He gently grabs my hair and pulls my head back so I’m looking at him.
“As much as I want to fuck you so hard you forget your name, the last thing we need is for your father to walk in. Been there, done that; didn’t end well.”
As much as I hate it, he’s right. My father has been pushed enough, a tiny nudge could shove him over the edge.
“Fine.” I pout.
He grins and drops his head for a quick kiss before getting up from his knees. He situates himself on my bed with his back against the headboard. Once he’s settled, he lifts me easily and puts me down on his lap sideways. I snuggle my head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I left you earlier. I needed to wash off the memories of what happened.”
He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, leaving his hand on the side of my neck where his thumb softly strokes the skin.
“Don’t apologize. I only wish I had gotten to you sooner.” I can feel the frown in his quiet words. “I’m so damn sorry that asshole got his hands on you, Luna.”
I sit up so I can see him better. The ache in his eyes brings a sharp pain to my chest.
I cup the side of his face. “Like you just told me, don’t apologize. You saved me, August. Had you not showed up when you did….” I stop and swallow hard. “You kept me from dealing with something much worse.”
His brows drop and a spark of anger lights his eyes. “I still hate what he did to you.”
“I do too, but he’ll be punished for it.”
“Not enough,” he mutters and tightens his arms around me.
I silently agree with him as I settle back down against his chest.
“How were things with my dad after I left?”
A piece of hair is lifted from my shoulder, and he begins twirling it around his finger. “Tense, but I didn’t expect anything less. He’s worried about you, but is also fighting his instincts to kick my ass.”
This makes me laugh. “Well, he’ll be fighting that instinct a long time.”
“Yeah,” he says quietly.
I start tracing the buttons of his shirt and we sit in silence for several minutes.
“Where have you been? I thought my dad had you fired, but you were at the school this afternoon.”
“I think a little birdy interfered with Kian’s plan to report me to the school board.”
I sit up and face him. “What do you mean?”
“A friend of mine called and told me she had a conversation with Kian a few days ago. Her name is Penelope Adair and she’s your dad’s boss. Apparently, the day after we were caught, he went to work in a shit mood. Penelope made him tell her what happened. She and I went to school together and her brother and I are good friends. I’m not sure what she said to him, but he agreed to not report me to the school board.”
I stare at him with wide eyes. “Wow. I’m surprised he listened. When he sets his mind on something, usually nothing stops him from following through.”
“You haven’t met Penelope. She doesn’t work in PR only because she enjoys it, she’s a bull and can talk the sanest person into doing anything.”
“She seems interesting.”
He nods. “She’s that and more.”
I turn so I’m sitting with my legs crossed, still between August’s stretched out legs.
“So if you weren’t fired, where were you the last few days of school?”
“In Alabama. When I got home that night, I had a voicemail waiting on me from my brother-in-law. My sister went into labor earlier that day. There were some complications, and she needed a C-section. It was touch and go for a couple days with my sister.”