Page 37 of Stranded
I hated it.
There goes my chance to fool around with Jackson.
I entered the house with a heavy sigh, a low chatter drifting toward me. I followed the sound to the laundry room. The door muffled the words, but the voice and giggle were unmistakingly Mom’s. It sounded like she was with someone.
Had she brought another man here, even though Jackson was no longer on deployment?
The door opened, and Mom walked out, her hair slightly mussed. She tucked a corner of her blouse into her tight blue jeans, which accentuated her hips. Damn, if only I had hips like hers. How could Jackson resist them now that he no longer had erectile dysfunction?
She stopped with a hand over her heart. “Oh dear, you startled me. When did you get here, Aiden?”
“Just now. What’s going on?”
“Just your stepfather and I messing around.”
The object of our conversation filled the doorway. He had red lipstick on his lips, and his hair was just as mussed as Mom’s. My stomach fell. A sharp pain radiated through my core. Hehadfucked her?
What had happened to our agreement? Neither of us would touch anyone else.
“Oh.”
“Shoot. I need to run off to the grocery store,” Mom said. “Does anyone want anything?”
“No, I’m good,” Jackson said, but his eyes were on me.
“No, but thank you. I’ll be in my room.” I stared directly at Jackson. “Please don’t disturb me.”
I stormed toward the den and once in my bedroom, I slammed the door shut. Who did he think he was? Cheating on me? I didn’t give a rat’s ass if he was married to the woman or if she was my mother. He’d made me swear not to sleep with anyone else. Had that promise been only for me? How far was he willing to go to keep up the charade that we were nothing but relatives by marriage?
Well, two could play this game. When I programmed my new phone, I’d gotten back all my contacts. I searched through the numbers until I found one that suited my purpose.
“Aiden?” the guy answered.
“Hey, Carl?—”
“It’s Paul.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said. How would you like to meet up tonight?”
“Err, sure. Though you should give me a heads-up before you cancel our date. Last time you had me waiting at that restaurant like a damn fool.”
My bedroom door opened. I spun around, staring at Jackson. “No food’s involved this time. To make it clear, I’m not looking for a relationship. Just a proper, hard fuck. Can you do the job?”
“Aiden, hang up the phone.” Jackson scowled.
“Fuck, yes,” Paul said—or was it Carl? “Where do you want to meet?”
“I’m gonna send you my address. I live with my parents, but they don’t mind guys coming over. We can go all night long while you make me your slut. I want it bad.”
“Give me that!” Jackson wrestled the phone from my hand.
“What the hell?” I ran at him to grab my phone, but he shoved me onto the bed hard.
“Look, whoever the hell you are, he didn’t mean that. Stay the fuck away from Aiden. He’s already someone’s slut and will never be yours.”
Eyes flashing, Jackson threw the phone at the wall, and it splintered into pieces.
“What the fuck did you do that for?” I yelled.
