17. Dawson
Dawson
My alarm rings, and it jolts me out of my slumber. Sleeping next to Harper means I’m no longer being haunted by nightmares, but because of that, I have to wake up to the shrill beeping from my phone. It’s such an abrupt start to the morning that I almost wish the nightmares were back.
When I shut off the alarm, I look toward Harper’s side of the bed to see that she’s gone. I jump upright, feeling the panic beating in my throat, and I’m about to call her name when I hear water running in the bathroom. I let out a slow exhale as I realize she’s just showering.
In a brief moment, I let my mind wander, and I thought I’d lost her. Would Malik come in the middle of the night and take her from me? Would she run away, never to be heard from again? The thought of losing her makes my stomach twist into a knot, and I could be sick.
I walk to the bathroom door and push it open, relieved to see she didn’t lock it. Harper is in the shower with steam rising all around her, holding her hair under the water as it runs over her. While her eyes are still closed, I climb in the shower behind her and press my hands against her hips.
She doesn’t jump or act surprised to see me, but she looks over her shoulder with her lips upturned in a subtle smile. Harper wants me here, and I can see it, but instead of sinking into me, she takes a step forward and moves away.
“I was just finishing, anyway,” Harper says, attempting to move around me to step out of the shower and leave.
I know she told me last night that this isn’t a good idea, that she thinks we’re moving a little too quickly.
But that’s not what I think. I think she is in my control for an entire year.
I think Harper is mine: mind, body, and spirit.
I stand in front of the shower door and shake my head, not letting her walk out. Harper raises her eyebrows at me and tries to think of something to say to convince me otherwise.
“We’ll be late for work,” she says.
“Don’t worry about that,” I say, letting my hands roam her body as I guide her away from the glass door. She doesn’t fight back, but her eyes linger on the handle before she looks up at me.
My cock is already standing completely upright, and Harper takes notice of it.
I would give anything for her to be on her knees for me right now, but I know that might not ever be a possibility with her.
It’s such a shame, too, as her lips are perfect.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what it might be like for them to be wrapped around my cock.
I grab the bottle of body wash from the corner shelf and lather it in my hands. Harper just watches as I move it closer to her, starting on her shoulders as I massage it into her skin. It smells like jasmine and cherry blossoms, sweet and delicate, just like Harper.
I turn her around and pull her closer to me as I work the soap along her body. I trace it over her curves, rubbing it over her belly and back before focusing my attention on her breasts.
Her nipples are hard peaks as I touch them, and a small moan escapes her throat when I run my hands along them.
Her breath quickens, and I feel the goosebumps on her skin.
My cock rises against her ass as she presses it harder against me.
She wants me to relieve her, to bend her over now and fuck her while I play with her tits.
Hell, I’d like that too.
I lower my hands on her body and slowly move them between her legs. She gasps when my fingers come in contact with her swollen clit.
“Your pussy is already so wet for me,” I whisper in her ear. Her breath is ragged as I massage her.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Harper finally says, trying to move away from me. I grip her tighter and hold her against me, letting her feel just how turned on I am for her. I press my hips against her to tease my cock just a bit, and I feel her muscles contract from the tension.
“I think you should do whatever I tell you to,” I say in her ear before pulling my hand from between her legs and grabbing her hips.
I turn her around and press her against the shower wall hard enough that she gasps.
Her chest rises and falls quickly as she looks at me with a shocked expression.
“Your pussy is mine, Harper. I get to play with it whenever I want to.”
I push her legs apart with my feet and slide my hands back down her soap-slicked body. Harper just stares at me with wide eyes as I slide my hand between her legs, brushing briefly against her clit before letting my fingers fill her.
I use two of my fingers to stretch her out and watch her face as her eyes flutter shut, and she tries to fight the pleasure she feels growing between her legs.
“Nobody else is ever allowed to touch you like this,” I whisper while I slide my fingers in and out of her and let the pleasure swell.
I brush my thumb over her clit and savor the quiet whimper she makes as her entire body tenses.
I pull it away just as quickly, and her eyes open with a silent plea to continue.
“Tell me that no man will ever make you come the way I do.”
She moans and bites her lip, not wanting to give in to this. I tease her again, giving her a taste of what she’s waiting for, and when I pull away, I see the desperation in her eyes.
“Tell me your pussy is all mine, Harper. No one else’s. Only I get to touch you like this,” I say again, using my free hand to brush it against her hard nipple.
She’s fighting hard against me, and it only makes me want to prolong this even more. My cock is aching, and I’d give anything to ram it inside of her and fuck her until she passes out.
“Say it, Harper,” I demand as I stop moving altogether and listen as she desperately pleads with me to keep pleasuring her.
She squeezes her eyes shut and bites her lip, clearly debating whether she needs to give in to this pressure. As I feel her body shaking, I know it’s only a matter of time before she gives in.
“Nobody else,” Harper eventually cries out as I thrust my fingers back inside her and feel her pussy clamp down on them. “You’re the only one who makes me feel like this.”
My cock is leaking and desperate for relief, but before I do anything else, I have to feel her coming once again.
I don’t stop until she’s crying out and moaning with her head tossed back against the wall.
She lifts her leg to give me easier access, and I move my fingers faster, swirling my thumb around her clit.
By the time she settles down, I’m ready to lift her up and pin her against the wall to fuck her silly, but my second alarm goes off on my phone. It echoes through the bathroom, and I can’t stand here and let that continue, so I reluctantly back away from her.
Harper’s legs are shaky as she steps out of the shower and towels off, but she doesn’t say anything to me. I turn off the alarm and sigh, knowing that I’ll just have to fuck her another time because it’s too late now.
She goes to her room to get dressed, and I finish showering while I let my cock deflate. Both of us grab quick breakfasts to scarf down in the car while we ride in silence to the office.
Not long after I settle in, my phone rings, and I see it’s my dad once again. I almost decide not to answer it. Lately, the only news he’s been giving me is bad, and I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that this is going to have something to do with Malik.
But I know if I don’t answer this call, he’s going to call again. And if I don’t answer that one, the cycle continues. I reluctantly pick up the receiver and press it to my ear.
“What’s going on?” I ask, bracing myself for whatever bad news he has.
“Just checking in to make sure everything is going okay with Harper,” Dad says with a hint of eagerness in his voice.
He really is frothing at the mouth about this deal with Malik.
It makes me sick that he would completely forgo any shred of human decency and sell his own stepdaughter the way that he is.
I’ve always known my father to be ruthless, but this is something else entirely.
“She’s fine. I’m looking at her right now.” Harper’s at her desk, clicking through all the emails that stacked up overnight and forwarding me ones that seem important. “Believe it or not, I’m not totally incompetent. I’m keeping her busy, so she stays out of trouble.”
“Good. I knew I could count on you for this,” Dad says with a small, relieved sigh that doesn’t go unnoticed. “I don’t think I need to remind you how important it is that she stays pure. The entire deal hinges on that alone.”
I pause for a moment, trying to think of what to say. Malik is obviously very serious about Harper being a virgin. She was until a few days ago, and I managed to fuck up this whole deal without knowing. But how serious is this deal actually?
“How well do you really know Malik?” I ask, knowing this isn’t going to sound good to my father. I’m not supposed to question him, and asking something like this is out of character. “Are you sure that Harper is going to guarantee that you get the men you need?”
“Malik and I have talked extensively about this, and I trust if I give him what he wants, I’ll get what I want. What Malik wants is a beautiful virgin, and we happen to have one on our hands. So long as she stays that way, that is.”
I lean back in the chair and watch Harper as she brushes stray strands of her blonde hair behind her ears. She’s completely oblivious to what’s going on, and it makes my chest ache.
“How is Malik even going to know that she’s a virgin?
Is he going to have her checked out by a doctor like she’s some kind of royal bride?
” It’s a serious question, but I ask it like it’s a joke to take the heat off of the conversation.
I don’t want to seem suspicious. If my dad knows I’ve done anything to defile Harper before Malik can claim her as his bride, that could be very bad for me.
“Yes, actually. He already has an appointment scheduled for Wednesday.” Dad says. My heart is pounding in my throat, and I almost wish I didn’t ask. I had to have known there would be some crazy bullshit like this happening.
“And how sure are you that Harper is still a virgin?” I ask, forcing skepticism in my voice. I’m hoping he thinks I just don’t want this deal to fall through, not that I’m planting seeds of doubt in his head.
There’s a long pause between us, and I can almost picture the darkness falling on his face.
“Harper had better be a virgin. That’s for her own sake,” he says in a quiet voice. “And ours too, for that matter.”
We hang up the phone, and I sit with the weight of that warning lingering in my office. Malik is dangerous, and if he doesn’t get what he wants, there could be an all-out war ready to break out. All of that over Harper.
The only thing is, Malik has no idea how hard I’m willing to fight for her. He might have thought he was going to take her without any issue, but he’s got another thing coming. I’m not going to hand her over. She won’t be going to any doctor’s appointments and proving she’s a virgin.
Malik isn’t going to lay a finger on her, and if he does, I’m going to end his life. Nobody touches Harper.