There are so many layers of wrong here, I can’t even begin to dig. Because the top layer of wrong is something I didn’t expect. Something unacceptable.
I’m turned on as fuck. I want to lay Clara down on that stupidly adorable bed, hike her knees up over my shoulders and plow her until she’s screaming for her mommy. Completely opposite of that, I want to sit her on my lap in a nightshirt and watch as she brushes her hair for bed. God almighty. I…want to be her Daddy.
She looks up at me. “You don’t like it?”
My stomach twists. “I like it too much, girl.”
A smile breaks loose. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I say on a rushed exhale. The truth is out, but I don’t know how to handle it. My tastes have never run in this direction. I beat off to nudie magazines on the boat when there’s no Wi-Fi available. When I’m home, I get the deed done to whatever internet porn happens to catch my eye. But truth be told, I tend to avoid anything like this. Men giving in to their urges in places they damn well shouldn’t. It’s Clara that’s turned me into one of those men. Made me crave virgin blood and panties with pink bows and things I can’t have.
It would be so easy to go down this path without thinking about it too hard. Especially tonight. To not worry about consequences and just fuck my horny little princess under my brother’s roof. God knows she’s ripe for it. Her big eyes are inviting me to strip her naked and do whatever the hell I want. She would call me Daddy. I don’t know a ton about this shit, but some part of me has recognized since the beginning that a caretaker is exactly what Clara is looking for. Needs. Maybe my infatuation with her has turned me into that person…
But as much as I’m starved for her skin, her touch, her pussy, I can’t give in. I’m her uncle. I might satisfy her body, but she’d be even more of an outcast once I claimed her. Eventually went public. She doesn’t even realize how big the world is. Sure, the bitch crew of dancers don’t like her, but life after eighteen is so different. She’s about to discover that. Can I really saddle her down with someone who will alienate her from the world? Her family?
You blacken everything.
“The house is safe. No robbers.” Backing toward the door is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I take one step, then another. “I’ll do one more check of the house and lock up before I go. You’re safe, okay, girl? Good night, Clara.”
“Uncle Rex…”
I don’t hear the rest of what she says over the roaring protest of my heart.
Chapter Seven
Clara
Of course, I slip climbing onto the bus.
My already injured knee slams into the step and I swallow a scream, scrambling back to my feet as fast as I can so I don’t block the line of embarking passengers behind me. An elderly woman in the front row gives me a sympathetic look as I move past her, limping and clutching my backpack to my chest.
I am doing this.
I am doing this.
I can’t believe I’m doing this.
Rex couldn’t have made it clearer last night that he’s backing off. It was my ridiculous bedroom that ruined everything. I still can’t help but be surprised by his willpower, though. I saw the hungry shape of him through his pants. I like it too much, girl. Thank God he let those words slip, because they’re giving me enough courage to surprise him on his hunting trip. When I’m in front of him, he can’t help but touch me. If I just keep getting in his way, he’ll stop worrying about the wrongs and rights. And a change of scenery can only help my cause, can’t it? Without any reminder of his brother and my youth popping up, we can just be us.
That’s what I’m hoping, anyway. Because I don’t think I can be happy without him. There’s an emptiness inside me that is on the verge of fulfillment. I’ve never pursued a relationship with anyone. Not with a potential friend or boyfriend—barely even my parents. But Rex…it’s like I can’t help being drawn back. He’s got one half of a magnet inside him and I’ve got the other.
I slide into a seat toward the back of the bus and rub my throbbing knee. Tears threaten behind my eyelids, but I think about Rex storming backstage last night and I immediately feel better. How is he going to react when I show up unannounced? He might bluster a little, but he won’t send me home, will he?
Thinking of the groceries…not to mention the bikini I’ve packed in my bag, my mouth moves into a smile.