Author's Note: Here's another update just five days after the last one, which is relatively fast for me who can generally be a slow ass... I figured I should post another part before I go back to school, which is tomorrow, because I don't know when I'll get another free chance to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Author's Note 2: The dashes symbolize either a change in time or narrative voice.

Author's Note 3: Italicized words in ' ' are thoughts.

Feedback: The more people interested, the more updating becomes a priority to me, so any comments, questions, suggestions, criticism, any general feedback at all are greatly welcomed and appreciated!


PART XII: Innocence Lost

The doorbell rang and Sarah quickly jumped to her feet. "It's her!" Sarah smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes then took a deep breath to calm her excitement. "All right. You stay here."

I stood up and smiled. "What, hide in the bedroom like I'm one of your prostitutes?" I exhaled a laugh of incredulity. "Fuck you. I'm going to the kitchen." I started to approach the door, but Sarah hurriedly blocked my way.

"No!" Sarah walked backwards as I continued to leave. She ended up slamming her back against the door. I smirked, enjoying the sound. "Just stay here, okay?" She leaned in and flirtatiously played with the collar of my shirt. "I'll send something up." She then turned to leave.

"Crêpe aux fraises," I called out through the closing gap between the door and its frame. "Or tarte fine aux pommes!" When I had come in, I'd passed by Renoir's Still Life with Strawberries hanging in Sarah's foyer which had put me in the mood for something sweet and fruity. 'Now where are those cherries?'

------

"Hello, Grace!" I said to the figure pacing back and forth in the drawing room as I descended the grand staircase.

Grace turned around. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her face was streaked with black tears. She looked like Alice Cooper crashing down from a weed trip. "What took you so long!" She whined. "I've been waiting here forever!"

"Aw, hon, I'm so sorry," I said, caressing her face consolingly. "But I have to go." I started for the door. It was the perfect time to leave Grace alone with Katie. She was heartbroken, vulnerable… It was like leaving a wounded lamb in a den of wolves… wolf, really.

"What? Why?" Grace panicked and scrambled after me, almost as if she sensed the danger looming over her, which can be taken quite literally since Katie was in the room just above us.

"The Children's Hospital just called," I announced, never slowing down my pace. "They're short on volunteers at the burn ward and I just couldn't say no." I stopped at the towering stained-glass entry doors and faced Grace with my best mask of compassion. "Those poor children… with their whole bodies… all burnt… and crispy…" I reflected for a moment. "God, I could really go for some Cajun right now." I smiled and added a quick, "Well, bye," then left through the doors.

"Wait, Sarah!" pleaded Grace desperately as she followed me outside. "I need you!"

"God, Grace, don't be so dramatic." I took my keys to the SLR McLaren from the valet. "Thanks, Keith," I said graciously.

"Actually, miss, it's Robert," corrected Keith insolently.

I walked to the side of the car. "And I care because?"

"I-I-I don't know, miss," stuttered Keith like a bumbling idiot.

"Just open the goddamn door…"

Keith ran to my side and finally did his job. I got into the car and rolled down the windows. "You better clean that," I said, signaling to the fingerprints Keith left on my gull-wing door. Hurriedly Keith took the tail of his shirt and did as Keith was told. "Thanks, Keith."

"Katie's upstairs," I said, returning my attention to Grace who was becoming more frantic by the second. "She can make you feel all better." I put the car in gear and began to leave the gravel driveway. There was a satisfying crunch beneath my tires as I moved. It was the sound of superiority, of predatoriness, of simply being on top… And I always enjoyed being on top. "Have fun…" I said as I waved Grace good-bye.

I left the wounded lamb in the hands of the wolf in shepherd's clothing, and I could not help but drive away, smiling.

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There was a knock at the door. 'Finally…' I was starting to get sick of eating maraschino cherries, at least by themselves. "Come in!" I ran my fingers through my hair and checked my reflection in the silver of the bowl. I hoped that Sarah had sent up her newest maid whom the Grassos had imported from Sweden. She didn't speak a word of English, but she had blonde hair and blue eyes and reminded me greatly of…

"Grace?" I was more disappointed than surprised when I saw the disaster of a girl waiting on the other side of the door. Contrasting with her distraught face, she wore a saccharine pink shirt which sported the image of Strawberry Shortcake – the cartoon character, not the dessert – on its front. 'Not what I meant by sweet and fruity.'

"Uh, hi," said Grace hesitantly. She entered the room as if she feared the floor would fall out from under her at any moment.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked as I kicked aside throw pillows on my way back to Sarah's bed. She owned a superfluous amount, even more than I, which is saying a lot. I had strewn them all aside when I had gone to lie on it instead of neatly stacking them in the chest at the foot of her bed simply because it was most convenient, at least for me. Plus, I wasn't her maid. "Where's Sarah?" I asked as I picked up the book that I had been reading before I got up for nothing.

"She left…" said Grace, standing stiffly by the doorway. "She told me to come up here so you could help me feel better."

I put the book down and smiled reflectively. "God, I am her prostitute…"

"What?"

"Nothing." I casually patted the open area next to me. "Why don't you sit down?"

"I-I don't know," said Grace, never moving from her spot. "My mom told me that I shouldn't hang out with you, with your reputation…" She nervously crossed her arms against her breast. "Especially not alone." She looked around. "And especially not in a bedroom… Or in an elevator or in a hotel coat room…" She smiled awkwardly. "Not even in a church confessional…"

"She heard that Sister Mary rumor, huh?" I said, smiling with feigned embarrassment, all the while being secretly proud although Mary wasn't really a nun, at least not until after I was through with her.

"Is it true?" asked Grace in wonder; her eyes wide like a child finding out about the existence of Santa.

"What do you think?" I asked as if the very notion was absurd. "Rumors are rumors… Besides, don't you think your mother is the last person you should be listening to right now?"

"How do you know I'm mad at my mom?" asked Grace, mildly suspicious.

"Because…" I began coolly. "Teen angst usually stems from hatred toward the parents. And since your dad isn't in the picture, it was a simple process of elimination."

"Oh, okay," said Grace, simply accepting without doubt. She then stared at the floor for a moment as if she was considering whether or not she should tell me something. "My mom is dating the dad of a guy I really, really like," she confided in me.

"Wow," I said, obviously patronizing her. "That sucks." But she didn't seem to notice.

"I know! Out of all the guys she could have picked, she chose Eli's dad!" Grace began to anxiously pace back and forth; her feet threatening to burn a hole in Sarah's hand-woven Persian rug. "I can't believe her! How could she do this to me!"

"All right, Grace, you need to calm down."

"What if they get married? We'd be like brother and sister!" Grace began to hyperventilate. Her voice rose to that of a grating, high-pitched squeak. "Oh my god! I'm in love with my brother! That's sick!"

"Grace, calm down."

"I'm sick! SICK!"

"Grace, shut up!" I yelled, losing my patience. Grace immediately went quiet. Her face went from shock to hurt. "Sorry…" I took a deep breath then walked over to her. "Look…" I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her to the bed. "They're not married yet, so this whole Flowers in the Attic ordeal you're worrying about is pointless. If you should be worrying about anything, it should be Gavin."

"Oh my god, you're right! You're so completely right! I'm with Gavin, and then I go and admit that I'm in love with another guy? I'm a horrible person!"

"No. That's not what I meant." I sat her down at the foot of the bed and had her look me in the eyes. "It's okay that you like Eli, and it's okay that you like Gavin. My point is that you can be with both… as long as one doesn't find out about the other."

"I can?"

"Yeah…" I lay back against the headboard and picked up the book again. "Fuck whoever you want," I said, not really caring what she did.

Grace went stiff. "Fuck?"

"You know, slang for sexual intercourse…" I peered over my book at her and smiled. "Don't tell me you're that sheltered."

"No, I know what 'fuck' means," said Grace defensively. "I just don't know…. " Her face went red. "I never…."

"Why, Grace, are you a virgin?"

Her gaze went immediately to the floor. "That's an understatement…" she said hesitantly. She began to trace small circles on the bed with her finger. "I haven't even kissed yet."

I took a moment to survey Grace carefully. She had butterfly clips in her hair and ketchup stains on her shirt. She was nothing more than an innocent girl; naïve and easily influenced. Suddenly it felt like something heavy was weighing down on my chest. I tried to shake it off. "Well, c'mon," I said as I placed the book down and sat up. "I'll teach you."

Grace's head immediately shot up and her eyes widened in shock. "What!" She searched my face for any sign of jest but when she found none, she made a face of childish disgust. "Ew! No way!"

"Why not?" I asked calmly.

"Because you're a girl!"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"Well, I'm not gay." She stretched out the last word in a lower voice like a child trying not to finish the whole profanity so she couldn't get in trouble for saying it.

"Grace, have you ever kissed a girl before?"

"No. I told you, I haven't kissed anyone before…"

"So how will you know if you don't like it if you've never even tried it before?" It was a hackneyed line but with Grace I knew it would work perfectly well.

"I-I don't know…"

"Plus, don't you want to be prepared when Eli kisses you? You don't want to come off as inexperienced."

"No… I guess not." Grace was starting to wear down. She did not notice me slowly stalking my way down the bed towards her; inch by inch, getting closer before the pounce.

"And who better to teach you than someone as experienced as me?" I asked; my voice low but normal, so as to distract her but not completely gain her notice.

"You do have a loose reputation…" Grace reasoned to herself. "And I don't use the term 'loose' lightly…" She giggled then turned to face me. It was already too late when she realized my dangerously close distance.

"Just shut up and close your eyes," I commanded, and she did as she was told; following me without argue or mind like a lamb to its shepherd. "Now wet your lips." She did this. "All right, so I'm going to lean in and before our lips meet, I want you to gently part your mouth." As I leaned in, I studied Grace's face – vulnerable and trusting; she looked like a mere child, with her wide-set eyes and plump cherubic visage. I had done some pretty fucked up shit in my time, but destroying an innocent girl… I lightly sucked her bottom lip then pulled away. "Okay?" Grace slowly nodded in agreement; her eyes still closed. "Now this time I'm going to stick my tongue in your mouth. And when I do that, I want you to massage my tongue with yours." She nodded again as I leaned in a second time. I traced her lips with my tongue before I entered her mouth, and like all the times before, it was perfunctory. When the kiss deepened, she started to moan; and to hear a sound like that come from a girl like her, you didn't think it was possible. It was almost perverted. I pulled away.

"Wow…"

"Feels good, right?"

"Uh-huh." Grace had a pleasure and a passion on her face that was never there before. She was no longer the same person as she was two minutes ago. I had changed her forever, and there was no turning back.

"You know what will feel even better than a kiss here?" I said, lightly placing my finger upon her lips.

"What?" she asked with greedy curiosity.

My fingertips slowly glided their way down her neck to her chest to her abdomen, which contracted when she inhaled deeply as I continued down further, slower; and every inch of her tingled beneath confining fabric and I could not help but smile devilishly and then have a part of me feel sorry for doing it, but I did not care; I couldn't care as I leaned in and whispered softly in her ear, "A kiss down there."

Grace suddenly became uncomfortable again and clung on hard to what was left of her innocence. "I don't think so," she said, getting up to leave.

"C'mon, Grace." I got up and followed her. "What are you afraid of?" I blocked the door and smirked, joking, "It's not like you're going to get pregnant."

"No, I know… But…" Grace started to become afraid, but not because of my forwardness and blatant seduction, but because she could not find any reason against it.

"God, you're really beautiful," I said, my eyes carefully learning her delicate countenance.

"I am?"

"Yeah…" I gently caressed her face then stared at where my hand had touched. My eyes moved from her lips to her nose to finally her eyes, into which I stared as I whispered, "I wish I could study you… and become well-versed in every feature of your beauty."

"You do?"

I nodded slowly as I watched my hand delicately place a loose strand of hair behind Grace's ear. "All I want is to appreciate you and make you happy…" I lifted her chin with a gentle finger. "So won't you let me make you happy?"

"Okay," she whispered back, surrendering. It was too easy.

I smiled at her comfortingly. "Okay…" Then without warning, I seized upon her, fiercely kissing her as I dragged her back to the bed. I might have heard her whimper, but I couldn't stop. I had already started procedure. Every move was like a reflex action. My mind retreated into my instincts, and I was glad; because I was afraid to hear if she pleaded as I ravished her mercilessly, or cried out painfully when I tore away her innocence.

I let myself be captive to my own body; and even to myself, I was lost.