Owning Her Innocence (Innocence #1)
Alexa Riley
CHAPTER 1 HALEY
The smell of musk was the first thing I became aware of. The second was that I couldn’t move my hands or legs—they felt heavy. Wait, no, I think I’m bound. I shifted around, seeing if I could free myself, but the soft, ribbon-like material held tight. “Where am I?” I whisper to myself. I shift harder, trying to free myself from the blindfold.
BAM! A door slams maybe a few rooms away.
I still.
Should I call out? A chill runs up my spine and I suddenly become very aware that I’m naked. Except for what feels like something drying on my chest. As my breathing picks up, the musky smell seems to grow. What is that sound? Steps. Someone is coming. I hear the footsteps shuffling closer. Maybe, just maybe, if I’m quiet enough they’ll just pass. The steps grow louder and louder, then stop. I hold my breath for what feels like forever. They start up again, this time moving away from me. Releasing the breath I was holding, I lay my head back down on the mattress. Think, Haley, how did I get here? What do I remember last?
William.
-The night before-
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming here tonight to celebrate my little Haley graduating.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen my father so happy before. He keeps talking about how I’m a big girl now. It’s time for me to grow up, he says. “Enough living in that head of yours, Haley.” He even went as far as cleaning out my room last week, removing all my stuffed animals, my baby dolls that I’ve had since before I can remember, hiring William’s construction company to paint over my beautiful pink walls. Now the room is an ugly blue that makes me stomp my feet every time I enter it.
“She’s not my little girl anymore. She’s a young woman ready to enter the world, and I’m sure she will do great things. I love you, Haley. You’ve made me a very proud father. I wish your mother was here to see you now.” Cheers break out and I rush to hug my father.
I know he means well, but the thought of growing up and being a woman terrifies me to the core. I need to get some air. It’s too hot in this house and I’m starting to feel like I can’t breathe.
As I make my way down the hall I see William leaning against the backdoor. William, the man that makes me tingle all over at just the sight of him. He has the broadest shoulders and the most thickly muscled thighs. He’s all man. I’ve had a crush on him for what seems like forever. Though for the past year he’s avoided me like I developed leprosy.
He used to come around all the time, he was, after all, my father’s best friend. Picking me up from school when Father had to work late, or staying over and putting me to bed when Father couldn’t make it home. I remember curling up in his lap while he read me bedtime stories; I could always talk him into reading a second.
“Please, Daddy William, just one more.”
“One more, sweetheart, and that’s it. Do you understand me? I don’t want to have to turn that little bottom of yours cherry red.”
Back then, that threat just made me giggle, thinking about it now made my panties grow wet.
William stood up from his position against the door as I grew closer. His dark black hair was starting to become peppered with gray, and it only added to his appeal. Could men tell when a girl got wet? Just the thought of William knowing this about me made my face heat.
“God, Haley, you have the sweetest blush I’ve ever seen,” he says, running his finger down my cheek, and I can’t help but blush harder. He quickly drops his hand, as if remembering the leprosy. Looking at me with that same gaze he’s been giving me lately. I can’t quite figure out what it is. I missed his touches. He never touches me anymore. In fact, he hardly even looks at me, and when he does his face is hard—no longer the Daddy William I used to know. He’s also made it very clear that I am to stop calling him that, correcting me every time I use the name.
“Daddy William, do you want to play checkers with me?” I had asked one night.
“It’s William, Haley. Now say it.” I just stared at him. I didn’t want it to just be William. He was my Daddy William. “Say it, Haley,” he pushed.
“Forget it, Williammm!” I said, drawing out his name in hopes of pushing him a little. “I don’t want to play checkers with you anyway.”
I’ll never forget him grabbing me by the arms and pulling me close, flush against his broad chest, dipping his head right down next to my ear, his stubble brushing against my soft skin.
“That’s good, little Haley. It’s best you don’t play with me at all.” His nose pressed to my neck and it felt like he was breathing me in. Then he was gone. That was the last time William touched me… A year without his touch. Until this very moment.
“Good evening, William.” I can’t stop the sarcastic way I say his name now. It’s like a little paper cut each time I say it, and I want him to know this. Or maybe I just want a reaction from him. Something. Anything to get a little bit of his attention. I see the tic in his jaw and I can’t help but smirk at my little victory.
“So glad you could pull yourself away from whatever it is you’re up to these days to come to my little graduation party. God knows you don’t come around to see us anymore.” Cheese and crackers! That came out way whinier than I intended it to. I’ve never actually seen William with another woman, but I can’t help the thought that that’s what’s been keeping him away from us… From me. It slices through my heart.