"Fine, wear black," I said. "But when you do it, do it in jeans and a t-shirt. If I can see your bra or your panties, the answer is no. Even the bra straps. If you try, I will come in here and take those clothes out of your closet. You can wear them when you're with your mother, but that's when you can't hang out with Zeke anyway. Give. Me. The. Lipstick!"
"Fine!" she squealed, grabbing the tube off her dresser and throwing it at me. "I just want to be cool, Dad. All my friends listen to metal, and pink doesn't go with that. I don't care about the skirt! I just wanted to fit in with myfriend!"
"You're the one who picked Lilac," I reminded her. "Zeke likes you because you're fun, not because you wear the same things he does."
"But I want to, and you're supposed to let me," she snapped. "You're supposed to be the cool one, and now you're acting just like Mom. I don't want to be the fat, ugly friend. I want Olivia to bescaredof me. I want to stop looking and dressing like a baby. I'm a teenager now, and you were supposed to let me!"
"Too bad, cupcake," I said, shoving the lipstick into my pocket. "Starting your period doesn't mean you're old enough to run around half naked. Oh, and expect to have a little fashion show in the morning, because Iwillcome check before I let you out the door. If I find out you went behind my back, you won't just be grounded from Zeke, but from all your makeup, your phone, your tablet, and everything else. The eyeliner is fine." And I turned around, left the room, and closed the door behind me a little too hard.
Then I dropped against the wall outside her room and tried to catch my breath. What the fuck was Meredith thinking? What the hell was my daughterdoing?She was a good kid! I didn't care if she wore black. I cared that she looked like she was trying to get fucked - and she wasthirteen!
No, this was where I put my foot down. This was the line I was not willing to cross. I had been more than understanding with her, but this was too much. My little girl was still alittle girl,and I was the one who had to make sure she didn't lose that. I was the one who got to explain to her how the real world worked, and this? Oh, it was not it.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Luke told me about Faith's tantrum and then he asked for advice. Sadly, I didn't really have any. He was right. He'd said she could wear black, but from the sounds of what he'd seen, there was no reason for her mother to have bought such things. "Becoming a woman" was a really shitty excuse, and my gut said it had more to do with trying to set him up. Luke said the shirt was more like a corset. Granted, he called it a bustier, but the description more closely matched a corset. The skirt had been provocative.
And yet, I kinda understood where the girl was coming from. Faith wanted to fit in with her only friend. Zeke listened to metal, his color was black, and the boy wore eyeliner. Luke said that was why he'd only taken the lipstick. He couldn't say it was ok on Zeke and not Faith without being sexist. I was a little proud of him for seeing that, in all honesty. Plus, Luke hated telling his daughter no. He had no interest in being the bad guy, and yet he would if it was what was best for her.
So he'd said he was sleeping in his room, just to make sure she couldn't try to sneak something out at night or pull some other trick. He was also planning to leave his door open, just to be sure she understood that he was serious. So I worked a few more hours. Southwind was starting to come together. The power was all installed, and when the contractors came back tomorrow, they were going to turn it on. The batteries had been given all weekend to charge. If that worked, then the air conditioners would be put in, which would handle heating and cooling. After that, I'd start lining up vendors to handle all the little things, and we'd be in the final stages.
It was late when I finally headed up to bed. Surprisingly, the door to my room was closed. I opened it, half expecting to find Luke lying in there, but it wasn't him. Instead, the shower was running and Ash's clothes were on my bathroom floor. I'd thought he'd gone to bed a while ago, but clearly I was wrong.
So, I locked the door and got ready for bed. My makeup came off, moisturizer went on, and then I ended with a cute little satin nighty. My bed now had clean sheets, and when I slipped into them, I sighed with happiness. There was something so nice about a fresh bed with clean sheets and thick, fluffy pillows. I snuggled in and started to relax when the shower turned off. A moment later, the scent of shampoo and body wash made me open my eyes.
Ash stood at the door to the bathroom, drying himself off. "All alone?" he asked.
"Oh, were you hoping for my boyfriend?" I teased.
"Heard Faith yelling earlier," he admitted. "His door's open, so I didn't want to head that way. Stole your shower instead."
Reaching the towel over his shoulder to get his back, Ash moved closer. My eyes immediately dropped, taking in his chest, the lean muscles of his abs, and the sexy creases at his hips that I loved so much. Then there was his dick, quickly growing harder.
"Oh, I think you're having some bad thoughts," I murmured.
He looked over at the clock. "It's two in the morning. Think anyone's awake?"
"Nope, the whole floor was quiet," I assured him, flipping back the blankets in a clear invitation.
He just dropped his towel and crawled his way toward me. "Violet, I love those two men, but there's one thing we all agree on. You are completely irresistible." Then he leaned in to claim my mouth.
I caught the back of his head, pulling him even closer. "You just have to be quiet," I reminded him. "No creaking bed."
"I can deal with that."
Then his hand grabbed my wrist, pulling it away from his head just to pin it against the mattress. When he moved for my other arm, I didn't even try to resist. I simply watched him, waiting for the kiss I knew would come next, and it did. His mouth took mine, plundering it with his tongue.
There was something a little wild about being with Ash, as if the simplest things suddenly were lit up with neon. I kissed back, making it clear that I wanted even more, and he kicked the covers out of the way. A moment later, his naked body settled between my legs.
"Looks like you got all dressed up for no reason," he taunted, letting me go just to reach for the waistband of my panties.
I lifted my ass and he pulled, waiting for me to bend my knees so he could get them all the way off. He tossed them toward my mirror, not bothering to look and see where they landed. Then he leaned in, but this time he wasn't aiming for the lips on my mouth.
I felt his tongue, hot and demanding as he licked right across my clit. My knees fell open, his arms slid under them, and he began to devour me. His tongue thrust into my body, teasing me higher, and then he moved to suck on that hard knot of nerves. Not making a sound was the hardest thing I'd ever done.
This man knew my body. He knew just how I liked everything, and we'd been together so many times, but each one felt better than the last. The moment my hips began to twitch, he slid two fingers into me and made it even better. His hand thrust, his mouth sucked, and I didn't even try to hold off.
There was nothing sweet and gentle about loving Ash, not even when he tried. It was always passion and excitement. He tormented my body until I was breathless, moaning his approval each time I bucked into his mouth, but that hand never stopped. Nor did his mouth, and my core was starting to flutter. My body jerked, so damned close that I could only think about keeping my mouth shut, and then he began to flick his tongue quickly across my clit, the hardened tip pressing just right.
