“That’s what I was just getting at. And while I don’t wanna hurt Tasha any more than you do I won’t be denied my happiness. And nor should you.”
“So what are we gonna do?” I ask, suddenly short on ideas apart from the one where I unzip his pants and return the half-hour of pleasure I must owe him by now.
“Just tell me you’ll be mine,” he says sternly, intensely. And I can feel the thickness of his arousal stiffen against my hands once I say yes.
Not just agreeing with him, but promising him.
“I’m all yours Slade if you’ll have me,” I murmur. Shivering when he holds my face in his hand.
“Mine,” he growls, and kisses me so hard he doesn’t even flinch when I’m sure I cut his lip in my clumsy attempt to show him just how much I want him.
The warm iron taste of him seals both our fates.
A blood pact.
Slade and Abby.
Forever.
I fight the urge to laugh, but it slips through our lips and he demands to know what’s so funny.
“Oh, nothing. Just a tattoo idea I just had.”
Slade and Abby forever…
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Slade
I thought coming here so early would ruin everything, but it’s only made my deepest wishes come true so far.
Abby’s not only willing to be with an older guy. She’s a fucking virgin to boot, and I take her word as a promise that she feels the same way I do.
It’s hard to explain because neither of us feels like we have to.
Not to ourselves anyway.
Explaining all this to Tasha and especially Abby’s mom is gonna prove a little trickier.
But at least I know I’m not crazy. Only crazy for her and she’s just as crazy for me from what I can tell.
The most important part for me is to impress upon her just how serious I am. This is a forever thing, and if she doesn’t fully get that now, she will soon enough.
My mind is already working overtime with ways we can enjoy each other as well as our future together.
There’s my place for now.
Tons of room, loads of everything we could need or want.
And my daughter Tasha. Her best friend.
It'd be nice if all I had to say was “I’ll talk to Tasha, make things right.”
Or “She’ll come around. It’s just a shock…”
The look in Abby’s eyes is one of complete adoration, for me, but there’s more than a hint of sadness too.
Tasha is the last person Abby would want to hurt.
And being my only daughter, it’s impossible for me to even consider upsetting her deliberately.
But we both know how hard she’ll take it.
Aside from the awkward living arrangements, Tasha has always looked up to me and I’ve given her a hundred and ten percent of my attention since her mom left all those years ago.
The last thing I want is for her to feel betrayed or like a third wheel.
“I think Tasha already knows,” Abby says quietly, breaking my carousel of thoughts. Some great, some not so great, but I’ve learned the hard way that to get what you want you need to be honest about what you’ll come up against in the process.
I think I can take it as a given that Abby and I have a strong emotional bond as well as a physical connection.
“Why do you say that?” I ask, focusing on the statement rather than how she could know it was the exact same thing I was thinking.
Because we both love Tasha so much, I guess. We’re both thinking of her as much as ourselves in all this.
But Abby only shrugs, thinking for a moment before answering me.
“Just the way she looked at me, a couple of things she said last night too,” Abby says, the emotion impossible to hide in her voice.
“What did she say?” I ask, needing to know just how many dots my daughter has joined already.
“Nothing...” Abby trails off. “It’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” I correct her, forcing myself to relax so I don’t worry her.
I reach over for a quilt from the back of the couch and help slip it over her naked shoulders. But leave her chest bare right where I can see and feel it if I need to.
“She just asked if I thought a guy like you would really be interested in a girl like me,” Abby murmurs, re-living what must’ve been their biggest fight by the looks.
“A girl like you?” I ask, dumbfounded. “What did she mean?”
Her eyes narrow and she tilts her head in my direction. Annoyed.
“Really Slade? Don’t play dumb for my benefit, please,” she snaps. Huffing and avoiding my gaze.
My face must show the question running through my mind because Abby spells it out for me.
Her version of things anyway, not mine.
“Because I’m fat and your perfect is why,” she spits out.
I frown and groan with disappointment.