Dirty Uncle Read online

  Ironic, considering I should be following those rules.

  Clara lets go of my hand to unlock the door and I frown, wanting it back. “How come none of those girls tonight helped fix up your knee? Ain’t they your friends?”

  She ducks her head and trudges through the open door. “No. Not really.”

  “Why not?” I ask, following her inside. “They stupid or something?”

  The smile she turns on me makes my steps falter. “No, they’re not stupid. They just think I’m weird.”

  I start flipping on lights and going through the house, searching closets and under beds while she follows behind me on the balls of her feet. “Why the hell would they think that?”

  “I don’t know…” I pass her in the doorway of a guest room and her tits graze my belly, making her gasp. “Th-they’re into boys. That’s all they’re into. But I think the guys they want to date are gross. I think they’re offended at how much I don’t care. They think I’m stuck up.”

  Goddamn, the barest touch of her and heat is wriggling in my veins. I struggle to focus on the conversation, though, because I can tell it’s important to her. Yeah, nice try. It’s important to me. I care so much more than I should about Clara in relation to boys, it’s not even funny. “You don’t date?”

  “Do you?” she asks quickly, seeming to hold her breath.

  “Been on the boat for months. No one serious before that. Never really had nothing serious. No time. No…interest, either.”

  Her shoulders deflate, mouth spreading into a smile. “Oh.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” I say, knowing I shouldn’t.

  Before I walk into the bathroom, I turn to catch the shake of her head. “I’ve been to the movies on dates a couple times, but…”

  My hand pauses on the shower curtain I’m fitting to wrench back. “But what?” I bark. “Those little motherfuckers get handsy with you?”

  “They wanted to,” she murmurs, coming up behind me in the dark bathroom. “I didn’t let them. I never wanted anyone to put their hands on me until I saw you. Now it’s all I can think about.”

  Maybe it’s the darkness or the fact that we’re in a place no one can see us, but I can’t help drawing her closer, letting my hands roam over her back. “I was a rough son of a bitch with you tonight, girl. Ain’t no excuse for it, except kissing you…it made me forget the rules. I needed to give you all my come or I was going to die.”

  “Kiss me again now, then,” she breathes, running her hands over my shoulders. “Uncles kiss their nieces, don’t they?”

  “No.” I fist a section of her hair and pull, tilting her face up. “Not the way we do it. Not with open mouths and tongue.”

  “What about tucking me in?” Her fingers brush the curve of my dick. “If we’re making up for lost time, shouldn’t you do that at least once?”

  With a growl, I tighten my grip on her hair, lowering my face to hers. “You weren’t really scared of robbers, were you?”

  “Oh yes.” She licks her lips. “Petrified. I probably will be all night long.”

  My whole being protests over her being alone and afraid. But I’m learning to read my niece and here’s the deal: she can play me like a fucking fiddle. And she knows it. “I’m not staying, Clara, so don’t even try it. We done already gone too damn far with this.” I guide her by the hair through the bathroom doorway, my cock stiffening despite my mental commands. She’s just such a good girl, walking along dutifully under my guiding hand. I’m about to ask which bedroom is hers, but there’s a pink princess sign on one door. Shaking my head, I head us in that direction.

  I’m expecting Clara’s room to be tasteful like the rest of the house, so I’m not prepared for the explosion of pink I walk into. “Jesus Christ,” I mutter, letting go of her hair and turning in a circle. Every spare inch of wall space is covered by an inspirational dance poster…or kittens in tutus. So many kittens in tutus. Her bed is cocooned in a gauzy, white canopy draping down from the ceiling. Beneath that, it’s buried under a mountain of stuffed animals. Everything is poofy and pink and sparkly. And I just took the occupant of this room up the ass.

  There are so many layers of wrong here, I can’t even begin to dig. Because the top layer of wrong is something I didn’t expect. Something unacceptable.

  I’m turned on as fuck. I want to lay Clara down on that stupidly adorable bed, hike her knees up over my shoulders and plow her until she’s screaming for her mommy. Completely opposite of that, I want to sit her on my lap in a nightshirt and watch as she brushes her hair for bed. God almighty. I…want to be her Daddy.

  She looks up at me. “You don’t like it?”

  My stomach twists. “I like it too much, girl.”

  A smile breaks loose. “Really?”

  “Yeah,” I say on a rushed exhale. The truth is out, but I don’t know how to handle it. My tastes have never run in this direction. I beat off to nudie magazines on the boat when there’s no Wi-Fi available. When I’m home, I get the deed done to whatever internet porn happens to catch my eye. But truth be told, I tend to avoid anything like this. Men giving in to their urges in places they damn well shouldn’t. It’s Clara that’s turned me into one of those men. Made me crave virgin blood and panties with pink bows and things I can’t have.

  It would be so easy to go down this path without thinking about it too hard. Especially tonight. To not worry about consequences and just fuck my horny little princess under my brother’s roof. God knows she’s ripe for it. Her big eyes are inviting me to strip her naked and do whatever the hell I want. She would call me Daddy. I don’t know a ton about this shit, but some part of me has recognized since the beginning that a caretaker is exactly what Clara is looking for. Needs. Maybe my infatuation with her has turned me into that person…

  But as much as I’m starved for her skin, her touch, her pussy, I can’t give in. I’m her uncle. I might satisfy her body, but she’d be even more of an outcast once I claimed her. Eventually went public. She doesn’t even realize how big the world is. Sure, the bitch crew of dancers don’t like her, but life after eighteen is so different. She’s about to discover that. Can I really saddle her down with someone who will alienate her from the world? Her family?

  You blacken everything.

  “The house is safe. No robbers.” Backing toward the door is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I take one step, then another. “I’ll do one more check of the house and lock up before I go. You’re safe, okay, girl? Good night, Clara.”

  “Uncle Rex…”

  I don’t hear the rest of what she says over the roaring protest of my heart.

  Chapter Seven

  Clara

  Of course, I slip climbing onto the bus.

  My already injured knee slams into the step and I swallow a scream, scrambling back to my feet as fast as I can so I don’t block the line of embarking passengers behind me. An elderly woman in the front row gives me a sympathetic look as I move past her, limping and clutching my backpack to my chest.

  I am doing this.

  I am doing this.

  I can’t believe I’m doing this.

  Rex couldn’t have made it clearer last night that he’s backing off. It was my ridiculous bedroom that ruined everything. I still can’t help but be surprised by his willpower, though. I saw the hungry shape of him through his pants. I like it too much, girl. Thank God he let those words slip, because they’re giving me enough courage to surprise him on his hunting trip. When I’m in front of him, he can’t help but touch me. If I just keep getting in his way, he’ll stop worrying about the wrongs and rights. And a change of scenery can only help my cause, can’t it? Without any reminder of his brother and my youth popping up, we can just be us.

  That’s what I’m hoping, anyway. Because I don’t think I can be happy without him. There’s an emptiness inside me that is on the verge of fulfillment. I’ve never pursued a relationship with anyone. Not with a potential friend or boyfriend—barely even my parents. But Rex…it’s like I can’t help being drawn back. He’s got one half of a magnet inside him and I’ve got the other.

  I slide into a seat toward the back of the bus and rub my throbbing knee. Tears threaten behind my eyelids, but I think about Rex storming backstage last night and I immediately feel better. How is he going to react when I show up unannounced? He might bluster a little, but he won’t send me home, will he?

  Thinking of the groceries…not to mention the bikini I’ve packed in my bag, my mouth moves into a smile.

  No. He won’t be able to send me away.

  The bus ride to Long Shadow takes an hour, but I’m too excited to sleep, even though I didn’t catch a wink last night. So I watch the passing scenery and breathe through the knots in my stomach. After about forty-five minutes, the foliage becomes dense and a forest builds, the trees stretching higher and higher toward the blue sky.

  Rex only gave me a cursory idea of where he’s staying, but my stepfather goes on hunting trips up this way. I’m surprised I retained a word of his boring stories, but I did. And I know there are two hunting lodges where less experienced hunters bunk overnight, before going out with guides in the morning. I’m going on instinct, but I doubt Rex would lump himself in with less experienced anything. So I’m going to rent a bike once we reach the mountain summit and check rental properties until I find Rex’s truck.

  Me on a bike. Shouldn’t be too dangerous, should it?

  My knee throbs harder as if to mock me.

  Chapter Eight

  Rex

  I know something is fishy as soon as I walk into the cabin.

  “What the fuck is that incredible smell?” asks my buddy, Hank, sniffing at the air. “Whatever it is, I’m eating two helpings of it.”

  Rudy, the third in our hunting party, joins us in the entry. “Roast beef and baby carrots.” Eyes closed, he holds up a finger. “With a sprig of rosemary on top.”

  With a sigh, I ease off my camouflage vest and toss my cap toward an entry table. “Ain’t you two idiots concerned with who is cooking in our cabin?”

  Rudy leans his rifle up against the wall and rubs his hands together. “Probably should be.”

  “I don’t question free food,” Hank adds. “Plus, we didn’t take down anything today, so it’s the mysterious meal or takeout. I choose option one.”

  Both of them clomp past me toward the kitchen, leaving filthy footprints behind them. Which normally wouldn’t bother me one bit. Unfortunately, every damn thing is bothering me today. The sun is too bright, the leaves are too crunchy, my friends never shut the fuck up. I’m anxious and irritable and it’s all because of the girl I left standing in her princess bedroom last night, looking so vulnerable and confused that I’m haunted by the memory.

  A scream cuts through the air.

  At first, I think it’s my imagination. I’ve been psyching myself out all day, picturing robbers converging on Clara’s bedroom and scaring her, making her call out for me, but I’m not there. I’m not there to protect her.

  No. I’m not imagining the scream, though. Rudy and Hank back out of the kitchen with their hands up, their jaws on the floor. And I know. I know my niece is in the kitchen. Especially when Hank uses one finger to push back open the swinging kitchen door and peeks in, letting out a low whistle. That’s when I see her through the crack.

  She’s wearing nothing but a tiny white apron.

  “Clara.” I thunder toward the kitchen, my bellow bouncing off the living room walls. “You two jackasses. Get the fuck away from the door.”

  “Damn. You know her?”

  “Yeah. She’s my goddamn niece.” I shoulder through them, one hand poised on the kitchen door. “You know what that means?”

  “Look but don’t touch,” Hank says with a nod. “You got it, boss.”

  “Wrong. It means, don’t even look.”

  “Roger that.” Hank backs away. “But, uh…you might want to wait for her to cover up before going in there…”

  Something passes between the three of us in that moment. It’s obvious I’m not waiting to go in there, meaning I’ve already seen her without clothes. Or I want to. I’ve known Rudy and Hank for a damn decade, but they don’t see it coming. Don’t know what the hell to make of it, either. They simply stare as I use my body to block the opening and close myself in the kitchen with Clara.

  Jesus. My cock hoists like a main sail at the sight of her pressed back against the kitchen island, breathing like she just ran a race. The bottom of that dinky apron doesn’t even hit her thighs. Nah, it shows off slinky, little black panties I’m willing to bet ride straight up the crack of her ass in back. Her tits aren’t showing, but they’re plumped and pointed at the apron’s square neckline…and fuck…the slope of her sides and swell of her hips are all on display.

  Now I’m pissed. My friends saw her this way? They’ve probably already ran off to their bedrooms to jerk themselves into a stupor. She’s indecent. She’s innocent. She’s too many things to pinpoint…except for one unshakable certainty.

  She’s about to be mine.

  I start toward Clara, intending on demolishing her. I don’t know how I’m going to do it yet, but I’m not restricting myself anymore. I can’t. The obsession is choking me, crowding me in from all sides. Coming to Long Shadow was my last-ditch attempt to avoid debauching her. She came to me, though, and I’m losing control. I’ve almost reached her when I stop short, noticing the cuts and bruises on her legs. They’ve all been bandaged, but that only ticks me off more, because I didn’t have the privilege of fixing them up. “What the hell happened to you?” I cage her in against the island. “How did you get here?”

  “B-bus…” she stammers, her cheeks pink. “And then a bike.”

  “A bike,” I bite out. “How many times did you fall, girl?”

  “Several,” she whispers. “Can we talk about something else?”

  “You could have hit your head. You could have been seriously hurt.”

  “But I didn’t. So we should…celebrate?” She gives me a trembling smile. “I made dinner. It was just supposed to be for us, but there’s enough for your friends.”

  “You thought I was coming alone?”

  Her nod is vigorous. “Yes.”

  “That’s why you’re half goddamn naked?”

  “Yes.”

  My anger cools, which is very bad, because it makes way for the need. And the need is savage, liquid fire pooling in my balls. Hard isn’t even an adequate word to describe my cock. It’s a sweating, pulsing length of meat and it’s trying to tear through my pants to get at her virginity. She’s come here to offer it. It’s mine for the taking. There’s nothing to do but take, is there? No choice but to give her this liquid fire and let it take root where it should never, ever go. Where it’s forbidden.

  I think of her glowing on stage, though. I see her poor scraped-up knees and I hesitate. Lord, she’s the sweetest thing on this planet. I’m not good enough for this gift. I’m not worthy. My brother knows it. My father knew it. Clara will know someday soon. I’m a man who battles the sea and comes home with torn-up hands and dirty jokes. Keeping her innocent is the one thing I can give her. Not taking this one thing might keep my guilt and self-disgust from sucking me under.

  “Uncle Rex…” Clara whispers, going up on her toes and wrapping her arms around my neck. “I hurt.”

  My body moves on instinct, molding her between me and the island. “Poor girl. Your legs?” I breathe in the scent of her hair. “I’ll make it all better.”

  “Not my legs,” she says, playing with the ends of my hair. “Down there, I hurt. It got worse and worse the longer I waited for you.”

  A groan forces its way out of my chest. “We talking about that little cunt of yours, Clara?” My callused palms scrape down the bare slopes of her sides, resting on her hips. Squeezing them. “Did you bring me a horny pussy, hoping I would forget I’m your uncle again and play with it?”

  She makes a sobbing noise. “Uh huh.”

  There isn’t a man alive who could withstand this temptation. And I have the new, added certainty that Clara needs a Daddy. And I want like hell to be him. I want to play games only we know and understand. Once I open that door—once I’ve taken ownership—I’ll never be able to close it, though.

  That door creaks open when she reaches behind her neck and unties the apron, letting the neckline sag lower and lower until her prize tits are showing, all pink and puckered in the soft kitchen light. “Will you kiss them, Uncle Rex?” Her hips inch forward and I hear the movement of fabric as she unties the bottom part of the apron, letting it fall. Leaving her in nothing but some bullshit panties. “Will you kiss them while you’re inside of me?”

  Sweat rolls down my back and my hands begin to shake. I can’t do this. I can’t fuck this beautiful doll and call her mine. We’re related by marriage. It’s wrong. So wrong. “How’s about I lick your pussy, girl? Been dying to get at it.” I grab her around the waist and drop her onto the counter, groaning like a slavering beast when the thong tugs to the side, giving me a glimpse of tight, teenage cunt. “Yeah. My tongue will keep you a virgin, won’t it? Just can’t shove it in too deep.”

  Her puckered tits are shaking with excitement, but her face moves into a pout. “No. I want you inside me.”

  “Clara, it ain’t happening.” I frame her jaw tightly in one hand. “But I’ve taken your ass and gotten sucked off. Need to give you something back now.” With a grunt, I let go of her jaw and shove her thighs apart. “Need to make you come worse than I need to come—and that’s saying something since I’m worked up as fuck.”

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