I might have saved the newest photos to my phone as I’d scrolled through them. And I might have flipped through them regularly each night ever since.
The Google search hadn’t told me anything about how sweet or kind she was. Or how hard she worked on her family’s farm. I’d learned all that firsthand since Violet had moved in with Luca. My fascination with Doe now bordered on obsession, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. Each morning, I got up, dreading my daily run but at the same time anticipating it. Hoping that morning I might catch a glimpse of her, even if it was just her shadow in one of the farmhouse windows.
Every morning I didn’t, I felt a moment of loneliness like I used to experience as a kid. But it would quickly pass. Just looking at the house where I knew she was safely tucked away inside, I would experience a sensation of peace. Knowing that she would never know what it was like to be cold or hungry. That her parents loved her and would never harm so much as a single hair on her beautiful head.
That would be enough for me, and I found the willpower to turn and run back to my apartment. The entire time hoping that I might be lucky enough to see her at some point during the day, even if from a distance.
She finished her second slice of pizza, and I placed another on her plate before she could argue.
“I can’t eat all this.”
“Try,” I encouraged, taking a bite of my fourth slice. “If you don’t finish it, I’ll eat it for you.”
I shouldn’t have been nearly as hungry as I was, especially after having eaten Chinese with Pixie only two hours before. But when I was this close to Doe, I felt ravenous. And it was either eat the food in front of me, or her.
But one of the things I’d discovered about her during that fateful internet search was her age, and I knew she was way too young for me. She’d turned eighteen the previous summer, eight years younger than me. Yet, there was something incredibly innocent about her that made me feel like a dirty old man every time I thought about touching her.
She picked up the slice of pizza. Normally, I liked my pizza covered in as many toppings as possible, but I knew she preferred hers a little lighter, with just pepperoni and green peppers. Turning the slice in her hand, she took a bite of the crust first, just as she had the previous two.
Watching her eat, I found myself smiling. She was so different from any other girl I’d ever met. No matter how much I learned about her, she never stopped surprising me.
“What?” she muttered when she caught me staring, her face filling with a pretty shade of pink. I nearly groaned as it spread down her neck and into the top of her shirt. I licked my lips, wanting to know just how far that blush went.
“Nothing,” I told her honestly. “I just like looking at you.”
The tip of her tongue swiped over her lush bottom lip, licking away a crumb. “I usually only eat pizza like this around my family,” she confessed. “People think I’m weird for eating it backward. But the crust is my favorite part.”
“Hey.” Reaching out, I tipped her chin up when she lowered her gaze. Those blue eyes met mine, making every muscle in my body strain to get closer to her. “You don’t ever have to explain yourself to me. Eat the pizza the way you want. Do what makes you happy, little lamb.”
“There’s nothing little about me.”
“Yeah?” I skimmed my finger down her throat, delighting when I left a trail of goose bumps behind. Moving to her shoulder and down her arm, I grasped her hand and turned it over, placing her palm against mine. Mine was easily twice as big as hers. “Hmm, looks pretty tiny to me.”
“Well, yeah, I guess when compared to a giant, I am considerably smaller.” She dropped the barely eaten slice of pizza on her plate. “But beside any other girl, I’m more beast than lamb. Even Shaw. She may be a little taller than me, but I’m twice her size everywhere else.”
Wrapping my fingers around hers, I tugged. She resisted and I stood up. Pulling her to her feet, I molded her curves to my body. “Who put such nonsense in that beautiful head?” I growled.
She turned her head away, hiding from me.
“No, baby.” I cupped the side of her neck, using my thumb to lift her chin until she had no choice but to look at me or close her eyes. “Answer me. Who filled your head with that bullshit, Doe?”
Swallowing hard, she lowered her lashes but didn’t close her eyes completely. “Courtney and her friends. They…” She pressed her mouth into a hard line. “I was always so much bigger than them. And…”
“And fuck them.” I grabbed her ass in both hands, giving each perfect globe a hard squeeze. “Every one of them was just jealous, little lamb. They knew they couldn’t ever compete with you, so they tore you down until they made you believe that you were what they said. But you aren’t, sweetheart. You are every wet dream come to life.” I pressed into her, allowing her to feel just how much I wanted her. “Do you think any of those little bitches could make me this hard?”
“Y-you’re a guy. Guys get hard if the wind blows.”
“Boys, sure.” I lowered my head until my lips skimmed over the shell of her ear. I liked how tall she was, that even though I had to bend a little, I didn’t have to fold myself in half. “But I’m not a boy, baby. I’m a man. And it takes a hell of a lot more than a flirty smile and a wink to make me this hard. Yet, when I’m so much as in the same room with you, my cock starts leaking. My boxer briefs are a mess right now.”
I heard her gasp when my dick flexed against her abdomen. Her innocence only made me hungrier for a taste. Unable to deny myself, I pressed my lips to her neck under her ear. She touched my sides with her hands before her fingers tangled in the material of my shirt. A tiny mewl-like sound left her, which only encouraged me more.
“You are so fucking sexy, Doe,” I breathed at her ear, making her shiver and clutch at me harder. Her nails bit into my flesh through my shirt, causing the tip of my cock to flood with more and more jizz. “Every other girl in the world dims in comparison to you. All it takes is one look at you, and they know it. Some of them have the confidence to understand that. It’s why Shaw and Violet are able to love you so freely. But there are others who are too vain to accept it, like Skankzilla and her harpy friends.”
“Jenner,” she whimpered, turning her head until our lips were nearly touching.
“What, baby?” I brushed my nose against hers, knowing once I kissed her it was game over. There would be no more trying to keep my distance. I was already addicted to the feel of her skin beneath my fingers. But if I tasted her, this need I had for her would burn out of control. And I was okay with that. But she had to ask me for it first. “What do you want?”
“You,” she panted, her blue eyes glued to my mouth. “I want you.”
My fingers drilled into her, no doubt leaving bruises beneath her jeans and panties. “You want me to what, little lamb?” She made a strangled sound when my breath bathed her lips. “Tell me, Doe. Tell me what you want from me, and you can have it.”
“Kiss me!” she cried. “Please, kiss me.”
With a tortured groan, I dived in. It wasn’t a sweet, gentle first kiss. It was demanding, controlling, letting her know who she belonged to now. I branded her as mine with my mouth, sealing both our fates as I thrust my tongue deep into her heat, taking possession not only of her body with the kiss, but stealing her soul as well. And she fucking let me. Opening her mouth farther, she silently gave me permission to take all of her.