by Anna Argent
Daisy felt a tear slip down her cheek. It was so hard to witness his suffering, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
She studied his face, searching for answers. It was so lean now, creased with the pain of what he’d endured. If she could have washed all of that away for him, she would have, but it wasn’t possible. All she could do now was force him to see the truth and urge him to rejoin the human race.
He still had her arms pinned at her sides, but she reached for him anyway. As soon as her fingers settled on his waist, he flinched.
His grip loosened until it was more of a caress than a hold. She used the opportunity to wrap her arms around him and hold him close.
At first he didn’t hug her back, but when he did—when he finally gave in to the urge for human contact—he was all in. He wrapped one arm around her back and cupped her head in his other hand.
He was so warm and hard, so incredibly strong. Daisy lost herself in the moment, reveling in the feeling of being in the arms of the man she loved.
She stroked his back, petting him in a soothing motion. After a long moment of simply holding each other, He gripped her hair in his fist and pulled her head back until she was looking at him.
So handsome—he was the source of all her fantasies. Even when she wasn’t intending to think about him, it was his face she saw, his body she craved.
He looked into her eyes for a long time as if searching for something. His pupils swelled until his eyes were a deep midnight blue.
“You should go back now, Daisy.” His voice was deep and quiet, filled with a warning she didn’t understand.
“I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“It’s not safe out here.” His thumb swept over her cheek. He held her like she was a precious treasure he didn’t want to break.
But Daisy wasn’t all that breakable.
“The animals are more afraid of us than we are of them.” Except for the snakes, of course, but she wasn’t going to ruin this moment with him by thinking about those vile creatures.
“It’s not the animals you need to worry about,” he said. “It’s me.”
“You’d never hurt me,” she said with absolute certainty.
His fingers curled along her scalp. The arm around her body flexed, bringing her closer. “When I hold you like this, when I look at you…it’s the only time I can remember what normal felt like—what it was like not to bleed inside.”
A deep sense of purpose and excitement rose up in her. “Then hold me. Let me help you remember.”
He close his eyes as if to block out the sight of her. “It’s not right to use you.”
She didn’t see what he was doing as him using her, but she knew better than to argue the point with him. “What if I want to be used?”
His arm flexed and bulged around her. His hand tightened around her hair, sending a little zing of pain along her scalp.
She absorbed the sharp sensation as it cascaded over her skin. A trail of tingles lingered behind.
Mark lowered his head until their foreheads touched. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
Some deep, starving part of her surged toward him. This was the man she’d always wanted, but could never have. He was the nexus of every one of her girlish hopes and dreams. And now that she was a grown woman, his pull on her was even stronger.
She needed him to be whole and happy. And if he wanted to feel something other than bad stuff, then she was going to make it happen.
Before he could see her intent, she grabbed his head and kissed him. He was shocked into stillness for half a second before he reacted. When he kissed her back, it was powerful, explosive. He kissed her like she was the only woman who’d ever been born.
That was the moment Daisy’s world finally began to spin. The power came on. She was electrified.
Mark let out a noise that was part growl, part moan and filled with pent-up desire. He lifted her from the ground and wrapped her legs around his hips.
Kissing him from this height was even easier, leaving her hands free to roam over his muscular back and shoulders.
So wide and strong. She didn’t have a second’s worry in his embrace. She knew he’d never drop her or let her fall.
She was safe in his arms.
Daisy wanted to tell him that, because it was the kind of thing he needed to hear, but her mouth was too busy on his, opening under his demands. His tongue surged past her lips, only to retreat with little flickering caresses. He pulled the breath from her lungs, leaving her head spinning.
She’d wanted his kiss for so long, and now to have it…it was almost too much, too potent. She wasn’t sure if she was ready, and yet she’d never been more ready for anything in her life.
Daisy soaked him in, enjoying every second. She tilted his head so she could plunge her tongue deep enough to gather the taste of him and remember it forever.
Wild. Hot. A spicy hint of recklessness.
She was never going to get enough.
Wherever this man led, she would follow. Whatever he needed, she would give him. He’d made her dreams come true, and all she wanted was to return the favor.
He took two long steps and pressed her back against a thick tree. The rough bark grazed her spine, lighting up nerve endings that were already sizzling with electric current. Every part of her was humming, shimmering with promise.
Mark pinned her in place long enough to lift his head and stare at her mouth. Two seconds later, he dove back in, only this time, his lips found the tender skin of her neck.
He kissed and nibbled. He licked and sucked. She knew he had to be leaving marks, but she didn’t care. She was his. She’d always been his.
His mouth moved lower. His hand gripped her ass and drew her forward until she could feel the hard length of his erection between her open thighs.
Deep, visceral want uncurled in her abdomen. An empty ache she’d never felt before opened up, engulfing her last remaining shred of rational thought.
She needed him. Now. Inside her. It was the only way she could think to make the ache stop.
Fine sweat beaded up along her hairline, only to be cooled by the fragrant spring breeze. His mouth closed over the tip of her breast, wetting her nipple through her clothes.
There were too many layers of fabric between them, so she pulled her shirt off and arched her back to unhook her bra.
The movement against the tree bark chafed, but she didn’t care. Her entire focus was on feeling Mark’s mouth on her bare skin for as long as she could keep it there.
He pressed her weight more fully against the tree to free his hand to cup her breast. She stared down, captivated by how big and tan his hand was against her paler flesh. His lean fingers flexed as he brought his head down to suckle her.
An entire warehouse of fireworks exploded behind her eyes. Sweet, intense sensations winged their way through her limbs and down her spine into a tangled pile in her belly. A wave of wet heat eased from her pussy in a rush that was almost shocking.
She was held in place, at the mercy of his magical mouth. Every sound she made—every whimper and moan—was completely involuntary. It was only when he lifted his head to move to her other breast that she was able to do more than squirm and pant.
She used the brief intermission to reach between their bodies and unbuckle his belt.
Mark went completely still. The breeze died. Even the frogs went quiet.
He stared into her eyes, and never before had she seen such unfettered want. Such need.
“If you do that, I’m going to fuck you,” he warned.
Daisy didn’t know if she managed a smile or not, but there was too much going on in her body to worry about such paltry details.
She pulled the strip of leather free. “About damn time.”
★★★
Mark couldn’t stop. Somewhere, in the far reaches of his mind, there were warnings bells going off, but he didn’t give a fuck about them.
All he cared about was
Daisy and the island of pleasure she offered in a sea of endless pain and grief.
He stripped off his shirt and went to work unfastening his jeans. Her trembling fingers were taking too long with his fly, so he did the job for her. She took that as her cue to strip out of her own jeans, and within seconds, she was naked under the moonlight.
Mark’s heart stopped. His world narrowed down to the handful of inches separating them and how he could close the small gap. She was so damn beautiful, he wasn’t sure how this could be real. For all he knew, this was just another dream his broken head was making up to keep him sane.
If so, then he never wanted to wake up.
His gaze slid over her glossy hair, down her slender shoulders, to a pair of tits so round and perfect, it was like they’d been made just for him. But instead of dusty pink nipples like he’d imagined, hers were a deep cherry red, hard and distended from his suckling mouth.
Fucking perfect.
Her waist was even smaller than he would have imagined under that tool belt, and the round curve of her hips was the stuff of fantasies. He wanted to spin her around, grab hold of her hips and take her from behind until neither one of them had enough air to breathe.
Her mound was free of hair, hiding nothing from his stare. The plump, pink lips of her pussy were swollen and flushed, and he could see the shiny proof of her arousal gleaming between her thighs.
His mouth watered. His hands shook. He didn’t know where to start first in his effort to devour her.
But his cock did.
It lurched against his open fly, demanding release. Mark slid his jeans and underwear off, facing Daisy with the same unabashed display she had.
Her gaze went right to his cock, then back up to his face. What he saw in her eyes was the kind of wild, earthy lust most men can only hope to see once in their lives.
He stroked his aching cock, feeling the slick glide of pre-come under his grip.
“Let me,” she said, and then she was there, her soft hand around his pulsing erection.
Mark’s head fell back on a groan of pure pleasure. He hadn’t been touched in so long. Too long. His body was starved for it.
Desperate.
What if she stopped? What if all of this ended, and he was shoved back into reality?
Something in him snapped, and any control he might have had broke in two. In the time it took him to take his next breath, he picked up Daisy, spread her thighs around his hips, pressed her right back up against that sturdy oak and shoved his cock in her until their bodies were as close as they could get.
Heaven. Sweet, hot, tight heaven. And so very wet.
Daisy had everything he needed, and he couldn’t help but take it from her.
The first thrust made her gasp. The second made her moan. She softened and melted around him, holding onto to him like she never wanted to let go.
He kissed her while his body soared. He’d never felt anything like this before—like she was a sunbeam on a world without light. He couldn’t get enough, no matter how deep he moved inside of her, or how much his mouth devoured hers.
Too soon he felt the pressure in his balls build. He wasn’t ready for this to be over. He needed more.
So much more.
But there was no slowing down. No stopping. He was going to come.
His only hope was to get Daisy to come right along with him.
He reached between them and found her tight little clit. She jerked and gasped as he used her own natural lube to slicken his fingers so they’d glide right over her sensitive bud.
Sweat trickled down his spine with the effort it took to hold himself back for just a few more seconds. That’s all he needed to make her explode—just a few more seconds.
Her head fell against the tree, and her eyes rolled toward heaven. The tendons in her neck stood out, and a deep red flush of arousal swept across her chest.
Mark pulled her down hard onto his cock, filling her completely. He rolled his hips while he pinched and tugged on her clit. Something in the move hit her just right, because he felt her coil and knew she was at the edge.
Her breath came out as a series of desperate cries of pleasure and need. The sound blended with the natural noise of the forest. So perfect. So right.
“Come for me, baby,” he whispered, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he was.
She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. What he saw there changed everything, but he refused to think about it now. He needed this one moment of bliss too much to let it slip away.
Rather than stare into the face of a woman’s love, he lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth.
Daisy’s coiled body sprung as her orgasm washed over her. She squirmed and writhed in his grip, drenching his cock with her release as she screamed.
Mark let go and gave into the searing pleasure that awaited him inside her sweet body. As his climax took hold of him, it ripped a rough cry from his lips. The sensation went on and on as his semen filled Daisy. There was so much come, she couldn’t hold it all, and it streamed down his balls to drip on the forest floor.
As the last shudders of physical joy trickled out of him, he realized what he’d done.
He’d lost his head and used a friend—a sweet, kind woman who was in love with him.
And he could never love her back.
Chapter Ten
Daisy’s body was happily humming too much to realize just how awkward the walk back to the house was until she was standing under a blissfully hot shower.
Mark had said exactly three words to her since he’d pulled his cock from her body.
“You shower first.”
That was it? That was all he had to say?
Mom had warned her not to lose her head, and yet she’d done just that, letting Mark fuck her against a tree.
At least he’d kissed her first.
The spray stung her back where the tree had rubbed it raw. The muscles along her inner thighs were quivering from the strain. And her pussy was still pulsing with the aftershocks of her orgasm.
No way was she going to be able to pretend it hadn’t happened. If denial was where he was going with his lack of conversation, he was going there alone.
She hurried so there’s be hot water left for Mark and dried off. When she passed him on his way into the bathroom, he just ducked his head and refused to make eye contact.
Great. She’d ruined all the progress they’d made, likely bringing up memories he had of Janey that he wasn’t ready to deal with yet. All Daisy had wanted was to make him feel good for a few minutes—kiss him and remind him that he was a man, not an empty shell.
She hadn’t meant to have sex with him.
But those kisses were even better than she could have dreamed. The way he touched her was mind-blowing. And his cock…she could not have sculpted one to fit her more perfectly or give her more pleasure.
She’d never gotten off that fast before. Not even with her vibrator.
Daisy hadn’t planned on sex, but she refused to regret it. Something that good could never be regret-worthy.
Her only choice now was what to do. She could leave, and he’d likely descend back into the black pit of despair where she’d found him. At least the house was in better shape, and all the work they’d put into it was keeping him occupied. He’d gained a little weight since she’d put him on a regular schedule of meals. And he was talking. No more silent suffering.
That all had to count for something, didn’t it?
If she stayed, then there was going to be at least one very awkward conversation where they hashed out what had just happened.
And whether or not it was going to happen again.
Her abdomen clenched and her pussy pulsed at the mere thought of another round of sex with Mark against a tree.
She reheated their forgotten dinner and sat down to wait for him.
He came down the steps slowly, with apprehension riding his every move.
“I don’t know about you,�
�� she said in an effort to break the tension, “but I’m starving.”
He nodded and sat down on the far side of the table from her. She waited until he’d finished eating before she spoke. No sense in ruining his appetite when he needed the calories too much.
“So. Are we going to talk about it, or would you prefer to spend the rest of my time here trying to avoid eye contact with me?” she asked.
He stared at his empty plate. “I’m not avoiding eye contact.”
“Then look at me.”
He lifted his head for all of two seconds before he found an interesting crack in the wall behind her.
Daisy sighed. “Will you at least tell me why you’re freaked out?”
He said nothing.
“If you’re worried about diseases or pregnancy, you don’t need to.”
That got his attention. His head snapped up and a look of horror widened his eyes. “Fuck. Daisy, I’m sorry. I wasn’t even thinking about that, but I should have. I’m so sorry. I’m not usually so irresponsible.”
“Neither am I. We both lost our heads a little.”
He stared at the table as if deep in thought. “I’m healthy. Janey and I both got tested early in our relationship. There hasn’t been anyone else.”
Daisy kept her voice calm. “Okay. Then why the freak-out?”
“You deserve better than that.”
She laughed. “Any better and my head would blow off.”
That pried a slight grin out of him. “My ego thanks you, but you know what I mean.”
“This doesn’t have to be a big thing, Mark. It sure as hell doesn’t have to ruin our friendship.”
“I used you, Daisy.”
“Bullshit. I was there the whole time, completely on board with it every step of the way. I’m a grown woman with the ability to say no and make it stick, not some victim. Stop treating what happened like it was wrong or ugly. It wasn’t.”
He went silent again. She could feel him retreating, and she couldn’t let it happen, so she got up and walked around the table to him. She got right in his face, giving him no choice but to look at her. “You needed to feel something good and I needed to be the one to make it happen. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe I was using you?”
