"I won't tell you this twice, Feather," Claude whispered."You just have to get rid of that boy, and then you'll know what it is like to get fucked by a man."
Business magnate's daughter, Isla Templeton (Feather), is the youngest of André Templeton's...
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Following Thomas to my father's office, I couldn't help but wonder why my father wanted to talk to him. He'd never shown any interest in my friends before.
"Please, Isla, wait outside," my father said seriously.
Turning to face Thomas, I slid my hand from his wrist to his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Thomas. You don't have to do this. I have no idea what's going on, and I'm as surprised as you are—"
"Hey," he said, clasping my hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, freckles," he reassured me softly.
Ever since sports class, Thomas has called me freckles. I usually try to cover them, but wearing makeup that would smear during class doesn't make sense.
Thomas and I spent almost every day together—not just for photography class. Hanging out with him had become natural.
We have opened up to each other.
He has scars, too.
He showed me the scars on his wrists one day when he helped me through a panic attack. We talked about our childhoods—how much he loved his stepmother and how much I missed my mother.
It was nice to have Thomas by my side since Luke was busy with his new boyfriend, and Julia hung out with my brother more than I'd like.
I headed to my favorite hangout spot at home—the kitchen. Climbing onto the marble table, I grabbed a half-orange, conveniently waiting to be eaten. I sat there, curling my legs on top of the cold stone. And I heard the kitchen door open just as I was about to check on Thomas.
"There you are," Claude said as he walked toward where I was sitting. Standing in front of me, placing both of his hands on my knees, he grabbed the slice of orange I held with my hand with his teeth, his lips tickling my fingers.
A rush of heat filled my face and stomach.
"You're blushing," he commented with a cocky smile, grabbing the rest of the fruit from the plate.
"If you wanted an orange, I would have given you your own," I said, touching his nose with my index finger.
Claude sat on the chair beside me, focusing on the fruit. I couldn't stop staring at his messy hair and tracing my eyes down his neck and biceps.
A buzz from his phone snapped him out of his food trance, and looking at the screen, I saw her name. Lisa.
Pushing the green button on the screen, he whispered, "Lisa... I need a word with Noah first. What's that? Then, I'll watch TV or something. Jeesus"
Getting down from the table, I felt like I was intruding. Signaling to him that I was heading to the patio, I grabbed a bottle of water and stepped outside. The weather was getting cooler, and the clouds were beautiful.
In need of fresh air, I headed to the patio, where Noah and Cloud were coming out. Noah was walking first, his hands on his phone, maybe texting someone. Cloud looked down, concerned. Something didn't seem right.
I stopped in my tracks, freezing in place. Noah looked up from his phone and gave me a fake smile. "Are you ready for your birthday party this weekend?" he asked.
"I can't wait!" I said sarcastically, clapping my hands just once.
"That's great," Noah said with a smile that didn't reach his green eyes.
Cloud's arms crossed my body in a tight hug, squeezing the air out of my lungs. "I'm picking you up at seven; we'll go to Salt before heading to the party, okay Feather?" he said softly in my ear.
Noah stepped forward, grabbed Cloud's arm, and tugged him away. "We're not done with our chat, Claude—"
Claude kissed my forehead, and all the memories of my childhood crush came rushing back. I froze briefly until a tall, warm body wrapped me from behind, and the scent of orange filled the air.
