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It’d taken a lot of heartache and difficult life lessons about the meaning of family, but I refused to go back. I was focused on my future, and I was going to build it on my own.
It was going to be hard.
And blood, sweat, and a lot of tears would be involved.
But it was going to be something I could be proud of.
Unlike my past.
“Dad said he got all the food we need for tomorrow, but I’m gonna go check the kitchen because no doubt he missed something, and we’ll need to run to the store,” Calli said, closing the front door and flicking the lock. “Go up and put your stuff in the bedroom. The guest room is right at the end of the hall.”
She quickly disappeared through an archway on the right while I trudged up the staircase to the left. The timber treads creaked and groaned with each step. The upstairs hallway wasn’t much better and my light footsteps sounded like an elephant’s as I headed for the far door, only something caught my eye to the left. I paused.
The door to the bathroom was open, just a crack.
Just enough for me to see someone inside.
He had his eyes closed and was scrubbing at his hair with a towel, his body completely naked. And what a body it was. His shoulders were muscular and chest broad, also covered with a smattering of hair that was slightly gray. My heart began to thump a little faster, heat crawling up my neck and into my cheeks as my eyes trailed a little lower, finding abs that looked like they’d been etched out of stone, with another small trail of hair leading from his stomach to his—
“Who the hell are you?”
My eyes shot up, drawn to the deep rumble of his voice that did little to calm the pounding in my chest. I was met by a dark, narrowed glare so intense I dropped my backpack and stumbled backward into the wall. “Um…I’m…”
He reached for a pair of jeans, yanking them on over his legs which we still dripping with water. He buttoned them as he stormed toward me, slamming his hands against the wall on either side of my head, making me gasp. “Who. Are. You? And why the hell are you in my house?” he growled, with his body pressed against mine. I could feel the water sitting on his skin soak through into my T-shirt.
I couldn’t speak.
My mouth was dry and I licked my lips, hoping that would help me find the words I needed to explain. The movement drew his gaze, which fell to my lips while he clenched his jaw.
Maybe I should have been scared.
Maybe I should have screamed for help.
But I’d been scared before, and what I was feeling in that moment wasn’t fear.
It was something else.
Something else completely.
“Shay! Are you okay? What’s all that noise?”
“Fuck,” he cursed, instantly falling back at the sound of the stairs moving as Calli climbed them.
“Oh hey, Dad!” She beamed when she reached the top, the concern on her face melting away the second she saw her father.
Her father, Shay.
The man you’d just been eyeing naked.
Who’d just had you pinned to the freaking wall.
She hurried forward, throwing her arms around him. He picked her up off the floor, squeezing her tightly before placing her feet back on the floor. “Where’s your ride?” Calli questioned when she stepped back.
“Across the street at Hawk’s place,” he replied, dragging his fingers through the long, wet hair that had fallen into his face and pulling it back. He stepped back into the bathroom and grabbed the white T-shirt that was folded up on the counter, shaking it out and pulling it over his head. “Kadey’s tryna earn some money for some school trip, so paid her to clean it.”
Calli’s eyebrows shot up. “You agreed to let an eight-year-old touch your motorcycle?”
Bishop shrugged. “Hawk said he’d supervise, so he’s culpable for damages.”
