My protective instincts kick in, and I stand up straighter. “Did someone hurt you?”
Amber waves a hand without looking at me. “Nothing I won’t survive.”
“Amber.”
“He was just some loser.” She turns to face me, frowning. “I thought when a guy says that he loves you, that he’d mean it. He didn’t. So…” It’s her turn to trail off now, to shrug, the corners of her mouth tugging a little to show just how much this fucking asshole hurt her.
“I know people,” I say, and Amber’s face breaks into a smile. “Just saying.”
“You gonna get your buddies to beat up a college kid for me?”
“If that’s what you want. You just say the word.”
Amber laughs softly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good.” I break the hold her eyes have on mine, and round my desk to sit down. “Now, which books were you wanting? I can’t even remember which ones I suggested.”
“I think they were down here,” Amber says.
“Where?” I look up to see which shelf she’s bent down to reach… And freeze.
Amber Pope, my daughter’s best friend, a fucking twenty-year-old woman, is bent over, legs slightly apart, her skirt ridingup to reveal that sheisn’t wearing panties. And I’m staring at what’s right there, not even 9 feet away from me, pink and soft and smooth. I practically punch myself in the groin, willing the bulge that’s already springing up to disappear. How can I be staring at…
Wait.
Wait.
“Amber,” I say, my voice dropping into a tenor that I haven’t used in some fucking time, and not the tone of voice I should use right fucking now.
She straightens, looking over her shoulder at me, her face the picture of innocence.
“Yes, sir?”
Punching myself in the groin isn’t fucking enough. Why don’t I have a bucket of ice water under my desk?
“Amber, what are you doing?”
“Looking for a book. Why?”
I frown, leaning back in my chair. “A book?”
“Yes, sir.” She turns back to the shelf, and leans back down, bending at the waist, and again her skirt rides up, and again, reveals that sweet, pink pussy. “I’m sure it was right down here.”
That wasn’t an accident.Thatwasn’t a goddamn accident. Amber is bending over in my office and showing herself to me on purpose.
For a moment, I don’t know what to do. I know what Ishoulddo. I’m old enough to be this girl’s father, for god’s sake. I’m better than the caveman instincts that are kicking in, telling me to go over there and drop to my knees, to taste what’s being presented to me. I’m a grown man, I can exercise some self-restraint, and not think about what this girl tastes like, what she feels like, what sounds she’d make when -No, stop it.
I slowly get to my feet, staying securely behind the desk, because I need there to be some barrier between us. If there’s not… Yeah, I don’t need to think about that right now.
“Amber,” I say softly. “Honey, I think you should go.”
She straightens slowly and puts her hands on the shelf. Her shoulders draw up a little as she takes a deep breath.
“You… don’t like me?”
Oh no. No, no, not good. Bad.
“Of course I like you. But-”
