Chapter 8 - Amon
AMON
I just can’t stop winning.
I went into work early to go over some research I’d assigned to my team. It told me what I already knew, which led to a few more trades, which, by noon, led to another eighty million.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. A text from Dad:
Coming home early. See you later.
“Ugh,” I groan, not bothering to reply. Why are they coming back now? They’re supposed to be in Florida for another week—a week I had planned on using to ruin my little nun. Show her who she belongs to now.
Joan roused the primal man inside of me. And beyond that, she’s starting to realize the truth of who she really is. All I need her to do now is accept it.
When I came home for lunch, I was admittedly a bit short with her, but I thought she’d notice my smirk, or the flare in my eyes when I looked at her.
Her hair was a wet mess—she must have just taken a shower—and it sent my mind back to her tight wet hole stretching around my manhood. I had to go outside to take my call just so I wouldn’t get all boned up and distracted from business.
She then retreated upstairs to her room, and I haven’t seen her since.
I thumb the buzzer on the wall to call her. She doesn’t answer, so I buzz again. Eventually, I hear her soft voice through the speaker.
“Yes?”
“Our folks are on their way home.”
“I know.”
“You know?” I frown. “Well, why aren’t you down here cleaning?”
She can’t see my smile, but she must be able to hear it in my voice. There’s a pause, followed by what might be a sigh.
“I’ll be right down.”
She clicks off, a surprising move from her. Normally she’s so timid, but there was something in her tone that was bordering on confrontational.
Maybe she’s provoking me again?
This was inevitable once I brought her to the closet the first time. I knew from the moment I saw her that she was hiding her true nature, and I was just the man to bring it out.
The only man.
When she appears at the top of the stairs, my head starts spinning. Jaw clenched, I realize this is what I want to see every day. This vision of beauty in my life, never out of my reach.
Her hips steal my gaze me as she descends. She reaches up to toss her hair, and her shirt rides up, showing a hint of skin just below her belly button.
I close the distance between us and slip my hand up her shirt. Her breast is soft and warm, the definition of temptation.
She gasps slightly, and I move in to kiss her. But just as our lips are about to meet, she twists away.
“Whoa, where are you going?” I ask, snatching her back as she tries to pass me.
“I have to…clean,” she mutters, her eyes on the floor.
I frown at her response. This isn’t the Joan I’ve come to know.
This is the Joan who stepped into this house that night, cold and wet, trembling in my presence, afraid.
I’m so stunned that I can only watch as she walks away and starts gathering her cleaning supplies.
An uneasy feeling causes me to swallow hard. What is this change in her? Does she regret what we did last night? That can’t be it. I can still hear her sweet moans and voice in my ear.
She even called me Daddy…
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask, following her into the living room as she starts dusting.
She doesn’t respond right away, and with her back to me, I can see her go tense at the sound of my voice. Something is not right.
“Nothing,” she finally says. But I’m not buying it. I step closer, a sense of foreboding in my stomach. I’m just about to reach out and turn her around to face me when the front door opens.
“We’re back!” I recognize my father’s voice. Joan nearly jumps out of her skin.
“Amon, what do we do—?”
I lean close. “Stay calm and everything will be fine.”
Putting on my best fake smile, I spin around, pretending I’m glad to see them and like it’s not the worst time imaginable for them to be coming home.
Dad needs a shave, and Alicia looks like she’s spent too much time by the pool.
“Where is that daughter of mine?” she asks, setting her bags down. I can never tell with Alicia whether she’s happy or irritated. Is it possible to be both at the same time?
“In here.” Joan’s voice carries from the living room like a whisper on the wind.
Alicia’s cross necklace swings as she jogs over to her daughter and wraps her up in her arms. Joan’s face remains neutral as she timidly hugs back with one arm.
Her mom steps back, and even I can see the judgment in her eyes. I can only imagine how Joan feels at this moment. She notices the duster in her hand and takes it from her.
“What is this?”
“A duster,” I reply simply.
“I can see that,” she snaps, not even turning back to me. “What is she doing with it?”
“Oh, she’s—”
“I’ve been doing some…housework while you two were in Florida,” Joan replies, causing me to grind my teeth. I told her not to say anything.
“What about the maid?” Dad asks, cocking his head and snapping his fingers as he tries to remember her name.
“She’s on leave. So Joan was nice enough to step in and take over for her.”
Finally, Alicia turns to face me. And she is pissed. Her sunburn does nothing to hide how red her cheeks are turning.
“Nice enough to step in?” she asks, throwing my words back at me. “Are you telling me you have my daughter working as your maid?”
It’s a struggle not to let myself smile. If only she knew what else I had her doing while she was away.
“I agreed to help…” Joan whispers, but Alicia doesn’t even hear her.
“You think you can tell her what to do?”
I’m starting to get pissed off now. Looking past Alicia, I can see Joan trembling, nervously fidgeting her fingers.
Keep your mouth shut, Amon. This isn’t the time.
But I just can’t stop myself.
“Sorry, didn’t you send Joan to a convent because you found a thong in her room while you were snooping?”
Alicia’s eyes go so wide I’m sure they’re going to fall out of her head. I hear my dad whisper something behind me—probably telling me to relax—but I can’t even hear him over Alicia’s screams that follow.
“Don’t you dare question the way I raise my daughter! Do you have children? Do you know what it’s like?”
If she was anyone else, she’d have another think coming right now. But she’s Joan’s mom, and I don’t want to start something that will send our family crumbling into destruction. So I keep my mouth shut and simply go to the kitchen and grab a beer.
I hear the sounds of her voice chattering like a chipmunk as she goes back to Joan, probably to scold her more for something that isn’t her fault. I’m seething inside as I open the fridge.
“Can I get one of those?” Dad asks. He’s giving me a look like he understands, but I can also tell he has something he wants to say.
I hand him a beer and crack mine open on the counter. “Well, what is it?”
“She’s right, you know,” he says simply. “Having your step-sister work as the maid? Questionable at best.”
I shrug and take a swig of my beer. Better to just de-escalate than to turn this into a big argument.
“I’ll find us a real replacement. How’s that?”
Reaching for my cell, I move to pass him, but he places a firm hand on my arm. “That is all that’s been happening, right?”
My chest tightens. He’s looking at me with those eyes he’d give me when I was a kid and he knew I’d broken one of his countless rules.
But he can’t know about what Joan and I have been doing. He hasn’t even been here. And why would he suspect?
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Dad,” I reply, lying my ass off.
I pull my arm back and head for the door. Alicia is still whispering to Joan. Even with her voice hushed, I hear her hiss, “You will be returning to the convent. I am the one you listen to, not him!”
Joan’s eyes flicker to me as I pass, and her mother turns and gives me the death stare. So much for a nice family reunion.
This is bad. Alicia is pissed, and Dad seems to suspect that Joan and I have been up to something—which of course we have.
I motion to her before stepping outside, then go around to the patio and sit. A few minutes later, she appears from the backside of the house.
“I had to sneak out!” she whispers. “Mom’s watching me like a hawk.”
Her eyes are filled with light—an energy that sparks my soul. I rise from my chair and sweep her into my arms, pressing her against the wall as I envelop her lips with mine.
My eyes close as I kiss her, breathe in her scent, and drink in her body with my hands. I can’t get enough. I’ll never get enough.
I feel wetness on her cheek and pull back. Tears spill from her eyes. “She wants to send me away,” she sobs. “Away from…you.”
Shaking my head, I run my fingers through her hair. She’s like a treasure in my arms. How could I live without her warmth? Her scent?
“I won’t let that happen,” I tell her. “You belong to me, Joan.”
Her eyes flutter as she looks up at me. Using my thumb, I wipe away a tear as it falls down her cheek.
“Because I signed the contract?”
I chuckle, my heart beating faster as the connection between us swells. I curl my arm around her and pull her body close.
“No.” I shake my head. “Because I’m the only one who truly understands you.”
“Yes,” she whimpers, more tears pooling in her eyes. “Don’t let her send me back there.”
I lean in and kiss her, savoring the sweetness of her mouth. “I love you, Joan. No one is going to send you away. You’re my little nun. No one else’s.”
She giggles, and I feel myself getting hard against her belly. I need her. Now. But the parents are home now, and the office is full of the staff.
“We’re getting a hotel. I need to have you now.”
“Amon—” Joan gasps, looking past me. I turn and see something that causes my stomach to drop.
Alicia, peeking around the corner of the house, her eyes fixed on us.
I instantly let go of Joan and back off, but it’s too late. She’s seen us. She knows.
I brace myself, ready for confrontation. But to my surprise, she simply vanishes. A few seconds later, I hear the sound of the door closing behind her.
“Shit…”
“Oh God,” Joan despairs, slumping to the ground. “She’s gonna kill me.”
“No,” I say, quickly lifting her to her feet and cradling her in my arms. “Everything is going to be all right.”
“How? You have a plan?”
“Of course I do,” I reply. It’s a lie. I’m speaking before I think, but it doesn’t matter. I may not have a plan at this moment, but I would go to war for Joan.
Not my father, not her mother, not the convent—no one will take my angel from me.