Page 19 of Heart of the Mountain
I lean down and suck on her breast, teasing one nipple and then the other, back and forth until I feel her fingernails bite into the back of my head. She pulls my hair and tilts my head up before slamming her mouth down on mine.
My greedy girl rocks into me, meeting me frantic thrust for frantic thrust. I break our kiss and inhale sharply, feeling my orgasm barrel through me. With a roar, I let go of every fucking thing and come so damn hard I feel my bones rattle.
Sadie’s cries carve through the air as her pussy snaps around me, milking me and prolonging our pleasure. We’re both shaking and panting as we cling to each other, riding out the last of our orgasms.
I collapse on top of her, gathering her limp body up in my arms. I try rolling to the side to keep from crushing her, but Sadie urges me to stay right where I am. I’ll be her safety blanket whenever she needs it. We stay wrapped up like that for long moments, Sadie taking deep breaths while I whisper how much she means to me and that she’s safe right here in my arms.
Eventually, her grip on me loosens, allowing me to roll onto my back and drape her over my chest. After a few moments of silence, I begin to worry that I hurt her. I mean, God, I tore into her like a beast after taking her virginity last night.
“Sadie?” I murmur, cupping the back of her neck and guiding her to look up at me. “Are you all right?” She nods, but I can’t quite see the look on her face. “Need your words, baby. Did I… Did I hurt you?”
“Not at all,” she assures me. The pressure in my chest releases, allowing me to breathe again. “That was…” She nibblesher bottom lip, searching for something to describe what we just shared.
“Yeah, it really was,” I agree, kissing her forehead and the tip of her nose. Sadie sighs contentedly before curling up on my chest again.
My hand roams up and down her back in a soothing motion. I pause when my fingertips graze over a rough patch of skin. I follow the jagged scar on the back of her shoulder until it fades away. Even without seeing it, I know it had to have come from a significant injury. The scar is about four inches long and half an inch thick at its widest point.
I need to know how she got it, though I already have a pretty good idea. Sadie has given me little crumbs of how she grew up, but it pains me not to know everything. Hell, I don’t even know what she does for a living. She’s probably young enough to be in college. I also realize I have no idea what she was doing on my mountain. All Sadie said was that she got lost.
I’ll figure out all of her secrets and show her she can trust me. I’ll hold them close and protect her from every damn thing that tried to break her in the past. But she didn’t break. She grew into a fierce warrior with a kind heart. I just wish I knew how to talk about all of this emotional shit.
As if sensing my thoughts, Sadie tilts her head up, those green eyes meeting mine. “It was from a long time ago,” she whispers. I nod, encouraging her to continue. “One of my foster dads, Mr. Craig, had a bad temper. He yelled a lot and threatened us, but only occasionally laid hands on us.”
“Sadie,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her forehead. The way she said it makes me believe other foster parents abused her more than just occasionally. White-hot rage burns through me, but I take a breath and ground myself in this moment. I can rip their throats out later. Right now, my woman is trusting me with another piece of her story.
“He got particularly drunk one night when his wife was out of town. She rarely left, probably because she knew something like this was going to happen. Mr. Craig didn’t seem to like kids very much, and living in a house with six of us was too much for him to handle on his own.”
Sadie pauses to collect her thoughts. I’m not used to this subdued, almost shy version of her. I love every side of this woman, but it hurts knowing she’s been through so much.
Love? Holy shit.
“My younger foster brother, Seth, knocked over his beer,” Sadie continues, not giving me time to dwell on my revelation. “Mr. Craig lost his mind. I had never seen him like that. When I saw him charging toward the six-year-old who accidentally spilled his drink, I didn’t think twice about stepping in between them. I remember wrapping Seth up in my arms and crouching on the ground, shielding him from our foster dad. Seth was so scared. He shook and shook in my arms but never cried. I didn’t realize Mr. Craig had picked up the broken beer bottle in his drunken haze until the glass tore through my skin.”
“Jesus,” I growl. Fucking hell. I knew it was bad, but this? And I know without asking that he wasn’t the last person to hurt my Sadie. Every single one of them will pay.
“He must have snapped out of it when he saw me bleeding. Mr. Craig sent Seth and the other kids to our room, then cleaned me up. I almost passed out when he pinched my skin together and covered the gaping wound with duct tape. The only thing that hurt worse was when Mrs. Craig got home the next day and ripped the tape off so she could give me proper stitches.”
“You didn’t go to the hospital?” I choke. I can hardly swallow past the lump in my throat.
“Doctors ask too many questions,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. It’s obviously something she was told over and overagain during her time with the soon-to-be-dead Mr. and Mrs. Craig.
“How old were you?”
“Nine.”
Fuck, it hurts.“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” I tell her. My voice is a lot calmer than I feel, but I’m trying to be what she needs right now. “I can’t even imagine… fuck, sweetheart.”
I nuzzle into the side of her neck, placing a few tender kisses on her skin. Breathing in her sweet scent, I close my eyes and thank the universe for delivering this incredibly brave and kind woman to me. Someone out there knew I’d never leave the mountain to find love on my own, so they dropped her off in the middle of my forest for me to find and care for.
“I’m okay now,” she whispers, though I don’t quite believe her. She’s escaped her painful past, but she doesn’t have confidence in her future. Yet. I’ll make sure she knows she belongs right here, by my side, forever.
“Thank you for trusting me.” She nods, her eyes glistening with tears. “I’ve got you,” I tell her softly as I tuck her head under my chin.
We lie in silence for a few moments, and I know it’s time for me to confess something to her as well. My brave woman surrendered a bit of her tender heart to me just now. It’s only fair that I do the same.
“My father died five years ago.” The words feel like razor blades on my tongue, and Sadie gasps, her hand pressing against my heart.
“Cutter, I’m so sorry.”
