The girl caught his eye before reaching out and taking Destiny. She held the baby close as she nestled comfortably in her bosom.
“You want me to check in or something?” he said to Mrs. Hildegard.
“You go on up with the girl. We can take care of the paperwork in the morning.”
Grady gave her a little nod before following the girl. He couldn’t help look at her butt as she led the way up the grand staircase. She led him down a corridor until they got to room seven.
“This is your room,” she said, trying the door.
It opened and she stepped inside.
The room was dark and Grady hit the light switch. For the first time he saw the girl up close. She was standing right in front of him, her pretty face looking into his, and the way she was holding Destiny made something inside him tremble with affection. She was so pretty.
He shook his head, trying to shake the desire from his mind. The girl was like something out of his deepest desires, pure and beautiful and innocent, but she was almost young enough to be his daughter. Grady was a lot of things, but one thing he never did was take advantage. He’d been with all kinds of women, but never one as young as the girl standing in front of him right then.
“My name’s Grady,” he said, trying to break the silence.
“I’m Autumn,” the girl said softly.
Grady took a deep breath. “That’s pretty.”
The girl smiled and looked down at Destiny.
“Your baby is so beautiful,” she said, running a finger over the sleeping child’s face.
“Thank you,” Grady said. “Her name’s Destiny.”
“Where’s her mother?”
Grady looked at the girl. Her cheeks were like peaches, he thought. He took a step into the room and threw his bag on the bed.
The room seemed comfortable if a little feminine. Everything had lace trim and tiny flowers embroidered on it. Still, it had everything he needed. There was a small fireplace with a stack of wood and some matches in the corner and a private bathroom. A big window overlooked the darkness of the forest.
“Was that woman your grandmother?” he said to the girl.
“No, my mistress.”
“You been working here long?”
“I just started. Arrived on the train less than an hour ago.”
“And she’s already got you working?”
“I have a feeling I’ll be working pretty hard here,” the girl said.
Grady smiled. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“Oh no, not at all,” the girl said. “I want to work. I want to be a good employee.”
“Well, don’t let her talk to you that way. Don’t let her mistreat you. You deserve better.”
The girl shrugged. “I really need this job. My mother’s sick. I took the work to pay for her treatment.”
Grady looked into her eyes. He wondered what was wrong with her mother and whether there was anyone else in her family who could help, but he supposed there wasn’t.
There was a noise at the door and Mrs. Hildegard appeared.
“I see you two are becoming acquainted,” she said, a hint of mockery in her voice.
Autumn jumped, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t, and Grady could tell she was afraid of Mrs. Hildegard. He couldn’t blame her. It must have been her first job, her first time away from home, and Mrs. Hildegard was a bully.
“Get on out of here, you stupid girl,” Mrs. Hildegard said.
Autumn handed him the baby and almost ran out of the room.
Grady’s gaze followed her and lingered on the door after she left.
“Will you be having breakfast in your room?” Mrs. Hildegard said.
“I will,” he said.
“I’ll bring it at eight.”
“That would be perfect.”
Mrs. Hildegard looked at him and Grady wondered what she was waiting for. She stepped inside the room and shut the door.
“Is there something else?” he said.
Mrs. Hildegard’s hand went to the belt on her robe again, and this time she did pull the tie. The knot unraveled and her robe slipped open.
Grady looked at her pale skin, her bare breasts, the tuft of hair above her pussy.
“Won’t you take me?” Mrs. Hildegard said.
Grady’s cock hardened. He stepped toward Mrs. Hildegard and she let the robe slide down over her shoulders, revealing more of her breasts, as she anticipated his touch. He leaned in toward her, but he didn’t touch her. He opened the door behind her.
“It’s been a very long day, Mrs. Hildegard.”
Mrs. Hildegard looked angry but said nothing. She pulled her robe back up over her shoulders and stormed out of the room.
Grady shut the door behind her and let out a deep breath.
What had he gotten himself into?
Where was he?
There was a key in the door but he didn’t turn it. He sat on the bed and looked around the room.
There was a stink and he realized to his horror that Destiny had soiled her diaper. Destiny started to cry and Grady let out a little laugh.
“Come on, baby. I suppose that diaper couldn’t last forever.”
She was still wearing the diaper the nurses had put on her back at the hospital and Grady grimaced at the thought that he’d never in his life changed a diaper. He hadn’t even had the foresight to pick some up.
He brought Destiny into the bathroom, removed her dirty diaper, and threw it in the trash. He tied the plastic trash bag tightly. Then he held the baby over the sink as he washed her bum with warm water. He was careful to make sure the temperature was right and Destiny stopped crying as he patted her dry with paper towels.
“There,” he said, holding her out over the sink, “that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Destiny looked at him like she was questioning whether or not he really had the skills for the job of being daddy.
“Now, what are we going to put on you?”
Without any fresh diapers, Grady resorted to taking a pillow case from one of the pillows on his bed and tying it at the corners around Destiny’s chubby legs and waist.
“That will have to do,” he said to her.
He checked her onesie and it didn’t seem to be dirty, but he didn’t want to put Destiny back in it, just in case. He opened his bag and took out a pair of his own clean boxer shorts. They fit loosely over Destiny’s diaper and the waist went all the way up to her chest.
Grady smiled.
“I won’t be winning any parenting contests but they’ll do for tonight.”
Destiny made no sign of protest and he took that as agreement.
“We’ll get you some girl clothes in town tomorrow, okay?”
He lay her down on the bed and she was asleep by the time he got in next to her.
He lay on his back with his arm around her, warning himself mentally not to roll over in the night. He looked up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the baby’s tiny snores.
“This will work,” he said quietly, more to himself than the child. “We’ll be all right. Everything will work out.”
As he fell asleep, he pictured Autumn’s pretty face.
Chapter Five
Autumn
Autumn woke to the sound of Mrs. Hildegard’s bell and looked at her phone to see the time. Five in the morning. She also checked to see if she had any signal but she didn’t. She sighed and pulled herself out of bed. She ran a quick bath and let the hot water revive her.
She’d slept well and the little fire in the corner had been a comforting nightlight.
She’d never had her own room before and she had to admit, she liked this one. Her own fire, her own bath, her own window nook and cozy bed. It was perfect, apart from the fact that it belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Hildegard.
She washed and dressed in her plain black cotton dress. Her mother had given it to her before she left. She said it looked like a hotel maid uniform and it did. Autumn liked it too. She fe
lt smart and professional in it.
She hurried down stairs and found Mr. and Mrs. Hildegard in the staff kitchen, sitting at a big farmhouse table sipping coffee.
“Master, Mistress,” she said with a little curtsy, remembering her manners.
Mr. Hildegard looked up from his newspaper but said nothing. Mrs. Hildegard pointed to the stove.
“I take it you can cook some eggs.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Good, you’ll find some in the fridge over there. I take mine scrambled, Mr. Hildegard takes his boiled hard.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“You may make yourself some as well.”
“Thank you, Mistress.”
Autumn’s morning was busy. She made the eggs and toast and ate at the table with the Hildegards. Then she cleaned up the breakfast things and the rest of the kitchen, swept the hall and stairs, lit the fires in the hall, the dining room, and the Hildegard’s private quarters. When she looked at the old grandfather clock in the hall she felt as if she’d already done a day’s worth of work. It was only seven thirty.
“Make some eggs for Mr. Cole in room seven,” Mrs. Hildegard said, “and boil some milk for the child. Bring it up to him at eight on the dot.”
“Yes, Mistress,” Autumn said.
In the kitchen, she tried to imagine how Grady liked his eggs and wished she could go upstairs and ask him. She wanted to give him what he liked. She settled on frying them over easy. She’d never met a man in her life who didn’t like his eggs over easy, and she fried four of them, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and placed them carefully on four slices of hot, buttered toast. None of the yolks broke.
She also made coffee and boiled milk for Destiny. She put everything on a silver tray and took a moment to admire her handiwork. The china was delicate and fine and looked so pretty on the tray. She was sure Grady would be pleased.
She carried the tray carefully up the stairs and balanced it on one arm while she knocked on the door to room seven.
There was no answer.
She knocked again.
No answer.
She stood there for a moment, uncertain what to do, when she heard the sound of Destiny crying.
She bit her lip and tried the door. It was open. She stepped inside, put the tray on the desk, and picked up the baby.
“There, there,” she cooed as she rocked the child in her arms. She immediately quietened down. “That’s better, isn’t it?”
The baby clung to her as if she knew her. Autumn took it as a sign she remembered her from the night before.
“Where’s your daddy, little one?” she said and at the same moment, the bathroom door swung open and there stood Grady.
Autumn’s jaw dropped. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. Grady was tall and broad with muscular arms and the chest of a quarterback. His body was tanned and smooth and every inch of it was covered in tattoos. She could vouch for the fact that every inch was tattooed because as well as taking her completely by surprise, he was stark naked.
His chest was hard and chiseled like a stone statue and beneath it was a perfect set of toned abs. The abs seemed to form a V-shape that led down to a patch of dark hair and then a long, thick penis that was bigger than Autumn ever dared possible. Not that she was any expert on the matter, being a complete and utter virgin who’d never even come close to kissing a boy, never mind seeing the cock of a God of a man like Grady Cole.
“Oh my,” she cried.
She didn’t know where to look. Her eyes darted from his perfect penis, over his chest, up to his gorgeous face, and then immediately back to his penis.
Bad eyes. Stop looking there.
She forced herself to look away but no matter how hard she tried, they kept jumping right back to that exquisite cock.
And to her amazement, it grew. In the few short seconds that she stood there, bewildered, embarrassed, mortified, his cock stiffened and grew and began to rise up as if it was trying to point at her.
Take aim at her!
What the hell?
Was she looking at a real life erection? Was that what they called a boner?
Was he attracted to her?
Was he going to have sex with her?
All of those thoughts flew through her mind in the instant it took for Grady to realize what was happening and grab a towel from the rack inside the bathroom door.
“Holy hell,” he said, a broad grin spreading across his face. “Autumn, I’m so so sorry. I had no idea you were in here.”
“No,” she stammered, “it’s my fault.”
She backed toward the door before realizing she was still holding Destiny.
“The baby. She was crying.”
“Oh,” Grady said, a look on his face so guilty anyone would have thought he’d just committed a grievous crime. “She was fast asleep. I thought I’d grab a quick shower.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Autumn said. “You’re allowed to bathe.”
Grady smiled. “I’m new at this.”
“You’re doing great. A little crying won’t do her any harm.”
Autumn looked at his powerful, bare chest and realized she was holding her breath. Before she knew it, her gaze had dropped to his waist, and the towel tied tightly around it. She would give anything to see that towel fall to the floor.
She looked away, putting her attention on the baby to avoid staring at Grady’s body.
It was then she noticed Destiny’s strange outfit, a pair of man’s boxer shorts pulled up over a pillow case. She laughed.
Grady looked at the baby and laughed too.
“I’m hopeless,” he said.
“You’re doing fine. How old is she?”
“She’s six months, but I’ve only had her a day.”
“A day?”
Grady nodded.
“In that case, you’re doing great.”
“I didn’t have any diapers.”
“Looks like you figured out a solution,” Autumn said, holding up Destiny and handing her back to him.
When Grady took the baby and held her against his bare chest, Autumn felt her body quiver with a strange mix of longing and desire. It was something she’d never felt before in her life.
She imagined Grady holding her that way, pressing her small frame against his hard body, holding her with that much love. The thought put butterflies in her stomach.
She felt herself blush and searched the room for something to distract herself. The baby’s bottle was by the bed and she went and picked it up. She passed Grady to get into the bathroom, his bare skin just a few inches from her, and felt a tingling of desire run through her body. She rinsed the bottle and filled it with the warm milk she’d brought.
She handed the bottle to Grady and he brought it to Destiny’s mouth.
Destiny let out a whine and turned away from it.
Grady looked at Autumn.
She smiled and took the child from him.
“Here,” she said, “like this.”
She held the baby in toward her own breasts and put the nipple of the bottle right where her own nipple would have been.
Destiny took it in her mouth and began to drink. Autumn smiled at the look of complete contentment on her face.
“You’re good at this,” Grady said.
“I babysat a lot for my aunt back home,” Autumn said.
“I wish I had someone like you to help me out.”
Autumn looked up at him, his handsome face, his kind eyes, the hint of stubble on his jawline. She’d help him out with anything he wanted.
Anything.
“You’re doing great,” she said. “You already made it through the first day. It’s all downhill from here.”
Grady laughed and picked up the plate of eggs and toast.
“You made this?”
“Yes,” she said, still feeding the baby.
Grady took a mouthful of the food and nodded.
“Delicious.”
Autumn s
miled.
Grady sat on the bed and ate hungrily.
“Have a seat,” he said.
Autumn sat next to him and fed his baby as he sat in the towel and devoured the breakfast she’d made him.
Chapter Six
Grady
Grady felt guilty. He’d never been so aroused by a girl in his life as he was by Autumn, and it was all he could do to stop himself from devouring her every time he saw her. He wondered what age she was. Was she an adult? She could be, but he wasn’t sure.
He shook his head.
What was he even thinking?
He was thirty years old and she was little more than a teenager. She was too innocent. Too pure.
And she was so kind. The way she took the baby and fed her. The way she looked after him, bringing him breakfast and telling him he was doing a good job with Destiny. It was too much.
He looked over at the bed. Destiny was asleep, lying where Autumn had put her before getting back to her chores.
Grady found himself wishing he had a reason to call her back.
He wanted to see her face again, her sweet smile, her kind eyes.
He’d almost died when he came out of the bathroom and she was standing there, holding his child. She was like a dream, so beautiful, and he was completely naked.
He shook his head in embarrassment at the memory. He’d even started to get a boner before he could grab a towel.
The thought made him hard all over again. He was still in the towel and he pulled it off and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, imagining what Autumn must have thought when she saw him. His cock was stiffening as he looked at himself.
You’re an absolute disgrace, Grady Cole.
He grabbed his cock in his fist and gave it a squeeze. It throbbed with desire.
She’s barely a child.
He couldn’t help it. He hadn’t had sex in months, he hadn’t even wanted to, but for the first time since Ravenna’s death, he wanted it. He wanted to feel himself sliding into that poor girl. He wanted to rip her cute little black dress off her and feast his eyes on her naked body. He pictured her breasts, small and tender and white. He pictured her pussy, bare and pink. He pictured the sound she’d make, the look on his face, as his massive cock slid into her tight, wet pussy.
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