Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tiny had never been more proud of anyone in his entire life as he was Ryleigh. The evening had been long and stressful, and yet she’d handled it better than some of the newbie SEALs he’d been in charge of. Yes, she’d had a hard moment after her father had been taken down, but surrounded by her friends, she’d been able to get control of herself again.
She’d been amazing with the FBI agents. They already knew most of her part in her father’s schemes, but she’d patiently answered the same questions over and over, without hesitation, for two solid hours. Then they finally reassured not only Ryleigh, but everyone at The Refuge that Harold Lodge’s days of hacking and stealing money were over.
It was a huge relief.
Tiny was glad to be back home, where it was just him and Ryleigh. Robert had sent them home with a container full of chocolate chip cookies, and had even given Ryleigh a box of Christmas Tree Cakes. She’d looked at him and barely been able to hold back her laughter. She’d slipped the box to Lara later, with Tiny’s approval, because she knew how much the other woman loved them.
If Tiny thought Ryleigh would relax once they got home, he was mistaken. She’d been sitting at the table on her computer for an hour and a half, fingers racing. Checking, double-checking, and triple-checking that her dad hadn’t somehow scheduled some sort of electronic siege on The Refuge in case she double-crossed him.
To her surprise, she hadn’t been able to find anything. He was seemingly as arrogant as he appeared, thinking he’d be able to intimidate his daughter into doing whatever he wanted. But Ryleigh was stronger than he’d thought.
When Ryleigh sighed for the tenth time, Tiny was done. She’d done everything she could for the moment. Tomorrow would be another day for her to scour the dark web for any sign of her father’s despicable schemes.
“Come on,” he told her, taking her elbow in his hand and encouraging her to stand.
“Oh, but there’s one more thing I want to check,” she said.
Tiny reached out and closed the laptop. “Tomorrow,” he said firmly, before leading her down the hall. He brought her straight to the bathroom attached to their room.
Her mouth opened in shock. “Tiny…what?”
He’d filled the tub with hot water and bubble bath. Okay, it was the liquid soap he used in the shower because he didn’t have any bubble bath on hand, something he planned to remedy as soon as possible. But he didn’t think she’d mind, because he hadn’t missed how much she liked to smell him at night when they sat together on the couch .
“Tonight was hard, and you were amazing. But I know you have to be sore from the tension you were under. I thought a long hot bath might do you some good.”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “No one’s ever done something like this for me before.”
That made Tiny sad, and he vowed to do a better job at spoiling her. “Relax, Ryleigh. Take as long as you want.” He kissed her forehead, then her lips, then he left her, closing the bathroom door almost all the way, leaving it open a crack so he could hear her if she needed anything.
He went back out into the cabin and finished straightening up. He wiped down the kitchen counters, washed her used glass, folded the blanket on the couch, fiddled around a little bit longer before heading to the guest bathroom to brush his teeth. After, he went into his bedroom. He could hear the water sloshing around in the bathtub, and it made him smile.
Tiny changed into the cotton pants he’d been wearing to sleep and climbed under the covers. He picked up a book but couldn’t concentrate, especially not when he heard Ryleigh humming softly to herself.
He loved the sound. It was happy. Content. And Lord knew the woman hadn’t had a lot to be content about lately. This thing with her father was stressing her out. Hell, it was stressing him out and it wasn’t even his dad. She’d handled the pressure of facing him amazingly well. Tiny hadn’t been thrilled to leave Ryleigh in that street by herself.
Oh, he knew she wasn’t technically alone, there were lots of people watching her, and festivalgoers everywhere…but she’d had to confront Lodge all by herself, which he’d hated. Intellectually, he knew her dad was a piece of shit, bu t hearing the things he’d said to her had literally shaken his foundation.
You’re pathetic. Nothing. Less than worthless.
All you’re good at is taking.
You’re the most selfish person I’ve ever met in my life.
I hate you. I’ve always hated you.
Tiny shook his head. Harold Lodge didn’t know his daughter. At all. Ryleigh wasn’t selfish. She was the most generous person he’d ever known. She didn’t care about money. Not in the least. The donations she handed out like they were candy were lavish and the charities well thought out. She did her research to make sure they were legit, and all the good that money did couldn’t be denied.
Yes, the money had been stolen in the first place, but she was doing all she could to atone for the things her dad made her do. In Tiny’s eyes, she’d more than done so.
And for a father to come out and tell his daughter that he hated her…Tiny couldn’t even understand that. Not for a second. His heart hurt for Ryleigh. Those words had to have stung, and yet she’d held her head up high and did what she had to do to help put the man behind bars for a very long time.
A noise interrupted his thoughts, and Tiny turned his head. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Ryleigh standing in the bathroom doorway.
Her hair was damp, curling slightly around her temples. Her skin was dewy and there was a flush to her cheeks. She hadn’t put on the pajama set she’d been wearing to bed, which he’d set on the vanity before starting her bath. Instead, she wore nothing but a blue towel. It was wrapped around her body, barely reaching her upper thighs. Her shoulders were exposed…and it was al l Tiny could do not to throw the blanket off, stalk over to her, and bury his nose in the crook of her neck and shoulder.
His cock hardened in his pants and he licked his lips.
Ryleigh looked nervous and unsure, hands worrying the towel where it was tucked securely around her chest.
He opened his mouth to say something reassuring—when she shocked the shit out of him by letting the towel fall to the floor.
Tiny could only blink at the vision in front of him. If he’d been aroused by the sight of her in a towel, seeing her completely nude made him want to drop to his knees in worship.
“Ryleigh?” he managed to croak. He couldn’t move. If he did, he’d lunge at her. Scare the crap out of her. He held himself stock still with the iron control he’d learned as a Navy SEAL.
“I don’t want to wait. Today sucked. I was really scared. My dad could’ve done anything. He’s paranoid and greedy and nothing will keep him from getting his hands on me. He could’ve hurt me today…and it would’ve kept me from finding out what sex is all about.”
She was babbling, and Tiny wanted to kiss the lip that she was now biting in consternation. But he needed to make one thing clear before he did anything else.
“I want you,” he said. “You’re beautiful. So damn beautiful. It’s taking all my control to stay in this bed right now and not throw you over my shoulder and take you on the floor right where you’re standing. But I don’t want to have sex, just to have sex. If all you want is someone to take your virginity, to experience sex finally, you can find that anywhere. Hell, I’m sure you know better than I do that all it’ll take is an online ad and you’ll have men lined up to do the honor.
“I want more than that. I want you to be standing there naked—looking so damn sexy I can’t even stand it—specifically because you want me . Because you can’t bear to go one more night without being as close as you can get…to me . Because you crave the emotional connection we have with one another, and you want it to go bone deep. If you don’t want that, if you don’t want a long-term relationship with me…as much as it’ll hurt me to see, you should pick up that towel and head back to the room you were sleeping in before.”
Tiny held his breath. He was practically panting, taking short, choppy breaths as he waited for her decision. Honestly, her being a virgin scared the shit out of him. He wasn’t one of those men who dreamed about being a woman’s first. There was a lot of responsibility that went along with that. He could hurt her, really hurt her, and that was the last thing he ever wanted to do. He’d done enough of that.
“If I have to sleep in your arms one more night and not have you inside of me, I think I’ll die.”
Tiny was moving before he could think. He did drop to his knees in front of Ryleigh, looking up at her in awe. His hands gripped her waist, immediately noticing that her skin was so damn soft. And warm. And she smelled like him. His cock got even harder. He needed inside this woman. Right this damn second.
But no…he had to go slow. Make sure her first time was good. Better than good—earth-shattering. Tiny closed his eyes and rested his forehead on her belly. Her hands came up and tangled in his hair. His dick twitched in his pants .
He was so fucked. If he was turned on simply by the feel of her fingers, he was doomed.
“Tiny?” she whispered.
He hated the uncertainty in her voice. He opened his eyes and met her gaze. At least, he meant to meet her gaze; her perfect tits distracted him. Her nipples were hard, probably from the cool air, and the fleshy globes were a gorgeous handful. Moving his hands up her sides slowly, he licked his lips as he stared at her chest. He gently palmed her breasts, and was rewarded by Ryleigh’s small gasp as she arched into his touch.
She was incredibly responsive. And suddenly, Tiny was ravenous. He’d wanted this from the first time he’d seen this woman. Wanted her in his bed, under him. He hadn’t admitted it back then, but that didn’t make it any less true. Part of the reason her lies hurt so bad, and why he’d treated her like absolute shit, was because he’d been so drawn to her from the moment she’d stepped onto the property. And her deception had felt like a personal attack.
But it hadn’t actually had anything to do with him. She’d simply been doing what she had to do in order to keep her father from finding her.
“Be sure,” he said in a deep voice that didn’t sound like him in the least. “Because if you give yourself to me, I’m keeping you. As long as you’ll have me, I’m yours.”
She nodded.
“Say it,” Tiny ordered, not sure where this dominant side was coming from.
“I want this. You.”
Thank fuck.
Tiny stood and shoved his pants over his hips. It wasn’t a smooth move, and when her eyes widened as she got a glimpse of his rock-hard dick, he realized he probably should’ve eased her into seeing his body. She was a virgin, after all.
But then she shocked the shit out of him by reaching out a hand. Her fingers closed around his cock, and it was all he could do not to come right then and there.
“It’s hard but soft at the same time,” she said in awe.
Tiny wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t do anything other than stand there and let her touch him.
“Does it hurt? It looks like it hurts,” she said.
“Yes and no,” Tiny told her honestly. “It’s a good hurt.”
Her hand fell from his dick, and Tiny wanted to cry. But then she brought her fingers to his chest. They brushed against the scar on his left pec, where Sonja had stabbed him. “So close to your heart,” she muttered.
“Close, but not close enough,” he told her.
Ryleigh looked up at him. “I did it, you know,” she said, almost conversationally.
“Did what?”
“Found her. Took all the money from her prison account. Altered her records so it looks like she hasn’t been a good prisoner. Took away her visitor privileges. And I’ll keep doing it too.” She sounded almost belligerent now.
Tiny would talk to her about that later. Make her undo the changes she’d made to Sonja’s record. He didn’t like the woman, but he’d finally moved on. Didn’t want to think about her ever again. And while Ryleigh’s anger on his behalf felt good, he didn’t want her spending an iota of time thinking about the woman either.
“I’m thinking I don’t want to talk about her right now,” he said, taking Ryleigh’s hand in his and backing toward the bed. Neither said a word as he brought them where they both wanted to be.
“If at any time you change your mind, it’s okay,” he felt compelled to say. This was a big deal, and he’d accept it if she decided she didn’t want to give him her virginity after all.
“I’m not going to change my mind,” she said with absolutely no hesitation in her voice, his ex seemingly forgotten. “I want you, Tiny. I want my first time to be with you because I know you’ll make it good. Memorable. Amazing.”
“Oh, no pressure, none at all,” Tiny said a little sarcastically.
Ryleigh giggled. And the small sound made him smile. This woman was adorable, and sexy, and strong as hell. And he wanted to be the kind of man she deserved. He wasn’t sure he could be, but he sure as fuck was going to try.
He let go of her hand and got on the bed, scooting over until he was lying in the middle of the mattress. He put one arm behind his head and the other stayed by his side. Ryleigh moved as if in a trance, climbing up and walking on her knees to his side. She sat on her heels and stared down at him.
Tiny was taking her in too. He couldn’t get over how perfect she was. Perfect for him . His hands itched to touch her, to give her pleasure, but he forced himself to lie still as she studied him.
Her hand shook as she reached out. Tiny braced himself for her touch, and even then, he still jerked when her fingers made contact with his bare skin.
Ryleigh yanked her hand back, but he grabbed it gently and brought it back to his chest. He pressed it flat against him, encouraging her to continue. It only took a moment before he was able to put his hand back at his side, and she was running her fingers up and down his chest. It was his turn for his nipples to harden. She brushed against one during a trip up his body, and she smiled.
“Yours get hard too,” she said.
It wasn’t really a question, but Tiny answered anyway. “Oh yeah.”
Her fingers tweaked his nipples, and each touch made his cock twitch where it lay on his belly. Ryleigh didn’t seem to notice, she was too fixated on his chest. Then she made his breath stall by leaning down and taking one of his nipples into her mouth.
Tiny let out a little grunt as his hand palmed the back of her head. She lifted her gaze and smiled again. “That okay?”
“More than okay. Stupendous,” he told her.
In response, she once more wrapped her lips around his nipple. This time, she flicked it with her tongue, and another groan erupted from Tiny’s throat. She was going to be the death of him, but he wouldn’t dare deny her this. He’d let her explore his body as long as she wanted. He wanted her to be comfortable with him…and when he turned the tables and did the same things to her, he didn’t want her to be surprised.
Her hand came up and pinched his other nipple lightly.
“Harder, sweetheart. You aren’t hurting me. Pinch it harder.”
Tiny felt a spurt of precome on his belly when she did as he requested.
Ryleigh lifted her head and studied her hands as she played with his nipples. It was almost torture for Tiny, but the best kind.
“Kiss me,” he ordered.
She leaned forward, bracing herself on his chest as she brushed her lips against his. But Tiny was too turned on for a chaste kiss. His tongue immediately pressed against the seam of her lips, demanding entry. She opened for him willingly, and he took what she so freely offered.
Had Tiny ever been this turned on by a kiss and a few tweaks of his nipples? No, the answer was definitely no. Ryleigh had him turned inside out, and he didn’t think he’d ever be the same after this.
For a brief second, terror raced through him. If she betrayed him, it would destroy him. He thought he’d been irrevocably changed by Sonja’s actions, but he’d be absolutely gutted if Ryleigh was using him for some reason.
But as soon as the thought registered that Ryleigh might be anything but exactly who he’d learned she was over the last few weeks, it dissipated. He could trust her. Tiny felt that down to his bones. She wouldn’t screw him over. Wouldn’t cheat on him. Would never attempt to kill him in his sleep.
He tore his mouth from hers and found he was having trouble catching his breath. He wanted nothing more than to roll over and take her, eat her out, ease his fingers into her pussy to get her ready for him, but he wanted to make sure she was completely comfortable with his body before he took over.
“Keep going, sweetheart,” he told her.
She looked confused.
“Touch me. All over. Get used to me. See what’s going to be inside of you. Giving you pleasure. My cock. Because when you’re done exploring, it’s going to be my turn.”
She blushed, but her eyes flashed with lust as she nodded. Sitting back on her heels, Ryleigh turned her attention back to his chest. Her fingers ran over his skin once again, but this time they didn’t stop at his nipples. Her gaze went down to his toes, then back up, stopping between his legs.
“You’re big,” she said, but Tiny didn’t hear any fear in her voice. Only matter-of-factness.
“I am, but you’re going to be soaking wet for me. You’ll take me without any problem, Ryleigh, I give you my word.”
She nodded, as if that was all the reassurance she needed. Then she was touching him.
It was all Tiny could do not to come all over himself.
Her thumb brushed the tip of his dick, spreading the precome she’d already coaxed out of him over his skin. Then she shocked the shit out of him by touching her tongue to the head.
“Fuck!” Tiny muttered before reaching down and grabbing the base of his cock in a stranglehold.
Ryleigh sat back and lifted her hands to her sides, palms out. “Did that hurt?” she asked.
“No, it felt good. Too good. I almost came right then and there. And getting my load in your face isn’t something you want for your first experience of a man’s orgasm.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes, really. I’m not a fan of doing that anyway. It’s always seemed degrading to me. I’m sure some women totally love it, but you could actually get an infection from getting come in your eyes. At least, I’ve read some porn stars have.”
To his surprise, Ryleigh giggled. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound good. But I was actually wondering if you really were about to come. Just from me licking you.”
Tiny groaned again. This woman was going to unman him. “Yeah, hon, just from that. You have no idea how sexy you are right now. Kneeling at my side, eyes devouring me, your tits begging for my mouth and fingers. I can even smell your arousal. So yeah, you touching my cock with your tongue almost made me lose it. What did you think?”
He loved that his dirty words seemed to turn her on even more. She squirmed, and even as he watched, her chest flushed a deeper pink.
“Would it upset you if I said I didn’t love it?” she asked.
“Not at all. Some people enjoy it and others don’t. It doesn’t make any difference to me if you don’t like the taste.”
“Do you?”
“Do I what? Like the taste of your juices? I don’t know. Why don’t you touch yourself, then give me your finger and let me see?” He was pushing her, Tiny knew it, but he couldn’t make himself stop. He wanted to taste her more than he wanted to breathe. Craved it. Craved her . He wasn’t sure Ryleigh would be brave enough to do as he asked, but he shouldn’t have doubted her.
She reached between her legs, and Tiny had to squeeze his cock harder at the sight.
“Go up on your knees. That’s it. Like that. God, you’re so beautiful. Touch yourself. Oh fuck, that’s perfect. Ease your finger inside your pussy, sweetheart. Are you wet?” She removed her finger, and Tiny saw it glistening in the light. “Oh yeah, you’re wet. Please, let me taste—give me that finger.”
She sat back on her heels and shyly inched her hand forward. Tiny couldn’t let go of his dick because if he did, he’d immediately come all over his belly, so he grabbed hold of her wrist with his other hand, lifting his head eagerly.
He took her index finger into his mouth and her musk practically made his taste buds explode. She tasted divine. He licked and sucked all the juice off her finger, trying to make it as sensual as possible for her.
He must have succeeded, because her gaze looked hazy and her breaths were coming out in pants. “Tiny…” she pleaded.
“For the record, I love your taste. Christ, it’s like ambrosia…whatever the fuck that is. I want more. I want to lick your pussy until you’re coming all over my face. Then I want to lick you clean and make you come all over again.”
Yet again, Tiny didn’t know where this dirty talk was coming from. He wasn’t usually like this. He was more of a no-nonsense kind of lover. Made sure his partner was satisfied, but he didn’t talk a whole lot. With Ryleigh, everything was different. Because she was made for him and he was made for her. “Are you done?” he asked.
“Done?”
“Exploring…for now. You can look and touch all you want later. I’m hanging on by a thread, sweetheart. I need you to give me permission to move. To pleasure you.”
“Yes. Please. Touch me.”
That was all Tiny needed to hear. He had her on her back before either of them took another breath. The feel of her body under his was what he’d been waiting for all his life. He felt not one speck of doubt.
“In case I forget to tell you later, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving me your body. For trusting me to make this good for you. For letting me be your first.”
“You’re welcome,” she said shyly.
Then Tiny was done talking. He kissed her briefly before moving his lips to her ear. Then her neck. He inhaled deeply, loving the smell of his soap on her skin. He continued to her chest and finally got his mouth on the tits that had been tormenting him ever since she’d dropped her towel.
He was going to devour her, one inch at a time. When he was done, she’d be delirious with pleasure…and hopefully the pain of taking a cock for the first time wouldn’t be overwhelming.