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  “Yes.” My father chuckles, the knowing in his laugh makes my stomach lurch. He’s playing Merrick and I hate that I’m a part of it. “Seems my precious daughter has her own personal protector in the crowd.”

  “She needs one.”

  “Ah, yes, we do make sure she is safe.” He glances at me and I look down, I don’t want to play this game anymore, not with Merrick, but years of training…if that’s what you want to call it…has the fear of reprisal twisting inside of me.

  “Yes,” I chime in, hating myself for playing this part. “My family does keep me safe, but I so appreciate your help as well. You’ve been so kind…” Merrick gives me a look like he’s not buying the back and forth here, but before he can say anything, my father moves us to the next step.

  “Kezia has not missed a performance since we arrived outside of today, and she twisted her ankle a bit in her last dance this evening. I was thinking…” Merrick keeps his eyes locked onto my father as he takes a sidestep closer to me. “Once again, I would be honored if you would take Kezia into your care tomorrow. We have our busiest day and I would like her to have a day to relax before we move on to our next town.”

  Merrick sniffs and holds back something like a snarl, then looks down at me. “You hurt yourself?”

  “It’s nothing.” I hate the lie, but it’s already out. I’m trapped by it. “Just stepped wrong.”

  I hear the laughter and chatter coming from behind, right on time. Our group is a well-oiled machine.

  My sister and four of the other younger women swarm around us.

  “Kezia!” Genevieve calls. “Are you coming? Mother is waiting for us.” She turns to Merrick. “We’re on clean-up duty. All the costumes need to be washed. We take turns, but tonight it’s all on us. A family that works together…works.” She smiles, giving him the well-used lines.

  Dangle the carrot, then take it away, our father always says. Makes them salivate for what they can’t have. Makes them putty in your hands.

  “I have to go.” I look at Merrick, our secret hot and heavy between us, but I plead with my eyes for him to play along.

  At least for now.

  “I’ll be here at daybreak,” I hear Merrick say as I’m pulled away, my heart already breaking, knowing I won’t see him until morning. Hoping in the end, he doesn’t change his mind as I play and replay our day at the water’s edge.

  Come back for me, Daddy. Your little girl already needs you.

  Chapter 9

  Merrick

  Something smells like shit around here and it’s not just all the overflowing port-a-johns.

  Her father is full of it. Something is wrong there. I don’t know the specifics yet, but I’ll fucking find out, and when I do there’ll be hell to pay.

  I know I only spent a few hours with her, but she’s mine, and I’m going to make sure she’s safe until she’s with me full time.

  After the group of girls dragged Kezia away last night, I drove around the back of the camping area and watched from the shadows for an hour. Kezia didn’t do any fucking costume cleaning, so that sister of hers is also a liar.

  That would make Kezia a liar too.

  Fine. She’s being coerced, my instincts told me that early on. That ‘father’ of theirs, if you can even call him that, has some sort of hold over them.

  He’s more than full of shit, he’s a mother fucker and it makes me wonder what sort of intimidation he uses to get compliance. As I watched from the parking lot, she returned alone, walking to Thadius and some older woman, maybe her mother. They were lecturing her, pointing fingers and waving hands, getting right in her face as she stared at the ground.

  Then, the older woman took her by the arm, half dragging her into some sort of makeshift shower area, shoving her in. She came out soaking wet, wearing just a thick sort of nightdress, and the woman then handed her off to one of the younger women that took her from me earlier and they disappeared into a tent.

  I could see their silhouettes as they sat with a low light inside casting shadows. Every once in a while, Kezia would put her head in her hands while the other threw hers into the air as she talked.

  Soon after, the light inside went out.

  I hated leaving, but I had to take care of some work since I’d had my other deputies cover everything for the day while I was gone and dispatch called me a few times for some minor but important incidents around town.

  As well, Rosy and Eleanor were at the house and I’d been gone longer than usual and it was too late at night to ask mom or dad to head over and check on them and feed them. Tension coiled inside me as I drove away, knowing I’d be back as soon as I could.

  Now, I’m showered and dressed in civilian clothes. I managed two hours of tortured sleep while fighting the urge to jerk my cock raw, the taste of her still lingering on my tongue. There was no fucking way I was waiting for daybreak to come back. This girl has cast a spell on me and maybe I’m losing it, but my urge to consume her is overpowering.

  It’s not just the way I want to sink into her virgin cunt and claim her forever, it’s more. There’s a throb inside of me. I want to make sure she has everything in life and more. A protector, a guide, a lover, a confidant, a friend…everything. Like a father to a daughter, as well as a husband to a wife and a stalker to his prey.

  I want it all with this wisp of a girl that’s already stolen my heart.

  I’m watching again from the rear of their camp with night vision binoculars The tent where she disappeared last I saw her is still dark, and I can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. Not having her next to me or in my sight is going to push me to insanity, so I throw open the door of my truck and start walking toward the tent.

  I pause as I approach, hearing low voices from other tents. The fire at the center of the camp is glowing orange embers, and it reminds me of the white-hot desire Kezia has lit inside of me. My balls still have that heavy feeling like they are weighted down with a lifetime of cum just for her. I can’t stop my cock from leaking at the thought of imprinting her with my seed.

  I wonder if I should have taken her by the lake. Not waited but marked her right there and claimed her as my own.

  She is innocent, but the way she took her pleasure as her slick pussy spread itself on my thigh has me feeling drugged. I want that pussy dripping with me, morning, noon and night, and that’s something I’ve never thought of before. The anguish I feel without her surprises me but the image of her sweet face as her first orgasm flowed through her will be burned into my memory forever. My finest hour.

  I’m gone for this girl.

  And as unrealistic as it is, I don’t care. I decide I’m all in and I’m following my gut, which rarely steers me wrong.

  I take slow, measured steps toward the tent, and bend down, listening but there’s no sound from inside. I ease around the front, the zipper is open and I don’t want to scare the shit out of her or the other girl she was with, so I crouch down, my eyes adjusting to the low light, but my heart sinks when I see the tent is empty.

  Fuck. Something’s wrong.

  Not knowing where she is, is one thing, but my inner bullshit meter is off the charts when it comes to her father. I should have never left her here.

  That’s on me, and if something’s happened to her, I’ll never forgive myself.

  Just as my heart is about to crack my ribs, I hear a little yelp from over my left shoulder. It’s a female’s voice, a young woman, and I reach down and grip the handle of my pistol, partly on instinct and partly because if anyone has laid a hand on her, they’re getting some lead in their head.

  There’s low voices and I follow them toward a larger, tall canvas tent with a low light inside.

  I step to the back where it’s darker and my shadow won’t cast against the fabric, and peer through an open slit where a roll-down window covering doesn’t quite square up.

  And my blood turns to ice.

  My fingers curl around the cold steel handle of my gun, while my th
umb flips open the snap holding it in the holster.

  The man that presented himself as Kezia’s father is sitting in a wooden chair, holding a long, knotty cane.

  It’s what’s at the end of that cane that very well may end his life this morning.

  It’s Kezia.

  She’s curled into a ball, cowering inside a wooden crate fashioned into some sort of cage, barely big enough for her tiny, tucked body. Thadius is banging on the top with the gnarled end of his cane.

  “What is your job?” he asks, as homicidal thoughts flood my brain.

  To kill you, motherfucker.

  “To distract. To do as I’m told. To serve the family.” Kezia’s soft voice shakes. I try to suppress a growl as rage bubbles inside of me.

  He slams the cane down on the top of the box five times and I see Kezia wince and curl tighter with each blow.

  “You say the words but you do not follow through with your actions!” he bellows, standing now, stepping to the wooden crate and looking down. “You kissed him. I overheard you telling Genevieve.” He locks his jaw then continues. “You are not to be touched by them. You are to be untouched. Your value to the family is partly your beauty but also your purity. If it is discovered you let an outsider touch you, I will lose many thousands of dollars, Kezia, and that is not going to happen.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whimpers and I’m not listening to anything more.

  The beast inside of me is ready to tear his skin off as I make my way around to the front of the tent and rip my way through the flaps of fabric that serve as the door, my pistol pulled.

  Her father spins, his cane in the air, and I give him a look that lets him know he’s half a twitch away from a bullet in his brain.

  “Merrick.” I hear Kezia’s voice but I’m focused on the fucker in front of me.

  I reach out and jerk the cane from his hand, throwing it into the corner but keeping my gun pinned on him. Then I step forward, and in a single movement I rip the top of the cage holding my girl off its hinges and throw it at him.

  “You okay, baby?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the man who is staring at me without fear.

  “I’m okay,” Kezia answers as I offer my free hand and help her out of the box. “Don’t hurt him.”

  I swallow the hatred gathered in my throat as I push her behind me, then close the space between me and her father, reaching up and grabbing his throat with one hand and shoving the barrel of my gun into his gut.

  “You’re fucking lucky she’s here. Only reason you’re alive is I don’t want her to watch you die.”

  “You are a man of the law. I am unarmed. It would be murder.” He chokes out the words as my fingers crush his windpipe.

  “Look in my eyes, do you think I give a shit what they would call it? Besides, I caught you in the commission of a felony, forcible imprisonment and torture, domestic abuse…You fought me as I tried to free Kezia. I know the fucking law.” I shrug. His eyes narrow but he shrinks back, mouth open as I cut off the little air reaching his lungs.

  I release his throat, cock back and hammer my fist upward under his jaw, throwing him back three feet to where he lands in a pile of dust, out cold.

  I spin, grabbing Kezia’s hand and march us out of this medieval torture chamber toward the truck.

  As we make our way outside, a voice sounds from behind another tent.

  “Psst.” I look over, Kezia oblivious next to me and I see one of the girls that took her from me earlier. “Take care of her. Please.” I open my mouth to answer, but she’s gone and I don’t want to wait another second to get my baby away from this place but make a note to ask her later who the dark haired girl is.

  I get Kezia inside the truck, buckled in, and finally holster my gun when I look behind me and see no one watching. I throw the car into drive and spin in the dirt, knowing now that I’ve got her back with me, I’m never letting her go again.

  “I’m sorry I left you here. I knew something was wrong, I should have followed my instinct. My sweet little girl, I may never let you out of my sight again.” I reach over and brush the dust from her cheeks. Dried trails of tears cut through the dirt and I never want to see her cry. My gut feels like a coiled viper ready to strike anyone that dares come close right now.

  “Baby, are you okay, for real?” I reach over and cup her cheek.

  “I am now.” She looks over, her soft features so trusting as she smiles, and my heart is beating out of my chest. “Where are we going?” she asks, and it takes me a second to switch off the fury and focus on caring for her.

  Just as I open my mouth to answer, a loud, gnawing growl comes from her stomach and she wraps her free hand around her center.

  “Sorry.”

  “You’re hungry.” New anger wells up inside me as I remember watching her last night but not seeing her eat anything. “We’re going to get you some food, that’s where we’re going.”

  “No,” she snaps, too fast, but I’m not backing down. “I’m fine.”

  “Yes, we are,” I announce, giving her a stern stare. “Sometimes, I make the rules, I know what’s best for you and you’re going to learn to trust me.”

  The tension in her face softens and she brings a shoulder to her ear. “Daddy knows best.” The words drip from her plump cherry lips and my already throbbing cock sends a jolt of painful need deep into my core.

  “Every time you call me that, I feel like I’m the luckiest human on the planet, baby girl.”

  “Every time I look at you, I feel the same.”

  Chapter 10

  Kezia

  “This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.” I gaze around, my mouth hanging wide in awe as I turn in circles, the stars and moon shining down. The first hum of light turning the sky along the horizon from black to deep gray. “I’ve traveled this entire country, and I always had dreams of a place…it looked like this. I never knew it could be real.”

  “Well,” Merrick starts, his eyes trained on me as we walk the stone pathway from where he parked his truck toward the front door of a house that is straight out of my dreams. He’s changed out of his uniform, wearing loose, faded jeans and a white button up shirt. Simple but still so sexy. “First, you are the most beautiful place, person, everything, that I’ve ever seen. And second…” He stands behind me, wrapping his hands around my waist, and I feel the hard length pressed into my back, making the tension grow low between my legs. “Second, this is real. I’m going to take care of you from now on, Kezia. No one will hurt you again.”

  I want to believe him, but a lifetime of a reality that doesn’t match his words niggles doubt in my mind. I take a long breath, admiring the enormous barn-like structure that is his home lit up outside and inside in the low light of pre-dawn.

  The rustic form contrasts with the modern touches that have turned the giant structure into an awe-inspiring house. As we approach the front door, I see huge glass windows that give a straight view through the first floor.

  The driveway to the house was probably half a mile long, winding through pines that reminded me of the ones at the waterfall we went to just yesterday. He told me this is part of the same land, and the way it rolls and enormous century old trees hug the house make it more like the cover of a magazine than somewhere I ever thought I’d find myself.

  Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I hear dogs barking inside, then see them through the glass.

  “You have dogs?” I do a little skip-jump.

  “Yeah, Rosy and Eleanor. Rescues. Sort of like you.”

  A smile blossoms on my face. “I love dogs so much. I’ve never been allowed to have pets. They are considered a unnecessary expense in our group. But, when we’re at the festivals, people bring their dogs and I just always wanted one so bad.”

  “Well, come on. Meet your dogs.”

  The way he says ‘meet your dogs’ makes me pause, but I’m so excited I don’t dwell that I may have misunderstood.

  “Come on. I need to get inside you
—” Merrick immediately stops himself and shakes his head. “I mean, I need to get you inside.”

  He turns toward the house, my hand in his as he guides us to the front door, and I’m nervous but at the same time, I feel at home. Something I’ve never felt before.

  Just inside the door, the interior is more stunning than the exterior, if that’s possible. Warm wood, cream and white, and spots of blue that remind me of the ocean with soaring ceilings and rough beams. Rosy and Eleanor jump and lick and I sit right down on the floor and let them engulf me.

  “They don’t usually take to strangers. They’re not really trusting of most people. Can’t blame them, they didn’t have the best upbringing.” Merrick stands, watching with a warm glow in his eyes, scratching the side of his face. “But, they probably need to go out.”

  When he says, ‘go out’ both the dogs turn to him, wagging their tails and panting as he opens the front door and they go bounding outside.

  “They won’t run away?” I ask, my heart already missing them, worried they will disappear into the forest.

  “Nope. They know where their home is. Besides, I installed an invisible fence and trained them. They can run around ten acres; they know their boundaries. Dogs like to know someone else is in charge. Makes them feel safe.”

  Merrick guides me by the hand to a huge open kitchen and my stomach growls again, right on cue.

  “Sorry,” I say, pulling my lips to the side.

  “You’re not the one that should be sorry. As long as you are with me, I’ll be sure from now on you eat, you are safe, you get whatever it is you need.” He holds my face in his hands. “I’m not going to lie, I want you. I want between your legs, and I can’t fucking wait to get my mouth on your sweet pussy, but always and foremost, I will take care of you. Your safety and well-being trump everything else. And food is something you look like you’ve not had enough of a long time.”

  I hesitate, then nod. “I am hungry, but…”