by Rye Hart
I leaned against the wall and tried to get my wits about me. Masturbating to him had been fun, but I had reality to think about. I would have to follow his lead and keep things professional for the sake of Star.
But I knew as I dressed in my uniform, that all it would take was one suggestion from him, and I’d give in.
It was dangerous territory, but I was used to it. Danger was an old familiar enemy. I’d have to be careful.
I finished getting ready and headed to work with Liza, hoping Chance would come into my section and order lunch.
“You were quiet in the car,” she said as we filled the napkin dispensers.
“Yeah, I guess I have a lot on my mind.”
“I was hoping you’d have a hot story to tell me about last night.” She gave me a wink. She knew I was going over to tutor Star, and that I hadn’t any intentions of getting into anything with him, but I knew she hoped all the same.
“You know it’s nothing like that. But he did he get a little flirty in the end. I mean, nothing serious of course, but I don’t know, he made eyes at me.”
“Made eyes at you? For heaven’s sake, girl. Are you from 1950? Has it been that long for you?” She let loose a laugh, and when I didn’t smile back, she went wide-eyed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t joke. I’m sure things with your ex weren’t exactly romantic.”
No, they sure hadn’t been. Sex with Nick had been more about self-preservation. If I’d refused him, he’d have just beaten me and taken it anyway. So instead, I had just laid there and imagined I was anywhere other than there with him, and waited until it was over. Fortunately, it was often quick. All he’d needed was a place to come, and he wasn’t at all interested in bringing me pleasure.
“It’s professional. It’s nothing more than me tutoring his niece. I did have a wonderful time, and he bought pizza, and then I left.”
Liza looked at me sideways. “Sounds like a nice little evening.”
“He’s a nice guy. He took in that little girl after his brother died, and her mother was unstable. He walked me to my car and even shut the door. He’s almost too good to be true, and too good to be interested in me.” I didn’t want to say anything to her about the way he’d looked at me, or the electricity I’d felt when our hands had touched. I was most likely imagining it anyway. No man that looked like him and could have any woman he wanted, would want more than a quick fuck from damaged goods like me.
“Please, he’s a man. You’re a gorgeous girl. One plus one equals two and sometimes three, so use protection. I mean, I’m sure he’s a good guy when it comes to his niece and taking in this little girl, but he has needs like any other man.” She had a point, but I was only using that as an excuse to make him off limits in my mind. It wasn’t working.
“I just need to get right after what I’ve been through, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea to drag him and Star into my drama.”
“I hear you. My ex, Chet is giving me problems. I told him I rented you the room, and now he asked me for a loan. Like I have a bunch of extra cash now. I swear, when one vein runs dry, that leech taps another.”
“Are you going to give him any money?
“Hell no, not one red cent, but it never stops him from asking me. He’s the one who’s three grand behind on his child support, but do I complain? Count in your blessings that you don’t have a child with that monster.” She shook her head.
I placed my hand on my stomach and silently begged for forgiveness. I’d carried the guilt of losing my baby for four years, and I’d often thought if I hadn’t lost it, maybe Nick would have been a better husband and father. I knew deep down though, that no child would have changed who Nick was, and though it sounded horrible to say, it was better that our baby hadn’t survived to face Nick’s ugliness.
“Are you okay?” Liza turned pale, looking like she could read my mind. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry, Dream.”
“It’s okay. It was years ago, and I didn’t even know I was expecting until it was too late. He pushed me down the stairs; said it was an accident.”
“Geez, girl. It’s a wonder he didn’t kill you.”
“Not for lack of trying,” I said and shook my head.
The bell on the door chimed as the first of our daily customers strolled in. It wasn’t Chance, and I felt a surge of disappointment. I really needed to get ahold of myself. I couldn’t afford to let myself get caught up in a man who might not even want anything more than sex from me, if that.
I thought for a moment what it would be like to have a man who treated me like I were special, like there wasn’t anything in the world he wouldn’t do for me, or give to me. To be his only love, and to be cherished.
But, that was the kind of love that existed in fairy tales, and it wasn’t reserved for people like me.
The day would drag on, and I wouldn’t see any sign of Chance. I tried not to be disappointed and drove to the library to find the books.
I unfolded the big piece of paper and read the purple crayon words, double-checking that all of them would be available. Thankfully, they all were. I gathered the first three on the list so I’d have plenty to work with her on, and then approached the desk.
After applying for a card, and answering thirty questions from the librarian, who clearly didn’t give a care about the silent rule and was more interested in who I was and where I came from, I checked out the books.
I hurried out to Liza’s car, which she let me borrow, and tossed the books into the seat beside me. I’d read one to Brady tonight, and then tomorrow, I’d let Star take her pick.
It was nice being around Star and Brady, and I was grateful I had the chance to nurture children again, even if they weren’t my own.
End of Sneak Peak. Would you like to know how this continues?
Click Here: Big Daddy: A Mountain Man’s Baby Romance
CABIN FEVER
Prologue
The temperature outside the walls of the cabin were near subzero, but I could feel my body heat rising. He stood staring at me like I was his prey and it was time he finally relented to the animal inside of him.
God, I fucking hoped so.
He kissed me, long and hard, and I felt his erection pressing into me. He picked me up effortlessly, and carried me down the hallway with our lips still intertwined and every single part of me was electrified. He carried me into his room and laid me lightly on the bed. Then his heated gaze hooked onto mine for just a split second.
I reached up and ran my fingertips through his beard. His hair was so soft, his skin so warm. His lips encompassed mine again while my hands rounded his neck and, suddenly, I was parting my legs for him as he settled between them.
I could feel him fighting, volleying between keeping his composure and letting himself loose. I could hear him taking deep breaths, trying to quell the rising flood of energy in his body while his muscles twitched underneath every single touch. I moved his flannel button-down from his shoulders before my hands raked across his back and, in an instant, he was peeling my clothes off.
Jeans and underwear and shirts got tossed to the side. His lips were on my neck, my chest, and around my tits while his hand ran down my leg. The passion his body contained was unlike anything I’d ever felt in my life and, soon, I could feel his cock rising against my skin. It was thick and pulsing, begging for entrance while his lips suckled red welts upon my skin. I ran my hands through his hair while his lips traveled downward, kissing all the way to my toes before he got up onto his knees.
The chiseled body he hid underneath his clothes took my breath away. I could feel my arousal growing, begging for any part of him to touch me where I wanted him most.
He was staring at me like I was his prey and it was time he finally relented to the animal inside of him.
“Take me,” I said breathlessly.
His eyes connected with mine and, for a split second, I thought he was going to flee. I saw the war raging behind his eyes as the peridot sparkle I’d come to enjoy faded into a stormy
blue sea. Darkness was coming as it engulfed his features and, soon, his hands were planted beside my head while he hovered over me.
“Don’t ask for something you can’t handle,” he said.
I rose up and caught his lips with mine. His hand came up and cupped my cheek. My tongue slowly prodded to find the tip of his. His hand slid down my chest, massaging my tit as I moaned into his mouth and, soon, his strong, sinewy arm was wrapped around my back and holding me flush against his body.
“Please,” I said, whispering.
In an instant, I was off the bed. My back was against the wall and he was pinning me there, his lips devouring my neck. I could feel myself spilling into my pussy folds, my body trying desperately to hold itself back until he granted me what I wanted. His chest was strong and his lips were hot. His skin pulled a red tint from the confines of my body while I wrapped my legs around his waist. I didn’t care about the pain in my ankle and I didn’t care about the weather outside. I didn’t care that we didn’t know one another and I sure as hell didn’t care that I wouldn’t see him again after this.
All I cared about was the fire being stoked inside of me. A fire I hadn’t felt in years.
“Please fuck me.”
His eyes connected with mine and, slowly, he lined himself up with my entrance. I held my breath, scared to utter another word lest he punish me with loneliness. The grin that slid across his cheeks was nothing short of devilish.
The Guardian of Lust was taunting me and I was playing right into his hand.
Chapter 1
Liam
Let’s get this shit show on the road.
It didn’t matter that it was my discharge party, or that soldiers like Santiago were genuinely going to miss me. I wanted to get the fuck out of there.
“Are you sure we can’t convince you to stay?” asked Santiago.
“I’m sure,” I said. “This is the right move for me.”
“Fuck man. Good soldiers like you don’t come along every day. Your replacement has some serious shoes to fill.”
“Well, give him hell, just not the hell that was given to me.”
My platoon was throwing the party, and Paxton told me I had to make an appearance. Callen Paxton had been my right-hand man through some of the most treacherous shit.
Hell, Paxton saw it all through with me. He wasn’t trying to convince me to stay in the navy. Unlike everyone else, Paxton understood why I didn’t want to “put in my twenty,” then retire and do whatever the fuck I wanted.
The truth was the last tour altered my life forever.
I didn’t want to bullshit everyone, and pretend to be unhappy about leaving, but I knew I’d regret not seeing my platoon one last time, so I stuck it out.
Those men and I were thick as thieves, all of us. We’d been through hell and back, pierced stormy waters with the bows of our Navy ships, and bunked in beds that almost didn’t hold the muscle we’d all put on toward the end of the last tour. Working out was how all of us relieved the tension and stress from the bullshit that was thrown our way.
It was how I kept my heart pumping when it no longer wanted to.
The night was filled with mindless goodbyes. You’d think a soldier would be good at saying goodbye, but we were the shittiest at it. We said it so often that it became a knee-jerk reaction, but when the goodbye actually meant something, we couldn’t get it out.
I blamed it on the fact that we lost more people than we brought home sometimes.
“You’re a hell of a medic, Canter,” Tom said. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do without you on those ships.”
“I’m sure you’ll train someone just as fine as me to do the work,” I said.
“Highly doubt that. You’re one in a damn million. You gonna try to be a doctor out there in the civilian world?” Lamar asked.
“I’m not really sure. Gonna take some time to figure it all out.”
The Navy was all I knew, ever since I enlisted the moment I turned eighteen. They trained me to be a medic so I could save lives, while simultaneously teaching me how to take a life in case I needed to. It was a dichotomy I’d lived with for fourteen years, and I simply couldn’t handle it anymore. My fuel tank was empty.
Not that I’d let any of these fuckers know it.
“You okay, Canter?” Paxton asked.
I turned my eyes over to him, the man I’d come to consider my best friend, as he walked up toward me. His face was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes; a side effect of the bullshit wringer we’d gone through not so very long ago.
“On the record? Yep,” I said.
“Off the record, while drinkin’ a beer with your buddy?” he asked.
“Get me the fuck outta here,” I said.
The two of us chuckled before we put the glass bottles to our lips, but then I felt a hand come down onto my shoulder.
“Medical Officer Canter.”
I turned around at the sound of my Captain’s voice and forced a smile.
“Captain Wells,” I said.
He offered me his hand, and I shook it.
“I wanted to come over here and wish you a fond farewell myself,” Wells said.
“Well, I appreciate it,” I said.
“You’re a fine medical officer who’s going to make waves in the medical field out there in the civilian world. That’s one thing I’ve always enjoyed about the Navy. We make sure to prepare our soldiers for life inside and outside of the military.”
“It will do me well, sir,” I said. “That’s for sure.”
“Do you have any plans to become a doctor?” he asked. “You really should. You’ve been a fine one for us.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Captain.”
“Can we drop the bullshit for a second?” he asked.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said.
I watched his face grow dark, and I wanted to backtrack away from the conversation. I wasn’t ready to address this with the likes of him. I wasn’t ready to talk to him about what happened overseas. I was ready to get this fucking party over with, get out of here, pack my shit, and leave.
Leave and head to the quiet mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
“I want to thank you, son, for keeping as many of our men alive in that situation as you could.”
I stood there, my face stoic, while Captain Wells continued to ramble on.
“What you did under the terrible circumstances, was something that would make even the strongest of men cave. Whatever place you dug down into—wherever you pulled your strength from—thank you. From myself, from this platoon, and from the United States Navy. You made us all very, very proud.”
Proud?
I made them fucking proud?
This man didn’t have the first idea what I endured. What Paxton endured. The things I had to do and the things I had to witness. This man had no fucking clue.
He had no idea how many times I woke up wishing for death to take us all.
But like a good soldier, I nodded and smiled. “Thank you for that, Captain,” I said.
“And Canter. If you get out into the civilian world, and you need anything, you know where to reach me.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
Honestly, I wouldn’t even know how to fucking contact this man. In my entire career, I’d encountered him only a handful of times. His words lacked meaning, his face lacked any sort of emotional support, and I knew all he was doing was trying to save face. He treated every single opportunity like fucking cameras were following him around, and it made me sick.
“Good luck and Godspeed,” Captain Wells said.
I raised my beer to him, but what I really wanted to do was whack him over the head with the bottle.
I watched him walk away before I turned back to Paxton. His face showed the kind of shock I knew I was feeling, and in an instant, Paxton started laughing. He threw his head back and gripped tightly to his beer, making sure it didn’t spill anywhere while his shoulders shook.
His laughter pulled a chuckle from my throat that soon grew into a billowing roar.
“Holy hell, that man’s full of hot air,” Paxton said.
“He’s a fucking character,” I said.
“Shit, that man has no clue, does he? It’s like he didn’t even come up in the same Navy as us!”
“I’m pretty sure the Navy from 1940 and the Navy now are two different things.”
We laughed until our stomachs hurt before we could finish our drinks. We sat down on some chairs in the corner while people I’d grown to love ate food and came to offer me their congratulations. Soon, the raucous partying died down, and all that was left was the whispering of people in the corners.
“So, where you goin’ from here?” Paxton asked.
“Got a cabin in Tennessee I’m heading to,” I said.
“No shit?” he asked. “Since when?”
“I bought it a few years back with some of my deployment money. Got it paid off and waiting for me for whenever I made this decision.”
“Fuck. I should’ve taken financial advice from you.”
“You’re doin’ just fine for yourself,” I said. “You know that.”
“Well, it could be better. I could stop taking those trips to Vegas.”
“No, you couldn’t,” I said, grinning.
“You’re right. I couldn’t. I love the women out there way too much. Seriously man, is there a more perfect kind of woman?” he asked.
“Probably not,” I said.
“Well, on that note, what are you gonna do once you get to that cabin. Just… hide out?”
“I don’t really know. I just know that, right now, I need some fucking silence.”
A boom sounded off in the distance from the training grounds of our base, and I groaned.
“Shit, I know what you mean,” Paxton said. “Quiet sounds nice.”
“Then you can come visit me anytime,” I said.
