All Chapters of What Daddy Left Behind: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

~ Stellan's POV"Class," Thea gasped, her fingernails digging into the fitted sheet as her body convulsed around me. "Stellan... I have... Microeconomics.""Fuck Microeconomics," I growled, grinding my hips against hers to catch the last tremors of her release. I didn't pull out. The moment she had woken me up with that reckless, slippery grind, something feral had snapped the leash in my brain. She had started a fire, and I intended to let it burn the whole house down."But Maya..." she tried to argue, though her voice was weak, breathless.I bit into the sensitive cord of her neck and flipped us again, lifting her easily into my arms. Her legs wrapped around my waist instinctively, her head falling onto my shoulder. I walked us into the bathroom.The shower echoed her wet, desperate sounds. I pressed her against the cool glass, lifting her hips so I could drive into her from a standing position. The water cascaded over us, washing away the sweat of the night but doing nothing to co

~ Thea's POVThe air in the foyer was so thick with tension it felt like ozone before a lightning strike.Lance’s hand hung in the air—a friendly, open gesture that looked absurdly fragile against the looming dark stillness of Stellan Vaughn. Stellan didn't move to take it. He just stared at the hand, then up at Lance’s face, his expression one of mild, clinical curiosity, as if he were examining a bug he was about to crush under his heel.I gulped, the sound loud in my own ears.I saw the muscle in Stellan’s jaw feather. I knew that look. That was the look that preceded broken glass and ruined tables."I..." I stammered, stepping physically between them, blocking Stellan’s line of sight. I turned to Lance, forcing a bright, frantic smile. "Lance! That's so sweet of you. The notes. Really."Lance blinked, looking past my shoulder at the stone statue of a man behind me. "Uh, yeah. No problem. Like I said, I can drop them off—""I'll text you!" I blurted out, desperate to get him away f

~ Stellan’s POV The wine tasted like vinegar. And I hated that taste.I held the glass up to the faint light bleeding in from the city skyline, inspecting the pale, watery liquid. Pinot Grigio. Probably twelve dollars a bottle. It was the kind of thing college students bought because the label looked fun, not because they knew anything about tannins or terroir.I took a sip, grimacing as the acid hit the back of my throat. I set the glass down on the side table, careful to use a coaster. Even when invading someone’s home, standards had to be maintained.The penthouse was quiet. Not the heavy, insulated silence of my own apartment across town, but a lighter, flimsier silence. The air here smelled different. It smelled of vanilla candles, Maya’s cheap hairspray, and the lingering, faint scent of Thea. It smelled lived-in.I sat in the high-backed leather armchair in the corner of the living room, shrouded in shadow. From this angle, I had a perfect view of the foyer, the kitchen is

~ Stellan’s POV"Punish me?" Thea breathed, the words barely audible over the thundering of her heart against my chest. Her pupils were blown wide, swallowing her irises, turning her eyes into dark mirrors reflecting my own savagery."You think this is a game?" I asked, my voice low, vibrating through the bones of her sternum. "You think because I bought you a car and let you play university student that the rules have changed?"I didn't wait for an answer. I didn't want one.I gripped her waist, my fingers digging into the soft flesh through her sweater, and lifted her off the marble table as if she weighed nothing. She gasped, her hands instinctively clutching my shoulders for balance, her legs wrapping around me.I marched toward the B&B Italia sofa—the expensive, dove-gray leather sectional that cost more than that boy’s entire education. The sofa where he had sat. The sofa where he had sweated and stuttered and dared to look at what belonged to me.I stopped in front of it. I c

~ Thea's POV"See you around, Mercer," Ethan said, his grin victorious as he tapped at his screen. "Don't be a stranger this time."I didn't answer. I practically fled toward the library exit.I pushed through the heavy glass doors of the library, needing to get to my next lecture, to bury myself in a sea of students where no one could see the guilt written on my forehead.My phone buzzed in my pocket.I nearly jumped out of my skin. I pulled it out, my breath catching when I saw the name on the screen. Stellan."Hello?" I rasped, ducking behind a stone pillar."Where are you?" he asked, and I frowned."I... I just left the library," I said. "I'm heading to my next class.""No, you aren't," he said. "Walk toward the faculty entrance. The black Mercedes is idling at the curb. I’ve been waiting for ten minutes."My blood turned to ice. Ten minutes. He had been there while I was upstairs with Ethan. He had been waiting at the very spot I was supposed to be."Stellan, I have a lecture—""