Protector Daddy by Taryn Quinn

THREE

“Your house is a masterpiece.”I gestured at the floor to ceiling windows from where I was seated on a large throw pillow tossed in front of the stone hearth and blazing fireplace. “I feel like I can see the whole forest sitting right here.”

So much green—and darkness, since it was now night—surrounded us. The windows almost made it seem as if we were outside. There was even a skylight.

Inside, the roaring fire helped burn off the fall chill and long, cushy couches invited a nap. The multi-level coffee table with a burbling fountain added another layer of zen. The TV pulled down from the damn ceiling and tucked away when not needed. Beneath our bare feet, the floors were some kind of fancy stone that blended well with the hearth.

I already suspected I could stay here forever and I’d only seen one room so far.

He’d offered me a full tour—the man had a pool in his house—and a meal and I’d passed on both. What I wanted was something else entirely.

Though I wasn’t going to pass up food—later.

Christian was rubbing his hands together as he stared into the fire he’d stoked so carefully. He’d made sure to get the fire going right away so I wouldn’t be cold. Then he’d offered to make me a home-cooked meal, though he claimed his repertoire was extremely limited.

Was this dude for real?

He had a house like this and actual manners under the bluster. Yet somehow he’d been single for a damn long time in a thirsty town like ours.

I had to think that somehow women just hadn’t been paying attention. The guy was hot and tall and built with thighs like tree trunks. And I wasn’t even thinking about his other unmentionables I’d felt very clearly pressed against me.

Okay, fine, I so was. Shit, did I have condoms? He certainly didn’t have a need for them. I hadn’t either for a while. But luckily, I was on the Pill.

“How do you feel about dogs?”

I blinked at him. “Love them. I dog-sit for Brady and Mav all the time. Why?”

He went down the hall and opened a door. Out came an exuberant German Shepherd who bounded toward me with such enthusiasm I immediately held open my arms. He careened into them and covered my face with doggie kisses while I giggled and tried to keep a hold of him. “Hey, pretty boy. Aren’t you a love? Are you a boy? Hey there. Big paws,” I managed between giggles as I tried to avert my face before his tongue slipped into my mouth.

Not the action I was looking for tonight, although he was a very handsome young man.

“Boomer, chill. Yeah, yeah, she’s pretty. Ease off, boy. C’mere.” He sat on the couch and patted his thighs and Boomer immediately transferred his affection to his owner, who hugged him with the same level of adoration.

“Has he gone without female companionship for a long time too?”

“Yeah. We aren’t exactly social.”

“Fits, since you live in the middle of the forest. I didn’t even realize how dense it was up here.”

“Makes for some good hiking. Boomer, dude, relax. Don’t chase her off.”

“Before daddy gets some.” I giggled at the cross look Christian shot my way, ducking my head as excitement tingled up my spine.

Before today, I wouldn’t have said I liked moody guys but something about Christian’s stern expression really did it for me. Maybe because he was also protective and chivalrous and clearly cared about making sure I was comfortable.

I had a feeling that would extend to ensuring my pleasure too. And he was also damn fine to look at, I couldn’t deny it.

“I wasn’t kidding about telling your brothers.” He wrangled his dog to the sofa beside him though Boomer continued to stare at me with open adoration.

“You really don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. I work with them. I’m not going to harbor any more secrets.”

“Any more? Let me guess, are you hiding that you have a fleet of Care Bears on your bed? Grumpy Bear has a place of honor on your pillow, maybe?”

He didn’t smile. Not even a little.

I drew my legs up to my chest while Boomer wiggled his butt in circles on the sofa and waited for freedom to tackle-lick me again. For a German Shepherd, he was basically a mushball. Perhaps they all were like that and just had a rep for being fierce.

Kinda like his owner although Christian’s inner sweetness still remained to be seen.

On the other end of the spectrum, I kept flashing back to his hand around my neck right before he kissed me. That probably shouldn’t have turned me on.

I wouldn’t mind if he held my wrists behind my back as I rode him. Or used his cuffs…

Shit. Now I was squirming on his colorful pillow.

“Honey?”

“Yeah.” I cocked my head and let my gaze wander. He was sitting spread-legged and the pose didn’t diminish one iota the damn fine goods he had to work with. “Sorry, what did you say? I’m thinking about things that have nothing to do with my brothers.”

“You’re a menace.”

“I am. Want to see if you can tame me?”

“No.” He took a deep breath. “I want to see how how wild you can get.”

That sounded like an invitation to me. And I wasn’t about to decline.

I rose and shrugged off my cardigan. I started to untie my dress until I realized Christian wasn’t the only one riveted on my little striptease. Boomer’s tongue lolled out of his mouth as he made heart eyes at me.

“Um, can you let him outside maybe? Do you have a backyard?”

“I do, but why?” He frowned. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, he’s a sweetheart, but he seems like a Peeping Boomer.”

“Yeah, he likes to watch. Usually it’s more along the lines of when I work out.”

“I’d like to watch that too. What time’s the show?”

He shook his head and looped a couple fingers in Boomer’s sturdy green collar. “Come on, boy. Time for you to chase some leaves in the yard.”

Boomer made a sound of remorse and sent me a despairing look over his shoulder as he trotted beside his father down the hall in the direction of the kitchen and the back door.

“I know, I know. I wouldn’t want to leave her either.”

I looked down at my feet, fighting a smile. He was so oddly sweet. I bent to take off my shoe and winced as pain streaked up my heel. What the hell? I sat on the edge of the sofa and pried off my shoe, revealing a hole in my tights and a bloody wound. Lovely.

Did my sexiness know no bounds?

“Hey, what’s—what happened?” Christian immediately crouched at my side and lifted my ankle, turning it to the side and requesting for Siri to turn up the lights fifty percent.

Mood lighting no more, thanks to my hazard-prone ways.

“Blister,” he said grimly, lifting my leg just a bit higher to examine it. Proving the guy’s character, the angle made my dress climb precipitously high on my thighs, pulling the buttons apart to the point of straining. He probably could see my tiny panties if he was focused on anything but playing nurse, which he absolutely was not. “We’ll get these off of you and I’ll put on some antibacterial cream and a bandage. Does it hurt badly?” He looked up at me, his steel blue eyes so earnest I wanted to swoon. This guy was unreal. “Do you want a painkiller?”

I want you.

Luckily, I did not say it. I also didn’t heave myself at him and flatten him to the carpet as if I was an octopus seeking a warm object to attach myself to, barnacle-style.

“I’m good.”

“You’re sure? I can...” His voice trailed off as his gaze—accidentally, I was sure—skimmed up my legs to the triangle between them. He swallowed hard, then harder still, his knuckles going white where his fingers clamped around my ankle. “You should burn those shoes,” he added harshly.

“They weren’t meant for walking off sexual frustration.”

“No, just to cause it.” He kicked aside my shoe derisively before bending down to ease off my other shoe. He delicately rubbed the arch of my foot while I fought off a shiver. Then he began undoing the buttons of my dress in a businesslike fashion from the bottom to the top. One by one, he moved ever closer to my panties as I gripped the edge of the sofa cushions and watched his big hands move over my lap.

“Let’s get these off.” His tone was brisk as he rolled my thigh-high tights down my legs.

“This wasn’t the way I imagined this going.”

“Yeah, well, me either.” He set aside my tights in a careful pile—why, I wasn’t sure because they were now ruined—and stood. “I’ll get that antibacterial cream and a bandage.”

“And condoms?”

From his full height, the way he loomed over me nearly made me shake. “One isn’t enough, hmm?”

“You tell me.”

“Depends on your stamina.”

“No, sir, it depends on yours. I’m a multiples girl myself.”

I was getting bolder by the minute. Mickey would be proud of me, if she wasn’t horrified my wild night was going to be with the most uptight cop on the Crescent Cove PD.

At least when he had his clothes on.

“As you wish.”

The second he was out of the room, I stared down at myself and wondered if I was being too forward. Then again, it wasn’t as if I could expect him to take the lead. He had earlier but he’d immediately backed off. If I hadn’t called him, he probably never would have spoken to me about it again.

He’s honorable, Honey. He knows this is a huge conflict of interest.

But I wasn’t going to be offered the job. And my brothers might not love the idea of us hooking up, but we were both single and of age. There weren’t any true issues.

Other than I should apparently carry lube in my purse because the dude was a giant. His brother’s nickname was Moose, for God’s sake. Didn’t that say plenty?

Christian came back into the living room and dropped the tube of antibacterial cream, a bandage, and four condoms on the cushion beside me.

I cocked a brow. “No one should challenge you. Got it.”

“I like to be prepared.”

“As I was just thinking I should keep lube in my purse.”

“Is that a usual issue for you?”

I narrowed my eyes. “No, but I’ve never had sex with Jack and the Beanstalk before.”

“And you aren’t now either.” He sat on the edge of the coffee table opposite me. “Give me your foot.”

“How did you afford this house on a cop’s salary?” I blurted as he massaged the arch of my foot.

“Are you concerned I’m stockpiling money through nefarious means?”

“No, just curious.”

“My brother is a millionaire. I invested early in his video game company and reinvested the money I made in his diversified interests as his portfolio grew. This is the only thing I’ve ever splurged on.”

“It’s quite a house.”

“And you haven’t even seen much yet.”

I licked my lips as he efficiently applied the cream and the bandage. When I winced, he gentled his already careful touch. “Better?”

“Perfect.” My voice was entirely too breathy. “Are those condoms expired?”

He let out a laugh. “Do you always talk this much?”

“I’m one hell of a dirty talker, if that’s what you’re asking.”

If I wasn’t mistaken, the tops of his cheeks reddened. “I wasn’t asking that, but it doesn’t surprise me.” A whistle sounded down the hall as he smoothed the edges of the bandage and set my foot down on the floor. “I made tea. Be right back.”

“Tea?” I said to the empty room. “Tea?”

He returned with just one drink in a fancy cup and saucer, which he handed to me as if this wasn’t the slightest bit weird. “My mother’s,” he explained. “She’s the tea drinker in the family so I stock it for when she visits.”

I took a sip and made a face. “What is this?”

“A St. John’s Wort blend my mother buys from Luna. The town witch,” he added as if I needed an explanation for who she was.

“Everyone knows Luna.”

“Just checking.”

“I bought a love spell tincture from her once.” I took another experimental sip as he coughed. “Don’t worry. I don’t have it with me to sprinkle in your boxers.”

“Boxer briefs,” he corrected absently. “Did you use it on anyone?”

“No. I used it on me to up my attractiveness.”

“Uh, you do not need to do that. If you were any more attractive, it’d be criminal.”

Warmth spread along my breastbone and it wasn’t from the tea. Which actually didn’t taste that bad once you got used to it. “Why tea?”

“It’s relaxing and anti-inflammatory. Promotes healing.”

“Sexual healing?” I asked playfully.

“I bought those condoms for you.” He blew out a breath. “I mean, to use with you. After you left. I went to the drugstore and bought them foolishly, even though you’d walked out and even though I promised not to touch you.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. Granted, condoms weren’t the same thing as a bouquet of flowers, but for God’s sake, the man had bandaged my blister and made me tea. In my age group, that kind of chivalry basically earned a lifetime of adoration.

“A promise under duress isn’t a promise at all.” I finished off my tea and set it aside on an end table before easing forward on the cushion between his splayed legs. I rubbed his trunk thighs while searching his face. He didn’t shy away from my perusal, just looked back at me until the moment should’ve become uncomfortable.

Somehow it didn’t.

“Why?” I asked quietly.

“Why did I buy condoms?” he asked.

The question was idiotic. I was idiotic. Duh, he wanted sex. But I needed to hear his answer.

I nodded.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I don’t deserve to touch you, but if by some miracle, you allow me to, you want me to, well, then I’m not strong enough to walk away. I should, but I can’t, Honey.”

I swallowed thickly. “Because it’s been ten years?”

“No, because it’s you. I would’ve waited one hundred years for you.”

Distantly, warning bells chimed in my head. This was supposed to be a hookup. Nothing major. It’d been too long since I’d been with a guy, and Christian was hot and sweet in his own way and different. Different was a biggie. I liked a slap and tickle as much as the next woman, but more or less, the act was the same. Orgasm or not, fun or not, but I always had a good idea of what I’d be getting.

I had no clue what I’d be getting with Christian Masterson, and I couldn’t wait to find out.

“It’s your turn to kiss me first,” I whispered.

He cupped my cheek and leaned in to sip from my mouth, teasing my lips apart as if he had all the time in the world. The noise he made in his throat as I opened for him had me moving closer, my hands already growing greedy for more of him. I slid them up his thighs around to his hips and then his waist, anchoring myself to him while our mouths battled for more. He reached back to loop my ponytail around his wrist, pulling just hard enough for me to moan and practically crawl into his lap.

On the coffee table. Where the fountain burbled on the raised level just behind him and if I nudged him just a little, he’d either get all wet or break the thing in likely very sharp pieces. But he just hoisted me against him, somehow making room for me while he kissed me with enough hunger to make my head spin.

We didn’t talk. Despite my claims of being a good dirty talker, I didn’t manage a single word as we kissed until air became a premium and we finally had to break apart to breathe. I worked at the buttons of his uniform shirt while he went back to undoing mine, finally reaching the top of my dress and fumbling it off of my shoulders.

His hands stroked over me reverently, caressing and shaping my breasts first over my bra and then under it, sending the contraption flying to a spot unknown. His groan of pure need shot sparks through me before his talented lips lowered to suck on my nipple.

Not gently. There was no carefulness here. I didn’t want any.

He was rough and needy and his teeth offered a sharp counterpoint to the liquid heat unfurling between my legs. I was on my knees over his lap, straddling him, riding his cock through his uniform pants, extending up over him so my breasts dangled toward his mouth like low-hanging fruit. Every time he pinched and licked them, I rutted against him like an animal in heat.

He’d reduced me to exactly that.

“You’re soaking me through my pants, baby.”

My face flushed but I didn’t stop moving. If anything, I moved faster, desperate to see his gorgeous eyes cloud with lust. The way he looked at me…

God, I could live on that alone for a lifetime.

“Touch yourself,” he breathed and I did as he asked, because I had no choice.

I slipped my hand into my panties and moaned at the feel of how wet and slippery I was. My fingers moved under the satin of my panties, taunting him a little as I circled my clit and slid downward to inch inside. He caught my broken cry with his mouth, sucking on my tongue as I rocked against him with my hand between us, the movement of my body driving my finger deeper.

“Make yourself come,” he commanded between kisses, “then feed your fingers to me. Now, Honey.”

I knew how to get myself off quickly and quietly. But I knew he wanted more than that, so I aimed to please.

I rubbed my clit with the heel of my hand, circling so hard that my thighs started to shake. Every time I got close, I made myself stop, even though it cost me. I pulled my hand out of my panties and reached up to twist the nipple blooming dark pink from his mouth. His scruff felt so bristly and wonderful against my other breast while I tormented one of my nipples. I left the tip hard and pink and swollen, glistening from the moisture I’d left behind.

And he leaped upon it as if I’d left him a treat, drawing so strongly on my flesh that I wondered if he could leave a hickey right there.

I touched my clit again, thinking to tease him some more, but I’d overestimated my ability to withstand my own assault. As soon as I nudged the proud flesh, I went off, grinding against his impossibly hard cock while I damn near screamed from the pressure valve releasing inside me.

“Good girl,” he murmured against my nipple before he finally let it go with a reluctant pop. “Now finish it.”

I blinked at him. “But I did?”

“Feed me your fingers, Honey.”

I drew my hand out of my panties, fisting my fingers as sudden shyness overcame me. He didn’t give me the chance to retreat. He watched me expectantly, waiting, while I swore I could feel his cock throbbing between my legs. He parted his lips as if his mouth was watering and I finally offered him one of my wet fingers, crying out when he gripped my wrist and sucked my fingers between his teeth.

His groan made me squeeze around air even as I fought to get closer, to get his thick length right against my needy clit. Again. I wanted to come again and he was deep throating my fingers and swallowing me with his gaze, daring me to make the next move.

“I want to suck your cock.”

Rather than answer me, he seized my wrist and slid my hand away slowly, licking every trace of what I’d left behind off my fingers. Then he held my fist between our chests as he slanted his mouth over mine. “Taste yourself like I taste you. You’re going to ride my face.”

I nodded because who said no to a request like that? Especially when my thighs were quaking and I was a whisper away from coming again.

“But first…” He bit my lower lip before nudging me to my knees on the floor before him. “Take it out.”

I stared at his lap as if I was about to open a very large present. The full outline of him pressed against his tight trousers, and the exhale he let out as I undid his belt and lowered his zipper sounded more like pain than pleasure. He helped me undress him then I made quick work of scooping him out of his boxer briefs, my heart climbing into my throat.

I’d been with a handful of guys. None of them held a candle to Christian. Every part of him was built to scale and I had no clue how to make this good for him.

Or my jaw.

“It’s not Mount Everest.” The amusement in his tone made me shift my gaze upward as he cast aside his boxer briefs. He was utterly fixated on my mouth, watching it with a hunger I almost couldn’t fathom.

No, it wasn’t. And I was going to conquer his cock if it was the last thing I ever did.

And it just might be.

Locking my gaze with his, I lifted the hand I’d just had in my panties and slowly licked my palm, taking my time to get it nice and wet. I wrapped it around his shaft, giving him a rough stroke to get acquainted, and then another.

And another.

Almost immediately I needed more moisture despite the pre-cum slipping from the slit on top, so I let a little drip from my lips, getting him slippery before I grasped him in a tight hold and moved up and down. I lapped delicately at the dark red head of him, teasing out more salty liquid that I then dribbled back over his thick length, over and over again. He threw back his head, his knuckles white where they gripped the edge of the coffee table.

It seemed to be killing him not to touch me. To direct me where he needed me to go. But he didn’t do it, letting me proceed at my pace.

I squirmed, rubbing my slick thighs together. “Do you want to fuck my face?” I asked it almost offhandedly, knowing he was a man on the edge.

Wanting to see how far I could push him before he fell.

“Honey, you don’t know what you’re asking for.”

I pressed hot, hungry open-mouthed kisses up and down his shaft, finally stopping to suck hard on the tip until he was fisting his own hair to keep from pulling on mine. “Do it,” I begged, almost as crazed as he was. “And then bend me over this couch and make sure I feel you in every fucking pore.”

“Suck me. Please.” His guttural request had me taking him in hand and as far into my mouth and then my throat as I could manage—which wasn’t that far. I wasn’t some pro.

But he reacted as if I was, stroking my hair was such reverence that I felt like a master. When he finally fisted my ponytail, he still didn’t shove my face down or force me to take more than I could, just encouraged me with perfectly filthy comments about my body that only spurred me on more. And most of all, he praised me.

“Good girl. Such a good girl for me, aren’t you?”

I nodded and he groaned at the way my mouth rippled around his length. I ran the edge of my nails up and down his stiff length, tracing the veins that bulged. “Do you want to come?” I flicked my tongue over his slit, collecting everything he made for me, while I looked up at him for approval.

“Yes. In your pussy. Only your pussy.”

I licked my lips and dove down once more, drawing on him strongly enough that he had to inhale sharply. My jaw was already killing me, but it was worth it. Once his cock was slick with moisture, I eased back and rubbed him between my breasts, just for a moment. His whole body jerked. “Are you sure? You can have these. Or all over my lips.”

“Honey, you’re killing me. I can’t hold on.”

“So don’t.” My jaunty tone shot him into action.

He grabbed my arm, hauling me up and pushing me over onto the wide arm of the couch. He tore my panties and the bright pink shreds fluttered around my feet as he fumbled for a condom. That his hands weren’t steady unwound something inside me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it before the broad head of him was pushing between my legs.

He didn’t fumble there. No, he was all sure, steady calm as he pierced me, invading me so completely that I wasn’t fully aware of the sounds that left me.

I’d wanted to feel him in every pore? Mission accomplished.

“God, you feel good. Just like that, Honey.” He made my name into an endearment as he flattened his palm in the small of my back and gripped my hip to drag my ass up high while he slammed into me.

I never knew how he’d come at me next. One moment, he treated me like glass. The next, he plowed into me as if he simply couldn’t control himself.

As if he needed me enough to break both of us in two.

“I can’t get enough of you, baby. So good. So fucking good. Be my good girl and come around me.” To make sure I did just that, he reached around me and fingered my clit, touching me so deftly that I had to turn my face into the cushions to muffle my scream.

He didn’t stop. His strokes grew harder and more chaotic and his fingers were relentless. He alternated his rhythm so I couldn’t just coast, so my body had no choice but to respond to his with every new thrust.

And then he shoved his wet fingers into my mouth, making me taste my own pleasure while he fucked me into another orgasm.

“Guess you are a multiples girl, aren’t you, Honey?” His hot breath against my ear caused me to moan as he yanked out of me and flipped me onto my back. He put a knee down on the couch and dragged my leg up over his shoulder so he could hammer into me from a new angle, folding me into the sofa so I couldn’t do anything but take what he was offering—however he wanted to give it.

“Play with your pussy.”

His fixation between my legs encouraged me. I didn’t feel shy, just hot and loose and eager. I wanted him to keep fucking me forever. So I arched my back and stroked myself until his breathing changed to grunts and I could tell his rope was about to snap.

I slipped my fingers through my arousal to briefly stroke his cock where it plunged in and out of me and he let out a curse. Then he dropped his head back, the tendons of his neck brutally visible, and unleashed inside me.

His hips snapped forward and back until all I could do was whimper as he shouted and drained himself into the condom.

He didn’t slump for a moment. He drew himself out of me, fell to his knees, and buried his head between my quivering thighs, eating me while I clutched his hair and prayed for relief or release or just sleep.

I didn’t even know anymore.

By the time he stopped, I was a writhing mess. My eyes were grainy from frustrated tears, my throat raw from my cries. My lips swollen, my nipples abraded. And my jaw was throbbing.

The pinprick lights in the ceiling were too bright so I turned my face into the cushion. I barely roused when I felt him pick me up and carry me…somewhere.

The last thing I felt before I drifted off was his cool, soft lips against my temple.