His Nasty Virgin

I could feel Juliana staring at me as I swung the axe over my head, bringing the sharp edge down on the piece of wood in front of me, splitting it neatly down the middle. Jaxon had warned me that morning that there would be a snowstorm moving in tonight, so I wanted to be as prepared as I could. He wasn’t sure how bad it would get.

I paused for a moment, pulling my shirt up to wipe some sweat off of my face. I turned to look at Juliana. She was sitting on the porch steps, bundled up in a jacket, scarf, and gloves, her beanie sitting on top of her head, covering her ears. Her cheeks were a bit red from the biting cold. But my blood was pumping so hard and fast through my veins that it was a welcome reprieve.

“How are you feeling, baby girl?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “A little nauseated, but the cold is helping.”

I walked over and took a seat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She burrowed against my side with a soft, contented sigh. “I want to walk,” she quietly told me.

I brushed my lips to her forehead. “You sure you’re up for a hike through the woods?” I asked her. “It’s rough terrain, remember?”

She nodded. “I remember, but I also know you won’t let me hurt myself.”

I smiled. My baby girl knew me so fucking well.

“Let me get this wood onto the porch, and then, we’ll go for a walk,” I told her. I pressed a kiss to her cheek before I stood up and began loading my arm up with the wood, walking back and forth between the porch and the pile I’d created on the ground until it was all stacked neatly right beside the back door of the cabin. Juliana watched me, always the silent one as I worked, but I didn’t mind. I loved having her eyes on me.

I quickly went inside and did my best to clean myself up with some cold water and soap before getting dressed. She was still sitting on the porch when I walked outside, and she looked up expectantly at me when I

closed the door behind me.

“Ready?” I asked her, leaning down to grip her under her arms and help her to her feet.

She nodded, her hand instantly finding mine. She linked our fingers together. “I’m ready,” she told me with a smile.

It was that same fucking smile that always sucked the soul from my body.

This woman completely owned me, and she had no goddamn idea.

We crunched through the woods. It was quiet between us, which I liked. I loved that Juliana didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with meaningless chatter. She was content to just enjoy our time together and enjoy the peacefulness that nature had to offer.

This woman truly was an amazing work of art.

I could feel the eyes of all of my brother’s men on us, keeping an eye on us and everything around the area. I wasn’t sure if Juliana could feel them.

If she could, she wasn’t letting on or maybe it just didn’t bother her.

She knew she was safe with me.

“Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to always live off the grid like this where no one could ever find me,” Juliana suddenly whispered.

I gently squeezed her hand. “You say you want it, baby and I’ll make it happen,” I promised her. Because honestly, the idea wasn’t unappealing. I hated the city. I hated people in general. If I didn’t have to deal with anyone, I’d be perfectly fucking happy.

She looked up at me. “You’d do that for me?” she asked.

I instantly nodded. There was a moment of hesitation for me. “I’d do anything for you, baby,” I admitted.

A small smile tilted her lips. “I love you,” she whispered.

For that one, split moment, it felt like time stopped like the world ceased to exist for a hairsbreadth of time. For that one, single moment, it was just me and her nothing else existed.

I swallowed thickly. “That’s a strong emotion, baby girl,” I rasped.

Tears made her pretty eyes glassy. “I know what I feel,” she croaked, “and I love you, Darren Jackson. I think I’ve loved you from the very moment you protected me at the club.”

My hand shook at my side, and I shoved it in the pocket of my coat to hide it. “Even though I got you knocked up?” I asked her.

She nodded. “Even though that, Darren,” she whispered.

I swept her into my arms and crushed her mouth to mine, kissing her hard, deeply, savagely. I will forever cherish those three words that she had just said to me.

For the first time since we had been out here in the mountains, Juliana didn’t come outside when she woke up like she always did. I could hear her moving around in the cabin, but then, silence rang again.

Something was wrong. I could feel it in my gut.

I set the axe aside and walked into the cabin to go check on her. Juliana was lying on the mattress, her eyes closed, the blankets tucked around her. I knelt in front of her and gently brushed her hair back from her face.

“Little girl, look at me,” I gently commanded.

She slowly opened her eyes, obediently locking them on my face. I frowned as I ran the tips of my fingers over her cheek. Her eyes were a bit dull, not at all sparking with the usual warmth she got in them when she looked at me.

She was having a low. Submissives got them every once in a while. Hell, even some Doms did. It was a normal part of our lifestyle.

I kicked my boots off and stripped out of my shirt before lying down behind her, pulling her to me. “Daddy’s here, baby,” I soothed, running my hand over her hair. I hated that she was feeling like this, but I would do what I could to get her through it with the limited things I had to use to get her there.

Normally, I would choose to soak in a hot bath with her, and then, I would watch a cheesy, Disney movie with her as we cuddled. I’d feed her sweets, for once letting up on my rules of healthy meals.

But I didn’t have any of those options at hand.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

I pressed my lips to the top of her head. “Don’t be, baby girl. I love taking care of you,” I promised. And I did. I hated that I was doing it today because of her low, but I would always take care of her.

We were silent for a while. I just held her. She dozed off a couple of times, but whenever she woke up, she was still extremely quiet, answering me with head nods or head shakes, never verbally. She was regressing, and it made me sick to my stomach. She had been making so much progress.

But I would never force her to speak if she was scared to. Being too assertive right now could do more harm than good to her mental state. I just worked my way through the situation by paying attention to her body language like I did when I first met her.

I fed her lunch and dinner, talking soothingly to her as I did so to get her to cooperate and eat for me. She was acting like a stubborn child, but I understood it, so I kept my patience with her, continuing to be firm yet gentle.

After I got her to eat her dinner thankfully all of it I sat on the mattress with her between my legs and read her a book I’d found lying around on one of the shelves. It was some romance book probably one of Emmaline’s but it kept Juliana interested, and slowly but surely, the book drew her out of her funk, and she listened attentively, hanging onto my every word, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink color when I got to the sex scenes.

For the entire night, I read to her, never stopping. She didn’t sleep and neither did I, but I was hoping that by morning, she would be mostly okay again.

That was all I wanted. I could deal with the tiredness so long as my baby girl was okay again.

Around daybreak, the book was over. Juliana was passed out in my arms, soft snores leaving her lips. I just continued to hold her, lightly running my hand over her hair over and over. I watched the sunrise, watched the way the sun moved over her beautiful face, making her hair shine and her skin glow.

It gave her an ethereal look that I wished I had a phone to capture, but I knew that the image would forever be etched into my mind. There was no way I could ever forget how fucking stunning she looked in this moment.

This woman of mine was a fucking goddess; she just didn’t know it yet.