DEEP CUT (Men of the Woods Book 2) Read online

  “What do you want?” I ask, wanting to know her every wish so I can make them all come true.

  “Mmmm.” She twists her sweet lips to the side and glances at the ceiling. “You mean, like things or with my life or…”

  “Anything. Just tell me something you want.”

  She leans back into the cushions of the sofa and pulls her legs up under her. For a moment, I see the flash of lavender panties and in my lust I swear I see a wet spot.

  “Well, I’d like my mom back.” She forces a smile and parts of my heart fall at my feet. “But that’s not in my control. So, I guess, I’ve always wanted to study to be a teacher. My parents wanted me to be an attorney…after my last year of school in London, I was ready to enroll at Sheffield University in pre-law. But it’s not where my heart was.”

  God, I want to know where her heart is so I can find it, keep it and never let it be harmed.

  “Teaching. What age? What would you teach?”

  Her eyes light up, like this is the first time anyone has taken that dream seriously, and the words spill out. “Well, I guess like ten through fifteen or so. Living in London, I was so lucky. I had everything. But, I saw the other side of things. Kids with not enough food, broken down schools, living in places most wouldn’t put a dog. They have no outlet for creativity, it’s just survival. I’ve always loved taking pictures. I’m pretty good, too. In school I won some photography contests, but Mom and Dad just told me it was okay as a hobby, but not as a career. And you know what was the worst?”

  I stop the grinding stone on my ax, giving her my full attention. “No, what was the worst?”

  “It’s that most people think kids that grow up that way have the same chances of success as everyone else. They don’t. Living that way as a child, it changes you. Lack of proper nutrition, sleep, a feeling of safety…it changes your brain. I’d just like to be a little part of trying to give kids without the privilege I had more of a chance. Giving them something they can use to express themselves. Maybe it’s not life changing, but it would be life affirming, I guess. Show them they can impact the world through art.” She shrugs, playing with her fingernails. “I know, I’m Pollyanna, but you asked. Not that it matters now. There’s no money for college. So, you know…”

  She looks up at me, her lips tight with a forced smile.

  “You never know what’s around the corner. Never give up on what you want, even if it’s not what’s expected of you.”

  She nods, pushing her hands down onto the sofa cushions, making her sit up straight, her ripe tits pushing out on her tank top, driving me crazy.

  “I know. It’s strange. All the kids in school think I’m the new rich girl. When, the truth is, if it wasn’t for my grandparents’ estate, we’d probably be in a two-bedroom apartment eating ramen every night. I don’t even have a camera right now. Mine is broken and Dad said it’s not worth repairing.”

  When my parents passed, they left both Phillip and I more money than most see in a lifetime. I saved mine. Invested.

  Phillip? He played the market, trying to look high flying with his financial services company in London. Lost it all, from what I can gather. Not that he would ever admit that in so many words. It’s all bad luck and blaming others with him.

  The fact that she’s living in our parents’ old estate, most people around here think she’s the new rich girl in a town that has two separate classes of people. I live on the opposite end of that spectrum. Don’t get me wrong, I have means. I just don’t care to spend or let anyone know what I have. Impressing people has never been a draw for me.

  Impressing Melody, that’s a different story, but I’m not talking about money. I’m going to impress upon her things an uncle shouldn’t. Things that will have her sweet pussy dripping and her plump sexy lips calling my name over and over. But that’s not everything, there’s also this desire to make her a part of me.

  To keep her safe. To listen to her stories. To know her happiest moments and her deepest desires. To be her everything and make her mine.

  “What about you, Uncle Cain? If you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?”

  Cum seeps out of my cock as my heart thunders in my chest. My fingertips twitch as I reach for the ax, bring it down to lay it across my knees, holding the handle with both hands as I try to find some control.

  “Do you really want to know?”

  She wiggles a little, slight discomfort flashing over her face, but she finally nods. “Yes. I think I really do want to know.”

  The slow burn that’s been engulfing me reaches its flash point.

  For two months I’ve been on edge, unable to stop thinking about her. At her birthday party, I saw the way the boys looked at her. The thought of them touching her, breathing in her air, looking at her with lustful thoughts in their minds, had me ready to come undone.

  She was mine.

  She is mine.

  And now it’s time to show her what that means.

  “I want you.”

  Chapter Four

  Melody

  I can barely breathe.

  Did he just say he wants me? Me?

  I swallow hard, wrapping my arms around my body and tugging my legs tighter under me.

  Uncle Cain is sitting at the table, his ax across his legs, and his hands are gripping the handle so tight his knuckles are turning white.

  He’s staring at me with something in his eyes that has me terrified and more excited than I’ve ever been before.

  All the nights since I saw him for the first time two months ago, all those times I lay in my bed, imagining moments like these, thinking someday—maybe someday—he would see me as something other than his niece.

  Other than a child.

  From what I see in his eyes right now, he’s not looking at me like a child.

  More like a bunny being stalked by a wolf.

  “How does that make you feel?” His voice is deep and even, as he shifts slightly in the wooden chair, his eyes tracing down my body, then back to my face. “I want to know how you feel, Melody. I’ll always want to know how you feel.”

  “Ummm…” Panic grips my throat and steals any other words.

  He releases one hand from the ax and brings it up to run down his face and grip his jaw on a groan. The cabin felt cool when I came in, but right now I’m on fire. My face is as red as his flannel shirt.

  The sudden tension in the small living room is rippling with electricity and I struggle to find my voice.

  “I feel strange. Floaty.”

  “Did what I said scare you?” He picks up the ax and sets it on the table as he stands.

  It seems like he grows exponentially, taller and broader, as he steps toward where I’m sitting. The scrape of his boots on the wooden floor roars in my ears. The glint in his dark eyes seems to me like there is fire behind them.

  I shake my head, but it’s a lie. I am scared.

  “Good. Don’t be scared of me. Not ever. I have so many things I want to do with you, to you. But I want you to always know, I’ll take care of you. Protect you. There’s something about you, I know it’s wrong but I don’t care anymore.”

  I’ve imagined this moment so many times in so many ways, and now that it’s here it’s better than any of my fantasies.

  He reaches down and I put my hands in his, letting him pull me up. The roughness of his fingers gliding up my arms makes me shiver as he looks down at me like I’m the most amazing thing he’s ever seen.

  My breath catches in my lungs, making them burn along with my skin. He licks his lips and brings a hand up over my shoulder, rests it on my neck, then his thumb is tracing along my bottom lip.

  I let my mouth fall open as he presses his thumb inside and, much to my shock, I suck it inward on a deep sigh and I hear an animal sound rumble from Cain.

  I’ve never wanted a man before. Or a boy for that matter. I went to a girl’s schools in London, but I still had opportunities. But no one ever made me feel the way I felt the
first time I saw Uncle Cain. And now?

  I’m not even sure this isn’t a dream. He withdraws his thumb, his hand at the side of my neck as my pulse races.

  “I don’t care either.” I half whisper, bringing my hands to the hard muscle of his biceps, feeling them flex beneath the soft fabric of his shirt.

  He winces at my touch as though I’ve hurt him, but his eyes say something different.

  I’m breathing hard, my heart feels like it’s coming right through my chest. And my panties? Well, they’ve been a mess since I put them on this morning, just knowing I was coming here. But right now, you could wring them out and make a puddle.

  “You know I’ve wanted this since the day we met. I want you to know that. This is real for me and there’s no going back. Not for me.”

  My nipples are tingling and hard under my tank top and I imagine his lips sucking them in. I arch forward, slightly unsure, but wanting more contact.

  “I’ve never…” My face heats as Cain’s eyes narrow.

  “No one has ever touched you?” There’s a tightness on his face as his hand on my neck squeezes, the other running down my back to settle just above my ass, pulling me forward. “Tell me no other boy or man has ever touched you, Melody.”

  His words sound pained and jealous and it makes me shudder at what he might do if my answer was something other than no.

  I shake my head, pinching my bottom lip between my teeth. “No one has ever touched me. I’ve never even done, like, French kissing.”

  I sense relief as his eyes soften and he lets out a long sigh.

  “Good. When that boy touched you at the pool, I wanted to snap his fucking neck. I don’t know what I would do if I knew someone had…” His voice trails off, and I nearly melt at the sincerity I detect in it.

  I run my hands up to his shoulder, pushing up on my toes to wrap them around his neck, my entire body shaking.

  He’s my uncle.

  I shouldn’t be doing this.

  We shouldn’t be doing this.

  “What about my dad?”

  “I’ll take care of my brother. I just need you to know, I’ll take care of everything for you. From now on. Do you understand what this means? I’m going to kiss you, Melody. I’m going to kiss your mouth, your neck, your tits, then I’m going to kiss your sweet pussy. Would you like that? Would you like my mouth on you?” His voice is gritty and deep as he tugs me against him.

  I feel an enormous length of hardness under his jeans and it makes me draw a quick breath as tightness centers inside me, pushing me to a place where logical thought is impossible.

  His massive, rock-hard body is pressed against me and I finally understand the meaning of the word swoon.

  “Yes.” I barely get the word out before his lips come down on mine.

  His hands shift and pull me up and onto him, my arms clutching around his shoulders and my legs locking around his back. His tongue pushes into my mouth and I open for him, moving my tongue against his.

  I have no idea what I’m doing, but if the sounds coming from Uncle Cain are any indication, I’m not doing anything wrong.

  Except making out with my Uncle.

  That could definitely fall into about a hundred categories of wrong.

  Cain pulls his face away for a moment. His hands kneading the swells of my ass as he grinds me against him.

  “Tell me what you want.” His eyes search, his brow tight.

  He leans closer, the warmth of his breath on my lips, and to my own horror, I know what I want.

  “I want you to kiss me everywhere.”

  Chapter Five

  Cain

  She fits against me perfectly.

  She’s pure. And that thought only lights new fire under the possessive beast waking inside of me.

  She wants me to kiss her.

  Everywhere.

  Thoughts of her, spread-eagled on my bed, my cum dripping from her, striped across her body, covering her face, fill me with a lust I didn’t know was possible.

  I heave her up and over my shoulder, grunting and gripping her body as I march across the small cabin to the door of my bedroom.

  She squirms, but she doesn’t fight. And where her hands touch my back, my skin is on fire.

  The filthy fantasies I’ve had about her for months flow through me like a venom. I want to be kind and gentle to her, but in my heart right now I know that’s impossible.

  Inside my small bedroom I flip her up and over, guiding her body down onto the navy-blue blanket that covers the bed. Her wide eyes are a mixture of fear and desire. My mouth waters at that sight, and I reach down to wrench her knees open.

  Looking down, I see those panties. Only this time, there is no doubt about the dampness soaking the fabric. A primal chant begins in my brain: she’s mine.

  My mate.

  The one I’ve been waiting for my whole life.

  Shyness covers her face as I stare down at her like a criminal. Her breathing is quick and the throbbing in my engorged dick is nearly blinding.

  I strip off my shirt and throw it behind me. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  That’s the truth, but she’s more. She’s kind and sweet. She cares and is unselfish. I never dreamed someone like her would come into my life. I’d given up on imagining anyone would fit with me. Half man, half beast, living out here in the forest.

  “You don’t think this is wrong?” Her tiny voice sounds like wind chimes. Her dark hair splays on the blanket, wide, blue eyes looking to me for guidance. Something behind them tells me she understands me, I’ve felt it since the first moment.

  To her, I’m not some throwback to an earlier time. She sees into me and I see into her. Her sweetness covers her desire for a life of her own choosing. She’s been pleasing others for their reasons for too long.

  I will show her true acceptance and bring the very best out of us both.

  “It’s not wrong. Nothing that feels like this could be wrong.”

  All the years, all the years alone, I felt at peace. There was no driving force to find a partner. A mate.

  And now I know why. God or the devil or whoever, they had a plan. And now that she’s here I’m never letting her go. She will never leave if I have my way.

  This will be the finest moment in my life. Placing the necklace around her neck will be eclipsed by this moment. The tiny heart rests on her heaving chest as I reach and tear at the button and zipper on her skirt.

  She yelps at the roughness but does nothing to stop me.

  In fact, her mouth opens and her back arches upward, her knees drawing together as her hands come to assist me in tugging the fabric down.

  Lust drives into me like cannon fire. I reach down and rip the skirt off her legs, then remove her tennis shoes and toss them aside, hearing them hit the wall behind me.

  She’s clad in just those soaking panties now, along with a wisp of a tank top and her bra visible beneath. The drums pounding inside me tell me to claw and dive into her. To take her, hard and fast, so she understands who she will be for me now.

  But the remnant of a civilized man inside me reins those thoughts in. She’s fresh and I do not wish to harm her more than is necessary. I reach down and drag my palm over my furious cock, trying to calm the need, but it’s no use.

  Nothing will sate me except mating with her. I will suffer my own pain of neglect until the time is right. At this moment, it’s my mouth that will give her pleasure, that will draw out of her the bliss that will connect her to me from this day on.

  “Your panties give you away. Reach down and tell me how wet you are. Put your fingers in your pussy, Angel.”

  She licks her bottom lip, staring up at me, but her knees fall inches apart. I bring my hands to them and jerk them open.

  “Keep them like that.”

  My command makes her cheeks turn a darker pink. I need her to obey me. I need her quivering and needy for me. The aggression that fills me feels foreign and yet perfect. Like it�
�s been storing up for her, and I only hope she’s ready for what she’s awoken.

  Her hand lifts off the bed, but she remains in place. She wants to do as instructed, I see it in her eyes, but her shyness and innocence hold her back.

  “Angel, there is no shame in what we are doing. There is no shame in pleasure, not between us. I know that down into my soul, like I’ve never known anything before.”

  Doubt clouds her face for a moment, and I swallow hard, the anticipation making my cock nearly explode as I look to see the insides of her thighs quiver.

  “What is it?” I urge, my teeth longing to bite into the soft flesh I see trembling with desire.

  Her lips tighten and she tilts her head back, then arches her neck to look around the bedroom. There is something hurting her, making her hesitate.

  I lean down, my fists in the bedding as her knees push up into my shoulders. “If you are thinking something, I want to know. Do not ever hold your feelings back, Angel. How can I be the man I want to be for you, if you aren’t open and honest with me? Even if you think it’s something I don’t want to hear, it is your responsibility to tell me so I can deal with it. Whatever it is, I’m here. Now tell me what’s going on in your head. I can see something is making you uncomfortable.”

  I see her swallow, but she brings her eyes back to mine.

  “It’s just.” She looks over at my dresser and I immediately see what could be at issue. “Who is that woman?”

  I see the jealousy sparking in her eyes, and I hold back my smile. There’s a photo there of me and a redhead about my age, she’s smiling and has her arms around my waist.

  “She’s the only other woman that’s ever been here.” I answer, and see the sadness cover her face and quickly clarify: “She’s my publisher. I used to write my stories and read them at the library on Saturday mornings for a children’s group now and then. One day, Rebecca was there with her son and after I was done, she introduced herself. I never thought anyone would want to read my stuff, but she said they would. And, she was right. We do business together, but she’s a friend. That’s all.”