Her collateral bride a l.., p.15
Her Collateral Bride: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance, page 15
herself in. “Please. Let me taste you.”
Haley felt the hesitation. She felt Claire go rigid, her heels
digging into the floor as her leg muscles tensed. She was going
to push back the chair and leave. She was going to push back
any second. Haley’s fingers tightened around Claire’s thigh
muscles, and holy shit, the woman wasn’t kidding when she
said she made good use of her home gym. She didn’t want to
let go, but she wanted Claire to choose this.
One hand came down underneath the desk and tangled in
Haley’s hair. She’d left it down and it was freshly washed, soft
and wild. Claire used it to pull Haley closer, tugging until
Haley’s scalp burned, until tears stung the corners of her eyes.
She loved it. Her body loved it. The aching spot between her
legs loved it. She loved the control Claire had over her, and
even if she wanted Claire to put it down, just for a minute, and
let her get close, she’d let her have it now because she craved
it. She’d spent every minute of every day thinking about this.
“Push my skirt up,” Claire demanded, sounding bored, but
there was a slight tremor that shot through her muscles,
betraying her. Haley knew Claire wanted to say no. She
wanted to push back from that desk and leave the room. She
wanted to put distance between them. Instead, she was going
to stay. She was going to give instructions and Haley was
going to obey.
Haley inched the silky fabric up a few inches. Claire didn’t
bother with hose, but that would have been hot, finding thigh
highs there, or a garter belt. Haley felt her own panties get
soaked beneath the little dress she’d purposely worn because it
could easily be pushed up or stripped off or shoved out of the
way. She’d chosen a lace thong, which didn’t contain any of
the moisture, and beads of it rolled down her thighs as she
shifted up onto her knees.
Claire abruptly shoved the desk chair back a foot and Haley
flew forward, nearly landing in her lap. Her legs screamed for
mercy against the agonizing pins and needles, but she didn’t
make a sound. She gritted her teeth together and kept pushing
Claire’s skirt up until she revealed black silk panties. They
were industrial looking and practical, not a thong and no lace,
all while being the sexiest thing Haley had ever seen.
“Sweep them out of the way,” Claire commanded. She still
had her hand in Haley’s hair and now she used the strands to
tug her forward again.
Haley vibrated with need as she swept one finger under the
silk, warm from Claire’s body. Heat traced down her spine and
pooled in her belly and between her legs. She pressed forward,
searching with the pads of two fingers until she felt naked
flesh. Claire was so warm, so smooth, but she wasn’t wet yet.
She tugged her skirt up the rest of the way herself and Haley
thought she might die right then. “If I touched you right now,”
Claire said, her voice commanding, “would I find you
soaked?”
“Yes,” Haley whimpered. “I’m dripping down my thighs.”
Claire let out a hiss between clenched teeth. “Suck me
through the fabric.”
Haley wanted Claire’s clothing out of the way. She wanted
more than a touch through a shield. She wanted to get through
Claire’s walls, but she could be patient. She’d do what Claire
asked her to do.
She gently let the panties fall back into place and she
replaced her fingers with her mouth. The first taste was sweet
heaven, even through the silk. Claire wasn’t drenched, but
Haley could still taste her there, the spice of her on her
clothing. It was ridiculously naughty for being so strangely
hot. She remembered how Claire had threatened to gag her
with her own panties the first time if she couldn’t be quiet.
Haley had been so scandalized at the suggestion, but now she
understood how hot it would have been.
“Pull up your dress,” Claire said, her expression solemn
when Haley looked up at her. “Spread your thighs. Keep doing
what you’re doing while you pull your panties down and put
your ass in the air. I want to see your pussy drenched for me.”
Haley didn’t mind the strangeness of being half under the
desk. Truth be told, she loved the kinkiness of what Claire was
asking her to do. She was probably already half wrecked, her
pupils blown with pleasure, her face suffused with want.
Because she did want this. She wanted it and she loved it.
She suckled Claire through the fabric, inhaling her scent,
running her tongue along the seam of her, molding the silk to
her body as her hands worked up her own dress, shoving the
skirt up her ass and over her hips. She worked her panties
down, which was hard with her face pressed between Claire’s
spread legs. She got them locked around her knees and then
Claire stopped her.
“That’s far enough. Run your hand over yourself and show
me.”
Haley’s face went hot, but she did it. She coated her fingers
in her slick wetness. She knew that if she even skimmed her
clit, it would be too much. She’d explode right there, so she
made sure not to touch it. To think that she’d never been able
to get herself off was crazy. Then again, when she was by
herself, even her wildest fantasies didn’t extend this far.
She held her fingers out for Claire to see. Claire captured
her hand in her own and brought it to her lips. Haley gasped
when Claire’s tongue licked along the sides of her fingers
before she suckled them into her mouth.
“Oh God,” Haley whimpered. She forgot what she was
doing for a second, until her eyes fluttered open, and she
raised her head. “Can I see you? Please? I want to taste you.
Without the panties.”
Claire looked on edge, like at any second she was going to
slam down her skirt, push back the chair, and stalk out of the
room. She was conflicted, her emotions warring with each
other in full view, but Haley won out.
Claire leaned forward and snatched something off the
desktop, then held it down. Haley stared at the long blade of
sharp looking scissors. Was she supposed to cut Claire’s
panties off of her? Christ, she had no experience with this. It
seemed too dangerous.
Claire held out one seam, along the side, holding the silky
fabric away from her skin. “Here. Cut them here.”
Haley’s hands were shaking so badly that she was afraid
she’d botch it. She put one underneath, along Claire’s hip, just
to be sure she could guide the blades away from her sensitive
skin there. The first snip nearly stopped her heart, but when it
was just fabric, she kept going. She cut until the one side was
gone, then she did the other with more confidence. She even
pulled them away and handed back the scissors. She kept her
eyes on Claire’s as she did, the raw emotion there exactly what
she thought she wouldn’t see.
Claire spread her legs. She sat that way, exposing herself to
Haley, entirely without shame or reluctance. She too had the
benefit of expensive waxes.
One more quick look into Claire’s face and Haley was
shocked again at the emotion there. There were no walls in
place. She was naked and exposed. As if she couldn’t
remember the last time she’d let anyone close enough to do
this. Was she always the one giving orders? Giving pleasure?
Did she never take any of it for herself?
Haley was keenly aware of her dress pulled up, her panties
pulled down, exposing her swollen, glistening wet pussy for
Claire to see. She looked back at Claire, somehow unable to
make the first move without permission.
“Oh my God. You’re so fucking beautiful,” Haley gasped.
“Can I taste you? Please?”
“No.” The word was a croak, not nearly so domineering as
she wanted it to be. “No, I want you up here, on my lap like
the bad girl you are.”
Oh God. Of course what Claire had planned was so much
dirtier than Haley hiding under her desk and eating her out.
She scrambled up, nearly tripping over her panties, which
were still around her knees, but she’d forgotten about them.
She tugged them off and stepped out of them.
She faced Claire with new trepidation, but of course she was
there waiting, ready to give instruction so Haley didn’t do
something wrong and embarrass herself. “Straddle me.”
She tucked her legs in closer together in the chair so that
Haley could do it. She shook with barely restrained energy as
she spread her legs and climbed over Claire. Her hand was
there right away, pushing up Haley’s dress, the pads of her
fingers tracing a hot trail down her belly, straight to her clit.
Haley threw back her head and moaned. She grasped
Claire’s shoulders as her thumb slowly worked her clit. She
was going to come. Her body was tense with it, wound tight
with it. Her legs shook. She was probably drenching Claire’s
lap right now. Below her, just inches below her, Claire was
bare and gorgeous, and Haley wished she’d been allowed to
put her mouth there.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the bare need on
Claire’s face. The walls still weren’t back up.
“You want to watch me fuck you, don’t you?” Claire’s
sweet voice was so at odds with the heat in her words. The
dirtiness of them. “Then watch. Hold your dress up and
watch.”
Haley’s eyes tracked down as her hand took over the fabric
from Claire. She held it out of the way and watched while
Claire’s fingers slipped through her slick folds. She watched
her press two fingers to her entrance and she watched her
slowly, so fucking slowly, push inside. Haley couldn’t close
her eyes. She couldn’t stop watching. She was shaking, Claire
so strong and sure beneath her. She was being spread open,
filled up, and it was so damn intense that she couldn’t breathe.
Claire’s other hand clenched Haley’s hip, her fingers
digging in, but Haley welcomed the bite. It grounded her
against the pleasure unravelling in her belly, in her thighs, in
her core.
“Fuck, you’re so wet,” Claire groaned. “That’s it. Rock into
my touch. Take my fingers like a good girl.”
Haley didn’t feel like a good girl. She felt like a very
naughty, bad girl who was doing very naughty things, and it
had never felt so good. She kept her dress up, watching as
Claire finger fucked her slowly, working her until her hips
were rolling into her touch. She was wound so tight, but it
wasn’t enough. This wasn’t what she wanted. It wasn’t why
she’d come in here. She had to do something, or Claire was
going to make her come and then she would send her away
and it would all be over. She might not have another chance.
Was that why Claire was letting her see her face so open and
unguarded? Because this was the last time she was going to
allow herself to do this?
“Claire,” Haley panted. She couldn’t stop her hips from
moving. Claire could have pushed inside, crooked her fingers,
and hit that spot deep inside Haley that would have thrown her
off the cliff, straight into an intense climax, but she didn’t. She
wasn’t going to make it easy. “Claire, please let me touch you.
Let’s go somewhere. Your room.”
Claire laughed, and this time, it wasn’t a pleasant sound.
Haley snapped her eyes back to Claire’s face and she could see
her shutting down. “You want me to lick your pussy, punish
your ass, and fill you with a toy again, my dirty girl?”
“No.” Haley’s voice was unrecognizable. Yes. Yes, dear
God, yes. “I want to be naked. Together. I want to make you
come. I want to pleasure you.”
Claire actually looked sad for a fleeting second. “You have
no idea how to do that. How to give the kind of pain I like.
You couldn’t come touching your body. I can’t come without
pain.”
She bit down on her lip right away, as if she hadn’t meant to
say that. As if she was trapping the rest of the words inside her
so that they wouldn’t spill out. Dangerous words because they
were far too revealing. She wasn’t just masking her face, she
was masking her heart. What had happened to wound her so
badly? It couldn’t have been what happened with the
restaurant all those year ago. There had to be something else.
Someone who had destroyed Claire.
Haley doubted very much that she could start to reassemble
the pieces of a person she didn’t understand, but she wanted to
do what she could to heal Claire. It might be laughable to think
she had any power to do any of that, but she knew how
powerful a single touch could be.
“I can come because you showed me how,” Haley
whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you, Claire. Not in any way.
Just let me touch you. Please. You’ve given me all this
pleasure, and you won’t let me do the same. Let me touch you.
Kiss you. Taste you. Skin to skin. Please.”
There was more of that war going on in Claire, but only her
eyes betrayed her this time. She’d shut the rest down. Haley
thought Claire was going to throw her off her lap at any given
moment, but she seemed to decide something then. It didn’t
look like a good decision. It looked like a goodbye, like a
physical separation was already happening, so Haley didn’t
quite understand her next words. She was so sure she’d heard
them wrong.
“Alright. Pull your dress down and go to my room. I’ll be
there in ten minutes.” There was a knot in Haley’s stomach
that she didn’t quite understand. She was so confused. How
could Claire’s expression scream one thing and her words so
clearly say another? Claire pulled her dress down, easing the
fabric past her hips and smoothing it out, so that she was fully
covered. She gave her bottom a gentle, almost playful pat.
“Go.”
Haley didn’t want her to change her mind. She didn’t know
what she’d find in Claire’s room. She didn’t know what Claire
would do to her there, or allow her to do, but, like everything
else, she wanted to obey. She eased herself out of the chair,
smoothed her dress one more time, and left Claire’s office
without looking back.
A backward glance seemed like it could have undone
everything, including all the things Haley didn’t understand,
and all the things she hoped for.
Chapter 16
Claire
What was she thinking, telling Haley to go to her room? It
was exactly the opposite of what Jenny wanted Claire to do
and warned her against. Claire had arrived home and had been
headed to her office for a few minutes alone before she found
Haley and explained that they couldn’t keep doing what they
were doing, and that she was going to send her home. Instead,
she’d found her under her desk, and she couldn’t make herself
say anything. She couldn’t make herself stop wanting Haley.
The girl was so naughty, despite her innocence, so beautiful,
so enticing. It was a powerful combination and Claire had just
lost her brain. Not that it justified sending Haley to her room.
Claire knew she should have put a stop to things, but she
couldn’t. And now what? She was heading there. To her
bedroom, after waiting a decent amount of time, like that
would fool anyone in the house. Like she had to, because she
didn’t. She told herself that she’d been trying to give herself
time to make the right decision, but she already knew she was
going to make the wrong one. She told herself it was because
she wanted to give Haley time to reconsider, but she knew she
wouldn’t. For some reason, Haley wanted her. She wanted
beyond what Claire thought she was willing to give.
Maybe that would drive Haley away, when she knew
everything. When she found out Claire wasn’t capable of
giving her everything she needed and wanted. What were they
even doing anyway? Haley wanted more. She wanted
reciprocation. She wanted the sweet things that lovers did for
each other. She wanted a relationship. Claire could give her
none of those things. Maybe, if Haley saw that, she’d give up
all on her own.
But no. That would be the coward’s way out, and Claire had
Haley felt the hesitation. She felt Claire go rigid, her heels
digging into the floor as her leg muscles tensed. She was going
to push back the chair and leave. She was going to push back
any second. Haley’s fingers tightened around Claire’s thigh
muscles, and holy shit, the woman wasn’t kidding when she
said she made good use of her home gym. She didn’t want to
let go, but she wanted Claire to choose this.
One hand came down underneath the desk and tangled in
Haley’s hair. She’d left it down and it was freshly washed, soft
and wild. Claire used it to pull Haley closer, tugging until
Haley’s scalp burned, until tears stung the corners of her eyes.
She loved it. Her body loved it. The aching spot between her
legs loved it. She loved the control Claire had over her, and
even if she wanted Claire to put it down, just for a minute, and
let her get close, she’d let her have it now because she craved
it. She’d spent every minute of every day thinking about this.
“Push my skirt up,” Claire demanded, sounding bored, but
there was a slight tremor that shot through her muscles,
betraying her. Haley knew Claire wanted to say no. She
wanted to push back from that desk and leave the room. She
wanted to put distance between them. Instead, she was going
to stay. She was going to give instructions and Haley was
going to obey.
Haley inched the silky fabric up a few inches. Claire didn’t
bother with hose, but that would have been hot, finding thigh
highs there, or a garter belt. Haley felt her own panties get
soaked beneath the little dress she’d purposely worn because it
could easily be pushed up or stripped off or shoved out of the
way. She’d chosen a lace thong, which didn’t contain any of
the moisture, and beads of it rolled down her thighs as she
shifted up onto her knees.
Claire abruptly shoved the desk chair back a foot and Haley
flew forward, nearly landing in her lap. Her legs screamed for
mercy against the agonizing pins and needles, but she didn’t
make a sound. She gritted her teeth together and kept pushing
Claire’s skirt up until she revealed black silk panties. They
were industrial looking and practical, not a thong and no lace,
all while being the sexiest thing Haley had ever seen.
“Sweep them out of the way,” Claire commanded. She still
had her hand in Haley’s hair and now she used the strands to
tug her forward again.
Haley vibrated with need as she swept one finger under the
silk, warm from Claire’s body. Heat traced down her spine and
pooled in her belly and between her legs. She pressed forward,
searching with the pads of two fingers until she felt naked
flesh. Claire was so warm, so smooth, but she wasn’t wet yet.
She tugged her skirt up the rest of the way herself and Haley
thought she might die right then. “If I touched you right now,”
Claire said, her voice commanding, “would I find you
soaked?”
“Yes,” Haley whimpered. “I’m dripping down my thighs.”
Claire let out a hiss between clenched teeth. “Suck me
through the fabric.”
Haley wanted Claire’s clothing out of the way. She wanted
more than a touch through a shield. She wanted to get through
Claire’s walls, but she could be patient. She’d do what Claire
asked her to do.
She gently let the panties fall back into place and she
replaced her fingers with her mouth. The first taste was sweet
heaven, even through the silk. Claire wasn’t drenched, but
Haley could still taste her there, the spice of her on her
clothing. It was ridiculously naughty for being so strangely
hot. She remembered how Claire had threatened to gag her
with her own panties the first time if she couldn’t be quiet.
Haley had been so scandalized at the suggestion, but now she
understood how hot it would have been.
“Pull up your dress,” Claire said, her expression solemn
when Haley looked up at her. “Spread your thighs. Keep doing
what you’re doing while you pull your panties down and put
your ass in the air. I want to see your pussy drenched for me.”
Haley didn’t mind the strangeness of being half under the
desk. Truth be told, she loved the kinkiness of what Claire was
asking her to do. She was probably already half wrecked, her
pupils blown with pleasure, her face suffused with want.
Because she did want this. She wanted it and she loved it.
She suckled Claire through the fabric, inhaling her scent,
running her tongue along the seam of her, molding the silk to
her body as her hands worked up her own dress, shoving the
skirt up her ass and over her hips. She worked her panties
down, which was hard with her face pressed between Claire’s
spread legs. She got them locked around her knees and then
Claire stopped her.
“That’s far enough. Run your hand over yourself and show
me.”
Haley’s face went hot, but she did it. She coated her fingers
in her slick wetness. She knew that if she even skimmed her
clit, it would be too much. She’d explode right there, so she
made sure not to touch it. To think that she’d never been able
to get herself off was crazy. Then again, when she was by
herself, even her wildest fantasies didn’t extend this far.
She held her fingers out for Claire to see. Claire captured
her hand in her own and brought it to her lips. Haley gasped
when Claire’s tongue licked along the sides of her fingers
before she suckled them into her mouth.
“Oh God,” Haley whimpered. She forgot what she was
doing for a second, until her eyes fluttered open, and she
raised her head. “Can I see you? Please? I want to taste you.
Without the panties.”
Claire looked on edge, like at any second she was going to
slam down her skirt, push back the chair, and stalk out of the
room. She was conflicted, her emotions warring with each
other in full view, but Haley won out.
Claire leaned forward and snatched something off the
desktop, then held it down. Haley stared at the long blade of
sharp looking scissors. Was she supposed to cut Claire’s
panties off of her? Christ, she had no experience with this. It
seemed too dangerous.
Claire held out one seam, along the side, holding the silky
fabric away from her skin. “Here. Cut them here.”
Haley’s hands were shaking so badly that she was afraid
she’d botch it. She put one underneath, along Claire’s hip, just
to be sure she could guide the blades away from her sensitive
skin there. The first snip nearly stopped her heart, but when it
was just fabric, she kept going. She cut until the one side was
gone, then she did the other with more confidence. She even
pulled them away and handed back the scissors. She kept her
eyes on Claire’s as she did, the raw emotion there exactly what
she thought she wouldn’t see.
Claire spread her legs. She sat that way, exposing herself to
Haley, entirely without shame or reluctance. She too had the
benefit of expensive waxes.
One more quick look into Claire’s face and Haley was
shocked again at the emotion there. There were no walls in
place. She was naked and exposed. As if she couldn’t
remember the last time she’d let anyone close enough to do
this. Was she always the one giving orders? Giving pleasure?
Did she never take any of it for herself?
Haley was keenly aware of her dress pulled up, her panties
pulled down, exposing her swollen, glistening wet pussy for
Claire to see. She looked back at Claire, somehow unable to
make the first move without permission.
“Oh my God. You’re so fucking beautiful,” Haley gasped.
“Can I taste you? Please?”
“No.” The word was a croak, not nearly so domineering as
she wanted it to be. “No, I want you up here, on my lap like
the bad girl you are.”
Oh God. Of course what Claire had planned was so much
dirtier than Haley hiding under her desk and eating her out.
She scrambled up, nearly tripping over her panties, which
were still around her knees, but she’d forgotten about them.
She tugged them off and stepped out of them.
She faced Claire with new trepidation, but of course she was
there waiting, ready to give instruction so Haley didn’t do
something wrong and embarrass herself. “Straddle me.”
She tucked her legs in closer together in the chair so that
Haley could do it. She shook with barely restrained energy as
she spread her legs and climbed over Claire. Her hand was
there right away, pushing up Haley’s dress, the pads of her
fingers tracing a hot trail down her belly, straight to her clit.
Haley threw back her head and moaned. She grasped
Claire’s shoulders as her thumb slowly worked her clit. She
was going to come. Her body was tense with it, wound tight
with it. Her legs shook. She was probably drenching Claire’s
lap right now. Below her, just inches below her, Claire was
bare and gorgeous, and Haley wished she’d been allowed to
put her mouth there.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the bare need on
Claire’s face. The walls still weren’t back up.
“You want to watch me fuck you, don’t you?” Claire’s
sweet voice was so at odds with the heat in her words. The
dirtiness of them. “Then watch. Hold your dress up and
watch.”
Haley’s eyes tracked down as her hand took over the fabric
from Claire. She held it out of the way and watched while
Claire’s fingers slipped through her slick folds. She watched
her press two fingers to her entrance and she watched her
slowly, so fucking slowly, push inside. Haley couldn’t close
her eyes. She couldn’t stop watching. She was shaking, Claire
so strong and sure beneath her. She was being spread open,
filled up, and it was so damn intense that she couldn’t breathe.
Claire’s other hand clenched Haley’s hip, her fingers
digging in, but Haley welcomed the bite. It grounded her
against the pleasure unravelling in her belly, in her thighs, in
her core.
“Fuck, you’re so wet,” Claire groaned. “That’s it. Rock into
my touch. Take my fingers like a good girl.”
Haley didn’t feel like a good girl. She felt like a very
naughty, bad girl who was doing very naughty things, and it
had never felt so good. She kept her dress up, watching as
Claire finger fucked her slowly, working her until her hips
were rolling into her touch. She was wound so tight, but it
wasn’t enough. This wasn’t what she wanted. It wasn’t why
she’d come in here. She had to do something, or Claire was
going to make her come and then she would send her away
and it would all be over. She might not have another chance.
Was that why Claire was letting her see her face so open and
unguarded? Because this was the last time she was going to
allow herself to do this?
“Claire,” Haley panted. She couldn’t stop her hips from
moving. Claire could have pushed inside, crooked her fingers,
and hit that spot deep inside Haley that would have thrown her
off the cliff, straight into an intense climax, but she didn’t. She
wasn’t going to make it easy. “Claire, please let me touch you.
Let’s go somewhere. Your room.”
Claire laughed, and this time, it wasn’t a pleasant sound.
Haley snapped her eyes back to Claire’s face and she could see
her shutting down. “You want me to lick your pussy, punish
your ass, and fill you with a toy again, my dirty girl?”
“No.” Haley’s voice was unrecognizable. Yes. Yes, dear
God, yes. “I want to be naked. Together. I want to make you
come. I want to pleasure you.”
Claire actually looked sad for a fleeting second. “You have
no idea how to do that. How to give the kind of pain I like.
You couldn’t come touching your body. I can’t come without
pain.”
She bit down on her lip right away, as if she hadn’t meant to
say that. As if she was trapping the rest of the words inside her
so that they wouldn’t spill out. Dangerous words because they
were far too revealing. She wasn’t just masking her face, she
was masking her heart. What had happened to wound her so
badly? It couldn’t have been what happened with the
restaurant all those year ago. There had to be something else.
Someone who had destroyed Claire.
Haley doubted very much that she could start to reassemble
the pieces of a person she didn’t understand, but she wanted to
do what she could to heal Claire. It might be laughable to think
she had any power to do any of that, but she knew how
powerful a single touch could be.
“I can come because you showed me how,” Haley
whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you, Claire. Not in any way.
Just let me touch you. Please. You’ve given me all this
pleasure, and you won’t let me do the same. Let me touch you.
Kiss you. Taste you. Skin to skin. Please.”
There was more of that war going on in Claire, but only her
eyes betrayed her this time. She’d shut the rest down. Haley
thought Claire was going to throw her off her lap at any given
moment, but she seemed to decide something then. It didn’t
look like a good decision. It looked like a goodbye, like a
physical separation was already happening, so Haley didn’t
quite understand her next words. She was so sure she’d heard
them wrong.
“Alright. Pull your dress down and go to my room. I’ll be
there in ten minutes.” There was a knot in Haley’s stomach
that she didn’t quite understand. She was so confused. How
could Claire’s expression scream one thing and her words so
clearly say another? Claire pulled her dress down, easing the
fabric past her hips and smoothing it out, so that she was fully
covered. She gave her bottom a gentle, almost playful pat.
“Go.”
Haley didn’t want her to change her mind. She didn’t know
what she’d find in Claire’s room. She didn’t know what Claire
would do to her there, or allow her to do, but, like everything
else, she wanted to obey. She eased herself out of the chair,
smoothed her dress one more time, and left Claire’s office
without looking back.
A backward glance seemed like it could have undone
everything, including all the things Haley didn’t understand,
and all the things she hoped for.
Chapter 16
Claire
What was she thinking, telling Haley to go to her room? It
was exactly the opposite of what Jenny wanted Claire to do
and warned her against. Claire had arrived home and had been
headed to her office for a few minutes alone before she found
Haley and explained that they couldn’t keep doing what they
were doing, and that she was going to send her home. Instead,
she’d found her under her desk, and she couldn’t make herself
say anything. She couldn’t make herself stop wanting Haley.
The girl was so naughty, despite her innocence, so beautiful,
so enticing. It was a powerful combination and Claire had just
lost her brain. Not that it justified sending Haley to her room.
Claire knew she should have put a stop to things, but she
couldn’t. And now what? She was heading there. To her
bedroom, after waiting a decent amount of time, like that
would fool anyone in the house. Like she had to, because she
didn’t. She told herself that she’d been trying to give herself
time to make the right decision, but she already knew she was
going to make the wrong one. She told herself it was because
she wanted to give Haley time to reconsider, but she knew she
wouldn’t. For some reason, Haley wanted her. She wanted
beyond what Claire thought she was willing to give.
Maybe that would drive Haley away, when she knew
everything. When she found out Claire wasn’t capable of
giving her everything she needed and wanted. What were they
even doing anyway? Haley wanted more. She wanted
reciprocation. She wanted the sweet things that lovers did for
each other. She wanted a relationship. Claire could give her
none of those things. Maybe, if Haley saw that, she’d give up
all on her own.
But no. That would be the coward’s way out, and Claire had
