No Longer Alone (House of Garner Book 1)

by Erin R Flynn

  But then I realized he might not like me smooth everywhere. Didn’t it used to be a thing that women were natural and had big bushes?

  Did I want to be a woman who did stuff by what her man wanted?

  Did I want to be a selfish woman who only thought about herself?

  “I’m sorry?” Darius chuckled, giving me a wide eyed look from the back of the van.

  “Please tell me I didn’t say anything out loud,” I whispered in horror.

  He winced. “You asked me not to lie to you.” He gave me a wink. “I think it’s cute when you mutter to yourself. And yes, I love that you were smooth. I’ve never been into ‘big bushes’ as you called it.”

  Well, knowing that was maybe worth the embarrassment, but he walked around the van to give me a minute to push it aside, which was nice.

  “I’m going to check the place out and see if there’s anything worth scavenging while you handle your needs,” he told me after we found a bathroom off the entrance that was in good shape.

  “Can we clear the place first?” I asked, hating that I sounded like I doubted him. “If there are ways for me to hide my scent, there can always be for others.”

  “Of course, and you should always be so vigilant with your safety,” he agreed. “It’s not lack of trust or anything that wounds me; it’s you haven’t experienced enough as I have to know for sure.”

  “Thanks for understanding,” I sighed, glad it wasn’t like a thing.

  And it was another crumb of trust in his pile, a second when we found not a damn thing. He led me back to the restroom, and I felt him move away after I locked the door. I flew into action so I didn’t seem like a brat who made him wait while I groomed. Not only would that be rude, but it sort of implied I had a lot of grooming to do.

  “Shit, I’m always snagging shaving gel,” I muttered after the first leg. I’d never bothered before, and it was way nicer to shave with and made my skin feel amazing after.

  Now I had to apologize for rolling my eyes at him. Maybe twice if the moisturizer he’d also grabbed was worth it. I hoped it was.

  8

  I finished just as I felt him approaching, quickly rinsing the razor and putting my supplies away. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and grabbed everything before unlocking the door.

  “Don’t rush for me,” he said as I stepped out.

  “I was really done so it was perfect timing,” I assured him, my eyes going wide as I saw the boxes he was carrying. I opened my mouth but then closed it. “I was already going to apologize for rolling my eyes you insisted on shaving gel because it was amazing, so I’m going to trust you’re not getting too much of what we don’t need.”

  “Need, no, but life is about more than simply surviving, and I want you to experience it.” He shrugged. “It’s only two cases. I pulled a bottle of every label and flavor for you to try as you want. And an opener. There wasn’t much else, but they do have a shit ton of bottles, so yeah, we’re marking to come back or have someone raid the place.”

  “Thanks for thinking of it for me,” I said as I opened the door for him. “What do you like?”

  “I like seeing you smile,” he murmured as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I like wine now and again, but I like whiskey and vodka better.”

  “Maybe we can find a place like that to raid.”

  “Now that’s a thought,” he chuckled, thanking me when I opened the back for him. We got in, and he drove us to the lake, finding a nice spot by some trees in case we were attacked and I could climb up again. He thought it was a genius plan for my safety but said he was faster on the ground. We discussed even going further and leaving a bag of ammo wrapped around the branch I would hop up on.

  Smart. I liked being smart.

  “How about you set up camp for us while I dig?” he said as he opened the back of the van. “Would you spoil me and cook me dinner, My Princess?”

  I snickered. “Yeah, and that way you dig the hole and I get to rest.”

  “Yes, I knew you’d figure that so it wasn’t placating you.” He cleared his throat and reached for the shovels. “Though, it does touch me how you wish to make sure I’m tended to as well.”

  “I don’t ever want to be selfish, but I’ve seen too much to ever be a doormat either.”

  “A perfect balance in my mind.” He moved a good distance away with the crate and shovel as I brought my new rucksack he’d talked me into getting to replace the old one that had seen better days. “So what exactly do you do?”

  I reached in and pulled out the beaten notebook, electronic GPS mapper thing, and a pen. “It’s about four feet I feel compelled to dig down. I turn on the thing and write the coordinates. They’re all in the book.” I turned it on and squatted down to write on my leg, feeling him move to look over my shoulder.

  “You have pages of coordinates,” he murmured.

  I nodded. “Five years is a long time to do it. The sucky part is when I had to skip over one. I always got a stomach ache like when I have cramps, a deep feeling of wrongness. It would stop when I reached the new one, but if I didn’t circle back, it would continue. I had a month of it once when those guys were tight on me. Circling back would have meant getting caught for sure.”

  “I want to skin him for scaring you so much, and suddenly I’m very grateful for the manual labor,” he grumbled as I moved back. He wasn’t kidding because he started digging like a fiend, his shoulders tense and letting me know he was upset.

  It made my heart swell he cared so much. Yeah, I’d be upset if someone had terrified him for years as well.

  I tucked everything back into my rucksack and set up camp, even getting the grill going and plotting out dinner. Soup ended up being what I chose again. Tuna was great, but it wasn’t like we had mayo. Yeah, mustard was great and in a pinch, I’d had many a can of tuna with honey mustard squirted on it, but soup had meat and more. Yummy.

  I had originally thought chili, but no sane woman should opt for chili on the night she planned to have sex the first time with someone and ever. Not when I was already so nervous.

  “You really like soup,” he teased me when he was done, putting the shovel back in the van.

  “I do, but I also love tuna. I love it with mayo and bread, but I had a lot of it on the ship. Like a lot.”

  “I don’t mind soup,” he assured me. “I’m going to go take a bath.”

  I cleared my throat as I stirred the soup. “I um—it would be safer if we went after dinner, right? I mean, unless you think—”

  “No, we should absolutely bathe together,” he murmured, moving closer. “Especially if I get to bathe you.”

  I nodded. “I’m not exactly thinking I can just nakedly run all around, but maybe you could go in first and um, stare out at the lake.”

  “Of course.” I heard the amusement in his voice, but I appreciated him being willing to go over a few speed bumps when I needed it.

  The chunky soup with steak and even the green beans were in good condition. And went well with the wine he chose. I didn’t have a lot, but it was good, strong, but good and fun to try.

  “Okay, you were—soup is a good idea, and steak is more iron for you,” he admitted, leaning in and kissing my cheek. “Thank you for cooking.”

  “Thank you for the wine, it was nice.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Everything is much nicer with you here.”

  “I feel the same,” he promised.

  We finished dinner, and I washed the dishes as he went for what we needed to bathe. All of it in one tote and he’d put a few hooks on the shelving to hang towels so they were already dry.

  “We really work well together,” I praised us, smiling as I passed him to put away what I’d washed and grab clothes.

  “It’s because you’re perfect,” he called over his shoulder.

  Yeah, right, but he still made me blush. Someday I was going to make him blush, muttering that under my breath.

  Which of course he heard, his laughter telling me he did.


  By the time I reached the lake, he was already in it, the clothes he would change into sitting on the lid. I’d found a decent sized floating tray when we’d been at Walmart. It was meant for pool parties, but I’d snagged it right up, knowing how hard it was not to drop things when bathing in a lake. It was another idea he’d praised me for. Obviously he liked it, as it was floating next to him with our supplies.

  I took a deep breath and quickly stripped, diving in, as it was, before I lost my nerves. I wasn’t sure what to say or do as I made my way through the cold water to him, but I went with cheeky and jumped on his back, kissing his neck.

  “Mmm, this might be my new favorite way to enjoy a lake,” he murmured as he reached behind me and massaged my ass. “Yes, for sure it is.”

  “I was planning to wash you, and all you want is to grab my ass?”

  “Do I get to wash you?”

  “Okay,” I squeaked, hating that I kept doing that. “But if you go first, I might be too mushy to stand.”

  “Well, we can’t have that,” he chuckled, moving me around him and giving me a kiss. “Touch me, My Princess. Touch me and know I’m yours.”

  “Dunk under,” I said as I slid off of him. I reached over for the shampoo and poured a lot less than I had to use with my mane. He surfaced as I turned back around, and I about swallowed my tongue at how amazing he looked, his hair pushed back and dripping all around his shoulders. “Shit, you are so hot.”

  He gave me a wide grin. “Glad you think so.” He turned and sank down a bit so I could easily reach his whole head. I did what I liked, and almost instantly he was moaning, so apparently he liked it too. “You have very talented hands and fingers, Inez.”

  “Thanks.” I gave him a good scalp massage, but I also didn’t want to take too long, as I wanted to have all the time to have sex before we were attacked… Because of course we would be attacked. It was a rare night for me to never see a corrupted, and there was no way in fuck I got a night off when I lost my virginity.

  No way.

  He seemed to get I wanted to be efficient, and I realized he thought I might be cold as he helped me. He walked out and soaped up before coming back in. He cleared his throat and handed me the soap as he turned away, giving me the signal he wouldn’t look as I did the same.

  Seriously, he was so damn sweet. And sexy. He’d not busted me for staring at him while he soaped up… He even smiled that my mouth was agape the whole time. Holy love of muscles and perfection. But he was huge. I mean, his dick was really big, and that was scary for a virgin, so I made quick work of washing before I lost my nerve again.

  “Soon I will make sure my princess has hot, running water and a bathtub she can swim in so she never has to freeze in a lake again.”

  “I’m not that cold. It’s nerves,” I told him, not wanting to admit it like a goober but unable to let him think I was cold and worry about me.

  “You’ve been through too much,” he grumbled, working his strong fingers in my hair. “You should only experience joy and pleasure, not hardship and anything that makes you afraid.”

  “Not those kind of nerves,” I clarified, my voice quiet. “Butterflies sort of nerves. Excited nerves.”

  “You smell afraid though.”

  “Not much of a difference between excited nerves and being afraid as well.” I silently begged he didn’t push it, and he didn’t, kissing my shoulder as he massaged my scalp. He was very good with his hands and fingers as well, as my body melted against him.

  “You’re practically purring,” he groaned, letting me feel how much he liked it. Even in the cold water he was rock hard and turned on.

  “It feels that good.” I quickly dunked under and conditioned my hair as well, wanting him as much as I thought he wanted me. The sun was setting and I wanted to not waste time, the day and mood perfect to me. We headed to the shore, and I moved my hand to his arm. “Are you cold?”

  “No, not at all.”

  I cleared my throat. “Are you sure? I could help warm you up?”

  His head snapped towards me so fast I heard something in his neck pop. I couldn’t meet his gaze, my cheeks flushing. “Are you saying—”

  “Yes.”

  “Wait, I want to be sure—”

  “Darius, let’s go to bed and you can ask me when I’m ready, okay?” I cut in, hoping he seriously didn’t make me say bluntly I wanted him to take my virginity. He didn’t, but I yelped as he lifted me and moved faster than I could keep up with. Suddenly I was wrapped in a towel and another one around my hair… And on the blow up bed.

  He moved over me, a cotton wrap hair towel on his head too along with a regular bath towel around his waist. His lips found mine as he cupped my cheek. “Warm me up, Inez. I need your heat.”

  Oh shit, that was hot. I shivered and moved my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. We kissed for a while as he touched me gently, then he pulled away enough to stare into my eyes, giving me a hesitant look.

  I nodded. “I want to. I’m scared, it’s my first time, but I want to and with you. Not with blood. I want to feel this before I start feeding and it gets tangled together.”

  “I will make it magical for you,” he promised as he untucked my towel, staring down at my body. “You are perfection, Inez.” He kissed me again, his hands moving along my skin and spreading my legs. I gasped as his fingers pushed in me. “I want you dripping wet. I want to make you scream and stretch you so wide you can’t stand not having more and you feel nothing but pleasure.”

  Uh-huh, I wanted that and maybe a side of more of that.

  And I was certainly wet for him and fast. He sucked on my nipples as he fingered me, and I was screaming like he wanted as my orgasm slammed into me.

  I nodded when he gave me a look, but then he glanced down. “Please, I need to taste you first. I want to taste you as a virgin one more time before you give me the greatest gift of my life.”

  I whimpered, bobbing my head faster. No way my virginity was the greatest gift of his centuries old life, but he seriously appreciated it at least. He made me scream again, and my whole body felt part of the air mattress I was so mushy like it.

  “You are tired.”

  “No, I want to,” I promised, pushing up on my elbows but sliding back down when the bed bounced. “I want to. Please, I want to know what you feel—it feels like with you in me.”

  He moaned and moved his very ready dick to my pussy, rubbing it against me a few times. “Tell me if you want to stop.”

  “I want you.”

  “I would give you everything, and all you ask for is what I want most,” he whispered as he pushed in me. “I’m so blessed to have found you.”

  I moaned as more than fingers started to fill me. It was overwhelming and scary and thrilling. I moved my hands to his biceps and dug in my nails. He watched my reaction carefully, not moving more but instead, teasing my nipple, pinching it until I gasped in pleasure. Then he pushed in me further.

  It felt weird, so full and aching but not bad at all. I nodded I was good, and he gave me more, rocking his hips slowly, gently as he moved my thighs up along his body. He reached up and took the towel off my hair, making me realize his own was gone as well.

  I arched my back when he filled me more, gasping at the sensations that shot through my body. He growled, and I met his gaze, my eyes going wide when his fangs came out.

  “Showing your throat during sex is an invitation to drink from you, Inez. My body will react, but I promise I would never just feed from you.”

  I nodded I understood but also I was okay and not scared. Well, that was what I was thinking. I wasn’t sure he got all of that with a nod, but I hoped so?

  When he was fully in me, he licked his fangs and gave me a moment to adjust. Then I blinked and I was on top of him, not even feeling he flipped us.

  “I want to see every inch of you better as the sun sets behind my breathtaking princess,” he explained, moving my hands to his chest and then his to my hips. �
�See what you like, Inez. Explore and do what you want your first time.” He nodded it was okay. “For a bit at least if you want.”

  I did. I really did, and I was amazed he’d figured that out before even I did. I swirled my hips, gasping when his dick rubbed over something that felt seriously good. I did it again, my body on fire as I chased that sensation. I dug my nails in his chest, something between a moan and a whimper coming out of my mouth as I moved.

  “Shit, just like that,” he moaned. “Bounce for me, Inez. Dance on me, My Princess.”

  I nodded, wanting that too and sitting up a bit more, one hand on his torso and actually leaning a bit so my other hand was on his thigh. There, right there he hit that spot again when I moved. So I did it again and again.

  “Come for me,” he whispered, seeming as entranced in sensations as I was. He moved one hand down and teased my clit.

  That was it. I was done for. I shouted his name as my body blew apart. He grabbed my hips and thrust up as he pulled me down, and I felt him get bigger before he snarled my name and came. It felt like forever and not long enough that both of us rode the pleasure until it was over.

  I dropped down on him, curling up on his chest as my body twitched with him still inside of me. He held me tightly, gasping for air as I was as he ran his hands over my back and played with my hair.

  “Well, this was not what I expected to find when I smelled a princess,” a deep voice said from behind me.

  I gasped and tried to pull the sleeping bag over me and scramble off of Darius, but he held me to him. “It will hurt you if you jerk away. Gently.”

  “Strange guy here,” I reminded him. “Priorities, Darius.”

  “You are always my first priority.” He kissed my forehead and slowly rolled us as he gently pulled out of me. “Which is why I’m going to gut him for scaring you during your first time.”

  The stranger I couldn’t bring myself to look at cleared his throat. “I couldn’t seem to leave when I heard you say it was her first time. I didn’t want to miss that when I had the chance to see such perfection experience her first pleasure.”