Always Mine (Honey Mountain, #1)

by Laura Pavlov

“God, I love your tits so much.”

“There’s not a whole lot there.” “They’re perfect, Honey Bee.”

“Um. Wow,” she whispered, and her tongue came out and swiped at her lush lips. “Don’t lick your lips when you’re staring at my cock unless you intend to do something about it,” I said, my voice gruff. “Maybe I want to do something about it.”

I’d ever seen. And I’d been sucked off plenty of times in my life, so it wasn’t the first time a girl had dropped to her knees for me. But it was the first time this girl had.

“Vivi, you don’t need to do this tonight.” The words were so strained, and my dick was throbbing at the thought of her sweet mouth being this close. “I want to. You just need to help me.” I nodded. Take it slow, asshole. “You can lick the tip and then just take me in as far as you’re comfortable.” My voice was barely recognizable as it took every ounce of restraint I had in me to speak.

“Good. I plan to practice plenty. I liked it.”

“What the fuck are you doing to me, Vivian?” I whispered as I pushed her back until her legs hit the back of her bed and she fell back. I hovered above her, staring down at her. “The same thing you’re doing to me. There are condoms in my nightstand,”

“Teach me. Jansen wasn’t big on showing me anything, and I’d like to do it.” Jesus. Her desire mixed with her innocence is so fucking hot.

“I know, Honey Bee. But you’ve clearly been with a pencil dick, selfish bastard, and this is going to feel different.” “How do you know?” she asked as I pushed forward just a little bit. “Because my finger barely fit and I have a giant cock.” She chuckled and the look in her eyes was filled with heat, but I saw the fear even if she wanted to hide it.

“I’m not going to hurt you. If it doesn’t work, we can do other things, okay?”

started to move. Slowly at first. Her hands were in my hair, and she urged my mouth back up to hers and I kissed her hard as we found our rhythm. Our perfect fucking rhythm. It was melodic and wild all at the same time. And nothing had ever felt better in my entire fucking life. I pulled my mouth from hers as I could feel her pulsing against my dick. I wanted to watch her come undone.

It was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time because nothing had ever come close to feeling this fucking good.

I swiped it away with my thumb and searched her gaze. “Are you upset?” “No,” she said, and her voice trembled. “I’ve just never felt that before during sex.” “Yeah, it’s powerful shit, right?” I pulled her close, wrapping her up tight in my arms.

What the fuck was I doing? How the hell was I ever going to walk away?

“I want to do it again before you run for the hills, but I’m a little sore.” She turned to sit up. “I’m not going anywhere, Honey Bee. Not yet. We’ve got time. It’ll be you who tires of this agreement.” I knew it was the truth because she deserved more than I could give her. She deserved everything.

Niko was the only guy on the planet that I’d ever felt a comfort like this with. I could say anything to him, and I knew he wouldn’t judge me or make fun of me.

“You fight fires. How can you be such a baby about taking a bath?”

“See, isn’t this nice?” I asked as I turned off the water. “It’s only nice because you’re in here.” I rolled over on my stomach to face him. “You’re sweeter than people think, you know that?” “I’m not. Only with you,” he said as he tucked a stray strand of hair that had sprung free behind my ear. “And with Mabel.” I loved how he was with that little girl. “You’re both fucking impossible to ignore,”

“You’re too good to hate anyone. I’ll hate him enough for the both of us.”

“Are you worried about him coming back?” “I don’t want to give it any energy. Am I worried for myself? Fuck no. I will destroy him if he comes near me. But do I worry that Jada will get into trouble with him? That he’ll get near Mabel? That he’ll beat the shit out of my mother again? Yes.”

“Life is all about choices. She made hers, so she needs to be a grown-up and do right by Mabel. End of story.”

“Fuck, you’re cute when you aren’t even trying to be.” He licked his lips and ran the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “Sounds like a plan. And let me be perfectly clear. If I’m not fucking anyone else, you aren’t going on any goddamn dates with your sister as long as we’re doing whatever the hell we’re doing for a little bit. Got it?”

“I saw him out front and I don’t think he planned to come in here, but he was staring at you through the window, Dylan,” Jada said. “And then he beelined it in here and pretended he needed cupcakes.”

“Hells to the no. A guy like that knows he looks good. He knows where to find me now, so he’ll have to make an effort.”

I let out a long breath. “Please don’t say anything, Dilly. Not to anyone, please. This is just for me, okay? I don’t want to talk about it because it can’t go anywhere, but right now, I’m happy. And I’m giving myself this time to enjoy and not overthink it.” She narrowed her gaze. “You’re bumping and grinding with him, aren’t you? Yes,” she shouted as she fist pumped the sky. “Dilly. Listen, I don’t want anyone to know. It’s temporary. You know this isn’t his thing. I don’t want there to be a fall out when it ends. And it will. He’s my best friend. I know who he is, and I know how it will end. Okay? Can you just for once in your life not have an opinion? And not tell anyone else? Can this just stay between us?”

“It’s… really good. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced.” “Damn. I need to find me a lover like that. Someone to service my needs… although, living at Dad’s house sure does throw a wrench in that plan. Can you feel Niko out and ask about the new firefighters?”

I’d never slept with another person. Not when I was a kid or an adult, aside from her. And there was a peacefulness that surrounded me when I was with her. Hell, it’s the reason I’d hung on to this one relationship like my life depended on it. And here I was fucking it all up. And I didn’t know how to stop. Now that I’d had a taste, I just wanted more.

I was a greedy bastard when it came to Vivian Thomas. Always had been. But this was next level. We’d been texting nonstop, which wasn’t totally out of the ordinary, aside from the fact that we were missing one another in ways we’d never experienced before. And we weren’t hiding it.

“Mabel goes to school full-time. You have a little time each day to yourself, Jada. And guess what, this is parenting. You need to step up. I’ve done all I can to help you. I’ll watch her one night so you can go out, okay? But you’ve got to figure this shit out. You can’t be calling me fifteen to twenty times a day when I’m at a fucking fire.”

she’d had a lot of support with Mabel, and I would continue to do what I could to help her, but she needed to grow the fuck up and be a mother.

I tried not to show my irritation because she’d never done it by herself. My mother watched Mabel often and I picked up the slack financially for her. She didn’t have a fucking clue what doing this by herself would look like. But I didn’t want her to run home with my father returning in a few weeks. I needed her to find her footing.

We were a family here at the firehouse, but some things were off-limits. Jace had opened up to me that the last few times that he’d come home from the firehouse, the babysitter was there, and she’d told him that Karla never came home and she’d spent the night with the kids. He was done trying to fix his wife. They’d only gotten married because she’d gotten pregnant, and the dude was a stand-up guy. But Karla was a train wreck. In all the years I’d known her, the only times I’d ever seen her sober were during her two pregnancies. But the minute she handed those little angels to Jace, she was sneaking out of the house and chasing her youth.

“I think Karla and I are calling it quits,” Jace said, looking up at us before forking a bite of pancake. “And that’s as much as I want to say about that.”

He and Karla had had a one-night stand a few years ago, and out of it came Paisley. Jace had married her even though everyone warned him that she was trouble, but they gave it a shot. They had Hadley two years later, and things had gone from bad to worse.

When she opened the door, I rushed her. She gasped over a laugh as I scooped her up. Her legs came around my waist and I kissed her hard. “Damn, Honey Bee. I missed you.”

“Damn, you look so fucking good.”

“Oh. My. I see I’ve interrupted something. I would call the fire department to put out this fire, but it appears you’re already here,” Dylan said over a fit of laughter.

“Well, aren’t you the busy fireman?” she whispered with a mischievous smirk. “Aren’t you the busy cockblock,” I said with my arms crossed over my chest.

“I am sorry about that. You know I like seeing her happy. It’s been a long time.”

Dylan Thomas was a smart-ass most days, but she was salt-of-the-earth good to her core. She was a straight shooter, and she loved her sisters fiercely. But her words struck a nerve. Because this wasn’t going to last forever. I nodded as Vivian pulled out several bowls of pre-made dough.

I’d noticed that about Mabel even at her young age. She was always checking on her mama and worried about her grandmother. It was her nature. She was a lot like Honey Bee as a young girl. Flying around spreading their sweetness to everyone else.

I’d never felt that kind of safety or contentment in my life, as far as I could remember. I’d always been on edge as a kid, because my dad had hated me from my earliest memory.

She’d picked up my sister’s drunk ass. It was all coming together now. Yet she hadn’t mentioned it. Vivi knew I’d be pissed that Jada did that. She’d hoped I wouldn’t find out. But thankfully the little munchkin couldn’t keep a secret if her life depended on it.

As we sat there listening to Mabel giggle at the falling snow, I realized that this was where I was most content. Watching these two stare out the window as the large flakes fell on the water. It was the most content I’d ever felt.

It was the truth. He hated where he came from, and he thought that was a part of who he was. But it wasn’t. It never had been. But he kept a shield around himself like a warrior going to battle. I hated it. Hated that he felt judged by the sins of his father.

I tried to hide my irritation. First off, that she needed a break constantly from Mabel, who was the sweetest kid on the planet. She was at school all day, and then she spent her nights with Shayla? And I knew Shayla well. That meant Mabel was parked in front of the television while she drank and smoked the night away. It’s how she’d always been. Completely checked out.

Her brother was the one person who always had her back, and she didn’t hesitate to throw him under the bus every chance she got. It bothered me. Niko was the most loyal guy to the people he loved, and he deserved loyalty in return.

“Seriously? Did you not grow up in the same house? I didn’t live there, but I know what the hell went on.”

“I mean, lots of kids get spanked, Vivi.”

“Spanked? Have you seen your brother’s arms that are covered in scars from cigarette burns? Do you not remember the black eyes and the bruises? Or how about the year your father wound up with a broken foot on Christmas morning after kicking your brother so hard in the back because you didn’t clean up your toys? Is any of that ringing a bell?”