Steel Hearts - Patchwork Princess Ch. 02

"I haven't let anyone this close to me aside from the girls," she breathed. "If you were any other man, I would have dumped you or at the very least friend-zoned you by now, but you're not. Instead, you're Teddy Sullivan, my childhood crush and best friend, and now it seems you want more, and I'm not sure how to manage or reconcile that with keeping everyone in my life at arms-length," she said thoughtfully.

"Wow. You were right when you said you were messed up because if you think for one second I would be happy to be friend-zoned or kept at arms-length, you haven't got to know me at all. I think you are beautiful," Teddy kissed her eyes, making them close, "strong and desirable," he kissed her nose, "and incredibly sexy," he took her lips and devoured her mouth again. "I want to make sure you know how much more than your past or your scars you are. The fact that we are here alone in this amazing cabin tells me that you trust me and are more ready for this than you think. Would you please let me show you how amazing we can be together? Now? Tonight?"

"Teddy, I haven't... What I mean is...," she blew out a breath. "No one besides the doctors has seen the full extent of my scars. I'm careful, lights off, no mirrors, not even at home. I don't think you realise just how awful they are. But most of all, I haven't, you know, with anyone, not that I haven't tried, I just couldn't, you know, show them all of me, even in the dark. You can feel the ridges of the scars puckering my skin," she admitted.

"I understand," he nodded, trying to keep the pleasure of knowing she hadn't been with anyone else intimately from his voice. He knew it was a caveman type of attitude, but this woman was his once and would be again.

"Not that I don't do... that... by myself...." Her face was flaming, much to his enjoyment and her mortification, and he couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips now.

"The fact that you have never chosen to make love with anyone else only makes me want you more. I want to slay all those demons that make you keep people at arms-length. I want to help you heal, and that is not saying you have to agree to let me do that right now but that I want it whenever you are ready to let me in," Teddy answered, even though he would give his left testicle if she would let him in right now this very instant.

"Yes," she whispered. "If possible, I want that.... Now"

"Yes?" he smiled widely and took her hand, guiding her back inside the cabin. "Nothing could stop me from showing you what you are truly worth."

"We'll miss the sunset," she complained as he took the wine glass from her hand and placed it on the kitchen bench.

"You saying yes is worth more to me than a million sunsets," he said in a low voice, giving her a heated look. He began leading her to the bedroom, kissing her gently and lightly, caressing her rib cage to her breasts through her clothing. Starting from the top, he kissed her eyes again and began working his way down, slowly unbuttoning her blouse. He kissed down her neck until he reached where the scars started at the top of her breasts. He took his time and kissed each and every one of them tenderly. Finally, he removed the blouse from her arms and unclasped her bra, letting it fall forward as he took her in.

Holly lifted her hands as if to hide her breasts and the small scars that decorated them from his scrutiny, knowing she could never hide the mess of scars below them from him. But instead, Teddy gently circled her wrists with his much larger hands and drew them down to her sides again.

"You are so beautiful. Never feel like you need to hide from me," Teddy crooned. He moved around to her back, noting very few almost faded scars, but he kissed each letting her know he wouldn't ignore any line that marked her skin or mind. Instead, he would embrace them all as a very real part of who she was.

The tenderness with which Teddy was touching her was going a long way to alleviate her anxiousness. She drew a sharp breath when he reached around and cupped her breasts, tweaking her nipples. When he slid his hands down to the waistband of her skirt, she leaned back into him and closed her eyes tightly. It was now or never; she just had to get through the moment. A small whimper belied her feelings when what she wanted to do was scream and run from him and what they were doing.

"You are perfect in every way," he murmured, turning her to face him and lowering to his knees before her and kissing the burn and puncture scars that distorted the whole of her torso from just below her breasts to her mound. He pressed his mouth harder to the ridges of the wounds, not knowing how well she could feel him through the scarred tissue.

Holly wanted to cry at his tenderness, but her breathing was becoming more rapid, and her whimpers began to turn into soft, pleasurable moans as he worked his way around to the deep scars decorating her lower back and kissed them with the same intensity. As her skirt puddled around her feet, he hooked his fingers under the band of her panties and drew them down as he continued his gentle ministrations, moving his mouth to the soft cheeks of her ass and fingers to her pussy. He gently toyed with her moistened lips, then delved inside with a single finger.

Her knees started to weaken, and he picked her up and carried her to the bed, where he placed his lips on her pussy and began his final assault on her senses. Holly was in ecstasy and began writhing on the bed, amazed at how good what he was doing felt after living so long without being touched this way. Finally, after what seemed a lifetime where her body trembled and pulsed under his tender touches, she gasped, her breath stalling in her throat. Her whole body stiffened and arched before detonating in the best orgasm she had ever had despite her reasonable collection of vibrators.

Teddy moved up her body and began kissing her again. She tasted herself on his lips, which was the most erotic thing she'd tasted, felt or done since they were young kids who believed they were in love.

Holly was on fire now, so she tugged at his shirt, hinting strongly at what she wanted after that intense orgasm, and he obliged her, getting rid of his jeans at the same time. His cock looked huge even when she tried to compare it to her favourite vibrator, and she had a moment of panic as she took it in. She looked up at him and saw the concern on his face making her feel guilty. She had asked for this and started the whole scene; she couldn't back out after getting her orgasm, leaving him with blue balls. What sort of a super-bitch would that make her?

"Everything okay?" Teddy leaned down to nuzzle her neck and murmur the question into her ear.

"Yes," she whispered back and kissed him again, enjoying the traces of herself on his lips again. She reached down, wrapped her fist around his cock, and then started to stroke it until a drop of precum lubricated the tip. Moving slowly so as not to startle her, Teddy manoeuvred between her thighs, and he surged upwards in her hand until she placed him at the entrance to her pussy. He pushed just the tip inside of her and looked at her, his eyes gently watching for signs of distress. "This might pull at the scars or hurt, but I hope it doesn't. If it does, tell me to stop, and I promise you I will do what I can to make it better for us both." He lowered his head to kiss her while he drove forward, wanting to move past this initial penetration as quickly as possible in case it hurt her. He wanted so much for her to have all of the pleasure and none of the pain that she might associate with her abduction.

Holly mirrored his need back at him when he resumed kissing her and playing with her nipples as he pushed further into her body. The slight twinges of discomfort as her scars pulled against the unfamiliar movements of her body and his over her were quickly diffused by the pleasure that spread elsewhere in her body. He slowly drew out and plunged back in, stroking in and out in a rhythm that set her on fire and made her want to lift her hips to rock up into his strokes. The pressure of another orgasm began to build again quickly. Then when her orgasm hit, she swore she saw stars behind her eyes this time.

Teddy knew he wouldn't last long this first time with Holly. Still, the tightness of her pussy coupled with the strength of her climax, completely unmanned him, and he came with her, roaring out his ecstasy to the cabin well before he was ready, and he collapsed onto the bed beside her being careful not to crush her.

"Fuck, condom," he groaned. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't believe you said yes, and I expected that you would have stopped what was happening at some point and... I'm sorry," he murmured.

"What worries you more, that you might have given me an STD or that we might have made a baby?" she asked unemotionally as she turned her head to look at him.

"I'm careful and not a man-whore, so there's no possibility of an STD. Also, you must know that I would happily knock you up and bind you to me for the next eighteen years. I would just rather that be a mutual decision we had talked about first rather than trapping you into a shotgun wedding," he answered seriously and reached over to put a hand on her scarred belly. He felt her flinch and then relax under his hand. After that, he decided that he would touch her scars as often as she would let him so that her flinching from any of his touches would be a thing of the past.

"Good answer," she laughed, realising she had baited him knowing it could have gone so many different ways and preparing for a fight so she could force space between them. Except he had said the right thing for her tormented psyche. "You will be delighted to know we haven't made a baby tonight; I'm protected."

"Holly, you are my penguin," he said, pulling her close so that his breath moved across her cheek as he spoke. "I know it's crazy, but I want the life we were destined to have together. I want it more than ever before. So marry me, not right now or even this week, but marry me one day. You are my once-in-a-lifetime, my ride or die, my penguin, and I don't see the need to wait for anything or anybody unless you want a big church wedding," he said the last thoughtfully.

"We both have businesses to keep afloat during the covid crisis," Holly said reasonably. We couldn't afford a big church wedding even if the restrictions allowed that. So, let's just shelf that idea until the world goes right side up again. We just had sex for the first time, and it was great. Can we do more of that rather than talking about things that can't happen?" Holly laughed at her boldness, but he had been right. He had taken away many of her demons when he took her perceived virginity for the second time.

"That sounds like a plan," he grinned and rolled her to her back, hovering over her and impressed that his cock was back on board the fucking train again so soon after the earth-shattering first time with the woman he had dreamed of for years. The question was, how did he tell her that he was far from broke or even struggling like she assumed him to be? It was a discussion for another day, he guessed. A discussion that involved introducing her to his world now that she had let him past the gates of hers. He wondered how she would react to meeting Grace, Beau and Saxon, and his brothers.

*****

Holly was tired and not concentrating as she made her way to her apartment after work the following Wednesday evening. Teddy had not given her any space since she let him into her bed. She had had to negotiate with him pretty heavily for this one night alone. She was looking forward to a long hot soak in her tub and an early night after a beauty regime, including prescribed medications for the scarred tissue of her belly. She had been slack about it recently, but she couldn't blame that entirely on Teddy. She had been a very willing participant in their exploration of each other.

As usual, she parked and rode up in the lift, almost missing the strange package outside her door. It was unusual for a package to be left near her door as most parcels were kept down at reception until they were claimed. If anything, the staff would slide a small card beneath her door to let her know that something she had ordered had arrived. Only she couldn't remember ordering anything lately. For some strange reason, she got a bad vibe from the whole package appearance, especially with the escalation of the creepy messages she was receiving. The package bothered her so much that she didn't want to take it into her apartment once she had checked the delivery label and discovered it was addressed to her and not a neighbour.

Sighing heavily, she let herself into her apartment. Then, ignoring the package and dropping everything aside from her phone on the dining room table, she called Teddy to see if his crew had noticed who had dropped the package near her door.

"Hey, change your mind about being on your own tonight?" Teddy asked when he answered her call.

"I know I said I wanted to be all by myself tonight, but there's this package by my door, and it just feels wrong," she began.

"Do not touch it. I am on my way," he barked down the phone.

"I haven't touched or moved it, though I'm unsure how I could move it without touching it. The power of my mind, maybe?" Holly said drolly. "I just wondered if your guys saw who left it there on those cameras you put in a few weeks ago."

"Kris will call you and tell you what he can find on the tape," Teddy ignored her droll response. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Okay fine," she grumbled. "I guess I will see you soon."

"Answer the phone when Kris calls. I'm on my way," he reiterated and hung up.

Holly went to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of Roses D'Rose from her refrigerator and a glass from the cupboard. She had barely poured herself a glass of pink wine when her phone lit up with an incoming call.

"Hello, Kris," Holly said after checking the number and answering the call.

"Good golly, Miss Holly! What are you doing to our fearless leader?" Kris laughed. "He ran out of here like his ass was on fire and told me to call you immediately."

"He didn't tell you that there was a package left by my door today?" she asked.

"Nope, but let me check the video feed to see which staff member left it there," he suggested.

"That's just it; the staff here usually slip a note under my door to tell me there's a package for me to collect from reception. They don't leave them by the door like that," she explained.

"It definitely wasn't there when you left this morning?" Kris asked thoughtfully.

"I didn't notice it if it was," Holly said thoughtfully.

"Have you had a good look through your apartment to make sure nothing is out of place?" Kris asked, seeming distracted by the search he was doing through the camera feed.

"No, but I guess I could do a walkthrough while I'm talking to you," Holly said, walking towards the spare room and laundry. "Everything looks the same as usual. She shrugged and went back through the living area sipping at her glass of wine as she made her way to the bathroom and her bedroom. "All good in my bedroom and bathroom too. I don't think they bypassed the new secondary lock you installed."

"Good. As soon as the boss gets there, I'll send you an image of the person who left the parcel for you to look at and identify if possible. Remember that they might have just been the delivery person for someone else, okay?" Kris explained, feeling something familiar about the size and stance of the person who left the package while managing to keep their face shrouded in a hood.

"You don't have to babysit me over the phone, Kris," Holly sighed. "Your boss can be a little overprotective at times. This is probably nothing, and I shouldn't have bothered you all, but it's just not the norm for this building. I mean, I never get packages that I haven't ordered myself. I have no close relative or anyone wanting to send me anything they couldn't just drop off themselves."

"Can you think of anyone with a key to work the elevators that could have just dropped it off? Maybe a woman?" Kris asked gently.

"The only people with keys are the girls I work with," she frowned, considering the question. She couldn't think if she had ever let anyone else have a key to deliver something to her place or if she had lost her key card.

"The boss is there. He's just parking. He'll be up in no time," Kris said after asking gently probing questions about the building key system and how strict she was with her security. Although he knew she took her safety seriously because he had beefed the security up for her at her home and workplace. "Stay on the phone with me even when he arrives, okay?" Kris requested.

"I guess, but," she began, then two things happened. First, Kris cut her off, telling her it wasn't a suggestion, and Teddy came through the door sweeping her into his arms and kissing her soundly.

"Is that Kris?" Teddy asked, indicating the phone she still held close to her ear. She nodded, stunned by the whirlwind that had just swept her into its arms. Teddy slowly slid her down his body while holding her close and took her phone, pressing it to his ear. "Tell me everything," he barked and listened while maintaining eye contact with Holly. "Alright, send it through and to Medusa as well. She's downstairs, checking the building security. We'll have a look at it and then the package. Thanks, man," Teddy said and disconnected the call. A second later, both of their phones dinged with an incoming message.

Teddy wordlessly handed Holly her phone and took his out of his pocket. They both watched the black and white grainy video, which showed no accurate details of who it was. It was just a person in a dark hoody and dark jeans. The figure's roundness made him think it was a woman, but he knew some men who had that sort of figure even though it wasn't the norm, so he didn't want to narrow his investigation to a woman only.

"I want as few people as possible to touch the package so that if we have to call the police, there isn't a mess of fingerprints to track down. So do you want to bring it in and unwrap it, or would you like me to do that?" Teddy asked. He had learned that giving her a choice generally meant she did what he wanted, and not giving her an option meant that they would invariably argue.

"I'll do it. But, honestly, I'm not sure why I even called now, and I'm a little embarrassed I caused all this fuss for nothing. It was just a package and a little unusual to find something at my door. I'm sure it's not worth all this fuss," Holly said shyly as if she had been a drama queen and realised it too late.

"You are not making a fuss. There would have been a bigger fuss if you hadn't called me, and there is something sinister in that box," Teddy warned and walked with her to the front door opening it so she could retrieve the package without having to worry about juggling the package and closing the door.

"Here," Teddy said, handing her his pocket knife once she had placed the package on the table. "Run this along the seams with this, so we don't destroy the packaging, just in case.

"You know you're probably overreacting, right?" She scolded him.

"You know the creepy messages have been escalating to threats lately, right?" he scolded in return.

Holly stood the rectangular box up. It was about fifty centimetres high but slim. Holly cut the seams of what she believed was the lid on the package and opened it. Looking inside, she frowned but reached inside to grab a fistful of what looked like hair and pulled. A doll about forty centimetres high appeared. Smoothing down the hair, Holly turned it toward her and screamed, dropping the doll and backing away, shaking, with her hands covering her mouth.