1524 wordsAnd as long as I was being authentic, as long as I was beinghonest, she did bring out the best in me. She reminded me of thatpure passion I’d felt for life so long ago. It was nice to remember thatman I’d once been, even if it wasn’t a man I ever wanted to be again.But she was wrong on one point—it wasn’t good for me. Shewasn’t good for me. To believe she was would be an absolute lie.EIGHTAUDREYD: Are you still awake?MY PULSE PICKED up at the message from Dylan when it arrived. Itwas half past midnight, and I’d texted him hours ago during theintermission of Waitress. I’d been antsy waiting for a response, afraidhe was bailing on me, so obviously, I was relieved to see his name,to say the least.Now was a better time to talk to him anyway. Sabrina wasalready asleep, and I wasn’t as into my reading of A Curator’sHandbook as I should have been.But I was into Dylan Locke. More than I should have been.A: I was beginning to think u’d gotten cold feet.D: Ha ha. N
“Uh, I’m a college student. All-nighters are kind of my gig. Thequestion is—will it be a problem for you, old man?”“You like to remind me of our age difference, I think.” I couldpractically hear his scowl through the line.“Only because it makes you so hot and bothered.”“Does it make you hot and bothered?” His voice had dropped andthe words that came out were ragged.“Yes, Professor Locke.” My answer sounded just as raw as thequestion, and the buzz in my belly had spread out through my limbs.It made me hotter the more I thought I about it.“Let me ask you then—as your professor, I should know what sortof prior education you’ve acquired.”Oh, geez. He was always incredibly sexy, but he was even hotterwhen he played the teacher part. Especially when he was alsoenthusiastic.“Um.” I stood up to pace the room, hoping to release some of therestlessness he stirred in me. “Let’s see.”“If you’re uncomfortable discussing this—”“I’m not,” I cut him off. “At all. I just know our tim
A: Thanks for looking out for me, Daddy. ;)His reply came when I was in the elevator.D: I sense teasing in your last message.And another followed right after, one that instantly made me feelthe most taboo kind of sexy.D: Be careful. Daddy only rewards girls who show himrespect.Oh, boy. Dylan was good.When I got to the lobby of Sabrina’s building, I realized exactlyhow good he was—the car was already waiting for me. He musthave had it on standby, ready for whenever I finally got back to him.The ride to Dylan’s apartment was quick with the late-night quiet—eh, quieter—streets. I hummed Christmas songs from the show aswe drove, and even though I still had the key Jeff Jones had givenme, I texted Dylan as soon as I got there to let him know I’d arrivedlike he’d asked. The key got me in the front door without trouble andinto the elevator, so I was bouncing down the hallway toward his unitin a matter of minutes.All of it had happened so fast, in fact, that it wasn’t until
But then his hands were inching lower, down into the creasebetween my cheeks. “No knickers,” he said in a hiss. “You are asmuch of a bad girl as you are a good one, aren’t you, Audrey?”Really, it had been about pantylines. Tight leggings showeverything, and I wasn’t fond of thongs.But before I could respond, he dug his fingers into my flesh andpulled me forward, bringing his knee up tight against my pussy at thesame time. The increase in friction took the buzz from mono tostereo. I put my hands flat against the wall behind me for support asmy mouth parted in a desperate sigh.There were more murmurs from Dylan, more sighs from me, andthen he was pulling my leggings down to my thighs, exposing therecently trimmed (thank heavens) patch of hair above my naughtybits, to borrow the British term. I spread my legs farther,unabashedly. Showing him. Begging him.And somehow he knew.Because his fingers found his way between my pussy lips, andwith expertise, he strummed my skin, h
I hung up on her in reply.Without pause, I headed straight to the coat cupboard and pulledout the cashmere Ted Baker hanging inside. I put it on, then turnedback to my guest. She was just slipping an arm through her owncoat. I rushed to help her, brushing her long caramel hair off hershoulder before moving to button her up.“I’m sorry,” I said, wishing I had time for other words, sweeterwords. She deserved better than this.She shook her head adamantly. “No, you have to go. I get it.” Shebrought her hand up to stroke her knuckles against my cheek.I caught her hand as she dropped it and brought it to my mouth tokiss her palm. “I’m still sorry. There’s so much more…” I closed myeyes, forcing away the thoughts of all the more I’d meant to addresswith her this night. When I opened them again, I couldn’t look directlyat her. “I’ll walk down with you.”We were silent in the lift. I was too worried, too frantic, too furiousat Ellen to make conversation. Whether Audrey was respec
But could I even judge her parenting? Was I any better of afather, absent as I was? And, truth be told, I would have been yellingmyself hoarse if she hadn’t taken the lead. If I weren’t drowning inmy emotions. If I weren’t remembering Audrey’s last words to me—Listen to what he has to say.So far, he hadn’t much to say at all. Or, rather, Ellen hadn’t givenhim much chance for a defense. She didn’t let up, in fact, until sheseemed to remember the police were on the case. She stormed outof the room to retrieve her phone and make the call.Left alone together, Aaron chanced a glance in my direction. Icould feel the frown on my face. Could imagine the disappointmenthe saw on my features. It was no surprise that he hung his headsullenly in response.I took a breath and forced the tension from my body. “Aaron…” Ibegan carefully.“I know already,” he snapped, throwing his beanie on his desk.He unzipped his coat and threw it over the back of the chair. “Momsaid everything, okay.
I took another draw on my cigar as I pulled out my mobile frommy jacket pocket and was surprised to find another message waitingfrom her. I’d forgotten I’d put it on silent for dinner.A: Our T-Day reservations aren’t until five, btw. You cancall or text anytime before that.I looked at my watch. It was a quarter to four. Really? That early,and I already needed a drink this badly?The good news was I had time to catch her.I set my drink down and stood up. “I, uh. Need to ring someone.Can I step out there?” I nodded toward the single French door thatled to a balcony, so small it could only fit one person comfortably.Donovan shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me any. Aaron?”I puzzled for half a second before realizing he was asking if I wascalling my son. “Yes. Yes, Aaron. You understand.”Pushing open the door, I stepped quickly out into the biting coldbefore I could feel too guilty about the lie. Then I clicked on Audrey’sname, put the mobile to my ear, and puffed on my cigar until
She twisted her lips as though trying not to say what she wantedto say. Then she lost the battle. “Feels like it sometimes.”My immediate instinct was to take her comment personally, but Ididn’t want to argue with her when we were close to saying goodbye,and when I let myself think about her position, I totally understoodwhy she’d feel she had to mother me.“I’m sure it’s a hard habit to break,” I said stepping out of theelevator ahead of her. I’d meant to let it go at that, but I turned backto her instead of walking on to her door. “I’m ready to have you justbe my sister. I need you to be that more than my parent these days.”She wrapped her arms around her body and frowned a moment.But then the lines around her mouth relaxed and her lips turned intoa small smile. “As long as you still need me.”“I’ll always need you, you psychopath.”We walked silently toward her apartment, both of us in ourthoughts. Then, when she opened her door and held it open for meto go inside, she