Page 9 of Praise Me: Pilot (Praise Me Daily #6)

Joel

I wake up feeling like I’ve just come out of a coma.

The events of the night before return to me through a filter, my heart almost diving out of my mouth when I search the messy bedding and I don’t find Haylo.

“Haylo?” I’m out of the bed, still wearing my unzipped pants and rumpled dress shirt, willing a moonbeam blonde to pop out of the bathroom with my toothbrush dangling from her mouth.

Oh Jesus. Her mouth.

I stop at the doorway to the bathroom I can clearly see is empty, bracing myself on the frame, my pulse erratic.

I turn to glance over my shoulder at the living area, the full scope of what I did to Haylo on the floor making my head swim with panic.

She must have fled in the middle of the night, terrified I would wake up and manhandle her again.

That’s exactly what I did. Manhandle might even be a mild word.

I throat fucked a virgin. Didn’t hold back at all.

Maybe if you had a gag reflex, I’d have held onto enough come to rail you like a little slut on the floor. Wouldn’t you have loved that?

I drag two hands down my face. Who was that man last night?

I don’t know that side of myself. Sex has always been a respectful exchange for me.

With Haylo, it’s like I’m inhabiting a darkness that I didn’t know existed inside of me.

But that darkness? It fucking craves her in a way I didn’t know was possible.

Even now, I’m stiff as a board—and frankly, a little pissed off—that she’s not in my bed right now. It’s time to give me that cherry.

It's mine.

She’s mine.

Lifting my head, I meet my own gaze in the bathroom mirror and barely recognize the dark forcefulness in my own expression.

The naked hunger for Haylo. There’s no way out of this feeling, is there?

Not only have I crossed the line in a serious way with my best friend’s eighteen-year-old daughter, but I’ve tasted the addictive sugar of her pussy and I’ve been drugged for life.

The need for her is not going to leave me. Oh no.

First order of business? Find Haylo. Find out why she left in the middle of the night.

Fix things with her. Promise to keep myself under control next time I get her naked.

If that’s even remotely possible. The girl was designed to drive a man insane.

Am I imagining the way she moaned louder the deeper I sank my cock into her throat? Was I high off her body and hallucinating when she sucked me down like she didn’t want to waste a single drop? Did she enjoy me slapping her cunt or was she too intimidated by an older man to tell me to stop?

That possibility has me sick, rushing through my shower and changing into jeans and a T-shirt. Boots. Finger combing my hair and forgetting to shave, I somehow remember to purchase a pair of swim trunks in the hotel lobby gift shop.

Pool party.

Right.

Of course , there must be a pool party on the day I want to have a serious, private conversation with Haylo.

And I mean serious, because oh yeah, we’re going to have to tell her father there is something between us.

I’m going to date this angel, and I pity anyone who tries to stop me.

I’m up against two obstacles. Phil is one of them, obviously, but I’ll deal with him when the time is right. In person.

The second obstacle is Haylo. She doesn’t want to be in a relationship with a pilot.

She has too much abandonment trauma. Hell, I have to leave tonight to get back to Chicago so I can fly to Barcelona in the morning.

One day into our relationship, I will already be leaving her alone, and that makes me ill, but there’s nothing I can do, except convince her to give me a chance, so I can prove to her I’m nothing like her father.

I need to stay calm, I tell myself, on the drive to the sorority house.

But that plan sails out the window when I arrive at the pool party and Haylo walks out in a white thong bikini, the splendor of her tight, young ass being caressed by sunshine, her tits jiggling around behind two triangles that do nothing to hide her hard nipples, turning every head milling around the pool.

Her mouth is swollen from taking a pounding from my cock the prior evening…

and goddamn it, those puffy lips are like walking evidence of what I did.

How I did it. Roughly. Some of the men look at me knowingly, envy dripping from their expressions.

A man sidles up next to me, holding a solo cup that appears to contain a Bloody Mary.

“My daughter says you’re a friend of Haylo’s family, filling in for her father.

I had to ask because me and a few of the dads were wondering where you fit into her life.

” He shakes his head, making a low sound in his throat.

“She sure is sweet. I’m happily married, of course—just having a little look. ”

“I suggest you look somewhere else.”

He chuckles, obviously unaware that I’m a split second from shattering his trachea. “Hey man, I know I wouldn’t have a shot in hell with a babe like that, but the fact that she’ll obviously give it up for older men gives me enough material to fantasize. That’s all I need.”

“Is it.”

“Oh yeah.”

I turn, getting in his face, the color slowly draining out of his jowls when he sees the murderous intent in my expression.

“If I find out you or anyone else is talking about Haylo, I’ll drown you with my bare hands in this motherfucking pool.

Not a word. Do you understand me? Keep your eyes, your thoughts and your hands to yourself. That clear? ”

The man coughs hard, draining half of his drink. “Yes, sir. I apologize. Didn’t mean anything by it. I just—”

“We’re done here.”

Finally, the idiot slinks away and I turn back around, disappointed when I don’t see Haylo anywhere among the other girls.

Where did she go? I weave through parents who are already tipsy mid-morning, dodging two girls who try to speak to me.

Not interested. I don’t even look at them, and their outraged gasps follow me into the house, which is empty, since everyone is outside surrounding the pool.

“Haylo?” I call.

No answer.

But I hear a little sniffle coming from the other side of a door—and I stride in that direction, knocking on the door of what I presume to be a bathroom. “You in there, angel?”

“I’m not an angel,” she blurts back.

My brows draw together, heart pounding heavily simply from hearing her voice. Damn, I am so gone for her. “Open the door and explain what you mean.”

“No.”

That thread of something dark stitches itself into my vocal cords. “Open this door immediately, young lady.”

The lock is disengaged in a snap, the door opening to reveal a tear-stained Haylo in her tiny bikini. And while my body responds swiftly to the proximity of her wearing next to nothing, my heart is focused on her red-tipped nose and shining eyes.

“Tell me you’re not in there to hide from me.”

“ You should be hiding from me ,” she says, swiping at her cheek.

“Come again?”

She wrings her hands at her waist. “Like I said, I’m not an angel.

” I advance slowly into the bathroom and kick the door shut behind me, but she backs away from me before I can touch her, making my jaw clench.

“I seduced you last night to get back at my father for bailing on me,” she says in a rush, her cheeks turning pink. “I’m sorry.”

I process her confession, though I already had a very strong inkling that was the case. Or at least, I had a feeling that was her motive at the outset of the night. “Did you enjoy what we did together in my room?”

Wetting her lips, she nods. “I loved it.”

Relief hits me like a cannonball. “I didn’t hurt you? You weren’t scared or…”

“No,” she breathes, incredulous. “Didn’t you hear me asking for more?”

“Oh, I heard it, angel. I’m thinking about it nonstop. But I plan on being very careful with you.” She’s been backed into the corner of the bathroom now, and I press my advantage, framing her jaw in my firm right hand. “Were you thinking about revenge when I was licking your pretty little clit?”

Her knees dip, before she catches herself. “No.”

“No, what?” I lean in to say against her mouth.

A flutter of eyelashes. “No, Daddy.”

Dark power filters into my system, taking root. Becoming a new way of life. “Just so we’re clear. You left because you felt guilty for seducing me.”

She tilts her head back to look at me, nodding miserably.

Sweet girl.

“That might have been how it started, but not how it ended,” I say, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead. “It ended with you warm and happy in my arms. That’s where you’re going to stay from now on, isn’t it?”

“Uh-huh,” she murmurs, sounding dazed.

But then she jolts.

“Wait, but…” Green eyes race with the implications of what I said. “From now on? You’re making it sound l-like this is going to be a regular thing!”

“It is.”

“ What? ”

Good thing I have her cornered or she’d be sprinting for the lake right about now.

Wanting to block her chances to get away, I stoop down and lift her up, groaning inwardly over the way her thighs circle my waist, her tits plumping against my chest when I press her into the tile wall.

“I’m going to speak to your father about seeing you.

And when I say I’m going to speak to him, I mean I’m going to tell him. Not ask for permission.”

“But! Don’t do that.” She’s staring at my mouth like it’ll save her life. “I…I didn’t agree to this. I just wanted us to hook up. Not be boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“Too bad.”

She gasps.

“We’re going to get through this ridiculous pool party. Then I’m going to bring you back to my hotel room and take your virginity.” I poise my mouth on top of hers, inhaling the mint fragrance of her breath. “You want to give it to me, don’t you, young lady?”

“Yes,” she whispers, her head falling back, eyes sliding closed. “Oh gosh, yes. B-but…I’m not going to be your girlfriend, so there’s no point in telling my father.”