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  She laughed. “I know.”

  “You’ve not cried?” he asked.

  “I don’t need to cry.”

  “They were still your parents, Mavis.”

  “What exactly makes a parent? Is it blood? Is it that they feed their kid breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Take them shopping? The simple title on a birth certificate?” She shrugged. “They are known as my parents, but they didn’t do what parents do. I know you have your memories of my dad, but … I didn’t know him. I only know what they showed me. How they acted with each other. I wasn’t a good enough kid for them. I was always too quiet, too fat, too ugly. I looked like a zombie when I was a kid. The black hair and pale skin. Mom used to get so angry. She even tried to find the right lotion to make it look like I had a tan, and that didn’t work. How can I mourn someone I never loved? Someone who … hurt me. Forgot me, and hated the very ground I walked on?” She stared out at the lake.

  He watched her walk toward the edge.

  She stared into the water.

  “You know what gets me? Everyone says we’re supposed to love and care for family. I get it. They’re the people who share blood. Who you are born to. But, those same people can steal, lie, hurt, rape, abuse, and if your own family can do that to you, do you expect their victims to feel pain at the passing of the person that hurt them?”

  She turned to look at him, and he saw the real pain in her eyes.

  “I wasn’t raped or beaten or abused. I was ignored. I was a disappointment. My mother told me I ruined her life. That if I wasn’t born, she’d be better off. She’d be happier. I don’t care that my parents died. I’m tired of being told that the tears will come and the pain. I don’t care. I really don’t. I’m hurt. When they told me they died, they came to the boarding school, where I’d been for over a year without seeing them. How can I mourn people I never knew?”

  He moved up behind her, gripping her shoulders. He pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her body, holding her. Giving her comfort.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t need to be sorry for me. Just don’t ask me to be sorry for the passing of two people I don’t even know.” She put her hands on top of his.

  He kissed the top of her head and stared down into the water.

  His scar was visible as he’d pulled his hair back into a ponytail.

  Every other time he saw his reflection, he’d flinch away, hating what he saw. This time, he stared down and didn’t try to run and hide.

  He didn’t need to.

  Mavis looked so young, so beautiful and innocent, and he looked like the hungry wolf. He tightened his hold around her.

  “I care about you. When you enter a room, I know you exist. I can feel you, Mavis. I won’t ever ignore you or push you aside.” He kissed the top of her head. “I know you.”

  She closed her eyes and sank against him, holding him. “Thank you.”

  She wasn’t used to having anyone that cared, but he did.

  He’d not wanted her in his life, but now he wouldn’t give her back. He’d fight anyone who came and tried to take her away from him.

  They’d had their chance with her.

  Everyone had missed the beauty in his arms, but he knew when he found a rare and precious gift. Mavis had been given to him, and he wasn’t going to let her go.

  He’d make sure she never felt loneliness or fear again.

  Staring down into the lake, he felt something turn within him.

  The scar wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t ugly or repulsive. It was part of him, and instead of pulling more hair over his face or trying to hide, he didn’t.

  This was him, and he wasn’t going anywhere else.

  ****

  Staring up at the ceiling, Mavis held onto the blanket as the first wave of thunder filled the sky. She hated the sound of thunder, and also lightning. The other night when Luca had chased her, she’d not cared as she’d been distracted enough not to.

  Now she did care.

  The house seemed to shake as the sound pierced through. The bed she lay in was too big and lonely. Closing her eyes, she tried to count sheep, to think of a million other things that would distract her from the noise.

  She opened her eyes just as a flash of lightning lit up her window, followed by the crashing waves of thunder, and it was too much.

  Throwing off the blankets, she rushed toward the door, being careful not to run because that last spanking session had really smarted. Her ass still held a red tinge of bruises from her punishment.

  She went straight to Luca’s room and hesitated. She’d gone to bed early tonight. After her revelation about her parents, she’d not felt comfortable sitting in silence with him. Fear of judgment sent her to her room to sleep.

  Now though, she felt utterly ridiculous. Before she could stop herself, she knocked and let herself into the room.

  There was a light on by his bedside and she saw he was awake.

  Her body shook a little.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, putting the book down that he’d been reading.

  “Erm, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” He pulled the blanket back, and she saw he was in a pair of boxer briefs. She was too freaked out to be disappointed. If he’d slept naked that would have been so much fun.

  Biting her lip, she looked around his room.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked again.

  “Would you believe me if I told you that I have a fear of really loud noises?”

  “You’re afraid of the thunder and lightning?”

  “A little bit.” She held her finger and thumb together. “It’s completely irrational and stupid, I know, but I can’t help it.”

  “The other night?”

  “Oh, I was able to focus on you and you know, not being a virgin, which was pretty awesome.” She was rambling. “Can I spend the night? I don’t snore. At least I don’t think I do.”

  He walked up toward her, put his hands on her arms, and pulled her in close.

  At first, she tensed, and then the scent of him surrounded her and she felt calm once again. Until another wave of thunder pierced the night sky, shaking her to the core.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

  “I don’t think this,” she said. “It’s so stupid of me to even think about this and I know it makes me sound like a baby.”

  “You’re not a baby. Come on.” He helped her toward the bed and as he lifted the covers, she climbed in.

  Holding them close to her, she didn’t move as he rounded the bed.

  The mattress dipped as he climbed in, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. In the next second the light went out, and she let out a yelp as another wave of thunder crashed around them.

  Luca moved in behind her, his body flush against hers as they laid on the bed.

  “I’m here,” he said.

  “How can you not hate it?”

  “I’ve been around a long time.”

  “I can’t even describe when I first started to hate it. The sounds always feel like the world is ending, and the noise, it scares me so much.”

  His arm banded around her, taking hold of her hand. “I’ve got you. I’d never let anything happen to you.”

  He spooned against her back, and as she felt the beat of his heart against her back, it soothed her.

  “I was thinking about what you said today about doing something with the land.”

  “You’re not going to sell it, are you?”

  “No. I was thinking about hiring a ranch hand. There’s a couple around these parts. Extra land and maybe I could get some cattle that be of use to them, or they bring their own and I rent out the space. They work the cattle and get a percentage as do I. I don’t like that the land is just sitting there, being mowed, when it could be put to good use.”

  “Is this your way of putting the corporate days behind you?”

  “They’ve been long gone,” he said.

  “You miss them though.”

/>   She noticed he didn’t argue with her. Running her fingers over his hand, she tried to think of something to say to fill the gap.

  “One day you’re going to have your own money. Do you know what you’re going to do with it?”

  “Live off it. I’ve got to figure out what I want to be.”

  “You don’t know?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve thought about it, but a lot of the ideas I think are boring. Being a lawyer, doctor, manager, CEO, I’m not sure they hold any appeal. I’m good with all my classes as you’ve seen. The work comes easy to me, but something is always missing.” She tensed up when another bolt of thunder crashed through the sky.

  Luca held her tighter, and she didn’t want him to let her go, not ever.

  Rolling over, she faced him.

  “What did you want to be when you grew up?” she asked.

  “A rock star.”

  “For real?”

  “Yes. A real life, amazing rock star. Where girls dropped their panties at the mere sight of me.”

  “They do that now.”

  “They do?”

  She tucked some hair behind her ear and moved so she straddled his waist.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, a teasing note to his voice.

  “I’m trying to distract myself. You know, we’ve not been in a real bed.”

  “You’re right, we haven’t.” His hands landed on her thighs.

  The shorts she wore didn’t provide a lot of protection, and the hard ridge of his cock pressed against her pussy.

  “You’re wanting me to distract you?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  She let out a squeal as he turned her so that she lay on the bed with him above her.

  His lips smashed against hers, and she held onto his head, not wanting to let go as his lips devoured her. She was starving for him; his touch, his kiss.

  He ran his hands down her body and soaked everything up.

  She helped him as he began to tug on her clothes, and within minutes they were both naked. Running her hands down his chest, she whimpered as his lips trailed down her body. He went to her tits, sucking on each one.

  She lost focus was he spread her thighs wide and the head of his cock teased against her entrance. Just a few months ago, she was at boarding school, bored out of her mind. Now she was in bed with her guardian, with his expert touch driving her to the next level of pleasure.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance. She didn’t care about the sound, just his touch and the way he kissed her.

  Inch by glorious inch, he sank in deep, going to the hilt within her. He took hold of her hands, pressing his body flush against hers as he drove inside her, each inch branding her as his.

  After a few minutes of him thrusting inside her, she realized he was making love to her. This wasn’t fucking.

  He was making love to her.

  Her stomach catapulted, and she held onto his hands where he’d locked them together. When his lips brushed hers, she moaned his name.

  This was what she wanted.

  Him.

  Luca.

  The man from the pictures with her father, that had a nice, smiling face.

  Not the man from the newspaper articles, or the monster they painted him out to be.

  Luca was so much more than that.

  As he drove inside her and the first stirrings of her orgasm began to build, she knew she had to keep him, that in this moment, nothing else mattered.

  Just the two of them.

  Forever.

  Nothing could ever tear them apart.

  She had finally found someone who cared, who saw her, and it scared her. What if he didn’t feel the same way?

  Chapter Eight

  One week later

  “And anything you don’t plant is considered a weed,” Luca said.

  “Even plants with pretty flowers on them?”

  “Pretty much. I don’t mind them. Right now it looks all dead and barren. but come spring and summer they will grow.” He pulled out a few of the weeds as Mavis threw them into the compost bucket next to him.

  Rather than stay inside for another weekend, she’d offered to come and help him in the garden.

  She’d been with him for nearly a month now, and he was worrying about her. The reclusive lifestyle was good for him, but she was young. Did she miss being with everyone else? Her own peers? She never talked about boarding school or her life with her parents.

  He knew she didn’t miss it, but he had to wonder.

  This was a change in the early days even for him. He’d spend weeks at a time alone, building, creating, doing something, and then he’d need to interact. So, he’d drive out to a bar and then he’d get all the reminders he needed. People would stare at him, or women would give him that disgusted look.

  Glancing over at her as she worked her way through the weeds, he wondered what was going through her mind.

  She liked to have long moments of silence, and it didn’t feel awkward at all. The knees of her jeans were filthy, and she sat back, brushing at her brow.

  “Am I doing this right?” she asked, pointing to the flowerbed.

  “Yes.”

  She’d pulled out all of the weeds, and he didn’t see a problem with what she’d done. The bed would be ready come spring when he could plant them out.

  “Do you miss boarding school?”

  “No.”

  “Just like that?”

  “I was there because I didn’t have anywhere else to go. It’s a bunch of girls who are forced to live with each other. Most of us are rich kids whose parents just wanted to get rid of us.” She did that shrug thing she liked doing so much. “Not much to miss. A couple of the girls would sneak out to meet up with guys. Then we’d all sit and listen as they told us about sex.” She got to her feet and walked toward him. She put her hands around his neck, and pressed her lips against his. “They had nothing on you.”

  He gripped her ass. “That’s because I’m a man and they were messing with boys.”

  “That’s true.” She pressed her body against him. “You’re all man.”

  She kissed him again.

  He was a fucking sucker. “I’ve got to work and you’re making it impossible to think.”

  “Good. You need to stop thinking and focus on me.” She giggled.

  “I worry about you.”

  “Why? I’m being good. No spankings in over a week.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I mean the outside world.”

  “What about it?”

  “You need to be around people your own age or even just people. Susan and the cleaners I have come here don’t count.”

  “Why not? While you’re working I help them out.”

  “You help them clean?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I don’t mind it. It’s kind of fun. Also, Susan is teaching

  me to cook. It’s a skill I’ve never been taught, and I’ve got a long way to go. I don’t mind where you live. I love it. The gardens, the fields, just everything about it. I love that it is only the two of us. I don’t need for us to be around lots of people.”

  He stared at her and wondered.

  “You really amaze me,” he said.

  “Why? Because I’m totally awesome.” She winked at him.

  She turned away, and he gave her ass a little swat. She gave him a yelp followed by a giggle.

  “You do know we’re going to have to go out sometime? That we can’t stay here forever?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “We’ll deal with that when we come to it.”

  He watched as she got back to work.

  Her ass was a curvy distraction as she got to weeding the other bed. It was way too cold, but he’d made her put on one of his sweaters. He’d noticed she always loved his little acts of protection, no matter how big or small.

  Get your head out of your ass.

  Tell her.

  Luca didn’t want her to be on edge. He’d gotten an email from the social worker. She wanted
to come and see Mavis to double check that everything was going fine. She intended to make a visit sometime next week.

  Now, Susan and his cleaners hadn’t said anything when they caught him kissing Mavis or holding her. He refused to hide his feelings for her, but with the social worker, it was a different matter.

  She could make things very fucking difficult for the two of them.

  Mavis was of age, but he was her guardian. He knew from his research that this could blow up in his face. He was the adult, and if in some way they believed Mavis was in any way being taken advantage of, he could lose her.

  Running a hand down his face, he tried not to think about the interference that could happen. He and Mavis were in a good place.

  He didn’t want some fucking stranger interrupting their peace together. There was always someone trying to interfere, to ruin another’s life. He’d learned that firsthand.

  “I’m going to see how Susan is and get a drink for both of us,” he said.

  “Okay.”

  Leaving her alone to garden, he made his way into the kitchen. Pots and pans bubbled on the stove.

  “Hello, sir,” Susan said, with a smile.

  He nodded at her and released a breath as he stood at the kitchen sink. What the hell should he do?

  “She looks happier since coming here,” Susan said.

  “She hasn’t had a good life.” It wasn’t a hard one, but he couldn’t imagine living with people who couldn’t stand you. His parents when they’d been around were very loving and supportive of his path. She tried to hide her feelings from him. Every now and then, he’d catch her watching him, and he saw the longing in her eyes.

  He wasn’t used to the feelings she inspired.

  It wasn’t just the sex, which was so fucking good.

  He loved being inside her tight heat.

  She made him feel, and that alone scared the crap out of him. Women often looked at him with greed, his wealth drawing them to him.

  Mavis was rich.

  Ryan hadn’t done badly for himself since their friendship died. All of that wealth would go to Mavis, including all of the shares and stocks, along with a position on her father’s company’s board. The men there were fucking vultures. They’d find some way to get rid of her or to make her life miserable. If she didn’t have anyone to guide her or make sure she was okay, they’d ruin her. Destroy her. He couldn’t have that.