The way Harper was biting down on her bottom lip as she nodded—open and vulnerable to me—almost brought me to my knees. She wanted me to stay too, but I knew she wouldn’t say it again. I couldn’t take the melancholy way her shoulders dipped; she couldn’t think I was leaving because I didn’t wanther.
It was because I wanted her so intensely that I had to leave.
Swallowing hard, I stepped into her space. She didn’t back away, didn’t try to put something between us. Her lips parted as she gazed up at me, waiting.
“Thank you for dinner...and thank you for him.” I paused, the rest of my words caught on the lump of regret that seemed permanently lodged in my throat. “You did an amazing job raising him, no thanks to me.”
“Cal,” Harper’s voice was pained, and she closed her eyes—trying to squeeze back the tear that escaped anyway. I lifted my hand, brushing it away with a tenderness I’ve only ever felt for her. The fact that I caused a ceaseless ache in her gutted me.
When she opened her eyes to look at me, and I saw the ache within their chocolate depths, I couldn’t help myself. I lowered my head, capturing those lips in a slow kiss, my hand falling to rest at her hip. Showing her the things I couldn’t say, I poured them into this kiss, my fingers pressing into her flesh, seeking warmth.
Harper’s arms wrapped around my shoulders, her fingers tangling in the short hairs at the nape of my neck as my arms fully encased her. Each scrap of her nails against my skull made the need I felt for her grow exponentially until there wasn’t room for anything but desire.
Our lips and tongues feasted on one another with a hunger that had gone unchecked for close to a decade. My cock pressed against my zipper, straining to get closer to her, and I couldn’t help but tug her against me.
“Please, Cal,” she whispered. Her voice had changed, the pain and regret gone, leaving it husky with need and surrender.
“You have no idea how close I am to losing the one thread of control I have left,” I murmured, unable to pull my eyes off hers. “You have no idea how badly I want to push into you and hear you say my name just like that.” I couldn’t help the involuntary urge to rut against her.
“Why don’t you?” She asked breathlessly, her chest rising and falling with frantic, hurried and affected breaths, which caused her breasts to rub tantalizingly against my chest.
I brought my free hand up to brush the hair out of her face and frame it. “Because the next time I’m inside you, it’ll be once I’ve won you back forever, and I haven’t done that—yet.”
She inhaled sharply, her eyes widening with surprise. Harper wanted me—she may even still love me, but she still didn’t trust me. She was still scared, she still thought I would leave again. Before I took her, I needed her to trust me unequivocally. I needed to see it in her eyes, the way I had before.
Unable to help myself, I kissed her once more. A gentle taste and tease of my lips against hers, before pulling away. “Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Harper’s fingers brushed against her swollen lips as she watched me slide my feet into my boots and slip into my coat. Sending another longing glance her way, I opened the door and stepped outside, hesitating for a moment before pulling it shut behind me.
The cold early April evening air snapped me out of the lustful haze, and I shoved my hands in my coat pocket. Finding the key fob, I pulled it out and hit unlock.
The headlights flashed on the 2019 Jeep Wrangler I’d bought earlier that morning. I figured if I was staying for longer than the original five days, I’d need a more practical vehicle. One that didn’t announce who I was to the entire coast.
It was sleek and black—and safe, too. I walked down the gravel driveway and opened the door, climbing behind the wheel. Instead of starting it immediately, I sat in Harper’s driveway for a few minutes, processing the night.
Tap tap. Startled, I turned and saw Harper’s dad standing beside the Jeep. He stood aside so I could open the door and join him in the gravel driveway.
Jack Morrison used to terrify the crap out of me. He loved his family deeply, and he had never really trusted me. I was used to the girls’ fathers’ I dated not liking me, but for some reason—Jack’s opinion had always mattered to me. Probably because Harper thought the world of him, and if he thought I wasn’t worth it…I wasn’t.
It turned out that he’d been right about that, I hadn’t been, and Jack had to hate me for what I’d put Harper through.
“Calum.” He said coldly, by way of greeting.
“Mr. Morrison. It’s good to see you.” I spoke politely, inclining my head.
“I wish I could say the same.” Jack retorted gravely as he appraised me with a critical eye.
Inwardly, I sighed. I had a lot of people to answer to, and it was draining the ever-living shit out of me, but it had to be done. “Look—“
“I don’t want your excuses and explanations, Calum. What I want is your assurance that it willneverhappen again. You will not hurt my daughter, and you will not hurt my grandson.”
A breath tumbled out from my lips, and my eyes went to the house before turning back to Harper’s dad.
“It will never happen again, Sir,” I said this while meeting his unforgiving glare with candor. I had nothing to hide. He studied me for several drawn-out seconds before nodding.
“All right. We’re good here.” Jack declared, and without another word, he was turning and walking back down the street. I watched until he turned into a driveway six houses down the street and disappeared into the garage. Sparing one more longing look at the yellow house, I opened the door and climbed back inside the Jeep. Wasting no time, I started it and put it in reverse.
I drove around aimlessly for a bit, trying to rid myself of the restlessness I felt stirring in me before returning to my parents’ house.
