I try to distract myself with thoughts of something other than how good Lucy feels so I don’t blow my load right in her hand, and the first thing that pops into my head is my asshole father and the words he spoke tonight. It fills me with anger and I distractedly push Lucy’s hand away from my cock, line myself up against her opening and push myself into her roughly. The sound of her surprised gasp brings me back to the present and I hold myself completely still inside of her.

“Jesus, I’m sorry, Lucy. I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” I whisper brokenly as I start to pull out of her.

Fuck, I need to calm down. What the hell is wrong with me?

Her hands clutch my ass and she tilts her hips, pulling me deeper inside of her.

“No, no, don’t stop. Please, don’t stop,” she whispers softly.

I rest my forehead against hers while my cock pulses inside of her. I need to move so badly it’s killing me. She’s so soft, so warm and feels so good, but I’m afraid to move. I’m afraid the anger simmering just below the surface is going to take over and I’m going to hurt her again. I know she’s only encouraging me because she doesn’t want me to think I shocked her and hurt her. I’m always slow and gentle with her. I’ve never just slammed inside of her without getting her plenty ready for me, taking my time, showing her how much I cherish her.

She keeps her hands on my ass, tugging me forward and I have no choice but to move before I explode. I make it up to her by taking it slow, pushing and pulling my cock out of her gently, the way she deserves. I bring my hand down between us and slide my thumb over her clit exactly the way she likes until she’s moaning and whispering my name. The sound of my name on her lips when she’s coming is the one thing that keeps me grounded and keeps me in the here and now with her. I feel her clench around me and her thighs squeeze tighter around my hips as I work in and out of her achingly slow. She holds me tightly to her and rocks against me through her orgasm and I follow right behind, whispering her name against her ear and telling her how much I love her.

We stay against the kitchen counter for as long as it takes to calm our racing hearts, our arms wrapped around each other as I continue to whisper words of love and remind her how lucky I am to have her.

My father will never approve of the choices I’ve made in my life and I can’t keep letting his opinions get to me and fuck with my mind. I’m just going to have to live with that and find my own happiness without him. Right here, in this kitchen, is the only happiness I need.

Chapter 18

Fisher

Present Day

“Explain yourself, old man.”

I’m standing in Trip’s kitchen with my arms crossed and my foot tapping against the floor.

“Watch your mouth, boy. I can still wash it out with soap,” he replies with a huff as he shuffles around the small room, fixing himself a sandwich.

“You’re forgetting that I used to like the taste of soap,” I tell him with a hint of a smile.

“You always were a cocky little shit. You’d swear, I’d put soap in your mouth and you’d tell me it was delicious. Remember that time—”

“Quit stalling,” I interrupt him. “I know you had something to do with those monthly deposits for Lucy. She thinks it was me and I had no idea what she was talking about and now she’s pissed at me.”

Trip laughs, opening up the fridge to put the mayo and bologna away. “The day you do something that DOESN’T piss that poor girl off will be the day hell freezes over.”

He slams the door closed, takes his plate to the small table in the corner of the room and sits down. He then proceeds to take a few bites of his sandwich, chewing as slowly as possible just to piss me off. Right when I’m about to snatch that damn sandwich from his hand and chuck it across the room, he finally starts talking again.

“That girl has had it pretty rough the last year. You up and left and it damn near tore her in two. Ellie and I had to practically drag her out of bed just to get her to take a shower and eat. Then, she’d crawl right back in that bed and not come out for days.”

His words tear me in two, but I know I need to hear them. I’d punished myself with visions of what Lucy went through after what I did to her, but hearing it all laid out for me and finding out it was much worse is torture.

“On top of that, your daddy kept showing up, telling her he knew it was only a matter of time before you came to your senses and kicked her to the curb and that you lasted a lot longer than he thought you would. Girl’s heart was already broken and he had to go and ruin her pride on top of it. Should have sent that little shit off to the military when he was a boy,” Trip mutters under his breath. “Right when she starts coming around, getting out of that damn bedroom, learning to be happy again, fucking pipe bursts at the inn and floods the place. Leaked clean through the floor to the ceiling downstairs until the whole thing almost caved in. It was a bigger job than I could handle, and we had to call in a lot of professionals from the mainland to redo everything. New plumbing, new ceiling and floors and all new pipes and bathroom fixtures. Thirteen bathrooms that all needed replaced. It was a big job, took a lot of money. More money than was in her bank account, including the lump sum you sent her during the divorce that she refused to touch. Seeing as I own the majority of Fisher’s Bank and Trust, I went behind her back and took that money out and used it. Boy, that girl sure came to life after that. I’ve never heard her scream so loud or swear so much.”