* * *

For the next few days I watched her every move with new eyes. I didn’t touch her for those two days, something she complained bitterly about no end.

But I was trying to see what her true game was and I knew I wouldn’t get to the bottom of it unless I kept my dick out of her and kept a clear head.

Because of what she’d awakened in me I had to know, why? Why her after all these years and all the many women?

I couldn’t put my finger on any one thing that she’d said or done that should bring about this change in me. And I was even more astounded by my own reaction. The fact that I wasn’t running scared or packing her off back to her parents.

It wasn’t just her beauty, I knew that, or her youth; my heart’s not that damn fickle. So for two days I restrained myself while she was back to doing everything in her power to get me to fuck her.

“I said behave.” I smacked her ass again and kept my head in the book I’ve been pretending to read for the last half an hour.

We were on the couch with her head resting on my bent knee. I read a book while she played one of those insipid games on her phone with the volume off after the last time I threatened to toss the shit out the window.

Neither of us was really paying attention to what we were doing, but we were putting on a good show. I’d had to pull her hand off my dick twice already even though I’d told her to quit.

“I’m bored!”

“I know, but you’re not getting what you’re after so give it up.” I brought the book closer to my face so I wouldn’t see her pout and give in.

In these past two days I’d come to realize that I found everything about her either cute or adorable. She’s a precocious little thing when she isn’t vamping it up.

And once she lets her guard down and stops acting like she’s on a mission to get me to breed her, there’s a very mature almost overly focused side to her.

I’m not sure why she tries to keep this side of her hidden, that’s another part of the mystery. But I’ve noticed that each time she slips into that character, the one that reminds me of her father and how astutely intelligent he is, she pulls back just as quickly.

From our conversations I now know that she’s more than a little intelligent and that she has a kind though misguided heart.

She’s one of those romantic types that believe in folklores and fairytales. Her head is in the clouds half the damn time, and when she’s not being a shameless flirt, she’s a hoyden.

Once her attention was shifted again to the game I lowered the book without her notice and watched her the top of it. She bites her lower lip when she’s concentrating hard on something, and when her hair is loose like it is now, she pushes it back behind her left ear every few minutes.

I let my eyes run down her body as she lounged against me. That’s something else I’ve noticed, she likes being close to me. Even when we’re asleep, if I should move away from her in the night, she always finds her way to me again.

As if sensing my stare, her head turned slowly and our eyes met. For the barest of seconds there was sadness in hers and that one look did something to my heart.

Now it was I putting the book away and reaching for her. “What’s the matter?” She shook her head and pretended interest in the game she was playing but I turned her face back to me.

“Tell me!” Somehow I knew this sadness had nothing to do with me not taking her to bed these past two days. I’d explained to her that I was just giving her body time to heal, and though not entirely true, it was a viable reason.

She smiled but it didn’t quite meet her eyes and I didn’t like it. Not sure since when I cut off my balls and started caring about this shit, but there you have it.

“Sydney I asked you a question.” She put her head back down on my knee and outright lied to me.

“I miss home that’s all.” I don’t know how I knew but I knew she was lying, still I chose to drop it for now.

I placed my book on the coffee table and snatched her phone, dropping it on top of it.

“Hey, what ‘re you doing?” She tried getting it back but I grabbed her hand and headed for the door. “Let’s go for a walk, or a ride on the ATV.”

If I stayed in there any longer I was gonna go back on my word. Apparently that sad look in her eyes makes me want to comfort her and right now I could think of only one way to do that.

She followed me to the garage where I kept my ATVs and other recreational toys. “You ever ride one of these things before?” I tossed the key to her when she gave me that look that says, ‘you’re stupid’.

We started out fine with me following behind close on her tail until I was sure that she knew what she was doing. I took her up into the back forty where they were trails from years of riding between the trees.

My heart got trapped in my lungs when she crested a rather steep hill that I was about to warn her not to attempt and went over to the other side.

I didn’t even realize I’d jumped off the damn death trap and ran up the hill on foot until I stood there looking down at her looking back at me.

“Where’s your ride did you fall off?”

“Get back up here.” I’m not sure how I got the words past the lump in my throat but I do know it was only due to my years of training that kept my knees from buckling under me.

She did a couple figure eights on the trail before riding at top speed back up the hill. She stopped next to me and turned it off.

As she opened her mouth to speak I snatched her off and held her tight enough to crack a rib. I’m nor sure what other people hear, feel, or think when their life is about to be turned upside down, but for me, all I saw was her.