Sera Ch. 32

"I see," she said with an understanding, yet careful smile. "But it's more than that, isn't it?"

I took my turn to smile, shrugging a shoulder, but admitted, "I can't get my way with him. He's had to accept a lot of stuff about himself, but he still has this... irritating residue of morality that we all hate and that he kinda imposes on us all."

"Remember that conversation I told you about he and I having at the estate?" she asked. "The one about swimming with sharks and inconvenient truths?"

"Yeah."

"I thought he was a weirdo, but he was trying to warn me."

"I can believe that," I replied. "He's seen people get hurt bad, and he likes you. We all do, even Ashleigh and, I think, Sheila."

She rolled her eyes at that, her expression darkening just a little, but the conciliatory smile didn't go away. Another short silence went by which I broke.

"I think it stopped," I said, referring to my nose.

"I'm not apologizing for that," she told me, still with that smile.

"I deserved a lot more," I agreed.

"Yup. I didn't want to push it though. I know how you Burchell girls fight."

"I looked down and said, "I'll never lay another hand on you, Gina. I swear I won't."

"I know," she softly assured, suddenly taking me in her arms for a nice warm hug.

I hugged her back, closing my eyes and so regretting the loss of someone who loved me so much that she could forgive even the things I'd done to her, even while she was still afraid and distrusting of me. I wanted to cry again, silently cursing myself for my unthinking abuse of her.

We held our hug for a good thirty seconds while I wished it would never end. When we separated, she took a closer look at my still smarting nose and helped clean me up. Incredibly, I didn't get any blood on my clothes.

"How long are you here?" she asked when she finished up, the tension surrounding her question obvious to Sera's perceptions.

"Not long," I assured. "I'd like to sit with Daddy and Stevie for a little while, then grab some things and go."

She nodded her undisguised approval, replying with a good humoured grin, "Speaking of, we'd better get up there. Meeting Kathleen Hale's father isn't something I'd wish on any young man, even if his last name is Burchell.

Steven

John Hale was about my height, ruggedly handsome and, as much as I hate to admit it, I was impressed and even intimidated from the first second I laid eyes on him. Not just anybody could intimidate me, even before Sera's influence on my life, but this guy was the definition of a 'Man'. It showed in the way he carried himself, the way he looked me in the eye (as I did him the courtesy of looking between his) and in his grip as we shook hands. Had I not known better, I'd have sworn he was of Sera. Even as a man, I could see why Kitten would seduce him, why his own sister would want him and how Gina could fall for him. In fact, beyond my own intuitions about him, Sera's awareness of what kind of person he was made me glad Gina had him in her life as a husband and father to her child.

Peggy was a very attractive, dark brunette with bright green eyes. Strangely, there was a strong likeness between her and Gina and anybody would believe Gina was her daughter, fathered by some Asian guy previous to the current living arrangement in John Hale's house. She looked me over with an open, but understandable curiosity in her light blue, sleeveless summer dress that stopped just below her knees. It was belted at her waist and enough of its buttons were left undone to show off a cleavage that was almost as impressive as Mum's. It was clear she wasn't wearing a bra and I had to fight to keep my eyes on her attractive face while I was being introduced. I wanted to use every excitingly curvy pound of her.

"Want a beer, Steven?" John asked as Kitten exited.

"Please," I replied while Peggy continued to unnervingly observe me with what I knew was more than simple curiosity.

He got two cans of Kokanee from the fridge, placed one in front of me, then sat down across from me with the other. We both opened and took a sip of the cold, refreshing beverage that Sera loved so much before he began.

"How was the trip out?"

"Good," I replied, qualifying that with a smile and, "Well, a little boring once we got into Manitoba."

"The prairies," he said, nodding with an understanding, wry grin that didn't quite cover his curiosity of me. This small talk, I knew, was only to make me feel comfortable enough to answer some bigger questions. "The great nothingness. In the winter, it looks almost like you're driving down a long, straight, paved strip that runs through the ocean."

"Yeah, I can imagine. No idea how people can tolerate living there."

"Me neither, but I guess it wouldn't be so bad in a city. You wouldn't so much notice being completely surrounded by nothing. No troubles with the car or anything?"

"No, she ran fine. It's an old police interceptor and the guy my Mum bought it from went over it pretty well, too. It doesn't look like much, but it's a good car."

"One of the best cars GM ever made. ... So... you and Kathleen are together."

He said it as a statement, but I found it necessary to nod in reply as though it were a question, the feel of Peggy's close observation from my left peripheral starting to unnerve me.

"Yeah..." he said, thoughtfully appraising me for a moment before he went on. "I'm sure you can tell that she's... not exactly like other young women."

I nodded again, maintaining my phony eye contact as he went on.

"She's uhhh... pretty vulnerable in a lot of ways. Though, she seems different since she's been gone."

"I know," I said, wondering what he'd think if he knew half the real truth behind his claim. Glancing at Peggy to include her and to help negate her uninterrupted attention, I elaborated with, "To be honest, I didn't know what to think of her at first, but there was this attraction between us... a connection, I guess you could say. We both felt it. We both tried to resist it too, but it was like that eight hundred pound gorilla in the room that wouldn't be ignored and, despite all our reasons otherwise, we ended up... well, together."

He nodded, but then specified what he meant.

"What I mean to say is that Kathleen has always been vulnerable in a..."

"A childish way," Peggy finished for him.

I looked at her again, closer this time because I was a little offended on my Kitten's behalf at the way she'd said it. That's when I saw that Kitten had been inside her head. I could smell it on her and I wondered if it was only my nerves that made me miss it before then. Looking back at John, I could find no sense that she'd been inside his mind as he shot her a vaguely irritated look before addressing me again.

"Yeah, well there it is. Thing is, it's more than that. She's uhhh..."

"I need to keep an eye on her," I said, taking my turn to finish for him.

" ... Yes. Yes, that's it exactly."

"I know," I supplied with another quick glance at Peggy. "And you're right, she has changed since she's been at the estate. Our whole family is uhhh... different. I guess that's why we were so attracted. We know now that there can never be anyone else for either of us. Nobody could understand me like she can, and nobody will ever understand her like I can and, with respect, that includes you."

His expression didn't change for that last statement and I found it hard to read how he took it, but then Peggy spoke again.

"She's a lot like her mother, you know. And her mother made one hell of a mess in this town."

Looking at her, I said, "I imagine she did. Sheila is a good friend of mine; I love her both as a friend and as my aunt, but I also see that there's a lot of things about her that are... less than nice. Yeah, Sheila made one hell of a mess pretty much wherever she landed, and yes, Kitten shares some of her less than admirable personality traits... but then, I'm nowhere near perfect either."

Looking back to John, "Like I said, Sheila is a good friend to me, and Kitten... Kitten is a good wife to me. We're not married yet, but we will be and, in the meantime, I consider her my wife. I know her better than anyone ever could, and I love her more than anyone else on this planet, and always will."

"Well," he replied with a manner that suggested he was warming up to me, "I can see you mean what you say, but Kitten... when we say that she's a lot like her mother, I wonder if you're aware of her sexual drives?"

"I share them," I stated boldly. "All the Burchells do and that's one of the many ways that I'm the best man for her, and she's the best woman for me. I can understand and sympathize with her uncommon drives and desires as one who shares them, yet also exercise the hand of control that she lacks."

"But, do you have a hand of control?" Peggy asked. "Knowing Sheila as I do, and with your admission that you share their drives, I have to wonder at how effective that control could be."

"A good question," John pointed out.

I took a gulp of my beer, put the can down and looked him between the eyes again, knowing that he was the one to answer to where Peggy's question was concerned.

"Our relationship, our marriage, won't be like others. It can't be. We've spoken about this, the two of us, and we both realize that. Knowing Sheila and Kitten or not, neither of you can appreciate how it is with us and how unrealistic it would be for us to run our relationship like... like everyone else does theirs. The fact that she's maneuvered the situation in this house only proves that, and for us to pretend that we can live like the average couple would be unrealistic and, eventually, destructive to us both. That's why we're so good together; we both understand this; we both accept it in ourselves and each other. She's one of the people who eventually convinced me of this, but that need for an uncommon lifestyle also demands a hand of control. I know you have concerns about this, and I'm afraid I just can't put them to rest here and now with words and promises, but..."

I drew a deep breath, looking at my can of beer as I sighed it out, briefly considering how to finish. For their part, they seemed to understand this and let me have those moments to arrange my thoughts.

"You see... my own mother is also... affected. I love her almost as much as I do Kitten, but I know she lacks that control herself. Not in the same ways Kitten does, but she does. In fact, where Kitten's likeness to Sheila stops, her likeness to my mother begins. Yes, I do understand the need for some measure of control and I do have that measure of control within myself, despite the things I've come to accept about how we Burchells are, because I've already been practicing that hand of control, to the extent that a person can with a parent, with Mum. I had to for her sake. Luckily for me, and Mum, our arrival and decision to stay at the estate has helped a lot. Being surrounded by a support structure of family that's... well, like us, has been a great benefit to Mum and my efforts. It's helped Kitten a lot too and will help me with her in the same way."

He was looking at me, almost imperceptibly nodding his head as he absorbed what I'd said and, just as he was about to speak, the unmistakable sound of Kitten sobbing from outside disturbed the moment. He looked towards the door, his eyes widened in fatherly concern at the broken, childlike wailing, and was halfway out of his chair before I managed to stop him with a raised hand.

"Uhhh... Kitten has had to learn a lot about herself since she's been gone, including just how much like her mother she really is. She's been growing up and... I expect that's what's happening out there right now. I don't want to speak out of turn in your house, but she and Gina have some stuff to settle and its best that Kitten... that she takes what she's got coming to her. She's growing up out there, and it'll... it'll take some of the Sheila out of her and make her a lot more manageable."

He'd frozen at my words, but slowly sank back down into his chair once I'd finished. To the backdrop of Kitten's wracked sobs, he looked at me with an unmistakable respect before addressing me.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"You seem a lot older."

"Depends on who you ask," I replied with a little smile before taking another drink from my beer.

"I don't give a fuck who thinks what about you," he stated, "I like you and I couldn't imagine a better husband for my daughter."

"I agree," Peggy said.

I wondered if they'd feel that way if they knew how badly the full erection in my jeans wanted both Peggy and Gina.

Kitten

I knew two things as soon as Gina and I walked into the kitchen: Both Peggy and Daddy loved my Stevie, and that Stevie's horny was in high gear. The only part of this that really surprised me was Peggy's feelings, but the way she was looking at him explained it. She was attracted to him. It was partly because of the fact that he's gorgeous, but also because of how Sera tended to attract the opposite sex. Both Stevie and I had noticed it since we started off from Montreal. It didn't make me jealous or angry, actually proud and turned on, suddenly imagining him sucking her nipples while she smiled...

I snapped out of that exciting mental image and back to reality. Stevie was talking about Jim Flaherty while Daddy nodded in agreement, shooting funny glances at Peggy while she smiled at my man, sitting straight in her chair with her back slightly arched. I was hoping Gina wasn't seeing Peggy's reaction when conversation paused and they looked up at us.

"Everything alright out there?" Daddy asked, looking from one of us to the other as though searching for something.

"Yes, Daddy," I answered.

"Well..." Peggy said with a smile for me, "You've certainly got good taste in men."

Daddy shot her another glance and I couldn't help but giggle. Stevie was a little embarrassed about her judgement, and the whole scene was such a turn on. I had to look at Gina to see how she was taking all this and found her face to be a carefully manufactured façade of passivity overtop the deep concern that Sera knew was there. Another closer look at Daddy and Peggy told me that my Stevie hadn't found it necessary to use his influence on either of them to win them over like he had. This fact impressed me quite a bit, but left me with the worry that Gina couldn't read that and could be thinking anything just then. Our understanding was already precarious enough without this and, even as my horny shifted to third, I knew I'd better get this situation quickly in hand. Somehow. Unfortunately, Daddy only made it worse.

"Kitten, I think your aunt has the hots for Steven," he joked.

Of course, he was only teasing us and, were it not for Gina knowing what she knew, it would have been okay.

"John!" Peggy gasped with an embarrassed smile as both she and Stevie blushed.

"Daddy!" I exclaimed, not being able to help another giggle, a wilder one that anyone who really knows me would hear the horny in. To Gina, I said, "It's not his fault."

I could tell she knew I meant Stevie and not Daddy, but that underlying expression remained and, despite my horny, I had to act further.

"Stevie, c'mon out to the garage and help me get some boxes."

His expression was almost hilarious and I realized that he must have a nice big boner that he really didn't want to advertise to the room by getting out of his chair just then. I went to his side and pulled him up out of it anyway, giggling again as I showed off my property to my auntie. Her eyes widened when she saw it, her smile getting a little bigger. I giggled again at how the usually decent woman was acting like such a slut. I loved it.

"Ho-ly shit!" he complained once we were halfway down the stairs. "That was so embarrassing!"

"I loved it," I admitted, barely holding back another giggle.

"Wait, did... did you know I-?"

"I had a hunch."

He shook his head at me, though with a smile that said he wasn't mad.

"Well, I wanted to show you off to Peggy," I told him with a shrug. "She's always been so... righteous with me, and so quick to point out whose daughter I am, that I thought I'd take advantage of her natural attraction to maybe show her what it's like for me in some small way. Hopefully, she'll be ashamed of herself after we're gone and your effect on her has worn off."

"Is that why you influenced her? He asked. "Out of spite?"

"Yup," I easily admitted. "I notice you didn't have to influence either of them to win them over," I told him as I opened the man door to the garage and walked into its cool, dark interior.

"I was just honest with them," he said.

Switching on the overhead lights, the fluorescents began humming loudly as they flickered to life and I asked, "About what?"

"Everything. Well, not everything. I mean about you and me. They were pretty concerned about how I was gonna handle you, but I'm pretty sure I put their mind to rest."

"Oh? You're so sure you can handle me?" I joked as I reached the corner where the flattened boxes were stored.

"You know I can, you little slut."

"(Giggle!) Here, take these," I directed, handing him a few boxes before going to the bench for a roll of packing tape.

"I take it things went well with you and Gina?"

"Yeah... a lot better than I expected, that's for sure."

"I uhhh... I heard you crying."

" ... It's alright."

"Yeah, well it must be. You seem pretty happy."

"I am. Well, maybe a lot of it is that I'm so horny right now. But I'm pretty happy that Gina doesn't hate me. She doesn't really trust me and she's a little afraid of me, but she still loves me and, even though I have to lose her and Daddy... I know it's necessary and, considering what I get in return..."

I'd paused, running my horny eyes over him with the roll of tape in my hand.

"I really am horny," I said. "Like... really fuckin horny."

"I know. Me too."

"Do you want Peggy?"

"And Gina," he admitted with that cute smile as he looked down at the cement floor.

"Well... we could have them. We'd only have to fix Gina."

"Yeah, I know," he said.

"I don't want to do that, but... if you want to..."

"No," he said, looking up at me with that smile still on his face, but finality in his tone. No, that's not why we came here and I promised your father that I'd..."

"What?"

"I'll tell you later, but I respect your father and I'm gonna keep that promise."

"Okay," I accepted, moving towards him with a sleazy little smile, grabbing his still hard cock through his jeans and adding, "But my horny has to be seen to, and really soon."

"I know," he gasped as I squeezed his beautiful member.

"And I want it really fuckin' filthy, sweetie pie. I want a family to play with."

"Okay," he quickly agreed.

"(Giggle!)"

Our decision not to play at home really paid off and was totally worth putting off my horny for the relatively short time that I had to. After packing the Caprice and the comparatively small trunk of the Trans Am with garbage bags full of my clothes and a few boxes of things such as my laptop and other personal necessities, I started up my old chariot and idled out of the garage and into the sunshine to let her warm up.

Stevie was impressed with the faded red muscle of yesteryear, and I knew it turned him on all the more to know this was my car. As for Daddy's questions of why we couldn't stay for a few days, I responded somewhat honestly, telling him that the orgy that would be inviting wouldn't go over well with Gina. He laughed, totally understanding like I kinda knew he would. We kissed goodbye, exchanging the expected well wishing, and I then said my goodbyes to Auntie Peggy before moving on to Gina.