Claimed by the Mountain Man (Montana Mountain Men Book 4)
Claimed by the Mountain Man: Chapter 16

Is it possible for people to be too nice? If it is then that’s the problems with the entire Barnett Clan. Before Hayley and Dane, I was a naturally trusting person, at least to the people I was close to and considered pseudo family. After my best friend walked away from me and the baby she’d begged me to carry for her, I’ll be honest, my faith was rattled. The day I received a letter from a lawyer’s office advising me they wanted me to terminate the life growing inside of me, it was completely destroyed.

Chloe, Poppy and now Penn are all helping me to heal, but I’m still dubious. I mean if a couple who were so desperate to have a baby could just walk away, how am I meant to have any trust that anyone’s motives are honest?

Penn grabs Poppy’s carrier in one hand, the bags over his shoulder, his free hand on the base of my spine as he guides me toward the front door.

“See you guys tonight, it’s my turn to cook and I’m making my famous chili and cornbread,” Teddy says, waving to Poppy before he presses a kiss to my cheek.

“I’m not sure—”

“We’ll be here, Chloe will be with us too, so be sure to make plenty.”

“Don’t worry, Hal and Cora’s mom and dad are coming too, so we’ll have a full house,” Teddy smiles, stepping aside so the rest of Penn’s brothers can take it in turns to say goodbye to both me and Poppy.

Until this morning, I had sort of deliberately forgotten that Penn had such a huge family. Being an only child myself, the idea that he has six siblings and their spouses was daunting enough that I pushed it to the back of my mind and dropped six ton of concrete on the top to stop myself from thinking about it. But now that I’ve spent time with them, it’s impossible to pretend they don’t exist, especially when they’re calling me sister.

I mean, what the fuck is that all about?

Penn guides me out to his car, opening my door for me, before he fastens Poppy’s seat into the back. Somehow he’s stepped into the role of dad, caring for her without me even having to ask. I think I like it. If there wasn’t this fear whispering to me that this won’t last, that guys don’t take on other men’s children just like that, especially not men like Penn, I could maybe believe this was all true. He seems almost obsessed with getting me pregnant, but if he does, will he stop caring for Poppy the way he is now? Will she just become mine if we make a baby that’s ours?

That doubt is enough to keep me quiet on the drive back into town. We have to drop Poppy at Chloe’s for the day, then we both have work and I’m grateful for the reprieve. I need some time to think and when I’m around Penn he doesn’t allow me breathing room, let alone a chance to consider how him and his family could affect me and Poppy.

He’s the first person I’ve told about how Poppy came to be, outside of my family and Chloe. I was worried that he’d call me a fool or worse, that he’d think I should have ended my pregnancy like my parents thought I should. But instead he’d been angry for me, angry that the people that should have stepped up to care about me and Poppy didn’t.

He even said that he was glad it all happened because it led me to him, and I suppose he’s right. I never would have moved here if it hadn’t been for Poppy.

I’m so inside my head I don’t even realize we’ve stopped, or that we’re at Chloe’s. Shaking the fog from my brain I open my door and climb out, rushing around to take Poppy’s seat from him and run it into the house as he grabs her stroller from the trunk.

“Hey,” Chloe calls as we step into the living room. “How was your sleepover?” she winks.

“It was fine. Maybe a heads up that you’d packed me and Poppy a bag might have been nice,” I say with a pointed glare.

Instead of being even slightly chastised, Chloe laughs, unclipping Poppy from her seat and lifting her up. “Honey, if I was thirty years younger I’d be panting after that man myself. I assumed you’d be over the moon you got to spend the night.”

“His entire family was there,” I hiss.

“In the room?” she balks.

“What? No. I mean they all live in that house.”

“I know, they always have. His brothers are all just as fine as he is.”

“Chloe,” I scold.

“What, I’m old, not blind.”

Shaking my head, I purse my lips and stay silent as Penn carries the stroller in and puts it in the coat closet by the door.

“You ‘bout ready, Kitten?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

He nods. “Chloe, do you want us to come and pick you up for dinner, or would you rather meet us at my place?”

“I’ll meet you up there.”

“Wait, when did you organize Chloe coming for dinner?” I ask.

“Last night,” Penn winks. “I’ll come grab Poppy off you before I pick Lulu up from work, that way we can go straight home and you can come on up whenever you’re ready.”

“Okay then,” Chloe says, but she’s not really listening, she’s too busy tickling Poppy.

“Err,” I try to think of an argument but nothing comes to mind before he pushes me toward Poppy to say goodbye and herds me out the door.

“You got something to say?” he asks once we’re both in the car and heading toward work.

“You want to pick Poppy up without me?”

“Makes sense. Then me and her can come get you and we can go straight home rather than driving backwards and forwards all over town.”

“She doesn’t really know you that well.”

“It’s ten minutes, Lulu, you don’t trust me with her for ten minutes?”

A part of me wants to say no. To insist that she’s mine and that he can’t have her, that I won’t share. But the truth is as strange as it sounds, I do trust him. I know he’d never do anything to hurt her, or me. “No, it’s not that, it’s just—”

“That she’s your baby and we haven’t been together for too long.”

Feeling terrible, I nod.

Smiling, he nods back. “I get it. I’ll pick you up first, then we can swing straight back round to get the princess.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, feeling like a grade-A bitch when Penn has never done anything to suggest he couldn’t pick Poppy up and drive the three miles to my office without me.

“I’ve never been a parent; I can’t pretend to understand when the level of trust required to trust me with her will come. But we’ll get there and when you feel comfortable, you just let me know.”

Slackening my seat belt, I lean over to him and press a kiss to the side of his mouth. “Thank you. I really care about you and I know you care about me and Poppy. It’s just, she’s my entire world.”

“I get how that feels, because and you and her are my entire world.”

When he pulls up outside my office, I grab his face and pull him in for a kiss, needing to show him how much I like him. I’ve been fighting this so hard, but maybe it’s time for me to give in and enjoy him. He’s a good guy and he just keeps proving that to me over and over again. Instead of assuming the worst, I need to recognize how wonderful he is.

“I really like you, Penn.”

His smirk is pure sin. “I really like you too, Kitten.”

“I’m going to stop trying to fight this.”

“Good, you were never going to win anyway. You’re mine and I wasn’t ever planning on letting you go.”

“Arrogance isn’t sexy,” I playfully chide.

“Nothing arrogant about what I’m saying.” His hand slides between my thighs to cup my pussy. “Your body is begging for me, your soul knows it belongs to me, there’s only your heart I have left to convince.”

Blushing, I don’t bother trying to deny his words. He’s right, my body craves him in a way I’ve never known before. I can feel my core leaking in preparation for him even though we had sex more than once yesterday, and a deep-seated soreness is still lingering between my thighs.

“Go to work, before I take you home and make you ride my dick until you pass out.”

Swallowing past the lump of want and need in my throat, I let him collar my neck and kiss me deeply before I slide out of the car and walk in a daze toward my office.

The rest of the day is a blur, Penn grabs us takeout for lunch and we eat it while he drags me to a gorgeous baby boutique to pick out a present for Cora and Huck’s new son. The store has an embroidery service, so we end up getting a blanket embroidered with Maverick’s name and date of birth, a couple of cute outfits and a pack of milestone cards that Cora and Huck can use to take pictures of all the special moments over the first few months.

The store makes me a little broody. Even though Poppy is only six months old, she’s so big in comparison with the tiny newborn I bought home from the hospital. The reminder that Penn and I aren’t being careful, that I could already be pregnant fills my thoughts, and I wander aimlessly through the store… my head full of images of a perfect newborn that looks just like his daddy.

No.

I shake the picture free and blink, trying to force myself back to the real world. Where getting pregnant within a week of meeting someone is really fucking stupid. If only he didn’t make me feel like I truly was the most important thing to him in the world.

“You ready, Kitten?”

Gentle fingers lace with mine and he turns me to face him. “Sure.” I nod and let him lead me out the store and back toward my office. I need a distraction from him and if that’s the mundane, time-wasting tasks that Janet is still assigning me, then so be it.

The afternoon drags and it takes me longer than it should to send Janet all of the research she’s asked for. It’s been almost a week and she still hasn’t left her office during the day at all. I’m assuming she must have a private bath back there, else she must have some serious bladder control.

I get why she’s lost so many paralegals, if I didn’t know this is the only law office in town, I’d probably have said fuck it and quit by now too. Sitting in a windowless office all day with no one to talk to and a boss who only communicates via email is boring as hell. But I need this job and it’s only a stopgap until I take the bar and become a practicing lawyer.

Closing down my computer, I tidy my desk and am just grabbing my purse when Janet’s office door opens and she emerges from inside, her eyes taking me in. “Lucile.”

“I really do prefer Lulu,” I say with a saccharin sweet smile. She might think using my full name will intimidate me, but I’ve known much scarier people than her.

“You intend to practice law with a name like Lulu?” she sneers. “Who would take you seriously?”

“Those who think I’m incapable of doing my job because of my name, are the kind of clients I’ll be happy not to represent,” I say, not letting my smile slip even an inch.

“Hmm,” she grunts. “So, you and Penn Barnett are a thing?”

She says the word thing, wrinkling her nose in the same way you might if you were discussing dog shit.

“We’re dating, yes,” I nod, fighting the urge to tell her my personal life is none of her goddamn business.

“Those brothers,” she spits, “they don’t appreciate a strong, capable woman. They’re all looking for submissive little mice to do as they say.” Her gaze roves over me from head to toe. “You’re not a mouse.”

With that she turns and re-enters her office, closing the door behind her with a decisive click. What the hell was that? Was that a warning, or a compliment, or just another weird test that she’s hoping I’ll fail so she can fire me?

Bewildered, I grab my purse and leave my office, moving on autopilot through reception and outside to where Penn is waiting for me. Sliding into the car, I flash him a small smile and then reach for my seatbelt only to replace his fingers on my chin, forcing me to turn and look at him.

“What’s the matter?” he growls forcefully.

“Oh, nothing. I just had a weird conversation with Janet.”

His grip loosens marginally but he doesn’t release me, or let me turn away. “What did she say to you?”

“Nothing really, she asked about us. I said we were dating and she said that you and your brothers don’t want strong women, that you only like submissive mice. Then she said I wasn’t a mouse and left.”

His brow furrows.

“I don’t really know what her point was, or if she was insulting me, or you, or both of us.”

“She’s a bitch who doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Bonnie, Cora and Alice are hardly fucking mice and you’re a badass single mom.” Pulling me into him, he claims my mouth in a hard punishing kiss that leaves my panties damp and my chest heaving when he finally pulls away.

“Buckle up, let’s go get the princess.”

Breathless, I nod, reaching back and pulling my belt around me as he watches me with intense eyes. How is it possible that he can own me with just that look? Wetness has filled my panties and my nipples are straining against the confines of my bra.

“Just because we own our women, doesn’t mean we don’t want them to be strong, feisty and independent. I fucking love how capable you are, it makes you submitting to me and letting me take care of you that much sweeter, because you don’t need me, but you’re giving yourself to me anyway,” he says quietly before he turns his attention back to the road.

When we get to Chloe’s, she has Poppy all strapped into her carrier and a bag packed for each of us.

“I don’t remember agreeing to stay the night again,” I inform Penn with an arch of my brow.

“That’s okay, Kitten, I don’t remember asking. Doesn’t mean it’s not happening though.”

Before I have a chance to argue, he smacks my ass, hard, then grabs the bags and disappears through the front door.

“Asshole,” I hiss, rubbing at my sore butt.

“I’ll see you later,” Chloe laughs, lifting Poppy’s carrier off the floor and handing it to me.

“Bye.” Shaking my head at her amusement, I make my way outside. Penn takes Poppy from me the moment I get near the car, situating her seat into the base in the back seat and checking it’s secure twice before he gets in. These are the moments when he’s completely irresistible to me. I could cope with the good looks, massive dick and dominant personality that turns me on more than I’m willing to admit out loud. But the moments when he is sweet and caring and protective of both me and Poppy are the moments that really get to me, when he shows me how good of a partner and father he’ll be. I didn’t even know that would turn me on until he showed me how sexy hot daddy is on a guy.

The drive to Penn’s house seems to pass quickly and before I know it, we’re pulling to a stop behind the row of cars that are parked outside. Now that I’ve been here a couple of times, I don’t feel the sense of trepidation I did on my first visit and jump out the car while Penn grabs Poppy.

“Here, Kitten, you get her while I get the bags,” Penn says, handing off the carrier to me while he grabs the two bags that I notice are larger than I realized.

“Why are there two bags?”

“One for you, one for Princess.”

“But it’s one night, that could easily fit into a single bag.”

“I asked Chloe to pack up some stuff for you guys to leave here too,” Penn says with a shrug.

I part my lips to ask him why, but he grabs my throat and silences me with a kiss. When I’ve melted into him, my lips parted and eager, he pulls back and smirks down at me. “Come on, I have a surprise to show you.”

Taking my hand he pulls me into the house, briefly acknowledging Teddy and Beau who are sitting in the living room as he leads me through the door and into his apartment. This is the fourth time I’ve been here, but it still shocks me that he has an entire apartment built off the original house.

Dropping the bags next to the couch, he takes Poppy’s seat from me and quickly unstraps her, lifting her into his arms. “Come on,” he says, reaching for my hand and rushing me through the room and toward the bedrooms. When we reach his spare room, he pauses for a minute, smiles at me, then at Poppy, then he releases my hand, reaches out, turns the door handle and pushes the door open.

My mouth falls open as I take in the pink, princess paradise. The walls are a soft pale pink, the crib we picked out is built and set up with a pink patchwork bed spread covering the mattress. Several plushies are sitting in the crib and there’s a beautiful mobile hanging over the end. A super soft looking pink rug covers the floor and an overstuffed white armchair sits in the corner with a changing table and a dresser pushed against the wall. It’s so perfect I can barely take it all in. Princess Poppy is painted in swirling letters above her crib and tears fill my eyes at the most beautiful girly nursery I’ve ever seen.

“What do you think? We can change anything you don’t like.”

“When did you do this?” I choke out through the emotion that’s filling my throat.

“Today. I dropped you off at work, then came back here and Beau and Teddy helped me. She won’t be able to sleep in here for a couple of days because of the paint fumes…” He trails off and a faint blush coats his cheeks.

Stepping forward I slam my lips against his, showing him with my actions how much I love that he did this. Poppy’s squeal grabs both of our attention and we pull away from each other, laughing as we turn to my daughter who’s pudgy hand is batting against Penn’s cheek, patting him and demanding his attention.

“Do you like the room Penn made for you?” I coo.

Poppy makes babbling noises and smiles her gummy grin that always makes my heart melt.

“You like it then?” he asks.

“I love it, Penn, it’s beautiful.”

We spend the next couple of hours feeding Poppy her dinner, bathing her and playing with her on the couch while we watch tv and generally just hang out. It’s the first time we’ve done nothing together and it’s kind of perfect. When Cody calls in to let us know that Chloe is here and dinner will only be about ten minutes, I glance at Poppy. “I should probably get her ready for bed.”

“Keep her up while we eat, then I’ll help.”

“It’s late.”

“I know, but I swear if she gets up in the night, I’ll get up with her. My family want to get to know her and I want to show you both off,” Penn says, flashing that smile that I just don’t seem to be able to say no to.

“Okay, fine. But this is a tonight thing, not an always thing.”

“Of course,” he says with a wink.

We show Chloe Penn’s apartment and of course she already knows the entire Barnett clan, as well as Cora’s parents and Bonnie’s dad who are all also eating here tonight. Even with Huck and Cora missing, we’re still fourteen for dinner and we all fit comfortably around the huge wooden table. Considering this is a blend of several families, everyone just gels like… well, like one big happy family, which I suppose it is.

Dinner is loud and messy and fun. As the only child here, everyone dotes on Poppy, taking turns to keep her on their lap when she gets fussy in her highchair. I like it more than I’m willing to admit I do. Because if I allow all the feelings of family and acceptance to settle in, I’ll only be even more upset about the total lack of what I’ve received from my actual family.

By the time the plates are cleared and desert has been demolished, Poppy is fast asleep, her head on Penn’s shoulder. It’s another one of those ovary popping moments that I keep having around this man, it’ll be a miracle if I’m not pregnant at this rate.

“It suits you,” Bonnie says to Penn, a soft smile on her face.

Penn glances down at Poppy, then at me, his eyes glittering with happiness and contentedness. “I know,” he tells her. “I can’t wait ‘till this house is full of Barnett boys and girls. All our kids growing up together would be awesome.”

Bonnie sighs wistfully, then turns to glance at Beau. His eyes heat and he paces over to her, lifting her off her seat and kissing her like there isn’t twelve other people, including her dad in the room.

When he speaks, I know he doesn’t intend for it to be loud enough for anyone else to hear, but apparently his volume control got lost with his ability to tone down his desire for his wife in mixed company; and so I hear every word.

“Baby girl, the moment your dad leaves I’m going to strip you naked, tie you to the bed and keep you there until I put a baby in your belly. I’m telling that fucking coffee shop you quit because my dick’s going to be in you twenty-four-seven until there’s so much of my cum in you, you’ll be pregnant for the next ten years. Once I watch you grow with my baby, I’m going to want to see it over and over and I can’t wait to get started.”

I feel my eyes widen at his words and watch as Bonnie gasps for breath, her mouth parting without any sounds coming out. Worried that I’ll be caught listening to what should have been a private conversation, I look away, but as I do Beau catches my gaze and winks at me, before he turns to a still visibly horny Bonnie and drags her away.

“Holy fuck,” I whisper.

Penn’s soft chuckle comes from behind me. “Let’s go say bye to Chloe.”

Blinking through my revelry, I nod and let Penn guide me over to the door, where all the parents and Chloe are saying their goodbyes. She steps toward us, separating herself from the group and presses a gentle kiss to first Poppy’s cheek, then Penn’s. When she reaches me, she encases me in a tight hug. “I want this for you more than you could ever know,” she whispers against my ear.

“What?” I whisper back.

“A big family that loves you and Poppy, that will always be here for you. It’s what your mom and dad have never been able to give you, even when you were doing everything they wanted you to. They weren’t built to love the way you do, with your whole heart. I know it’s a leap letting Penn in, but if it feels right, then promise me you’ll try.”

Tears fill my eyes at the way her voice breaks. If Chloe was my mom, my life would have been so different, but I’m so grateful for her anyway. “I’ll try,” I promise, looking to Penn and replaceing him frowning at me.

“You okay?” he mouths.

I nod, holding Chloe tighter for a minute before I pull back and surreptitiously wipe beneath my eyes.

“Goodnight, my loves,” Chloe smiles, then she says goodnight to everyone else, promising to come for dinner again soon.

Penn takes my hand the moment the front door closes and leads me back to his apartment, not sparing his family any attention. The moment his door is firmly closed, he backs me up against the wood and kisses me, firm and deep. “I’ll go change her diaper and put her down.”

I nod, watching him go, my legs too jellified to follow after him. He comes back a few minutes later, the baby monitor in his hand and a feral look on his face.

“On your knees, Kitten, I want to feel your lips around my dick before I fuck you.”

Shock at his sudden change of pace keeps me frozen to the spot, my body heating at his dirty words and forceful tone.

“Knees,” he repeats, his eyes hooding as his tongue dips out and wets his lower lip. His fingers grip my chin tightly, before he releases me and puts pressure on my shoulder, encouraging me to move.

I’m not as graceful as I wish I was as I slowly drop to my knees at his feet, looking up at him from my position on the floor.

“Open your mouth.”

His voice has a ragged quality that only intensifies this moment. He’s as powerless against me as I am to him. The knowledge settles me and I feel my heartbeat start to slow, the bordering on painful buzz that has been zipping through my veins slowing to a hypersensitive awareness.

Parting my lips, I look up at him from beneath my lashes, basking in the power that emanates from him. His maleness is almost overwhelming, but it calls out to some primeval part of me that wants to submit to his power.

Rough fingers touch my cheek as I wait there for him on the floor at his feet. His thumb slides over my bottom lip, dipping into my mouth and rubbing over my tongue. “Suck.”

I do as he says, closing my lips around him and sucking lightly. His eyes light up and he pushes his thumb further into my mouth until my lips are stretched around his hand as he moves his thumb back and forth, delving deeper with each movement.

“Good girl. Now open up.”

I part my lips and he pulls his thumb free, smiling down at me predatorially.

“You’ll take my dick, as much as you can. I’m going to fuck your mouth and you’re going to take what I give you. When I come, I’m going to fill your throat and paint your tongue and you’re going to swallow it all.”

There’s not a hint of playfulness left in him as he tells me in harsh, stern words exactly how he’s going to use me. I should be appalled, or scared, or just down right insulted, but instead I’m hot and more turned on than I think I’ve ever been in my life.

Heat pools in my core with every vulgar word he says and I know my pussy is wet and dripping for him. I wouldn’t consider myself particularly submissive, but the way he’s towering over me, using his physical size and talking to me, I want to close my eyes and just give myself over to him. Right now he’s a walking, talking wet dream bought to life, and a shudder of desire ricochets through me as he guides the broad head of his cock into my mouth.

Not taking a moment to let me get used to the sheer size of him, he shoves his dick to the back of my throat, gripping my hair and holding me in place as I gag around the invasion of his massive cock in my mouth.

“Breathe through your nose,” he coaxes.

Slowly, he pulls back a little, letting me drag in air before he surges forward again, the head breaching my throat for a second then pulling back only to push forward again.

“Fuck,” he rasps, his fingers gripping my hair even tighter as he starts to fuck my mouth. I wrap my lips around his girth and grip my fingers into the fabric of his jeans, holding on tight as he takes over, using me for his pleasure.

Tears fill my eyes as he steals the oxygen from my lungs with each thrust of his beer can wide dick into my mouth, but he doesn’t pause, relentlessly thrusting into me. “I’m gonna come,” he groans a moment before the salty liquid hits my throat.

Swallowing instinctively, I barely taste him until he pulls back and his dick twitches on my tongue, coating my mouth with his release.

His dick starts to slide from my mouth and I move to lean back, but his fingers release my hair and instead grab my chin, squeezing to hold me in place. “Stick out your tongue,” he orders.

Looking up at him through watery eyes I slowly push my tongue out, knowing he can see the remnants of his release on me.

“Fuck, Kitten, I’m getting hard again just seeing my cum in your mouth. Your mouth belongs to me now, just like your wet cunt. When I need to remind you to mind me this is how I’ll do it, using your mouth and coating your sharp tongue with me.”

I blink up at him, shocked by the heat and possession in his words.

“Swallow, then come sit on my face, I want to see how turned on you are from being used.”