Chapter Five
Bella
Clint’s big, rough hand sinks between my thighs as headlights flicker through the tree line and into the driveway. It’s the middle of the night. Who the heck would be pulling into his place so late?
He leans into my neck and whispers low, “Get in the house. This isn’t over.”
Considering I signed my soul away to a man called ‘Daddy’ two minutes ago, I feel compelled to listen to his direction.
Why does it feel so good to want to follow his lead? What the hell is wrong with me? This man dated my sister. He was engaged to her. They bought this lake house together. They were going to start a business. Now, I’m calling her ex Daddy, and letting him boss me into having orgasms.
I need to get a grip immediately, and I need to get out of here before I do something that’ll wreck everyone’s lives.
“What the hell?” The car door slams, and a woman in a black nightgown steps forward. It’s June, and, of course, she looks remarkable. Even though it’s late, her hair is curled and flowing, and her nightgown looks fresh from the closet. It’s almost like she planned to come out here.
“What are you doing here?” I narrow my gaze and stare toward her, Clint still bent over me, my thighs still sticky from the orgasm he just brought me to.
“What am I doing here?” she laughs. “What are you two doing down there?”
“I caught her breaking into my house,” Clint groans as he pulls me up from the ground. “The alarm went off.”
“So, you pummel my little sister into the dirt?” June kicks off her slippers and runs toward me, her heavy breasts nearly falling from the skimpy little nightgown she’s wearing.
“You’re such an animal.” She grips my arm and tugs me toward the car, the scent of arousal in the air. There’s no way she doesn’t smell that.
Oh God, what if she smells me? I’m so dripping wet that my thighs are sticky.
What have I done?
My heart hammers as Clint steps forward and grips my arm in his calloused hand. “Hold on. You’re not taking her anywhere.”
“I’m sorry?” June balks, tossing her hair back in the wind. “You don’t own her.”
Actually, that’s up for debate, my evil witch sister. If owning me feels like it did seconds ago, I’d gladly allow it… over and over again. It’s the first time my brain has shut off in months, years maybe. I was in the moment, living my life. That rarely happens.
“How did you know I was here?” I say, swallowing hard as I look toward her.
“I got up for a glass of water, checked my phone, and I had all these alerts from the tracker app that you were driving, so I checked to see where you were. Then, when you didn’t move for over an hour, I worried something happened.”
I forgot we share a tracker together with our mom.
It was intended to keep an eye out for her as she got older.
Then she insisted that I should join, given I’m single.
At the time, it felt like a good idea. Right now, though, not so much.
In fact, if I hadn’t downloaded that stupid thing, I’d be inside that lake house right now getting nailed to the floor by a big, inked, growly giant.
“Come on.” My sister walks toward her Subaru, the headlights still on. “It’s late. I have a meeting in the morning.”
“I got over here on my bike, so I’ll ride back.”
“Your bike?” June hisses as a warm breeze pushes between us. “You rode your bike here in the middle of the night?”
“Yes! I didn’t want to make a scene.” I realize now that Clint and I got so distracted, he never really pressed as to why I was here.
I glance toward Clint, my heart squeezing the second I look up at him. “I’m sorry about all this, but, ugh, I should go.”
His dark gaze holds mine for a long moment. Long enough that I fear my sister will ask questions about it when we get into the car. “This isn’t over,” he growls. “This break-in is a serious offense.”
My sister scoffs as she says, “Oh please. She didn’t take anything or cause any damage, right?”
I should answer. I should move. I should back away from him and walk away for good.
It’s the right thing to do.
It’s the right thing, but also for some reason, the hardest.
Why does it have to feel so good to be in his orbit?
Swallowing hard, I glance down at the ground, then drag my gaze up again, following the lines of his hard chest, his bulging muscles, the dark shadows of his ink. “Sorry about tonight. Like I said, I was just confused, but I really should go now.”
He nods and crosses his big arms over his chest as though he’s unhappy with my decision.
I’m unhappy with it too. So unhappy that my stomach aches as I turn.
I really don’t want to leave. My body is having a physical reaction to it, but I have no choice.
I can’t jump up into his arms and call him daddy.
I can’t sneak back here again and play games.
I did a thing, a nonsensical thing, and it’s over now.
“Well, that was weird. Why did you come out here in the middle of the night?” My sister groans as we walk down the dark shadowy driveway and into the road.
“I thought I could get inside while he was sleeping, get some pictures, and move on.”
“And what did you tell him when he asked?”
I can’t very well tell her that we lost track of that thread when he asked me to call him daddy and commanded me to touch myself. “I just pretended I was drunk.”
“You weren’t acting drunk,” she laughs before flicking on the high beams as we drive down the dark, shadowed road shrouded by pines. It’s not uncommon to come across a bear or a moose in the middle of the road this time of night.
I suck at lying.
I shrug and glance out the side window before fidgeting with her raspberry air freshener hanging from the vent. It’s the old Christmas tree kind with the bag half hanging off it to diffuse the smell. “I was, though.”
“I’m sure he’s onto all this. We should give it a break before you go back. Plus,” she shrugs, “I saw the way he was looking at me tonight. He totally wishes he had me back.”
I glance toward my sister in the very revealing nightgown. She’s beautiful, and, truthfully, side by side, there’s no competition. Her hair is silky, her skin is perfectly smooth, her body is trim and lean, and her eyes are a shade of blue I’m pretty sure was reserved for the sky.
I’m none of those things. In fact, I might be the exact opposite of those perfect features.
I gulp down a breath. “Do you wish he wanted you back?”
“I don’t have to wish,” she laughs before taking the turn at the corner. “He knows he does. I could see it all over him.”
My chest tightens and my stomach churns as I lose myself in the dark pines that chase us up the street. I didn’t notice Clint looking at my sister. I only noticed him looking at me, but maybe that’s because I’m delusional. It very well could be. I mean, who wouldn’t look at her?
“So… you’d get back together with him again?” I say, voice shaking. “I mean, I thought you said he was an asshole, and you hated him?”
She shakes her head and smiles. “I do hate him, and I know way too much about his past to trust him ever again, but a hate fuck with a guy that hot is still a good fuck. Let’s be real. You’ve seen the man. He’s cut from stone.”
“Well, yeah, but… isn’t that complicated if you hate him?”
“No,” she scoffs. “People do it all the time. I really need to get you out more. When was the last time you dated?”
I don’t say anything right away, mostly because it’s embarrassing.
“Seriously,” she prods. “When? I don’t remember seeing you with anyone recently.”
“I haven’t dated since high school.”
“High school?” she says, her voice rising far too high in surprise. “What the hell? You didn’t date anyone in college?”
“Nah.” I shrug. “I was learning and focusing. Guys seemed like a distraction.”
“Okay then. I’m totally setting you up tomorrow night. There’s this guy I work with at the bank. He’s a little older than you, but he’s nerdy. Loves video games, builds things with Legos, and plays a ton of sports. He’s kind of a big kid at heart.”
“What makes you think that’s my type?”
“You’re like the biggest kid I know.”
“Well, yeah, but… I don’t know. I like other things too.”
Like a big, giant man demanding I call him daddy.
My sister pulls into my mother’s house. The place I’m still living because teaching hasn’t afforded me the option to leave yet.
“Which is why you guys will work out. Dillon loves to learn new things, too. I’ll tell him to meet you at the bar tomorrow night.
Maybe that’ll keep that redneck off you for a while longer.
” She laughs, unlocking the car door. “It’s late. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
I want to turn toward my sister and tell her the truth. I want to tell her that I’m into her ex. That he just pinned me to the ground and made me come. That I want to go back to his house and scream out for Daddy while I bounce on his massive cock.
I want to ask her what Clint did that was so bad she’d have something to blackmail him with. I want to confess and be absolved, but Lord knows that isn’t an option with my sister.
In her defense, I’m not sure who would absolve me of a sin like this. I’m a monster!
“Get out!” she groans playfully. “It’s late. I’ll send you the details about Dillon.”
“That’s okay. I’m not interest—”
“Please get out,” she says again, unlocking the doors for the third time.
They click, but they’re already unlocked.
This is June. Wildly impatient and rude for fun.
I pull on the handle and step up from the car, my bag slung around my shoulder, my heart pounding before leaning back in. We can leave the Dillon thing hanging, but I need to know what’s up with Clint.
“What did Clint do that you’re thinking you can blackmail him with?”
She narrows her brows and shakes her head. “He has an assault charge. Now go. Some of us have work in the morning.”
I step back into the night, and she drives away, leaving my head spinning in a cloud of dust.
Assault charge?
What does he have an assault charge for?
Surely June wouldn’t be desperate to screw him again if it were anything serious, though whatever it is, it’s serious enough that she thinks it’ll ruin his business.
Then again, June can easily make something innocuous huge.
Normal, regular people get assault charges all the time, right?
I’m walking up the sidewalk toward the house when I get a text from an unknown number. Given the context, I gather who it is, though I don’t know how he got my information. Then again, this is a small town, and the masses can have everyone’s everything anytime they want it.
I’d say that’s the one part of small town living I despise more than anything.
If I go to the grocery store and pick up cold medicine, an hour later, everyone in town knows to keep six feet away from me.
That’s an apply all situation that extends to family drama, personal life changes, and haircuts as well.
Clint: You get home okay, little girl?
My chest squeezes. Why do I love it so much that he calls me a little girl?
I shouldn’t. Apparently, he’s assaulted someone. That, and he’s twenty years older, and my sister’s ex. An ex she apparently thinks wants her and wouldn’t mind a return visit with.
This is insanity!
I stuff my phone back into my pocket and head into the house.
I’m a preschool teacher. A rule follower.
I read fantasies. I don’t live them. Maybe my sister is right.
Maybe I need a night at the bar with a man that plays with Legos and works at the bank.
Maybe I need a regular, normal, everyday man.
Not some big, inked, over-the-top ruffian who demands I call him daddy.