Chapter 6

Michael

I had the best intentions, really I did. But when I see more faded bruises than just the one on her ribs, I know I won't be taking her back to her uncle's apartment. As I carry her backstage and wrap her in a sweatshirt from my locker, I ignore the seething look on my boss's face. Antonov doesn't need to tell me I'm fired and once my bank transfer goes through, there's nothing he can do to stop me from carrying April out of here.

He could have tried, but he would have failed.

As soon as he accepts I've won her fair and square, I carry her out to my car and head home. I'm slightly worried about her, but at the same time, I can't keep my eyes off the creamy expanse of bare legs only a few inches away and begging to be touched. Halfway to my apartment, she wakes up long enough to mumble a few almost incoherent words to me, asking if I'm an angel of all things.

I can't help but laugh at her sweet innocence, not a single regret for giving up my life savings and the dream that had been sustaining me since I left the Army. There's no way she could have gone to anyone else in that club tonight.

At my place, I carefully lift her out of the car, not wanting to disturb her. She makes a soft noise and nestles close to my chest, reaching for my shoulders without opening her eyes as I carry her through the parking garage and toward the elevator. On the ride up to my floor, I glance down at the mass of dark hair and breathe in her vanilla and honey scent. With her soft body so close to mine, and knowing what's under my giant sweatshirt, I don't think I'm going to be able to behave like the angel she's mistaken me for. She belongs to me now, after all.

Inside, I flip on a light and lay her on my couch while I rustle her up some food. What will she think of this place? Will she wonder how someone who lives in such a small apartment could afford the bid that won her?

My sorry bachelor refrigerator has two beers, some leftover Chinese takeout, half a dozen eggs, and some orange juice.

"Scrambled eggs sound good to you?" I ask, seeing that she's sitting up.

She glances at me and nods, looking resigned to her fate. It kills me to see her like that, when I know there's a fire somewhere inside her. All I want to do is rekindle it.

"All I know about you is your name," I say, whisking three eggs into a bowl before sliding them into a pan on the stove. "Which I like, by the way, April."

There might be a hint of a smile, but she lifts one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "Do you need to know anything else about me?"

"No," I say. "But I'd like to. And if you want to know anything about me, I'm happy to tell you."

When the eggs are done, I bring them to her and sit beside her on the couch, apologizing for not having any ketchup.

She looks offended. "Gross. But, thank you for this. I am pretty hungry, I guess." Her hand shakes as she takes the first bite, and then she practically shovels the rest down before noticing I'm not eating. "Sorry," she whispers.

"Don't apologize," I tell her. "You haven't done anything wrong."

Her head lowers, causing her silky black hair to slide across her cheek, hiding her beautiful face from my view. I tuck the strands behind her ear, letting my finger trail down her face. I stop myself before I get to the neckline of the sweatshirt, afraid I'll yank the zipper down to reveal her perfect body. Just the feel of her soft skin has me wild for her.

"How old are you?" she asks.

"Twenty-eight," I say. "Hope that's not too old for you."

Once again, she shrugs, but she looks at me with curiosity now, her hazel eyes jumping from my face down to my chest and up again. Then lower. I can feel her gaze settle on my lap and my rock-hard cock moves against my zipper. A slight smile curls her lips and I have to hold back a groan.

I tip her chin up. "Yes, I want you, April. So fucking much. But you have a choice here, you know."

"Do I?" she asks.

"Yes."

She leans closer, but her brows furrow with worry. "But you won. You bid so much money. It wouldn't be…"

I put my finger on her lips, shaking my head. "Doesn't matter. I know your uncle forced you to do this."

It's going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do to turn away from this beauty, but I will. I swear I will, even if it kills me. Which it might. She leans even closer and reaches out toward me. Her hand rests on my thigh and I grab it. As much as I want her, and I really fucking do, I'm not one of the hyenas from the club.

"How about this?" I start, pulling her hand to my lips and kissing her fingertips. Her eyes flutter and she nods for me to continue. I sweep her hair behind her shoulder and rest my hand against her neck, feeling her pounding pulse with my thumb. "Give me an hour. If you don't want me after an hour, I'll take you wherever you want to go."

"An hour?" She tips her head back, her mouth falling open. I move my hand up her throat to run my thumb back and forth across her full lower lip.

"Let me show you how good I can make you feel, April," I say, leaning close so that our mouths are only inches apart. I can feel her breath speeding up, see her eyes darken as her pupils dilate.

"Okay."

She barely speaks her agreement, and I claim her mouth with mine, pushing my tongue between her lips. Tangling my fingers into her hair, I tug her head back to go deeper inside as I slide my other hand behind her back to pull her close to me. The way she so eagerly accepts my hungry kisses is intoxicating. Her body presses against me, her hands clutching my shoulders while I tease her mouth with my tongue. At first, she only accepts what I'm doing, but soon she responds, moving her hands less shyly, sweeping her tongue boldly against my own.

When was the last time I made out with someone? It's been a while, especially since I've been solely focused on working and saving money. And I've never enjoyed it this much. I could keep going, just kissing her, but I need to make her want me as much as I want her.

Getting my hand between us, I drag the zipper of my sweatshirt down, breaking away from our kiss to look down at her body. She shrugs out of the oversized shirt and with each shuddering breath, her lush tits heave over the top of the lacy bra that barely covers them. Her rosy nipples are hard peaks under the sheer fabric and I lean down to nuzzle each one, smiling at her gasp.

"I want to lick these tasty little tits of yours, April," I tell her. "You promised me an hour."

"Yes, do whatever you want."

Her cheeks flame bright red as I unhook the bra and roll it down off her shoulders. "You've never even been topless in front of a man, have you?"

Her innocence inflames me, her blushes and gasps making it harder to hold back. I've got my work cut out for me if I'm going to make her beg me to fuck her by the end of my hour. As I lean her back onto the couch and lick my way down her smooth stomach, her back arches, and her hands run over my hair and across my shoulders.

"You're so hard," she sighs, squeezing my arms. Then she giggles when I nudge my cock against her thigh. "That, too."

I reach the top band of her panties, the barest scrap of lace covering her. The need to taste her makes me almost feral, but I ease my hand between her thighs instead of tearing her panties off with my teeth. When my fingers brush her swollen clit through the fabric, she jolts and cries out. Working my fingers in slow circles, I look up to see her head thrown back, eyes closed, her hair fanned out in a wild spray all around her on the couch.

"April," I say reverently, pushing her panties aside to sink my fingers into her wet heat. "You're so damn gorgeous, little one."

Feeling me invade her with my fingers makes her eyes fly open, and she looks down at me, her teeth clamped around her lip. "What are you doing?" she moans.

I freeze my hand. "Should I stop?"

Her back arches as she writhes and clamps her legs together around my hand. "No, don't stop. Keep doing that."

"This?" I ask, easing a finger back inside her at the same time I coax her clit. I'm sick of the panties in my way and they're so flimsy they're easy enough to tear off. Tossing them aside, I spread her legs and begin kissing my way down her inner thigh. "Or this, April? How do you think you'd like it if I licked you here?" I stroke my fingertip across her clit and then down to dip inside her.

Both our noises mingle together as I push deeper to stretch her virgin pussy. I can't get over how tight she is, how good it's going to feel to sink my cock inside her.

"I think I'd like it," she says, her hand shyly reaching for my hair.

"What?" I ask, half confused by the strongest lust I've ever felt, and half wanting to make her say it.

"Lick me there," she whispers. "If you want to, I mean."

"You don't know how much I want to lap up and down your pussy," I tell her, scooting down to settle between her thighs.

"How much?" she asks. Is there a hint of teasing in her voice now? I like it.

Gripping her hips in a tight hold, I lean down and stroke my tongue over her slippery nub, smiling at her gasp. "Just slightly less than I want to fuck you, little girl."

"I want it now too," she says, pulling on a handful of my hair. "I don't know how long it's been, but I don't need the entire hour."

With a laugh, I slide my tongue up and down her juicy slit and push it deep inside her tight cunt. In and out; the way I want to pound her with my cock as she wriggles against my hold on her. Hearing her tell me she wants this as much as I do makes it difficult to concentrate, but I want to give my little virgin something to remember. I continue pleasuring her, causing her to writhe in ecstasy, her warmth and wetness intensifying against my lips. Her noises drive me on, make me feral with need, and I don't stop until she screams.

April takes at least a handful of my hair in her fists when I push her over the edge and make her come. I keep lapping at her, slower and softer, until she's limp on the couch. Propping myself up on my elbows between her legs, I look at my prize and grin.

"Has any man ever made you come, little one?" I ask. "Do you want more of that?"

"No, and yes," she says. "Yes, I want more." Her limp hands curl into fists and she swallows hard when I jump up to get my jeans down. My iron-hard cock stands straight out in front of me and she squeezes her eyes shut. I guide her hand to wrap around my shaft and watch as she slowly looks down at what she's carefully stroking. I think it might kill me.

"This looks pretty big," she says. "Pretty damn huge, in fact."

"You're going to love it," I promise.

"More like you are," she says, still looking concerned even as she tightens her grip and moves her hand a little faster.

"Oh, you have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy fucking your sweet little virgin pussy, April. But I swear you'll like it too." I ease my fingers into her slippery opening. "Nice and wet and ready."

I take her hand away and get in between her thighs, taking a second to look down at her perfect body. Her breath comes in harsh pants and she reaches for my shoulders. "I don't know what to do to make you feel good, too," she says

"Whatever you want," I tell her. "Whatever you damn well want will work just fine. Now spread your legs for me, little girl. I need to be inside you."

As she wraps her legs around my hips, I slowly, torturously push my cock inside her. She's so, so tight, and I'd rather jump in front of a moving vehicle than hurt her. She gets impatient and digs her fingers into my shoulders, lifting her hips so that I'm soon balls deep and barely hanging on. With every ounce of self-restraint I possess, I force myself to remain still.

"Please," she begs. "Move. Fuck me. I need to feel what you did before."

With a growl I do as she commands, shocked and pleased at my virgin's hunger. I lose all sense of time and place. There's only April clinging to me and crying out with every swift thrust of my cock inside her hot little pussy.

I need to watch as she gets closer to another orgasm, wondering how I've managed to hang on so long with the way she moves beneath me. Her mouth is open as I pound into her and I lean down to kiss her. Our tongues tangle and she sobs, digging her fingers into my arms.

"Please, Michael."

It's the first time she's said my name. I don't even remember telling her. "Right now," I promise. "Let me make you come again, little girl. I want to feel that tight pussy of yours clamp onto my cock like a vice when you scream."

"Yes, yes," she agrees, digging into my arms as I swirl her clit with my fingers, ramming deep at the same time. Her scream is muffled against my chest and the exquisite agony of her spasms around my shaft make me join her.

I rest my head against her heaving shoulder, about to lose my mind and more than happy about it. "I've got to come inside you," I tell her. "I've got to fill your pussy up, little girl."

All she can do is breathlessly nod and I let loose, shooting inside her until I collapse in a mindless, gasping heap on top of her.

Neither of us can speak for long minutes, just holding onto one another and breathing deeply to try to recover.

"Holy hell," I manage. "Good first time?"

"Very good first time," she says with a laugh.