Chapter Seven
Reid
I ’m a sick man.
I learned that the first time I jerked off to thoughts of Emma, right outside the bathroom door while she showered.
Then, last night, when I’d stupidly walked in on her pleasuring herself, I did it again.
With my ear pressed to her bedroom door and my shorts down around my ankles, I yanked my cock and came not long after she did.
I’m pretty sure she said my name.
This is bad.
Really fucking bad.
Will she hate me?
Will she press for more?
I wouldn’t be able to deny her, that much I know. But indulging in the fantasy could ruin things between her and her mother. I definitely don’t want that.
Fuck, fuck, fuck .
I can only blame myself. When she had chocolate on the edge of her pretty, pouty mouth, I’d touched her. And not innocently either. I’d wanted to possess her right then. To strip her naked and shove my dick into her tight, young body.
Melissa, my long-time accountant and friend from high school, called at just the right time to keep me from doing something stupid.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, jerking me from my wicked thoughts.
Emma: Can you pick me up from Ava and Quinn’s later? Mom says she has to work late. Do you think she’s doing more than just cleaning for these clients?
Me: She has a few clients with businesses that can only be cleaned late at night and on the weekend. I’m sure that’s what it is.
Am I sure, though? I shoot Amara a text next.
Me: Which client are you cleaning tonight? Em says I need to pick her up.
Amara: You don’t know them. It’s a new client. Thanks for getting her.
I’d been on the couch staring up at the ceiling last night when Amara came home. She was tipsy from dinner. When she saw the birthday stuff, she made a choked sound and then hurried upstairs to bed. I hope she felt horrible for doing that to Emma. I shoot Amara another text .
Me: You know we’re over, right? It’s not fixable between us.
She doesn’t respond. Probably for the best.
I head upstairs for a shower but find myself standing in the threshold of Emma’s room. Her panties and shorts from last night remain where she left them. Like an absolute stalker, I snatch up her panties and bring them to my nose.
Idiot.
Who the fuck does this shit?
I inhale the scent that somehow smells fruity like her shampoo. Because I’m foolish and clearly have no sense, I lie down in her bed.
Don’t do it.
Get up and leave.
And yet, I reach over to hunt down the vibrator she used. It smells like her and is still sticky. I shove my shorts and boxers down, freeing my aching cock.
This is fucked up.
Leave, man.
I press the vibrator against the side of my cock and wrap her panties around both of them so tight I groan in pain.
“Emma, what the hell are you doing to me?”
My words are cut off the second I turn the vibrator on. It pulses deliciously against my cock. I close my eyes and imagine her sliding it inside her body. With each rippling vibration, my nuts tighten more and more until I’m on the cusp of coming .
“Fuck, baby,” I murmur. “I need inside you.”
She’s not here. Not even close. My cock doesn’t care. We’re fucking pretending and it’s the best damn day of my life.
I roll over onto my stomach, burying my face into her pillow. Then, I roughly fuck her bed with her vibrator tied to my cock. It’s easy to imagine she’s pinned beneath me as I drive into her.
“You’re going to come all over my cock like a good girl,” I groan into the pillow, voice muffled and breathless. “Beg for it.”
Of course no one begs.
All that can be heard is the sound of her headboard hitting the wall, the vibrator, and me grunting.
I’m a sick fuck.
I come without warning, shooting thick cum all over her silky sheets. I don’t stop and try to avoid the mess, instead, sliding my vibrating dick through the slick, spent cum until I’m boneless.
After a moment and I catch my breath, guilt trickles in, prickling me all over from the inside out.
I’m going to need to clean this mess up.
I roll off the bed and rise to my feet. I look fucking ridiculous with her panties strangling my cock and her vibrator. It takes some struggling, but I manage to free them. The vibrator hits the floor and rolls under her bed. I’m about to drop to the ground to snatch it when I hear a voice .
No fucking way.
I shove her cum-soaked panties into my pocket and drag my shorts up over my sticky cock. Quickly, I toss the covers over the mess I made and then jerkily stumble out of her room. I’ve barely made it to the landing when I see Amara staring up at me.
“What are you doing here?” I rasp out, heart thundering in my chest. “I thought you had work.”
She covers her face with her palms and bursts into tears.
For fuck’s sake.
I head down the stairs, fully aware of my situation beneath my shorts, as I attempt to figure out what the hell is going on with Amara.
“What’s wrong?” I demand, unable to look her in the eyes.
“What’s wrong?” She cries harder. “Reid, you just broke up with me.”
“You rushed home because of that?”
She sniffles, pulling her hands from her face. “I’m trying to save us. For Emma.”
Now that I’ve made my decision about me and Amara, I’m starting to see what Cole and Brayden don’t like about her. Something that I’d never really noticed before is suddenly so obvious.
She’s manipulative.
“Emma has nothing to do with this,” I grunt out. “It’s us. Just us. Again, you can stay in my room, but I think it’s best if you look for someplace else to go.”
Her head moves from side to side, red eyes wide with horror. “Where Reid? Do you want us in some shithole? I can’t afford a place like this, and you know that.”
I scrub my palm over my face and smell Emma’s pussy. Idiot. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I try not to clutch onto her panties. “Emma can stay. You know I won’t do that to her.”
She sneers at me. Amara has always been beautiful, but right now she’s ugly. Meanness glints in her harsh glare. “Oh, you’d like that, huh? She’s a child, Reid.”
If she meant to kick me in the proverbial balls, it worked. I’m stunned and unable to breathe. “W-What?”
“You’re a man. You’re all the same. I see how you look at her.”
That’s a fucking lie because she’s never home.
“You’re being a bitch, Amara,” I snap, no longer interested in coddling this woman. “First of all, Emma is eighteen. Second of all, I’m not touching your daughter.”
Yet.
And surely the thumb in her mouth thing doesn’t count.
The fucking her vibrator, underwear, and bed, certainly don’t count as “touching.”
Amara dries her tears. “She’ll go with me. I’m working on something to get us the hell out of here.”
“Where?”
“The good side of town.” She flashes me another cruel grin. “But you’ve never been over there, have you?”
“What kind of bullshit con are you pulling now?” I growl, not liking where this shit is headed.
“Con? I would never.” She smirks at me. “She’s not your daughter, you know.”
I bark out a harsh laugh. “First, you’re accusing me of being some sort of pedophile. Now you’re saying I treat her too much like my own kid. Which is it, Amara? What’s my sin here?”
She doesn’t know about what I did upstairs.
Thank fuck.
She purses her lips. “We were supposed to get married. You and me. But you got tired of us.”
Not her. Just you.
“Now I’m doing what I can to take care of my girl. What I always do.”
“Found some other sucker to pay your bills?”
She lets out a huff. “Why does it matter? We broke up, remember? I’m not your problem anymore.”
I shake my head with anger. “You know what, never mind. Just go before I say something regrettable.”
“Gladly,” she hisses. “And when Emma learns you kicked us out, her heart will be broken. I’m sick of this hero shit she has with you. You’re just another disappointing man.”
She turns and stalks toward the stairs. I storm after her. As she begins packing her bags, I pace the floor in front of my bed .
“I did everything for you, you know,” I choke out. “Treating me this way is a dick move, Amara.”
Not bothering to answer, she leaves the bedroom and stops in the bathroom to grab a bunch of her crap. I stand in the doorway, watching her with my arms crossed over my chest. With each thing she packs up, I feel as though a vise is tightening around my heart.
And it’s not because Amara is finally fucking leaving.
It’s Emma.
What happens with Emma?
Amara slings her bag over her shoulder and then waits for me to move aside. Once I’m out of her way, she stomps down the stairs.
“I’m so tired of being unhappy,” Amara says, voice wobbly. “I’m going somewhere where I’m appreciated and adored and loved.”
I stare at her blankly. I’ve cared for her, but never those things she’s supposedly going to receive elsewhere. And from whom? What am I missing here?
“I still need you to pick Emma up.” Her tone is softer this time as she flashes me a pitiful look I’m used to. “Do you think you can do that one last thing for me?”
“Of course I’ll get her,” I grumble, losing some of my fire. “And she doesn’t have to leave this place. It can remain her home.”
Amara frowns and looks away. “I may need to take you up on that a least until I can secure her a place with me.”
“Done. You know she’s safe here.”
She has the decency to nod. “I guess this is goodbye then.”
“Yup.”
Without another word, she flings open the door and steps out. Brayden is lingering on the porch, worry twisting his features.
“Excuse me,” Amara says hotly as she passes him. “I’m in a hurry.”
He moves out of her way and we both watch her shove her bags into her trunk. Then, with tires peeling, my girlfriend is officially gone.
“We broke up,” I mutter.
Brayden snorts out a laugh. “Yeah. I heard. I think the whole complex heard.”
“Great.”
“Sorry, Dad. For real. I know this sucks for you.”
I should be relieved. Happy even. But anxiety claws at my insides.
Emma.
How does this all shake out for Emma?
When I cram my hands into my pockets, I’m reminded again of what I did earlier. And now, instead of dealing with it, I’m having a heart to heart with my son.
“Do you guys need any money?” I ask, changing the subject .
“Nope. Haven’t touched what you already gave me.”
“There’s more where that came from,” I remind him. “Me and your mom agree since you’re not going to college, you can use that money however you see fit.”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks.”
We chat a couple more minutes and when Brayden realizes I’m not going to kill myself or some shit over my breakup, he finally leaves me be.
I race back inside like my ass is on fire because I have a mess to clean up.
I’m a fucking idiot and I don’t want any trace leftover of what I did.
It’s time to get my head on straight.