Page 16 of Praise Me: Pilot
Dominated me.
I’m safe here. I’m safe under his care.
I can’t remember the last time I felt secure like this.
But with my orgasm ebbing and reality intruding, I remember…that I deceived Joel. I seduced him. I got physical with him for the wrong reasons. To hurt my father. Even after he encouraged me to talk about my problems. Even after he comforted me while I cried. Brought me here tonight, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the reunion happening in my apartment.
And when Joel picks me up and cradles me against his big chest, carrying me to the bed and holding me, rubbing my back, kissing my forehead, the guilt and self-recrimination becomes almost too much to bear. This man gives me exactly what I didn’t know I craved. Emotionally. Physically. But I sullied our beginning with my plan for revenge.
Joel falls asleep spooning me tightly, but I’m too overcome with guilt to stay.
With a wealth of unshed tears in my eyes, I slide out of his warm, perfect hold, get dressed and Uber back to my apartment, berating myself the whole way for my immaturity. The fact that I inflicted my bad intentions on this man who tried so hard tobe honorable. Until I pushed him over the edge. He’ll probably wake up tomorrow morning resenting me, sick over what he’s done to his best friend’s daughter. He’ll hightail it home and fly out of my life. Just like my father has always done.
CHAPTER 7
Joel
Iwake up feeling like I’ve just come out of a coma.
The events of the night before return to me through a filter, my heart almost diving out of my mouth when I search the messy bedding and I don’t find Haylo.
“Haylo?” I’m out of the bed, still wearing my unzipped pants and rumpled dress shirt, willing a moonbeam blonde to pop out of the bathroom with my toothbrush dangling from her mouth.
Oh Jesus. Hermouth.
I stop at the doorway to the bathroom I can clearly see is empty, bracing myself on the frame, my pulse erratic. I turn to glance over my shoulder at the living area, the full scope of what I did to Haylo on the floor making my head swim with panic. She must have fled in the middle of the night, terrified I would wake up and manhandle her again.
That’s exactly what I did. Manhandle might even be a mild word.
I throat fucked a virgin. Didn’t hold back at all.
Maybe if you had a gag reflex, I’d have held onto enough come to rail you like a little slut on the floor. Wouldn’t you have loved that?
I drag two hands down my face. Whowasthat man last night? I don’t know that side of myself. Sex has always been a respectful exchange for me. With Haylo, it’s like I’m inhabiting a darkness that I didn’t know existed inside of me. But that darkness? It fucking craves her in a way I didn’t know was possible. Even now, I’m stiff as a board—and frankly, a little pissed off—that she’s not in my bed right now. It’s time to give me that cherry.
It'smine.
She’smine.
Lifting my head, I meet my own gaze in the bathroom mirror and barely recognize the dark forcefulness in my own expression. The naked hunger for Haylo. There’s no way out of this feeling, is there? Not only have I crossed the line in a serious way with my best friend’s eighteen-year-old daughter, but I’ve tasted the addictive sugar of her pussy and I’ve been drugged for life. The need for her is not going to leave me. Oh no.
First order of business? Find Haylo. Find out why she left in the middle of the night.
Fix things with her. Promise to keep myself under control next time I get her naked.
If that’s even remotely possible. The girl was designed to drive a man insane.
Am I imagining the way she moaned louder the deeper I sank my cock into her throat? Was I high off her body and hallucinating when she sucked me down like she didn’t want to waste a single drop? Did she enjoy me slapping her cunt or was she too intimidated by an older man to tell me to stop?
That possibility has me sick, rushing through my shower and changing into jeans and a T-shirt. Boots. Finger combing myhair and forgetting to shave, I somehow remember to purchase a pair of swim trunks in the hotel lobby gift shop.
Pool party.
Right.
Of course, there must be a pool party on the day I want to have a serious, private conversation with Haylo. And I mean serious, because oh yeah, we’re going to have to tell her father there is something between us. I’m going to date this angel, and I pity anyone who tries to stop me. I’m up against two obstacles. Phil is one of them, obviously, but I’ll deal with him when the time is right. In person.
The second obstacle is Haylo. She doesn’t want to be in a relationship with a pilot. She has too much abandonment trauma. Hell, I have to leave tonight to get back to Chicago so I can fly to Barcelona in the morning. One day into our relationship, I will already be leaving her alone, and that makes me ill, but there’s nothing I can do, except convince her to give me a chance, so I can prove to her I’m nothing like her father.
