Blood Will Tell Chapter 7

A couple of minutes later, he opened the door to Raeka's knock. She was dressed. Technically. In about two ounces of what appeared to be spun smoke. No bra. Possibly no panties, but he wasn't about to look that closely.

Rafael turned red. Then burgundy. Then an interesting shade of purple. Then he walked over to the closet, yanked it open, pulled out one of his robes, stalked over, and draped it around her shoulders. "Arms in! Right now!"

Raeka shook her head. "I told you you asked for it. Don't look if you don't want to see." She gave him a look he'd seen only a couple of times before, when she was working on something and was not going to give up until she succeeded.

"Very well then." He put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her firmly but gently out the door. "No talk then."

She grabbed hold of the door. "Don't you dare! You told me to put on clothes, and I did. It's not my fault that you didn't say what you meant!"

"You knew what I meant. If you're playing games with me, then obviously you don't feel like being serious," he said. "And I won't have a talk like this unless it's serious. Good night."

"I am being serious. You aren't!"

"No. You're playing games, and you're trying to manipulate me," he said coolly. "I've had quite enough of that tonight, thank you."

"No, I'm not playing games," she said. "I'm trying to make a point! If you'd listen to me maybe you'd understand!"

"If you won't discuss it like an adult, with neither party trying to embarrass or manipulate the other, then I won't discuss it," he said. "Period. I said you could talk. Not do a strip tease."

"I'm not," she said, more quietly. "Maybe I shouldn't have joked about you asking for it, but I'm not trying to embarrass you. Maybe I'm trying to manipulate you, a little, but it's not any more than I'm trying to do by talking. I really am trying to make a point, and this really is part of it. It might even be a better example than being naked would be."

"If you can't seduce someone with your clothes on, then they don't really want you," he said, bluntly. "Are you willing to settle for that? For knowing that you couldn't have done it without flawed male biology on your side?"

She shook her head. "That's not the point I'm making. Would you just let me in and I'll explain? Then I'll put the robe on if you still think it's that important."

"What point do you think you're making?"

Raeka sighed. "Just let me in? It'd be faster to make it than argue. Then I'll put on the robe, I promise."

He rubbed his forehead. "Fine. But be warned. I am this close to picking you up, throwing you in your room, and locking you in for the weekend. Got it? I've had just about all I can take, Raeka."

"Well, if you'd stop freaking out and listen to me, you wouldn't be so worked up!" she snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to yell at you. But it hurt."

"I was quite worked up enough before you showed up, mija. Trust me. You didn't have to do anything." He sighed. "But as you have, then you can by damned... how did you put it before? Live by the consequences of your actions."

She sighed again. "Can we just go in and talk?"

"I said we could," he said, then added gently, "But... just... don't push it, honey. I'm not myself tonight."

"I noticed."

He flinched, thinking that she really had no idea. Not really. "Just come in, and say what you need to say to put real clothes on, sweetheart." He stepped aside to let her come through the door.

Raeka stepped into the room, standing under the light. "Look at me, Daddy. I mean, really look at me. What do you see?"

"My daughter," he said. "That's what I will always see."

"I know that", she said, rolling her eyes. "But pretend that I'm not for a moment, and tell me what you see."

He sighed. "You know that you're a lovely young woman. You've always looked like your mother."

"Thank you. That's my point, right there. Young woman."

"Young woman, Raeka. I'm thirty-six."

"So?" she asked. "Daddy... look. First off, do you remember being a teenage boy?"

"You've made your point. Now get dressed. Then we can argue."

She sighed again, but reached for the robe. "Do you?" she asked.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Of course. I'm too old for your scheme, but not that old."

"Tell me the truth: do you really want my first time to be with a teenage boy?" Raeka asked.

"You're in some desperate hurry? Trust me, most men aren't worth it," he said with a smile. "I'll give you a hundred bucks, and you can buy a nice vibrator instead. There, problem solved."

Raeka gave him an odd look. "You don't pay much attention to what I buy with my credit card, do you?" she asked. "I've got one. Two, actually. But I don't want my first time to be with a piece of plastic. I want it to be with someone who knows what they're doing. I want it to be with you."

"Why don't you wait for your first time to be with your husband, then?" he asked. "You're not a stupid girl. You're not repressed. You know there are ways to take care of yourself, and you shouldn't have any shame in using them. So be a bit better than everyone else, Raeka. And wait for someone better for you."

"I don't want to wait. My vibrators are fun, and having one in me feels good. I want to have the real thing."

"The real thing is highly overrated. Any experienced woman can tell you that," he said. "And even if I agreed with you, you'd still have to find someone else. I'd prefer for you to wait. But if you refuse, I certainly doubt I could stop you forever, and you'll just have to live with the disappointment your actions will likely bring."

"Why do I have to find someone else?" she asked. "Is there really anyone you'd trust to do a better job than yourself? Really?"

"At the risk of sounding hopelessly old-fashioned," he said, "couldn't you at least wait until you found someone you loved? Who you at least thought you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, even if it didn't work out?"

"What makes you think I haven't?" she asked levelly, not blinking.

He went pale. "If that is the way you're thinking then... then we need to get you some help. It's not appropriate, sweetheart. It's not healthy. You are my daughter."

"Not by blood. So there aren't any genetic issues. And I don't think I want babies anyway." She wrinkled her nose. "They're okay I guess, but I don't want one. And why shouldn't I stay with you, huh?"

"Well for one thing, I'm married!" he snapped. "Have you forgotten that?"

Raeka raised an eyebrow. "Since it's my mother you're married to, I think it would be hard to forget. But I also think she's given up any claim on you. Don't you?"

"Since when have I taught you that two wrongs make a right?" he asked.

"It's not two wrongs if she doesn't have a claim on you." She looked him in the eye. "Does she?"

"Her breaking her vows doesn't mean that I'm going to turn around and break mine," he protested, violently suppressing the guilty thought that he'd been considering doing just that, a few hours ago. "And even if it did, that's not the only issue."

"I don't think they apply anymore," she said. "Well... unless you worked it out that they did. I mean, if you promised her they still did, or something."

"Whatever your mother and I promised each other is none of your business," he said. "For now, she is still legally my wife, and as you claim to love her, it's rather callous of you to simply disregard that to get something you've decided you want."

"I'm not disregarding it, Daddy. I'm saying that if she cheated on you all that time, she has no right to expect monogamy from you. And she can trust that I'm not going to tell you to kick her out. I don't trust anyone else to do that."

"What makes you think that I would keep her and sleep with someone else?" he asked. "Did you stop to think perhaps that we might have worked things out?"

"I thought about it. But... you're entitled to once, no matter what, and I'd settle for that if I had to. And after finding out that she's gagged and sleeping on the floor..." Raeka shook her head. "Look me in the eye and tell me you aren't going to sleep with anyone else."

"I don't know what I'm going to do right now," he admitted. "But even if I were to eventually seek out another woman, it would not be you. It doesn't matter that you're beautiful, sweetheart, it's simply wrong. And even if it weren't, I'm not the kind of person who would just jump into such a thing and start with sex. Have you considered that this is a change that I would not welcome, Raeka? I'm willing to fight to the death to keep you as my child... why are you so eager to be something else, instead?"

"Daddy...." Raeka said, her voice gentle. "Don't you understand? I love you. I want you. Ever since I started masturbating, I've thought about you. I used to cry myself to sleep at night because I knew it couldn't happen. And now... now it can, and I want it, so bad..." She sniffed, wiping a tear away from her eye with the back of her hand. "And it hurts that you don't want me, it hurts bad. What's wrong with me, Daddy? Why am I not good enough?"

He stared at her helplessly. "Honey, don't cry. Please don't cry! There's nothing wrong with you. But... there's a difference. I love you so much, but as my child. To protect, and take care of," he said. "Not to have an affair with!"

"But why not? You taught me everything else, why not this? Why can't I have this and still be your little girl? I'd still be your little girl if I slept with one of the guys at school!"

"Yes, you would," he said gently. "Because our relationship wouldn't be changed by that."

"Would it really hurt our relationship?" she asked. "I can't see why it would. You'd just... just be giving me the thing I want most in the world. And I'd be giving you the thing that's most precious to me."

"Perhaps it wouldn't hurt. But it certainly could," he said. "Sex can hurt any relationship. This has been shown over and over again. And it would definitely change it. If you were my lover, then you would no longer be my little girl. And I'm not willing to give up my little girl. Not for anyone."

"Then I have to choose between being your little girl and being your lover?"

"No, honey, you don't," he said softly. "Don't you think I should have some choice in the matter, too?"

"You do. But before you can choose, I have to choose. Is that the choice I have to make?" she asked.

"No. You don't need to make that choice," he said. "Because when a man like me sleeps with a woman, and he is not looking for a permanent lover, he is treating her as a convenience, as a tramp. Raeka, I'm not looking for a lover. And I would never treat you like a tramp."

Raeka walked over to him, reaching out and taking his hand. "I want you, Daddy. I love being your little girl, and I don't ever want to stop, but if that's the price I have to pay... I'll pay it. I'll take you on whatever terms you'll give me, but I want you to understand. I'm not offering a one night stand. I'm not offering my body. I'm offering you all of me, for the rest of my life. I've wanted you since I was ten. Six years, Daddy, Six years of knowing I couldn't have you. And now I can. Look at me. I'm not a little girl anymore, Daddy. I'm old enough to know what I want, and what I want is for you to take this robe off of me, and take this nightgown off of me, and lay me down on the bed, and make me a woman. Make love to me. And in exchange... in exchange, I'll give you my heart, because I'll love you forever. I already do."

He tried to back away, but the bed was behind him. "Why are you doing this?" he whispered. "What did I do wrong, to make you think in such a way?"

"Nothing, Daddy. You didn't do anything wrong, because there's nothing wrong with what I want. Nothing."

He shook his head desperately. "You're my baby. You shouldn't feel this way."

"Why not?" she asked. "I love you."

"And I love you, too, but there's a difference between love and sex."

"I know. You taught me that, Daddy. That's why I'm not willing to settle for sex."

"Then wait," he said. "Wait for someone to love you and only you, forever. Someone your age, with no other attachments, no complications. You deserve something pure, not... not dirty and sordid."

She looked up at him. "How could it be sordid with you, Daddy? I love you. I'd rather share you with mom than share some other guy with someone else."

"Don't share, damn it!" he said, frustrated. "You don't need to share. You are perfectly capable of getting your very own, completely devoted, worshipful spouse, and if he wants you to 'share' then you can get another one after the death certificate comes through on the first one!"

She sighed. "I want you, Daddy. Like it or not, I do. So you have to decide... do I get what I want, do I get my first choice, or do I settle for second best?"

"In this case, second best is likely to be much, much better for you, Raeka." He sighed. "Honey... think about it. Think about the legal issues, and the social stigma if it ever got out, about having to hide, if it didn't. Think about the fact that if I gave in to you, and your mother left me, she'd have every bit of evidence she needed to get you taken away from me. At your insistence."

"Mother's not going to leave you," Raeka said. "She'd already be gone if she was. And I don't mind hiding, if I get what I want."

"You don't know what your mother might do," he said. "After tonight... I won't make her stay," he said, coming to the decision right then. "And if she thought I'd agree to that, she'd be perfectly within her rights to turn me in."

"Then let me talk to her."

Suddenly, that didn't seem like such a bad idea. He'd initially been horrified of the idea of his daughter seeing her mother like that, of Alexia getting a chance to talk to her while she was still hurting, afraid of what she might say. Terrified that she'd hate him for what he'd done to her mother. But maybe that was the safer option. "All right, then. But no arguing with her. She'd had... a bad time of it. She hasn't got the strength to fight with you, Raeka, I mean it. I'll let her tell you what she thinks of it, so that you can see that we both agree that it would be wrong, and that's it. No badgering her and bullying her into agreeing with you. No trying to use her guilt to get her to go against her ethics. Got it?"

Raeka nodded. "Okay."

Rafael walked around to the foot of the bed and knelt, helping Alexia sit up on her knees on the cushions, making sure the blanket was tucked securely around her shoulders, then reached for the gag. "Talk to her," he whispered. "Tell her the truth, whatever you want, whatever it takes to make her understand. I don't know how to do it without hurting her, but knowing the consequences might be enough." He peeled away the wet strips of leather, then popped the ball out of her mouth. Tossing it aside, he reached out and gently massaged her jaw as it began to un-cramp. "Take your time, I know it hurts," he said softly, then raised his voice. "There's a chair by the end of the bed. Sit down and listen to your mother."

"Okay. Mom, look— oh my God!" Raeka had come around the chair a bit too far before sitting down, and she stood there, frozen, staring at the welts on her mother's shoulder, the only part of her mother she could see. "Mom, are you okay? God, Daddy, don't you think you went just a little bit overboard?"

He tucked the blanket back up over Alexia with an almost protective motion. "That's none of your business," he said gruffly, his face flushed.

"Yes, it is," Raeka said. "She's my mother. Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay," Alexia said hoarsely. "I'm better than I've been in sixteen years. I'm at peace. Honey... you have to tell me something, and it has to be the truth."

"What?"

"Are you sure you aren't doing this to get back at me? I understand if you're mad, but... this isn't the way to handle it," Alexia said.

"I'm sure," Raeka said. "I love him, Mom. And... I'm sorry, but I really don't think you have a right to tell him he can't have me. I won't tell him he can't have you, but... I want him."

Alexia stared at her daughter intently. "You're sure?" At Raeka's nod, she said, "On one condition, then. You can't argue with him about how he treats me. I deserve it."

"Alexia!" Rafael stared at her, aghast, stunned.

"Mom!" Raeka cried out at the same time.

"I mean it," Alexia said. "I deserve it. You don't have the right to take that away from me. And Rafe," she twisted her head to look up at him, "I know you'd never hurt her. Who else could I pick for her? Nobody else is good enough for her."

"I was right. You really are both crazy," he said. "Alexia, you know damned well that's not what I intended for you to tell her."

"You told me to tell her the truth, Rafe. That's the truth. You're the only one I trust with my little girl."

"Raeka, your mother's gone insane. It's probably my fault," he said. "I pushed her over the edge. I'll get her some help, but you can't take what she says seriously until then."

Alexia laughed, her normal chuckle. "I'm not insane, Rafe, just free. And I can prove it. Who would you trust with your daughter's virginity?"

He glared. "A traditional harem guard. Very traditional. Got one handy?"

She chuckled. "See? So who do you think I'd trust her to? The man I trust with my life, that's who."

He closed his eyes, tightly, pain sharp and tight in his chest. "I didn't want to do this," he whispered. "I didn't want to do it this way, but you're not leaving me any choice." He looked up at his daughter, his eyes miserable. "You won't back down? Give up this crazy idea? You still think it's what you want?"

Raeka sighed, standing up and moving to the bed. She patted the bedspread beside her as she sat down. "Daddy... Come over here. Let me tell you a story. Maybe it'll help you understand."

He shook his head. "It's a yes or no question. Do you still think you want it?"

"Please, Daddy. I can tell you still don't understand."

"Yes or no?" he asked.

Raeka stood up and walked over to him. "I'm not going to make you do anything," she said. "I've told you what I want. I've tried to tell you why I want it, but I don't think you understand, or you wouldn't think it was a bad thing. So let me do one more thing, and if you still say no, I'll go back to my room, and back to my bed, alone, and I won't ever mention it again."

His gaze didn't waver. "So that's a 'yes', then?"

Raeka bent down and kissed him, quickly but firmly, before straightening. "It's your choice, Daddy. I'm not going to beg or plead. If you say no, I'll never mention it again." She sat down on the bed, waiting.

"I haven't said 'no'. I just asked if you still thought you wanted it," he said. "Obviously, you do. So. I don't really have any choices left. Alexia, stand up."

Alexia looked up at him in surprise before biting her lip. "I... I'm not sure I can with my hands tied behind my back. You'll have to help me."

He nodded. "That's understandable," he said, then stood up, bent, wrapped his hands around her arms through the blanket, and lifted her to her feet. Then he turned her to face away from the bed and took a step back, holding onto the blanket and giving it a little tug, like an artist revealing a new statue.