My Bully’s Daddy Read online

  “You got rid of all the tangles.” I ran my fingers through my hair and smiled.

  “Yep, you’re as good as new.” He chuckled and reached for my hand. “Let me help you up.”

  I let him take my hand, and all of the oxygen was pulled out of my lungs in an instant. I tried to breathe as he helped me off the floor and was forced to put my other hand on his leg for support. His grayish-blue eyes locked on mine when I lifted my head. I was something simmering below the surface. It wasn’t the calmness of the early morning—it was a storm that was trying to form as the clouds rolled in. I got my composure and leaned towards my seat, letting my hand fall away as I sat down. He held onto my other hand for a moment—even when it wasn’t necessary—and then he finally let go.

  “Ready for some junk food?” I tried to break the momentary tension with a quick subject change—even though the subject I was moving away from had never turned into words.

  “Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea.” He leaned forward and started to stand. “Anything in particular?”

  “Surprise me.” I shrugged.

  The surprise that I really want doesn’t come in a bag from the supermarket…

  I had no idea how to make a move on a guy. I had one really bad kiss from a guy at my old school—before I moved to Los Angeles and became the social pariah of Bradford Academy. The fear of rejection was certainly enough to give me pause. There was a guy that I was interested in before I landed on the wrong side of the Bradford Elite. Somewhere between catching his eye and true love, I pissed off Queen Bianca. After that, he wouldn’t even look in my direction when he passed me in the hall. Justin wasn’t the kind of guy that would ever give a damn what a high school girl or her coven of heartless bitches thought, but I still couldn’t shake my fear of smashing the illusion and finding out he was just being nice.

  “Alright, here’s all I could carry.” Justin walked into the living room with his arms full of bags, a beer in one hand, and a wine cooler in the other.

  “I think that will be plenty!” I laughed as he dropped the bags on the table and handed me the wine cooler.

  My first drink—in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday. I guess I’m rebelling against those unanswered prayers pretty hard now.

  “Cheers.” Justin sat down and twisted the top off his beer.

  I took my first sip of the wine cooler and tried to hide my reaction. It was very sweet, but there was a bitter taste underneath the watermelon. I assumed that was the alcohol. We each chose a bag—I got pretzels—he got potato chips. We made a couple of excuses about how we never ate that kind of stuff before digging in. It was the truth and not another lie buried underneath my sorority girl aura. My mother was a kale-and-cucumber kind of parent who didn’t keep a carbohydrate in the house unless it was green. We occasionally got something out that didn’t fit into her food pyramid, but it was rare. I assumed Justin was telling the truth as well, judging by his incredible physique. I couldn’t really judge him—I was sure that a divorce was a lot harder on the soul than being bullied by a bunch of girls at school.

  “Okay, I want a chip.” I leaned forward.

  “Then I want a pretzel…” He reached for my bag.

  Instead of reaching the junk food that we were trying to trade, our hands brushed together—and his paused. He seemed to be hesitating, like he couldn’t decide if he really wanted his hand to stay there, but it did. The tips of his fingers moved got my knuckles, and then he slid a little further—until his hand was on my wrist. Our eyes met, and I saw an intensity in those grayish-blues. He kept moving his hand, and he squeezed once he reached my shoulder. My pulse started racing, and my heart tried to beat through my chest. He moved closer and slid his hand behind my neck.

  “I want to kiss you so fucking bad…” he exhaled sharply.

  “I want you to kiss me too.” I felt a lump rising up in my throat, but I swallowed it.

  His hand tightened on the back of my neck, and he pulled me into his arms. Our lips met and it was explosive—my head spun, and my eyes were forced shut. I had no idea that a kiss could crush my soul harder than he was crushing my lips. I melted into our kiss, and his tongue began to ravage my mouth. The hand that wasn’t locked on the back of my neck slid underneath my t-shirt, and he squeezed my breasts through my bra. His touch set the part of my soul that wasn’t crushed on fire. I felt my nipples reacting to his touch, even through my bra, and they quickly turned into hard nubs. He briefly broke the seal that had formed between our lips and gasped for air before kissing me again. His hand moved down my stomach, leaving a sizzle behind, and then I felt his fingers on the front of my jeans. I froze—my entire body went stiff, and he immediately broke from our kiss for the second time.

  “I’ve…” I exhaled sharply. “I’ve never…”

  “Oh god!” The realization registered on his face, and he pulled away. “I’m sorry!”

  “No—don’t be sorry.” I closed the distance between us. “I don’t want you to stop.”

  “I can’t do that to you.” He shook his head back and forth. “I didn’t realize you were a virgin.”

  “Why does it matter?” I put my hand on his leg. “I’m not going to be a virgin forever…”

  I might have lost it before my senior year of high school if I hadn’t become the girl nobody was allowed to speak to without drawing the wrath of the Bradford Elite—if I met the right guy.

  “No, you probably won’t.” He turned on the couch and took my hands. “It’s supposed to special—not with some guy that is old enough to be your father.”

  “This is special.” I looked down at our hands. “Nobody has ever been this nice to me.”

  “What about tomorrow?” He sighed. “You’ll be gone—you’ve got your entire life ahead of you and mine is a fucking mess.”

  “So is mine,” I exhaled sharply. “Nothing about this feels wrong to me. It’s been a long time since I could say that…”

  “You’re so fucking beautiful.” He lifted his hand to my face and cupped it. “It’s so damn hard to resist this kind of temptation.”

  “Then don’t.” I bit down on my bottom lip.

  His lips found mine again, and he pushed me back against the couch. His hands moved against my skin, but he kept them above my waist as his lips set my soul on fire again. I wanted him to slide a hand down to my jeans—I wanted him to unbutton them and find out how wet he made me. I was practically dripping with desire. The man upstairs didn’t send me a miracle—he sent me the most delicious sin in the world, and I was tempted more than Eve when she was offered the apple. I didn’t have one of those, but I had a cherry—one that I wanted him to pluck off the vine—one that was ripe and ready to be devoured. He squeezed my breasts, slid his lips across mine, and then he started to kiss my neck. He gasped when his lips made it to my ear, and I purred in response—my entire body was reacting to his touch.

  “Fuck…” He leaned back. “I can’t do this.”

  “Why?” I blinked in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No.” He shook his head back and forth as he reached for his beer. “It isn’t fair for me to take advantage of you.”

  “You’re not taking advantage of me…” I moved closer to him. “I want it too…”

  “Maybe in another lifetime.” He leaned forward and stood. “This one is just too fucked up.”

  It doesn’t have to be…

  Seven

  Justin

  I left Hannah on the couch, downed my beer, and grabbed another one before walking out the back door of my townhouse. My head was in all of the wrong places. It might have been different if Hannah was just a sorority girl that was going through the experimental phase of college and discovering who she was—but even that would have been complicated. I didn’t know how to pull a woman into my arms and then let her go. I had no idea how a girl with gorgeous curves like that still had her cherry, but I wasn’t the man to pop it—that wasn’t fair. It didn’t matter if she was
beautiful or if her smile made my stomach twist into a knot. It didn’t matter if her hazel eyes had a spark that was turning into a bonfire—she wasn’t mine—and that meant everything. Finding out that she was still a virgin yanked me back from the edge and reset my perspective. It was a blessing in disguise, even if it tore at my soul.

  “I’m sorry…” Hannah’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see her standing at the door.

  “Don’t be sorry.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m the one that should apologize.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for.” She stepped outside and pulled the door closed. “The only thing I regret is that you pulled away…”

  “It wasn’t easy, trust me.” I exhaled sharply. “I just don’t want to be your first real regret…”

  “I’ve got plenty of those.” She looked down at the ground. “You wouldn’t be one of them.”

  “That’s easy to say now. You’re young—you’re confused—you were obviously in a tough spot when I met you.” I shook my head back and forth.

  “Why does any of that matter? We’re here right now. We both want something…” Her words trailed off.

  “I won’t deny that,” I sighed. “I got married when I was still a kid, and it would be embarrassing to tell you how long it’s been since I crawled into bed next to a woman that wanted me there…”

  “How could any woman not want you there?” She took a step closer. “I do.”

  “God damn it, you’re not making this any easier,” I exhaled sharply. “I’ve just never been a one-night-stand kind of guy. Lust is easy. Everything beyond that is really hard. What about tomorrow? The next day? The one after that? How long until you meet someone you really care about and wish you had saved yourself for him?”

  “I don’t know…” She looked down at the ground.

  “Then let’s make the right decision and try to forget that kiss—it’s not a mistake, but anything else would be.” I took her hand. “You’re a very beautiful woman, Hannah. You deserve someone that will say that every single day.”

  I sure as fuck would.

  I let go of her hand and walked back into my townhouse. I liked her—I really did—but it was just physical attraction overwhelming rational sense. My hero complex was desperately trying to beat the fuck out of the part of my brain that wanted me to just think with my dick. Hannah had already made me smile and took my mind off everything that brought me to a dark place after my marriage was ripped apart. My rage settled when I landed a right hook on my former best friend’s jaw, but it didn’t make me feel any better about it. I wanted to do a whole lot more than just knock him off his feet, but it took two people to cheat—he wasn’t the only one that betrayed me. I sure as fuck wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life behind bars for either of them. Just like I wasn’t going to let Hannah look back on her first time as a huge mistake.

  “Do you want to watch a movie or something?” Hannah walked into the living room and picked up her wine cooler off the table.

  “Sure.” I looked up at her and nodded. “We can still have fun—I like spending time with you.”

  “I like spending time with you too.” Instead of the beautiful smile, I got a forced one.

  I probably ruined the rest of the time I’ll get to spend with her because of that kiss, but I don’t regret it—even if I can’t let it go further than that.

  We both seemed to like the mystery movie from the night before, so I picked one that didn’t look like it had any hint of romance—it was more of a thriller. I figured that was for the best. I saw how she squirmed when the sex scene came on during the last one we watched. I didn’t want to make the tension between us worse than it already was by forcing her to sit through another one. Things seemed to slowly return to normal after about thirty minutes. We joked about the plot, who we thought could be responsible based on the information that was presented and started eating more junk food. Unfortunately, while the movie didn’t have romantic undertones, it wasn’t totally clean—I realized that when the main character walked into a strip club and asked if his favorite girl was available for a private show.

  “Maybe we should try to find something on the Disney channel,” I chuckled under my breath and reached for my beer.

  “It’s fine.” She shrugged and took a sip from her wine cooler. “You ever been to a place like that?”

  “My friends managed to get me into one for my bachelor party.” I nodded. “My best friend knew someone that bent the rules.”

  Long before he was fucking the bride—I think…

  “Wow, how old were you when you got married?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “Seventeen.” I shook my head back and forth. “Way too young—but we wanted to be married when our daughter was born.”

  “Damn.” She blinked in surprise.

  “Well that didn’t happen at my bachelor party.” My eyes were pulled to the screen when the dancer in the club slid between the guy’s legs and started giving him a blowjob. “We can really find something else…”

  “It doesn’t bother me—seriously.” She took another sip of her wine cooler. “This is almost empty and it’s warm. Are you ready for another beer?”

  “Sure.” I nodded. “I won’t pause it unless it gets to something that matters to the plot.”

  Watching this guy get his dick sucked while they push the boundary of the rating system certainly isn’t…

  Hannah went to the kitchen and grabbed another round of drinks. When she sat back down on the couch, she moved a lot closer to me than she was before. I decided not to call attention to something that was obviously intentional. My head was a mess. I had a gorgeous sorority girl practically begging me to take her virginity, and I was pushing her away—even though the kiss we shared was seared into my thoughts. I wanted more. Just tasting her breath and feeling her lips against mine was enough to make my cock throb, but sex came with complexities she didn’t understand yet. She would be nothing but a memory when the sun came up. I just had to make it that long without putting both hands on her gorgeous curves—again.

  “I think this guy really likes the girl at the strip club.” Hannah sipped her wine cooler and raised an eyebrow. “This is the third time he’s been to see her in less than a week.”

  “I think he likes something she offers.” I chuckled under my breath.” Do you think she’s going to end up being the villain in the black mask?”

  “Nah, that’s too obvious. Maybe they’ll run off together and make beautiful babies after he figures out who the killer is.” Hannah shrugged.

  I’m not so sure about that…

  My theory turned out to be right, and in the weirded twist ever, the detective investigating the murder apparently had a hunch—which was why he kept going back to the strip club. We both thought the ending was a little dark and decided to try a comedy to cleanse our palette. I got another round of drinks before we started the movie, and when I returned, I noticed that Hannah had slid a little closer to where I was sitting. She was so close that I could have sat in her original spot and been further away than I was when I returned to my seat. I didn’t want to say anything—the subject had finally been retired—but she wasn’t making it any easier. I started to wonder if the wine coolers were a bad idea, but they were practically water, so I doubted they were giving her much of a buzz—the whole six pack had less alcohol than a couple shots of straight whiskey.

  Thank god she didn’t pick something stronger…

  “This is what I needed. That last movie was too intense.” Hannah smiled and shifted on the couch—moving just a little bit closer to me.

  “Yeah, I’m not a big fan of comedies, but this one isn’t bad.” I nodded and side-eyed Hannah as she settled into her new spot.

  She developed a fairly imperfect system of laughing, scooting closer, and pretending that she wasn’t doing a damn thing. Maybe the alcohol was going to her head, or she thought I didn’t notice the fact we were almost touch—I most certainly n
oticed. The movie was funny, but not enough to bring out the kind of laughter that rolled off her lips. She laughed so hard that she actually fell to the side when she scooted so close that her ass hit the curve that my body left in the couch cushion. Her head hit my shoulder, and she just left it there—then she snuggled in like she was trying to get comfortable. I had done my best to ignore it, but if she was any closer, she would be sitting in my damn lap.

  “What are you doing, Hannah?” I sighed and tilted my head towards her.

  “Will you just hold me?” She blinked a couple of times. “Please?”

  I should say no…

  “Okay.” I nodded and put my arm around her.

  So much for resistance.

  It felt so damn good to hold her in my arms—it didn’t just feel good—it felt natural. It felt so right that I hated it because that made it harder for me to want to pull away. Once she claimed her spot, she continued drinking her wine cooler and reached for a bag of chips. We shared them, which resulted in a few crumbs on my pants that she wiped away and I couldn’t resist doing the same. It felt like the heat in my entire body had been cranked up by several degrees. I was practically feverish—struggling to keep my head where it needed to be—while she played me like a fucking fiddle. By the time we finished the movie, she was firmly nestled against me with a hand resting on my thigh.

  “Another one?” She looked up at me.

  “I think we need to get some food—real food.” I sighed and pulled my arm away as I leaned forward. “I’ve had so much grease today I’m going to be sick if I eat another chip.”

  “There might be some pizza left.” She sipped her wine cooler and shrugged.

  “That’s worse than chips. I need something with vegetables.” I sighed. “Let me see what delivers.”