The Space Between Things

"You've got to be kidding," Allysia declared to her husband, staring out of the SUV window in utter disbelief at the sleek black Limo. "Your step-sister has finally lost her mind. What in the world is she trying to prove!"

"Sweetheart your guess would be as good as mine." Troy Dougherty shrugged his broad shoulders dismissively.

He was too plagued by his own irritation to care. Every time his wife, Allysia, spoke he slightly cringed. How long had it been--four or five weeks? That's a Goddamn month! He gripped the steering wheel with both hands; his usually tan skin was stark white at the knuckles. No sex in a fucking month! That was unbelievable, and un-fucking-acceptable. Before that it had been even longer.

Troy understood that Allysia had her work and she had the day to day care of TJ, their six year old son. And of course there was the house. But, Troy offered her respite. Constantly he pleaded with her to hire an assistant to help with her budding graphic designing venture. Honest to God he could not understand why she just did not hire a maid, even if it was only for two or three days a week. Hell, she was the one that insisted they buy a home with more space than they could possibly use. What for, Troy wondered; she had made it clear that she did not want anymore children. Didn't she understand how important it was for them to have time alone, time for sex? Fuck, he would settle for just some cuddling time. He was sick and tired of her excuses.

Tonight he was putting his foot down. Allysia was opening her legs tonight. Troy did not care whether his wife wanted it or not. He needed some pussy! She could lay there and stare at the damn ceiling for all he cared.

Troy sighed. He knew that was not true. Who was he fooling? He would never force himself on Allysia. At six-five and solidly muscled, his conscious would not even allow him to play roughly with her. Like always, he would hint around and most likely she would pretend not to get it. Then he would ask her straight out, only to be given some lame excuse. It was becoming an all-too-familiar bedtime dance for the two of them. However, that was not the worse part. The worse part was when she turned her back on him, indifferent. There was no equal to the emptiness he felt at those moments.

This time, however, she was going to have to tell him what exactly was going on, the truth. He did not want to hear that "I'm tired" shit anymore. She used to be the initiator and she had been an insatiable lover. Had he done something wrong and just did not know? It was possible. Was his sex not satisfying her? Hell no, he thought with pride. He was hung like a horse and his skills were perfect. At thirty-five he had spent a good portion of his life purposefully honing his sexual skills. No one could tweak her body like he could. He knew her every crevice and curve, better than she knew herself. Was she giving it to someone else? Troy's teeth clenched and the muscle of his well defined jaw flexed.

"Ah man?!" their six year old yelled out excitedly, undoing his seatbelt and fitting himself in between the two seats his parents filled. "We're going to ride in a hearse!"

"Limousine!" Both parents corrected him simultaneously.

"But at Papa's funeral, you said it was a hearse."

"The car Papa was in was a hearse baby. We rode in limousines," Allysia explained patiently to her son. Looking at her husband, she dramatically rolled her tea-colored eyes. "Now sit back, at least until the car stops TJ."

TJ's bright sapphire eyes sparkled as he settled back down in the seat, hardly able to contain himself. Today, he was going to the airport to meet his new aunt--who was from...Africa he believed. He would also get to see his Uncle Ian--who dad keeps telling mom to stop calling asshole. And now, he was going to ride in a hearse, or whatever it was. His six year old body could barely contain itself.Troy merely shook his head as he maneuvered his silver Escalade alongside the limo. His step sister, Audra, was standing next to it waiting anxiously, one hand to her forehead and the other on her hip.

"Look at her Troy," his wife groaned, her temper creeping up her spine. "She's high as a kite."

"No she's not," he said, turning the ignition off. "She's just excited, that's all."

"Where's asshole? Isn't he supposed to be here?"

Troy searched his wife's face and frowned, his Nordic features sharpening. Allysia was more pissed off at Ian than Audra was. "He'll show up...and TJ is right here, stop with the profanity."

He immediately regretted the coarseness in his voice. He then placed his large hand on top of his wives long, slim fingers. She immediately moved her hand away to smooth her glossy, black hair into the tight chignon she wore at the nape of her neck. Troy exhaled loudly. He normally loved it when she pulled her hair back. It brought more attention to her perfect bone structure and those beautifully clear brown eyes. At the moment the hair style seemed as harsh as her attitude. She only wore it like that when she meant business. He wondered why she had chosen to wear it today.

"Daddy I don't mind ass hole...and shit either," TJ said in earnest.

"See," Troy's deep voice was suddenly severe, his irritation peaking. "What if he repeats that in school?"

He did not like it when she cursed, it was not feminine. It looked odd coming from her soft lips and sounded worse.

"TJ you know you are not supposed to say those words and mommy is sorry that she says them," Allysia announced to the car flatly. Then she sighed deeply. It was a sigh that seemed to reach back past her thirty-one years of existence.

"This is going to be a long day," she moaned under her breath.

"Well at least it is half over," Troy added, getting out of the car.

The limo was only one of the extravagances Audra was wasting her time and money on. Every since her father, the late Professor McKrenna had died, and she had found out that she had a half-sister, her behavior had become extremely impulsive. Audra's father's body was not even cold in the ground yet, when she raced up North to ingratiate herself to her father's well hidden secret--an illegitimate child mothered by a young black woman he had a brief affair with during his first marriage. The girl was ironically named after Audra's father. She was named Regan, Regan Mariah McKrenna.

Audra spent her entire summer begging Regan to transfer her life here and be with her new-found "family". So strong was Audra's desire, she convinced the girl that coming to live with them was the only opportunity Regan would have to go to a reputable college (at least until all her money was available to her). Troy knew that was not true, but had not intervened. He felt guilty about that, since he was responsible for looking out for the girl. But this was Audra. He was always a little partial to her. And if Audra was hell bent on bribing the girl, he let her at it. Besides, it hurt no one. From the investigative work he had collected, the girl had absolutely nothing to lose by coming here.

Why it was so important to Audra to have the girl there was still somewhat of a mystery; Audra was not known for her ability to be self sacrificing or warm-and-cuddly--specifically when it came to other females. Intuition told him that Ian had a hand in it. Regardless, the truth was that he loved Audra dearly. Even though he was almost twenty-one when he first laid eyes on the skinny little blond, he had immediately felt the need to protect her. For all intents and purposes Audra was his little sister, his responsibility. Troy took his responsibilities seriously. He was as attached to her as he was to his own brother, but the girl could try his last nerve. He only hoped that this arrangement was really going to make things better for Audra. He hoped so for both Audra and Regan's sake. To him they were both deserving.

Audra insisted that Regan fly first class here. And now, she had dinner reservations at one of the more expensive restaurants in Asheville; somewhat of a celebration designed to welcome her new baby sister. Although very well off financially, they were not one of those types of families; they did not flaunt money carelessly. In Troy's opinion the whole thing was being blown out of proportion. He could have picked the girl up himself in his SUV and everyone could have just met at the house. Troy knew that Allysia would have easily thrown something together for them to eat.

Regan, on the other hand, really did not seem to be interested in the family or her half of the family home. Now the money was another issue. However, she was being held on a tight string, not receiving all of it until her twenty-first birthday. Until then Troy controlled her trust fund. Could anyone really blame her lack of interest in them? Her father, whom she had never seen before or received anything from, died--leaving her a load of money and half a house. The girl had been pretty much abandoned by her dead mother's family and tossed around from foster home to foster home. That only touched the surface.

Troy shook his head. There were some sick people in this world.

"Shit," Allysia swore, her beautiful face drawn up in irritation as she got out of the SUV.

Troy raised an eyebrow, as only he could. Allysia smoothed out her face and forced herself to give him something that resembled a smile. She had no desire to deal with Troy and his idiosyncrasies right now. Much like Audra, Ian's absence also had Allysia on edge. She had been secretly looking forward to having her husband's younger brother join them. He had sort of disappeared over the last couple of weeks, not even stopping by to visit with TJ. Of course Allysia dared not make any type of inquiry. She was not sure which irritated her more, his absence or his presence. Regardless, Ian was the great neutralizer in the family, teasing and cajoling everyone into submission. And no one could handle Audra's emotional excesses like he could. Maybe it was because her vices were so similar to his, or what used to be his.

And then, there was this whole situation. It made little sense to Allysia.

Inviting Regan here was something Ian had systematically planted in his sister's head. Allysia was certain of it. Audra would never have come to this idea alone. It was Ian who seemed to have a peculiar interest in the girl. Allysia had become privy to some quietly kept information. She knew that Ian had gone to New Jersey, where the girl was from, even before Audra's father had died--a fact that both Ian and Troy still neglected to mention to Audra. Too, Ian was there in the same town the girl lived in but did not actually make any contact with her. Upon his return, Ian and Rea (what the family called Allysia's father) had a horrible argument. Troy was called to try and strike some type of peace between the two--to no avail. Troy had tossed and turned all that night, but never revealed the details of the argument to Allysia.

The last and final shocker, Rea filed for divorce on the same day that Troy and Ian's mother move out.

Ian simply did what Ian does best; he disappeared. He stayed missing and did not return until after Troy told him that his step-father was dead.

Allysia was determined to get to the bottom of this. Asking Troy was useless. When it came to his family he was unbendingly loyal and private. The possibility that Ian would tell her was unlikely to happen. So, she had consigned herself to waiting and watching.

This fed Allysia's excitement about meeting and befriending the girl. She was interested in how the girl would react to this rag-tag group of dysfunctional, grown children. Did poor Audra know that her new little "sister" did not need an invitation to come claim what was already hers? The house, the money, it was hers with or without her involving herself with them.

Allysia smirked devilishly. They had better pray that this Regan did not have any bad intentions of her own. Although, who would blame her--not Allysia.

"Where is Ian?" Audra demanded. She looked paler than usual, her thin lips were pressed together and her grayish-blue eyes were watery and wild with worry.

"I don't know. He did tell me he had some work he had to finish up at the college, but that was this morning." Troy tried to soothe her. "Maybe he got hung up on something and could not get away."

"Oh God," Audra practically screamed up at the sky with both of her hands raised up and her palms facing upward, making obeisance to God. Everyone unconsciously looked up to see what she was staring at.

TJ started laughing. Aunt Audra was always so much fun to watch.

"Why isn't he answering his cell phone then? Why hasn't he called?" Audra demanded an answer.

"He'll show up eventually Audra," Allysia placed her arm around Audra's shoulders and rolled her eyes at her husband. She knew that, in the meantime, they were going to have to make sure Audra didn't scare the new member of the family to death.

Troy smiled. But he was not thinking of Allysia or Audra as they settled back into the plush seating of the limo. He knew exactly what Ian was probably doing. Lucky son-of-bitch, he mumbled to himself. He was not listening to Audra's rant about some mishap that happened this morning and everyone's inability to keep to a schedule. He did not hear TJ beginning to sing a song he had learned in school. He let his mind wander to before he was married.

Troy and his brother had boned women like crazy. Ian had not even finished high school yet when they shared there first few experiences. During that period Ian was wild and loose, introducing Troy to things he never would have braved on his own. Troy remembered the time that he had laid on his back on the bed of some cheap hotel. This voluptuous twenty one year old was on top, with her big round ass in his hands and her legs spread wide open, pumping the shit out him. And Ian was behind her, fucking her in the ass at the same time. He and Ian had created a rhythm so smooth that the girl had simply melted between the two of them. And the Latina beauty could not get enough of either one of them. The entire night had simply blown Troy's mind. His penis had been almost raw from how hard he had fucked her.

Damn he thought; how times had changed.

Allysia was lost in her own thoughts. Like Troy, she knew in her heart that Ian was probably somewhere fucking someone as they spoke. That thought infuriated her. She could see it in her minds eye--Ian's hard body above some coed's nubile form, muscles glistening with sweat, and his perfectly tight ass flexing, rising and slamming into the girl. The vision was enough to make her panties wet, and her temper flare. Damn it, she thought. He probably never planned on going to the airport to begin with.

To top everything off, Allysia's sister-in-law had most likely gone beyond the recommended amount with her mood stabilizers, which only meant that at some point she was going to start crashing. Lord only knew what would come out of that girl's mouth then. Her husband, who had already put his blinders in place, was going to be completely useless when it came to dealing with his beloved Audra.

Allysia braced herself. This family certainly had its own way of dealing with things. The only thing that was missing now was the mother-in-law from hell.

Allysia laughed.

Troy raised one eye brow as he looked at his wife.

"What's so funny?" "We are." *************************

"Oh fuck...oh yes...shit yes...fuck...fuck yes...I'm fuck'n you...do you like the way I'm fuck'n u...Shit yes...I'm fuck'n you up...Say my name...Say it!!" She was beating on Ian's chest with both hands balled up into fists.

This is what happens when someone watches too many cheep-ass porn videos, Ian thought. What would the red head do if he turned and just dumped her pretty ass on the floor right now? 'Say my name,' what kind of shit was that. He felt like reminding her that she had climbed on top of his dick without even bothering to tell him her name. He wished she would just shut-up so he could come. He was glad that no one on his hall was in their office right now. It was Friday; there had been no scheduled classes only endless committee meetings since school did not officially start till next Wednesday. Ian avoided committee meetings like the plague, but could not get away from them today.

The girl was screaming at the top of her lungs and bouncing up and down on him like a banshee. The carpeted floor was not exactly doing it for him; it was like lying on concrete. Every time she opened her mouth, his sperm crept back further into his testicles. He needed a release. To make matters worse those lovely perfectly round breasts, with the hardened nipples crying out to him, were fake. They hovered above him like two bowling balls threatening to strike. If he was to bite down on one of them it would most likely pop like a balloon and then send her zipping through the air. Instead, his large hands firmly squeezed the inside of her thighs, which now were splayed open before him with her knees at his side. He had to admire the strength of her legs. He could feel the muscles flexing beneath his touch. He tilted his head so that he could see his hard cock slide in and out of her, covered in her own slick juices. If not anything else, that turned him on.

Maybe he had assumed too much. The girl looked like she had more than just a little experience pleasing a man, so he had given her free rein. After blowing him--which she was actually very good at--she opted to be on top. Ian knew why. She'd had a good look at his dick. He was very well endowed, larger than the average man even when he was not hard. He was also thick. Women either loved it or hated it. Her cat-like eyes had gone wide at the sight of him. As long as she was on top, she could control how much of him her pussy consumed, but Ian needed to feed her pussy more. Now, he knew why he liked to take charge. She was disappointing. He should have let his nature lead instead of letting her do with him whatever she wanted. He thought it would be more exciting to hand over the reigns. He had been so bored lately.

That was happening more often than not.

Miss Red, the name he had assigned her because of her long auburn hair, was an ex-gymnast. "You can bend me any way you want and I can take it and beg for more," she had whispered in his ear in the elevator they just happened to share less than an hour ago. Well, he could not help it; he had to take her for a test drive. And driving is what he wanted to do, drive his dick so far up her that she would not be able to speak.

Christ! Why wouldn't the girl shut-up.

She had been tracking him for a little more than a week, finding ways to interject herself into his life on campus. Although he pretended not to notice, he really could not ignore her--those tits and that perky ass. He had smiled when she stepped into the elevator, being careful not to smile too much. The girl had perfect timing. He had to give her an A for effort. Each encounter had grown more and more direct, which was something to watch considering that she was none to subtle to begin with. Finally, she stepped into the elevator, placed one hand on his chest and stretched up on the tips of her toes. With the forefinger of her other hand, she beckoned him closer. He lowered his head and felt her hot breath tickle his ear and weaken his resolve. When the doors slid open he watched her ass sway down the hall.

Dr. Herschelle cleared his throat and looked at him in shocked confusion. Ian had almost forgotten the old man was standing beside him.

"Isn't your office on this floor?" the man managed. His voice was laced with the drone-like nasal tone that pretty much every professor in the English Department of the University affected.