by Kara Kelley
“Enough,” he said, sounding graveled with yearning. He pulled her off his cock. She stared at its thick length and the way it twitched for her mouth’s return.
“You’re denying yourself, too?”
He only smirked, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up. He half guided, half shoved her to the couch. Pushing her roughly over the back, he dipped his cock, still rock hard and throbbing into her wet, slick cunt. She groaned in a pleasure-whimper, and he swore gruffly.
* * *
“Daddy, please, fuck me hard.”
God, he loved when she called him Daddy. It bared her, peeled away layers of societal norms, and exposed her complete submission to him. Nothing intensified his need to protect, care for, and discipline her like those words. Here in the mountains, where it was them against the elements, he was stronger, more knowledgeable, and more capable. She needed him, and he needed to be needed.
Could he even control himself to finish denying her?
“You are so goddamned wet, Avery. Jesus! And tight.” He moved out slowly and back in, hard to the hilt. She gasped and pulled her tied hands to her mouth to bite her fist as he continued. He went deep, again, and the feel of his hard, slick cock filling her made her cry out. He brought her, once again, to the heights of pleasure and then stilled, leaning across her to whisper in her ear.
“Not yet, naughty girl.” He stood and pulled out of her. “Don’t move though. I like you like that.” He swatted her ass, and she arched her back, whimpering.
He tormented her once more, with both his mouth and his cock, bringing her to the brink and denying her at the last second, before he decided she’d been punished enough.
Mike smoothed a hand down her back and across her ass, making an appreciative groan as he squeezed her right cheek and then he slid a condom on. He leaned down and kissed the small of her back, and the dimples at her tailbone. Everything about her was creamy smooth.
“Okay, honey. It’s definitely time I satisfy you.” He pulled her hips, back making space between her and the sofa. He plunged hard this time, and she practically screamed at the depth he penetrated. Grinding against her ass, he reached around to gently slap her clit with two fingers. She lurched and moaned, and he repeated the process a few more times.
“Daddy’s dirty girl likes both her ass and her pussy spanked.” He pounded again and spread her lips, so his fingers could circle her nub. She begged, probably fearing he’d deny her again, so he growled in her ear, “I won’t stop. Not for an avalanche, tornado, or a herd of fucking elephants. I’m going to make you come so hard the earth is going to shake.”
She came, pulsing around his cock as he continued stroking her insides. He clenched his jaw to hold strong; he wasn’t stopping there. He removed his hand from her pussy and brought it to her mouth. He slipped his two fingers past her lips.
“Suck, baby. Taste yourself.” When she obeyed without hesitation and then fell over the edge with a shriek of pleasure muffled only by his fingers, he let go and joined her in their call of release.
Chapter Ten
Avery, now on the couch instead of over the back of it, lazed languidly with her hands untied, watching Mike scramble eggs. He was naked, as was she, and watching his every muscle move beneath his tanned skin made her heart beat faster. How she could feel the building of fresh arousal so soon after his thorough loving, she didn’t know, but there was no denying the moist heat that pulsed between her legs.
“I thought you didn’t eat lunch, and how’d you get the eggs, Mountain Man Daddy?”
“It’s two in the afternoon, so I’m not sure we can call this lunch, but I think we need some sustenance after that, don’t you?”
“Agreed.” Her smile grew slowly at the thought of their morning and afternoon together. “And the eggs?”
“Annie. I share my game and help her out with repairs, and she gives me eggs, milk, butter, and fruit. She’s a good trading partner.” He shot her a tight frown over his shoulder. “Mountain Man Daddy?”
Avery smirked. “My mountain man daddy.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I saw you with her. She’s more than a trading partner. I think with all your blustering about not liking people and being a recluse, you have a soft spot for Annie.” His brow quirked, but he said nothing about the name or his friendship with Annie.
“She’s old as dirt but sweet, funny, and she makes a hell of a pie. Has apple, plum, and cherry trees, a bunch of chickens, sheep, and three cows.” He dumped the eggs on two plates and grabbed forks from the drawer. “You didn’t wonder where the milk and butter came from?”
She shrugged and took the plate as he brought it to her. He scooped up her legs and sat, setting them on his lap.
“You could have gone to the store. And nice avoidance.”
“The store is pretty far on an ATV in the cold.” He speared a chunk of egg and popped it in his mouth. “I watch out for her. We’ll be going to see her later.” He looked at her, and her fork stalled just in front of her mouth.
“Nuh-uh.” She dropped the fork and shook her head. “Mike, I can’t risk it.”
“First, you’ll do as you’re told, little girl,” he stated tersely. “And second, you need those stitches out.” He pointed at her leg. “They aren’t the dissolving kind.”
Avery’s shoulders slumped and she set her plate on the coffee table so she could hug herself.
“She’s trustworthy. She won’t tell anyone about you.”
“I’m scared.” It was a quiet statement, and his eyes immediately softened.
“She’s a hermit just like me. She hasn’t left that farm or the surrounding area in years. Her daughter does all her shopping and she hasn’t seen a doctor since her husband died. We’re all out here hiding from something, Avery. Not just you.” He leaned forward and grabbed her plate, setting his own down.
“Come on, you need food. I worked you pretty hard.” He assessed her. “Maybe too hard.” He forked some eggs and brought them to her mouth. She pressed her lips tightly. “Avery,” he warned through his teeth. She sighed and opened her mouth, but rolled her eyes.
“I enjoy taking care of you, but you try my patience.” He squeezed her thigh. “You’re learning though.” He smiled, and it was the first time the crinkles around his eyes tightened completely. “I’d like it if you got to know Annie and she got to know you, too.”
“Mike.” She growled at his narrowed eyes and firm mouth. “Daddy,” she ground out, before looking away and back with a more respectful expression. “Daddy, I know you want this, but I don’t want to put her in danger, too.”
“Do you know why she calls me Yukon Jack?”
“I assumed it was your name at first until you corrected me. But maybe because you look like you stepped out of the Yukon after years and years and years of searching for gold.”
“No, smartass.” He smoothed his beard appreciatively. “And watch it, little girl. A man and his beard have a special bond.” He chuckled when she rolled her eyes again.
“When Annie and I met for the first time, I had a bottle of Yukon Jack in my fist and was seeing double.” He took a moment to stab several more pieces of egg onto her fork before looking up.
“It was my first night in the mountains.” He swallowed hard and put the fork in her mouth.
“There was nothing here but a tent, a fire, and a broken man. She came up to investigate. Annie’s bossier than I am.”
She snorted in disbelief and his brow lifted as he reached over and tugged one of her curls. He twirled it around his finger and pulled her close. “Behave, little girl.”
“Bossier than you, right,” she said, encouraging him to continue. He brushed his lips softly across hers before releasing her and continuing.
“Yes, bossy ol’ bat.” He shook his head, but the light in his eyes said he adored the old woman. “She took me back to her place, fed me and sobered me up, and hasn’t let me slip away like that again.”
“Why were you broken?” He shoved more food in her mout
h. “A story for another day, little girl. After this plate is empty, it’s to bed with you. I bet once the sexual glow is gone, you’re going to be feeling rough. Maybe it was too much.”
“That was the best sex I’ve ever had and if I feel rough…” she grinned, “it was worth it.”
He smiled like a schoolboy and nodded. “Me too.” With the last forkful of eggs gone, he took her plate to the sink. “Now off to bed.” He looked out the window. “We’ll take the ATV to Annie’s when you get up.” He looked sternly at her. “No joke, little girl, if you argue I will spank your thighs until they match your bottom.”
She swallowed hard and rose.
“Yes, Daddy.”
* * *
Annie’s house was beautiful, with a wraparound porch, periwinkle clapboard siding, and freshly painted white trim. Avery could appreciate it this time. A picket fence in need of painting surrounded the front of the property, but despite that and the melting slushy snow, the whole place looked picturesque. Even the blue-roofed barn at the back and muddy paddocks. As they parked the loud ATV in the driveway, several white geese waddled toward them.
“Did I mention Gerdy and the girls?” Mike asked, climbing off. She shook her head as the geese surrounded him. Their little white tails wagged as Mike reached down and let Gerdy bump her head under his palm. Avery got off the machine, and Gerdy hissed at her, lunging. Avery jumped back up onto the seat, tucking her feet up and Mike laughed.
“Are you Doctor Doolittle? She’s a beast!” The goose was eying her with malice, flapping her wings and pushing her chest out in an impressive display of ownership of Mike.
She pulled off her helmet, still on the seat, and he took it from her. “First the bear and now this? The geese where I grew up were vicious. I don’t know many times they hissed and chased me back to the house.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Now I understand. They used to bite me in the ass, too. You guys have a lot in common.”
“Watch it, little girl, or I’ll make good use of Annie’s porch.”
The door to the farmhouse opened with a whack and Annie came out.
“I got a good wooden spoon if ya need it, Yukon.” Her braided gray hair hung in two long ropes and she wore faded jean overalls that were too short and didn’t hide her bright red, weathered cowboy boots. Her fists landed on her slim overall-clad hips, but there was a stoop to her shoulders, and Avery noticed the slight wince in her eyes as she stepped down out of the house.
“Well, if it isn’t the nameless girl,” she said in a grainy, age-graveled voice, swinging her gaze curiously over Avery a moment before it fell back on Mike. “You flirtin’ with the ladies again?” Avery was taken back for a moment before Annie waved at the geese. “Get on back to the barn, girls.” Her eyes landed on Avery again. “He may be a catch, but I think he’s on the end of someone else’s line already.”
“Go swimming in the pond with them once—” Mike said, with a shake of his head. He smirked and Annie snorted, but her eyes glinted in pleasure.
“Come on in, it’s nice out here but I’ve got pies in the oven.” She didn’t wait for them to follow.
Mike was helping Avery out of his coat in the foyer when Annie hollered from another part of the house. “That hayloft ladder is loose, Yukon. I’m hoping you need some pie.”
They followed the voice into the kitchen, which had buttery cream-colored walls with a cow-patterned wallpaper border. The kitchen table was primary colors, yellow with blue and red chairs. There were cow mugs and a goose teapot, a black and white spotted crockpot, pig tea towels, and old-fashioned tin milking cans as canisters for flour, brown and white sugar. Three pies lined the counter, wafting the most delicious smell and Avery’s belly growled.
“I’ll go fix the ladder, but we need those stitches out.”
The taller woman looked at Avery as she stepped forward, taking her chin to tilt her head up and look at her forehead.
“I never got the chance to thank you for saving my life.” Avery took a breath. “I may not have wanted it at the time, but I appreciate it now. Thank you.” She looked over her shoulder at Mike. “I just didn’t know life was worth fighting for then.”
“Annie, this is Yukon Jill.” Mike stepped forward and put his arm protectively over Avery’s shoulders.
“She better be worth it, Yukon,” Annie said gruffly, glowering at Avery.
“I am, even if only to teach Mike how to bake bread,” Avery said. A guffaw burst from Annie, and she doubled over for a moment.
“I was just testing you for gumption, Yukon Jill, and you got a crap-ton!” She slapped her leg. “That stuff he makes is harder than granite!” They both turned to look at Mike, who had folded his arms across his chest and was looking between the two of them stonily. Avery bit her lip and closed her eyes a moment before turning back to Annie.
“My name’s Avery.” She stuck a hand out, and Annie looked at it, grabbed and shook with gusto.
“Yukon Jill, you got guts, and I like you!” She shooed her hand at Mike. “Go on now, fix that ladder. Jill and I got some stuff to attend to and I used up the rest of my rhubarb from the freezer to make this pie. You can have it warm if you hurry.”
When Mike left, Annie brought Avery back to the clinic room. It seemed as if months had passed since she’d run from here. Everything looked different now without fear and pain clouding her mind.
“Drop those pants and hop on up.” Annie patted the exam table, and Avery swallowed hard. She wondered if her bottom was marked. “What are you waiting for?”
“Uh, nothing,” she said and unbuttoned her jeans.
“He’s spanked you?” she questioned as she washed her hands. “That what you’re worried about?” Annie looked at Avery with her clear gray eyes, and Avery nodded.
“Yeah, I guess. It’s not really normal and I…”
“Don’t worry about me. I thought you needed it too.” She chuckled and started sterilizing her tools. Avery took her pants off and climbed on the leather table. “It wasn’t uncommon in my day. Can’t say I haven’t been on the prickly end of some spankings myself. The good Doc blistered me good when I needed it.” Annie cleaned Avery’s thigh around the stitches. “This looks good. No redness or seeping.”
“He did?” Annie looked up placidly.
“Of course. Us girls with gumption can get a little too spunky at times.” She winked. “Think we’re invincible, eh? But to tell you the truth, they weren’t always unpleasant.” She gave Avery a half grin. “How’s Yukon in the sack?”
“Annie!” Avery covered a laugh and Annie shrugged and began removing the stitches.
“What? My Allan’s been gone a long time.” She paused and looked up to wiggle her brows before getting back to work. “Besides, that Yukon’s a hottie!”
This time Avery couldn’t contain her laughter.
“You’ve been using the condoms I sent over?”
“Mm. Another reason to thank you.”
“Can’t have baby Yukons running around just yet.” Annie shrugged. “You two still have trouble.”
“We do?”
“Have you told him why you’re runnin’?”
“Mostly.”
“Is it solved?”
“No.”
“Has he told you about his wife?”
“Only that he had one and she died.” Annie scrutinized Avery and then cleaned her head wound. “See, not ready for little Yukons yet.” She started plucking at the sutures on her head.
“Mike’s happy being a recluse. I’m sure he can’t wait to be rid of me. Besides, I was married, and it wasn’t a positive experience.” She hissed as Annie pulled at a stubborn stitch.
“Yukon’s not a typical man.”
“I know.” Avery closed her eyes, not wanting to see Annie’s wise gray ones. “Mike’s been so good to me. Treated me better than anyone has, even my own blood, and I don’t think I even deserve it.”
“If you didn’t, he wouldn’t bother with you.” Her words were clipp
ed as if Avery were talking nonsense.
“I don’t know why he is.”
Annie stopped and slammed her fists on her hips. “Maybe you should stop being so damn self-absorbed for a second and look at what you are to him.” Her lips pinched. “I’ll send you out with him to the barn with a wooden spoon if you keep that up, girlie.”
“What do you mean?” Annie grunted and started plucking at her forehead again. “I see the way he is with you. You think he saved your life, Yukon Jill? You don’t know the half of it. I’ve been watching that man run for years—he may have been running on the spot, but he was still running. And do you know what I see now?” Avery shook her head.
“A man that’s found a reason to stop.” There was a pause, and Annie patted her leg. “All done. It’ll be itchy but don’t scratch.”
“Done? Oh.” She felt her head as Annie started cleaning up. “Um, Annie?” Avery waited for her to look back. “What if he should be running faster away from me?”
Annie snorted and rolled her eyes. “He hasn’t spanked you enough.” She gathered a breath. “Now let’s go see about that pie.”
* * *
Annie fed them pie and coffee and found more work for Mike while she convinced Avery to help her cook dinner and do some odd jobs around the house. They ate chicken pot pie and drank homemade wine. They laughed a lot, and by dusk, Avery’s lids were heavy.
“Thanks for dinner, Annie, but I think it’s time I take this little one home before she falls asleep on the ATV.” Avery’s heart somersaulted at the word home. There was no other place she felt more at home than on his mountain.
“Thanks, Annie. I enjoyed your company so much.” She yawned and leaned into Mike as he put his arms over her shoulders.