Major

This is so not fine. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. I’ve never had anyone over to visit, let alone houseguests to stay the night—or two nights, or however long they need to stay.

Six years I’ve lived here, and no one other than maintenance people and my housekeeper, Edith, have stepped foot inside until this weekend. But I needed to know they were safe. I didn’t have a choice, so now I have two people in my house, touching my things, using my bathroom, and eating in my kitchen.

I can’t concentrate. I’ve been pacing the floor in my bedroom since we got home this morning. Standing in that hospital, where I spent so many days waiting to see if Katie would pull through, was awful, but being home and having people inhabiting my sanctuary is worse.

Violet is in my shower, and her mother is downstairs sleeping on my couch.

I rub the back of my neck and stretch it out, trying to relieve the tension there. Katie used to tell me I looked like a pelican trying to swallow a fish when I stretched like this. She teased me all the time about my idiosyncrasies, but she loved me despite them. She couldn’t comprehend my strong sense of organization or my need to make lists so that things would be done properly. I told her it’s the Marine in me, but she would just shake her head as if she knew better.

We had our fights. I would flip out if she moved something unexpectedly or if she didn’t replace something before it ran out. I hate that. I keep four of everything in my house so that when it runs out, there’s another ready to replace it. Soap, toothpaste, condiments, fabric softener. Everything is stocked at least four deep.

I like lists. I make them for everything that I do. But once in a while, my Katie would add things to one of my lists in her handwriting, which is nothing like my handwriting, ruining my list.

I would have to throw it away and start over, and it pissed me off. Probably more than it should have. I would yell at her, and she would yell at me, and then she would go into the bedroom and cry. That made me even angrier, and then later on, when her eyes were puffy and she would be cooking my dinner, keeping every box and every bottle in straight lines on the counter and cleaning up every splatter or drip as she went, I would feel like a complete asshole. It was a vicious circle of madness, and she was a saint to put up with me. I vowed never to subject another woman to my eccentricity, and now here I am having . . . I don’t know what I’m having with Violet.

Feelings. That’s what I’m having, but I’m not going to label them. It’s pointless anyway. She’s going home to San Diego tomorrow, and we might never see each other again. It makes my chest ache when I think of that, of never seeing my sexy Target girl again, but it’s for the best. I don’t want to ruin her life the way I did my Katie’s.

The shower shut off, she’ll be here in seconds, her cocoa brown skin wet with droplets of water trailing down her body . . . onto my floor.

Fuck, see, Sawyer? You can’t even have an erotic thought about her without turning it into a cleaning session.

“You look like an animal stretching its neck. You okay?” she asks, exiting the bathroom exactly the way I just envisioned her minus the dripping on the floor. She’s dry and glowing.

“Somebody else used to say that to me,” I say, more than a little spooked.

She unconsciously pulls her towel a little tighter around her chest and steps back in fear. What makes this woman fear me? I’ve never given her reason to shrink away from me.

“Violet, are you afraid of me?” I ask.

She screws up her face. “No, what makes you say that? Is that what you’re out here worrying about?”

I sit down on the edge of the bed and motion for her to come closer to me. She approaches slowly, with a bit of hesitance.

“Because you’re clutching that towel like a life preserver, and you stepped away from me just now when I spoke to you.”

She’s standing between my legs now. My hands are on her ass, holding her in place. She won’t look me in the eye. She’s focusing on something over my shoulder. I take her chin between my thumb and forefinger and turn her lovely, fresh, lavender smelling face to mine.

“Tell me,” I say gently.

“I just feel like we’re intruding on your space, and I’m gathering that your space is a very important part of your life.”

I look away from her eyes and focus on the space between our bodies, taking a deep breath.

“You’re correct. It is, but your comfort and safety are more important. I want you here. I would be twice as anxious if I didn’t know where you were or if you were safe. Buildings are unstable after earthquakes. They may look fine externally, but internally, there can be severe damage.”

I think about the way that comment relates to my life while she snuggles against my chest. I put on a good front externally, an excellent one actually. The world believes I’m a hard ass Marine who has his shit together and doesn’t give a fuck about anyone. That’s how I’ve portrayed myself, but inside, I’m tortured by the need to control all things in my life—people, objects, situations. Everything. And truth be told, I’m lonely. Fucking random women is fine if you’re just looking to get off, and I thought that’s what I wanted. No woman will ever fill the hole Katie left in my chest.

Or so I thought.

“Are you hungry? I can try to make something quietly without waking your mother.”

“No thank you. My stomach is in knots after everything that’s happened tonight.”

“What can I do for you then?”

“Nothing. Why don’t you let me help you?” she says, lowering her eyes to my lap.

“Yeah? You sure you’re up for that? I thought you’d be exhausted.”

“I am, but making you feel good is more important to me right now.” She winks at me and starts unbuttoning my pants and tugging down the zipper. I’m hard for her, but when am I not?

She takes a step away from me and tries to pull me up. It’s a funny sight to see this tiny woman trying to help me stand. She pushes out her bottom lip and pouts when she can’t make me budge. I stand and tower over her while she works my pants off. She tries to take control of the moment again by pushing me down onto the bed. She’s not a quitter. I’ll give her that.

I let her do it and fall onto the mattress.

I watch her continue to unbutton my shirt. She stops and lifts her eyes to my lips after the third button. She slowly blinks her lush lashes and dips to kiss me softly on the chest at the opening of my shirt before unbuttoning the forth and fifth. Her eyes find mine again. There is so much open, honest vulnerability there. It makes me want to rip her towel off and ravish her, but I let her lead the way . . . for now.

Her lips follow her fingers down my chest until my shirt is open. Her mouth is dangerously close to the tip of my twitching cock when she straightens up and makes a show of pushing my shirt off my shoulders. When I’m naked with my cock pointing straight at her, she drops her towel. I lean back on my hands to show her I’m all hers to do with as she pleases.

Control is my forte, but Violet’s willingness to take the reins is irresistible and she doesn’t disappoint. She reaches out and strokes my shaft from root to head.

“Want me to talk dirty to you, Major?”

“Mmmhmm,” is about all I can muster. She’s going to end this before it begins with her sexy fucking voice if she’s not careful.

“You have the biggest cock I’ve ever seen.” She bends to swirl her tongue on the head of the biggest fucking cock she’s ever seen, and I moan.

“I’m going to take you all the way in my mouth. I’m going to suck you so hard until you hit the back of my throat, and I’m going to love it.”

And she does.

Her full, soft lips cover my cock, and it slides across her tongue and, just as promised, I bump the back of her throat. She sucks hard and drags her mouth along my rock hard length and swirls her tongue over the head.

“Fuck, Violet . . .”

“You like that? Want more?” She teases my head with her tongue, and that’s it. Her sultry, dirty mouth just started a storm, and like lightning, I snatch her forward and roll her onto her back on the bed. I tried it her way. I enjoyed it, actually, but we’re doing it my way now. I’m taking the control back.

“You think you have a dirty mouth, do you?” I say, hovering over her and pinning her crossed wrists over her head with one hand. The corner of her mouth lifts in a wicked, sexy smile and she nods her head up and down.

“I like what you do with that dirty fucking mouth of yours. I like it so much that I may fuck it again later, but right now, I want to know something, Target girl.”

“What’s that, Major?”

“How wet are you for me?”

She squirms under me, aligning our bodies so she can show me, but I want to hear her say it.

“Uh, uh, uh,” I say, shaking my head back and forth.

“Tell me.”

She wiggles her hands, and I free one of them. She slides it between her breasts and down her flat belly between our hot bodies and between her legs. When she touches herself her breath hitches, and I’m fast approaching the end of my short-lived control.

She brings her glistening wet fingers to my lips and slides them into my mouth. “That’s how wet I am for you, Major.”

I slide my cock between her folds and circle my hips, rubbing my head against her clit. “Are you ready?”

“Oh God, yes, please,” she moans, thrusting her hips upward. I’m right there. One more move and I’m inside her.

“Vie, I want to feel you. I don’t want anything between us. Are you on the pill?” I ask. I’m so fucking out of my mind to feel her around me right now, I’d probably risk it even if she weren’t.

“Yeah, for ten years.”

Perfect.

I blow out a breath and slide deep into her. We both cry out, and I remember her mother is sleeping right downstairs, so I cover her mouth with my hand that was holding her wrist and use the other for leverage against the mattress.

I can feel her mouth curve into a smile under my hand, and her eyes sparkle right before she licks me. I move my hand away, and she half-laughs, half-groans when I push in balls deep. She clenches around me as I pump in and out of her, feeling flesh against flesh with nothing separating us. It feels so good. I know I’m close, and from the way her eyes just rolled back into her head and her entire body just arched off the bed, she’s milliseconds from release, but I don’t want this to end yet. It’s too perfect, too passionate, too late. We explode simultaneously, yelling indecipherable words and grunts. I have no doubt Lilly is awake now. Hell we probably just scared the neighbors next door awake too.

I still inside her, basking in the post-orgasmic pulsing of my cock. Going bare is so fucking amazing. I haven’t had sex without a condom since I was married. I forgot how much more sensitive it is, how it feels to empty inside of a woman instead of a piece of latex.

I roll onto my back, taking her with me without separating. I’ll be ready to go again soon. I can feel it.

She kisses me on my mouth and sits up straddling me, pushing my semi-erect cock deeper inside her. She leans back a little, pressing her perfect round ass against my thighs, and I raise my arms up and lace my fingers together behind my head to admire her.

“You think we woke my mom?”

I wink when she looks worried. “I think we woke the whole neighborhood,” I say, lifting one corner of my mouth in a smirk.

“Shit, my mom’s the type who would come up here and feign concern just to find out what’s happening, even when she knows exactly what’s happening.”

She looks around as if she’s trying to find something to cover us with.

“Don’t worry. If she comes up here, she will be sadly disappointed. The door is locked.”

She relaxes and leans forward, placing her palms flat on my abs. I should pull her down to reassure her, but she’s too damn gorgeous. I want to look at her.

“You’re so beautiful, Violet. Sit up and push your hair behind your shoulders.”

She chews on the inside of her mouth for a second, and a little pucker appears between her brows, but she does what I ask. Sitting up, she scoops her hair up and twists it into a messy knot on top of her head with a rubber band she had on her wrist. Now I can see all of her.

“Much better.”

She squirms under my stare, but I can’t help it. I could lay here and look at her all night. I love the curve in her neck, her pecan colored silky skin, the dip in her throat that I kiss when I’m trailing kisses down her neck and across her collarbone. I like how she gets goosebumps every time I press my lips against that dip. I love watching her breasts rise and fall with every heave of her breath when I’m moving in and out of her. I love the way my hands look around her waist and when I slide them down over the curve of her hips. I eye the pretty little piercing on her flat belly when it sparkles in the soft light of the lamp on my night table.

“Is this your birthstone?” I ask, moving my hand out from under my head to fiddle with the piece of jewelry.

“Yes, Ruby.”

“So you’re born in July. What day?” I ask because I too am born in July, and what a strange coincidence it would be if we had the same birthday. I checked the year she was born on her driver’s license, but not the day or month.

“July 26^th.”

“No way?” I say.

She shrugs, and that small movement of her body has me hardening inside her.

“Why?” she asks, bending down to lay her head on my chest. She’s got to be exhausted, but I’m not done with her. If I can keep her busy all night, she might be too tired to drive all the way to San Diego tomorrow and she’ll have to stay another night.

“Because I’m born in July too.”

“Really, what day?” she asks.

“July 26^th.”

She lifts up, and the knot of hair on her head bobs forward.

“We share a birthday?”

“Yep, guess so.”

“Hmm,” she says, pursing her lips together and looking thoughtful.

“What’s the hmm for?” I ask.

“Two Leos. Who’s going to wear the crown?”

“What crown?”

“Leo is the sign of royalty. If we’re both royal, who will be the boss?”

“That’s easy, me.”

She laughs and kisses me on the mouth, kindling the fire that’s still smoldering from our last go round.

“You are a little bossy. I’ll give you, that but it doesn’t make you the boss.”

“Are royal Leos also known for their sassy mouths and argumentative natures?”

“Maybe. You should really brush up on your astrology, Major.”

I grab her around the waist and flip her onto her back pinning her arms against the mattress.

“Whoa!” She laughs.

“I don’t need astrology to know I’m the boss,” I say, moving close to her face until our foreheads are touching.

Her eyes narrow. “Prove it,” she says, thrusting her hips.

That little challenge is all it takes. I’m fully hard again and about to prove to this woman that the Marine Corps didn’t give me the title of Major for nothing.

She’s surprised when I slide out of her, and she whimpers. I press a finger on her lips. “No noise.”

I back off the bed and go to into my closet to put on a robe. When I come out, she’s sitting up cross-legged in the middle of the bed, looking confused.

“I’ll be right back. Stay there.”

“Major, wait, what about my mother?”

“What about her?”

She glances down at the bulge in my robe and back to my face. “She can’t see you like that.”

“Relax, Violet. I’m very quiet. She’ll never know I’m there.”

“Where? Where are you going?” she asks in a panic, but I don’t respond. I unlock the door and leave, closing it without making a sound. I hear her curse, and I chuckle as I make my way silently down the stairs and through the house to the garage.

Lilly is sound asleep on the couch when I walk through the living room. None of her belongings are laying out. Everything is exactly the way I keep it other than her duffle bag on the floor next to the couch. Hmm, a fellow neat freak. That’s very convenient.

In the garage, I open a tiny drawer on the workbench and remove a key that unlocks a drawer under the workbench. It’s a large, shallow drawer with no handle. You’d never know it was there unless you looked closely and saw the keyhole. I slide it open and remove a silky blue length of rope. I close the drawer, lock it, and replace the key. When I turn to go back inside the house, Lilly is standing in the door, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed over her chest, eyeing the rope in my hand.

“I may seem very liberal and nonchalant about sex and men, Major Steele, but if you hurt my daughter, believe me, my face will be one you’ll wish you could forget.”

“I have no intention of hurting Violet, Lilly.”

“Maybe so, but even the best intentions go bad sometimes.”

“I understand your concern, but I assure you I’m not going to hurt her in any way,” I say, and she eyes the rope again.

She doesn’t say another word. She just pushes off the frame and turns to walk back down the dark hall to my living room. I turn off the lights and follow her. She’s back on the couch, in the same position as when I came downstairs, eyes shut. It’s almost like she was never awake, like the brief meeting of the minds that just happened in my garage never occurred.

Upstairs, Violet is still in bed, but she’s pulled down the comforter and moved the throw pillows onto my chair. I wonder if she remembered that’s where I like them or if it was coincidental that she put them in the same place that I did last night. She is lying on her side, facing the center of the bed, with her palms pressed together under her cheek.

I go to the closet to hang up my robe and lock the bedroom door on the way back to bed with the rope.

“I talked to your mother.”

“I knew she would be awake. God, what did she say?”

I hold up the rope. “She said not to hurt you or I’ll regret it.”

She raises her eyebrows high, and her pretty mouth falls open.

“I told her that would never happen.”

“Then what’s with the rope?”

“Lay on your stomach, and I’ll show you.”

After a moment of thought, she slowly rolls onto her stomach and hugs the pillow.

I pull the comforter and sheet down, folding it neatly at the end of the bed, and she shivers.

“Cold?” I say, moving to the foot of the bed. She lifts her head, trying to follow me.

“A little.”

“Relax. I’ll warm you up.”

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Tying you up,” I say and crawl up the bed, straddling her ass.

“Were you planning on asking me if you could do that?”

“Nope.”

“So this is happening against my will?”

I lean forward and take her arms out from under the pillow and whisper into her ear, “I don’t know, is it?”

“No.”

“No, it’s not against your will, or no, it’s not happening?”

“It’s not against my will,” she says, relaxing her arms.

“Good girl.”

I place her wrists behind her and let the rope unfurl onto her skin. She inhales a sharp breath, and I lean forward to kiss the small of her back.

“Relax. Do you trust me, Violet?”

“Yes,” she says on an exhale.

I lay the rope over her wrists and pass it back and forth, making a cuff of rope five or six inches wide before looping in under and back to tie a loose knot. I slide my fingers between the rope and her skin to be sure it’s not cutting off circulation.

“Is this okay?”

“Mm hmm.”

I love how the rope looks against her skin.

I reach up and grab my pillow and fold it in half. I slide my arm under her waist, lift her up, and push it under her stomach.

“You look so fucking sexy like this,” I say, trailing my fingers over the curve of her ass and down her thigh. “Are you comfortable?”

She’s breathing hard now. The muscles in her upper back flex with every breath she takes.

“Yes.”

I sit back on my heels and admire my work. She would look so good tied up with intricate knots and patterns, but I don’t want to push her too far tonight. I slide my hands up her thighs and palm her ass cheeks, spreading her open wide. I dip my fingers into her wet core and spread it up and down her seam, and she lifts up higher onto her knees. I take advantage of the position and lean in to lick her, holding her in place with my hands on her ass.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” I hear her chanting over and over as I kiss and suck and stroke. She’s trembling when I slide my tongue over the pucker of her ass, sending her into orbit. Her body writhes and convulses, and she turns her face into the mattress when she screams my name. I rise onto my knees and slide into her while she’s still pulsing with her orgasm and begin to work her up for another. With my hands spread over her ass, I massage her slit and watch my cock slide in and out of her. The sound of our bodies and her muffled moans echo in the room, and I wish I could record it and listen to it later.

I’m close, and I can feel her building again, nearing that place between reality and ecstasy.

“Who’s the boss, Violet?”

“You are, Major, you are,” she cries as she comes for the third time tonight. Four more thrusts, and I’m exploding inside her, biting my lip to keep from yelling.

‘Fuck, Vie, you feel so good.”

She collapses forward, and I go with her, being careful not to put all my weight on her. When we have both come down from our orgasmic high, I rise and pull the rope, loosening the knot. When the loops are loose enough, she starts to wiggle her fingers and I slip the rope off her wrists.

We fall onto our sides facing each other, and I glance at the clock on the bedside table that seems like it’s ticking louder than usual. It’s late, she’s worn out, and I just want to hold her.

“Spoon, and then a bath,” I say.

“Yes, sir,” she says, saluting me playfully.

“I like the sound of that.”

“Don’t get too used to it.”