by West, Jade
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what they’d say when they saw me pull up in the driver’s seat. I couldn’t hold back a whole new bloom of a grin.
Time to find out.
I indicated onto my estate and pulled up into our road, and there was Dad on the front lawn, pushing along with the lawnmower. I couldn’t resist beeping the horn, and he heard it over the mower roar, his eyes jolting up to see me pulling onto the driveway.
I put the window down with the engine still running and let out a squeal, and he turned off the mower, heading on over as Mum appeared out on the front porch and came over too.
They were shocked. As shocked as I was. Both of them open-mouthed as they looked from the car, to me, and over to Miles, both of them trying to fathom it.
“It’s my birthday present!” I squealed. “The birthday present from Miles!”
I turned off the engine with shaky fingers, and had to hold back a wince as I jumped up out of that driver’s seat. Miles was getting out the other side, looking so much calmer than me as he came around my side to join us.
“That’s quite a birthday present,” Dad said, and he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were all on Miles.
Miles shrugged, again like it was nothing. “She’s been such a trooper at the office, I figured it would be a good asset to her at university.”
University.
I hated the word right now.
“Still, that’s quite a gift,” Dad said, and Mum put her arm through his. “That’s exceptionally generous, Miles.”
He shrugged again. “A gift I’m extremely happy to give,” he said, and squeezed my arm, only this squeeze was different to everything else this weekend. Totally different.
This squeeze was old Miles saying goodbye to sweet little Faith after a Sunday homework session.
“I’ll be seeing you at work tomorrow,” he said to me, and I nodded.
“Thanks, Miles. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
It sounded so stilted. So weird. Both of us sounded so weird.
And with that he was gone, his hand raised in farewell to both my parents as though it was nothing, and they didn’t stop him, both of them looking completely slammed with shock as I let out another squeal of excitement.
But this excitement was for more than the car. This excitement was for everything. So much of everything I was ready to burst.
Until Dad cleared his throat that is, and pointed at the front door, brows looking heavy.
“Let’s get inside and discuss this more thoroughly,” he said, and Mum nodded too.
Chapter Twenty
Miles
I knew Colin would be visiting me before traditional office opening hours on Monday morning. He came right on through to my office just before eight, and gave my door a token rap before heading on in. I was expecting it. I smiled up at him from the desk without even a hint of surprise.
The look on his face was certainly one of query.
“Are you absolutely sure?” he asked, both of us knowing exactly what the topic was.
I gave him a simple nod. “She’s a great girl, doing a fantastic job here. I wanted to reward her.”
“I’m glad she’s doing well,” he said. “But seriously, Miles, that’s an incredibly generous gift. I really don’t think it can possibly be warranted.”
I shook my head as simply as I’d nodded. “It’s not over generous,” I told him. “She’s earned it.”
I understood his confusion. I’d been subject to my own. My impulse to search for the vehicle in the first place had hit me hard in the aftermath of the birthday party. My desire to present her with something so valuable was a tide in a very turbulent storm, but a valid one. I’d questioned my own sense in such a decision.
Luckily, from the very moment we’d set off for that car dealership, I’d known I’d made the right move. There would never be even a scrap of regret for my purchase, or the altercations from it. One little squeal of her excitement had made ample reward for my generosity.
The reactions of that girl were already quite an addictive scent on the air, calling me on. The pay off in seeing just the tiniest sliver of her excitement was extraordinary. I’d become a Faith Martin happiness junkie in just one tiny weekend.
Colin paced the room with his hands behind his head, trying to digest my assurances.
“I wasn’t going to get her a car,” he said. “She’s learning to drive, but with university coming, it didn’t seem a sensible option to let her get on the road.”
I didn’t comment on that. It not being sensible for her to drive made no sense to me.
He met my stare and tried to expand on his logic.
“Faith’s a very, very young eighteen,” he told me, as though he was sharing some insider truth. “It’s hard to keep her calmly in her teenage bubble. There’s always this constant risk of her getting herself into trouble.” He paused. “I don’t want her getting too caught up in the idea of being some independent grown up, driving herself all around the place with some semblance of freedom before she knows how to handle it responsibly. She’s still a girl playing at being mature, and she’s not. She’s nothing like mature.”
My eyebrows grew heavy as I kept up the stare, my jaw feeling surprisingly tight as I digested the sentiment behind his words.
“She’s a smart, driven young woman,” I countered. “I’m sure she is very responsible.”
The shake of his head was dramatic. “Faith is not a woman,” he told me, and there was a bark in his voice I hadn’t heard for many years. “She’s still a girl, with girlish dreams, who needs to grow up properly before she even tries to be an adult. Having a car will only give her extra temptation to spread her wings too soon.”
I forced myself to relax in my seat like this was just a regular conversation, but in reality I was an utter churn of sensations all at once. I could barely meet his eyes once I heard the passion in his voice. A defensive father trying to protect his little girl’s innocence.
Innocence I’d taken.
Innocence I’d claimed hard and torn out like a filthy man possessed.
Innocence I was already dreaming of ploughing away harder.
“Thank you, though,” he said to me, as though he was rethinking his stance on the car. “Thanks for being so invested in her. We are lucky to have you in her life. Such a generous, kind uncle figure to help keep her safe.”
And that was the spark for a whole new wave of sickness down deep. Sickness that twisted hard, pulsing with remorse for the betrayal of the man I classed as a solid friend of mine. The man leaning across my desk with his hand reached out for a handshake, believing me to be such a good guy on the outskirts of his family.
“Thanks,” he said again. “I really do appreciate you caring about our little princess so much. Thanks for really treating her.”
I could barely meet his eyes as I accepted that handshake. It took everything I had to keep my mask up high and my exterior at its regular calm.
“She’s a good girl,” I told him. “A very talented one.”
He laughed a little. “Gets it from her mother. She’ll make a fine accountant one day, I hope.”
I nodded, but didn’t agree.
I couldn’t.
I’d known for a long time that Colin was hoping for the more conventional route for his daughter. A role in finance with safe number crunching and decent pay-outs. Not a role chasing old furniture and matching it up with buyers for the most money possible.
Colin himself was running the property side of my business, because that too was safer. Steady and practical, with the same tick boxes and agreements every day of the week.
“She’d make a fine auctioneer,” I told him, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
He waved my statement aside.
“She would if she had it her way, but the girl needs more than the antiques dreams to set her up for a career.”
I bit my tongue and kept quiet, knowing well that it was far, far from my
position to comment on anything to do with his daughter’s best options or future at this point.
I’d have some fucking nerve if I did.
“You really are sure about the car?” he checked again. “I’m sure I can reimburse you for some of the value.”
“Really sure,” I told him. “I just hope she enjoys it when she passes her test.”
His smile was enough to light up his face. His eyes were glowing, absolutely alive with the love he had for that little girl of his.
Because that was truly how he saw her. As a little girl. A sweet little girl absolutely bursting with innocence.
“Oh, she’s already enjoying it,” he said. “You should have seen her at the dinner table last night, she couldn’t stop grinning and squealing and rattling on and on about your trip to the dealership.”
I wished I could have seen her there, grinning and squealing and rattling on. The mental image was enough to make my heart race.
“I’m glad she was so enthusiastic.”
His laugh was so warm. “She was enthusiastic alright. My little munchkin is such a lively girl, she really is.”
I figured it was time for him to head off soon enough and get over to the property branch, and so it was. He turned and made his way out, and it was certainly a welcome reprieve with my senses being so utterly tossed in a storm, but he stopped in the doorway before his goodbye, and his expression turned darker, clearly weighing something up.
A pang of potential scrutiny hit hard in my chest. But he stepped a little closer back towards me, and his look was tinged with the need to confide, not to accuse.
“Actually, I was hoping I’d be able to call on your help, Miles,” he said, and my breath caught, just a hiss in my chest. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but now I’m here I figure it’s a good idea to bring you onboard.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, so kept quiet as he paced all the way back over to my desk.
“I heard that Faith was working with that warehousing Stephen last week,” he said, and I nodded.
“Yes, she was. I’ve had her shadowing different members of the team, to get some insight on different departments.”
His stare was a different kind of hard when it landed again. “I heard that Stephen has been talking about her. About how desirable she is, in more vulgar language than that. I also heard that he’s planning on dating her.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I imagine he appreciates her attributes and talents. She is quite a personality.”
“And quite a little girl, like I said,” he snapped. “I was hoping you’d please step in to keep him away from her. I don’t want her associating with him.”
My own instincts were very much that I didn’t want him associating with her either, but for very, very different reasons.
I felt uncomfortable even attempting to mimic camaraderie under these circumstances, but I had no choice but to try, rigid in my chair and stony faced as he continued.
“She isn’t ready for some boyfriend this summer. She’s anything but. Stephen can walk on by before even thinking about taking my girl out for some seedy date night before she’s even ready for university.”
It was the venom in his voice. The flash of fire in his eyes.
I knew then in that single moment that there wasn’t going to be even a scrap of a chance he’d ever accept me crossing the line with his daughter. Not in this whole fucking lifetime.
It was a dull spade pounding into my twisting gut, wrenching me with a whole fucking ocean of truth. I really was an utterly vile piece of filth for fucking with his little girl.
I hated myself. Both for crossing my own fucking moral line, and for betraying Colin Martin’s.
But there was more. So much more to confuse it than that.
I hated myself, but I loved that girl so fucking much.
I loved sweet Faith and the woman she was growing into. I loved how stunning she was, both inside and out. I loved the joy she’d brought into my weekend, and the beautiful reward I’d found in bringing joy to hers.
I loved everything in her. Every fucking thing that made her Faith. And I wouldn’t be able to let that go. Not easily. Not even for the loyalty of a long-term friend I should have been true to without question.
“Stephen is a bit idiotic with his words,” I said. “But there is no risk of him being disrespectful to Faith. He’s perfectly decent as a young guy.”
“I don’t care,” Colin barked. “Just keep him away from her, Miles, please. I don’t want him anywhere near her.” He paused, and there was that flash of fire in his eyes again. “I don’t want anyone fucking near her.”
There it was.
The blanket statement.
The blanket statement he really believed in.
I met his eyes and forced mine to speak the truth, at least in this token instance.
“I’ll keep Stephen away from Faith, Colin,” I said. “You don’t have to worry about him touching her.”
The relief in his face was instant.
“Thank you, Miles,” he said. “I appreciate that.”
I watched him finally leave my office with my breath held tight, so fucking grateful when that door closed behind him.
I was fucked. Absolutely fucked from that minute onwards with a tirade of where the holy fucking fuck is this fucking headed while my brain churned with the backlash.
Colin would never accept us. Not anything even slightly between Faith and me. Not until the end of days.
Diane would be in the same corner. Lashing out with the same judgement.
And so would likely the whole fucking world.
Forbidden.
We were truly forbidden.
And I was truly captivated by the girl. Snared alive by every stunning little glint in her eyes.
So just what the holy living fuck was I going to do about it?
Chapter Twenty-One
Faith
I was so excited to get to work. I was practically skipping along the path on my way, wondering what the hell it would be like to be in a building with him as Mr Lindon again, and how I’d ever manage it in a million years without peeing myself with excitement.
I was all grins and bounding steps as I made my way to my usual seat in the finance office, waving to everyone and replying to all the questions about whether I’d had an amazing birthday weekend.
I’m sure my blush must have been ruby red as I told them it was the greatest weekend of all time.
Rachel was over at my desk quizzing me harder about after party events when Mr Lindon – Miles – stepped on through, and I stopped in a beat, my breaths catching hard, every single part of me sizzling like crazy as I tried to stay even slightly convincingly calm with him so close.
And he was sizzling too. Just like I was.
I could feel it. The tension. The tightness. The strain.
Both of us so aware of the heat pulsing hard in the air. My eyes trying to stay fixed on Rachel like this was just a normal Monday morning, when all I wanted to do was grab him tight and beg him to take me all over again.
“Good morning, ladies,” he said, and I adored the usual satin deepness in his voice.
“Morning, Mr Lindon,” Rachel replied, and I found myself clearing my throat before I answered.
“Good morning, Mr Lindon,” I said, and forced my eyes up to his.
His were absolutely brimming with so much.
Too much.
Too much to truly fathom.
It punched me hard down deep, a flash of insecurity giving me a good boot to follow. Because he was confused. There was definitely confusion there.
“Can you believe the birthday girl is eighteen now?” Rachel asked him, and I cringed at her choice of question. “She’ll always be our little cutie, won’t she?”
“The birthday girl is a fine young woman now,” he said with a smirk, even though his eyes were still conflicted.
I loved his words.
I loved the way he called me
a woman, even if my clit was desperate for him to call me his little girl from now until forever.
He carried on through to Lynn’s desk in the corner and asked her about some month end reports, and I struggled to get back into the conversation with Rachel. I tried to keep my eyes on her and my ears on her words, but I couldn’t help it – my entire body was screaming for his.
His suit was absolutely immaculate, fitted so well to his frame. His shoulders were huge and strong, just tense enough to see the outline right through his suit jacket, and his hair was just perfect. Styled so slick and dark to his scalp, just like always.
Well, unless he was just waking up with his head on a pillow, or I’d been grabbing it with needy fingers.
One thing was absolutely for sure. The weekend had certainly ruined any chance I’d ever had in a million years to get over Mr Lindon. There was no doubt about it. I was well and truly totally fucked on the move on front.
He took some papers from Lynn and I had to pull my gaze away as he headed on past. He was close enough for the scent to hit me, and my clit gave yet another little shout.
I must have been gawping like a fool in the aftermath, because Rachel’s eyes sparkled as she leaned in closer.
“Insane how gorgeous that man is, isn’t it?” she laughed. “How dare he wear the world’s most glorious aftershave on top to make him even more irresistible? This place should come with a health warning.”
I giggled along with her, but I felt so naughty. Like I’d committed some crime somehow to have had him inside me all over the weekend. Something forbidden and out of my depth and asking for trouble.
I guessed it was. Even if it felt like the most natural thing in creation to have him take me like that. Whatever the hole.
My laughter spat out a little louder at the thought.
“It should definitely come with a health warning,” I agreed, and she slapped me on the shoulder before heading on back through to reception.
I was staring at my screen working through this week’s auction listings when an email pinged through in a notification in the corner. His name caught my eye in a heartbeat.
