I frown at my son. “Why did she drop you off? What happened to your car?”
“I must have left my lights on overnight because my battery is dead. I can’t find my jumper cables, so I’m going to borrow yours, if you don’t mind.”
I gesture toward the back door. “Of course, I don’t mind.”
“Thanks.”
He leaves the door leading to the mud room cracked open. I go back to my notes, typing in a few more lines before hitting save on the document and closing the file. Shutting my laptop, I get up from the table just as Aleah comes barreling into the kitchen. Before I can open my mouth to warn her that Bryan is here, she jumps and launches herself into my arms. My hands automatically catch her by her butt and her legs wrap around my waist.
“Aleah, wait—”
My words are cut off by her mouth, and just like always, my brain short circuits anytime she’s near. In the back of my head, I know I need to stop this before Bryan walks in, but fuck if her mouth doesn’t taste good and serve as a distraction. A disastrous distraction in this case.
Her tongue swipes across mine, and a deep moan drifts from my mouth into hers. She grinds her hips down, and my dick turns to stone.
Motherfucking hell, I need to put a stop to this.
The thought barely forms in my head before a loud bang fills the room. Aleah and I jerk our mouths away at the same time and look over at the mud room door, only to find a glaring and pissed off Bryan staring at us from the open doorway.
“What in the ever-lovin’ fuck is going on?” he growls, his eyes flicking back and forth between Aleah and me.
“Oh God,” Aleah breathes the words out in a strangled voice at the same time she drops her legs from my waist. I push her slightly behind me.
“Bryan,” I start hesitantly and his eyes latch onto mine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so angry before. “This isn’t the way I wanted you to find out, but Aleah and I are together now.”
“Like fuck you are. You’re her goddamn father.” He snarls the last word. “This is un-fucking-believable.” One hand roughly rakes through his hair, leaving it sticking up in some spots.
“I’m her step-father, Bryan. There is no blood relation between us. You know this.”
He glares at me. “It doesn’t fucking matter. You helped raise her like she was your biological daughter.” His look turns disgusted. “How long has this been going on?”
“Since the night of Aleah’s birthday.”
“Which birthday?” he sneers.
His question has my own temper rising.
“Her eighteenth birthday,” I grate out, barely holding onto my patience. “You really think I’d touch an under-age girl?”
“I don’t know, Dad. I never thought you’d touch a girl I considered my sister and you her father either.”
“Please, Bryan,” Aleah pleads, stepping around me. “Try to understand. It wasn’t until recently our feelings for each other changed. And it wasn’t Spencer’s fault. I pursued him.”
“Don’t, Aleah.” I put my arm around her waist and pull her to my side. “This was my doing. Not yours.”
“Damn straight it is,” Bryan growls. His eyes lose some of their heat when he switches his gaze to Aleah. “Despite your legal age saying you’re an adult now, Aleah, you’re too young to know what you want when it comes to a sexual relationship.”
I feel Aleah stiffen beside me. She’s always been even-tempered, except when it comes to things she feels strongly about. That’s when she lets her attitude show.
I squeeze her waist, silently telling her to let me handle this.
“I get that this upsets you, and I understand why.” I keep my voice as calm as I can. “You have every right to be bothered by this development. I fought my feelings for Aleah because I felt the same way you did, and in some ways, I still do. But I couldn’t fight it anymore.” My voice deepens with emotion. “I love her, Bryan.”
Feeling eyes on the side of my face, I keep my focus on my son. This isn’t the way I wanted to tell Aleah, but it’s the only way I can hopefully make Bryan understand.
“Of course, you love her.” His tone is still belligerent, but I can see some of the fire fading. “You’re her father. You’re supposed to love her. Just as I love her as my sister.”
“No.” Letting Aleah go, I walk over to Bryan. We’re the same height, so we stand eye to eye. His body is strung so tight I can see the tremors in his arms. “I love her like a man loves a woman.” I let out a slow breath, mentally willing him to understand. “I wasn’t looking for this, and I swear it wasn’t until recently that my feelings for her changed. You know me, so you know deep down I’d never do anything inappropriate with an under-age girl. I put bastards like that away in prison.”