I was supposed to live in this house with him and make sure he was settling in comfortably. I was supposed to welcome him because his dad would be too busy living whatever life it was that he lived with my mother. I had to laugh. I didn’t even know what it was that Greg did for a living. That’s how much of a non-issue he was in my life. All I knew was that he dated my mother, and he was lasting longer than most.
Well, I supposed, now, I knew that he had a son.
Ace McIntire.
What a fucking name to go with that face and body, and what a body it was. You could tell the guy was in shape from just looking at him, but when I had plastered myself against his body to irritate my mom, I was able to feel just how in shape he was.
He had felt all solid muscle. And those goddamn eyes of his.
Fuck me.
His dark brown hair and brown eyebrows just made those puppies stand out more and I couldn’t help but think of a lion’s flowing mane when I took in the color of his eyes. They were the most stunning pair of eyes I’d ever seen, and I’ve seen some beautiful gazes before.
And because I did my best to keep myself grounded and remain self-aware, I couldn’t lie and say his hand on my ass hadn’t almost made me purr like a cat in heat. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I made it a point to welcome a guy’s hand on my body. I was a self-made teenage slut, and I got it on with just about anyone who could catch my fancy. The only thing that made Ace McIntire off limits was the fact that he was another one of my mother’s ideas forced upon me. I didn’t like it, and by default, didn’t like him.
Besides, I knew my mom really didn’t care if I fucked Ace. She could walk in on me riding him on the kitchen counter and she wouldn’t bat an eyelash. Hell, there have been many times in my lifetime when she’s made a surprise visit home and has caught me with a boy in my bedroom, so I knew she didn’t really care. She only cared for appearances’ sake. If Greg cared, well then, she cared too. She would not let me ruin anything she had going with Greg.
What I found interesting was that up until now, I had always viewed Greg as a nice guy. Granted, I didn’t spend much time with him, but whenever I had, he had always had his best foot forward. Watching him interact with his son had been a real eye opener, and it made me wonder just how nice Greg McIntire really was.
Of course, I knew nothing about his life, and he could genuinely be a nice guy, but just have some contention with his son. For all I know, Ace could be the one in the wrong here, but something told me that wasn’t the case. Ace gave off a vibe of…realness. He seemed too sure of himself to play games.
The door to my bedroom swung open, and I should have known.
Elise came storming in without even bothering to shut the door, but my room was in the tallest winged tower of the house, I doubt Greg or Ace could hear us arguing from wherever they were. And, yes, my mother was so ostentatious, our house had actual towers.
“I don’t know what all that shit was about, Ava, but I will not have you embarrassing me in front of Greg and his son!” she yelled.
Now, here’s the thing about absent parents; they are just that-absent. Their threats fall on deaf ears because they’re not around long enough to see those threats through. Sure, Elise could throw me out since I was technically an adult, but how would that look? And that’s what it all boiled town to with the parents of Sands Cove.
Appearances.
Our parents didn’t care of we were degenerates, just as long as no one knew. Your daughter could fuck the entire football team, just so long as she didn’t get pregnant. Your son could snort coke until the cows came home, just so long as he didn’t overdose. Your daughter could drink her weight in alcohol, just so long as she didn’t get a DUI. Your son could rape unwilling females, so long as they were paid off enough to keep their mouths shut.
That was the parenting motto of the community of Sands Cove. We could do whatever we wanted, however we wanted, with whoever we wanted, as long as we didn’t end up in serious trouble over it.
“Better to be embarrassed than blindsided, Mom,” I snapped. “You don’t think it would have been, oh, I don’t know, decent enough of you to call me and tell me you were bringing a stranger here to live with me?”
“He’s not a stranger,” she argued. “He’s Greg’s son.”
“Well, he’s a stranger to me,” I pointed out, not that she cared.
She crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Ava. He’s perfectly safe.”
I stared at my mom and wondered why I was even bothering. Maybe a part of me still hoped for the day when she’d choose me over men and money, but I knew the reality of our situation. My mother would never choose me. If she hadn’t chosen me when I was 9-years-old and found Boyfriend #5 with his hand up my pajamas, she’d never choose me.
I had done many things over the years to try to block out those damaging memories, but when I finally realized that I would never be able to, I had embraced them instead. Peter had done more than just stick his hand up my pajamas when I was young. He had made sure to do enough irreparable damage that I’d never know what it would be like to be normal.
It had started like every story you’ve ever heard on the subject. It was little touches here and there. Promises of gifts and games. The day we became a team and started keeping secrets. The night he finally touched me between my legs. The night he wrapped my tiny hand around his grownup cock. The weekend Elise had gone on a girls’ trip and left him to babysit me alone.
The night he ripped me in half and told me not to cry.
It had gone on for months before he couldn’t control himself anymore and Elise walked in on him fingering a goddamn crying 9-year-old.
I thought I had been saved.
I thought her walking in on us had been a Godsend. I thought she was going to save me and destroy the enemy.
Instead, she had taken me aside and, while she asked all the right questions, it hadn’t been because she was going to throw the bastard in jail.
No.
It had been to protect herself and Peter from possible unflattering accusations on my part.
The only thing that had changed after that day was that Peter had been banned from our house, but she still continued to date him, and promised him I wouldn’t say a word. And, even if I did, no one would believe me if my own mother didn’t believe my claims.
It was the day my soul died.
I can tell you the exact date, time, and place when my soul died, and it’s been dead.
“What do you want, Mom?” I asked, because it was pointless to point out what a worthless human being she was.
“What I want is for you not to ruin things like you always do, Ava,” she retorted. “Greg needs our help with his son and that’s what he’s going to get. I don’t need you running off another great guy because you’re ugly and ungrateful on the inside.”
I laughed. “Who cares if Greg comes to his senses and runs off?” I challenged. “You’ll just have another guy in your bed before he clears the goddamn sidewalk. You think I’m the reason you can’t keep a man?” I shook my head. “Have you ever thought it might be because you can’t keep your legs closed?”
I didn’t see the slap coming, but I was braced for it, anyway. That was Elise’s standard way to win an argument. Eyes that matched mine burned into my face. “Don’t think that just because I’m not home much, I don’t know all about you Ava. You’re the last person who should mentioning opened legs.”
Not home much? How about never home. I shrugged a shoulder appearing unaffected when I really wanted to punch her in the face. “Well, what can I say, Mother. I got an early start and developed a taste for getting fucked. Nothing like a man’s cock buried deep inside a warm, tight, young pussy. Right, Mom?” Her face was so red that all the blood vessels in her face were in real danger of bursting open. After a few seconds, she turned around and stormed out of my room.
I stood staring, and as my mother rushed out in such a rage, she hadn�
�t noticed a very stoic-looking Ace McIntire standing to the left of the door’s threshold. I lifted my chin, daring him to say something, and we stayed like that for an entire minute before he turned on his heels and walked away.
It was going to be a long summer.
Chapter 4
Ace~
I wasn’t happy to be here, and I wasn’t going to pretend otherwise for my father, for Elise, or for Ava. The only reason I was here was because it was one thing to have a juvenile criminal record, it was another thing to have an adult criminal record. My mother couldn’t handle me anymore, and while my father has been a nonfactor growing up, he still sent a check every month and paid enough attorneys that I’ve never spent longer than a week in jail.
While my mother didn’t care about appearances, my father did. If he could have kept me a secret, I’m sure he would have, but he couldn’t. He had actually been married to my mother, and for the first few years of my life, we had been one big happy family. That came to a crashing halt when my father decided to cash my mother in for newer, hotter, younger model.
He had met some woman on a business trip, and it wasn’t long before he was always away on business. My mother had found out, divorced him, and used me as a leveraging chip to make him miserable; only it hadn’t worked. My father had been so enrapt with his new girlfriend, he hadn’t cared if he saw me or not. He hadn’t cared about anything but making money and that woman’s pussy. It’s funny. She helped break up my parents’ marriage, but I couldn’t remember her name for shit. Hell, there have been so many women in between her and Elise, I doubt my dad even remembers her name.
In a quest to prove she didn’t need my father, my mother had gone on a partying binge that put 80s rocker bands to shame. She drank, smoked, did drugs, fucked every guy with a hard cock…you name it, she did it. And, lucky me, I had been there to witness it all.
And, while my father was as absent as you could get, all his colleagues, friends, our family, they all knew I existed, so it wouldn’t look good for him to have a son in jail. My boundaries were far and wide, but I fucked up when I crossed them.
I had escaped a manslaughter charge legally, but morally, the weight was like an albatross around my neck. The courts had viewed it as self-defense, but I knew better. I knew the second Jerry Tremble had had enough. I knew the second I had made my point, and he was done for.
But what had I done?
I had kept right on hitting that fucker because I was angry and needed to purge the hate in my heart. Sadly enough, it hadn’t worked. I was still angry and still had a tremendous amount of hate in my heart.
The only thing that had saved me, besides Dad’s expensive-as-fuck attorney, were the numerous amount of witnesses who testified that Jerry had come after me. And, while that was true, the part that wasn’t was what really got me off.
Dad had paid Erica Leeds to testify that I had been trying to help her to safety when Jerry attacked me, and no one had disputed that fact. And because Erica had been the girl I caught Jerry raping, the jury viewed me as a hero. I knew Erica would have testified for me anyway, but the cash my dad gave had turned her statement into fact.
The truth was that I wasn’t a hero. Yeah, I grabbed that motherfucker off her, but I hadn’t done it only to save her. I had done it with the full intent on killing him. Rapists and pedophiles are the scourge of the earth, and I had been on a mission to rid the world of one more. No matter what the justice system did, I knew the truth. The only problem?
I do it again.
I would do it in a heartbeat if I ever stumbled upon the same scene I did that night. I wasn’t sorry for my actions, much to Greg’s dismay. However, he hadn’t wasted the opportunity to boast about his son, the hero. I wasn’t confused, though. I knew he didn’t want to deal with me because, at any given moment, I could blow his cover, and I had no problem doing so if it served my purpose.
The only reason I agreed to come with him was because I had crossed the line of morality and killed someone, and I knew something had to give. My mother’s corrupt lifestyle had shaped me into an unconscionable human being, so it was time to give my father’s neglect a chance. After all, it was only for three months. I could do anything for three months.
Or, at least, I had thought so until I laid eyes on Ava Hill. Having her body pressed up against me had fucked with me something serious.
My dick had been hard ever since she opened her mouth, but when she had threatened to murder me for grabbing her ass, I had wanted to drag her down on the pavement by the pool and fuck her like a filthy whore. I had wanted to ram my cock into every hole until she passed out from pleasure or pain. I had wanted her like I’ve never wanted anything in my life.
The only problem was that it appeared that Ava Hill might be harboring just as much hate in her soul as I was. From the second she first opened her mouth, you could hear her contempt for life drip from every word she spoke. She was full of so many tangled emotions that, from the little that I had overheard, she was trying to fuck those emotions under control.
I had gone upstairs just to harass her a little, but I hadn’t counted on Elise being in her room. I figured since Greg and Elise had left us standing outside together, they were wherever they were together. I stood outside Ava’s bedroom, and not even trying to hide or pretend I wasn’t eavesdropping, overheard what sounded like a fight between two teenage girls. Elise had been just as snide and catting as Ava. They fought almost as if they were sisters who had hard dirt on one another.
I overheard Ava admitting she was a slut, and I wondered if that was her only vice. Did she drink? Smoke? Do drugs? Did she fight? Did she have any friends? I was hard pressed to believe she had any if she slept around as loosely as she claimed. Girls were funny that way. They had no problem vying for the affections of a guy who fucked everything that moved, but they were downright vicious towards girls who did the same damn thing.
“You’re going to stay away from Ava, Ace,” my father’s voice said, breaching the silence in the kitchen. I had come in here to grab something to drink, but it was mostly just to do something with myself. I wasn’t ready to unpack, but I needed to find something to do before I stormed into Ava’s room, locking us both behind the door.
I turned around to face him. “Make up your mind, Dad,” I said, cocking my head. “Either you want her to make me feel at home here, making her have to spend time with me, or you want me to stay away from her. Which is it?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, and just for the pettiness of it, I liked how I filled out more than he did. I could kick his ass if it came down to it. “Look,” he started, “regardless of the outcome of the trial, we both know you should be rotting in Hell right now, Ace. Don’t stomp on my good graces, son. It won’t turn out in your favor.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Rotting in prison, maybe, but Hell? Nah, I don’t think so,” I replied. “It might not be my place to be judge, jury, and executioner, but I don’t regret what I did. He was raping her, Dad.”
He dropped his arms and let out a sigh. “Of course, that’s not what I meant, Ace. Of course, no girl deserves to be raped or abused. But you didn’t have to kill him to make your point.”
“Please, don’t speak to me about morals and ethics, Dad,” I laughed. “You’re the last person who should be spewing advice on how to live piously.”
“I’ve never killed or raped anyone, Ace,” he pointed out.
“Says you,” I chuckled. “But the sins we can prove are adultery, abandonment, neglect, greed-”
“That’s enough,” he said, finally snapping.
“Oh, so, it’s okay to lay out all my sins on the table, but we still have to keep a squeaky-clean image for your sugar momma?”
“You know damn well I have my own money,” he snapped back, and I had to laugh at the fact that, out of everything I just said, that’s what he’s focusing on.
“What do you want, Dad?” I asked. “Did you really just seek me out to tell me not to fuck Ava
?” His jaw clenched, and I smirked.
Refined people made me laugh. They tried so hard to shun crass, crude language or behaviors when they’re just as bad as the rest of us in private. At least Ava and I weren’t hypocrites.
“I am not going to have you ruining my relationship with Elise because you want to toy with Ava, Ace,” he stated.
“What makes you think I’d be toying with her?” I countered. “How do you know it’s not love at first sight?”
“And if I marry Elise? What then?” he asked. “Ava will be your stepsister.”
Is it bad that my dick hardened behind the kitchen island at that sentence?
“Trust me, Dad,” I said, instead of telling him how much I would love for Ava to be my naughty, little stepsister, “Ava hates me being here every bit as much as I hate being here. The last thing you’re going to see from us is a love match.”
“Three months, Ace,” he replied. “Three months and you can go off to college and start your own life.” I didn’t comment as he turned around and walked out of the kitchen.
Three months.
Three months, and everyone and their mother can go fuck themselves.
Chapter 5
Ava~
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” said a voice hovering over my ear.
“No,” I mumbled back, pulling a pillow over my head.
“Nuh uh, chic,” said that same voice I used to love. “You’re getting your ass up and telling me why you came knocking on the door at midnight, sober and pissed to hell.”
The pillow was ripped from my face, giving me no choice but to wake up. “Goddamn it, Delaney,” I whined. “It’s like…six in the morning.”
“Correction, it’s almost noon, and it’s time for you to get up and tell me the details of whatever led you to my doorstep last night,” she retorted.
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