Chapter Four
Reaper
I sit on the west side of the woods calling Mabel’s phone over and over again. I’ve never been more pissed off in my life and it’s fucking emasculating that I can’t do anything about it. Mabel isn’t technically mine to protect, but it feels like she is.
Knowing that she’s being lied to and manipulated only makes this whole thing worse. I hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten. I knew Danny was probably being dramatic, but seeing it with my own two eyes was something else. He’s lost it. There’s no doubt in my mind.
I dial her again. This time she answers.
“What do you want? I’m exhausted.”
“I’m here. You coming out?”
“Yeah.” She scoffs as she says, “I’m not going out with you anymore. You’re insane. My father could’ve died today.”
I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I’m not going to get anywhere fighting her on this issue. “Put all the stuff with your dad aside, okay? Just for a second.”
Silence ensues.
“You needed to get out today because you wanted a break from the prison you’re living in. I’m here to give you that break. I know right where this bounty is. We’ll ride out there, cuff him, call Viper or Ink, and they’ll come take him away. It’ll be fun.”
I shouldn’t be convincing her to leave, but I didn’t realize how screwed she was when we went for a ride this afternoon. I figured she was lonely and bored. This update changes things.
“I want freedom, but not with you. You’d have left him to die.” She sounds like she’s crying. Maybe I do need to address this.
“Little cat, what happened after I left?”
She sighs. “What? Why? He took his meds and his heart got better.”
“And what did he do?”
“He went back out to work.”
“Right. So, he went back out to do heavy labor after having a major heart issue?”
I can almost hear her eyes roll. “Stop. I know what you’re doing, and it’s not true. He wouldn’t lie to me!”
“Okay.” I pause and think this over carefully. I need to prove to her that he’s lying. “Where did he take the medicine this afternoon?”
“What?”
“Was he in a chair? Was he—”
“He was on the couch. Why does this matter?” Her tone is biting.
“Because I want you to go look under the couch cushions, in the crevices. If that pill isn’t there, you can hang up on me and assume I’m an asshole for life.” I drag in a deep breath. The Danny I know would be too anxious to take a pill that he didn’t need. Though, this version of him has clearly readjusted his priorities, so this is a gamble.
Mabel exhales, but I hear her moving through the house as though she’s going to check.
My chest tightens.
“You’re full of it. You know that, right? He has heart problems. That’s how he got the meds.”
“He had one heart attack . A mild one. Seven years ago . They gave him the meds to use in case of emergency, not because he has an ongoing issue. Are you there yet?”
The stairs creak as she makes her way down. “Almost, but you know this is all bullshit, right?”
I hear the phone settle on something hard and then the fabric rustle.
Silence is filled by more silence.
“What? Is it there?”
She lets out a heavy breath and snaps a picture.
A moment later, a text buzzes in on my phone.
I stare down at the screen and click the image open. In her little hand is a tiny white pill.
“I’m so dumb.” She’s crying and I wish I were there. I hate that she’s doing this alone.
“You’re not dumb, and he’s not a bad man. He’s sick. He’s lonely. He’s not himself.”
She swallows hard enough that I hear the lump pass in her throat. “I’m coming out to see you. Give me ten minutes.”
“I’ll come get you.”
“No, the cameras,” she sighs. “I’m coming.” The line disconnects, and though I feel horrible calling my buddy out like that, it needed to be done. He shouldn’t have the power over her like he does. No one should. She needs to live her life, experience things, find her own path, and discover who the hell she is outside of this fucking prison.
I push down the kickstand and walk into the field to meet her. It’s a dark night and there have been some wolves patrolling the area lately. I doubt they’d fuck with people, but better safe than sorry.
Walking into the tall brush, I aim the flashlight from my phone ahead and think over how the rest of this goes. I wanted to help her break free, but now I’m not sure what that means.
Will she leave Rugged Mountain? Will she go to Washington? Will she meet someone age appropriate and never come back again?
The light from her flashlight glistens ahead. At least I think it’s hers. I can’t imagine who the hell else would be out this time of the night unless it’s Danny. In that case, I’ll take him right now. I get being heartbroken, I get not wanting your only child to leave, but this is too fucking much.
She signals back and the swish of the tall grass gets louder and faster as she closes the distance between us.
Seconds pass, and before I realize what’s happening, she’s against my chest in the dark with her lips pressed against mine.
My cock reacts before my brain, and I kiss her back, hard and fast. My hands are in her hair, on her back, cupping her neck. She moans against my mouth, moving her tongue against mine as we hold each other tight.
I’m not sure what’s happening, but I like it.
She pulls away and sighs, biting her bottom lip under the dim light of the moon. “Thank you.”
My eyes widen. “For what?”
“For seeing what I couldn’t see. For taking me out today. For kissing me back.”
I tip my head to the side. “Is this the adrenaline again?”
“It wasn’t adrenaline before.” She sighs as she says, “I’ve been wanting to kiss you, Reaper. I’ve wanted to for so long.”
Okay, my cock is harder now. “What?”
She swallows hard. “Yeah, like… I have these fantasies about you showing up and taking me away all the time. I think about your hands on me, your lips pressing into mine, your body holding me close. I know that’s fucked up, but all of this is fucked up. I mean, maybe I’m reading this whole thing wrong, and you were weirded out by the first kiss, so this one is even weirder, but I’m doing weird things, and this is what—”
I crash into her lips again and again, holding her close against my chest as though the explosion of hunger I’ve felt for her is finally able to release.
“I think about you too, little cat. All the damn time.” The words lift a weight off my shoulders.
Tears stream down her face and she hooks back into the perfect spot in my arms. She belongs here. I’ve known it forever and a day. It’s this moment that snaps something inside of me. I don’t want to stop myself anymore. I don’t want to pull away from what I want. I need my little cat, and I’m going to take her.
“I’m not a nice guy,” I groan lowly in her ear. “You should know that.”
She swallows hard and steps closer, landing her hands on my chest. “You are to me.”
I hold my hand tight against her throat and kiss her lips. “You’re the only one. But hear me when I tell you, you’ll get sick of hearing what an asshole I am.”
She drags in a heavy breath. “No, I won’t. I like being your special girl, Reaper.”
My cock is hard and grinding against her. It’s involuntary and there’s no turning back.
“Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m yours.” She’s breathless. “Do what you want to me. You’re the first… ever.”
I blow out a breath and kiss her roughly, biting my way down over her shoulder and onto her chest. I figured she was a virgin, but having her untouched body offered up to me is too fucking much.
It’s depraved how much I want to sink into her tight little core for the first time. How desperate I am to make her scream, to spread her open, to mark her skin, to own her.
She’s panting as I pull up her dress and palm over her panties, grinding the heel of my hand against her soft core. Her eyes close and her hand scrubs down the length of my cock.
It’s dark and the sound of coyotes howling in the distance meld with the soft brush of the grasses that move with the wind.
“I want you to go hard with me, Reaper. Don’t take it easy just because it’s my first time. I want to feel you like you’re meant to be felt.” Her tone is needy and aching. It’s a pitch I haven’t yet heard from her.
My body reacts, and I slide her panties to the side, then push two fingers in, scrubbing against her tight, little walls. Every breath she takes is heavy and panting.
I couldn’t stop this if I wanted to.
I bite down on her shoulder, and she squeals and jumps, squirming against me.
“Oh my God!” Her head leans back, and her long hair falls away from her shoulders. “Yes! Don’t stop!”
“I have to, little cat. I need you on your knees for me.”
She drags in a staggered breath, then drops to her knees like a good little girl who wants nothing more than to please me.
Her mouth drops open, and she unbuckles my belt, tugging my jeans to the floor before wrapping my cock in her hand and licking her way up the shaft.
I hum under my breath and draw my fingers through her hair. She’s fucking gorgeous. I don’t know how I’ve held out this long.
“Good girl. Be a good fucking girl and take my cock in your mouth.”
Her little virgin mouth opens, and she slides me in inch my inch until she’s gagging on my length in the pale light of the moon.
I’m tempted to howl out with the wolves.
I grip the back of her head and push her onto my cock over and over again, thumping into her throat as she gags and coughs. I watch for a signal that it’s too much, but she moans deep in her throat as though she wants more.
Good fucking God, I’m going to fucking blow.
“You like my cock in your throat, little cat?”
She moans again and I force myself to pull from her mouth. If I stay any longer, this entire thing will be over right now. There’s no way I’m leaving tonight without fucking her.
When she’s up, I kiss her soft lips and cup her tits. “This is going to be embarrassingly fast, little cat.”
She giggles sweetly and lands against my chest. “I like knowing I please you.”
“Oh, you’re pleasing me.” I dip my fingers into her soaking slit again and thrust, watching her mouth hang open in pleasure.
I want to take my time with her, taste everything, touch everything, memorize everything, make this special, but I have no willpower. Right now, my cock is making demands.
Pulling my fingers from her pussy, I lick them clean, moaning as the taste of her sweet juices hit my tongue.
She shivers against my chest and stares up at me with wide eyes. “Fuck me. Fuck me right here.”
“We don’t have a condom.”
“We don’t need one. I want your come. I want all of you.”
“What if you get pregnant?”
“Then I’ll be pregnant.” She stares toward me with a straight face as though the answer is simple.
“You want my babies?”
She nods. “So many of them.”
I hadn’t expected that to turn me on so much, but the idea of fucking a load of babies into her little, virgin pussy has my cock doing overtime.
I pull her panties off of her and step out of my boots, kicking my jeans back into the field. My hand lands under her chin as I say, “You sure you want to do this out here? We could wait or I could take you somewhere private?”
“No!” She pants as she whispers, “Right here, right now. Make me yours!” I’m not sure I’ve heard her be more definitive about anything.
My lips land on her neck and my breath spreads on the lobe of her ear. “Yes, little cat. You’re going to be mine.”