Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 18478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 74(@250wpm)___ 62(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 74(@250wpm)___ 62(@300wpm)
“Nice enough to step in?” she asks, throwing my words back at me. “Are you telling me you have my daughter working as your maid?”
It’s a struggle not to let myself smile. If only she knew what else I had her doing while she was away.
“I agreed to help…” Joan whispers, but Alicia doesn’t even hear her.
“You think you can tell her what to do?”
I’m starting to get pissed off now. Looking past Alicia, I can see Joan trembling, nervously fidgeting her fingers.
Keep your mouth shut, Amon. This isn’t the time.
But I just can’t stop myself.
“Sorry, didn’t you send Joan to a convent because you found a thong in her room while you were snooping?”
Alicia’s eyes go so wide I’m sure they’re going to fall out of her head. I hear my dad whisper something behind me—probably telling me to relax—but I can’t even hear him over Alicia’s screams that follow.
“Don’t you dare question the way I raise my daughter! Do you have children? Do you know what it’s like?”
If she was anyone else, she’d have another think coming right now. But she’s Joan’s mom, and I don’t want to start something that will send our family crumbling into destruction. So I keep my mouth shut and simply go to the kitchen and grab a beer.
I hear the sounds of her voice chattering like a chipmunk as she goes back to Joan, probably to scold her more for something that isn’t her fault. I’m seething inside as I open the fridge.
“Can I get one of those?” Dad asks. He’s giving me a look like he understands, but I can also tell he has something he wants to say.
I hand him a beer and crack mine open on the counter. “Well, what is it?”
“She’s right, you know,” he says simply. “Having your step-sister work as the maid? Questionable at best.”
I shrug and take a swig of my beer. Better to just de-escalate than to turn this into a big argument.
“I’ll find us a real replacement. How’s that?”
Reaching for my cell, I move to pass him, but he places a firm hand on my arm. “That is all that’s been happening, right?”
My chest tightens. He’s looking at me with those eyes he’d give me when I was a kid and he knew I’d broken one of his countless rules.
But he can’t know about what Joan and I have been doing. He hasn’t even been here. And why would he suspect?
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Dad,” I reply, lying my ass off.
I pull my arm back and head for the door. Alicia is still whispering to Joan. Even with her voice hushed, I hear her hiss, “You will be returning to the convent. I am the one you listen to, not him!”
Joan’s eyes flicker to me as I pass, and her mother turns and gives me the death stare. So much for a nice family reunion.
This is bad. Alicia is pissed, and Dad seems to suspect that Joan and I have been up to something—which of course we have.
I motion to her before stepping outside, then go around to the patio and sit. A few minutes later, she appears from the backside of the house.
“I had to sneak out!” she whispers. “Mom’s watching me like a hawk.”
Her eyes are filled with light—an energy that sparks my soul. I rise from my chair and sweep her into my arms, pressing her against the wall as I envelop her lips with mine.
My eyes close as I kiss her, breathe in her scent, and drink in her body with my hands. I can’t get enough. I’ll never get enough.
I feel wetness on her cheek and pull back. Tears spill from her eyes. “She wants to send me away,” she sobs. “Away from…you.”
Shaking my head, I run my fingers through her hair. She’s like a treasure in my arms. How could I live without her warmth? Her scent?
“I won’t let that happen,” I tell her. “You belong to me, Joan.”
Her eyes flutter as she looks up at me. Using my thumb, I wipe away a tear as it falls down her cheek.
“Because I signed the contract?”
I chuckle, my heart beating faster as the connection between us swells. I curl my arm around her and pull her body close.
“No.” I shake my head. “Because I’m the only one who truly understands you.”
“Yes,” she whimpers, more tears pooling in her eyes. “Don’t let her send me back there.”
I lean in and kiss her, savoring the sweetness of her mouth. “I love you, Joan. No one is going to send you away. You’re my little nun. No one else’s.”
She giggles, and I feel myself getting hard against her belly. I need her. Now. But the parents are home now, and the office is full of the staff.
“We’re getting a hotel. I need to have you now.”