by J. H. Croix
Somewhere in there, I scrambled for control as hot licks of electricity tightened at my balls. “Daphne,” I gasped, gripping her hair. If it stung, she didn’t care. She laughed slyly before drawing me into the warm heat of her mouth again.
This time, I tugged maybe too hard on her hair, and she lifted her head.
“Yes?”
She was all sassy and so fucking sexy that I was pretty sure she’d ruined me forever. No other woman could ever make me this insane. She’d crashed into me like an asteroid, obliterating any past memories of passion.
“I need to be inside you,” I bit out.
Blessedly, she answered my plea and rose to her feet. I was treated to a quick striptease when she flung her T-shirt off and shimmied out of her leggings. Her bra followed as I reached between her thighs, cupping my palm over her mound. The silk of her panties was soaked.
She was standing between my knees now, and when I looked up, her breasts were rising and falling with her short pants. Her nipples were pebbled tight, and I couldn’t resist leaning forward to drag my tongue around one and suck it in. Her fingers speared in my hair as I moved to the other. I teased my knuckle lightly over that silk where I could feel her swollen clit underneath.
I loved her body. Leaning my head back, I took in her tidy form. She was petite, and her breasts were just perfect, a handful. Her ass was sweet. The lush curve of one cheek dented under my fingers as I gave it a squeeze. She gasped when I brought my hand between her thighs again, still just teasing her over the silk.
“Flynn,” she breathed, a little whimper escaping.
“Yes?” I mirrored her earlier teasing.
“I need you inside me.” Her lashes swept up, and she pinned me with her dark gaze.
Just because I couldn’t resist, I pushed the silk out of the way and teased my fingers in her slick folds. I felt her pussy ripple at her entrance. I stood quickly.
Daphne gave me another saucy look. “You have too many clothes on.”
With a low chuckle, I tossed my T-shirt aside and kicked off my jeans and boxers. She turned and shimmied out of her underwear. I was greeted by the sight of her bottom, heart-shaped and plump. I slid a hand over one cheek and gave it a light slap. When she looked over her shoulder at me, I knew exactly what I wanted.
“Bend over.”
I was gratified when Daphne complied immediately. In another second, her hands were curling over the back of the couch, and I was sliding one hand over her hip as I gripped the other. Fisting my cock, I dragged it through her folds.
She made this little sound, something between a whimper and a moan. In one swift surge, I filled her and slid a palm up her spine to lightly grip her hair.
With Daphne rocking her hips back into me and her channel slick and tight around me, I filled her again and again and again. My release was so close; it was all I could do to hold back. Hot lightning sizzled up my spine as she met me stroke for stroke.
Releasing her hair, I slipped my hand around and found her hot button of need swollen when I teased my fingers around it. She cried out roughly, her hips bucking against me as her channel spasmed tightly and pulled my release from me.
There was a roar through my entire body as everything went tight before my release snapped free. When my awareness flickered back on, my head was hanging down while I gasped for breath and shudders wracked my body.
I was gripping Daphne’s hip too tightly, so I slowly released it and smoothed my palm over her skin. I withdrew reluctantly and lifted her in my arms because I needed to stay close to her.
Daphne lifted her arm, her fingers teasing at the base of my neck in my hair. “Where are we going?” Her voice was a little hoarse.
“Shower,” I murmured before dipping my head and pressing an open-mouthed kiss on the side of her neck. I loved that I could feel the goose bumps rise on her skin as I walked through my bedroom and into the only area of privacy I ever had in my life these days, my personal bathroom.
When I nudged the light switch with my elbow, Daphne lifted her head and looked around. “Oh, this isn’t the bathroom you took me to before.”
“Nope. This is my bathroom.” I kept her in my arms all the way across the room to the shower as I reached in with one arm and turned it on.
“You can put me down, you know,” she said with a little laugh.
That was the crazy thing. Usually, I treated sex with as much enthusiasm as I did eating. Oh, I liked it just fine, but it was a basic need. Once the need was assuaged, I was all set.
But with Daphne, I wanted more. In fact, I could’ve gone another round right then, but more than that, I wanted to fall asleep with her.
“In a sec.” I stepped in the shower and eased her down under the steaming water.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daphne
One moment blurred into the next with Flynn. I found myself in the shower with him. He was quick and efficient at soaping himself. Before I knew it, he was sliding his hands over me and lifting me against the tiled wall as he filled me again.
Being with Flynn was a surfeit of pleasure. He brought me to another climax in a matter of seconds with his fingers. Then he stroked in and out of me as the water rained down around us. My next climax rolled through me in slow waves of intense pleasure.
After that experience—startling in its intimacy and not what I expected—he wrapped me in one of the fluffy robes they had here at the resort. We lounged on his bed, eating cheese. He said he craved it, so I fetched some from the darkened kitchen. I also learned he loved Star Trek. Since I was a huge fan and it was a guilty pleasure, that was awesome.
I also learned he loved the home improvement shows. That was another secret pleasure of mine. I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep propped up against the pillows until I felt the covers coming over me, cool against my skin. Flynn must’ve peeled off my robe because I was naked.
Goose bumps chased over my skin, and I whispered, “When is Cat coming home?”
“Not until tomorrow afternoon.” His voice was low in the darkness. He curled up behind me and pulled me into his strong, muscled body.
As I drifted into sleep, I had a moment of startling recollection. My awful phone call with my mother. I’d forgotten it entirely. My heart gave an achy thump because I missed my little boy. But I was okay. Actually, I was more than okay. I felt warm and safe and sated beyond measure.
Somehow, Flynn knew precisely what I needed in order to forget. Because sometimes I truly did just need to escape from the weight of that grief. Considering that Flynn’s magic fingers and lips and tongue and body could make me forget everything but him and the sensations spiraling through me, he was the perfect escape.
I wouldn’t fall in love. I couldn’t. I genuinely didn’t believe I had the capacity. So, I would enjoy this for just what it was.
I fell into a dreamless sleep, more relaxed than I’d been in perhaps forever. Even before my life exploded into pieces, I was only scraping the surface. I didn’t think about it much, but I’d known there was more to be had. I used to lay awake at night worrying about all the things I hadn’t gotten done in my restaurant and in my family’s business. Then I traded those worries for the cold, bracing fear of facing Brandon’s almost certain death. Then I survived his actual death and the brutal betrayal of my husband and my friend and my family.
Here in Alaska, wrapped in Flynn’s strong arms, I could forget all that. When the worst has already happened, there was nothing else to worry about.
In the weeks that followed, Flynn and I settled into a routine. It involved him sneaking into my room every night, except for the ones when Cat spent the night out with friends. Those were about once a week. She’d explained to me she lived too far from town to do the fun stuff, so she usually spent the night with her friends there.
Flynn and I had what I figured had to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime types of chemistry. Sex was just easy with us. It was always fiery hot and so good it almost hurt. In those dark hours of
our nights, there was no judgment and total freedom.
I was cleaning up in the kitchen after lunch one day when my phone rang.
“Hello,” I said, answering without checking the number.
“Daphne, I need a ride,” Cat said urgently.
She sniffled, and I suspected she was crying. My stomach clenched with worry. I was alone in the kitchen and looked around as if somehow someone would appear and tell me what to do. It was early afternoon, the time when everyone was usually gone. Flynn was likely in a plane, along with Grant, and Nora was taking a group on a hike.
“Cat, where are you? Aren’t you at school?”
She sniffled again, and a little sob escaped. “I’m supposed to be.” There was a long, heavy pause. “But I’m not. Can you please just come get me?”
“Cat, hon, I don’t know if that’s okay with Flynn.”
I wanted to say yes—desperately—but I wasn’t sure what to do.
Cat’s gulping breath came through the phone loudly. I didn’t know what happened, but I knew when a teenage girl was teetering on too upset to deal. I’d been one once and recalled clearly just how hard that time of life could be.
“I know, but I can’t call Flynn. He’s across the bay today. Every morning, he texts me his flight schedule so I’ll know.” My heart squeezed. Of course, he did. Flynn would want Cat to know where he was. “He won’t be landing until after five thirty. Nora’s on that hike, and Grant’s flying today. Please, Daphne,” Cat implored.
I didn’t hesitate. “Of course. Tell me where you are, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Cat quickly relayed the address, and I hesitated to even hang up the phone. “Are you going to be okay until I get there?” I asked. I had lowered my phone to put her on speaker while I entered the address in a map app. It was a half an hour drive.
“Yes. Just hurry.”
With worry spinning tightly in my chest, I drove as fast as I could down the gravel road until I hit the highway. The pavement made me feel more confident about my driving, and I zoomed into town. Unfortunately, the cell reception sucked for most of the drive, but it improved as soon as I got closer to Diamond Creek.
Pulling up in front of a small house, I glanced at the clock on my dashboard. Cat should definitely be in school, and she wasn’t. Instead, she was here. Before I even had a chance to get out, she came flying out the front door of the house.
In another moment, she was clambering into my SUV, the rental I still had even though I rarely used it. I had so many questions, but I took one look at her face, and all I wanted to do was hug her. That would have to wait.
“Buckle up,” I said as I started the engine again.
Cat did as I said, and I rolled to the end of the driveway and turned back onto the road. “Are you okay?” I finally asked between her occasional sniffles.
“Not really,” she finally said.
“Mind telling me why you’re not in school? You might as well get this over with and tell me because you’re gonna have to do it with Flynn later,” I offered gently.
I felt Cat looking at me, and I glanced sideways. “What?”
“I was hoping maybe you wouldn’t tell Flynn,” she muttered as she looked away to stare out the window.
“Cat, I can’t do that,” I said firmly. “What happened?”
I could see a tear roll down her cheek when I glanced over again even though she was studiously looking out the window. Reaching into the console between the seats, I pulled out a packet of tissues and silently handed them to her.
She blew her nose noisily and then let out a gusty sigh. “You know that guy I’m kind of seeing?”
“I believe I heard Nora teasing you a little the other day. Is this the same guy Flynn wouldn’t let you go out on the boat with? Jonathon?”
“Yeah. I skipped class with him, and he took me to his dad’s house. He wanted to have sex, and I said no. He called me a tease.” All of this came out between sniffles.
“Cat, I’m sorry. Boys can be jerks sometimes. You’re not a tease.”
She sniffled again. “He’s probably already posted about it somewhere. I hate that shit.”
“I’m with you there. Social media isn’t helpful with things like this. Do you still like him?” I asked gently.
“I don’t know. I’m just mad.”
“Well, don’t beat yourself up if you kind of do,” I said carefully. “Sometimes, people do shitty things, and then we try to please them anyway.”
“I know. He’s an asshole.”
“Welcome to life,” I said wryly. “People can be really shitty and not just guys.”
“Really?” Cat asked.
I briefly glanced her way and nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve misjudged people myself. Trust me, you can’t avoid it. I’m really proud of you for saying no. Even if he’s an asshole about it, at least he didn’t push you.”
Cat let out a dramatic sigh, followed by a rough laugh. “I told him I’d kick him in the balls. I would too.”
“Good for you,” I said. She was less distressed now that she was away from the situation.
We rode in silence for a bit until I turned onto the road that would take us home. “Maybe we should talk about how you’re going to tell Flynn.”
Cat leaned her head against the seat and let out a groan. “He’s going to be so pissed. I can’t talk you into covering for me?”
I looked her way briefly and shook my head. “No. I can’t do that. You skipped school, so for all we know, the school might’ve already called him. I understand why you don’t want him to know, but I can’t lie about this. I picked you up.”
Cat was quiet until right before we pulled up to park in front of the resort. “Fine. I’ll tell him. But I’m not gonna tell him about the whole thing.”
“Okay, tell him what you want. Just know that if he asks me about it, I’ll tell him you called, and I will tell him where I picked you up.”
Cat looked at me with her eyes red from crying. “Fine.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Flynn
I knocked on Cat’s bedroom door and waited. Total silence greeted me.
“Cat,” I called through the door. “The principal left me a message this afternoon while I was flying. I know you skipped your afternoon classes and missed the bus home. Please just come talk to me and tell me what’s going on.”
I leaned a hand on the doorframe above my head. Parenting wasn’t easy. Plus, I wasn’t technically Cat’s parent. It had been hard enough with Nora. Grant had been eighteen when our mother died. He was far too mature for his years, having been the de facto parent to both Nora and Cat while their father was hardly around before he passed away, and then while our mom was sick.
It certainly wasn’t fair to Grant, but he’d made my job easier. He’d actually been able to relax for once when I came home. Nora had been an epically cranky teen and furious with grief. I’d been so relieved when she settled down.
Now, Cat was giving me a run for my money. To my knowledge, she’d never skipped classes before. She’d sure as hell never missed the bus. The bus didn’t come all the way out to where we were, but it dropped her off at a rendezvous point where a rotation of parents picked up the various kids who lived out here. Nora usually picked up Cat for me.
I wasn’t panicking right now because I knew she was home. Daphne texted me to let me know she’d picked her up when Cat requested.
“Come on, Cat. You’re gonna have to come out of your room at some point.”
I heard footsteps stop on the other side of the door and waited. “I’m fine, and I’m sorry.”
Oh fuck, she sounded like she’d been crying. Cat had been the toughest kid when she was little. These days, she was all kinds of emotional, and I never knew how to handle it.
“Just talk to Daphne. She’ll tell you what happened.”
“Cat, come on. I’d rather hear it from you.”
“I’m tired, and I’m embarrassed. Can we talk tomorrow?”<
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I had no idea. Was I supposed to follow through with some kind of consequence because she skipped classes today? Or was I supposed to give her a break until tomorrow because my heart was already breaking for whatever she was upset about?
I was a total softie. “Okay. Promise we’ll talk tomorrow morning before you go to school?”
“Promise.”
Even her voice was hoarse, and the crack in my heart widened. When I heard her footsteps moving away, muffled by the carpet, I let my hand fall from the door and turned, leaning against the wall. I needed to talk to Daphne. I wanted to see her anyway.
Because I couldn’t stay away from her. I was in over my head with a petite princess who was everything I never thought. She should’ve been lost in Alaska. Maybe she was fresh and green to dealing with the way life was here, but she never hesitated. She lifted that chin and twitched her princess nose and tried. Every time I saw her, she was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds.
Daphne had fucking ruined me for any other woman. When I found myself seeking her out, night after night after dark fell and Cat was asleep, I knew it was stupid. I even worried about what I would do if Daphne decided to go back to Atlanta. We even talked. Talked.
Her unvarnished honesty about what happened in her marriage somehow made it easier. She didn’t try to hide anything, and she didn’t seem to have any expectations of me. All the while, I found myself wanting her to have everything because she deserved that. Life had already been so unfair to her. It felt like it should be as smooth as glass now, or so I thought. I wanted her to want this life here. With me.
No one could laugh harder at that than me. I’d lost my fucking mind over her.
I glanced down at my watch. Dinner would just be finishing. I couldn’t exactly storm the kitchen now and expect Daphne to chat. I could eat, though. My stomach growled as if in agreement. I hadn’t actually had a bite since this morning when I left with a warm orange zest scone tucked in my pocket as I was running late. Of course, it was one of Daphne’s scones and pure heaven.
