His Red Carnation (Forbidden Blooms #1)

2. Callan

2

Callan

I tried so fucking hard not to stare at this beautiful girl’s ass as she walked in front of me, but the way she swayed her hips made it nearly impossible. Her silk dress clung to every curve, and her high heels clicked against the floor, making her ass jiggle with each step. Girls didn’t look like this when I was in high school—granted, that was twenty years ago. She tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulder and looked back, catching me staring. Fuck. She probably thought I was some creepy old dude. But then she smiled.

“There are lots of little secret shortcuts around here. I’ll have to show you them sometime.” She raised an eyebrow at me before turning around and continuing down the hallway.

It was wrong to think about her this way. I remembered when I first met her, just a little girl running around the house, back when Jake was still governor of New York. He’d pulled me out of homelessness and addiction, and she had been this sweet, brown-eyed kid with no care in the world.

And now she was fucking walking in front of me in that dress and giving me a hard on. It was wrong in so many ways.

“It’s my birthday, you know. What a celebration, right?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she finally walked beside me, giving me a full view of her gorgeous face.

“Happy birthday,” I said, probably with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Thanks. Today wasn’t exactly how I imagined spending my eighteenth birthday, you know?”

Oh, thank fuck. But she’s still barely legal. And it’s still so wrong.

“Well, how would you have wanted to spend it?” I asked, scanning the hallway of the living quarters, doing my best not to stare at her for too long. She stopped in front of the kitchen.

She sighed as I turned back to face her.

“I don’t know, honestly. I’m not allowed to do much,” she said, her tone laced with the rebellion of a typical teenager. I couldn’t help but laugh a little, shrugging.

“If you weren’t Jake’s daughter, how would you want to celebrate?” I asked.

Her eyebrows twitched slightly as she looked at me. “It’s weird hearing someone call Mr. President by his real name,” she said with a laugh.

I shifted my weight, feeling a little more at ease. “Yeah, well, he’ll always be Jake to me. I’m not fucking calling him Mr. President,” I said, laughing along with her.

She smiled, biting her lip as she stared at me. It made my dick twitch. I had to look away.

“Good.” She leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. “I’d want to get a tattoo.”

I glanced at her as her eyes traveled over me, finally landing on my hands in my pockets.

“Yeah? What would you get?” I tried to sound casual, but all I could picture was a tiny cherry on her perfect ass.

She shrugged, her gaze dropping to the floor. “I’ve always wanted Ferdinand the Bull. It’s my mom’s favorite book, and I love the message behind it.”

I smiled. Beautiful and thoughtful—yeah, I was in deep fucking trouble.

“How many do you have?” she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

My fucking dick twitched again.

“A lot.” I shrugged, trying to downplay it. No way could she know how much her excitement was turning me on.

She narrowed her eyes, biting her lip to hide a smile. It was driving me insane. “Can I see them?”

Is she flirting with me? I looked away, licking my lips before I could stop myself.

“Yeah, maybe. Do you need anything? I’m heading into the kitchen for lunch.” I desperately needed to get away from this girl. No, she wasn’t just a girl—she was a woman, and she was already doing things to me.

She sighed, a hint of disappointment in her expression.

“No, I think I need to lie down. I’ll see you later.” She turned toward her bedroom door, then glanced back at me. “I need your number. You know, in case of an emergency.” She bit her lip, smiling again. Fuck .

“Right. I’ll text it to you. I already have yours.”

She gave a slow nod, lingering at her door. “I’ll need a ride later too. Around seven or eight.”

I blinked. “For what?”

She shrugged. “You’ll see.” Then she quickly shut the door behind her.

I stood there, stunned. Was she even allowed to plan impromptu trips like that? And was I really going to question her?

Fuck that. She could do whatever she wanted. And I’d be right there to protect her.