She reveled in the comfort she felt from him holding her in such an intimate, vulnerable position. His left hand was anchored around her waist, and his forearm still pinned her to his leg, giving her a sense of security, while his other hand conveyed both warning and solace in its tender strokes over her bottom and legs. She knew he would do whatever it took to keep her safe and in line.
“You’re such a good girl, thanking me for your spanking,” he murmured, squeezing her burning globes gently before resuming his caress.
“I’m sorry, Max. I know my behavior was appalling. It’s just, I feel trapped. I’m used to independence.”
Max ran his hand down the length of her body, from shoulder to flank. “If I knew a better way to keep the two of you safe, I’d do it. I know it’s hard on you, having to wait for me to finish my work at the shop. But I have a horrible feeling that the moment Simon sees you alone again, like you were that night at the schoolhouse, he’ll attack. Nothing scares me more than the thought of you or Tim being harmed. So please, be agreeable to me escorting you, for my sake if not for your own.”
Charlotte looked back at him. His worried eyes met hers. She felt her own eyes moisten and a burning in her nose that indicated she was moments from crying again. “I’m sorry. I should have known how much this affected you.”
Max gathered her into his arms, and she rested her head against his chest. “All you need to know is how much you mean to me, so you understand why I need to keep you safe.”
Charlotte nodded. As she basked in his love, she felt a strong desire to return the favor. She wanted to comfort him or at least distract him from his worry. She moved her body so that she faced him and straddled her legs around his hips. She kissed him deeply while his palms on her back pulled her to him, flattening her breasts against his hard chest.
“Max, I want to make you feel good,” she said between kisses.
He opened his eyes and smiled. “You do, Charlie.”
“I mean really good.” She reached down and fumbled with his belt.
He said nothing as she undid the buckle. While unbuttoning his trousers, she shimmied her hips backwards off his lap until her feet reached the floor. She dropped to her knees in front of him.
Max stared at her, his eyes sparking with lust. “Where did you learn about this, young lady?”
Charlotte slid her hand up his cock, which hardened under her touch. Leaning forward, she kissed the head of it tentatively, then looked straight into his eyes as she circled her lips around him and took him into her mouth.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” he moaned.
Through a mouthful of cock, she garbled that the saloon owner’s wife had given her advice on how to please a man. Charlotte found a bobbing rhythm and tightened her lips, flicking his cock with her tongue as she did. She peered up at him through her lashes often, thrilled by the bliss she read on his face and the fact that she was the one causing it. Her jaw ached after some time, but she didn’t care.
He reached roughly around her head. Lacing his fingers through her hair, his hand tightened into a fist. With a sudden groan, he pulled her head away from him, releasing his cock from her mouth so he could release his warm seed on her face. When he spilled the last of it and relaxed his grip on her hair, she eyed him with surprise. She held her hands under her chin to catch what streamed down her cheek and said, “I thought I was supposed to swallow this.”
He snorted out laughter and collapsed backwards on the bed. “Next time, darlin’.”
Charlotte stood from her kneeled position and walked to the basin of water, where she washed her hands and face. “What makes you think there will be a next time?” she teased.
He sat up. “Well, for one thing, I saw the look in your eye. You enjoyed that, though not half as much as I did, that’s for damn sure.”
She looked back at him. “Was I good at it, Max?” she asked sincerely while rubbing her cheek with a wet cloth. It was an honest question. She didn’t know whether it was a skill she could rightfully claim to possess.
He laughed loudly and stood. He adjusted himself back into his trousers and buttoned them, then walked to her and gathered her into his arms. “I think my response removed the need to ask that question, darlin’, but since you asked… Yes, you were very, very good at it. I’m a lucky man.”
Charlotte smiled and returned his hug. “I’m the lucky one. You care enough to protect me.”
It was true. Max thought of little else but protecting Charlotte and Tim. His worry over how to continue doing so often kept him up at night, and that night was another in which he couldn’t find sleep. He left the bed where Charlotte slept and the gun next to it. He sat on the porch bench and thought about their situation. Until Tim went to college, Max wouldn’t feel like Tim was safe, and as long as Simon lived in Weston, Max wouldn’t feel like Charlotte was safe. He tried to think of a solution while sipping a glass of whiskey.
Just as he was about to return to bed in an attempt to sleep for a couple of hours before work, something heavy and hard crashed into his skull. In a flash, the world went blacker than the moonless night.
Chapter Eleven: Not Your Fight