Chapter 18 Step Up #2
I could barely breathe. My chest shuddered up and down as I struggled to suck in oxygen and attempted to bring my heart rate back down.
Holy fuck, that was intense.
When Darren rose from my body, I looked down to find my legs were still wrapped around his hips, barely, but they were still there. I huffed a short laugh of relief and let my head fall back against the bed, satisfied with my success.
Noticing my disposition, Darren looked down and patted my knees like he was giving me a congratulatory applause. And then he chuckled softly.
“I wouldn’t get too cocky just yet. You still have one more test to pass.”
I lifted my head and stared back at him in disbelief. “You said—”
“I know what I said,” he interrupted quickly, and then pulled away from my body, causing my legs to immediately drop to hang over the side of the bed. “You just have to show me now.”
My brows knitted together in aggravated confusion. “What?”
“Stand up,” he ordered, his tone wrought with a sinister kind of playfulness I knew very well. Another dangerous game to play.
Angered by his newest request, I pushed off my elbows until I was in a sitting position and arched a brow.
“Now?” I asked incredulously. He couldn’t give me a few moments to catch my breath and let my legs recover a little?
“Right now,” he demanded, slowly backing away from me.
Yeah, smart move, asshole.
I didn’t bother hiding the tortured scowl on my face as my pussy burned from the rough treatment it had just endured, Darren’s hot cum leaking out and saturating the sheets under me.
“Moving the goalpost, I see?” I accused, my eyes narrowing at him.
He tilted his head and gave me a knowing smirk. “Only by a single…step,” he retorted, giving me a quick wink at his little pun.
I glared in response, then quickly averted my eyes to the floor in front of me. Of course the son of a bitch would test me after having intentionally drained all the strength and energy from my body. It was a callous move but completely on brand for him.
Ignoring his smug demeanor, I scooted myself closer to the edge of the bed until my toes finally touched the floor. Testing the muscles, I moved my legs back and forth along the bed, making sure I could at least move them without issue.
“I don’t have all day, Jaden,” Darren warned, impatience coating his stern voice.
“Shut up,” I snapped, my own aggravation a dangerous component to add to the mix.
Moving closer, I planted my feet firmly on the floor, purposely pushing my toes at the wood to test my strength. And then I took a deep breath.
Fuck it, Jaden. It’s now or never.
Gripping the edge of the bed, I leaned forward and pushed myself up, forcing my body to rise until it stumbled into a standing position. Releasing my breath, I kept my knees slightly bent as I shot my arms out for balance, my ass already beginning to teeter from side to side.
Fuck, my legs were tired, but even though they wobbled slightly, I was officially standing on my own. I lifted my head to reveal the triumph on my face, loving the fact that it was my turn to be smug. But the look on Darren’s face told me the test wasn’t over.
He gave me a slow clap of applause, a wolfish grin sliding up his face. “Good job, Jaden,” he praised me and stopped clapping to point at the space in front of him. “Now, come here.”
My eyes lit up in shock, my gaze bouncing from Darren’s to the floor to measure the amount of space between us.
There had to be at least nine or ten steps for me to reach him.
The pressure made me wobble slightly, my footing readjusting quickly to stabilize my balance. Fuck him for setting me up like this.
“This is bullshit,” I snarled at him.
“Come on, Stumbelina,” he taunted, his fingers waving me forward. “You wanted to walk, so walk.”
I sighed loudly in aggravation, glowering at him to the point I imagined his head exploding all over the place.
“I hate you so much right now,” I growled, turning my gaze back to the floor.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Now, let’s go.”
Groaning, I bent my knee just a little and lifted my foot a single inch off the floor, shifting my weight forward and placing it back on the ground.
I wobbled but repeated the step with my back leg, and then again, and again, ignoring the tingling growing in my calves and the aching soreness of my pussy still dripping cum down the inside of my leg.
Even with all the aquatic therapy I had been doing, it didn’t compare to this. My legs just didn’t have the strength thanks to the muscle atrophy from wasting away in bed for three months, not to mention the occasional sciatic nerve pain.
I really shouldn’t rely on the current state of my legs any way since they had just been exhausted, thanks to Darren’s antics. The fucker really was trying to sabotage me.
“Stop looking at the floor, Jaden. Keep your eyes on me.”
I glanced back up at Darren, hating him while he just stood there with his arms folded across his chest, an expectant look on his face.
I glimpsed back down, unable to withstand the intense focus he was giving me.
“I’m scared I’ll fall if I don’t watch where I’m stepping.”
“I’m not going to let you fall,” he assured me. And while I believed him, it didn’t make me feel any better.
My muscles were on fire, the weight of my legs still so damn heavy as I lifted them one at a time and slowly made my way to Darren. The closer I got, the worse the pain was, the grimace on my face impossible to hide, but I pushed on.
It was damn near impossible to keep my eyes on him, his sight so intensely trained on me that it disrupted my focus. Every time I glanced down, he’d practically growl at me, making me stumble slightly.
When I was just a single step away, my legs finally gave out, my body nearly falling into Darren’s, but my knees never hit the floor. His arms had reached out and quickly caught me, then yanked me up into his arms and slammed his lips against mine.
His arms tightened around me, pressing me into him as he kissed me deeply, coercing my mouth to open wider so his tongue could claim mine. I could still taste myself on him, the memory drawing heat back to my overstimulated pussy.
He didn’t even miss a beat when his arm slid under my ass and lifted me higher, pushing his hips between my thighs. Usually, my legs would be wrapped around his waist by now, but they were just too heavy and hung loosely on either side of him.
He didn’t seem to care as he held my weight up, my arms slung around his neck as my lips sparred with his. When he finally pulled away, hope fluttered in my chest.
“Good girl,” he praised softly and then carried me back to the bed. I sighed with disappointment but also relief that I had made it that far, grateful that I could rest now.
Setting me down against the pillows, I let myself relax and sink back into the bed, eyeing Darren with suspicion.
“What’s next, backflips?” I teased, watching him pull the covers back up and over my legs.
He smirked. “Maybe tomorrow,” he replied as he finished tucking me in and rose back to his full height. He looked down at me curiously. “How do you feel?” he asked.
I swallowed back my anger and focused on the fact that I had actually walked without assistance instead.
“Like I have a lot of work to do,” I answered honestly.
My muscle atrophy was worse than I thought, and there was only one person to blame for that.
But now that he was finally going to let me walk again, I would get my revenge by recovering faster than anyone could have possibly expected.
I swore to myself that in no less than two weeks, I’d be fucking running circles around this place.
Darren nodded and then folded his arms, looking down at me with a serious look. “I want you to rest until lunch,” he said sternly. “After you’ve eaten, you can get to work.” Pursing my lips, I nodded in agreement, but the trepidation pumping through my muscles left me with a sense of unease.
Darren then leaned down and wrapped his hand around the back of my head, planting a light kiss on my forehead.
“You did well, Jaden,” he said and then stepped away to head into the bathroom, the shower coming on a second later.
I sat there for a moment and considered what had just happened. I walked. And it fucking sucked. But Darren seemed determined to see me through it, his sudden change in attitude a slight beacon of hope that I was finally on my way back to my old self.
And I was going to make one hell of a comeback.