“I’m waiting to see what you think.”
His deep ocean eyes were breathtaking. I loved sitting there; it made it completely acceptable to stare at them.
“Well, here goes nothing.”
I took a sip and it was like an orgasm in my mouth. I even moaned. Out. Loud.
My cheeks burned as I looked up to Abel.
“I told you.”
I smiled, wiping my mouth. “That might be better than sex.”
“Darlin’, if you think this is better than sex, you’ve been fucking the wrong guys.”
“I probably have been and there have been so few, I’m probably not a very good judge.” I laughed. “I can’t believe I just told you that.”
He shrugged. “We’re not strangers anymore.”
“No, I guess we’re not.”
“So where are you from, Crickett?”
I swallowed hard again. Talking about my past was awful but I knew I needed to get over it. I was in a small town where people asked questions and genuinely wanted to know the answers. Abel’s gorgeous eyes were fixated on mine as his lips curled around the end of his shake’s straw. We were having a light conversation, he just wanted to get to know me; I hated how scared I was to even mention the shithole that I was only days from climbing out of.
Deep breaths.
Smile.
Pretend like you’re not scared shitless to let words fall into the air.
“Arkansas.”
His eyes got a little wide as the distance of my trek sunk in. “What brought you all the way out here?”
“I needed a change of scenery, I guess. Ain’t nothing good was coming out of that place for me, so I was either going to rot with the rest of them or I was going to get the heck out of dodge.”
He licked his lips slowly, getting a spot of chocolate that was next to his piercing. “Well, I’m sure happy that you stumbled into our little town to make your fresh start.”
“Yeah? Why?”
“Because that means I get to watch the caterpillar turn into a butterfly.” He pointed to my collarbone where a bright purple butterfly was inked into my skin. “Don’t worry. I’m not this sappy all the time.”
With a wink he slurped on his milkshake as our meals were placed on the table. The rest of breakfast went on with light conversation as I picked at the huge omelet that was like another orgasm in my mouth. I could definitely get used to how good the food was in this town. To say the least, I’d freaked out for nothing. Abel was easygoing and sweet with a deep, gruff side that made my heart flutter and my panties wet every time his deep drawl cloaked over a sexual innuendo followed by him biting those sexy-as-hell lip rings.
“Well, your car does need a starter. I was hoping I was wrong, but oh well, it’ll be taken care of.” Abel sighed as he shoved his phone back into his front jeans pocket. “Did you have plans other than work for today?”
I shook my head, taking my seat on the back of his bike.
“Good, ’cause she isn’t gonna be ready until the morning. One of my guys has to run to grab a part for it and I’ll probably head that way tonight to make sure she’s done right.”
“I feel bad that I’m causing all this trouble.” I rested my head on Abel’s shoulder, way too intimate of a move for someone I had just met, but damn I was drawn to him.
“Wanna hang with me for a bit? I just have to grab Raine from school in a few hours, but I can show you around town, maybe convince you to stick around while you’re trying to find whatever it is you think you’re missing in your life.”
“Raine?” I asked as Abel guided my arms around his middle.
I could feel him take a deep breath in before he answered, “My daughter.”
After Abel showed me around the small town of Vilas, playing tour guide from the front of his bike, we made our way up a long gravel road off the side of a mountain.
“Where are you taking me now?”
We slowly pulled up a driveway to a large two-story old farmhouse without a neighbor in sight. Abel hit the kickstand and let me get off the bike.
“We gotta get Raine here in a few minutes so I needed to stop in and grab my truck.”
It took me by surprise that he wanted me to go with him to get his daughter from school. “Abel, you can just take me back to the motel. You don’t have to—”
He held his hand up, cutting me off while he shook his head. “You’re going to love her and she’ll get a kick out of being around another girl for once.”
I could feel curiosity starting to get the better of me about why Raine’s mother wasn’t in the picture and why there wasn’t a ring on this gorgeous man’s finger, but I left it alone. If he wanted me to know what happened to her, he would tell me.
He grabbed my hand and a chill raced from my fingertips to my pussy, which immediately woke up and begged to say a very intimate hello to Abel. He led me over to a brand new lifted Ford F250 and my panties soaked on the spot.
“That’s one gorgeous truck.” I blushed as his hand got tighter.
“Like trucks, do ya Crickett?”
I bit my lip and nodded. There was no way in hell that this guy could get any sexier.
The eyes.
The piercings on his lip.
The sleeve of tattoos that covered his hard-as-heck muscles.
The slow, deep drawl.
The bike, the boots, the truck. The soft side that bit back under his tough as nails exterior.
I was fucking infatuated in one fell swoop, right as our lips touched as he pressed me up against the shiny white paint of his Ford. His fingers gripped my hipbones as a low moan escaped my throat. Slowly our tongues met as his soft lips parted mine. By the end I was practically gasping for the breath he had taken away from me.
I sighed, leaning into his chest as he rested his chin on the top of my head. “There’s something so perfect about you, Crickett.”
I pulled away from him, locking eyes with his smoldering ocean gaze. “You don’t even know me.”
“I have never wanted anything more than to know you.” He kissed my forehead. “C’mon. I don’t want to keep Raine waiting.”
We hopped into the truck and within minutes we were pulling into the elementary school pickup line. A little blonde ball of energy raced for the truck once it caught her eye. She shoved a flower she had just picked into her bright pink backpack.
Abel jumped out of the driver’s seat, scooping the running girl into his large arms. He swallowed her up tight into his chest, placing kisses all over her giggling face. Once he got her buckled into the backseat, he pointed up to me.
“Raine, I want you to meet a new friend of mine.”
She waved and bounced in her seat. “Hi! What’s your name?”
I waved, holding back the giddiness that fluttered in my chest after watching such a tough guy melt into a puddle of mushy gushy feelings and love once his daughter was in his arms.
“It’s very nice to meet you Raine, I’m Crickett.”
She giggled. “I like that name.”
“Yeah? Thanks. I like yours a lot, too.”
“Want to see Miss Gilda?” She chirped while digging through her bag.
“Sure.”
She victoriously held up a little unicorn-looking rubber ducky with a rainbow tail and mane.
“She’s so pretty!” I exclaimed as Raine smiled wide, holding her little plastic friend to her chest.
“Thanks.” Raine beamed, still bouncing in her seat. “Here.” She grabbed the flower out of her bag. “This is for you.”
I choked from the flood of feels that rushed over me as I took the white daisy from the little girl’s hand. “That is so pretty. Thank you, Raine. We’ll put it in water when we get you home.”
Abel grabbed my hand, mouthing, “Thank you.”
I mouthed back, “Of course,” squeezing his hand back.
“Crickett?” Raine called from the backseat.
“Yes?” I turned in my seat, resting my chin on the back
rest.
“You’re pretty. You should be my new mommy.”
Fire burned my chest, neck, and cheeks as Abel choked and laughed from the front seat. Thankfully he saved me.
“Raine, honey, Crickett and I are just friends, but hopefully she’ll be able to hang out with us a little bit while she’s in town.”
“Miss Gilda and I would really like that,” she stated while bouncing the rubber toy on her knee and looking out the window.
When we got back to Abel’s house, Raine showed me her pretty pink princess room with all of her dolls and toys. She and I played for hours, coloring and playing Barbies, marrying Ken and Barbie—Barbie even rode into her wedding on the back of Miss Gilda. Abel left us to go to the garage to help the guys with my car for a while, and I was kind of glad to have a little one-on-one time with Raine. She was such a sparkling light that my spirits were lifted right away and I felt like I had been in this little girl’s life for years, not just hours.
Before I knew it, Abel was calling up to both of us that dinner was ready. Talk about time freaking flying by. It was so wonderful to spend an afternoon completely carefree with a child that was so sweet and innocent.
We ate pizza while Raine chattered away with her dad about her day at school and told him all about how much fun we’d had playing together.
“All right, you little princess. It’s time for a bath and then off to bed with you.”
She crossed her arms and gave him puppy dog eyes. “But I’m not…” She took in a deep breath as a yawn escaped. “Slllleeeepppyyy…”
Abel let out a soft laugh, lifting her into his arms. “How about you go take a bath and then Crickett can read you a story before bed?”
He looked up at me to make sure that was ok. I smiled and gave him a quick nod. “That sounds like fun, Raine. Besides, doesn’t Miss Gilda need a bath too? She played a whole lot today.”
She shrugged. “Yeah. Ok.”
With her dad’s pinky in her hand, they marched up the stairs to the bath.
“There’s beer in the fridge, this won’t take long. Make yourself at home.”
I grabbed a cup of water and watched a Friends rerun while I waited for my cue to head up for story time. My heart felt so full of love and emotion seeing such a loving father with his daughter. I knew there had been times like that with my dad, but most of those memories had been lost along the way.
I could tell that Abel and Raine weren’t the only ones that lived in this huge house. It was a total dude’s house too, except for the explosion of pinkish-purples in Raine’s room. The walls barely had art on them, there was mostly beer in the fridge—other than stuff for Raine—and the smell of bachelor pad emanated from every room. I hoped that none of them came through the door to find me on the couch by myself in their home.
Chapter 5
After reading the first half of Beauty and the Beast, Raine dozed off in my arms.
“Did she fall asleep quick?” Abel asked from the couch in the living room as I grabbed a beer from the fridge.
Taking a seat next to him, I nodded. “She’s precious.”
“She’s pretty amazing for sure.” He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his rock hard chest.
“I’ll take you to get your car in the morning.” He kissed the top of my head. “I can take you back to the motel now though, if you want.”
There was not a snowball’s chance in hell that I wanted to go back to the motel and leave his arms, but my brain was telling me that I still didn’t know this guy and that I should have my guard and high ass walls up to protect myself.
“I don’t want to go. Today has been more perfect than I can really explain.”
“What hurt you so badly, babe? Why are you running from something?”
I sighed into him. “I don’t know if I should put it into words or just let all the bad memories die in the past where they belong.”
Abel pulled me onto his lap. “We all got some skeletons, Crickett. As long as we don’t let them define us then we can move on. Stop letting them have a hold on you. Don’t let them win.”
“We just met, but I feel like I was supposed to come here.”
He hugged me to him. “Good, because I knew the moment I saw you and those bright red lips of yours that you were sent here for me to know.”
It was so cliché but right then, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me in for another show-stopping kiss. My body buzzed just from our lips connecting. It was freaking incredible.
I pulled away from him. “Maybe we shouldn’t.” I bit my lip. It was better to at least try to be hard to get, even if my lady parts were screaming for him.
“I can make up the couch for you or take you back. It’s up to you.” He leaned down and kissed right under my ear, whispering softly, “Or I have a very comfortable bed upstairs. We can just sleep. I can be a gentleman when I have to be.”
I nodded, getting up from his lap. “Yeah. Ok.”
We made our way up to his room, on the opposite side of the house from Raine’s, which made me feel way more comfortable. If I was going to sleep with her father, I didn’t want her to hear us.
“Here.” Abel handed me a faded AC/DC shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. “You can sleep in these. The bathroom is there if you want to change with some privacy.”
“Where did you come from?” I laughed quietly, taking the clothes and heading to the bathroom.
“What?” He smiled his killer panty-dropping smile while pulling his cut and shirt off and tossing them on the armchair in the corner of the room.
“You’re just like a freaking Prince Charming swooping in to save the damsel.” I had to take a minute to catch my breath as I gaped at his chiseled abs and rock hard tattooed chest. I hadn’t thought it was possible for him to be any hotter than what I had pictured, but right there he was proving me wrong. The words “respect few, fear none” were etched into his skin with a badass skull in the middle. I was a total sucker for a guy with sexy tattoos.
He took a few steps toward me, then put his hands on my hips. His eyes were soft and deep as he looked into mine. “I’ll be Prince Charming if you need one, but trust me, this prince has a rough side to him. It’s just…for some reason you don’t bring out that part of me. Maybe later.” He winked and quickly smacked my ass. “Now get changed. I’m fucking exhausted.”
His hand hitting my ass made my sex clench and my heart start racing. I wanted him more than ever right then. The image of just pouncing on him was all too tempting, but I really wanted to take things slower than I had so far. I was already about to climb into bed with the guy, maybe I shouldn’t give all the milk away for free within the first few days of knowing him.
We climbed into bed and within ten minutes we were both sound asleep. I had a peaceful night full of steamy flashes of everything I wanted Abel to do to me, from deep sensual kisses all the way to tying me to his bed and coming on my face, with so many more fun adventures in between.
I was slowly brought out of my dream-filled sleep by Abel wrapping his arms around me and kissing my neck.
“Morning.” I yawned, rolling in his arms to look into his sleepy eyes.
“Mornin’ sugar.”
I gently kissed his lips. “What time is it?”
There was barely any light coming in from the window; it had to be the ass crack of dawn.
“Just about five-thirty. Raine wakes up around seven so I try to be up before her when I have someone over.”
The thought of Abel sharing his bed with other women wasn’t a crazy notion—he was a fucking dude—but jealously and possession washed over me in an instant. It was completely irrational but I hated the thought of him even touching other women.
“Does that mean I have to leave?” I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my voice as I sat up in the king size bed, wrapped in Abel’s amazingly soft sheets.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I just don’t want her to run in here and find me in bed with a chick. I
like to be up and moving around so she doesn’t get the wrong idea.” He pulled me down, back into his arms. “I don’t know how to raise a kid, I’m going in blind here. I’m just trying to do the best that I can.”
I nodded and kissed his stubbly cheek. “I totally get it.”
“You know you’re the first chick I have let meet Raine since her mom died.”
Bam. That bomb had just been dropped. Raine’s mom was freaking dead and he just let it roll off his tongue like it was yesterday’s news. I was stunned. I had no idea what to say.
“Wow. I’m sorry.”
His grip on me tightened. “It’s been a while. It’s hard but we’re moving on.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He shook his head. “Maybe later. I don’t want to spoil what’s left of this morning with a sad trip down memory lane.” I watched his bare tattooed chest inflate as he sucked in a deep breath before he pulled me on top of him to straddle his waist.
I leaned over and kissed him. “I don’t know why I am this comfortable with you. It kind of scares the shit out of me.”
“I think I am going to take that as a compliment.” His husky voice was thick with lust dripping from it as he laced his fingers in my hair and guided my lips to his.
Slowly our bodies went into a hyper drive of passion. Our lips moved together as my heart started racing and his grip on my messy hair got tighter. I could feel his need for me grow as I gradually started to grind my swelling bud onto him through our clothes. I completely threw all notions of taking things slow with my beautiful stranger out the window. There was no turning back at that point.
I yanked his shirt off over my head and it was like a light switch went off in Abel’s mind. Through gritted teeth he sucked in a sharp breath and let out a lust filled moan as he gently pushed me onto the bed. He gripped the waistband of the basketball shorts I was wearing and looked me dead in the eyes. His gaze was almost black as he licked his pierced lip slowly.
“I want you, Crickett. Right the fuck now. If you want me to stop this is your only fucking chance.” His voice was strong, possessive. His chest heaved as he waited for my response.
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