“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry, Bradley. I-I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. We kept it pretty quiet,” he says, glancing down at Lily pointedly. Luckily, the little girl seems pretty oblivious to the heavy conversation, as she’s currently staring at me with an amused expression.
“Did you say your name was Daisy?” she asks brightly.
I give her a smile and a nod.
“Yes. I’m Daisy.”
She grins and jumps up and down, tugging at her father’s sleeve.
“Daddy, Daddy! She’s a flower, too, just like me!”
All three of us laugh and Brad says, “Yep. That’s right. Both flowers.”
“I wanna ride Misty!” she says cheerfully, changing the topic completely, as little kids tend to do. Alexei gives one of her pigtails a quick little tug and she giggles, swatting at his hand.
“Alright, let’s get you all ready and saddled up, then,” he says. “How’s that sound?”
“Can I, Daddy?” she asks desperately, peering up at Brad with wide eyes.
He grins and taps her nose with his finger. “Of course, sweetie. Why don’t you go on ahead and run out to the stable? Alexei and I will be right behind you.”
“Yay!” Lily squeals, jumping up and down in circles with a huge grin on her face. She all but stumbles out the door, taking off in the direction of the stables as quickly as her tiny little legs can carry her.
“Feel free to join us once you’re…” Alexei starts off, leaving out the word decent.
I blush and nod, waving them on.
“Mhm. Yep. Go on, then. I’ll just change real quick.”
Brad and Alexei head out, and as soon as the door is closed, I rush to the bedroom to gather up my clothes and put them on in a hurry. My hands are shaking still, and my heart is thumping so hard it feels like I might stop breathing. But I force myself to take a few long, slow breaths, reminding myself that if I’m going to pull this off, I need to act like everything is fine.
I pull on my shoes and my sundress, feeling a little icky to be wearing the same clothes I had on last night, but the only other alternative would be to try and rifle through Alexei’s closet and drawers. And I have a strong inkling that he doesn’t own a single item of clothing that would come even close to fitting my much tinier frame.
I walk into the bathroom and check out my reflection, wincing a little. Of course, I still have not a single stitch of makeup on, since last night I hopped out of bed and climbed out the window without any plans of interacting with anyone else.
It strikes me suddenly how odd it is that a handsome guy like Alexei would be interested in a girl like me. I’m not blind or foolish enough to think I’m unattractive, exactly, but I certainly don’t consider myself a total knockout. My skin is milky-white, my time in the sun only evidenced by the smattering of freckles across the bridge of my nose and on my shoulders. My hazel eyes are rimmed with pink and there are half-moon shadows underneath them, signs that I haven’t been sleeping as much as I should lately, but my lashes are plush and long. My lips are full and soft, my teeth relatively straight and pretty to look at. I reach up and yank my hair out of its messy bun, letting the reddish-gold waves fall softly around my shoulders. I heave a sigh and shrug.
“This is as good as it gets,” I say aloud.
I turn on my heel and walk out, opening the front door and heading out into the mid-afternoon sunshine. The dark clouds and rain have all faded away to blue skies and fluffy white clouds. As usual, the prairie weather is completely unpredictable. It occurs to me that Brad and his little girl have probably been waiting all day for the skies to clear so that Lily could ride horses here. I wonder what would have happened if the weather had been nice all day. What if they had showed up here while Alexei was out? How would I have reacted?
I stroll across the open green field toward the stables. The world just seems so calm and peaceful, like it hasn’t changed at all. Or maybe gotten a little bit brighter, even.
At the back of my mind floats the pressing event of the day: Dean is dead, and Alexei is the one who killed him. But right now, with the summer sunshine beaming down on my bare skin, the grass dewy with rain underfoot, the smell of wildflowers on the breeze… well, it’s easier than one might expect to push that darkness into the forgotten, cobwebby corner of my mind. Right now, I have only the present moment to focus on, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.
I approach the stables and the fenced field in which Lily is perched atop a huge dappled-gray horse. Lily looks utterly enthralled with the experience, her face grinning and bright with joy. Alexei has the horse’s lead in his hand as he walks alongside the horse in wide circles. Brad is standing off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest as he watches with a soft, adoring smile.
“Look at me, Daisy!” the little girl calls out as I walk up next to her father.
I smile and wave at her and she erupts into peals of delighted laughter. Brad nudges me with his elbow, beaming.
“She’s a handful, that one,” he says.
“I can tell,” I reply. “But she seems like a great kid. Beautiful, too. That red hair!”
“Yeah,” he agrees gently. “She got lucky—looks just like her mama.”
“I can definitely see you in there, too, though,” I assure him.
He nods slowly.
“Yep. She’s got my dimples and, poor thing, she got my stubborn personality, too. But everything else is pure Jenny.”
“So, what happened, if you don’t mind my asking?” I inquire, keeping my voice low.
He sighs.
“Just one of those things, you know? Jenny got pregnant right after our wedding, and we were so excited. It wasn’t planned, of course, but it didn’t matter. As soon as we saw Lily’s little face on that sonogram machine, we were in love. There was no going back. For the first seven months, everything was perfect. Jenny was in great shape. She had to stop playing softball and everything, naturally, but she was doing her yoga and breathing exercises.” He pauses to laugh, then continues, “She even started eating super healthy. Spinach and broccoli and all that, you know. Jenny and I, we’d hit the Saturday farmer’s market for all those fresh veggies. She kept tellin’ me, ‘Brad, I want this baby to be so healthy she makes the Jolly Green Giant jealous.’”
“Yep, sounds like Jenny,” I giggle.
“She was always so silly like that,” Brad sighs wistfully. “But when it came to her pregnancy, she was so serious. Nothing was going to go wrong, not on her watch. But when the seventh month came… things changed so quickly. Out of nowhere, Jen started getting these awful stomach pains. She was throwing up all the time, having dizzy spells and headaches.”
“What was causing it?” I ask curiously.
He shakes his head.
“The doctors weren’t sure. None of it seemed life-threatening yet, anyway, so they just brought her in for some testing and sent her back home. But then, on April ninth, around two in the morning, she woke me up screaming in pain. I didn’t know what to do, so I rushed her to the hospital over in North Platte. But even they didn’t know what was wrong, so they had her air-lifted all the way to Omaha.”
“Oh my goodness,” I gasp.
“Yeah. It was horrific. I was so scared, but Jenny— she was so brave. As always. Even as she was drifting in and out of consciousness, she kept sayin’ to me, ‘It’ll all be okay. Don’t you worry,’” he says, taking a moment to gather his composure before going on. I pat him on the back and he gives me a quick, appreciative smile.
“Anyway. By the time we got to the big hospital in Omaha, she was barely conscious at all. They had to induce labor. All kinds of fancy complications I don’t understand. I’m a country guy, you know. I don’t have a clue about that stuff. Lily was born a few hours later, two months early, but otherwise perfectly healthy. Jenny, though— she was in a bad place. They kept her pretty well-medicated until the end, but I knew she was still hurtin’. That was the hardest part. I knew I was
gonna lose her, but seein’ her in pain was too much.”
“God, I’m so sorry, Bradley.”
He clears his throat and swipes at his eyes quickly, then gives me a smile.
“I may have lost Jenny, and I miss her every day, but I am so grateful to still have Lily. That little girl has forced me to find strength when I thought I had none left in me. She keeps me going.”
“You’re a good dad,” I tell him honestly. “I can tell. And my Daddy… Well he raised me all on his own. And I turned out just fine. I’m sure you’ll do great with her.”
“Thank you. I sure hope so,” he says. “And I’m so grateful to Alexei, too. He’s been giving Lily horseback-riding lessons for free. Can you believe that? For free! Even around here, that’s unheard of.”
“So, do you know him very well?” I ask, trying to be subtle.
Brad gives me a shrug of uncertainty.
“Not very well, no. He’s been around town for a couple years, I think. Keeps to himself, mostly. Nothin’ wrong with that. Lily and I kind of keep to ourselves, too. I’m so busy with my woodworking business and bein’ a single dad, I don’t have time to get out much. But as Lily gets older, I’m realizing how badly she needs to be out there in the world, making friends, learning new things. That’s why I’m so thankful for these horse riding lessons.”
“She seems to really enjoy it,” I note.
He chuckles.
“Yeah, she loves it. And she just adores Alexei. I was a little worried she’d be afraid of him, at first. You know, big bulky stranger with a serious face. But nope. She took to him like a fish to water.”
“He’s good with her, isn’t he?” I muse aloud.
“Real good,” Brad agrees warmly. “I bet he’d love a kid of his own someday.”
I raise an eyebrow at this.
“You think so?”
“Hell yeah,” he answers with a laugh. “A good guy like him? He keeps to himself like I do, but at least I’ve got Lily to keep me company. Alexei, though, I think he probably gets pretty lonely out here on the farm. You know, I bet he wouldn’t turn up his nose at the idea of a pretty wife to look after him, either.”
He gives me an exaggerated wink and I burst out laughing, rolling my eyes.
“Uh-huh. Point taken,” I chuckle. “But to tell you the truth, Alexei and I just met. You know him better than I do already.”
“Well, then take it from me: he’s one of the good guys. That much I know for sure,” Brad tells me with complete sincerity. And as I watch Alexei patiently and gently guiding little Lily on the dappled mare, it’s easy enough to believe he’s right about that. But still, I can’t seem to figure out how to compromise the two different sides of Alexei I have met.
There’s Alexei, the stoic, imposing, cold-blooded killer. There’s Alexei, the passionate lover who gave me the thrill of my life. And then there’s Alexei, the gentle giant who loves kids and treats his fellow man with overwhelming patience and compassion.
How can he possibly be all three at the same time? Which side is the real one?
And how can I figure that out?
By the time the lesson is over and Brad takes Lily back home, the sun is setting on the horizon. The green fields are awash in late afternoon light, the sky turning purplish-gray with streaks of vibrant watermelon-pink. I hang around the stables while Alexei cares for the two horses and the chickens. When he’s done, he comes walking slowly over to me where I’m perched on the wooden fence. He has a stony expression on his face, a dark question glowing in his eyes. I know I should ask it. I know I should. A voice in the back of my mind warns me that I shouldn’t even be here right now. I shouldn’t stick around to see what happens.
If I were smart, I would turn tail and run.
But right now, I don’t want words, and I don’t want to run away.
I want something else entirely.
As soon as he gets close enough, I wrap my arms around him, pulling him close as I press my lips against his in a passionate, desperate kiss.
Alexei
I would be lying if I said the kiss isn’t a surprise.
Everything about today has been a careful balancing act of maintaining my emotions and keeping an eye on Daisy’s body language. One move on her part could have put me in mortal danger at the drop of a hat, and there would have been no way I could have stopped it without things turning uglier than I’m willing to let them get.
But she maintained her composure the whole time, and now, her warm lips are pressed against mine, full of fire and desire.
I don’t question it.
Sometimes, there’s no room for that.
My hands go to Daisy’s sides, and I lift her up off the wooden fence and draw her closer to me, hugging her tight against my chest as our tongues explore one another. She immediately starts grinding her hips against me, my hand holding her up by the ass and my other hand working its way up the back of her shirt to unhook her bra before I’ve even started moving.
I walk us back to the door of the house and kick it open. Daisy is completely engrossed in me the entire time, and I’m so into her that I’m amazed I don’t let us trip over something and tumble to the ground together.
And even if we had, I don’t think that would have stopped us.
We spill into the living room, and I use a leg to slam the door behind me so hard it startles the chickens outside.
Daisy’s hands are on my face, holding me to her as she kisses me.
This feels different from last night.
The first time I was with Daisy, we were in the middle of a storm of emotions that she barely had a grip on. She had just escaped a life-threatening situation and thrown herself into a night of drinking, dancing, and tossing all caution to the wind. In the middle of all that, she gave herself to me more than willingly. She was eager to lose her flower, and I was more than willing to take it.
If there was any worry in my mind left over that she regretted it, they’re all dispelled now.
I carry her to the wall and slam her against it, pinning her small, curvy frame between my rock-hard body and the wooden wall behind her. The moment we make impact, she lets out a moan of bliss. My cock is thickening between her legs, which are wrapped around my waist. We push into each other and grind, feeling our sexes getting excited and agitated all at once through the layers of fabric.
We need each other. Right now, in this moment, more than anything else, we crave one another’s touch and affection, and we want to spill it into each other.
Last night was good, but this moment feels like plucking the string of an instrument wound so tightly that it’s about to snap.
I take control. She tries to move her hands around my body after I pin her to the wall, but I take those hands and push them against the wood, holding her with her arms out and supporting her with my hips. With her exposed, it’s the easiest thing in the world for me to ravish the sensitive skin on her neck with kisses and gentle biting. My teeth graze her and nip at her playfully, each time making her twitch and whimper more.
“I need you in me,” she whimpers desperately. “Alexei, I’ve never needed anything more. Please.”
“You’ll get it when I give it to you,” I growl. My hot breath tickles the ear I bring my mouth close to, and a shiver runs up her whole body.
I let her arms go and take her hips in my hands, using them to help me grind against her pussy better. I feel her getting hotter through the denim, and the look she gives me with those shimmering eyes is fuller of desire than I’ve seen in her yet.
“I’ve awakened something in you, Daisy,” I say in a low tone, thick with need. “For better or worse, there’s something in you that has been released and cannot be put back.”
“Good,” she says without a moment’s hesitation. “I want it that way.”
“You have no idea what to do with it, kotyonok,” I whisper. I bring a hand to her chin and take hold of it, forcing her to look into my eyes while I play with her lower lip with my
thumb. “You’re new to this. I will guide you.”
“You can do anything you want with me,” she breathes. “I just need you so fucking bad, Alexei.”
“Do you?” I chuckle, and I tug at the loose bra on her, helping her wiggle out of it before I slip my hand under her dress and start fondling her breasts.
The weight of her whole body in my arms is exquisite. The feeling of her pressed against me makes my heart race, and when I feel her nipples stiffening at my touch, it electrifies me. “You have no idea what you want,” I growl, “no idea what you’re asking for from me.”
“I want to find out,” she gasps, and I pinch her nipple.
She squeals and wiggles in my grasp, but I have such a grip on her that she can’t get away. She has to endure me as I flick and pinch her stiff tits and grope her smooth, firm breasts. My body is as hard as the face of a cliff, and it holds her exactly the ways I want it.
I turn and carry her over toward the couch in slow, deliberate steps, still toying with her full breasts as I go. I toss her onto the soft cushions and watch her bounce and turn to face me, her blushing face excitedly watching me for whatever I do next.
Looming over her, I stoop down to pull off her shoes, then take hold of her panties and yank them down, exposing her to me roughly and viciously. The sight of her exposed lower lips is tempting, but I stay focused and pull her slip up over her head, leaving her utterly naked before me while I glower down at her body, still fully clothed myself.
“You want to learn?” I growl, kneeling and stroking some of that beautiful strawberry blonde hair. “You need to know your own body. How do you touch yourself?”
She bites her lip and looks at me with a worried expression, not sure how to respond, and I realize what she’s conveying.
“You...don’t?”
“I was always taught it isn’t right,” she whispers. “That it wasn’t natural. Something you did if you couldn’t control yourself.”
“Can you control yourself right now?” I ask with a broadening, wicked grin.
She breathes a quick, shallow breath and shakes her freckled head, and I feel my cock so stiff it could burst from my pants.
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