WARNING:

This story contains themes and written images intended for mature audiences only. The author in no way, shape, or form condones any of the acts portrayed in the story, nor do any characters or events resemble any real persons living or dead. It is strictly a work of fiction.


Turning Thirteen

by

honeychil`



	He was gone, and I was devastated.  I stared at his lifeless face, my own frozen, mask-like, and wondered how I could possibly make it through another day.  The notion of a lifetime without him filled me with an unspeakable dread.  Sitting rigidly alone in the first row of chairs, I tried to focus on the condolences of his friends and business associates, not to mention family members of all sorts -- cousins, uncles, aunts -- all asking how I was holding up, all anxious to help.  All except her.  No, she was livid, standing between the casket and me, trembling with fury and staring at me with open revulsion.
	She had left him when I was quite young, and she had tried to take me with her.  He was too powerful, though, and no one would believe her lascivious tales of impropriety.  He fought for custody and won, then allowed me to become the kind of daughter I had always wanted to be.
	Seeing her there took me back to the last time I had seen my mother, back to my thirteenth birthday.  She had left that night, after a raging fit intended to disrupt the family gathering, intended to impose her will, her set of values upon the rest of us.

	Every year in the spring, we had a family reunion, and every year the older girls in the extended family would ready the younger ones for their coming-of-age ritual.  Even though I was younger than the required fifteen years old, I was precocious, physically as well as mentally.  I had been masturbating since I was eight or nine but would always stop just short of fulfillment, petrified by the notion that if I came, I would surely die.  On the other hand, I always wondered if there wasn't more to sex than just basic copulation.
	So, after four long years of living on edge, I was eager to join the ritual, even though I wasn't quite sure just what was involved.  My mother would always whisk my sister and me away from the festivities at some point before the ritual started.  She would mutter under her breath, and I would be hard pressed to glean any information from the incoherent rants.  All I could tell was that I could feel the tension mount in her as the excitement rose in the rest of the family.  Later, my girl cousins would walk around with facial expressions ranging anywhere from peacefully content to downright smug, and my Daddy would show a great deal of extra fondness toward one or two of them.  I would be crazy with jealousy, hurt that Daddy would show this interloper more attention than he would show me.
	The year I turned thirteen, the reunion happened to fall on my birthday.  I knew I was too young to join the ritual, but I needed some of that serenity I had seen on my cousins' faces.  Since I had caught a glimpse of one of my cousins last year as she hustled to catch up with the other girls and had noticed the Mardi-Gras-style mask she wore, I came up with an idea.  With a little luck, no one would notice the extra girl this year.
	I gathered sequins and ribbons in different shades of reds and ambers and russets as well as a few marabou feathers and a plain mask, and I painstakingly assembled it all, working on it for a solid month late at night after I was certain Mama was asleep.  I wanted to be sure Daddy picked me out of all the girls, so I had used his favorite colors and had copied patterns and ideas I had seen in catalogs.
	Finally, the day of the reunion -- my birthday -- arrived.  I donned my mask and snuck into the room where my older cousins were helping the younger ones to get ready.  All the girls wore long flowing robes of the purest white silk I had ever seen cinched at their waists with wide ties.  Sherry, Daddy's favorite from a few years prior, spotted me still in my cut-offs and one of Daddy's old button-down shirts, the tails tied into a knot at my waist.  She scolded me, "What on earth are you doing in those clothes?  Get out of them and get over here under this shower. You're late."  She paused and gave me a scrutinizing look.  Swallowing hard, I hustled to obey, hoping she wouldn't recognize me.  "C'mon, Becky, we don't have all night."  My mind reeled with relief as she helped me slip the old shirt off my shoulders, baring my pert, rounded breasts, and shuck out of my denim shorts.  As I bent, she trailed her fingertips along the curve of my ass.  "Man, somebody's sure gonna enjoy this, and I'll bet it'll be Uncle Rob."  My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Her Uncle Rob was my Daddy.
	I started to straighten, but Sherry placed a firm hand on my back, indicating I should stay where I was.  Uncertain, my mask threatening to slip from my face, I stood with my head down around my knees.  "Step your feet further apart," she instructed.  "We may as well get the fun part over with."  I could hear the slight note of sarcasm in her voice, as well as the sound of a box being opened and cellophane packaging being ripped apart.  "Don't worry, Becky, this isn't gonna hurt, but it might feel a little weird."  As she spoke, Sherry began easing something long and hard and slender into my puckered asshole.
	I gasped and squirmed, trying my best to dislodge the intruding object.  All it got me, though, was a swift, sharp swat to my right ass cheek.  I jumped in surprise, then jumped again as Sherry reached around to lightly stroke my left breast and tease my already hardening nipple.  I could feel the thing in my ass moving as Sherry changed angles, tilting it this way and that, then gently pumping it in and out.  Dear lord, was something this dirty supposed to feel this good?
	"Oh, you like that, huh?" Sherry chuckled.  "Well, let's see if you like this part, too."  Gradually, my belly started feeling heavier and heavier, and the urge to relieve my bowels was almost overwhelming.  "No! Don't you let that go!"  Sherry sounded panicked.  "It's just water -- isn't gonna hurt you a bit.  But it's gotta stay inside you for a little while, so it can make you all squeaky clean for Uncle Rob."
	A soft moan escaped from my throat as I fought to hold the water, my asshole clamped as tight around the slender rod as I could manage.  Sherry continued to tease my nipples, tugging first one and then the other.  Her deft fingers pinched and rolled them, increasing the intensity until I was practically pressing my tits into her palms.
	Shifting my weight from foot to foot, I arched my back, lifting my rounded ass even higher, instinctively seeking the feel of that rod moving inside me.  Sherry caught my eye, grinning broadly and winking at me as the obvious desire mounted in my body.  "Yeah, Uncle Rob is gonna love you," she said.  God, I hoped she was right!
	Suddenly, Sherry's fingers slid along my slit, parting my pussy lips to check my level of arousal.  "Damn, girl, you're drenched!"  Her questing fingertips dragged the wetness that threatened to seep down my thighs to my clit, coating the sensitive flesh and making it slick as she flicked it with a light touch.  With a yelp of surprise, I ground against the pressure, the years of masturbation causing my body to respond as it usually did when it was my own fingers doing the deed.  I caught a glimpse of Sherry's face as she fought to conceal a sharply curious look.  She continued to rub my clit, more insistently now, and twirl the slender nozzle of the enema bottle around in my rear.  I tried with all the meager control I could muster to bite back the groan that escaped from my throat, but it was no use.  All I could manage was to turn my face away from Sherry, hoping the mask would hide the hot color in my cheeks as well as the pleasure glazing my eyes.  I fucked my ass onto the nozzle of the bottle, my hips swaying as I strove to increase the tempo and the squirming of the narrow rod in my dirtiest place.
	Slowly, recognizing the sweet torture was making me drop my guard, Sherry stood and grabbed a handful of my copper-colored hair, hauling me upright.  "What are you playin' at, 'Becky?'"  She unceremoniously yanked the nozzle from my ass and shoved two fingers into my sloppy cunt at the same time, shocking me to my core and making me void my bowels.  I had never experienced such humiliation as I did in that moment, my cheeks flaming as I responded to Sherry's harsh touch even though the contents of my bowels were streaming down my legs and running into the shower drain.  "I thought so. You're not Becky -- she won't tell anybody, but she lost her cherry three months ago to Roger, the stupid bitch.  But your cherry seems to be well and truly intact. So, let's get a look at who we have here.."  With that, she reached up and yanked off my mask, despite my efforts to evade her.  Her eyes widened as she recognized my aqua-colored eyes I had inherited from my mother as well as the high cheekbones that hinted at the understated beauty that ran in her family, the beauty that had attracted my Daddy to her in the first place.  "Cassie! What the holy fuck are you doing here?" Sherry pulled her fingers out of my soaking wet pussy as though they had been scalded.  A look of panic warred with curiosity on her pretty features, a look that I am sure was a mirror image of my own.
	"Ohgod, please, Sherry!  I just gotta join the ritual today."  Tears of frustration sprang to my eyes as I pled my case.  "I'm so tired of Daddy paying attention to everybody except me -- you, all the other cousins, those men he's always taking to dinners and stuff.  If I don't do something, I'm afraid he's not ever gonna love me the way I need him to.  Please, Sherry?  Will you help me?"  I shoved a shaking hand across my face and silently begged while clutching her hands.
	Sherry disentangled herself from my grasp and stepped back, her hands on her hips, giving me another hard, assessing look.  Her gaze swept over my naked body from head to toe and back again, taking in every detail.  "Turn around," she barked at me.  I immediately complied, slowly pirouetting under the shower head.  She studied the roundness of my ass, the slight flare of my hips, the curve of my waist, and the angle of my budding bosom, her expression inscrutable.  Finally, she sighed quietly.  "Cassie, I know how you feel.  I went through the same thing with my own Daddy.  Yes, Uncle Rob chose me out of all the cousins that year and showered me with attention, but even though I am very fond of him, it was my own Daddy I was wanting to show me how to truly love a man."  Her expression softened, and Sherry gently smiled at me.  That sweet smile was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen.
	"Oh, Sherry, thank you! I promise I'll do whatever--"  As I fought to keep from drowning in my relief, Sherry cupped her hand around my cheek and leaned in for a light, lingering kiss. Gratefully, I started to give her a fierce hug.
	"Whoa, let's get you cleaned up first," she chuckled.  "We've got a lot to do if we're gonna get you ready to seduce your Daddy."
	Sherry helped me shower, making sure every nook and cranny of my young body was spotless.  As she worked, she drilled me on tidbits and tips that would ensure I piqued Daddy's interest.  She slathered me with lotion -- a scent she had discovered He was very fond of -- romantic rose, warm, deep vanilla, and a bit of lime for a zesty burst of brightness.  Her litany turned to slight caveats about what to expect once I had been chosen.  "Your Daddy is gonna want you to take his cock into your mouth, and when--"
	"What..?!" I interrupted in alarm.  "I've got to taste the same thing he pees with?"
	"Yes, Cassie-baby, but don't worry.  He keeps himself a hell of a lot cleaner than most of Uncle Frankie's boys, but that's for another time.  You just be aware and don't be afraid, no matter what. You may think you're gonna pass out and die, but he'll take care of you."
	I gave Sherry a skeptical look, but nodded.  "So, why did you clean out my butt?  Is he gonna put something in there?"
	"Oh, hell yeah, he is.  The very last thing he'll do is to fuck your ass.  and I gotta warn you, Uncle Rob's cock is no little bitty thing. It's long and it's thick.  And when he puts it into your tight little anus, it's gonna hurt.  You won't be able to take the whole thing -- nobody ever can the first time.  But, the more you can take, the better he'll like it."
	"But, why would he do something like that if it's gonna hurt?  Daddy wouldn't ever hurt anybody."
	Sherry smiled knowingly and trailed a finger into the crease between my ass cheeks, gently teasing my hole and chuckling as I moaned and arched my back to push against the finger.  "Trust me, babygirl, you'll find out soon enough."
	An hour later, my bright auburn hair, which I normally wore scraped off my face and in a ponytail, flowed in soft waves over my shoulders.  I was lucky. Although my skin was fair, I was blessed with only a few freckles dusted across my nose and cheeks, but the rest of my skin was free of the maddening flecks of color.  Instead of covering them with the thick layer of make-up I had begged for, Sherry merely blotted my face with a bit of powder and accentuated my cheeks and lips with a subtle hint of coral color.  She did, however, play up my aqua-colored eyes with warm, tawny shades of shadow and coat my lashes with thick, dark mascara that made my eyelids feel strangely heavy.  I blinked repeatedly, trying to get used to the feel of it.
	I wrapped myself in one of the pure white silk robes I had seen the other girls wearing earlier, suddenly realizing they weren't around.  Curiously, I asked Sherry, "Hey, where'd everybody else go?  Am I gonna miss the grand entrance?  Oh lordy, Sherry, what if Daddy picks somebody else before I get in there?"  My voice rose in pitch as my anxiety level skyrocketed.  I stepped into the conservative white pumps with the little two-inch heels I had raided from my mother's closet, then dashed out the door and down the hall to the room where I could hear the revelry well underway.
	Sherry caught my arm as I started to tug the mask I had so carefully crafted onto my face.  As she helped me settle it over my eyes and nose, then fluff my hair out from under the band that held the mask in place, she warned me, "Cassie, it's late, and Uncle Rob always has first pick of the girls.  You may not get a chance to be with him tonight.  Are you sure you don't want to wait until next year?  I promise, I'll keep my mouth shut about all of this, then I'll help you along next year."
	"No!  I can't wait another year!  Last night I heard Mama screaming at Daddy, telling him she was going to take Katie and me and leave.  There's no way I'm going to let that happen."  As I argued, I glanced past Sherry and a half-dozen potted plants, and spied my mother stalking by with my little sister in tow.  From the frown on her face, I could tell she was probably searching for me in order to drag me away once again.  Not this year, I thought.  "Trust me on this one, Sherry," I said, then turned and grabbed the doorknob, easing it open and slipping into the room.
	All throughout the great hall were couches and chaises and chairs, as well as huge, soft pillows strewn across the floor.  A small band was playing old standards on a low stage at one end of the room.  I stopped just inside the door, momentarily shocked by the sight of a goodly number of my extended family members in various stages of undress.  Some were already paired up, idly fondling each other as they waited for the spectacle in the middle of the hall to unfold.  The girls receiving the initiation rites this year were still loosely bunched in the center of the room, tittering and whispering among themselves.  But, although Daddy eyed them with bemusement, he didn't seem as though he'd seen anything that had particularly struck his fancy.
	Suddenly, I had a epiphany.  I was going to find out once and for all if I had what it took to hold my Daddy's attention, to win his love.  I tore the mask off my face and slipped the robe from my shoulders, then kicked off my mother's shoes.  Standing there as naked as the day I was born, I vehemently shook my head, sending my fiery hair swinging around my alabaster shoulders.  I drew myself up to my full height, lifted my chin to a defiant angle, and strode purposefully into the hall.
	The band members were the first to spot me, the bouncy Gershwin tune they had been playing quickly disintegrating into a train wreck of missed notes and jumbled syncopation.   The girls in the white robes saw me and parted like the Red Sea at Moses' command, allowing me to pass.  As I made my way to the low couch where Daddy was holding court, the low murmur that had pervaded the room swelled to a dull roar.  When he spotted me, recognition dawned upon his face, quickly followed by consternation and rage.  I almost quailed as I came to stand before him, but I steeled my resolve and faced him.
	"Cassie, dammit, what the hell do you think you're doing? You've got no business being here for this. You're too damned young!" Daddy rolled off the couch and towered over me, his brows lowered, his hands on his hips.
	I stood with my feet planted wide, my arms stiff at my sides as I clenched and unclenched my fists in an effort to keep my composure.  "I might be younger than everybody else, but I'm not too young, Daddy.  I'm tired of never getting to spend time with you.  I'm tired of watching you be proud of everybody but me."  As I stood there recalling the years of yearning loneliness, sudden tears sprang to my eyes making them shimmer like bright jewels.  My voice thickened with emotion as I continued, "I'm tired of waiting and wondering if I'll ever get the chance to show you and everybody else just how much I love you."  I could see him begin to soften slightly.  "Please, Daddy.  Please let me love you.  Please don't turn me away."  My voice trailed off to a whisper.
	Two fat tears rolled down my cheeks and plopped onto my bare breasts as my chest rose and fell rapidly.  I saw Daddy watch their descent with growing fascination.  "Baby, even if I did let you stay, you would have to be punished for barging in here without permission.  Are you prepared for that?"  At my emphatic nod, he sighed heavily, "You're not making this any easier on me, Cass, but I'll make a deal with you.  I'll put it to the rest of the family.  Whatever the consensus is, I'll abide by it.  If they say you can stay, then as long as you accept your punishment, you can join the ritual.  But I warn you, the punishment won't be easy to endure.  If the family decides you're still too young, though, you'll get dressed and get the hell out of here until you're older."  He muttered under his breath as he ran a hand through his dark hair, "And pray to all that's holy your mother doesn't find out about this either way."  He straightened, his voice ringing out once again.  "Do you understand me, girl?"
	"Yes, sir."
	Daddy scanned the room, searching out my uncles, aunts, and older cousins.  "Does anyone have anything to say?"
	The hush that had fallen over the family was broken by Uncle Frank.  "Let her stay, Rob.  She obviously had the courage to face you and beg for what she wants.  She's got the courage to take the punishment -- and whatever else you give her."  He winked at Daddy, who nodded.  Murmurs of assent rose around the room.  "You can't deny she's yours.  She's just like you."
	"So, you think I ought to let her join the other girls, huh?  Are you hoping she'll still be available when it comes your time to choose?"  Daddy's dark eyes were glittering like onyx, his hard stare lancing Uncle Frank where he sat with his hand on his stiffening dick.  "No chance of that.  You're right, she did have the courage to beg for what she wanted.  If she stays, she'll be mine.  Period."
	"No!  Wait a minute!  That's not fair!"  Shrill cries tore from the throats of the girls in the white robes behind me.  Alicia spoke up, "Uncle Rob, a lot of us have worked hard to catch Your eye, and now you're gonna let this -- this kid just waltz in here and demand her own way?"
	"Yes, I am.  Her spirit and fire have caught my eye, far more than some simpering, overly made-up twit."  He fixed his stony gaze on Alicia's eyes, obviously rimmed with dark kohl behind her mask, and mouth painted carmine red.  I could see bright color stealing upward from her chest to her face.  Not another word passed from those garish lips.
	"Anyone else?"  Daddy glanced around the room once more for signs of uncertainty.  When he found none, he stretched out his hand and cupped my cheek. A wry smile softened his expression.  "Okay, Cassie-babe, you can stay.  You'll take your punishment like a big girl, won't you?"
	"O-of course I w-will," I stammered.
	As he slid his belt from the waistband of his slacks, Daddy watched me.  I nearly rescinded under his penetrating stare.  In order to hide my nervousness, I glared back at him, tossing my head and sending my amber curls bouncing around my shoulders.  For some reason, this seemed to anger him, for a grim scowl drew his brows downward.  He seized my shoulder and roughly pulled me to the near end of the sofa.  "Bend over and grab the arm," he ordered.  With intense eyes, I looked up at him, nodded mutely, and rested my chest on the arm of the sofa, my arms clutching at it.  From the corner of my eye, I could see the belt swaying behind me as Daddy shook it out.  "Baby, I know I've told you a hundred times that a spanking was going to hurt me more than it did you.  Well, this time, I can't say that."
	I heard him move behind me, heard the swish of the leather strap through the air, and then I felt pain.  For the first time in my young life, I felt real pain, white-hot and searing through the flesh of my ass cheeks.  I gasped in shock, then screamed at the severity of the blow.  I danced on my toes, but I buried my face in my arms and stayed in place, remembering Daddy's admonition to be a big girl. If I embarrassed him now by acting like a ninny, I'd never get a second chance.  The leather whistled through the air again, landing with a loud crack against my tender flesh.  I bit into my arm to keep from crying out again as tears streamed down my face.  Suddenly, unexpectedly, I felt a warm caress soothing the pain away.  As Daddy's hand gently stroked my skin, I turned my head to steal a glance at his face and caught a look of raw fear that he quickly shuttered.  I summoned the strength to whisper to him, "It's okay, Daddy.  I can do this.  Please, just finish it."
	His eyes met mine understandingly, and he nodded.  Straightening, he said, "Four more, baby, and then the punishment will be over."  He lifted the belt once more, quickly slicing it downward in rapid succession across my backside once, twice, as my shoulders shook with my sobs.  The pain was fiery, scorching my soul.
	Something strange happened.  My body started responding to the pain in a most startling manner.  The muscles of my cunt tightened and twitched, and I could feel the chamber growing wet with my juices.  I arched my back, lifting myself on my toes and pushing my ass higher to meet the remaining strikes from the belt.  As I sought the pain, I could hear Daddy's sharp intake of breath.  He whacked the belt across my ass again, and I moaned.  His huge hand caressed my skin.  "Oh God, yes, Daddy," I bawled as I writhed under his touch.
	"That's it, baby," he crooned.  "Embrace it -- feel the pain seep into your soul."  He slipped a single fingertip along my slit, coating it with my wetness, then smeared it under my nose.  "Smell your excitement, girl.  That pleases me."  My musky-sweet scent filled my lungs and clouded my mind with lascivious thoughts.  The last blow landed with a loud thwack across my glowing flesh, ripping a sharp cry from my throat.  Daddy dropped the belt and gathered me into his arms, turning to sit on the couch and cradle me on his lap.  I buried my face in the curve of his neck and cried.
	I could feel his hands roaming across my body, holding me, urging me nearer.  Surreptitiously, he came closer and closer to my breasts, his fingers lightly brushing their pert curves.  I sensed a subtle change in the sweet kisses He pressed to my face and mouth, his lips lingering against my skin.  I tipped my head back, lifting my face to his tender ministrations, and my own lips caressed his cheeks, kissing his mouth, nibbling at his dark whiskers.
	I floated on a sea of submission, my soul totally bared and raw.  Daddy stroked his hands down my back, gentling my nerves, soothing my spirit.  I began to respond, my body lithely swaying on his lap.  He took my hands in his, squeezing them reassuringly, then gazed into my eyes, his own dark orbs warm and smiling.  Slowly, as though no to spook me, he guided my hands to his chest, urging me to explore.  I timidly touched the hard muscles through the fabric of his shirt, and when my fingertips happened upon his nipples, Daddy startled me with a low moan.  I snatched my hands away as if I had been burned.  He chuckled and led my hands back to his chest.  "It's okay, Cass.  I like that."  His fingers directed mine, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and tugging it from the waistband of his slacks.  As he shrugged out of it, he leaned in closer still and whispered, "I like it even more when they're pinched and bitten," then straightened and winked conspiratorially at me.  I could feel the bright color climbing into my cheeks once more, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and laced my fingers into the hair on Daddy`s chest.  I bent my head as I smoothed the crisp curls away from the dark buttons, then touched my tongue to first one, then the other.  Sure enough, another soft moan rumbled in his throat, and his hands moved to hold my head captive.  As I grew bolder, my lips encircled his nipples one at a time, my teeth lightly grazing the tight little nubs that hardened under my attention.  I suckled, drawing his flesh into my mouth and laving his nipples with light strokes.
	Daddy touched my shoulders, pressing me downward.  I left his nipples, slipping off his lap to kneel between his feet.  Again, he steered my hands to his clothes, helping me unbutton his waistband and lower the zipper.  I trailed little kisses across his rounded belly until I encountered his navel.  With an uncertain glance at his face, I dipped my tongue into the recess, exploring thoroughly, and as before, Daddy moaned.  I felt something firm and warm prodding my jaw as he lifted his hips from the cushion of the couch and pushed his slacks and boxer shorts to his knees.  He smoothed my hair back from my face, then wrapped a hank of the silky strands around his hand and pulled.  I gasped, more in surprise that in pain, and looked up at Daddy with a bit of trepidation in my aquamarine eyes.  He smiled reassuringly, "Baby, you've got a lot to learn, but you're a natural, just like I have always hoped.  Just don't be scared.  Do what I tell you.  There will be a little pain now and then, but it will fade and the pleasure will take over.  Do you understand me?"  I nodded.  "Do you trust me?"
	Frowning softly, I replied, "Of course, Daddy, why wouldn't I?"
	"Just remember that.  And remember I won't do anything that won't ultimately lead to pleasure."
	"O-okay, Daddy, I-I'll remember."
	Daddy smiled.  "We'll see."  His hand tugging my hair urged me away, so I straightened, my backside nestled against my heels.  Intuitively, I slipped his shoes from his feet, then tugged his socks off as well and stuffed them into his shoes.  Grabbing the legs of his slacks, I pulled them and his boxers off, too.  However, I kept my eyes averted from what had been nudging my jaw line.  "Cass, it's a cock, not anything to be afraid of.  Look at it."
	Slowly, my face awash in bright color, I lowered my gaze and let natural curiosity take over.  Daddy's cock was impressive, even to my untrained eyes, as it extended toward me from a thatch of dark, springy hair.  The shaft must have been about seven inches long and as thick as my wrist.  The skin covering it looked taut, and dark veins crisscrossed beneath the surface.  The knob at the end of it reminded me of a pith helmet like people on safari in the movies wear, except it had a deep cleft at the back of it.  I leaned close, my breath drifting lightly across it, and it surged with a life of its own.  I reared back, surprised and embarrassed.  Lifting my hands to my florid cheeks, I stole a glance at Daddy's eyes.  He grinned wickedly.  "That means it likes you, baby."
	"Yeah?"
	"Yeah.  Why don't you give it a kiss?  It'd like that, too."
	"Are you sure that's sanitary?"  I shot Daddy a skeptical look.
	"Ask Sherry," he laughed.  I glanced over at her, and she smiled encouragingly to me, nodding almost imperceptibly.  Turning back to face Daddy, I stared at the thick root dancing before my eyes, mesmerized.  I hesitated for several seconds, working up my nerve, then leaned in, touching my lips to the tip of his cock head.  The beast surged and moved, and Daddy growled low in his throat.  "That's it, baby.  Show it how much you love me."  His hands caressed my head.  I peeked up at his face -- his eyes were closed, an expression of pure pleasure dawning across his features.
	Daddy groaned, his hands sliding into my hair and captured my head in his firm grasp.  "Open your mouth for me, baby. You're going to lick my cock.  I can't wait to feel your tongue sliding around it."
	My lips parted, and my tongue peeped out from between them.  Daddy held the base of his cock and pushed it until it rested against the flat of my tongue.  I blinked in surprise -- the taste wasn't nearly as unpleasant as I had anticipated.  Daddy didn't taste any different at that point than my own hand did when I would lightly clench my fist and practice French kissing.  Visibly relaxing, I sighed in relief, my eyelids drooping just a bit.  Tentatively, I took a swipe of Daddy's cock along the ridge that ran up the base of his shaft from pubic hair to the cleft at the back of his glans.  Daddy's hips rocked forward as he pushed himself against my tongue.  "Yeah, baby, that's the way.  Do that again."  When I obliged, he growled again.  "Yeah, Cass, that feels good.  Now flick the tip of your tongue along the rim around my cockhead."
	Slowly, growing more confident, I stroked the tip of my tongue around Daddy's glans, teasing him before obediently flicking the tip of my tongue along its sensitive flesh with feather-like movements.  I boldly encircled his fat cockhead with my soft lips and gently suckled.  "You're a natural-born courtesan, Cass. What do you think should come next? Show me what you would do," Daddy encouraged me.  I timidly pushed my mouth lower onto his cock, and he rewarded me with tender touches to my cheeks. His hands cupped my face, his thumbs smoothing the skin under my eyes.  His cockhead bumped insistently at the back of my throat, and I fought down the urge to stop him.  Without preamble, Daddy's strong hands captured my head, holding me still as he thrust his fat fuckmeat beyond the narrow passage into my throat.  My nose flattened in the thick, springy hair surrounding the base of his cock, and I squeezed my eyes shut tight as I gagged hard around Daddy's shaft.  He held my face snug against his body, seeming to ignore my panicked struggles.  In and out, in and out of my constricted throat he slid his hardness.
	I swallowed convulsively, trying desperately to rid my throat and airway of the massive obstruction.  Daddy grunted with pleasure, but he withdrew his cock from my mouth.  Bending low, he cupped my face again and softly kissed my swelling lips, nibbling lightly on their full curves.  My chest heaved with the effort of breathing as I dragged huge gulps of air into my screaming lungs.  "Good girl," he whispered, so low only I could hear.  Straightening, he repeated clearly so that everyone could hear, "Good girl, Cass," and stroked my hair.  I slipped my arms around his middle, my cheek pressed tightly to his chest, and listened to the erratic beat of his heart.  A sweet rush of pleasure shot through me when I realized Daddy was excited -- by me and how I had performed.  Wanting to test that theory, I lowered my chin and tilted my head to one side as I leaned away from him and arched my back, mimicking the posture I'd seen other cousins use from time to time.  I looked up through my lashes at Daddy and allowed a small, impudent grin to tilt one corner of my mouth.
	Daddy's eyes darkened, smoldering with passion and surprise.  A chuckle rumbled up from deep inside him, and he grinned.  "That's my Cass," he said as he hugged me tightly and smacked my tender ass.  Yelping at the pain, I snuggled closer.
	He lifted me onto his lap, gently pulling my knees apart so that I straddled his strong thighs.  I blushed as my cunt lips, sparsely covered with wispy hair, parted and exposed my sensitive clit. His hands settled on my hips, pulling me forward until his cock was trapped between our bodies.  I felt it surge and writhe against my belly, and a strange thrill shot through me.  I rocked my hips, grinding against Daddy's thighs, and he grasped my hips tighter, urging me back just a bit. "Slide my cock underneath you, baby.  Let your slit ride along the top of my shaft."  Obediently, I rose up on my knees, pushed his turgid rod downward, then settled onto it.  My breath caught in my throat as my clit rubbed against his hardness and bumped against the rim of his cockhead.  The familiar feel of friction on my clit was like a reassuring shelter in a stormy sea of new sensations.  Eagerly, I rocked my hips, rubbing against Daddy's rigid dick.  I could hear murmurs of approval all around Daddy and me.  "Oh God! It feels so good!" I whined.
	"It's supposed to, silly girl," he grinned. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"  At my look of pure surprise, he growled at me, his eyes twinkling.  "Oh, drop the innocent façade, baby.  I know better.  All those nights I'd stand outside Your door in the darkness, listening to you moan, my hand stroking myself --"
	"Y-you heard me?" I squeaked.
	Daddy threw his head back and roared with laughter, much to my chagrin.  "I, Cassie-babe? No, not I. We."  With a sweep of his hand, he included the rest of the family.  "That's right, little slut, I overheard you one night last year.  The sound of pleasure in your voice as you obviously played with yourself was such an aphrodisiac.  Naturally, I couldn't keep that to myself.  Most of us have, at one time or another, jerked off as you neared your climax."
	My eyes were round as half-dollars as it hit me that my father had listened to me and had been so turned on by the thought of me masturbating that he couldn't help but bring himself to pleasure, too.  Not only had he found me sexy and erotic, he had found it titillating enough to share with my family who had taken to standing outside my bedroom door or window, jacking off as they listened to me.  My face flamed at the frankly appraising and approving looks in their eyes.
	It was in that moment I became aware once again of the activity in the crowd Daddy and I had been entertaining.  While I had given him my rapt attention, my uncles and male cousins had divvied up the other girls, watching us intently as they idly fondled them.  The girls fought to capture their Dominants' full attention, but with limited success.  I quailed to see that all the older folks seemed to be more interested in my success or failure to please my Daddy.
	Thrusting his hips and pushing the length of his cock against my clit, Daddy dragged my focus back to where it belonged.  I moaned softly and rocked my pelvis forward and back, increasing the sweet friction, sending tingles all through my lower regions like ripples on the surface of a pond.  My cunt engorged, and a damp warmth flooded my flesh.  Faintly at first, then growing stronger with each stroke, I could smell my own scent as it drifted from between my thighs.  As I blushed, Daddy inhaled deeply.  "My favorite perfume," he said, "bitch in heat," and grinned at my pinkening cheeks.
	My hips rocked jerkily on his lap, my eagerness to please Him making me awkward. Finally, he lifted me, his cock straightening, springing toward his belly and aiming directly for my core.  "You know what's going to happen, don't you, baby?  Did your mother at least tell you how copulation works?"
	Flushed with embarrassment, I shook my head.  Daddy scowled darkly and lifted me higher.  Afraid he was going to bring my initiation to an abrupt end, I quickly stammered, "But -- but we studied it in health class, and I've looked up all I could at the library!"  My eyes pleaded with him as I squirmed in his hands, wiggling lower in his grasp until my soft and now-juicy cuntlips barely caressed the tip of his cockhead.  "Please, Daddy, don't make me stop!"
	"Baby, did any of that stuff you read say that it might hurt the first time?" Daddy gave me a skeptical look.
	"Oh, yeah, it did. But I can handle it. I-I handled the whipping you gave me, didn't I? Please, Daddy!  I just want to belong to you.  I wanna make you happy. Make you lo-"
	As I spoke, Daddy wrapped his arms around me like bands of steel, strong and tight.  He kissed me deeply, cutting off my entreaty...and swallowing my scream as searing pain ripped through my insides with the initial thrust of his rod into my virgin hole.  No amount of research could have prepared me for the moment Daddy tore my maidenhead and drove me into womanhood.
	I fought.  I pushed against His chest, wedging my arms under his and between our bodies for leverage, my thighs quivering with the effort of trying to lift myself from his lap and end the unholy pain, my eyes squeezed tight shut against it.  But Daddy just held me still, allowing my tight channel to relax and expand as he kissed and slowly stroked me, luring my attention away from the agony.  His tongue teased my lips, and his hands deliberately caressed my most sensitive areas, cupping my tits, pressing against my back to draw me nearer, sliding downward along my ribcage.
	He moved, almost imperceptibly, eliciting a groan of fear from my throat. Finally, I opened my eyes, aware that the pain had subsided into a lingering soreness.  His hands and lips quickly rekindled the embers of need that had nearly been doused, gently kneading my belly and easing his thumb against my clit as he kissed me again and again.  The instinctive urge to move swelled inside me, overpowering my fear, so I tentatively slid my cunt backwards along Daddy's shaft.  He tightened his fingers on my hips as I felt his bulbous knob nearing my tender opening.  I stopped, watching his face and deliberately squeezing my cunt muscles, trying to accustom myself to the feeling of incredible fullness.  When Daddy's eyes widened in surprise, I relaxed and squeezed once more.  He growled with pleasure. A huge bubble of triumph swelled in my soul, and I grinned. "Where did you learn that, little slut?" he demanded.  I just glided my snug passage forward in answer.
	Daddy seized my hips, his powerful fingers digging into my flesh, and he urged my body to sway.  "Ride, baby.  Ride Daddy's cock like a good little cowgirl."  Eagerly, I thrust my hips forward and back, my pussy beginning to tighten of its own accord.  I could feel shimmers of pleasure radiating through my being as I watched Daddy's eyes grow darker with lust and need of his own.  But, to my growing consternation, I felt my own need build, too.  I felt the familiar swell of sensation as my soul began to soar and swoop with the winds of desire whipping through me, pushing me higher than my own fingers ever had.  I felt my body nearing orgasm and panicked, squirming and pulling back, fighting once again to rid my body of Daddy's hardness.
	Daddy's expression changed from bliss to puzzlement in the blink of an eye.  "Cassie, why are you fighting this?  I know you're enjoying it.  I know your little cunny is liking the feel of being around my cock, because you are sopping wet in there.  So, why are you pulling away all of a sudden?"
	"Daddy, please don't make me do any more!" I cried out.  "I-I'll learn how to fuck you without coming so close to the edge.  But I can't take it any more right now!"  Burying my face in the curve of Daddy's neck, I burst into tears.
	He wrapped his hand in my hair and hauled my head upward, snarling at me like a demon.  "Tell me, little bitch! What the hell is going on inside that head of yours?"
	"Oh God, Daddy, I don't wanna die!  I'm too close.  If I keep fucking you, I'll die from it!" I wailed, trembling in his arms.  "I-I was reading a book. The girl in it suffered le petite morte!  I got so scared, I stopped reading it, and I've never, ever let myself get too close to cumming.  Please, Daddy, I can't fuck you anymore right now!  I'm too scared of dying!"
	Daddy's face broke into a grin.  It was my turn to be puzzled.  Behind me, I could hear the snickers of the other girls in their white robes, could hear chuckles from others, as well as a few moans of sympathy from an aunt or two.  I glanced over my shoulder, tears still streaming down my face, searching for Sherry.  She smiled encouragingly and quietly said, "It's okay to lose that control, kid. I'm still here, aren't I?"
	I turned back to Daddy, bewildered.  He smiled at me, smoothing my hair back, tucking it behind my ears as he cupped my face and drew me in for a tender kiss.  "Do you think I would let you die, baby girl?  You are the most precious thing in the world to me.  I have watched you grow up, anticipating with such relish this moment when I could claim you for my own.  I would never do anything that would bring you harm.  Cassandra..." He paused and kissed me so sweetly that tears sprang to my eyes again.  "I love you."
	   As he spoke those three little words, I could feel Daddy's cock surge inside my cunt.  Gently, he cradled me against his body, rising and turning, laying me onto the wide couch.  I wrapped my legs around his middle, my heels pressed hard against his ass to keep him inside me.  He grasped my ankles and planted my feet onto the cushions, then pushed my knees wide apart.  Slowly, he pulled away, and I whimpered, believing he would leave me.  With a sudden shove, he speared his way into my channel and held himself still, gazing deeply into my eyes.  My heart swelled, and I lifted my hips to meet his thrust.
	Daddy calmly began to probe my cunt with his cock, pressing deeper and deeper with every stroke.  Bracing himself with one hand on the arm of the couch, he trailed fingers downward along my chest, pausing to knead each breast in turn, pinching and rolling my nipples as he slid in and out.  My level of pleasure quickly resumed its previous intensity, and I was soon writhing under Daddy as he played with my clit, frigging it mercilessly as he fucked me.  I cried out, the fear returning as my head began to thrash back and forth, my body tensing.  "No, Cassie-baby, no holding back," Daddy panted. I could hear the strain in his voice, a clear indicator that he was holding back hard enough for both of us. "Just relax and go with it."  His cock slammed into me faster and faster, his thumb grinding feverishly against my clit.  My cunt tightened like a vise around his meat, and I felt as if I were teetering on the edge of some terrifying precipice.  "Yeah, baby," Daddy groaned as he plowed my belly, "cum for Daddy! Cum for me!"
	It was too much.  I exploded with the force of my orgasm, my soul shattering into billions of prisms of white-hot light as my cunt spasmed around him.  My back arched, and every muscle in my body went taut as piano wires strung on a sound board.  Daddy's breath was ragged against my face as he lowered his head to kiss me and cut off my scream of surprised ecstasy.  I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, my fingers flexing and relaxing against his back, my nails leaving raw furrows as I raked them across his skin.  Hooking my legs around his hips once more, I pulled him fathoms deep into my quaking cunt and held him there.  He stilled, and I burst into tears of sweetest release, burying my face under his whiskers.
	As though from a great distance at first, then gradually piercing the haze in my head, I heard the cheers and applause erupting from the family who had been watching, spellbound.  Daddy scooped me up, keeping his still-rock-hard pole embedded in my pussy.  Lordy, I wondered, when did things down there get that wet?  I giggled shyly as he rolled onto his back, perching me astride his hips.  I glanced up to see Sherry, her eyes bright with tears as she smiled at me and clapped her hands, then covered her mouth with her fingertips.  Tossing my head back, I laughed joyously, my arms flung above my head in triumph.  But Daddy only tickled my ribs, making me drop them protectively to my sides as I squealed.  He smiled up at me, his eyes warm and seductive as he drew me down upon his chest.  "Good girl, baby.  I knew you could do it.  But," he reminded me, "you still have a cherry left, and you've got to give it to me.  I won't take it.  And just in case you haven't noticed, I haven't cum yet.  This doesn't end until I do."
	A smile broke across my face and I nodded.  "Yes Sir, Daddy, I know.  Sherry told me you would want to put your cock inside my butt."  My cheeks flamed neon-bright as I murmured low, "Sh-she put this nozzle inside my rear and filled me up with water... Daddy, it was so embarrassing, but..."  I hesitated, then bent low to whisper to him.  "Daddy, I liked it.  A lot."
	He buried his hands in my hair and hauled me down for a kiss so hot, so filled with need, even I could recognize it.  His eyes smoldered darkly as he said, "Good girl."  Reaching behind me, he trailed a finger along my gaping cleft and lightly fingered my puckered asshole.  I gasped, my cheeks bright enough to signal aircraft, but I intuitively arched my back and lifted my ass, eager for more contact.  Daddy grinned up at me.  "That's my girl!  What do you want to do with that nasty little ass of yours, baby?  This one has to be your decision."  I studied his face, suddenly very anxious that I would blunder and ruin everything I had won so far.  But Daddy only cupped a hand around my face and leaned up to kiss me softly.  "You're my daughter.  This is in your blood, baby.  But you've been through a lot this evening.  I won't fault you if you decline."
	"No holding back?" I whispered.
	He grinned.  "No holding back."
	Lifting myself with my thighs, I slid my gaping cunt from Daddy's huge cock.  I paused, unsure of how to proceed, then murmured, "I want to, but I don't know how.  W-will you tell me? Please?"
	He nodded and reached between my legs to touch my tight hole anew.  "Your ass doesn't make itself wet.  You need to slick it up with something.  Can you think of anything handy?"
	I quickly moved my hands to my nether lips, spreading them wide and shoving two fingers of my right hand deep into my well, collecting a generous amount of the wetness.  Reaching behind me, I slipped my fingers into my anal cleft and liberally painted my asshole with my natural lubricant.  "Inside, too, baby," Daddy instructed.  I eased my fingers into my ass, my brow furrowing at the burning pain.  Giving Daddy a questioning look, I whimpered and withdrew the digits from my bum.  "No, baby, it's like your pussy.  It just needs to get used to being filled.  Put your fingers back inside you and slide them in and out.  See if that doesn't help."
	I remembered the feel of the enema nozzle sliding in and out of my hole earlier in the afternoon, and I obediently returned my fingers to my ass, pushing them past my anal ring and slipping them out again.  To my amazement, I didn't feel pain this time, only the strange tingle I had experienced before.  I probed a little deeper, exploring the soft, velvety walls of my ass-cunt.  Daddy grinned at the look of wonder on my face.  Emboldened, I withdrew my fingers from my hole, and, grabbing my cheeks with both hands, pulled them wide, touching my eager asshole to the tip of Daddy's cockhead and easing my anal ring downward.  The burn started again, but I continued to push until I couldn't stand anymore.  I waited, giving my sphincter time to get used to the stretch.  Leaning forward and bracing my hands on his shoulders, I pulled my ass up, then lowered myself around his fat bulb, moaning with pleasure as Daddy lifted his head to capture my nipple between his teeth and tug.
	 Rising and settling, I worked half of his considerable length into my ass, encouraged by the moans emanating from his throat as well as the tight look of control on his face.  As I moved, I could feel currents of lust darting from my most forbidden place to pool in my belly, quickly becoming a cauldron of roiling need.  Daddy scanned my face for signs of pain, a look of astonishment on his own countenance as I inched my ass lower and lower.
	Suddenly, the door at the back of the room slammed against the wall.  I was awash in the sensations flooding my body, so I didn't pay attention to the growing disturbance that rolled through the family toward Daddy and me until he had levered himself up on one elbow, his attention turning to the woman forcing her way through the throng bent on stopping her.  Daddy spat out an expletive and protectively wrapped his arms around me.  Snapping out of the fog of erotic pleasure, I scowled and swiveled my head, ready to berate this intruder.  I blanched, the colorful oath dying on my lips.
	It was Mama.
	Uncle Frank and his oldest son grabbed her just as she reached for me, her fingers curled into talons.  She screeched like a virago, her face twisted into a mask of hatred and revulsion as she glared at Daddy, "You bastard!  I'll kill you for this! You think you're so high and mighty that the law can't touch you, but I'll see you in your grave for raping my daughter!"  She fought against the hands restraining her, her graying hair flying around her head as her teeth gnashed in frustration. As her gaze ricocheted from face to face in the room, she shouted, "Depraved, the lot of you!  You're all going to hell!"  Her eyes settled on the sight of my father's massive tool plunged halfway into my ass, and she shrieked again and began praying and babbling incoherently.
	"She's my daughter, too, bitch, as much as you've tried to poison her opinion of me.  Don't think I haven't noticed the way she and Katie would look at me after one of your lectures, as though I'd skin them alive and drink their blood.  Well, it won't work anymore.  I've had it with your machinations, and I'll be damned if I let you keep my girl from me any longer."  Daddy motioned to Uncle Frank, who started to drag my mother out of the room.
	"Wait!" I cried, fairly vibrating with a rage of my own.  Years of confusion and pique seemed to gel in my heart as I realized just how much damage my mother had tried to inflict upon my relationship with Daddy.  All the times he seemed to be neglecting me, had she actually been the one who was keeping me from him?  I thought back, snippets of conversations and fleeting images converging to reveal just why my Daddy had spent so much time away -- because Mama had driven him away with her open refusal to adapt to the lifestyle of the family into which she found herself married.  "Mama, there's something I want to say to you."  I lifted my chin and swept a contemptuous look from her feet to her face.  "For as long as I can remember, you've told me my father wanted nothing to do with me, made me believe that he would rather be working than spending time with me.  Well, I've learned tonight that there is nothing further from the truth.  Daddy loves me, and I love him.  You think we're all depraved?"  I snorted in derision, "You're the one who has perverted everything by keeping me from knowing my own father."
	Turning back to Daddy, I begged, "Please, Daddy? Please make her stay and watch.  I want her to see that, no matter how hard she's tried, she can never tear us apart."  As I beseeched him, I lifted my ass almost imperceptibly and then pushed it down a little further on his long shaft, feeling his cockhead pushing even deeper into my gut, my anal ring burning once again as it stretched to fit his thickening girth.
	Daddy grabbed my hips, halting my downward progress.  "Cassie, that's enough.  I don't want to hurt you.  You're too tight, too virgin to take my entire cock up your ass."
	I growled, unwittingly sounding so much like him that my mother howled in anger.  Dismayed by his reluctance, I began to cry like I had all evening, much to my chagrin.  But the tears served to soften his resolve as well as his grip on my flesh, and I worked my snug ass-cunt lower still, my constricted hole a scant two inches from his pelvis.
	I turned my head and looked at my mother, her gaze pinned to the sight of my butt swallowing Daddy's cock, a look of horror marking her face.  "See, Mama?" I challenged.  "See how much I love him?"  Daddy groaned aloud as I slid my hole all the way back up his shaft, then slammed my hips downward, crying out as my slit ground against his mound, taking his entire length into my dirtiest, nastiest portal.  I threw my head back and yelled in victory as my clit, rubbed by Daddy's pubes, zinged to life once again.
	Reaching for my tits, Daddy grasped them, squeezing hard with his strong fingers, leaving red marks on my porcelain skin, then viciously pinched my nipples, guiding me up and down on his rod.  Salty drops rolled from my eyes and fell into the hair on his chest as I bowed my head toward him and began fucking him with my ass, wantonly writhing, undulating my hips.  Incredibly, I could feel the passion soaring in my body the way it had before, as my asshole slipped up and down, up and down along Daddy's cock.  Daddy's breathing came harder, deeper, more ragged as I stepped up the tempo.  The curves of my ass cheeks slapped against his hips. and I moved a hand to my swollen cunt lips, desperately rubbing my clit with practiced fingers.  "Ah, God, baby, that's it," he panted, "fuck your Daddy's cock with that tight little shitter.  Milk my jizz into that dirty hole."
	I rounded my back and gave in to the need tying my belly into knots, mindlessly humping Daddy like an animal solely bent on its own pleasure.  His cock began to throb deep inside me, and he roared, "Cum, you fuckwhore, cum with me!"  His words threw me into my own orgasm, my head tossed back again as a high, keening wail ripped from my throat and my cunt convulsed on itself.  My asshole repeatedly clamped and released his surging cock, rope after scalding rope of cum jetting deep into my guts.
	"Noooo!" Mama lamented plaintively, her mind snapping as she sagged against the hands that held her.  The hush that had gripped the rest of the family suddenly broke with a flood of noise as shouts and exclamations of praise and congratulations rose up to drown out the rest of her babbling warnings of dire religious consequences.  Daddy motioned with a jerk of his head, and Uncle Frank and his son dragged Mama out the door.
	I collapsed against Daddy's chest, my ass continuing to twitch spasmodically around his softening cock.  His arms wrapped protectively around me, and he sat up, holding me tight.  "Girl, I'm so proud of you," he said.  "My own little fuckbaby."  He smiled at me, his brown eyes warm and teasing as he cupped my face and tenderly brushed his lips against my cheeks, my eyelids, my nose.  "Happy birthday, Cassie," he whispered.  My own aquamarine gaze shone brightly as I beamed at him, my countenance upturned to receive his caresses.  As my passion-heated skin cooled, tremors of reaction shook my body, and Daddy tugged a discarded robe around my shoulders.  His big hand moved to my disheveled hair and pressed my head against his shoulder.  I snuggled against him like a weary toddler after a day at the fair and listened to the measured tone of his voice as he murmured in my ear.  "Baby, normally, the girl I choose to serve me each year becomes my sole property for that year until the next reunion.  After the next reunion, she goes into our family stable.  She can be used or bred by anybody, anywhere, in any way, so long as she's not damaged, in body or spirit."  I shuddered, thinking of being turned over to the family at large.  "This is how it's been for generations.  But Cassandra," he tipped my face back and fixed me with a steady regard, "you are mine.  Period."
	With that, Daddy disentangled my arms from his neck and stood me on the floor, propelling me two feet in front of the couch as he rose.  He took the robe from my shoulders, bending to whisper, "Straight and tall, girl," into my ear as he shrugged into the robe himself.  I drew myself up to my full height, squaring my shoulders and tossing my ginger locks to cascade down my back, my hands at my side.  Daddy swatted my rump, but aside from a startled jolt, I remained still.  He came to stand behind me and reached around me to cup my breasts as if to offer them to the crowd, thumbing my nipples as he scanned the faces turned expectantly toward us.
	His voice, although quiet and gentle, had a thread of steel running through it as he spoke.  "We've never had an exception to the rule when it came to what is expected of our girls.  But then, I've never encountered such an exceptional girl as I have had today."  His hands moved to settle over my shoulders, then stroked lightly downward along my upper arms.  He bent and kissed the top of my head, then straightened once more, possessively pulling me back against his body.  "I present to you Cassandra -- my girl."

	That had been twenty-two years ago.  Mama had vanished that night, taking little Katie with her.  The next day, we discovered a suitcase full of my clothes hidden in her closet.  We concluded she had intended to leave that night anyway, and had entered the hall searching for me.  Daddy had eventually set his lawyers on the task of divorcing her, filing for sole custody of me.   Try as we might, though, we couldn't find where she had hidden Katie.  Conceding defeat after four years, we put the entire foul episode behind us, and I had lived the kind of life I'd always wanted -- cherished Daddy's girl, never sparing her another thought.
	Now here she was, a malevolent force emanating from her being. Time had been harsh, her face gouged with permanent frown lines between her cold eyes and around her perpetually pursed lips.  God, how I wished Daddy had still been there to deal with her for me!  Instead, I slumped in the padded folding chair, my glance drifting from her contemptuous expression to Daddy's face, serene in death.  "Mother," I wearily interrupted as she spewed vitriol at me, "what are you doing here after all these years?"
	A quiet gasp from near the doorway drew my attention.  A mousy young woman in her mid-twenties stood in the shadows, her dark eyes round as half dollars as she stared at me.  Her blue and white floral jumper screamed religious repression, from the demure peter-pan collar of the shirt underneath it to the hem of the gathered skirt that hung a scant two inches above her ankles.  There was something familiar about her, but I couldn't quite place it.  
	"You whore!  You are no child of mine!" my mother seethed, jerking my scrutiny from the childishly-clothed woman.  "You keep your filthy mouth off me.  I came to make certain your bastard of a father was truly dead and no longer posed a threat to my daughter."  She sneered at me.  "My only daughter."
	"Don't you dare speak of Daddy that way!  He never once posed a threat to either of us girls, and well you know it," I spat vehemently as I tried to haul my very pregnant body from the armless chair.  Instantly, a tall young man with dark hair and whiskers trimmed into a neat Vandyke instead of the full beard his father had sported came to my aid, stepping protectively between my mother and myself and helping me to my feet.  He lifted my hand, turning it palm upward, and dropped a soft kiss into it.
	Pivoting on one heel, he faced my mother and smiled mirthlessly, his aquamarine colored eyes glittering like slivers of ice.  "Well, well, Grandmother," the young man said, "at long last, it is my very great misfortune to make your acquaintance.  I've heard much about you."  With that, Adam drew me against his left side, his arm slipping around my lower back as his right hand caressed my swollen belly.  "I think it's about time you left.  My mother and I have lost the one man we looked up to most, and as you can see, she's in no condition to deal with you today.  If you have any matters that require our family`s attention, you may direct them to me as my father`s successor."
	My mother's mouth worked silently as she looked from my son's face to Daddy's and back.  She stumbled away from us and fled the room, ranting incoherently, the same way she had the last time I'd seen her.  The other young woman started out the door, then turned, the light glinting off her dark chestnut hair as she gave my son and me a searching look.  Scurrying out the door, she moved with a subconscious grace that reminded me of --!  I sped to the door and yanked it open, but the woman had vanished.  
	Adam's face softened as he turned and closed the lid of the casket in preparation for the following day`s funeral.  I howled in grief as I heard the latch click, my knees buckling just as he turned, and my son caught me up against his body, his arms firm and gentle.  He touched the tears on my cheeks, then bent to kiss them away.  "Come on, baby," he said.  "Let's go home."
