“I’ll give you a ride to campus,” I say, rocking back on my heels. I’d told her I was going to arrange for a car. I didn’t tell her it was my car.
“Okay,” she says breathily. “Thank you. I’ll just grab my things.”
I meet her in the foyer, and the elevator ride down is quiet. Tension hums in the air around us, just like it did upstairs in my penthouse. She stands close enough to me that when she moves, I catch her scent. I’m not sure if it’s her perfume, or her shampoo, but it’s floral and soft.
I clench my jaw and stare straight ahead, willing the elevator to move faster.
My driver and Town Car are waiting at the curb when we step out of the lobby and into the fresh, early spring air. I hold the rear passenger side door open for her, and she slides in. I try to ignore the way her dress rides up her ample thighs as she does. I shouldn’t be staring at her thighs and imagining how they’d look bruised up from my fingers. I shouldn’t be getting turned on at the way she smells.
I feel like a rope, fraying bit by bit as I go back and forth—being attracted to Camryn, and pushing those thoughts away, over and over.
I slide in beside her and tell the driver to take us to campus first. He nods and puts the partition up before he pulls away from the curb. I wish he hadn’t done that. I could tell him to lower it back down, but I don’t want to do anything to give away what a mess I am over my stepdaughter.
Former stepdaughter, I remind myself. As if that’s somehow supposed to make everything I’m thinking and feeling less depraved.
Camryn smooths her fingers over the hem of her dress, her knee bouncing slightly. I glance over at her and find that she’s already looking at me, her eyes flicking away the second they meet mine again. Then back again.
Like she can’t help herself.
I don’t look away this time. It’s like a jolt of electricity goes through me every single time our gazes collide.
She huffs out a breath and pulls her phone out, scrolling through TikTok, which she continues to do until we arrive at the main university gates. The car rolls to a stop, and she reaches for the door handle, but I stop her with a hand on her wrist.
Fuck. I shouldn’t have touched her. She’s so warm. So soft.
“I’ll be back at one,” I say. “I’ll meet you right here.”
She nods, eyes flicking down to where I’m still touching her. Her chest rises and falls, pink spots appearing on her cheeks. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you later.”
Then she’s out of the car, generous hips swaying as she walks away. I watch her go, my fingers tingling from that momentary skin-to-skin contact.
The car starts to pull away as I see multiple guys watching Camryn as she passes. They stare at her, open lust in their eyes. Male heads swivel in her direction as she moves through the gates, and ice forms in my stomach.
I’m jealous. I’m possessive and protective over a girl I shouldn’t want. A girl I can’t have.
I am so utterly, completely fucked.
Five
Jacob
It feels as though time is moving backwards. Every time I glance at my watch or the time in the corner of my computer screen, I swear it hasn’t moved. It feels as though one o’clock isn’t ever going to come.
I try to distract myself with work, but my focus is utterly shot this morning. My mind keeps drifting back to how Camryn looked in my kitchen, the sun making a golden halo around her hair. I keep thinking about the way her voice sounds when she says my name. I can’t stop reveling in how damn good it feels to be able to look after her. To support her when she needs a place to stay.
I keep comparing the girl she was to the woman she’s become. She’s grown up. She’s confident and smart and seems so much more comfortable in her skin than she did four years ago.
I’m still a bit in awe that I had a role in that.
“Stop,” I grind out, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes. This is not a road we can go down. It’s inappropriate.Beyond inappropriate. I used to be responsible for her. I used to be a father figure of sorts to her.
It’s wrong how much I want her. Wrong. That’s the word I want echoing through my brain, but it’s quickly drowned out by a never ending peal of want.
Eventually, after what feels like an eternity, the clock hits 12:45, and I’m out of my chair like a kid headed for recess. The Town Car is ready and waiting for me downstairs, and I slide into the backseat. Something discordant is jangling inside of me. Nerves? Anticipation? Something more? I don’t know, because I’m not used to feeling this way. I’m used to feeling calm, in control.
The car pulls into the busy afternoon traffic and we make our way towards campus. It’s not a long drive, but every red light is agony. I want to lean forward, tell the driver to step on it, but I don’t. Just because I’m feeling completely out of control doesn’t mean I need to act it.
When we pull up to the university gate, she’s already there. She’s standing with her bag slung over one shoulder, a couple of books in her arms. She glances in my direction, her face lighting up when she sees the car. A smile spreads across her full lips, and something in my chest loosens. Melts. It’s like watching the sun emerge from behind clouds, bright and warm and a little dazzling.
