Cherry Pie

“Hey, Marshall, that case of the ’84 Eagle Rare special cask reserve? The seller caved and dropped the price by a couple grand. If you’re still interested, I’ll make the call.”

I arch a brow. “Yeah, do it. Just make sure you save a bottle for yourself when it comes in.”

Javier chuckles again. “Pretty sure I can make that happen.”

“Thanks. Not why I’m calling through.”

“Lay it on me.”

“The… auction the other night.”

Javier says nothing. This is why we get along. We can be informal and friendly, but it’s not going to get into him yucking it up like a frat boy about something like the auction. He knows I bid on it. He’s got access to my Society dealings, as per his job. He knows I won, too. But he’s not going to start making crass jokes or asking me how it went or any bullshit like that.

“I need to know how she was tapped—how she got to be on the site in the first place.”

Javier clears his throat.

“Well, in past auctions like that, it’s usually people knowing people. One of the dancers has a friend who wants to make a ton of cash, or a member’s girlfriend or mistress has a sister. That kind of thing.”

“I need to know specifically how she found her way to be involved.”

“You got it, Marshall. Give me today to look into it.”

“Thanks, Javier.”

* * *

I wake up dazed, blinking in the later afternoon sun as I realize I fell asleep in my office chair, still wrapped in a towel from the steam room. Fuck, if every night of having Kendall in this house is going to keep me from sleeping, I am most definitely not going to survive the summer.

I grumble my way back to my room, changing into jeans and a black t-shirt before I head downstairs. And it’s then that I hear the sound of giggling and splashing coming from the backyard.

The girls are back.

I’m tempted to disappear again, because apparently, I can’t even be near Kendall without wanting to do terrible, terrible, corrupting things to her. But before I know it, I’m already walking out the backdoor.

Amy’s doing some laps in the pool, but Kendall’s sunning herself in one of the lounge chairs, wearing this tiny little neon pink bikini.

Teasing me. Temping me. Playing with fucking fire.

My eyes sweep over her, and my cock instantly swells in my jeans as I drink in her in. The sun-drenched, smooth skin. The soft swell of her tits against the bikini top. The little hard buds of her nipples poking through. The low-slung cut of her bikini bottoms, hugging her pussy—what I now know is her very bare, very smooth pussy—so tightly.

Suddenly, she startles, twisting her head as she pulls her sunglasses off. And when her eyes land on me, standing there devouring her with my gaze, she blushes fiercely. Her teeth rake over her bottom lip, and I swear I see her nipples get even harder under that bikini.

“Hi…” she says quietly.

“Hi yourself,” I growl. I step towards her, my eyes locked on her, when there’s the splashing sound of Amy climbing out of the pool.

“Hey dad!”

I yank my head away from devouring Kendall and grin at my daughter.

“Hey, pumpkin. What’d you two get up today?”

“Eh, nothing much.” Amy grabs a towel and plops down in a lounge chair. “Some shopping, some driving around.”

“Yeah, nothing much,” Kendall adds, almost like an afterthought.

I glance back at her, and all the hunger and all the filthy thoughts about her I’ve been trying to push away all day come rushing back to the foreground.

“Oh, dad, we’re going to a party tonight.”

I scowl, turning back to Amy.

“Like hell you are.”

She rolls her eyes. “Dad, it’s not a party, party. It’s low key, and just some girl friends.”

“Just girl friends, huh?”

“Yes, actually.” Amy sighs, giving me that “stop being such a dad” look she’s perfected over the years.

“Don’t you trust us?”

I grin.

“I do, I just don’t trust boys your age.”

“Why’s that?”

I glance back at Kendall again as the words leave her mouth.

“Because I used to be one.”

She blushes, dropping her eyes again.

“Dad, we’ll be fine, okay?”

I nod, still looking at Kendall. “Aright, sure. Have fun.”

Kendall’s eyes raise back up, and for a second, there’s this blaze that sparks between us before I tear my eyes away, my pulse racing.

Fuck is this going to be a long summer.

* * *

Hours later, the house is empty again. I’m downstairs in the living room, switching between game highlights and some dumb movie while sipping on a bourbon, when I see headlights sweep up the driveway. The car hovers by the front door, engine running as a single figure gets out and shuts the door. The car does a three point turn before peeling out back down the driveway as I hear the front door open and close again.