‘You want to alert her prey drive, to have her right there on the edge of fight or flight, and choosing to battle both options to stay right there. For you.’
I became all too aware of the crash of my heartbeat when I looked up, his smirk replaced with a hunger that mirrored Sarah’s, like the other half of a whole.
My ass clenched at the realisation that maybe, if they hadn’t hated one another so hard, they might have been perfect together.
A bitter pill to swallow.
‘I think I’ve had enough for today,’ I whispered and stood.
I expected Drew to refuse. Or to question me. Instead, he wrapped a hand around my throat, and backed me against the door, his fingers digging into my flesh and stealing my breath. His palm was hot and calloused, a contrast to the coolness of the door behind me.
The sensation made my legs wobble as he pressed the length of his body flush with mine.
‘I’m guessing,’ he said, his breath grazing my lips with his nearness. I parted them, both hoping and dreading the idea of him kissing me. ‘You’re choosing flight.’
With that, he released me and stepped back, letting me flee to the safety of my own room.
Slamming my door behind me, I traced the fingerprints he’d left on my throat.
Admit it or not, the space between his feet had felt like home.
NINE
DREW
Tension crackled like static at the dining table. Eloise, my stepmum, glanced at my father before narrowing her eyes at me.
I assumed she could tell that something had changed in the household, but failed to pinpoint what. She’d never guess that I’d had her sweet sunshine boy on his knees right there in her home.
Nor that I intended to do much, much worse with Jake in the future.
I ached to touch him again. To feel his golden hair between my fingers while I made him gag ever so prettily for me. After he’d fled from my bedroom, I’d watched him sink to his knees through the peephole in my wall, his back against his bedroom door, and fuck himself until he spilled his cum for me.
Not that he said my name or anything as delicious as that, but I knew it was me he pictured beneath those squeezed-shut eyelids,nother.
She was there, Sarah, as always. Sitting beside Jake like a smug fucker. The cat who got the six-foot-four, muscle-clad cream. Her petite hand rested on his arm like a lady depicted in a Victorian painting, all demure and sweet.
A big, fucking lie.
Eloise lapped it up, her face turning to them as they chatted over the upcoming game and transforming into a bliss-filled smile. One would think my father would have favoured me, but he simply maintained the peace in whatever way brought him the least aggravation. Agreeing with Eloise gave him the smoothest path, and over the years, his lack of support for me under her roof had driven a wedge between us. No sharp separation, no big blow-up, just a slow, years-long distancing from the man who should have been my champion, yet set me aside for a life of luxury.
I’d have left years ago if it weren’t for my need to be near Jake. After years of fighting the urge to enter his room at night and crawl into his bed, to take him into my arms and love him the way he deserved, my resolve had crumbled.
I just had to exploit the deepening crevice in their relationship and leverage myself between them until the crack grew to an insurmountable fjord.
Starting now.
Sarah wore a sweet, flowy dress. Ever so feminine. She looked like she was on her way to a bubblegum convention as opposed to lunch with the not-quite-in-laws. But the way it had skimmed her toned thighs as she entered the room had set my mind whirring. Easy access. Risky situation.
A perfect opportunity to create chaos.
Sliding my phone into my lap, I pulled up Jake’s name, typing while pretending to listen to the conversation.
Time to put your education into action. When Eloise and Dad go, stay at the table with Sarah.
Jake’s phone buzzed loudly, and he lifted it from its place on the table to take a glance at the screen. His brow furrowed, but he kept his eyes down.
‘All okay, love?’ Eloise asked.
