“That’s when you came here,” I said quietly, taking a swig of my drink.
“Yeah, that’s when I came here. I figured…” She paused for a moment, looking down into her drink. “I figured you protected me before, so I may as well try my luck and see if you’ll do it again.”
She was right about that. I’d never had kids, nor did I want any, but something about her… it wasn’t some parental urge to look after her… it was something else that I wasn’t quite sure of yet.
I stood up and moved to the sliding door leading out to my porch, pulling a packet of smokes out of my pocket.
“I know it’s bad for you, but I haven’t been able to quit just yet. Hope you don’t mind me smokin’,” I said as I stood in the doorway and lit one up. “You warm enough? Need anything?”
With a smooth motion, Violet stood and joined me on the porch. “No, but I’ll take one of those, if you’re offering?”
I grunted, holding the pack out for her to take one. She pulled one out and placed it in between her lips. I couldn’t help but enjoy the sight of her pillowy lips holding onto the cigarette. They were all plump and soft looking.
“You gonna help me with a light or keep staring?”
I grunted again, quickly pulling my lighter out and handing it to her. “Sorry,” I said, pulling on a drag of the smoke. “You know you really shouldn’t make a habit out of these things.”
She puffed out a plume of smoke, rolling her eyes. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll keep that in mind. Don’t do what you do.”
I rolled my eyes back at her. “You don’t exactly look like the type to smoke, Violet.”
“Yeah well, breaking up with your psycho boyfriend, staying in a house with an attractive older man… sometimes the moment calls for one.”
I felt heat rising in my cheeks at the compliment but decided not to mention it. “Guess you aren’t so innocent as you make out to be,” I said, eyeing her carefully. “You a wild child?”
That familiar blush began to rise in her cheeks as she looked out at the porch. She sucked on the cigarette again. “Depends,” she finally answered. “You like ’em wild, Joel?”
Jesus. How did my night end up here? I thought. There must be something wrong with this girl, for her to be so shameless. Yet, I couldn’t help the small smile that crept across my lips.
“Depends,” I repeated her phrasing. “I think wild can be a good thing. Gettin’ into trouble sometimes…”
Violet stubbed out the smoke under her foot. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. “To tell you the truth, I’m a little more innocent than I let on,” she chuckled dryly. “I like to pretend I’m this wild child, when really, I like it when someone else takes the role of ‘wild’. I’m more of a follower, if you get my drift.”
I frowned at her, finishing my own cigarette. “You don’t seem like a follower,” I said as I gestured for us to move back inside to the warmth.
I shut the door behind us, and we both returned to the living room except now we were on the same couch, facing each other. She wrapped her hand around her drink and took another sip.
“Yeah, well, I don’t let many people see that side of me,” she said, watching me carefully. “Truth is, I like to be told what to do. Not to make the decisions.”
I raised an eyebrow at this. I felt like I were teetering on the edge of something explicit here. Her eyes watch me coolly, dark pupils amongst a mess of auburn hair.
Stop, I admonished myself internally. She’s come to you for help. You’d be taking advantage by turning this into something sexual. Just because she’s started talking about being told what to do, doesn’t mean it’s inherently sexual. Get your shit together — oh fuck it.
“You must want a man to take charge, then huh?” I say quietly. “You like men in positions of authority?”
Her quick response told me all I needed to know. “If that’s what you wanna call it, Joel, then yeah… I like men with authority… power… Are you a man with power?”
She leaned into me, one hand wrapped around her glass, the other perched in the space between us on the soft leather of the couch. I could smell oranges on her breath. And god dammit, I could feel myself leaning in to her. It’s like she was a blackhole, sucking me into her orbit.
“You already know the answer to that, don’t you?” I said, my voice deathly quiet. “You saw how I dealt with your ex-boyfriend. What does that tell you?”
And now we were so close that I could see the pores on her skin. I could hear the shaking in her breath. I could damn near taste those oranges on her breath and god did I want to taste them.
“I don’t know, Joel. I think you gotta prove how powerful you are before I decide anything.” She leaned in close and for a moment I thought she was going to kiss me, but instead she moved her lips to my ear. “Are you gonna show me how powerful you are, Daddy?”
I paused, my eyes closing slightly at the touch of her lips on my skin. It felt like electricity was humming through my body and my breath was coming out heavy. My mind was racing. Did she just call me… Daddy?
I watched in eerie slowness as she pulled away from my ear to watch me carefully under her eyelashes. Her little tongue, wet and red, flicked out to lick her pillowy lips and she smirked with a deviousness that told me she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“You want me to prove it?” I said, and my hand slowly moved up to her throat, pressing into her soft, cool skin.
Violet sucked in a breath at my touch, her eyes fluttering closed then open again. She let out a soft little whimper and that’s when I knew it was all over.
I pressed my lips hard into hers, not letting go of her throat. I could hear her whimpering like a little puppy under my touch as I pushed my tongue into her mouth, my hand tightening its grip. Her saliva mingled with mine, so our lips became wet and sticky. Then I pulled away, still holding her throat.
“That proof enough for you?” I almost spit this at her as I let go of her throat, shoving her slightly. She fell backwards onto the couch.
I couldn’t help the edge of anger that had seeped into me — she knew what she was doing when she came here. She wanted this to happen. Jesus, I bet she never even broke up with her boyfriend. Well, if she wants this, I’ll give it to her.
“I’d say that’s proof,” she said, and her voice was almost choking as it tried to suck back in breath. Her cheeks were flushed as she watched me. “Might need a bit more evidence, though.”
I stood, exhaling roughly. I flexed my hands by my sides. What the fuck is going on? I’ve had girlfriends like this before — where everything feels like some kind of power play. Where the sexual tension isn’t normal, it’s some kind of battle for dominance. My ex-girlfriend Lily was of this ilk — choosing to bait me into some kind of angry response so we ended up in long sessions of punishment and play. I wasn’t complaining at the time; hell, I enjoyed watching her submit and turn into a desperate drooling mess as she vied for my attention. It was good at the time, but afterwards I was always left with a feeling of guilt, like a form of “post-nut-clarity” multiplied by one hundred. I didn’t like who I became when I got swept up in that madness. I wasn’t sure this was what Violet was trying to instigate here, but it sure felt familiar.
“What are you doing?” I shot at her. I was standing over her as she sat crossed legged on the couch.
She leaned so her back hit the back of the couch, her little face looking up at me. She seemed to be on the verge of saying something. Her mouth pouted, as though she were tasting her words before she spoke. Then she laughed. “I’m just joking around, Joel. Jeez, does being old mean you can’t take a joke anymore?”
“I think maybe it’s time you head to bed,” I instructed, turning away from her to grab my drink. I swallowed the last mouthful of the whiskey; it burned going down.
“Fine,” she said with a little sigh. “Can I have a shower, at least?”
I nodded and gestured for her to follow.
I showed her down the hall to the bathroom where I flicked on the light. I grabbed a clean towel from the hallway cupboard and handed it to her. My eyes avoided hers. I was sure if I looked at her, my conflicted feelings about her would be revealed, like she had some superhuman ability to read minds.
“Will you sit in the bathroom and talk to me while I shower? I’m still a little shaken up from what happened with Hugo…” she said softly. I finally met her gaze, and she had that cute puppy dog stare on her. “I could do with your… protection again.”
My face burned, but I was sure under the dim lighting of the hallway that she couldn’t see it. Finally, I sighed and nodded. “Yeah sure, but don’t try anything.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
She immediately started to pull off her shirt and before I had time to look away, I saw the milky skin of her stomach leading up to her breasts, which were covered in some kind of blue lace. I turned away, mumbling something incoherent. Then a moment later, I heard the water start running and her footsteps entering the shower.
I moved into the bathroom and sat on the toilet with the lid closed. I tried to keep my eyes off her, but I couldn’t help but catch a glance of her through the shower glass, which was steadily collecting steam.
Her small body was hazy through the glass, but I could still see her pert little breasts, the slightly darker colour of puffy nipples. The curve of her legs, and that little V of her crotch that hid her pussy. I licked my lips, wondering if she wanted me to join her; if she wanted me to help her lather up with soap. Maybe it was a job only I could do.
Her hands, now covered in shower gel, moved across her body, lathering her skin up with suds. “You could do with a shower too,” she said suddenly. “No offense.”
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