“Rose,” I finally greeted, barely choking her name out. Clearing my throat, I reminded myself that she was just a kid, and it was my place to take control of the situation. AKA: shove the image of her perky tits far enough down to not react. Although, she made it hard when I turned, and she still stood there uncovered, drying her hair.
“Corbin,” she responded, smooth and not at all struggling like me.
Her hard nipples—the perfect size for clamps—and my name on her lips almost had me dismissing all thoughts and letting my inner caveman take over. But thankfully, loud sirens blared. This is Rose—Alec’s daughter. Your ward. The girl you are in charge of taking care of.
The girl who was sixteen when you last saw her.
She wasn’t sixteen anymore, and she sure as shit wasn’t a girl.
Following her lead, I ignored her nudity and stood tall, infusing the full force of my dominance. Her eyes flared, but it was too dark to clarify what they ignited with. Alarm? Fear? Heat? Passion? Not that it mattered. This wasn’t a partner I needed to read. This was the girl I needed to care for, because even if she looked like a woman, she was no more than twenty-two—eighteen years my junior. I was the adult here.
“I didn’t know you were coming.” I winced inwardly at the harsh tone.
“You invited me,” she answered without any inflection to hint at how she took my words. “And I said, okay.”
I considered lecturing her on sending a proper email with a more specific response when someone invited you to their home but decided not to waste my time. She, thankfully, wrapped the towel around her body and lifted her chin. The same way her father used to when he dominated in business meetings.
“Fair enough.”
We stood there a moment, in a stare-off of sorts, despite it being so dark. With a grunt, I drained the last of my beer and turned to head inside, grabbing her suitcase beside the door. Hopefully, she’d follow and put some clothes on, and we could start again.
“Do you need me to show you to your room?” I asked without looking back.
“Do I have one?” she asked, the soft pads of her feet on the tile letting me know she wasn’t far behind.
“You always had one.”
The footsteps stopped for a second before continuing. “Oh. Well, thank you.”
“Of course.”
I flicked on the kitchen light and glanced over my shoulder, not even having to look directly at her to take in her wide gaze.
“Why don’t you go change, and I’ll order us some food? Is Italian okay?”
“Sure.”
By the time I picked up the phone, she was gone. I’d only been face to face with her for all of ten minutes, yet she hit me like a tsunami. Her and everything she represented. Over the last six years, I’d managed to compartmentalize Alec’s death. I knew it was there, taking up space, waiting, but I always ignored it. Maybe that added to why I let Rose dictate our communication. Why I let her turn down invitations home for the holidays.
Without her around, I could continue to ignore the fact that one of my best friends had passed away, leaving me with a gaping loss I hadn’t been able to patch. My family had been sparse and not close. I’d married Juliette, but even that sat superficially on the surface. Yet, somehow, Alec wormed his way in and burrowed comfortably under the surface. I hadn’t known what to do when that space became vacant.
Juliette hadn’t been sympathetic, and with no one to share it with, it became easier to shove aside.
Until now.
Until Rose came roaring back into my life.
Chapter Two
ROSE
I waited until the doorbell rang to come back down because the thought of making small talk while we waited sounded horrible. Even now, I hung back just beyond the door, watching him move around the kitchen to gather plates.
Leaning against the door jamb, I took my time studying the man my father left in charge of my care—a man I knew nothing about other than the few things Dad mentioned about him in passing.
A friend.
A shark.
A savage in business.
A rake.
A man fathers warned their daughters away from.
The last one I could picture easily. The way his muscles bunched under his shirt. The way his large hands moved with confidence and ease. The way his eyes had blazed even in the dark when he’d taken in my nudity.
I smiled, remembering the brush of his gaze across my skin.
I hadn’t planned on strutting past him, naked as a j-bird, but when I saw his large body in the shadows, something sparked to life inside me—something I hadn’t ever felt before. Hell, I’d barely experienced a flicker with anyone since my father passed away. So, ignoring the blaring signs that screamed I was too close to the fire; I danced by the flames and basked in the warmth flooding my veins.