19

Micah

I didn’t normally drink before noon, but I’d barely slept. The deep-seated need to punish someone had slowly built inside me until I felt as if I was going to explode. The only thing that had kept me sane was holding Dolly. Her body tucked against me, safe where no one could hurt her.

“What? It’s too damn early for phone calls,” Pepper grumbled into the phone as I gripped the glass of whiskey in my hand, glaring at shelves of books in front of me.

“Tell me why Dolly would hurt herself,” I demanded, knowing that if anyone knew the answer to what had happened last night, it would be my sister.

She’d known Dolly since they had been seven years old. All I knew of her was the little girl who would come over to play when I was visiting. I realized last night that I was clueless to her past. I knew she had a momma who was overprotective, but that was it.

“Shit.” Pepper’s muttered curse made my chest tighten. “What did she do?” she asked.

The anxiousness in her tone wasn’t lost on me. She knew. She was worried.

“Dug her nails so fucking deep into her thigh that she’s gonna have scars. She bled, Pepper. And she didn’t even wince when I cleaned it. She seemed almost numb.”

And it was fucked up. Something in her eyes last night had hit me so deep that it was hard to control myself. I’d wanted to go destroy whatever it was that had caused this. I hated seeing the misery in her amber depths. Dolly was all that was good in this world, and knowing there was something that dark that had gotten to her once enraged me.

“Where is she now?” Pepper asked.

“In my bed.”

“WHAT?! Please tell me that is a fucking joke. I swear to God, Micah, I will cut off your damn dick if you fucked her. I trusted you—”

“Calm down. I didn’t fuck her. I held her. She was…she was broken. I can’t…” I stopped, unable to explain to my sister just how unstable I felt, seeing her like that. It was more than she or anyone needed to know.

Pepper let out a long, relieved sigh. “That’s probably going to be an issue, too, but not as devastating,” she said. “I’m getting dressed and heading over there if I can. I don’t know what the roads look like yet. Have you seen the news?”

I hadn’t done anything but remove myself from the bed before my raging hard-on scared the shit out of Dolly. Then, I’d come in the library to drink.

“Tell me what happened to her.”

I didn’t need Pepper coming to the rescue, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to allow her to take Dolly from me. She was staying her ass in my room. Under my protection.

“I can’t. It’s…it’s not my story to tell,” Pepper replied. “Just please, Micah, don’t mess with her head. This bullshit with Canyon clearly affected her more than she let on. I should have known. She’s a pro at hiding her shit and internalizing her pain.”

Fury rolled through me as I slammed the glass in my hand onto the table. “This is because of Canyon?”

“What else could it be? Dolly has come a long way. She’s overcome so much, and I let myself believe that the past was finally behind her. Canyon has messed with her head, and she isn’t strong enough to deal with that.”

I was going to kill him.

“The roads aren’t safe yet. Stay there. I’ll take care of Dolly.”

“Micah, you have no idea what—”

“I will take care of Dolly. I don’t need to know what happened in the past to take care of her.”

“Micah—”

I ended the call before my sister could say one more word about fucking Canyon Acree. I’d never hated anyone more than I did that man right now. If he came near Dolly again, I would need Blaise Hughes’s pull to keep me out of prison.

I stalked toward the door. I was going back to my room. Back to Tink. Leaving her there in my bed, curled up and alone, had been painful, but I’d needed to know why last night had happened. If I wasn’t going to know the why, then I was going to be the one to stop it. I wasn’t sure I could breathe normally again until I knew my Tink was happy and secure.

Tex was leaving his room and headed for the stairs when I walked back into the hallway.

“Tree is down right outside the gate. We’re heading out to cut it up and remove it. You coming?” he asked as I walked past him without a glance.

“No,” I snapped as the clawing urgency to get back to Dolly grew stronger.

“I see. Well, all right then,” Tex drawled behind me.

He didn’t see shit, but I wasn’t going to explain myself to him or anyone. I didn’t even fucking understand me right now anyway. How could anyone else?

Jerking my door back open, I walked inside to see Dolly still sleeping in the middle of my bed. The sight eased me some, but not completely. There was still that unknown monster I had to slay for her. I just needed to be pointed in the right direction, and I’d fix it. She would never be tormented by it again.

The door clicked shut, and I locked it, then went to the bed to climb back in beside her. Holding her would help. I just needed her back against me again.

She began to turn as I slid under the covers. I watched as she blinked several times while she stared at my neck and chest. A grin tugged at my lips. Damn, she was sweet.

“Morning,” I said, drawing those pretty eyes up to mine.

She studied me for a moment, and then a small smile touched her lips. “Good morning.”

The sleepy thickness in her voice made my dick twitch. The desire to spread her legs and bury my face between them was almost impossible to resist. Knowing she had a darkness haunting her, defeating her, and she was fragile were the only things keeping me from giving in to my lust.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked me.

“Yeah,” I lied.

I watched as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it nervously. Did she know how enticing that was? That mouth of hers had been teasing me since I’d walked into the bar and found her with Canyon. Jesus Christ, she had to stop that.

I reached over and pulled her plump lip free, then brushed my thumb over it, wishing I could taste it. Lick it. Suck on it. “That’s a little more than I can handle, Tink.”

A frown puckered her brow. “What?”

God, she was innocent. She had no clue the tempting little package she was.

“Biting your lip, sweetheart. You’ve got the perfect mouth, and that only makes me think about all the things I’d like to do to it.”

Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a quick breath. I let her mind work through my words and enjoyed seeing the different emotions that flashed across her face as she did so.

“What…” She started, then paused and swallowed. “What do you want to do to it?” The slight quaver in her voice just about broke me.

It had taken a lot for her to ask me that. She wasn’t the kind of girl who teased men or used her power over them to get what she wanted. She had no fucking clue she had any power.

I slid my hand to cup the side of her face. I should get up. Stop this before I couldn’t. I should do a lot of things, but I wasn’t getting out of this bed. There was no point in telling myself it was the right thing to do. I wasn’t that strong.

Leaning down, I brushed my lips against hers and moved my hand down to her neck until my thumb was over the pulse there. The quickening of it made me feel like a damn king. I ran the tip of my tongue over the swollen bottom lip just as she opened for me. Taking full advantage of the invitation, I managed to tamp down my desire to climb on top of her and crush my mouth against hers.

Instead, I savored her. The purity of her uncertainty was going to drive me wilder than any kinky shit I’d experienced in the past. This was another level of longing. It exceeded anything else. A shudder ran through her body, and she pressed closer to me, sliding her fingers into my hair. This wasn’t going to be enough for me. I’d opened Pandora’s box, and I was going to either own it or destroy it. The frenzy building in my chest wasn’t keeping me sane enough to make the right decision.

The moan from Dolly snatched away the last string of my self-control. I tore my mouth from hers, and I made my way down her throat, needing to taste all of her. Every fucking inch. When I reached the collar of her shirt, I took the unwanted fabric and pulled it up, needing it off her. Hating any barrier that was in my way. She lifted her arms, allowing me to easily discard it. Pausing, I took a moment to memorize the sight of the lacy pale pink bra covering her tits before getting it off her. With each panting breath she took, her chest bounced gently, making it hard for me to remain focused on my goal. Lowering my head, I pulled one of her hardened nipples into my mouth and sucked.

“Oh!” she cried out as her hand went to the back of my head and held me there.

I couldn’t remember the last woman I’d been with who I took the time to do this to, but Dolly’s pleasure had me giving each breast my undivided attention.

When I finally began to travel down her stomach, she let go of my head, and her hands fisted the sheet beneath us. Smiling up at her, I unbuttoned her skirt before tugging it down while leaving the matching pink panties on. I needed some barrier, no matter how flimsy, to keep from sinking my dick into her like a madman.

Tossing her skirt to the floor with the rest of her discarded clothing, I took her legs and draped them over my shoulders. Taking only a moment to appreciate the view, I inhaled that addictive scent that had almost been my undoing yesterday. The honeyed delirium that met my tongue snapped any and all restraint I had left. The reasons why I had to stop this didn’t matter.

“Micah! Oh God,” she gasped, digging her heels into my back as she clawed frantically at the bed.

The power of seeing perfection come apart while I ate the most luscious pussy I’d ever tasted ranked as the best moment of my life.

Using my hand, I opened her folds and lapped at the sweetest cream I’d ever had. Her body bucked as she cried out my name.

“Come on my tongue, baby,” I urged her, wanting more of it.

“Oh my God,” she moaned as she grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled. “OH MY GOD!”

A shudder racked her body as I inhaled her release, and she began to ride my face. It made me want to pound my chest. I’d done this. I had given her this nirvana. Me. Not Canyon.

At the thought of the other man, my body tensed. I felt as if a vise had clamped around my throat, and my chest felt like it was going to explode. I fought back the roar building inside me and tore myself away from her, only to remove my jeans and underwear while watching her naked body spread out for me, panting as she came down from the high I had given her.

I reached for the drawer in the bedside table and took out a condom. Her eyes followed me as I tore it open and rolled it down my hard dick. This wasn’t what I had intended to do. She was untouched. I didn’t deserve this, but I would be damned if another man had her. No one else deserved her either. There would never be anyone good enough for her. At least I knew with me, she would be worshipped properly.

I stared down at her as I knelt between her legs. I didn’t want to give her time to stop this, but I also knew I couldn’t take her virginity without knowing she was giving it to me willingly. I could hear my own heavy breathing as I waited. It took self-control I hadn’t known I possessed not to bury myself inside her.

“Micah,” she said, and the question in her eyes was echoed in that one word.

“Do you want this?” I asked in a hoarse whisper.

If she said no, I might not ever recover.

“Yes, please.” Her voice was so soft that I almost didn’t hear her over the pounding of my heart. But the please had humbled me to the point that I struggled to inhale my next breath.

I wasn’t worthy of this, but by God, I would make it special. Lowering myself over her, I trailed kisses from her breasts, along her collarbone, to the pulse in her neck, up to her mouth that was slightly open.

“I’ll do everything I can to ease the pain,” I promised her.

“I don’t care about the pain. I just want it to be you.”

Closing my eyes for a moment, I took a deep breath, then let it out. “You say shit like that, and it makes it hard to go slow.”

She reached up and cupped the side of my face with her small hand. “Then, don’t. I want it to be good for you too.”

A low chuckle rumbled in my chest. “Tink, I can promise you, that is not gonna be a problem.”

I placed a kiss on her lips as I pressed against her entrance. She tensed beneath me as I began to ease inside her.

“Relax, baby,” I urged her as I bent my head over the crook of her neck and did my best to do this slowly.

She nodded, opening her legs wider as her breathing deepened. I sank deeper until I felt the barrier. This was a first. Knowing about the hymen and actually encountering one was two different things.

I had never fucked a virgin. I’d heard enough talk to know that it hurt them, they bled, and it wasn’t good for the female. I’d be damned if that was how it was going to be for Dolly. She would enjoy this. I’d make sure the pleasure outweighed the bad. If I could keep from fucking coming too soon. The way she was squeezing my dick was the closest thing to heaven I would ever get. I’d bet my life this was better than the fucking pearly gates.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, then kissed my neck.

I thrust into her at those words and stilled as she let out a cry and clung to me. My dick was buried inside her completely now, and every muscle in my body was locked up as I clenched my teeth and fought the desire to get more of this. Feel her tight cunt as I pumped in and out of her.

She lifted her hips then and hissed through her teeth. I managed to not start fucking her like an animal as she slid her legs up mine and let out a low moan. Jesus H. Christ, I deserved an award for this.

“Please,” she begged.

I didn’t know if she was asking me to move or to get out. She ran her hands down my back until her nails bit into my asscheeks. I was going to take that to mean that she wanted me to stay. Easing back, I began to gently pump in and out of her. Each time going a little deeper, pushing a little harder. Bringing myself closer and closer to my release.

“Micah,” she breathed as she grabbed my biceps. “Micah!”

Her inner walls clamped down hard on my cock, and I felt the tremor as it rolled through her body.

FUCK YES! She was coming.

“That’s it, baby. Come for me,” I panted.

“OH GOD!” she cried out and began to jerk as she clung to me.

It was then I felt it. The rush of fluid hitting my balls and the inside of my thighs. Fucking hell! She was squirting.

Any restraint I had left was gone.

“FUCK! I want to fill that pussy up,” I groaned as I lost control of my own body and began pounding into her.

I’d give anything to rip the damn condom off and unload inside her. I wanted her to squirt on me raw. Sweet little virgin was going to own me, and I didn’t give a damn.

“AH!”

Her small yelp only drove me further.

My body jerked against her as I shouted her name. The pulse from my release caused me to tremble with each shot of cum that filled the fucking condom. By the time I finally stopped, I was lightheaded. I rolled to the side, not wanting to crush her with my weight, but pulled her body with me, not willing to break the connection yet. I wanted to stay inside of her longer.

With a shuddered breath, I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was smiling at me. A pleased look in her eyes made me grin back at her. I should be asking her if she was okay and cleaning her up, but fuck that. I wanted her like this for as long as I could have her. Once we left this bed, reality would set in. What I had done would have to be dealt with. Everything would change.

“You gonna just keep smiling at me all pretty and sweet or say something?” I teased.

She ducked her head and laughed. “What do I say?”

I reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Oh, I don’t know. You can tell me what a god I am and praise my skills.”

She lifted her head and looked back up at me with amusement dancing in her eyes. “Hmm…a god, huh?”

I nodded. “I not only gave you an orgasm your first time, but I also made you squirt.”

She licked her bottom lip and suddenly looked unsure. “That…was that what I did? I wasn’t sure, and I felt it, but…”

Unable to stop myself, I leaned down and kissed her lips. “Yeah, that’s what you did. And if I hurt you after, that’s not completely my fault. That tight little pussy squirting on me was more than I could take. I lost my control after that.”

She blushed then and shut her eyes tightly. I kissed her and started to deepen it when banging on the door interrupted me.

“OPEN THIS DOOR, MICAH, OR I WILL BREAK IT DOWN!” Pepper screamed from the other side.

Shit.