“Baby girl, you look so fucking beautiful coming all over my cock.”
She pants out another moan. “C-can we do that again? Only, let’s do it on the bed?”
With a splash of water, I lift us up and out of the tub because, yeah, my baby girl can have whatever the fuck she wants.
SAVY
Igather the pages from the printer and stack them neatly together and hope he won’t think I’m overstepping. With my last final behind me, I had a little time to do some research. I hate how down Beckett has been lately with the thought of going to work for his dad after graduation. Football was such a big part of his life and it’s what he wanted for his future. With his injury, his shot at going pro is over but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to be done with the sport. Thinking about Tate and Jude going to play in the big leagues and Ash joining them as a sports medic made me start to think about what other avenues Beckett could take to be a part of it, to keep him involved.
Hence the research. He’s already got a lot of the course credits he would need to make an easy switch to a sports-based path. I stare down at the papers and chew on my lip. Ultimately, it’s going to be up to Beck to decide what direction he takes. I just wanted to show him some options that he might not have considered.
I grab my bag and fill it with what I need. I have a shift at the library in an hour and then my last shift at the club later tonight and then I’m off for the holiday break. I usually go to whatever house Celeste and Vanessa won’t be in but with all four of the guys staying here or traveling for Bowl games, I thought I might stay too, maybe travel to where they’re playing to watch their game. It would be a lot nicer than wandering around an empty house with just the staff to keep me company.
I leave my room and pop over to Beck’s open door but his room is empty. I can hear the shower running in the main bath so I assume he must be in there. I don’t want to be late for work so I walk in and set the stack of papers on his bed where he won’t be able to miss them and then back out of his room. On my way to the stairs, I catch something that has my blood boiling in an instant.
“Fucking loser…disgusted that you carry my name…better fucking perform…money riding on that game…”
It’s not my business. I have no right to interfere but my little-used temper goes nuclear hearing such foul abuse and I’m pushing open Tate’s bedroom door before I even know it. He’s sitting on the side of his bed bowed over with his head in his hands. His cell phone is laying next to him on the bed on speaker with his father spewing abuse from it. I stomp over before he even notices I’ve come in and snatch it up, whirl and stomp out of the room back to mine and slam the door, flipping the lock just as Tate starts to yell.
“Savy! Fuck! Savy! What are you doing?”
I rush across the room, step into my closet, and shut the door behind me in the hope what I have to say to this man will be muffled enough that Tate can’t hear it.
“Mr. Valor!” I snap, cutting off the man on the other end of the line mid-rant. “My name is Savanah Sevan, you might recognize my last name. It’s the name on the side of the stadium your son plays football in. This is the second time I’ve overheard you verbally abusing your son and it ends now or I will use my considerable wealth and resources to end your life as you know it. I will force your pitiful little company into the ground and buy it for peanuts and then I will sell it off to the lowest bidder piece by piece and then I will do everything in my power to bankrupt you personally. I will set my dogs loose on you and destroy every bit of your reputation until you are a pariah and an outcast. People will mock, laugh and shun you. Do you believe that the Sevan name and fortune is capable of doing everything I just outlined?”
When all I hear is heavy silence coming through the line, I nod as if he can see me.
“No answer? Good. That means you are taking me seriously. Now let me make myself clear so there’s no misunderstanding between us. You will NOT call your son again until after draft day. He is under a tremendous amount of stress and pressure that your version of a ‘pep talk’ only exacerbates. You are not welcome in my stadium and I will be sure to add your name to the security list so you will be barred from attending any away games as well. When I hang up this phone, you will not call Tate and you will not share this conversation with him or there will be repercussions. You will compose a text message apologizing for your behavior, tell him how proud you are of him and all the hard work he’s done to come this far and that you believe he will have an amazing future. Mr. Valor, I need you to tell me you understand and agree to my terms or I will start to make the first of many phone calls aboutyournot so amazing future.”
My fingers bite into the sides of Tate’s phone painfully as I wait to see if his father will accept my bluff. I fucking hate that I had to throw down my real last name, that is something I’ve always refused to trade on but Tate doesn’t deserve any of this asshole’s abuse. When he finally speaks, I hold my breath so he won’t hear it rush out of me in relief.
“Ms. Sevan, I agree to your terms. I…I apologize for what you overheard. I’m just under my own…”
“That will be all, Mr. Valor. No excuse is valid for what you’ve done to your child. Apologize to him…not me!”
I stab the red button so hard that the phone flips from my hand to land face up on the carpet showing me the call has been disconnected. The breath I’ve been holding gushes out of me as I drop my hands down to my knees and gasp for air. My whole body is shaking with adrenaline. I have never spoken to anyone like that and my stomach churns with sickness as I reach a shaking hand down to pick up Tate’s phone. I’ve never threatened anyone before, ever. I might have been bluffing but I know if pushed hard enough, I could make all those threats a reality to protect someone I lov…care about.
A few more deep breaths and I feel steady enough to open the closet and cross to my bedroom door. I give my arms a shake, straighten my shoulders and lift my head and then unlock and open the door. Tate is right there with his arms leaning against the frame and wearing an expression sick with worry. His beautiful hazel eyes have a hint of fear in them as he looks down at the phone in my hand. I step right into him and lift my chin so that I can brush my lips against his.
“You are a fucking star, Tate Valor. I’m so proud of everything you are.”
His brows crash down and he drops a hand to wrap around the back of my neck.
“Baby, what did you do?” He asks in a defeated tone just as his phone chimes in my hand.
I step back, glance down at the display preview long enough to see that his father actually did do as I said and then hold it out to him.
“Here, it’s for you. I’ve got to go. I’m running late for work.”
I slide the phone into his hand, brush a soft kiss on his cheek, and dart past him down the stairs. There will be questions later but I think I’m finally ready to tell them everything.
ASHER
Iclimb the wooden stairs up to the main floor, wipe sweat from my face, and sling the towel around my neck. It’s nice to be off from classes for break so I can have a longer workout than normal. All I’ve got to do today is finish up my Amazon order to send my sisters their Christmas presents and then just flake out until I can go see my Butterfly tonight. It’s the last chance I’ll have to see her until the new year. Masks caters mainly to the university crowd so when the school shuts down so does the club.
I think about the charm bracelet with delicate gold butterflies hanging from it that’s upstairs in my dresser. I had the idea to slide it into her cage tonight with the hopes that it might crack open a door between us. The problem is the second bracelet I bought that is identical except the charms are little tiny gold books. I don’t even know why the fuck I bought it for caterpillar. When I saw it next to the butterfly one, all I could think about was Savy, warm and soft in my arms as she cried and the way she kept apologizing to me.
I shake my head knowing I won’t give either of the frustrating women in my life the gifts and head to the kitchen to make a protein smoothie. I find Jude there leaning over the counter and digging into a pan of coconut dessert bars that Savy made for him. With each bite, he’s moaning like he’s about to blow his load.
