Chapter One
Miles
My wife, Leigh, left a gaping hole in our family the moment she lost her mind and bailed. We’d been close—so I thought—until the night she tearfully told me that she “couldn’t do this anymore.” What she’d meant was she wasn’t fit to be a wife and mother. Her free spirit was tired of being tied down. The devastation was crushing because she not only left me but she left me along with our eight-year-old son, Caleb. She abandoned us.
That was ten years ago.
For a decade, I’ve tried to provide what I could for my son. A loving home. A lifestyle where he hurts for nothing. Freedom to spread his wings and discover who he is without pushing him from the nest altogether. Yet despite my desire to keep him happy, he’s not. At least...not until recently. For weeks now, my boy has begun to smile again at home. He even confides in me.
His girlfriend, Olivia Rowe, is all he talks about.
Babbles on about how beautiful and popular she is.
Talks about wanting to lose his virginity to her.
My chest has been swelling with pride that my son feels as though he can talk to me about these things. I gave him the manly talk about using protection and how to treat a girl right. We’d been drifting apart since the moment Leigh left us to do God only knows what. But now, he and I are finding some solid ground again. I’m no longer an embarrassment to him.
I can hear the music from the party downstairs all the way in my bedroom but it isn’t obnoxious. I’m used to these things; I own a club. I’ve started letting Caleb have parties here at the house. I figure I can keep a better eye on him that way. I’m starting to settle into a friend zone with my son and honestly, I’m okay with that. It’s better than the silent treatment and resentment he used to hold for me. I know our sudden change in relationship is all because of her.
Olivia.
She’s softened him and changed him for the better.
When I finally meet this girl, I’m going to hug her neck and tell her thank you.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, dragging me from my thoughts. I need to finish getting dressed but clearly I’m distracted tonight. I shrug on my dress shirt but don’t button it just yet.
We going to Club Orj-E tonight? I need to get laid.
I scratch at my wiry beard as I tap out a response to Drew.
Not tonight. Caleb is having a party.
His reply is immediate.
This whole getting closer with your kid shit is annoying...
I smile and can almost see his stupid-ass grin typing it.
Whatever, asshole. See you in twenty.
I send him the middle finger emoji before tucking my phone away. I’m about to head downstairs to wait for him when I hear something.
“Oh, Caleb,” a young woman says, her sweet voice trailing off into a whimper that has my hair standing on end. “Don’t tear my clothes off me! Don’t hold me down! “
Ice runs through my veins.
What the fuck is my son doing?
Charging toward the door, I barely suppress the growl that’s threatening to escape me. Surely, I’ve misheard. But I swear to God if my boy is hurting some girl, all friend bullshit flies out the window and I’m going to parent the fuck out of him. I fling my bedroom door open and it crashes against the wall.
Two girls stare at me with wide eyes. One is on the short side but I couldn’t even tell you what she looks like because my gaze is on the taller one. The fucking gorgeous one. I’m momentarily stunned by her soft, sweet features. The urge to lean forward and inhale her is so sudden. Fierce and animalistic. I quickly push those thoughts from my mind.
“Where is he?” I demand, my chest heaving. “Did he hurt you?”
The tall brunette with big tits gapes at me, embarrassment causing her high cheeks to burn bright red. Her plump lips are parted and fuck if my dick doesn’t twitch at seeing them. I’ve been immediately attracted to chicks before but this one is intense—unlike any before. The desire to touch her silky hair is almost embarrassing.
“Huh?” she asks, her voice a husky whisper that reverberates through every cell of my body.
“Was Caleb out here forcing himself on you?” I repeat again, trying desperately not to look at her jiggling tits.
“Oh,” the short girl says. “She was just playing around.”
I glower at the beautiful one. “Who the fuck pretends about that?”
The short one is feisty too, because she intervenes. “Dude. It was just a silly fantasy. Calm down. We’re just looking for the bathroom.”
I take a step toward the tall girl and wonder what she tastes like. Her scent is sweet and I lean in to inhale her. God, she smells fucking amazing.
“There’s one in my room. Come in,” I murmur.
The two girls exchange a look but then the tall one lifts her chin and reveals her slender neck. That would look pretty as fuck with some of my markings too.
Jesus. I need to get a hold of myself.
Since when am I into eighteen-year-old chicks?
Never. The answer is never. I like them older and experienced. I’m not a fucking babysitter in the bedroom.
I motion them to follow me into my room when she speaks.
“Um, I’m Olivia,” she chirps. “You are?”
I freeze at her words. All the blood rushing to my cock ceases to flow as realization sets in. I stop mid-stride and turn to glare at her in confusion. “You’re Caleb’s new girlfriend, Olivia?”
I’m staring at her pale neck again, fixated on her creamy flesh when she speaks. “Yeah.”
With gritted teeth, I force myself to be polite and extend a hand to her. “I’m his dad. Miles Reynolds.” Her skin is soft and I hate how much I love having her hand in my grip. I’m a bastard because I don’t want to let go. Reluctantly, I do.
The short one starts babbling. “But you’re so... And he’s so...”
My nostrils flare. I know Caleb resembles his mother. He’s like her in every way. I don’t need the fucking reminder. “I guess I don’t follow,” I lie with a grumble.
Olivia, clearly embarrassed by her friend, interjects. “Nothing. Thank you, um, Mr. Reynolds, for letting me use your bathroom.” She drags her friend in with her and closes the door.
I stand there with my hands on my hips trying to process what just happened. My dick was hard in my pants for my son’s goddamned girlfriend. Fucking unbelievable.
The two girls are babbling inside the bathroom but I’m too stressed out to latch onto what they’re saying. I run my fingers through my messy hair in frustration. Of course my son would date a drop-dead gorgeous girl. He’s my son, after all. I just didn’t think I’d react to her the way I did. This is wrong on so many levels.
You’re a villain.
That’s what Leigh used to tell me all the time when she’d get pissed at me. She accused me of lots of things that I wasn’t. The woman lived in a fantasy world where apparently, I was the bad guy. This bad guy had to pick up the pieces and create a new happily ever after for the son the perfect princess left behind.
“Your ass is a filthy come Dumpster—”
I’m yanked from all thoughts of Leigh the moment I hear moans and over-the-top dirty talk. Are they watching porn in my bathroom? This should piss me off—and frankly, it kind of does—but what pisses me off most is that my dick is hard again, imagining my son’s girlfriend watching it. What the hell is wrong with me?
I jerk the door open and both girls gape at me, horrified.
“Everything okay in here?” I demand, my gaze flitting over to Olivia. Her entire face and throat are bright red. It’s cute and I want to haul her into my arms so I can hold her until the embarrassment fades. Another thing I don’t do. I don’t cuddle, dammit. But right now, I want to cuddle the fuck out of her.
“Just two girls doing girl things,” the smartass short girl sasses as she drags Olivia out of the bathroom with her.
Like a viper, I can’t help but seize Olivia’s arm. I wish it were my teeth on her instead of my fingers. My dick twitches when she yelps. I lower my lips to the shell of her ear and drop my voice to a whisper. “You should really be careful where you watch your porn. One day, it might invite villains to your doorstep, damsel. I don’t think a sweet girl like yourself can handle that.”
My words are meant to threaten her—to warn her about luring men like me. Villains. But she flashes me a heat-filled look that has confusion flickering through me before her friend drags her away.
I stand in place as I try to make sense of my encounter with my son’s girlfriend. Not only is she too young, but she’s also not mine. If she were with Drew or any of my other guy friends, I’d have no qualms about going after her. But my own kid? I can’t betray him...not after all the progress we’ve made. No matter how fucking tempting she is. I try not to focus on the fact that I haven’t reacted to a woman like this for as long as I can remember. Women are a means to pleasure. They don’t make your heart feel as though it’s going to rip right from your chest.
A knock on my door has me jolting in surprise. Elation surges through me as I wonder if she came back to talk some more. I could sure stare at those supple lips awhile longer. That’s not a fucking crime is it?
When I sling the door open, Drew Hamilton grunts at me in greeting. He’s still dressed in a polo and khakis. Ever since he opened his physical therapy practice, he works more hours than I do. I hardly ever see him anymore and when I do, he comes straight from the office.
“Who’s upstairs?”
“Nobody should be up there. Caleb knows everyone’s supposed to stay on the first floor.”
He turns and looks down the hallway. “I heard shouting. Sounded like a man shouting at some girls.”
Snarling like a beast, I storm toward the stairwell. Drew, just like he has since high school and college, has my back and is hot on my heels. I’m just stomping through the stairwell door on the third floor when I hear a man yelling.
“You little bitch. You told them I penetrated you with my fingers. Little liar. If I penetrated you, you’d know it.”
I see red the moment I realize some prick has my son’s girlfriend pushed against the wall by her throat. His other hand starts up her skirt but I’m already stalking toward him. He won’t touch her as long as I have anything to do about it. I yank the fucker away from her and slam him to the ground.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
I get three brutal punches on the asshole before Drew manages to pull me away. The moment I’m back on my feet, I assess Olivia to make sure she’s okay. I can sense Drew’s confusion about the whole thing so I blurt out my explanation. “Caleb’s girlfriend.”
Her green eyes are wide and terrified. It makes me want to pull her into my arms. To stroke her silky brown hair as I murmur that everything is going to be okay. I settle for cradling her face in my palms. God, her smooth skin is fucking perfect.
“Are you okay?” I ask gently.
She nods but her bottom lip trembles. In another life, I’d kiss that lip to keep it calm.
I’m about to ask her more questions but then her short friend is stealing her from me. The instant loss that quakes through me is shocking. I’ve barely known Olivia and I can’t help but crave her.
I shouldn’t follow her but I can’t help myself. Like a heat-seeking missile, I charge after her. Drew is wisely silent behind me. I’m sure I’ll get berated later but he doesn’t say a word now.
Once we’re downstairs, I find her in Caleb’s arms. It’s a sobering reminder that she belongs to him. My son. Not me.
“You got her?”
“I do.” He gives me a fierce, clipped nod.
My heart sinks but I swallow down my frustrations. I harden my glare. “I have to take care of some asshole upstairs.”
As I storm through the house, I crack my neck as I prepare to beat the shit out of whoever the fuck is on my third floor.
“After you fuck up the child molester upstairs, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?” Drew demands as we trot up the stairs.
“I want to fuck my son’s girlfriend,” I spit. “That answer your question?”
He exhales loudly. “Forget I even asked.”