The Boy Who Has No Belief (Soulless 7)

He slowed down as I came, coming when I did, using my mouth to muffle his own climax. We both finished with a quickness that wasn’t embarrassing but romantic. But he stayed hard, like it wasn’t enough, and kept going, moving inside me as if that release wasn’t enough to satisfy his need for me.We cuddled together for a while, lying together in my dark bedroom with the city lights coming through the blinds of the window. His arm was around me, and his face was close, his naked body keeping me warm since we were on top of the sheets.

He took a deep breath as he stared at me, like he was about to say he needed to leave when he didn’t want to.

“Thank you for what you did yesterday…with Lizzie’s teacher.”

“I’m glad you aren’t angry with me. My behavior wasn’t exactly professional.”

“It’s easy to be professional about things and ideas, but not people you care about.” I probably would have done the same thing, but to little effect. “I can tell that you care about my daughter, Derek.”

He stared at me for a while before he gave a slight nod. “She’s easy to care about.”

“She’s never cared about her education because she always assumed she’s not very smart, no matter what I say, but you made her believe in herself…and I don’t know how to thank you for that. A few months ago, the students took an aptitude test to determine what they’re good at and what they should pursue, and she didn’t like her suggestions. I told her it was just a stupid test and it didn’t mean anything, but she took it seriously.”

He shook his head. “There’s no test in the world that should have the power to influence her life that way. It’s making recommendations based on her abilities in that moment, not taking into account that her abilities can change if she wants, and that’s very misleading to students. They don’t understand that the person they are isn’t finite. It’s just who they are at that moment in time…as a twelve-year-old.”

I loved it when he said stuff like that, when he disproved negativity with profound logic. “Anyway, you’re the only thing that’s gotten her out of that rut. I’ve never cared what she’ll decide to do for a living, but it’s always bothered me that she won’t allow herself to be passionate about anything because she’s afraid she’s too stupid to accomplish anything. So, she pretends it doesn’t matter to her…when it does. Now, she believes in herself—and that’s because of you.”

He stared at me like he didn’t know what to say.

“I knew you were going to be great with Lizzie, but I had no idea how much you would benefit her life.”

He closed his eyes like he couldn’t accept my compliment. He opened them again when he spoke. “Baby, I taught her a couple things and instilled this sense of inspiration, but you’re the one who takes care of her every single day. Don’t paint me as the hero, when you’re the one who does the heavy lifting. Maybe I inspired her today, but I’m sure you would have inspired her later.”

I still couldn’t believe this man was mine. All mine. “I think you deserve more credit than that, Derek. But I appreciate what you said. I appreciate you going into that classroom and telling off Mr. Franklin for being a dick to my daughter.”

“I’m sure you would have handled it on your own, baby. I overstepped my boundaries, and I know it.”

“No. You protected someone you care about, and that wasn’t a logical decision, but an emotional one. It’s like when I go into mama bear mode. You protected your student because you care. You did not overstep your boundaries, Derek. And honestly, I could have told off that teacher, but it would have gone much differently. I would have accomplished nothing except make him pick on my daughter more.” My hands rubbed over his hard chest, and I leaned in and kissed him. “I just wanted you to know how much that meant to me.” I wanted to say more, but I didn’t. I wanted to tell him I wanted it to be the three of us someday, that I could already picture him being the man in her life that she needed, that we could be a family, that I was so hopelessly in love with him that I would never love another man as long as I lived. But instead, I kissed him again and kept it locked deep inside, hoping I would be able to say those things someday.13Derek“You yelled at a teacher?” Dad sat behind his desk with his lunch in front of him. It was a salmon salad with nuts, berries, and chunks of avocado.

I sat in one of the armchairs and ate the same thing, since that was what was on the menu. My compound wasn’t too far from his on the outskirts of the city, so I could have stopped by and had lunch with him before…but I never made the time to do it. “Yeah.”