“Caleb…” Her voice breaks.
“Come for me, Amara. Come for me…” I groan, curling my finger.
Just as I flick my tongue over her sensitive flesh again, a car door slams outside. Panic surges through me like ice water.
“It’s Poppy.” I scramble off the bed and rush to the window, peering out. My heart races when I see her slight frame silhouetted against the fading light—she’s home early and she’s crying.
“Fuck!”
I whirl back to Amara. “Hide for a while!”
She glances at me, sadness flashing in those beautiful blue eyes. “It’s okay. I’ll sneak out the back.”
“Sorry.”
She shakes her head as anxiety sets in again. “It’s fine.”
“You parked your car on the side street?”
She nods. “Of course. Dom might just happen to drive past.”
“Clever girl.” My voice lowers to a whisper as desperation tugs at my insides. “Video call me later. I want to watch you come apart for me again.”
“I’m supposed to come back at seven,” she replies hesitantly.
My face flushes with embarrassment as reality settles back over us like a heavy blanket. “Let me find out what’s wrong with Poppy first.”
“Okay,” Amara says.
Poppy’s voice pierces through the air as she calls out, “Dad!”
I lean down and press a soft kiss against Amara’s lips, an apology woven into every touch. But somehow, the way she is looking at me, I don’t think it’s enough.
14
Amara
I slam my cardoor and rev the engine, tires screeching as I peel out of the side street next to Caleb’s street. My hands grip the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.
“Fuck you, Professor Miles.” The words taste bitter in my mouth.
A sedan cuts me off, and I lay on the horn, my anger finding a new target. “Learn to drive, asshole!”
My phone buzzes. Another message from SweetJustice lights up the screen:
FINAL WARNING. GET THE INFO OR EVERYONE SEES WHO YOU REALLY ARE.
Fuck my life!
I open my mouth and let out the loudest scream.
But my anger has turned into something else.Fear.
As I pull into the road I live on, I blink back the tears that are threatening to storm down my face.
“Think—” I hiss to myself.
The house looms before me, all glass and modern angles.
