“Sweetie.” Mom stared at me hard and I fell silent. “This is happening. You can keep resisting and fighting this and make things very hard for Mr. Green and me, or you can play along and help out. I can’t force you, but please, for my sake and for your own, help us.”
I frowned at her, silent for a second, and almost wanted to give in. I opened my mouth to speak, to tell her that I’d do absolutely anything for her no matter what because she was my mother and I loved her, but then I felt something under the table that stopped me.
It was Carter’s foot sliding up my calf.
I nearly jumped out of my chair. The triumphant grin on his face drove me totally crazy as Mom cocked her head at me, wondering what the hell I was doing. I quickly stood up, not interested in getting foot-stroked by that rich asshole again, no matter how excited it made me.
“I can’t do this,” I said and quickly walked away from the table. My head was spinning and I didn’t know where else to go, so I went out the back door and headed into the yard, looking around at the familiar place.
I couldn’t believe my mom was doing this. She complained about Carter all the time, said he was a spoiled playboy. She’d been working for him for years, and I had no clue why she stuck by him all that time if she thought he wasn’t any good, but clearly there was something between them that I didn’t understand. They were almost friends, or at least as close to friends as a boss and his secretary can get.
As I headed out to the stump in the back of our yard, I heard the door open and shut behind me. I turned to see Carter following me out into the sunlight.
He was so handsome it was hard to stomach. His cocky grin made me want to either smack him or kiss him and I couldn’t decide which. He was technically my stepfather, or going to be soon enough anyway, and yet all I wanted to do was feel the muscles beneath his impeccable suit.
“Hey,” he said.
“I’m not interested.” I turned and headed to the stump. He followed as I sat down and crossed my legs, looking away from him.
“Look, I get it, you’re pissed. You don’t want some rich asshole coming into your life and fucking shit up. Right?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “More or less.”
“This wasn’t totally my idea,” he said. “Your mother thought of it. She’s doing it for you.”
“How?”
“I pay her pretty well, but college is expensive. She’s a single mom trying to do her best.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “I don’t want to hear this from you.”
“No kidding.” Carter stepped closer to me. “But do it for your mother.”
“What was with you back there, anyway?” I asked, changing the subject.
He grinned. “Just messing with my new daughter.”
“Stop. Don’t ever call me that again. It makes me feel . . . unclean.”
“Good. I want to make you dirty.” His grin got bigger.
I rolled my eyes. “Real clever.”
He shrugged. “I can’t help it around you.”
“What, can’t help making bad jokes?”
“No,” he said, getting serious. “I can’t help wanting to tear those tight jeans off your perfect legs and taste that dripping pussy.”
I stared at him, totally taken by surprise. His serious look softened as he turned to leave.
“Do it for your mother,” he said then waved and headed back inside.
I stared after him, heart hammering in my chest. I couldn’t believe he said that to me. He was supposed to be convincing me to play along with their game, not saying such filthy things. And yet . . .
I shook my head. I couldn’t entertain any thoughts of what I wanted that cocky asshole to do to me. He loved that he was going to become my stepdad, and he was going to rub it in my face. He just liked teasing me, that was all, and I wasn’t going to give in to that teasing.
Still, there was something in the way he looked at me when he said it that was different from before. There wasn’t any of that playfulness, it was just intense lust and desire clear in his expression.
I didn’t know what I was going to do. I wanted to fight this and didn’t want anything to do with Carter Green, but my mother clearly needed my help if this was going to work. She was taking a hug personal risk, and I didn’t want to see her embarrassed. My reasons for not helping were mostly selfish, and I was totally aware of that fact, but that didn’t change anything.
I took a deep breath, looking at the home of my childhood. It was all I ever knew and now my mother wanted me to move into some rich asshole’s mansion for the summer.
Well, that didn’t sound so bad, actually. There was probably a pool and the place was sure to be really gorgeous. Maybe if it was big enough, I could avoid seeing Carter entirely. This would hopefully be a short-lived experiment and they’d be divorced by the time I left to return to school.
I groaned, leaning back on my elbows. I was going to help my mother, even though I really didn’t want to, because it was the right thing to do and she’d do it for me.
This was going to be a really, really weird summer.
2
Carter