regretted last night.”
Ordinarily so confident and formidable when he faced off with me, I wasn’t used to seeing so much hesitation and worry behind his eyes. Today it poured off him in waves.
“I don’t.”
“This is not a joke, Edison. We—I broke the rules.”
“I don’t care.”
His jaw ticked, and I gulped.
“Edison.” His voice was raw with emotion.
I took a chance, reaching out and resting my hands on his hips, keeping them clear away from his warm, freshly showered bare skin a half inch higher. “Dad. I’m not a kid. I know what I’m saying. I know what I’m feeling.”
Something in his touch changed. It was minimal enough I might not have noticed had I not spent a lot of my teenage years getting scolded in this same fashion. The touch became less enforcing and more tender.
I strove for bravery and slid my hands to the bare skin above the waistband of his sweats.
Dad’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
“I don’t care that you broke the rules, Dad. I want you to again.”
His thumb moved, only a fraction, but it was almost a caress. He wet his lips, but the conflicted look never left him. I kept going.
“I liked your hand on my cock. I liked being surrounded by you, your arms all around me while I came.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His fight for control was slipping.
I brushed a path along his hip bones, skirting under the band of his sweats and applying the slightest pressure, encouraging him closer.
He stumbled into my space, not unwillingly. His face hovered so close to mine I felt each fluttering exhale as it ghosted my chin.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for, kid. You unleash this beast and there is no shoving it back into its cage.”
“I can handle it.”
“Edison.” A warning.
He wasn’t getting it. “I’m a big boy, Dad. Whether you want to believe it or not. Last night was everything.”
“Last night was vanilla. If you cross this line, you’ll be sorry.”
I pulled him up against me. When his erection bumped mine, I couldn’t contain my victory smile. “Try me,” I dared.
He growled, his grip on my chin changing again.
“You’re hard for me, Dad. Can’t hide it. Who the fuck are we fooling? Are we gonna keep pretending we don’t want to explore this? Are you gonna keep trying to convince yourself I’m not man enough to take these risks? It’s not gonna fuck me up. You aren’t gonna scar me for life. I’m a grown-ass man, just like you. I make my own decisions. I know what I want. Do you?”
He yanked my face to his and kissed me with such brute force I was sure I’d be left with bruises and a split lip. Growling, his tongue slashed mine, and I felt the full impact of it from head to toe. My skin buzzed to life, electric and tingling. My hips jerked of their own volition, seeking friction and finding it.
He gave it to me for a few minutes, eating at my mouth, grinding, but it didn’t last. He pulled back on a gasp, his lips as abused looking as mine felt. “You’re in trouble,” he rasped. “I will show you no mercy.”
I responded with a smile, the “bring it” implied.
Dad backed off. Retreating, he stumbled on his own feet and caught himself on the doorframe leading out of the kitchen. Before he turned and walked away, he pointed a finger at me. “I’m not finished with you. If you think I’m walking away because I’m too scared to take you up on this, I’m not. I didn’t sleep a fucking wink last night, and I work later. Some of us aren’t twenty years old anymore. I’m going home to bed.”
My body was on fire. I stayed against the counter as Dad vanished into the living room. He said something to Uncle Denver I couldn’t hear, then it was quiet again.
The front door didn’t slam, and I didn’t hear his car leave, so after a few minutes, I tentatively poked my head into the living room. Uncle Denver was watching the news, sipping his coffee. A smirk bloomed across his face when he saw me.
“He’s getting dressed.”
A moment later, Dad came from the bedroom in the same clothes he’d had on last night—his bar clothes. Before aiming for the front door, he passed a look between Uncle Denver and me, speaking to Uncle Denver. “I gave you a pass last night. I do not give you one now. Hands fucking off or I’ll