my flesh still stinging. The bulge of his hardening cock presses into my punished curves.
His lips caress my lips, my cheek, making his way to my ear. His whispered words make me tremble from the shiver he sends down my spine. “I’ll go slow. I’ll take good care of you. I promise.”
And I know he will keep his word.
In his arms, this stranger, I feel safe.
No longer afraid of reaching this milestone, this pivotal moment of womanhood, I welcome it. He carries me to the bed, laying me down. He rests my head on the pillow. Gives me a soft stare. “Are you comfortable?”
My teeth sink into my lip. I give him a nod.
“Are you comfortable?”
“Yes… daddy.”
He sits beside me. His fully clothed body a stark contrast to my bare naked one. His hand trails down my neck, over my breast. My already peaked nipples tighten beneath his touch. “You are truly striking. I’m enamored by you.”
I take him in. The deep color of his eyes. Those dark, steady brows. His hair, strands ending in slightly wild curls—the only thing about him that isn’t under perfect control.
I’m ready. I want nothing more than this moment, than this night. Nothing more than to finally know what all the fuss is about.
And he’s the perfect man to take me there.
He leans down, kissing me once more. My mind slips into a delightful haze, loving every second of his kiss, his touch. I’m gone.
My phone suddenly springs to life, ringing out a raucous, “Humpty hump. DO the humpty hump!”
He pulls away. “What the hell is that?”
My palm finds my forehead. “Ugh. It’s my phone. I meant to silence it.”
He looks at me with a furrowed brow. “Whose ringtone is that?”
Does he think it’s another man calling me? It’s laughable, considering the fact that I’ve just confessed I’m an almost thirty-year-old virgin. But I find his slight jealousy endearing. “It’s Lexi. My sister.”
“Does she always call at ten o’clock on a Saturday night?”
Wanting to pick up where we left off, I wave my hand in the air, ready to casually dismiss his concern.
Wait. No, she doesn’t. In fact, she and Tom are early risers and I never hear from her past nine at night. And she knows I’m on a date tonight. She wouldn’t call unless…
I shake my head. “She doesn’t.”
“Get it then.”
Why is she calling me? I hop up from the bed, breasts jiggling as I streak naked across the room.
I slip my dress on over my head. Grab my phone from my purse. I’ve missed the call.
I call her back with shaky fingers. She picks up on the first ring. “Miranda.”
“What’s wrong? Are you guys okay?”
Her voice is small, tight. “It’s mom. She just called me from her house. She was asking me what time dad is going to be home.” Ugh. When Lexi called me yesterday, she mentioned she’d been visiting my mom lately, but I was so wound up with everything I forgot to ask more about it.
My heart sinks. Our father passed away years ago. I think what we’re both not saying: early onset Alzheimer's. Her mother, our grandmother had it. We’ve been terrified this day would come.
I’m acutely aware of his gaze. “Lexi. You said you’ve been visiting her a lot lately. Have you been worried? Has this kind of thing been happening a lot?”
“Yes. One night, Marcy from next door called me. Mom was wandering the streets in her nightgown. She was looking for Tabby.”
Tabby. The cat we’d lost ten years ago to a car speeding through our neighborhood. The news is heavy. Weighing me down. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know. You work so hard; you help with my wedding bills. I don’t work. I figured this could be my one job. The one way I could do something for both of us, so you wouldn’t have to worry.”
“You know this is bigger than you, Lexi. It’s bigger than us. We’re going to need to get her help. Real help.”
She heaves a choked sigh. I just want to hug her. “I know that now. It really scared me when she called me and I just couldn’t… couldn’t get her to understand…”
“That he’s gone?”
“Yes. It was so painful. It was like losing him all over again. I’m heading over there now. I thought she was asleep, but I think she’s been getting up in the middle of the night and...” A muffled sob comes over the line.
She’s crying.
Lexi never cries. Even when she fell from a