chapter 26: The edge of knowing

Bronte’s

By the second day of Mom’s absence, the house had settled into a strange, dangerous rhythm.

Rufus worked from home more than usual. He kept me close sometimes in his office while he took calls, sometimes downstairs on the couch with my legs draped over his lap, his hand resting possessively on my thigh.

We fucked in almost every room. On the kitchen counter while coffee cooled beside us.

Against the hallway wall. In the shower with water running over both of us.

Each time felt hungrier than the last, like he was trying to stamp himself deeper into me before the real world came back.

I stopped fighting the need. That scared me more than anything else.

On the afternoon of the second day, Chloe called. I almost didn’t answer.

“Where are you?” she asked the second I picked up.

“Your mom is still at the hotel. She’s talking about coming home tonight. And Jake is losing his mind. He showed up at my place again this morning with more files. He’s talking about going to the police if he has to.”

My stomach twisted. “Chloe”

“I’m serious, Bronte. This is getting bigger than just you and him. Your mom is scared. Jake is scared. I’m scared. Whatever is happening, it’s not staying secret anymore”

I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. “I know.”

“Do you?” Her voice softened. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re choosing him over everyone else. And I don’t know if that’s love or if he’s just got you so deep you can’t see straight.”

The words landed hard. I didn’t answer right away.

After a long silence, Chloe sighed. “Just be careful. Please and call me when you’re ready to talk for real.”

She hung up.

I stood there for a while, phone still pressed to my ear even after the line went dead.

When I finally lowered it, Rufus was standing in the doorway of his office, watching me.

“Chloe?” he asked.

I nodded.

He walked over, took the phone from my hand, and set it on the side table.

Then he backed me against the wall and kissed me slow at first, then deeper, like he was trying to erase every word she’d said.

His hands slid under my shirt, unhooking my bra, then moved lower to push my shorts down.

“She’s not wrong,” he murmured against my mouth. “Things are getting closer. But you’re still here. That means something.”

He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me into the living room.

He laid me on the couch and stripped the rest of my clothes off without rushing.

When he pushed inside me, it was deep and steady.

One hand held my jaw so I had to look at him. The other gripped my hip.

“Tell me you’re still mine,” he said.

“I’m yours,” I breathed.

He thrust harder. “Say it again.”

“I’m yours, Daddy.”

The words came easier now. That should have terrified me. Instead it made me clench around him.

He groaned and fucked me through two orgasms before he finally came, burying his face in my neck.

Afterward we stayed tangled together on the couch. His fingers traced the necklace at my throat.

“She’s coming home soon,” he said quietly. “When she does, things will change. You need to be ready for that.”

I stared at the ceiling, listening to his heartbeat under my ear.

“What if I’m not?” I whispered.

Rufus was quiet for a long moment. Then he kissed the top of my head.

“Then I’ll make sure you are.”

Outside, the afternoon light was already starting to fade. Somewhere across the city, my mother was deciding when to come home.

Jake was still digging. Chloe was still waiting for me to wake up.

And I was still lying in the arms of the man who had ruined me so thoroughly I no longer knew how to want anything else.

I just didn’t know how much longer the quiet could last.