Mr. Hildegard looked up from his newspaper but said nothing. Mrs. Hildegard pointed to the stove.
“I take it you can cook some eggs.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Good, you’ll find some in the fridge over there. I take mine scrambled, Mr. Hildegard takes his boiled hard.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“You may make yourself some as well.”
“Thank you, Mistress.”
Autumn’s morning was busy. She made the eggs and toast and ate at the table with the Hildegards. Then she cleaned up the breakfast things and the rest of the kitchen, swept the hall and stairs, lit the fires in the hall, the dining room, and the Hildegard’s private quarters. When she looked at the old grandfather clock in the hall she felt as if she’d already done a day’s worth of work. It was only seven thirty.
“Make some eggs for Mr. Cole in room seven,” Mrs. Hildegard said, “and boil some milk for the child. Bring it up to him at eight on the dot.”
“Yes, Mistress,” Autumn said.
In the kitchen, she tried to imagine how Grady liked his eggs and wished she could go upstairs and ask him. She wanted to give him what he liked. She settled on frying them over easy. She’d never met a man in her life who didn’t like his eggs over easy, and she fried four of them, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and placed them carefully on four slices of hot, buttered toast. None of the yolks broke.
She also made coffee and boiled milk for Destiny. She put everything on a silver tray and took a moment to admire her handiwork. The china was delicate and fine and looked so pretty on the tray. She was sure Grady would be pleased.
She carried the tray carefully up the stairs and balanced it on one arm while she knocked on the door to room seven.
There was no answer.
She knocked again.
No answer.
She stood there for a moment, uncertain what to do, when she heard the sound of Destiny crying.
She bit her lip and tried the door. It was open. She stepped inside, put the tray on the desk, and picked up the baby.
“There, there,” she cooed as she rocked the child in her arms. She immediately quietened down. “That’s better, isn’t it?”
The baby clung to her as if she knew her. Autumn took it as a sign she remembered her from the night before.
“Where’s your daddy, little one?” she said and at the same moment, the bathroom door swung open and there stood Grady.
Autumn’s jaw dropped. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. Grady was tall and broad with muscular arms and the chest of a quarterback. His body was tanned and smooth and every inch of it was covered in tattoos. She could vouch for the fact that every inch was tattooed because as well as taking her completely by surprise, he was stark naked.
His chest was hard and chiseled like a stone statue and beneath it was a perfect set of toned abs. The abs seemed to form a V-shape that led down to a patch of dark hair and then a long, thick penis that was bigger than Autumn ever dared possible. Not that she was any expert on the matter, being a complete and utter virgin who’d never even come close to kissing a boy, never mind seeing the cock of a God of a man like Grady Cole.
“Oh my,” she cried.
She didn’t know where to look. Her eyes darted from his perfect penis, over his chest, up to his gorgeous face, and then immediately back to his penis.
Bad eyes. Stop looking there.
She forced herself to look away but no matter how hard she tried, they kept jumping right back to that exquisite cock.
And to her amazement, it grew. In the few short seconds that she stood there, bewildered, embarrassed, mortified, his cock stiffened and grew and began to rise up as if it was trying to point at her.
Take aim at her!
What the hell?
Was she looking at a real life erection? Was that what they called a boner?
Was he attracted to her?
Was he going to have sex with her?
All of those thoughts flew through her mind in the instant it took for Grady to realize what was happening and grab a towel from the rack inside the bathroom door.
“Holy hell,” he said, a broad grin spreading across his face. “Autumn, I’m so so sorry. I had no idea you were in here.”
“No,” she stammered, “it’s my fault.”
She backed toward the door before realizing she was still holding Destiny.
“The baby. She was crying.”
“Oh,” Grady said, a look on his face so guilty anyone would have thought he’d just committed a grievous crime. “She was fast asleep. I thought I’d grab a quick shower.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Autumn said. “You’re allowed to bathe.”
Grady smiled. “I’m new at this.”
“You’re doing great. A little crying won’t do her any harm.”
Autumn looked at his powerful, bare chest and realized she was holding her breath. Before she knew it, her gaze had dropped to his waist, and the towel tied tightly around it. She would give anything to see that towel fall to the floor.
She looked away, putting her attention on the baby to avoid staring at Grady’s body.
It was then she noticed Destiny’s strange outfit, a pair of man’s boxer shorts pulled up over a pillow case. She laughed.
Grady looked at the baby and laughed too.
“I’m hopeless,” he said.
“You’re doing fine. How old is she?”
“She’s six months, but I’ve only had her a day.”
“A day?”
Grady nodded.
“In that case, you’re doing great.”
“I didn’t have any diapers.”
“Looks like you figured out a solution,” Autumn said, holding up Destiny and handing her back to him.
When Grady took the baby and held her against his bare chest, Autumn felt her body quiver with a strange mix of longing and desire. It was something she’d never felt before in her life.
She imagined Grady holding her that way, pressing her small frame against his hard body, holding her with that much love. The thought put butterflies in her stomach.
She felt herself blush and searched the room for something to distract herself. The baby’s bottle was by the bed and she went and picked it up. She passed Grady to get into the bathroom, his bare skin just a few inches from her, and felt a tingling of desire run through her body. She rinsed the bottle and filled it with the warm milk she’d brought.
She handed the bottle to Grady and he brought it to Destiny’s mouth.
Destiny let out a whine and turned away from it.
Grady looked at Autumn.
She smiled and took the child from him.
“Here,” she said, “like this.”
She held the baby in toward her own breasts and put the nipple of the bottle right where her own nipple would have been.
Destiny took it in her mouth and began to drink. Autumn smiled at the look of complete contentment on her face.
“You’re good at this,” Grady said.
“I babysat a lot for my aunt back home,” Autumn said.
“I wish I had someone like you to help me out.”
Autumn looked up at him, his handsome face, his kind eyes, the hint of stubble on his jawline. She’d help him out with anything he wanted.
Anything.
“You’re doing great,” she said. “You already made it through the first day. It’s all downhill from here.”
Grady laughed and picked up the plate of eggs and toast.
“You made this?”
“Yes,” she said, still feeding the baby.
Grady took a mouthful of the food and nodded.
“Delicious.”
Autumn smiled.
Grady sat on the bed and ate hungrily.
“Have a seat,” he said.
Autumn sat next to him and fed his baby as he sat in the towel and devoured the breakfast she’d made him.
CHAPTER 6
> GRADY
Grady felt guilty. He’d never been so aroused by a girl in his life as he was by Autumn, and it was all he could do to stop himself from devouring her every time he saw her. He wondered what age she was. Was she an adult? She could be, but he wasn’t sure.
He shook his head.
What was he even thinking?
He was thirty years old and she was little more than a teenager. She was too innocent. Too pure.
And she was so kind. The way she took the baby and fed her. The way she looked after him, bringing him breakfast and telling him he was doing a good job with Destiny. It was too much.
He looked over at the bed. Destiny was asleep, lying where Autumn had put her before getting back to her chores.
Grady found himself wishing he had a reason to call her back.
He wanted to see her face again, her sweet smile, her kind eyes.
He’d almost died when he came out of the bathroom and she was standing there, holding his child. She was like a dream, so beautiful, and he was completely naked.
He shook his head in embarrassment at the memory. He’d even started to get a boner before he could grab a towel.
The thought made him hard all over again. He was still in the towel and he pulled it off and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, imagining what Autumn must have thought when she saw him. His cock was stiffening as he looked at himself.
You’re an absolute disgrace, Grady Cole.
He grabbed his cock in his fist and gave it a squeeze. It throbbed with desire.
She’s barely a child.
He couldn’t help it. He hadn’t had sex in months, he hadn’t even wanted to, but for the first time since Ravenna’s death, he wanted it. He wanted to feel himself sliding into that poor girl. He wanted to rip her cute little black dress off her and feast his eyes on her naked body. He pictured her breasts, small and tender and white. He pictured her pussy, bare and pink. He pictured the sound she’d make, the look on his face, as his massive cock slid into her tight, wet pussy.
Was she a virgin?
Was she old enough?
He tried to stop thinking about her. She was too good. She didn’t deserve some older guy perving on her.
He thought about the weird encounter he’d had with Mrs. Hildegard, the way she’d come on to him, practically thrown herself at him, but he couldn’t stop his mind from jumping back to Autumn.
She was the opposite of Mrs. Hildegard.
He shut his eyes as his hand ran up and down his shaft, pumping his cock forcefully, getting increasingly rapid.
As the pleasure built up, his mind refused to picture anyone but Autumn, and when the first surge of cum flew from his tip, landing in the sink a foot in front of him, it was Autumn’s name he gasped in his ecstasy.
He opened his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror. His cum gushed, flying into the sink and then dripping down over his hand in weaker spurts. He gasped as the orgasm subsided, then wiped his hands clean and got dressed.
The baby was still asleep and he didn’t want to wake her.
There was a television in the corner across from the bed and he was going to turn it on but without knowing why, he went to the desk instead and picked up the phone. He dialed nine for the front desk and it was Autumn’s voice that answered.
“Front desk.”
“Autumn, it’s me, Grady.”
“Oh, Mr. Cole, how can I help you?”
His mind went to all the ways her body could help him, could bring him to the deepest depths of pleasure, but he forced himself to behave.
“Do you have a laundry service?” he said.
He didn’t even have any dirty laundry, but he wanted to see her again.
“Of course. I’ll be right up to collect your things.”
“Thank you,” he said and put down the phone.
The window was set into the wall in an alcove and there was a wooden bench there. He sat in the sunlight and admired the view of the forest as he waited for her.
A minute or two later there was a knock on the door.
“Yes,” he said, unable to hide his anticipation, but when the door opened it wasn’t Autumn at all.
It was Mrs. Hildegard.
“You have some laundry?” she said.
With a sigh he nodded. The clothes he’d worn the day before were in the bathroom and he went and got them. Then he thought of the pillow case on Destiny and he picked her up, took off the shorts, untied the pillow case, and added them to the pile. Destiny was still asleep and he laid her back down before handing the clothes to Mrs. Hildegard.
“Is that one of my pillow cases?” she said.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t have a diaper.”
“I’ll thank you not to use hotel property in such a way in future, Mr. Cole.”
“Of course,” he said. “You can add the cost of the pillow case to my bill.”
“I most certainly will,” she said. “And I shudder to think how that poor baby will turn out if that’s your idea of taking care of her.”
“I’m sorry,” Grady said.
“Where’s the mother, if I may ask?”
“She’s …” his voice trailed off.
He looked at Destiny and it was as if all his deepest fears struck him at once. A week earlier, he didn’t even know he was a father, now he cared more about taking care of this child than he’d ever cared about anything. He prayed he’d be able to raise her properly.
The door shut and he turned to see Mrs. Hildegard was gone.
He got down on the bed and pulled the baby close, wrapping them both in the warmth of the blanket.
“I’ll be a good father to you, little Destiny,” he said.
CHAPTER 7
AUTUMN
The next day was Sunday and Mrs. Hildegard told Autumn she could have some time off once she was finished her morning chores. By the time she’d lit the fires, cleaned the toilets, mopped the floors, cooked and served breakfast, vacuumed the carpets, and brushed down the curtains it was already noon. She was just on her way to her room to change and go explore the town when Mrs. Hildegard caught her with one more chore.
“Girl, I almost forgot, Mr. Cole’s laundry has been waiting since yesterday. I’m sorry but you’ll have to do that before you head off.”
Autumn had been excited to go into town but the thought of doing Grady’s laundry pleased her even more.
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Oh, and in future when you polish the silverware, don’t forget the vases in the dining room.”
“No, Mistress.”
She hurried to the laundry room and found the small pile of Grady’s laundry. There wasn’t much to wash. Just a pair of jeans, the brown t-shirt he’d been wearing that said Harley Davidson across the chest, two pairs of boxer shorts, and some socks. Autumn recognized the one pair of boxers as the ones Destiny had been sporting the day before. The second pair must have been the ones Grady had been wearing.
She picked them up fondly and looked at them before throwing them in the washer. They were tartan, like a Scottish kilt, and Autumn imagined what Grady would look like in them. She felt a flurry of desire at the thought.
She put on the laundry and then found herself with a little time to relax while she waited. There was a big bookcase in the entrance hall and she went to it and browsed the books. It seemed Mrs. Hildegard had a healthy reading appetite and there were hundreds of books that Autumn knew she’d enjoy reading. Everything from historical romances set in regency England to paranormal romances about sexy men who could turn into wolves or bears and seduce women in the forest.
There was one book about a bear shifter she liked the look of. It was called Cabin Fever. She picked it up and examined the cover. It sported a sexy hunk with a huge grizzly rising up from the forest behind him. A log cabin sat in the distance.
She took it back to the laundry room and read the first twelve chapters while she waited for Grady’s laundry. She took the clothes from th
e washer and put them in the dryer and read another four chapters before taking the warm clothes from the dryer and folding them neatly. She took her time while folding the boxer shorts, thrilled at the thought they’d touched Grady’s naked body.
When she was finished, she brought them up to Grady’s room, which was empty, and left them on his bed. She glanced one final time at his underwear before leaving the room.
Then she went to her own room and grabbed her bag. She put Cabin Fever in it and intended to go into town and finish the novel at the diner.
On her way past the reception desk, Mrs. Hildegard stopped her.
“Going into town?”
“Yes, Mistress. I thought I’d treat myself to a coffee at the diner.”
“Mr. Hildegard will drive you.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Autumn said, none too thrilled at the thought of sitting in the pickup alone with the old man. “I’d like to walk.”
“Nonsense. You’ll catch your death out there dressed like that. He’s going into town anyway.”
Autumn waited by the door for Mr. Hildegard, who came down the stairs dressed in a tweed suit that made him look like an English country gentleman.
“Come on, honey,” he said, leading the way to the pickup.
Autumn followed and climbed into the cab. Mr. Hildegard climbed in on the driver’s side and put his arm along the back of the seat. It was a bench for seating three people and his hand was painfully close to Autumn’s back. She leaned a little forward as Mr. Hildegard turned the ignition and pulled out of the driveway.
“You’re a pretty little thing, ain’t ya?” he said as they drove along.
Autumn didn’t know what to say to that so she said nothing.
“The old lady isn’t giving you too hard of a time, is she?”
“Not at all, Master,” Autumn said, and the word master stuck in her throat.
She felt strange saying it. She didn’t mind working hard, and she didn’t mind having a boss, but calling him master was too much.
“I could get her to let up on you a little,” he went on. “Make it so that you have a fine old time.”
“I like working,” she said.
“But you like playing too, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry?” Autumn said.
She looked at Mr. Hildegard and he leered back at her with a lecherous grin on his face. Autumn started to feel claustrophobic in the truck with him. It was as if the cab had suddenly shrunk in size and there wasn’t enough air to breathe. Her seatbelt rubbed against her neck and she tried to loosen it but it was stuck. She edged against the door, trying to create what distance she could between herself and Mr. Hildegard, but there was little she could do.
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