Page 45 of The Spare

"Is that so?" Mason interrupts. "That's what you're going to do, huh? Treat me like Hendrix?"

"Yes."

"And what did you tell them?"

"That I want some independence."

Chapter fourteen

A Man In Finance

"Independence?" I say sarcastically with a smile, reaching over to slide on my sunglasses then handing her a matching feminine pair I keep just for her. "What anoverratedconcept."

She gifts me with a rather offended look as she slides them on. "I'm sure it is foryou,having had it for what… sixteen years now?"

I frown. "Technically twelve. I just turned thirty, Mel,get it right."

"Samedifference."

I cut my eyes to her. "You know, that explains your math grade alot."

Melody hums a sound in her throat, and it travels straight to my cock making it jerk in my pants. I take a deep breath, seriously regretting not allowing myself an orgasm this morning. I thought I could wait. The breath I just took made it worse.

My lungs fill with the orange notes of her new perfume, and all I can think about is burying my face in between her legs and kissing her in the crook of her knee where I instinctively know her smell is deeper, sultrier.

"You know as well as I do that you'll never have full independence, sweetheart," I say quietly, working to pass a car in front of me. They honk, flipping me off, but I ignore them. "Do you need me to elaborate?"

I keep the car steady on the lane; however, the sight of her brown eyes over her sunglasses draw me back in. She meets them for half a second before turning away shyly again, staying quiet. I stare for a minute, willing her to come back to me, but all too soon my eyes are dragging back down her body to where every fucking inch of her legs are on display.

Torturing me.

My fingers flex on the gear stick as I shift my weight in the seat, willing this goddamn erection I've had on and off since this morning down. Distracting myself from her taut muscles and smooth gleaming dark tan skin, I look in the rearview mirror again. The skyscrapers of the bustling city recede in the background as we head towards my parents’ house, a place that, until recently, had been like a prison to me.

Melody and I don't belong there with them.

We belong backthere.Where there's hustle and bustle, and where we can climb to the highest building and look down, safe with each other in the clouds where no one can touch us.

"Another guy I was talking to went missing…" she says, now bringing her eyes to mine. The air immediately shifts in the car, becoming stifling and tense.

"Did they?"I force myself with everything in me to keep my tone calm and unassuming.

"Yeah," she says. "He's disappeared straight off the face of the Earth. No socials. None of his friends know where he is or what happened. Just like the other four." She looks back out the window, her fingers clenched so hard around her clutch that her knuckles turn pale. "He's the fifth guy since I've been in school that this has happened to. No one's going to want to date me now because I'm cursed."

I make a fake sympathetic hum in my throat as a rush of pleasure flows through me so thick that a drop of pre-come drips from the tip of my cock, wetting my thigh. Though she's obviously bothered, I refuse to acknowledge anything she just said. A tense silence swells around us once more as I make the turn onto the paved drive of my parents’ property.

We amble through the gate, and I move my hand over to grab hers and pull it over to me.

I kiss the back of her hand, letting my lips linger as I take the time to enjoy the scent I bought for her. Her natural chemistry mixes with it to create something deeper. Slightly muskier, turning innocence into something sexy and forbidden. I wait for her to pull back from me, but she doesn't.

She never does.

"I'd like you to wear that scent more often. You smell so good," I say quietly, wanting to break the silence, giving her a little more than I usually do. Being a bit more openly verbal with my desire towards her.

"Thanks." Her voice quivers a little. "But you're not letting me take it home, so I can only wear it when I'm with you."

Exactly."Hmhm,"I say, already planning to have a talk with Hendrix because I'm through waiting.

I think I've beyond proved myself to my family.