4. Thorn
4
THORN
It takes me most of the night to carry her back to my cabin, but I cherish every second of it. Abigail has been peacefully sleeping in my arms, her cheek pressed against my chest as if she is listening to my heartbeat.
She is so light in my arms. I’m already thinking about all the things I’m going to feed her when she wakes up. I’m going to make sure she’ll never go hungry again, that she’ll never want for anything ever again.
Just thinking about her life so far has rage churning in my gut. These women treated her like she was nothing but a burden. They made her clean their house and let her sleep in the attic even though they had a guest room downstairs. I wonder if my mate has ever known another life or if she has always lived in that hell?
We’re almost at the cabin when the first rays of sunshine peek over the mountain. I glance down at Abigail’s face just as she blinks her eyes open. She focuses on me, and her lips tuck into a sleepy smile.
“We’re almost there,” I tell her softly, knowing her ear is still pressed against my chest. She doesn't talk, but her hearing seems to be fine.
I walk the rest of the way in silence with my content mate cradled against my chest. As if she couldn't get close enough, she rubs her cheek against my skin. Does she know what she’s doing? My cock is already hard again, and knowing she’s naked under this blanket doesn't help. First, she needs to rest and eat, I remind myself.
A few minutes later, my cabin comes into view. I’m far enough out that I don’t have to worry about locking my door, but normally, I at least close it. I guess I was in too much of a hurry to do so this time. My front door is hanging wide open. Leaves and dirt have been blown into my living room by the wind.
When I carry her into her new home, Abigail stirs in my arms. Her eyes go wide with wonder as she scans the inside of my cabin for the first time. I give her a moment to take it all in before I carry her up the stairs to my bedroom.
I don’t miss how her body tenses when she realizes where we are, and when I lay her down onto my bed, I can feel the fear radiating off her.
“Shhh,” I soothe her. “You know I won’t hurt you. Just relax for me.” My voice does seem to calm her, so I keep talking while I peel the blanket from her body. “I’m not going to fuck you again so soon, but I do want to look at you. I want to make sure you’re okay, and then I’m going to dress you in my clothes and feed you breakfast, okay?”
She nods, lowering her eyes away from me. Her cheeks turn a hue of pink, and I feel her embarrassment even before she clutches onto the blanket to hide herself from me.
“No reason to be shy now, Abbie. You do remember what we did earlier, right?”
She nods again but doesn’t let go of the blanket.
“Did you like what I did to you?”
Another nod, and then her fingers finally release the blanket. I pull it off her body in one swift move, making her gasp. For the first time, I take a good look at my mate. She is gorgeous. Her sunshine hair is framing her heart-shaped face, and her skin is smooth and pale with tiny freckles covering the bridge of her nose. She looks up at me with her big blue eyes, which hold all her secrets. Secrets I will uncover.
I let my gaze wander lower, down her neckline and over her dusty pink nipples that were made to be played with, sucked on, and worshiped. Her stomach is flat, and her waistline is narrow, but her hips are wide and perfect for me to hold while I take her from behind. Everything about her is flawless, but nothing is more beautiful than her little pussy nestled between her thighs. Just remembering what it felt like to be inside her has precum leaking from the tip of my dick. Which reminds me that I’m still naked as well.
“I’m going to be inside this cunt again later, but right now, we both need to get dressed.” I move away from the bed and start going through my drawers to find something she can wear. “It’s not much, but it will keep you warm and keep your body hidden from my sight. Maybe my cock won’t be painfully hard then.”
I take the sweatpants and T-shirt to her and help her get dressed. I’m sure she can do this by herself, but I like doing things for her, even if it’s something as mundane as getting dressed. She doesn't fight me on it, so I take it that she enjoys this as well.
Once she is covered up, I find myself something comfortable to wear. She remains sitting on the bed, waiting for me to give her direction. Instead of telling her, I simply pick her up and cradle her to my chest like I did before. She smiles before burying her face into my T-shirt.
I walk through the house and into the kitchen, where I place her on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “Sit here while I fix us something to eat.”
It’s rare that I prepare anything in this kitchen. Most of the time, I simply go on a hunt and eat the meat I catch. That’s going to have to change, and I’ll have to get used to cooking again. Luckily, I have some canned fruit left in the cabinet. I open and pour three different cans into one large bowl and take it to the table with two forks as well as two cups of water.
“This is not much, but for now, I hope you like fruit salad.”
She nods and gives me a tiny smile while she takes the fork from my hand. I sit down next to her with my own fork and spear a piece of pear with it.
Before I pop it in my mouth, I ask, “Why is it you don’t talk, Abigail?”
Shaking her head, she raises her hand free and places her fingertips against her throat.
“Are you trying to say that you don’t have a voice?”
She nods, confirming what I was thinking.
“But that’s not true.” Her hand drops at my accusation, and her eyes go wide as if she can’t believe that I’m calling her out on this. “You know how I know that’s not true?” I lean into her, making sure she hears every word I’m saying. “Because when I buried my cock into your virgin pussy this morning, you moaned. If there was something wrong with your vocal cords, you wouldn't be able to moan.”
Her eyes go from shocked to confused, and I wonder if she doesn’t even know she could talk. “Can you tell me things by writing them down?”
She nods her head eagerly. Strands of her blond hair fly into her face as she does.
It takes me a few minutes of rummaging through the cabinets to find a pen and paper. When I finally have something useful in hand, I take it back to the table and set it in front of her.
She takes the pen hesitantly. Her excitement from a moment ago is slipping away, and doubt is taking its place. I’m not sure why the sudden change, but I decide to give her time to collect herself.
When she finally does start to write, she does so slowly, almost squarely, as if she hasn’t written anything down in a very long time. Her penmanship is juvenile, and some of the words are misspelled. After she is done, she pulls her hand aside and lets me read.
I don’t know where to start .
“Start by telling me how you ended up working as a maid for those women.”
Biting her bottom lip, she returns the pen to the paper and continues scribbling down her story.
Those women are my stepmother and stepsisters. My mother died when I was a baby, and my father died many years ago. After he died, they wouldn't let me go back to school and moved me into the attic.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I can’t believe what I’m reading, and if I hadn’t seen it for myself, I probably wouldn’t believe it. “I’m guessing you don’t have any other relatives?”
She shakes her head with a sad expression plastered over her face.
“You won’t have to go back there. Ever. This is your home now.”
Thank you.
“You don’t have to thank me, but I would like to figure out why you can’t talk. Do you remember being able to talk? Maybe when you were younger?”
She thinks about it a moment before shaking her head.
“Can you try to say something now?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I can feel anxiety come from her like a tidal wave. It’s so strong her fear has my own setting in. Why is she so scared to talk?
“You don’t have to try right now. Let’s just finish eating, okay?” Even if I couldn’t sense what she’s feeling, I know she’s relieved from the way she sucks in a breath and lets her shoulders sag. I have no clue what’s going on with her, but I will find out eventually.
We finish eating the fruit until the bowl is empty. I make sure she eats more than me since I know she needs it right now. I put down my fork and lean back on my chair when Abbie jumps up and starts gathering our dishes.
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll take care of it in a minute.”
She pauses and stares at me like I’ve just grown a second head, but she doesn’t sit back down. It’s as if she is waiting for me to tell her I’m joking.
“I mean it, you don’t have to clean up after me, or even after yourself. You’re still healing and getting adjusted to everything. So you just relax and let me take care of you.” My words finally sink in, and she places the bowl and cups back in front of us before sitting down. Then she reaches for the pen and paper and starts writing.
What’s your name?
“Thorn,” I say, feeling like a dumbass for not introducing myself before.
How old are you?
Shit, that’s going to be a tricky question to answer. “Well, I’m a lot older than I look. You have to remember what I told you. I’m not all human. I’m a shifter, and we don’t age like you do.” I haven't thought about my age in so long I actually have to do some quick math in my head to figure it out. “I’m forty-six years old.”
She tries to hide her shock, but as the mating bond is strengthening, there is not much she can hide from me.
“How old are you?”
Eighteen . She is about to put the pen back down but then continues writing. Since today.
“Wait. Today is your birthday?” She gives me a shy smile and a quick nod. “Well, shit, another reason to celebrate then, and I know just the way to do that. Today, you will be spoiled rotten. I will give you a bath, a full-body massage, and then I’m going to make you come so many times, you’ll eventually pass out from exhaustion.”
Her straight white teeth dig into her bottom lip as she writes down the next words. I want to make you come too.
“Don’t worry, my little mate, you will.”