Chapter Two
Lily-May was escorted away immediately. Shae gave the orders to his men, and they didn’t question him. They would take her out of Fort, give her a warning, and tell her if she ever stepped foot in town again, she would have to deal with Shae, and she would end up six feet under.
As for Peyton, Shae waited for her to finish up, and he saw her hand shake. She looked a little pale, and she had surprised him with her offer and counteroffer. He should have known she was a virgin.
She had never been seen dating around town. When there were events, men asked her to dance, but she was always busy manning a store or helping others out. He had never seen her with anyone else. He didn’t doubt her virginity, and in fact, it made him even more excited to be with her.
A virgin. He couldn’t get his fucking head around it.
No man had touched her, kissed her, and she had used that to get rid of her sister.
Not that he could blame her. Lily-May was a mess.
Always causing trouble. She was a constant headache, and he knew from his own experience that he didn’t like her at all.
She was nothing but trouble, which is why he had also told his men to stick around watching her for a while.
Make sure she didn’t cause any trouble, and then they could report back.
Once Peyton was done, he waited for her to close the shop. Again, he saw her hand shake but he didn’t comment, just waited patiently. They were like chalk and cheese, these two sisters.
Lily-May didn’t have a stitch of weight on her.
She was all skin and bones, and he knew that was from years of drug abuse.
Peyton wore a pair of jeans that molded to her ass like a second skin.
She had a buttoned flannel shirt on, and it was a little big for her, but it did nothing to hide those curves.
Full tits, pressing against the front, even though it didn’t hug the waist and hips.
Her blonde hair was pinned back, just as it always was. She rarely wore the blonde locks down.
He escorted her to his truck and didn’t even wait for her to ask to go to the home for the elderly. He drove her to that direction, where he parked his truck and let her deliver the cookies. One of the women on the front door gave her a hug and looked toward him.
Shae stared. He knew his presence in Peyton’s life was going to be high on the gossip list. If people stopped going to her shop, he’d take care of it. Peyton would not suffer for what he wanted from her.
At the declaration of her being a virgin, he knew he should have run for the fucking hills. He wasn’t interested in being a woman’s first. However, Peyton wasn’t just anyone. He had wanted this woman for a long time. He had kept his distance, because she had a lot going on.
One time was never going to be enough. Shae already knew a thousand times was not going to be enough.
His father was many things, but loyal to his wife was one of them.
He often told him that Marino men didn’t stray.
It was their blessing and a curse. They found their woman, and that was it.
There was no second best. Unfortunately, through the generations, some Marino men had lost their wives during childbirth.
They never remarried. They raised that one child and took over. They loved one woman.
Shae didn’t know if he loved Peyton, however, the feelings he felt were strong. He didn’t like the very thought of her being with any other man. He felt possessive over her. She belonged to him, and him alone, and he didn’t want to share her.
Peyton walked back to the truck and climbed in. He took off, heading back to his main ranch, which was a good thirty minutes from town. It had to be as the Marino Ranch was the first sign of defense for the town.
She didn’t talk. Neither did he. He didn’t put the radio on. They just sat in silence, and it wasn’t uncomfortable. Peyton looked out the window, and it was dark outside, no way to see the scenery, but if she could, it would have been beautiful.
Arriving at his ranch, his men kept their distance, and he parked his truck, rounded the vehicle, and got there with enough time to stop Peyton from climbing down without his help.
She hesitated to give him her hand, but he helped her down anyway, making sure their bodies were close together. She looked up into his face, and he stared right down at her, not looking away. He didn’t want to look away. He would gladly look at her for days.
But it was also getting cold, and he saw her shiver. Taking hold of her hand, he felt her try to fight him, but he wouldn’t let her. He closed the door of his truck and didn’t bother to lock it. No one would steal from him on his ranch.
Walking with her to his ranch, he stepped inside, and then slammed the door closed, and as he did, he pressed her up against the door.
She didn’t fight him, and he took possession of her lips.
He didn’t hold back as he kissed her. At first, she hesitated and didn’t kiss him back, not that he expected her to.
Sinking one of his hands into her hair, he ran his other down her back, sliding toward the curve of her ass, which he gripped tightly, and pulled her in close.
She felt fucking fantastic. Pure heaven. Her body fit against his as if she was designed to sit exactly there, flush to his body. And her lips were everything he had ever dreamed about.
His whole world screamed for Peyton. It made no sense to him, this desperation. It felt deeper than any need. It consumed, took control, and all he could do was fall deeper down that spiral.
His father was right, and Shae truly believed that he might have found the woman he was meant to be with.
****
Peyton’s lips still tingled.
She had expected him to take her right there and then, maybe in the hallway, or the sitting room. Perhaps even in the dining room. He had done neither, apart from kiss her and make her lips tingle at each and every touch.
She pressed her fingers against her lips, and she didn’t know what she expected to find. Either way, it didn’t matter.
Shae took her to his dining room, where spaghetti and meatballs were waiting, her all-time favorite meal, complete with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and it was so divine. She loved it, and couldn’t help but moan from time to time.
Afterward, they enjoyed a small coffee, then a piece of cheesecake, and to her surprise, it was one of her own.
One of his men had picked it up at the shop that morning.
She had gotten the order, and it was not under the name Marino.
However, he did admit to using his men and their wives to order and collect bakery goods.
Peyton didn’t understand why he didn’t just come in and order himself.
He also didn’t answer her question as to why.
She figured maybe he got other people to do it because he saw it as demeaning.
Maybe he was a snob. She knew he was the wealthiest man around.
People admired him, envied him, and were also terrified of him.
Rumors constantly run wild about this man.
She did not know what to believe. Possibly none of it.
He had let her leave to change. One of his men had walked her upstairs, and Peyton expected to stay in a spare bedroom, only she had checked the closet and saw it full of Shae’s clothes.
Reality started to set in, and rather than have a full-blown panic attack, she walked into his bathroom, stripped down naked, and took a shower. It was nice and hot, and it felt really good.
She didn’t get a lot of sleep the previous night as she had been making plans for the fall baking.
It was the season of cinnamon, pumpkin, apple, and there were so many ideas flowing through her head.
Also, she loved to make Halloween treats the moment October hit.
She enjoyed planning everything, then getting into the shop between five and five-thirty, she loved to just bake.
Sometimes she played music, other times she didn’t and just worked in the silence, which was equally as enjoyable to her.
Tipping her head back, she closed her eyes and washed the day away.
At the end of this, she would still have her shop, but .
.. she wouldn’t have her virginity. Her sister wouldn’t cause her any trouble.
She had always dreamed of marrying a man she loved and being a virgin on her wedding night.
It was outdated, she knew, but she didn’t like the idea of sleeping around with random men. It just wasn’t her.
Lily-May had always called her a prude, but she didn’t care. Love mattered. It was out there and it was real.
Only, that was not an option for her now. She had sold her body to keep her sister alive, and to also keep her sister as far away from her as possible. She had no choice.
Turning off the shower, as she didn’t want to waste all the hot water, she rung out her hair and grabbed a towel.
Wrapping it around her body, she couldn’t help but notice how soft it felt.
With another towel, she dried her hair as best she could.
All of her hair products were at home. Towel drying was the best way to take care of it.
She didn’t look at her reflection. There was no reason to rub in the feelings that were running riot around her body. She felt a little sick to her stomach.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she came to a stop, as Shae was already in the bedroom.
Like her, he was in a bath towel, and his hair was damp.
He must have taken a shower elsewhere. She couldn’t help but look down at his body and see the many tattoos that covered his flesh.
He had ink on his arms, most of them just designs of swirls or patterns.
Not that she was an expert on artwork. They looked good.
His arms already appeared thick, and yet, with the ink, they looked ... bigger. He was not a man to leave someone else to do his dirty work. He was hands-on. Shae was no coward.
Peyton looked at him and lost all words.
He took a step toward her, then another. She stayed rooted to the spot, and then he was right in front of her.
Her lips seemed to tingle as if they remembered he had kissed her. Those lips touching hers, no, more like ravishing her.
Peyton didn’t fight him as he slid his finger between her body and the towel, and he released the knot. The towel fell to the floor, and she was tempted to grab it, to try and cover herself, but she instead clenched her hands into fists, waiting.
He removed his own towel, and Peyton looked up, not daring to look at his ... cock.
One of his hands touched her waist, and he pulled her in close. Body to body, she felt how hard he was as he pressed against her stomach.
“Put your hands on me,” he said.
At first, she hesitated, then she didn’t know why but she put her hands on him. She placed them on his arms, and then gradually ran them up until she curved her hands around the back of his neck.
Shae grabbed her ass, then using the tips of his fingers, stroked up her back, then slid back down. It felt nice. His touch felt ... right. She didn’t know if she was supposed to feel this way about him, but she did.
And then, he kissed her. This time, it didn’t feel like a ravishing, but a gentle kiss. Soft.
His patience surprised her, but then, as he kissed her, exploring her mouth, tracing along her lips, and getting her to open her mouth, she felt him moving them. They walked back to the bed, and the backs of her legs hit the bed, and he helped her fall down.
He stopped his body weight from crushing her and kept kissing her. All too soon, he broke the kiss and started to trail his lips down her neck. He hit a zone on her neck that made her gasp and arch up.
It felt so good, but Shae didn’t linger too long there.
He began to kiss down her neck, going toward her breasts, to which he took one, then the other, into his mouth.
The sensation and the tug of his lips went straight to her clit, and she cried out, not wanting him to stop.
Shae was the one in control, and he didn’t stop as he kissed down, and this time he knelt on the edge of the bed.
She had no idea what to expect, but when his mouth started to explore her pussy, Peyton felt on fire with need. She didn’t want to respond, and part of her wanted to keep her wits about her when it came to this man.
He was the Devil. He had a reputation for taking and taking, and not giving a fuck about who he hurt in the process. Women were always flocking to him, and Peyton didn’t want to fall for a man she was never going to have.
However, his tongue was proving to be quite difficult to fight.
She didn’t want to have an orgasm with him, and yet he pushed her to the peak and threw her right over the edge.
She cried out and tried to keep his name off her lips, but that was impossible.
His name echoed around the room, and she expected him to just get it over with.
Shae had other plans, because he eased back the covers, helped her beneath the blankets, and then joined her, pulling her in against him and holding her as they fell asleep.