The thought of bending her over the couch and spanking her ass before I fuck it hits me full force. My cock stiffens.Jesus Christ.
My hard-on gets harder at the thought of an Avery hate-fuck.
I take the stairs slowly, my palm tingling to smack her ass. It’s been a long time since I’ve played dirty games with a beautiful girl. Lately, I’ve been too busy for anything more than a quick fuck with a parade of pretty coeds.
The gun goes into a living room console table. Opening the door carries in a cool wind and a view of the girl who destroyed my home life.
“Hear me out,” she says quickly. “I promise I won’t take more than five minutes to explain why I’m here.”
My gaze rakes over her. Perversely, I like the female Clark Kent persona she’s adopted the past year. It followed on the heels of the insane boyish short haircut after the “unfortunate incident.” Under the placid surface, she’s a lunatic of course. And that’s inherited, of course. But I’m not interested in listening to her bang on my door all day. Especially not when I might do something more interesting with her.
“What’s in it for me?” I ask, applying the same bored tone I always use with her when simply ignoring her is not an option.
“Does something really have to be in it for you to have a conversation with a member of your family?”
“You’re not family. And yeah, in this case, there does need to be something in it for me.”
“You need to let it go. Nothing even happened to you. Not really.”
My blood, which was simmering slowly, starts to truly boil. “That’s not the approach to take if you want to get into my place. Try again.”
Her expression goes back to looking cautious. “I don’t know what you want from me. Money? I don’t have any to spare. I’m not taking an allowance from them because I want to be independent like you are.”
Is that supposed to move me? Any money she and her gold-digging mother have comes from my dad, including the money that pays for Avery’s tuition, her clothes, and her meal plan. She’s not exactly destitute. Last I knew, all Avery has to do to get money from my dad is ask.
When I don’t answer, she waves a hand to push that aside. “Please let me in.”
“Why should I?”
“Are you really this heartless?” she asks softly, and her eyes take on a sheen. She is so much her mother’s daughter right now, turning on the tears to get what she wants. My dad caves every time. I don’t, which she should know.
“What do you want in exchange for hearing me out?”
“You can scrub my bathrooms and do my laundry.” It’s not what I really want, but it should be enough to run her off.
Avery blinks and then looks surprised. After a moment, her head bobs in a nod. “Yeah, I can do that.”
She earns points for not whining or acting outraged. In my dad’s house, the maid comes every day. No one touches laundry except her.
I have a cleaning lady here too, but I only have her in the house once a week. I don’t want her around when I’m expecting shipments that I don’t want seen.
I draw in a breath and exhale, then I step aside. Avery comes in, sets her duffel next to the console table, and looks at me. Pointing at the couch, I get hit with my second flash of the day of her lying on it naked.
Avery sits without hesitation. Either she doesn’t recognize the couch or doesn’t place any significance on the role it played in our demise.
“You know about Casanova?” she asks.
“Of course.”
Everyone knows about the disappearing girls and the mysterious asshole who’s been taking them. The word is that a light purple rose was found in a copy of Casanova’s memoir left at the scene of the first abduction.
I assume he’s a rapist. Gotta be. What else would a man want with pretty young women? One thing’s for sure, his acts have wreaked devastation far and wide. Missing girls, distraught families, and a campus that’s on edge. We’ve all felt the fallout.
“Last night, there was a lavender rose in my dorm room. No other girls got one. Just me.”
My brows rise. Did the fucking degenerate actually target my stepsister?
“No one’s ever said anything about him leaving a rose as a threat.” Raking my eyes over her, I decide she’s fine. “I thought he leaves the rose when he takes them?”
