Chapter Eight
Silas
Vendors line Main Street with gingham covered tables piled high with juicy red berries and strawberry themed crafts. Potholders, necklaces, earrings, you name it… folks have found a way to put a berry on it.
The strawberry festival is a yearly tradition here in Rugged Mountain, and this year, it’s busier than ever. It probably helps that this year’s harvest is the best they’ve had in years. Farmers are up to their elbows in strawberries.
It’s only noon but the streets are already crowded. Kids with sticky hands, folks walking with strawberry popcorn, shakes, and shortcakes, old timers congregating outside the hardware store, and a bluegrass band playing sharp metallic tunes that cut through the crowd.
It’s nostalgic being out here. I only hope our strawberry whiskey does as well as the fried dough cart next to us seems to be doing. They’ve had a line since they opened the festival up for business.
I should take notes because if we can’t use my father’s whiskey recipes to save the distillery, I’m not sure what other options we have left, especially when the rednecks have a booth at the end of the lane set up with wooden pallets to look like an old shack.
There’s even a giant smoker in the back smoldering.
I didn’t even know they sold barbeque. Apparently, I’m oblivious to the world around me because they’ve got a line that goes on forever for their strawberry barbeque sauce.
Strawberry barbeque sauce? What the hell?
“We’ll be fine,” Cash groans from his folding chair. “They’re doing their thing, and we’re doing ours.”
“Right,” I say, my stomach in knots as I watch another person line up for the rednecks. They’ve been a pain in the ass since we opened the distillery. Sabotage, bullshit, homemade coupons, the whole fucking thing.
I get it. They think we’re crowding their space, but it’s clear the locals have made their choice. Mullet’s bar has a commanding lead. Folks prefer a hometown watering hole over the new guy.
That’s where Dad’s whiskey comes in to close the gap… hopefully.
He has a name with locals. Actually, he had a name with locals.
“What’s with you?” Cash stretches up out of the chair and crosses his arms over his chest before staring toward me. “We run multiple successful distilleries, and they all started hard like this. You guys are letting these rednecks get under your skin. Everything will work out.”
“I know.” I drag in a deep, sugary breath and let it out slowly as I glance down at my phone, hoping to see an update from Ellie. I dropped her off two hours ago and I haven’t heard anything since.
“What happened after I left this morning?” Cash asks as he hands an older woman a sample of Dad’s strawberry whiskey.
I think about the long kiss we shared before she hopped down out of the truck, the way her tiny little frame fit so perfectly against mine last night, and her sounds as I pressed into her on the kitchen counter this morning.
A chill runs up my spine and my cock notices.
I’m going to need to learn to control these thoughts!
I sigh. “Ellie overheard our conversation.”
“Shit.” He lowers his head as he drags a hand down over his beard. “I fucked that up. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s probably for the best. I know I need to tell Adam what’s going on.”
“So, you’re not going to end it?”
“Not at all.” I look toward my brother with a straight face. “She’s mine, Cash. I’m not ending anything.”
He huffs out a laugh. “You’re crazy. Crazy or stupid.
I’m not sure which at this point. Maybe both.
” I can tell he’s stewing by the way he moves back and forth in place.
Finally, he speaks again like he can’t hold it in any longer.
“You should stop seeing her, Silas. She’s too young for you.
You’re both so drunk on the excitement of it all that you’re not thinking straight.
Do the right thing, man. If you care about her, let her go. ”
“I appreciate that you think it’s that easy, but I don’t know if you’ve ever been in love before.”
I don’t bother looking toward my brother because I’m sure he’s rolling his eyes.
“You’re right, man. I don’t think I’ve ever been in love a day in my life.
I mean, I was pretty sure I loved my kids, and I thought I loved their mother, but she’s gone now, so maybe you’re right.
Why don’t you tell me what love is like?
” He pauses and widens his stance, seemingly frustrated to even be having this conversation.
“I think you’ve been lonely so long that you’ve lost touch with reality. ”
A grin stretches onto my face as I listen, my eyes inadvertently searching the crowd for Ellie while continuing to check my phone every five minutes.
Ten more and I’m going to make a trip up to the bakery to check on her.
I’d have gone already, but she insisted I leave a little space given it’s her first day of work.
Turns out that’s a hard request.
“Look, Cash, I’m done having this conversation. Ellie is mine. I knew it the second I saw her. It’s complicated and I know I have a lot to sort out with Adam, but I don’t want any more advice.”
I’m barely through my sentence when I catch her pretty pink dress out of the corner of my eye.
She weaves through the crowd, sunlight catching the strawberries on her dress as she moves.
For half a second, my mind goes back again to this morning when I spread that innocent, little pussy open and took her as my own.
Fuck.
“Hey.” She grins, though I can see sadness behind her eyes. Something is wrong. She’s putting on a show for Cash. What the hell happened?
“It’s busy down here,” she continues. “How’s the festival going? You guys giving away loads of free whiskey?”
My chest tightens as she continues to bullshit her way through this conversation. Smiling, pretending, acting like she’s not two seconds away from bursting into tears.
I need to know what’s wrong. I need to fix it.
“A jar’s worth.” Cash holds up the empty container like a trophy. “We’re getting good feedback. A few folks remembered Dad and his formula, so… we’re just a few jars away from having the whole mountain hooked on strawberry whiskey.”
“That’s great! I was worried when I saw the rednecks down there with their special barbeque sauce.” Her nose wrinkles up. “Since when do they sell strawberry barbeque sauce?”
“Exactly,” I groan, side-eyeing my brother.
Cash shakes his head. “My brother tells me you’re doing some accounting over at the bakery. How’s that going?”
Ellie glances down before drawing her gaze back toward Cash.
Oh, fuck. I should’ve been there this morning. What happened?
“Yeah,” she nods, her voice softer than usual, “I was supposed to be starting at the bakery today, but Josie wants me to figure this stuff out with Adam first. She doesn’t want to give him a reason to keep vandalizing her property, and I don’t blame her. He did some real damage over there.”
“What?” I groan.
“It’s no big deal,” she presses. “I get it.”
I get it too. The damage Adam did this morning is disgusting. I can’t believe I didn’t foresee Josie doing this. I feel like an asshole. “How long have you been wandering around?”
“An hour or so. I needed to get my head straight and—”
“Come on.” I nod toward the sidewalk, then glance at Cash. “I’m gonna step away for a bit. You got this?”
He nods, and I take my girl by the hand and wrap her against my chest. Who cares what people know now? She’s mine. My way too fucking young for me, son’s ex-girlfriend, is mine, and I don’t give a fuck who knows.
“I’ll pay for the damages at the bakery, and I’ll get someone in there to help Josie rebuild.
It’ll be okay.” I squeeze Ellie’s hand as we pace the sidewalk up toward a little spot in the alley between the pizza shop and the market that’s clean and private.
“You don’t have to worry about anything, okay?
I’ve got this.” I lead us around a group of teenagers with folding chairs, an older couple walking hand in hand, and a group of men her age that can’t help themselves from checking her out.
Their eyes draw down her curved frame slowly, landing on her tits.
The tits I own.
They stare far too fucking long, and every ounce of me struggles not to punch them in the fucking throat. I tug Ellie tighter to my side as they pass, claiming her as my tight, little princess. My sweet little girl.
Mine!
The noise from the festival dulls as we tuck into the alley. The air is cooler here, shaded by the brick walls on either side.
“This is actually kind of cute.” Ellie smiles as she glances toward the crates stacked near the back door of the pizza shop. “You can even smell the dough and the tomatoes.”
I lean into her lips softly, holding her against my chest. “I’ll figure all this out for us. I don’t want you worrying.”
She pauses for a moment as though she’s trying to solve all the world’s problems. “Are we making a mistake?”
The words land heavy on my chest. She must have been worrying and wandering for hours. Her body is so close that I can feel her warmth and the tremble she’s trying to hide.
“No,” I say, my voice low and steady. “Not even close. You’re mine.”
“I know that’s what we feel, but maybe it’s a mistake to let it take over us.” She looks up at me, eyes wide and searching as the festival roars in the distance. “I mean, I don’t want to be the reason everything is messed up with you and Adam.”
I lift her chin gently with my finger, just enough so she can’t hide behind her hair. “I didn’t expect to love you, Ellie, but now that I do, I can’t let you go. This isn’t taking over us. We’re choosing it, just like I’m choosing this.”
Her breath catches as I lean into her lips and kiss her softly. I meant it to be a sweet moment. A memory to commemorate the time we both decided to choose our love despite the world around us. Trouble is, she exhaled.
She exhaled this soft little moan. I’m sure she doesn’t even realize she did it, but the beast inside of me heard it loud and clear.
My cock pulses intently as I growl against the lobe of her ear, “If you’re not trying to get fucked in the alley behind the pizza shop, you might want to stop with all those sounds.”
A slow grin stretches onto her face before she has the chance to bite it back. “And what if I am trying to get fucked in the alley behind the pizza shop?”
Jesus Christ. I put light pressure on her jaw. “You’re a filthy, little tease.”
“I’m not teasing, sir.”
Fuck. Her and this ‘sir’ business. She’s begging for it.
“Say it again, baby girl. Tell me you want me to fuck you right here. Tell me you want me to hike up this little dress, stuff my cock in your tight, little pussy, and fill you up right here.”
“I do, sir.” Her voice is a soft panting whimper as she lifts her leg against mine and glances down the alleyway toward the people passing by. “We’re in the shadows. I don’t think anyone can see us.”
This girl has no idea what she’s inviting.
Growling low, I hold her smooth leg at my side and kiss her neck, trying to control the animal clawing its way out of me. I just had her this morning, but he’s already loud again, impatient and relentless.
I force a slow breath, my jaw locking as I steady my shoulders, desperately trying to keep myself from tugging her panties to the side and fucking her hard and fast right here in this alleyway.
My hand is the first to disobey. It brushes over her full breasts, her nipples poking against my palm like they’re daring me.
Holy hell.
My cock presses forward. Aching, begging, hungry for her soaking wet pussy.
It’s then that her tiny little hand lands on my dick with the softest moan in her throat, and I lose it. The beast is ready, excited, and impossible to ignore.
A surge of raw instinct floods my chest, and suddenly, I’m not thinking straight. I unzip my jeans, pull my cock out, tug her soaking, little panties over, and shove it inside her, hard and fast, which releases a guttural moan from my lips that’ll surely turns someone’s head.
I don’t check to see. Instead, I lean into the soft curve of her neck and thrust her up against the brick wall, fucking her hard and fast as the truth burns through the clawing ache I’d been feeling.
“You’re mine,” I growl, my pulse kicking hard as she moans against the lobe of my ear. “You’re my little angel.”
“I’m yours,” she pants, her breasts bouncing with every thrust. “Fill me up, sir. I need your come.”
Fucking hell. I grunt low against her ear, then scrape my teeth against her shoulder before biting into her neck.
She’s whining in her throat, her little hands clawing at my back.
Sweat beads on my forehead as I slap into her harder and faster, my cock nudging the edge of her swollen clit with each thrust. It’s frantic, and I feel myself close to the edge as I sink my tongue into her mouth and groan.
“Silas,” she gasps as I continue to press inside of her, “I’m so close.”
“Good girl,” I groan, my teeth clenched. “Good fucking girl. Come on my cock. I need it.”
My breath goes shallower as my balls draw up and my cock stiffens. I pin Ellie tighter against the wall and fuck her harder, grunting with each pump. “You’re my little angel,” I groan, my body ready to explode. “You’re my soft, sweet, little angel, and I’m going to fill you up.”
She wraps around me tighter, a tiny whimper escaping just before I unload.
“God damn,” I groan loud, my voice echoing in the alley, my eyes squeezed tight, my hips still slapping against her, my fingertips bruising her skin.
A moment later, she shudders, and that tight, little pussy grips my cock, her body convulsing like she just grabbed an electrical fence.
“Your perfect, little pussy soaked me.” I exhale against her neck as I slide. “Can you bend down and clean me up?”
She stiffens then glances down the shadowed alleyway and back toward me. “Yes, sir.”
I don’t know who told her to address me like that, but something about it gets me every time.
She squats down, balancing her hands on my jeans before dragging her tongue up from my balls and over the top of the head, sinking her hot mouth over my cock with a slurping sigh.
“That’s right. Get that cock nice and clean.”
She sighs and twists her head, her hair falling down her shoulders as a cool breeze slips down the brick-lined alley. The combination of her touch and the wind send a shiver straight through me.
“How’s that?” she says, voice soft as she stares up at me. “Did you like it?”
“Oh, baby girl, you were amazing.” I help her up from the position she’s in, and pull her against my chest, making sure her clothes are in proper order. It’s then that I see someone lurking on the street.
A tall man with dark hair and a baseball cap. A man with a mustache and a Marines T-shirt. A man that looks an awful lot like my son.