: Chapter 16

I wash my face and brush my teeth quickly, after checking my phone where I see a message from Margot telling me she was coming home early and that she was fine but that is absolutely not fine. I’m up the stairs moving toward Margot’s room, surprised to find the door open, and only then do I remember that Isla and Sabrina were in her room. Margot doesn’t usually mind when Isla sleeps in there when she is gone, so I doubt she’s mad but I also don’t know what kind of mood Margot is in right now. When I move inside, I see Isla and Sabrina with sleepy eyes collecting their blankets and stuffed animals and moving off of Margot’s bed.

“Hi, Daddy.” Isla yawns as she sleepily pads by me with Sabrina in tow.

“Hi, Princess.” I smile at her. “You need help?”

She shakes her head and I watch as they move to Isla’s room down the hall.

Margot is in her ensuite bathroom so I walk through her room and knock on her door. “Margot, honey. Are you okay?”

I hear a tiny yelp and then Margot opens the door, her eyes wide and unblinking. “Yeah, Dad, I’m fine.”

“Then, what may I ask, are you doing here at almost two in the morning when you were supposed to be staying at your friend’s house?” I cross my arms over my chest, my previous worry slowly morphing into anger at the thought of her driving this late at night by herself. “You know I don’t like that. Your curfew is midnight, it does not matter whose house you are staying at that night.”

“I know,” she says, her eyes welling up with tears. “I just wanted to come home.”

“Why?”

“Mel and I got in a fight and…I just wanted to go.”

“She’s your best friend and you have gotten into arguments before and did not need to come home. Try again.”

“Dad? Can you not? I got home safe…”

“Not the point. Mel lives a good fifteen minutes from here.” I take a step closer to her and lower myself to look her in the eye. “Are you under the influence of anything?” I ask her, knowing that alcohol has the power to exacerbate even the silliest argument between friends. She shakes her head slowly and I narrow my eyes at her. “Breathe.”

Her eyebrows pinch together angrily. “What? You don’t believe me? Since when do I lie?”

“Oh, so you don’t drink when you’re at your friend’s house?”

She tilts her head to the side. “Are you asking?” The sass is evident in her voice and I am not in the mood for it.

“Margot Juliette,” I warn her.

“Oh my God.” Her tone is full of exasperation as she moves away from me and starts moving her pillows around on her bed and throwing a few of her decorative ones on the couch in the corner of her room. “Yes, I’ve tried alcohol at friends’ houses and parties, but I didn’t tonight. I wouldn’t have driven if I had.”

I’m inclined to believe her but I’m still not buying everything she’s trying to sell. “I don’t care if you and Mel got into an argument. You cannot be out driving around at this hour, especially without talking to me. You know better.”

“I texted you.”

“I didn’t respond. That doesn’t count and you know it doesn’t.” I point at her. I tried my best not to be unreasonable about her driving, but given what happened to their mother I am never more anxious than when she is behind the wheel. So naturally, I am worked up about her doing anything this late at night without talking to me first.

“Okay…I figured you were just caught up working. You’re a light sleeper and I know you sleep with your phone on loud, so I assumed even if you were asleep, my message would have woken you up, but then I went to your office when I got here and you weren’t there.”

“Yeah, I…I was asleep,” I tell her. “You should have called.” Not that I would have heard that either, I think, annoyed with myself for not having my phone close by. “Or called Elianna,” I add after.

“Sorry.” She shrugs, and call it a father’s intuition, but I feel like there’s a lot more to this story than she’s letting on.

“Can you and Mel work it out?” I ask her and she shrugs again. I raise an eyebrow at her because she knows that’s not going to fly.

“Probably.” She climbs onto her bed and lays down before turning on Netflix. “Can we finish this tomorrow? I’m so tired.”

“Fine.” I turn toward the door. “You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you, right?” I tell her and she nods without looking at me.

“Sure, Dad,” she says. “Close my door, please.”

I shut the door behind me, confused by Margot’s behavior, when I come face to face with SJ. “And now why are you up?!” I look at him and he rolls his eyes.

He snorts and takes a sip from the can of Coke in his hands. I wonder how many of those he and his friends have had tonight. “Is she okay? I missed her text to turn off the alarm so it wouldn’t sound and we had our headsets on so I didn’t even hear her come in.” He looks behind me at the closed door. “Why is she home?”

“I don’t know. She said she got in a fight with Mel but I feel like there’s more to it.”

“Sounds like bull.”

“SJ.” I glower at him as we move down the stairs and I remove the can from his hand. “No more caffeine. How many of these have you had anyway?”

He looks up in the air. “This is like my second.”

“Like your second?”

“Or third?”

“SJ, knock it off,” I snap at him.

“Fiiiine,” he says as he makes his way back to the basement door.

“Off the game before three a.m.”

He turns around and his eyes widen in shock. “What?! But we are in the middle of a tournament!”

“I don’t care. Finish it in the morning. You’re ten years old!”

“We’re up against people on the West Coast! We can’t forfeit!” he retorts and I imagine he’s probably cursing Margot and himself for being nosy at the moment because I may not have realized they were still up otherwise.

Especially if I was still face-up in Elianna’s pussy.

“Three a.m., Sawyer. Don’t make me turn off the WiFi.”

He grumbles before he’s through the door closing it behind him and I hear him running down the stairs.

Back in my room, my nerves are still running through me when my mind drifts back to the woman down the hall. I wonder if she’s asleep by now and I’m grateful to see a text from her when I pick up my phone.

I press the call button and hold my phone to my ear. She picks up immediately.

“Hey,” she says, completely alert and I’m glad I didn’t wake her up. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Said she and Mel got into a fight, but…she seems off.”

“I see. Did she tell you what the fight was about?”

“No, she wouldn’t tell me.” I let out a sigh. “Maybe you could try tomorrow?”

“Of course. I’ll talk to her.”

I think Margot still has a bit of her guard up when it comes to Elianna, but I do think she may open up to her if she wants to talk. Especially if it’s something she doesn’t feel comfortable talking to me about.

Neither of us says anything for a moment while I drop to my bed and fall to my back. “I was so relaxed earlier,” I chuckle.

“I’m sorry you didn’t…you know…come.” She giggles nervously and just that one word falling from her lips has my dick twitching in my pants.

“Trust me, tonight was still the most relaxed I’ve been in…a long time.”

“How long?” she asks, and I realize she isn’t aware of how long it’s been for me.

“A little over a year,” I tell her. “Before Bianca died.”

“Oh,” she says sadly.

“I’ve just been busy and…tired,” I tell her.

“I get that,” she whispers. “Maybe I can…still help?”

“We will find a time to resume what we started; don’t you worry.”

“Well, I meant…now?”

“I don’t think I should come back tonight,” I tell her, even though my entire body is not at all in agreement with that.

“I don’t either but…there are other ways I could help…” She trails off and a smile finds my face thinking about having phone sex with her when she seems to struggle even saying the word pussy.

“What did you have in mind?”

The sound of my FaceTime ringer comes through the phone and the thought of getting to see her naked has me answering it immediately.

“Hi,” she whispers with a sexy smile on her face. It’s obvious she has turned on another light, illuminating the room a little more and allowing me to see everything from the stomach up. Her lips are glossy like she’s put something on them and she’s pulled her hair up into a loose ponytail. Her dusty rose nipples appear to be hard and I wish I was wrapping my lips around them. “Take off your pants.”

I turn on my dimmest lights and prop my phone up on my nightstand before reaching for my AirPods. I put one in so I can hear if someone is outside my door but so I can also hear Elianna’s voice clearly. I do as she says and position myself so she can see me as well. “Can you see?”

She nods. “But this is about you.” She smiles. “As long as you can see me.”

My hand immediately finds my dick and I begin to stroke it slowly. “I can’t see your pussy,” I whisper and she giggles before she moves back slightly and I realize she must have her phone on a tripod or something. “Spread them,” I tell her and she nods slowly before spreading her legs obscenely giving me the perfect view of her pussy. Memories of my fingers, tongue, and cock buried inside of it come flooding back to me and I already feel like I could come. Two fingers find her mouth and I watch in shock and fascination as she drags them along her tongue and slides them down her body between her legs.

“Holy fuck.”

“I really…liked that earlier,” she tells me. “I love the way your fingers feel inside of me…your tongue…” She lets out a shaky breath. “There.”

“Your pussy.” I grunt as I begin to jack myself faster. “Say it,” I grit out, wanting to see and hear that word fall from those shiny lips.

“My pussy,” she says and I groan in response. It must spur her on because she begins rubbing her clit faster. “I want more.” Her voice is breathy and full of sex and I wonder if she’s nearing her climax.

“Fuck, so do I, baby.”

“I want to suck you until you come down my throat.”

“Shit.”

“You’re big…but I want to try to suck all of you.” She clears her throat. “Get all of your dick in my mouth,” she whispers, probably assuming I want to hear her say that specific word too.

“Jesus. You’re going to make me come, Elianna.”

“Good,” she purrs. “Pretend you’re inside of me.” She gets on her knees and moves closer to the camera so the focal point is her cunt. “I’m riding you right now. And”—she gasps—“you’re in so deep, Rowan. Fuck me.” She moans and my teeth bury into my bottom lip as I watch her spread her sex open revealing her wet, ripe clit.

My eyes flit away from the camera to my bedroom door, wondering if maybe I could make it to her room without making a noise. “Ellie, fuck me, baby. Right there.”

She gasps in response and moves so her face is back in the camera. “Is that…oh God…the first time you’ve called me Ellie?”

“Maybe out loud,” I tell her as I fuck my fist faster.

She sits back down and spreads her legs again, giving me the perfect view of all of her. “I love it,” she says as she rubs herself harder. “Say it when you come.”

“Fuck yes,” I tell her. “Can I come in your pussy?”

She nods. “Please.” Her voice is pleading and desperate as she chases her orgasm which I think is nearing.

“Are you close, baby? Rub that sweet little clit harder for me. God, it looks so wet and perfect. If I were in there, I’d lick you fucking dry.” I pull at my dick in a bit of frustration, wishing I could still taste her on my tongue.

“Right there…Rowan…can I…”

“Can you what? Tell me, sunshine. The answer is yes whatever it is.”

“Can I…come all over your dick now?” she asks and the breathiness in her voice sends me over the edge as ropes of cum shoot out of my dick and onto my stomach.

“Fuck fuck fuck, yes come for me, Ellie.” I groan out through my climax and I hear her moaning in my ear a beat behind mine.

“Oh yes, there,” she says and I watch as her tits shake with the force of her orgasm. Her head is thrown back and she has one hand behind her to hold her upright as she thrusts her hips against her hand. I’m certain I’ve never seen a sight more sinfully gorgeous.

She rides out the rest of her climax before she slowly lifts her head to look at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye before she drags her eyes down my torso. She runs her tongue along her bottom lip and I let out a grunt in response. “Do not fucking tempt me. It’s taking everything in me not to rip both of our doors off their hinges to get to you right now.”

Her hand that was just between her legs moves up her body and slides between her lips and I watch in fascination as she sucks herself off of her fingers. My dick jerks at the idea of following suit.

“I should go to bed.”

I nod, wishing like hell she meant my bed. “Right, same.”

“I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Can’t wait.” I smile and she returns it before blowing me a kiss and ending the call.

I don’t know how much longer I’m awake, staring at the ceiling thinking about Ellie and also what River said. Is this just sex? Does she want more? And if she does, how would the kids take it? The idea that my relationship with Elianna, whatever kind that may be, is getting more complicated by the moment is the last thing that crosses my mind before I fall asleep.