite the darkness, there was enough movement in the distance to suggest the wind had picked up.

"The good news is that it's Sunday, and the storm should be cleared up by tomorrow. Anything you want to do until then?"

"No," Melody shook her head.

"All right, let's start planning."

"Planning?"

"Of course," Logan said. "We're going to have a busy couple of days getting you settled in and everything."

Melody's eyes widened. "Logan, you don't need to—"

"Of course I do!" Logan interrupted. His tone brokered no argument, but then he shifted to a gentler face. "Melody, you don't need to worry. I'm going to take care of you. I promise."

Logan could see how traumatic the poor girl's experiences had been. The months and years ahead would be long and difficult for her. She had many demons to overcome before she would find peace again. For now, the most important thing he could do was show her his unconditional support.

"Let's start with the basics. We'll need to get you some essentials, like a toothbrush and some other personal items. Do you have any other clothes?"

"No," she shook her head. "All I have is my purse and my phone."

"You don't have anything else?"

"No, I left all that in my apartment."

"Didn't you have anything you wanted to keep?" he asked incredulously. "Any old photos or keepsakes?"

Her sorrowful expression spoke louder than her slightest of nods.

"Very well. Alexa, add 'revisit Melody's apartment' to my to-do list."

Melody looked up. "Logan, I turned in my key. I can't—"

"—They might not have thrown out your stuff yet, and I'm pretty sure a few thousand dollars can get people talking."

Her eyes widened at the reminder of his wealth and his willingness to spend it on her.

They continued their discussion for another half-hour. Logan had a vague sense there were still some things missing, but at least they had a good starting point.

"Sounds like a plan. Anything you want to do for today?"

Melody shook her head. "No."

"Well..." Logan trailed off seductively, grinning and leaning in. "Since we can't do anything for the rest of the day... I have a couple of things for us to do."

He waited to give her a few seconds to object. When she didn't, he kissed her. God, her lips were just as soft as during his countless relivings of their night three months ago. His left hand remained on the flat of her back while his right moved to her lower side. Since she hadn't put her pants back on, he was touching bare skin.

Maybe time isn't relative, he thought. He could've sworn their kiss lasted for a standard metric hour. Not that it mattered; Melody was here, and everything else was irrelevant. She'd been hot enough when they first met but knowing she was pregnant awakened an almost animalistic desire in him.

He pulled her with him, separating their lips only to turn her on his lap. While she was still breathless, his finger sought out her clit for the second time in less than a day. She froze and gasped when he slipped it inside, sensing how wet she already was.

Then he began moving, applying what he'd learned from their previous sessions to seek out her best spots. Soon he was pumping his hand as if he was fucking her pussy. While she began her rise, he whispered in her ear.

"There was this tiny little redhead once. God, she was so short, but man, she was fucking gorgeous!"

Melody whimpered and mumbled under her breath as he found her g-spot, making sure to hit it with every in and out motion.

"I only met her once, but she stayed with me forever. She was like kryptonite for me. There was one thing in particular I couldn't resist. Do you know what that was?"