7. Abel

Abel

I had no idea what the hell I'd been thinking.

Taking her to work with me?

Logically, when Kyle had called off, I should have turned around and taken her home. Postponed our date. But I hated the idea of not spending the day with her. I figured if she went with me to different sites, seeing the different stages of the pools, water wouldn't seem so scary.

I just hadn't thought about the logistics.

The guys who worked for me were good men. Some of the best in what they did. But unfortunately, they were still men. Men with eyes. And I didn't like the way they kept eyeing Abby.

Not that I blamed them.

She was beautiful.

Curvy with the smile of an angel and skin so soft it made your hands ache to touch. Keeping my hands to myself had been the hardest thing I'd ever fucking done, but somehow, I'd managed not to paw and pull her into me and keep her tied to my side.

Barely.

My guys thought I was hilarious and didn't mind letting me know. I got it. They had never seen me with a woman because I'd never had one. Not like I wanted Abby. She brought a whole new side out of me. I glared daggers in their direction anytime they looked at or talked to her for too long, and they loved jerking my chain about it. I'd never been a possessive motherfucker, but it looked like my princess had not only kicked the daddy in me into gear but a green-eyed monster, too.

I didn't share.

Not Abby.

Thankfully, we had just parked at the last spot of this stupid little adventure I'd taken us on. This was one of my personal favorite properties. I'd bought it before I'd made the decision to move to Poppy Beach on a whim while I was still in the Navy. I'd wanted to invest in a rental property when apps like AirBnB and VRBO were just starting out. It had been a fixer upper with a shit ton of potential. One that had paid off and then some.

On the outskirts of the city, about three miles up the coast, the property was private. Like your very own oasis with the backdrop of the mountains behind you and the ocean in the front. I loved the privacy of it.

It was usually rented out, but the movie star who had been staying there with his family because it was close to where he had been shooting his new movie had just left. So, luckily, it was empty.

"This is beautiful," she whispered. "I feel so lame," she said, almost as if to herself. I grabbed her hand and pulled her against the truck, tipping her head up.

"Why would you say that?"

"I was born and raised in Poppy." She sighed, and my brow rose.

"And?"

"And even living in a small town, I don't know all there is to know about it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… I keep to myself. I'm not part of the community like Karol or?—"

"Hey." My thumb stroked the apple of her cheek. "You don't have to be anyone other than you."

"But what if…" Her voice drifted off to nothing, and I frowned.

"What?"

"I know we met yesterday." Had it only been yesterday? Jesus. Even my dreams blurred into my reality. I couldn't remember a time without her taking up rent in my mind. From the moment I'd first seen her, I'd been obsessed with my curvy princess.

"But this isn't me, Abel."

"I'm pretty sure you're not a hologram, Abby."

"You know what I mean." She sighed. "I don't go kissing strangers in pools or sneak out of my house to watch a movie under the stars or go home and sleep with?—"

"We just slept together," I cut her off. "We didn't do anything." Not yet. "As for the kissing strangers?—"

"Abel, I was terrified to go into the water. I'm not trying to be cute when I tell you I've always been a scaredy cat, and not just after my accident but before. It took me a month to walk in and…" She shut her eyes, and I tipped her head up further

"And what, baby girl? Talk to me," I urged. I wanted to crawl into her mind and never leave.

Her dark eyes opened behind her dark frames. Fucking hell, she was gorgeous. Her shoulders slumped almost in defeat, and I had a feeling I wasn't going to like what she was going to say.

"What if you get to know me, the real me, and… and think…" She swallowed hard. I could see, hell, I could feel the palpable fear she felt as she silently found the courage to voice her fears out loud. "And you think I'm boring."

"Boring?" I repeated gently. Abby didn't have a clue, not an inkling, to just how fascinating I found her. How she bewitched me from head to toe, balls and soul from the moment I'd laid eyes on her. "Abby, I need you to listen to me and really let this sink in, baby girl, because we're not going to do a push and pull, and I know it's going to feel like I'm coming on strong because you think we just met yesterday?—"

"We did."

"But you gotta feel this pull I feel. There is no way I feel this, and you don't. It's like two halves of a magnet unable to fight the attraction to the other. I'm not fighting it. I'm here. You need time, I get that. I respect it. But what I won't have you do is talk about yourself that way."

"Abel, I'm not exciting or wild."

"No, baby, you're your own kind of trouble. You don't know it, you don't see it, but fuck me, I do. That's all that matters. We're going to go in here," I pointed at the huge house behind us. "I'm gonna clean the pool, show you around, and then we're going to have a weenie roast on the private beach behind the property."

"Private beach?"

"You wanna dip your toes in the waves, we can, but you don't have to."

"What about the lessons?"

"We can go as slow or as fast as you want. I'm not going anywhere," I vowed.

And I wasn't.

I'd fight and beat the devil himself if I had to. Abby was mine. My right now and my future, and fuck anyone who thought they could tear her from my arms.

"You're so…"

"Pushy?" I guessed.

"I was going to say confident." Her lips twitched, and I relaxed a little. "In case I haven't said it yet, thank you."

"You're welcome, princess." She smiled shyly, and I pulled her back into me because I couldn't resist having her as close as possible.

"As far as kissing strangers in pools, I'm the only one I want you kissing from here on out, so I hope you got that our of your system yesterday," I playfully scolded, and she giggled.

"Okay."

"Good." I pressed my lips to the top of her head. If I kissed her, I wasn't sure I'd stop.

"Abe?" she called, and I looked at her. "You were my first kiss," she reminded me, and I grabbed her again. My head dipped down to meet her eye level.

"You have no fucking idea how fucking honored I am that you chose me." Our lips grazed lightly against one another. Our mutual air mingled just faintly before I stepped away. It killed, but I had to think long term.

This was our first official wild lesson, and all I'd done was take her out to work sites. I ran my fingers through my hair and frowned. I used to be a freaking SEAL, for goodness sakes. I jumped out of planes and swam in ice-cold waters in the dead of night. I pulled people out of terrible situations and carried them to safety.

But this was the craziest lesson I could come up with?

Maybe I'd lost my edge?

Would I be too boring for her?

"We should get started." I cleared my throat. My voice sounded scratchy in my ears.

"Right." Her gaze dropped to my lips with so much longing, longing I felt to the tips of my toes. But I knew if we didn't get going in there, nothing would be done.

I didn't care about the pool. I could have easily called one of my guys to come out first thing. Hell, I didn't care if the fucking thing turned black. But this is for Abby.

I reached and grabbed the tools I'd need with one hand. My free hand was taken a moment later without me having to reach for hers because she took it and tangled her fingers with mine.

And fuck me if that didn't feel right.

"So, this place is just… empty?"

"For now." I skimmed the water. My eyes moved to her. She was walking by the edge of the pool. Fear crept its way up my neck. She was so damn close to the edge. I'd sprayed the patio area down, so the concrete was wet.

"Careful, baby, it's slippery when wet," I warned, wishing I had grabbed her a pair of work boots for the millionth time throughout the day. Who the hell was I? Worried? Me?

Love did funny things to a man.

But as a man, even a worried one, I couldn't stop checking her out.

My eyes roamed up her legs, and when our gazes connected, everything inside of me froze. My arms stopped mid-stroke. There was a glimmer in her dark eyes. A naughty little smirk that played on her perfect lips had me going hard in less than sixty seconds flat.

"Is it now?" Her lips twitched. My forty-two-year-old brain woke the hell up really fast at the double entendre my sweet little princess was making.

"You tell me," I countered. Her eyes dropped shyly.

I changed the topic and went on to tell her everything it took for maintenance of the pool, the pump, and the water. I knew this shit like I knew the back of my hand, but I kept getting distracted by her.

The way she moved around the pool.

The way she tossed her hair up in a ponytail only to pull it down and let the wind make it dance in the soft breeze.

I kept stuttering, and I wondered if she thought I was some kind of old babbling idiot. "So, the water's safe?" she asked. "I mean to swim in?"

"Oh, yeah." I nodded after checking the levels even though I'd known it was fine. It was perfect, actually. The thing hadn't even needed a bit of chlorine because someone else took care of this spot for me.

I'd just taken her there to see what she thought of the place and take her out onto the sand to have a bonfire after having to shift our plans last minute. Thankfully, one of my guys had run to the store for me to grab supplies for me without her noticing.

"This is my favorite pool of all the ones we saw today," she mentioned, and I smiled. I was proud of the work we'd done on this property.

"It was one of my first jobs," I shared, and she grinned. "The place is mine." Her eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I usually have it rented out, but it's empty right now," I repeated even though she knew that. "It was an investment." I kept sounding like the worlds lamest middle-aged man.

"Investments are smart," she noted before sitting down on the grass. I could have easily stayed where I was across from her, but fuck, I couldn't. She was like my very own siren. I walked over and sat next to her, enjoying the shade and cool breeze. "There is this place on Main Street right off the boardwalk I've been thinking about buying," she shared, and I had a feeling this wasn't something anyone in her life knew about.

"You have?" That surprised me. "For you to live in or?—"

"I don't know. I mean, I could. It's a building. The shop on the first floor used to be a yarn store back in the day, but it's empty. It's been empty for years." She paused and then kept sharing. "I talked to my friend Susie, you know, the girl from the Aquatic Center?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she and I, we've been friends since high school. I think it would be good for us to do it."

"It's smart. That building is a three-story, right?"

"Right," she whispered, looking at me through new eyes.

"I've seen it."

"You have?" I nodded.

"It doesn't need much. The biggest thing is getting someone to fix that elevator, but other than that, all the renovations it needs are cosmetic. Some paint, and the floors would need to be cleaned. The carpets, too, unless you wanted to pull them up and put in new floors or tiles."

"You sound like you've done this more than a couple of times." She pointed at the white with red bricked Spanish-style home behind her.

"Maybe." I shrugged and shared a little more. "I own a couple of the white and blue condos over by the beach, by the pier." She stared at me but didn't say anything. "I didn't come from money. My mom and dad lived paycheck to paycheck. We had what we needed, but I've seen them struggle when emergencies hit. Anyhow, my older brother, Adam?—"

"Your brother's name is Adam?"

"Yeah."

"Are all your siblings A names?" I chuckled.

"Yup. My mom was kinda nutty that way."

"I like it," she whispered softly.

"Good." Suddenly, a vision of little ones running around us popped in my head. Little kids with her dark eyes and bright smile. All of them with the same initial for a first name. "Anyhow,"—I cleared my throat—"Adam talked my dad into buying this house that I swear to god was falling apart. But Adam had big plans, and my dad went along with it. Adam worked construction, and my dad was an electrician, so they were able to do most of the work themselves. Not to mention me, my youngest brother, and two sisters and mom, well, we all pitched in where we could. They fixed it up and flipped it. Then did it all over again two more times. Then Adam talked my dad into keeping it. Renting it out. It made a huge difference to how my parents lived and how we grew up. By the time my little sister went to college, they didn't have to worry about tuition. Not that they were swimming in it, because college costs a whack, but they were comfortable enough to be able to help her out and still live comfortably. Instead of stressed out when the washing machine broke down. Ya know?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"So, I learned and invested in shit. Created a nest egg in case one day…"

"What?"

"I was SEAL, Abby. Single and getting up there age-wise. I knew the money I saved was either going to be in case I met someone—" My eyes never wavered from hers because I knew I'd done just that.

"Or?"

"Or it was going to be split between my siblings and parents if something happened to me." Her hand immediately found mine, and she leaned against me, her head on my shoulder. And fuck me, that silent sweet gesture tugged at my heartstrings.

Heartstrings I hadn't known I had before her.

"I'm really glad nothing happened to you, Abel."

"Me too, princess. Me too." I kissed the top of her head. Her dark hair was hot to the touch, and she smelled like sunshine and honey. "Okay, let me put this stuff away, and we can head out to the beach to get that bonfire started, okay?" I stood up, and she followed. We worked side by side getting my stuff together. I was almost ready to haul the shit to the truck when I noticed the way she was eyeing the pool

"You know… there are no cameras here."

"What?" She smiled, her eyes bright and happy.

"I'm just saying, we could go swimming," I suggested. She chewed on that pretty bottom lip of hers.

"Swimming? But I didn't bring a suit."

"We don't need one," I found myself saying, wordlessly suggesting something a little crazy. A little wild. And I knew the moment she got what I was saying

"What about your neighbors?"

"They're about a mile away from both ends," I pointed out. The landscaping, tall shrubs, and even taller pines covered it, creating a privacy fence along both ends. "No one is around. No one comes by here. Ever. You said it yourself; you didn't even know this place existed."

"But…"

"You think I would risk anyone seeing what's mine?"

"Yours, huh?" That sexy little confident naughty side of her flashed in her eyes.

"Mine." All mine. Only mine.

"Skinny dipping, though?"

"Why not?" I asked and then started to chuckle. "Look, Abby, it's okay if you don't want to. I was just messing with you." I winked, and she frowned. "I'm gonna go put this stuff away, alright? I'll be right back."

She nodded, and I felt her watching me as I went and put everything away and grabbed the cooler I'd prepared for us. I even stopped inside the house to get a bottle of red and two glasses.

"You ready to go to the—" The words died on my tongue. She was still standing where I had left her but had a determined look on her face.

One that looked a lot like the one she had at the pool before she dipped her feet in the water.

A lot like the one she had before she'd given me her first kiss.

Almost like she felt my eyes on her, her gaze rose and met mine head-on. I could see the confidence she was holding on to.

"Abby?" I called. She was across the pool from me. I couldn't reach for her from there. All I could do was watch, and fuck me, what an incredible show it was.

Without saying a word or looking away, she pulled her hair down from the low ponytail she'd had it in and shook it out. Dark, silky locks danced around her like a cascade of dark chocolate tinged with small streaks of gold and red. My heart started to beat against my rib cage.

Come on, baby girl. Do it. Let loose. Be wild. Trust that no matter what, you're safe with me, I silently encouraged her. I had no idea what she had in mind, but I would match her energy.

Her fingers ran through her hair before they traced down her front until they reached the hem of her shirt.

"You don't have to," I roughly rasped. "I was joking around."

"What about our lessons? Skinny dipping would be kinda wild."

"Definitely," I agreed, shoving my hands into the back pockets of my cargo shorts.

"A scaredy cat would never go skinny dipping."

"True but…" I wasn't sure what to say. She frowned; two cute little lines formed between her brows.

"You don't think I would?" she asked, not in disappointment but almost with a hint of a challenge.

"I think you could do anything you put your mind to." My chest rose and fell a little faster with every breath.

"Would you skinny dip?"

"With you?" I asked. Her lips parted, and she jerked her head in a tight nod. "Fuck yeah, I would." I swallowed. "But there is very little I wouldn't wanna do if it meant doing it with you." Her lips twitched, and her eyes rolled in a cute bratty way that made me want to pull her over my knee to spank.

"Daddy's a smooth talker," she joked and then turned a shade of red that had nothing with the sun she got but everything to do with what she'd called me. "Were you always such a smooth talker?" she quickly asked, obviously trying to pretend she hadn't called me what she had.

If that was what she needed, I'd let her. For now.

"I'm not a smooth talker."

"I don't know about that," she said softly.

Jesus. Part of me, a huge part of me, wanted to jump into the water and swim right over to her to have her in my arms. But the other part, the side that wanted to protect her, love her, worship her, be her daddy, stood his ground.

"I have a feeling you could sell ice to a penguin." That was when she rewarded my patience.

Slowly, so fucking slowly, her hands dropped over her breasts. I ached to take those full plentiful globes into my own hands. Instead, they fisted in my pockets. Even from where I stood, I could make out the hard points of her nipples standing at attention, quietly begging for my attention.

Abby didn't just tease herself.

The whole moment was a tease for the two of us.

The sweetest of tortures.

She pulled the material of her tank up. The skin she exposed was slightly paler than the rest of her, and fuck me, I was dying to see the tan lines of her body. To get up close and personal with them and trace them with my hands and then my mouth. By the time the tank was up and over her head, leaving her in nothing but a pretty, lacy bra, my tongue felt too fucking big for my mouth.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered under my breath, afraid to blink. My skin felt hot stretched out tight over my body, my dick aching against the waistband of my shorts.

"It's hot," she said softly. Those two words felt like a blanket of heat even though I was far from her.

"Very." My voiced dropped as I soaked in the sight of her in those cute-as-fuck denim shorts and lace bra. The sheer material left nothing to the imagination, and it made me want to dress her in frilly pretty things while she bounced on my lap. Blood roared in my ears, making it hard to focus on anything but the arousal in my shorts.

"Abel?" My name on her lips snapped me out of my head.

"Hmm?" I mumbled, trying to remember what she could have said, but I was too distracted by how fucking sexy she looked standing there.

"I said the water looks good. Refreshing."

"Delicious," I hoarsely added, and I could have sworn my beauty rolled her eyes. Her hands rose like she was about to cover herself but then dropped to her sides like she'd changed her mind.

Good girl, I thought to myself.

Instead, she toed off her shoes and leaned over to take her socks off before stuffing them inside the high tops she'd been wearing. When she straightened, her hands moved to the front of her shorts, and it felt like the world stopped. My lungs seized along with my heart.

Gracefully, she undid her shorts and pulled them off, along with her panties. Her eyes moved from mine when she turned to set her discarded clothes on top of her shorts and then stood. Her ass was a thing of beauty.

Living, breathing art.

Not that I got to stare for long when she reached behind her and took her bra off, and when she turned, I knew.

Not that she was mine.

Even with how I tried to fight the attraction, I'd known she was mine the moment I'd first laid eyes on her.

No, in that moment, I knew that life, no matter what the hell I had been through, good times, tough ones, the close calls, even my knee giving out and taking me out of the military, had all been for a reason. Everything I had lived through was meant to bring me to where I was right then and there.

Across a pool from the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

And she was mine.

Forever.

I didn't know how the hell I would pull it off, talk her into being mine for the rest of my life, but I knew I would do it. When I wanted something, I never let anything get in the way. My best friend, Dan, liked to joke that I had a Midas touch, but none of that shit mattered. Not the money or properties or my business. Hell, not even the restored 1969 Chevelle in my garage.

All of that could be donated for all I cared.

Abby Rivas was going to be my most prized possession.

Our eyes connected, and she stood straighter, bravely letting me see her completely. My mouth watered.

"You coming in?" she asked, breaking the sexual tension you could cut with a knife.

Before I could respond, Abby stepped back, and I frowned wondering where she was going or what she was up to. Not that I got the opportunity to ask. She started to run. Fear and worry immediately coursed through my system. She ran and jumped right into the water.

In the deep end.

I didn't wait.

I didn't think.

I jumped in, with clothes and all, right after her. Worried she would pop up above the water freaked out and scared. But I should have given my brave princess more credit. Instead of fear in her gaze, it shined with nothing but glee while she grinned and giggled. Even so, I swam to her as fast as I could and pulled her naked form into my arms.

"Jesus, Abby! You okay?"

"Perfect." She laughed, and fuck if she wasn't right. My girl was perfect. Perfect for me. "You cheated," she pointed out, her body relaxed and pliant in my embrace. The sight of her so happy, so carefree was fucking humbling. She trusts me. She believed in me enough to put herself in a vulnerable situation in an environment she wasn't exactly comfortable in.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused as hell while my heart rate slowly returned back to normal.

"You didn't skinny dip." Her eyes shined with joy, and I coughed a chuckle. Jesus, she was a pistol. And she is all mine.

My hands wrapped around her waist, and she let me carry her, much like she did the day before at the city pool. The only difference was that she was naked, and she was most definitely right.

I'd fucked up and was stuck wearing too much.

"I'll fix that right fucking now," I muttered, pulling her to the shallower end of the pool. I didn't let her go until I knew she could touch the ground comfortably. I yanked my wet clothes off and tossed the heavy material to the edge of the pool, piece by piece, including my work boots and socks, and didn't stop until I was left in nothing but my own birthday suit.

"This better, princess?"

"Hmm." She pretended to think for a moment and then shook her head. My brow rose, and she grinned. "I like being in your arms."

"What do you call me, princess?" My voice sounded raspy. I had no idea why I was pushing her to call me what I needed her to call me, but I was. In the back of my mind, I knew I was rushing her, pushing for too much, but if she was intimidated or felt pressured, she didn't show it. She simply stepped forward, the swells of her feasts bouncing above the water.

"I liked it better when I was in your arms, Daddy." She might have spoken softly, but it was with a steady confidence. I moved toward her and pulled her back into my arms. Abby wrapped her body around mine, her pretty feet resting at the small of my back.

In this position, her ass was just above my hard aching cock. The motherfucker strained like it was dying to get inside of her. We might not have been lined up against one another, but I could feel the heat of her pussy against my body even with the cool water that surrounded us. My chest heaved up and down heavily like I'd been doing a fucking triathlon.

"Why does this feel so right?" she asked. I wasn't sure if she'd meant to say the words out loud or not, but I didn't care.

"Because it is." One of my hands slid up her arm and held her face. "Jesus, look at you. Everything about you is so fucking soft."

"And wet," she teased. Her hips ground against mine. I couldn't take much more. "Slippery."

"Abby," I warned. Thankfully, my princess listened. "You're mine, Abagail Rivas. You gotta know that. "

"You don't care about our age difference?"

"I won't lie to you. I had my reservations, but none were about you. I worried you deserved someone better, younger. Someone who could… I don't know, understand what fetch is."

"Fetch?" Her lips twitched. "I'm pretty sure that's a Mean Girls reference, and that's more from your time than mine."

"I like this sassy side," I murmured.

"I'm not usually?—"

"I know." Her brows bunched, but I ignored the way I'd put my foot in my mouth. "I like being the one you don't hide from. The one you're the most authentic version of Abby with you possibly can be because you know you're safe and cherished. No matter what."

"No matter what?" she repeated. I nodded slowly. "And the daddy/princess stuff?"

"Does it feel right to you? Because if you hate it, if it turns you off, I'll stop." And I would.

"I've read books about it and, umm…" Her eyes dropped to my mouth and then returned to my gaze. "I've always liked it. The whole… dynamic." Thank fuck.

"Good," I growled. Then I kissed her. Hard.

We made out in the water while floating around naked and close together. My hands roamed but didn't explore. Not the way I was dying to. I was going to take things as slow as possible, and when things got too hot and heavy, I tried to break the kiss, but the little brat came back and pulled my bottom lip into her mouth and tugged at it. I groaned and lost my head.

"Abby," I growled, trying to warn her, but it turned out my girl could be feisty. And fuck me, I loved it.

Her tongue tangled with mine before her lips found my neck. My hands clenched her plump ass cheeks. She wiggled in my hold and, lost in the moment, I let her drop a little. Abby's warm folds wrapped around the bottom of my shaft as she slid up and down against my cock.

"Abby."

"Please," she whispered. "I want you."

"But—" I swallowed hard, trying to think of all the reasons I needed to keep things in the slow lane but having a fucking hard time remembering.

"Please."

"You're a virgin, princess," I muttered roughly, but it didn't stop our mouths. They found one another, and she whimpered so damn sweetly my cock leaked a droplet of cum.

"I want you to be my first, Daddy. Please." She pulled away. Her dark eyes silently begged me to give her what she was pleading for. "Please?"

"I take you, there is no turning back," I harshly warned.

"Okay," she agreed easily.

"I'm serious, Abby. You give me you, I don't care that this is just starting out between us. I won't give a shit. You'll be mine, and I'll be yours. There won't be any turning back or sorry, this didn't work. That's it. Game over."

"Daddy?"

"I'm serious." I was fucking everything up. She opened and shut her mouth. I was still sane enough with the thin thread of self-control I was holding on to, to read her sliver of hesitation.

So, I kissed her. Abby's little body wiggled against me while I held on to her curves and walked to the edge of the pool.

"Oh." Her soft sigh made me hungry to squeeze out every possible sound from her. My mouth found her neck, and I breathed in her scent. She tasted like sunshine and honey and all mine.

I wasn't going to claim her. Not completely. But I sure as fuck was going to make her see stars.

I was going to do anything and everything to make her as addicted to me as I was to her. I wanted her to crave me and my touch and the things I‘d make her feel. Abby would never want for anything or anyone else.

Our mouths fused and tongues explored. I couldn't get enough. Then the little brat started to wiggle and rub against me. Lining us up closer, almost perfectly. I was tempted to take her. I didn't want anything more than to sink into her tight snatch and bury myself so deep we wouldn't know where I ended and she began.

"Little girl," I warned, and she purred with need. She liked when I talked dirty to her. For a virgin, my sweet princess wasn't shy. And knowing her, the cautious way she lived, I loved that she felt comfortable to just be with me.

Abby's hips picked up speed, enveloping my cock with her pussy lips. I groaned. She was so fucking warm. Slippery wet in the pool water. I could make out her slick heat. With every roll and grind of her hips, she drove me closer and closer to the brink of no return.

But we couldn't go there.

Not yet.

Not in the pool.

Not for her first time.

I'd be damned if I didn't make it special for her. Determined to make her feel good, I stepped back and lifted her up onto the edge of the pool, loving the way her curves felt in my hands.

Those gorgeous eyes that had haunted my every waking moment looked surprised. "You could have hurt yourself!" she gasped.

"You saying I'm weak?"

"No, but I'm?—"

"Don't go there," I warned. "I won't warn you again," I promised. The next time she tried to put herself down, I wouldn't give a shit where we were or who was around. I'd flip her onto my lap and spank her until those perfect cheeks wore my handprint, and she'd stay there until she told me ten things about herself she liked.

"But—" she started to say, but I shot her a look that made her think twice about arguing with me. My hands stroked the tops of her thighs, and I licked my lips.

"Every inch of you, and I mean every inch of you, Abby, is fucking perfection." Her breasts jiggled with the sharp intake of air she took. "I'm serious." Her lips parted. "Now open for me." I tapped the tops her knees.

"But…" She didn't immediately do my bidding. No, my shy, incredibly cautious princess might have been aching to let loose and learn how to live out loud and wild, but she was still her.

And I fucking loved that.

Abby glanced around the backyard, like she was afraid someone would magically appear and see her. As if I would ever put her at risk.

"Abby, I'm not going to repeat myself, princess. Open these pretty thighs for me." When those dark pools connected with mine, she did like she'd been asked.

Without taking my eyes off hers, I moved between her thighs and dropped my head to kiss the top of her right knee. Then her left. All while soaking in every soft little gasp.

"You still with me?" I asked and watched her nod with enthusiasm. "I need the words, baby."

"I'm still with you."

"With whom?"

"I'm still with you, Daddy." My cock jerked in the water, but the motherfucker was going to have to wait.

"Good girl," I praised. "Open wider. Daddy's hungry."

"Abel, I've never…" She paused, and I righted my body. From where I stood and how she sat, we were at eyes level.

"You wanna change your mind?—"

"That's not it." She shook her head. Her tongue poked out and licked that top lip of hers, leaving it shiny for me under the sun. "I didn't shave," she blurted, and my lips twitched.

"I saw, baby, and I fucking like it. I think you felt just how much."

"And, umm, I'm not sure how I'll taste, and I've never done this and—" I could see the anxiety start to build within her and did the first thing that came to mind.

I kissed her.

Softly.

Unrushed.

Slowly building back her confidence while I held on to every thin thread of self-control I could grasp. If all we did was skinny dip and make out, I was fine with that. My dick might have wanted a hell of a lot more, but this wasn't about a quick release.

This was the daddy side of me finally taking care of his baby girl in every single way possible.

Even if it gave me blue balls. I'd suffer for the rest of my life if it meant having her in my arms. When the kiss broke, it was because she'd pulled away.

"Abby?" I questioned, wondering what she was thinking. I noticed that look in her eyes. I'd seen it when she started taking her clothes off. That courage, her bravery.

"Please," she breathed. Her hands on my face felt fucking incredible. I loved her touch. The way she stroked my face.

"You're sure? We don't have to?—"

"I'm positive," she cut me off. "Please. I want… I want you to make feel good." She swallowed, her eyes hazy with undeniable need. "Please, Daddy? Please make me feel good."

"Fuck," I cursed. There was no way I could say no to her.

"I will, baby girl, I promise," I vowed.

My hands took her face, and I kissed her until she was breathless and panting. I pulled away and dropped into the water. The coolness gave me a little bit of relief from the way my overheated blood flowed through my body. Carefully, I pulled her body closer to the edge. I took a moment to see just how beautiful she was.

Her pussy was so fucking pretty.

Dark, nicely trimmed curls were matted down with her arousal. My fingers grazed up and down between her puffy folds, and she gasped.

"So damn responsive," I grunted. My thumb pressed against her clit, drawing circles and making her even wetter. I breathed in her scent, and my mouth watered.

I couldn't wait to taste her. Devour her. But I wasn't going to rush it. My finger dipped into her entrance, and my sweet girl spread her legs wider, opening up and letting me watch her lips blossom.

My lips pressed on her inner thighs, and she gasped. The sun was still shining strong above us while I made my way up and down her thighs. Right and left, then left and right. I took my time teasing her. Taunting her. Making her ache so much that by the time my tongue took its first taste of heaven on earth, she was dripping with sweetness.

She tasted like honey and sunshine and all woman. My woman. Mine.

"Daddy's going to get addicted to this tight little pussy, Abby," I rasped. My eyes rose just in time to watch hers flutter shut as she wiggled closer to my mouth. I flattened my tongue against her slit, and she trembled.

"So damn good. So sweet," I grunted. My hands shifted her legs and tossed them over my shoulders, and then I got to work.

I was insatiable.

I wanted to have her flavor on my tongue on the daily, for the rest of my life. I lapped and nipped. When her hands found the back of my head, tangling her fingers into my hair, I groaned and added another finger inside of her. Her pussy clenched around my digits, and the sounds she made were my new favorite song. Her hips worked against my face, smearing her sweet sugar on me, meeting my fingers thrust for thrust. Slowly, I added a third, making sure not to push it too deep, and that's when I felt it.

The thin barrier my cock would claim.

I worked her slowly and then fast only to slow down once again. I listened to what she liked and paid attention to what drove her closer and closer to the edge. Building her impending orgasm that much higher.

"Daddy! Please," she mewled. I smiled against her. Lapping and paying attention to her clit while my fingers drove in and out of her. "I'm so close!" she squeaked.

Pain and pleasure swirled when her hands tugged on the ends of my hair, pulling me closer. I drove my tongue into her little snatch while my hands cupped the perfect molds of her ass cheeks. I didn't take my eyes off her. Watching her, tasting her, hearing her filled all my senses.

And watching her shatter was the most erotic, beautiful thing I'd ever witnessed.

Euphoria washed over her face. But I didn't stop licking her. I lapped at her honey, taking every drop I could, already addicted and needing another hit. I kissed her knees and the top of her thighs before straightening.

Having been her first time and with how careful she was, I'd expected her to shy away from me. But if I had bet on it, it was a bet I would have been happy to lose.

The moment I straightened, she threw her arms around me and pulled me in close. Skin to skin, our chests pressed together. She fused our lips and kissed me with a passion I was more than happy to match. My cock throbbed in the water. I loved that she could taste her sweet release on my tongue. She pushed off the edge and was back in the water with me.

"Abby."

"That was just… Wow. Nothing like what I've read."

"Oh?"

"It was better." Relief washed over me. "Can I touch you now? I want to make you feel good, too, Daddy."

"Later." My cock hated me for saying that.

"But—"

"No buts," I cut her off before I pulled her closer, and my sexy princess wrapped her legs around me. "That was all about you." She blushed. Something flashed in her eyes.

"What if I wanted to?—"

"Please, for all that's good and mighty, don't finish that sentence." My voice sounded thick in my ears.

"But you're—" Her gaze dipped down. "I mean, you didn't get anything and?—"

"Trust me, Abagail, daddy got a lot from that." My little innocent temptress licked her lips, and I had to bite away a groan. "Watching you fall apart, your taste flooding my mouth? Definitely for me, too." I grinned before leaning in to take her lips one more time. "Right now, though, we're going to swim." Her eyes softened, and she nodded.

I took us out to the middle of the pool and loved the relaxed way she simply trusted me to take care of her. She didn't even hesitate. Watching her float on her back, on her own without fear or a care in the world, her skin golden underneath the summer sun, was engrained in my brain and a moment I'd never forget.

Pride and need flowed heavy in my veins.