Page 11 of Indebted

“You would rather suffer in silence than let anyone help you.”

His words snapped my attention back. “What?”

“The money, Katie. I know you somehow managed to get out of receiving it.”

I drew back. “How do you know that?” I’d literally gotten off the phone with the financial office to-day.

“I knew you were stubborn,” he ignored my question, “but I can’t for the life of me figure out why you’d be willing to chop off your nose to spite your face.”

“You stopped those payments. I’m not going to play whatever twisted game you’ve got planned.”

“Twisted game?” A moment later, he shook his head. “The missed payment. That’s how you found out I was the benefactor.” His arm moved like he wanted to run his hand through his hair, but at the last second, he held himself back. I silently goaded his arm to disobey him and ruffle his hair. He let out a slow breath. “It was a glitch, Katie. The payments were never supposed to stop.”

“You mean I was never supposed to find out about them. About you. I don’t want your money,” I bit my tongue to keep from calling him Daddy. My perverse mind wanted to see the way his eyes flared.

“It’s my money, Katie. I can do with it as I please.”

“I don’t want it. I don’t want anything to do with you.” I lifted my chin into the air, trying to feign an air of sophistication in my ratty outfit.

Something hard came into his eyes, his long, powerful legs eating up the space between us. He invaded my personal space, his hard body trapping me against the front door. “Are you sure about that?” His voice sounded like sin. Dark, delicious.

My breathing hitched, my heart rate tripling. “Definitely.” His scent tickled my nose, spice and chlorine. The images of him in the pool were back, but this time with much less clothing than before.

Which made him naked. He was naked in my mind’s eye, and wet.

And now so was I.

That infuriating smirk was back, his face so close to mine I could see different shades of blue in his eyes. “Liar,” he whispered.

The air thickened around us. He either needed to step the hell away from me right now, or kiss me.

I wasn’t sure which one I wanted more.

Yes, you do. And it’s wrong.

I needed to get my head in the game. I needed to get Justin Kingston out of my life. For good.

Maybe with a goodbye kiss?

A one and done?

If I satisfied my twisted curiosity, would I finally be rid of this attraction?

“I don’t expect you to understand,” I swallowed my pride, I smothered my logic, and went for it. “Daddy.” To hell with this afternoon. I’d been lying in bed waiting for my heart to explode, my mind a never-ending carousel of scenarios. For once, I wasn’t going to question myself.

I saw the exact moment the word penetrated. A tick in his jaw, a flash in his eyes. He was as turned on by it as I was.

It should’ve repelled me, instead it enthralled me. But at least I wasn’t alone.

Misery loved company, and if I had to suffer through this shameful attraction, then so could he. It’s not like it was going to last or go anywhere.

“I earned my way through this life. You’ve never had to earn anything,” I continued my dig, waiting for the chain of control to snap. Wanting it to snap. I wanted him to feel as unhinged as I did. Hanging on by a thread.

Slake the curiosity and then it’s done.

Like writing a program, once it was finished, it could run along. Pun intended.

Justin’s eyes narrowed, and he did the exact opposite of what I wanted. He pulled back, taking the heat and scent of his body away from me.