His Red Carnation (Forbidden Blooms #1)

22. Callan

22

Callan

It was official: I needed to get Sloane a fucking ring. I was going to propose to her. I didn’t know how, but I wanted to have it ready for the right moment. With the way she made me feel, I knew I needed to keep her close so I could feel that way forever. She made me believe I was a good man, someone worthy of love. I didn’t give a fuck about anything else—all I cared about was her.

I was ready to tell Jake, and if he fired me and hated me for it, then so be it. Sloane and I were stronger than whatever the outside world thought. I knew I needed to come clean about my past, but I still couldn’t figure out how to do it. If she found out later without me telling her, I’d look guilty as fuck. But I cared about what she thought of me, and I worried that revealing my history could shift her feelings. Would she be scared of me? Would she feel betrayed? I didn’t know, and that uncertainty was eating me alive inside.

The next morning, we lay in bed after an unexpectedly intense night. Sloane slept soundly in my arms as I recalled how incredible the night before had been. I didn’t realize how fucking good it would feel to be fucked by Sloane. She was a natural at it. And she was so fucking into it that it made me even more into it. I would do whatever the fuck she wanted to try, as long as she was happy.

She blinked her eyes open after I watched her sleep for a few minutes. The morning sun crept through the curtains and cast a faint glow to her body.

“Good morning, baby,” I said softly, running my fingers gently across her arm.

She smiled, slowly opening and closing her eyes. “Good morning.”

“I love you. Do you know that?” I wanted to shout it from the rooftop. In fact, I fucking might once I told Jake.

She gave me a soft laugh. “I love you too,” she said in her cute, hoarse morning voice.

“Last night was fucking amazing, baby,” I continued, feeling better this morning than I had in a long, long time.

She nestled her nose into my chest and wrapped her arm around me. “It really was. I love that we can explore sexually with each other.” Now she was fully awake.

I laughed quietly. “You tell me what you wanna do and I’ll do it. Any fucking thing, any fucking time,” I said confidently.

She laughed back. “Let’s get breakfast. Maybe go outside of the city or something.”

“Like where?”

“Maybe like, a little town in Maryland or something. Let’s just hop on your motorcycle and find something.”

I smiled to myself. “You like riding on a bike with me, huh?”

She giggled. “So what if I do?”

I suddenly sat up and hovered over Sloane, pinning her arms down on either side of her.

“Does it turn you on?” I teased, staring down into her big, brown eyes.

She bit her lip and began to breathe heavily. I loved how easily she got turned on for me. “Yes.”

“Yeah? It gets your perfect pussy wet?” I went on, pressing my hard cock onto her belly.

She smiled. “So fucking wet. Just for you, Daddy.”

That was all it took. I fucked her hard, making her gorgeous little mouth moan out my name, and we showered afterward and headed out to find a diner.

We rode for about thirty minutes before spotting a diner off the highway. It was nestled in a small town in Maryland, and I knew why Sloane had wanted to come here—there wouldn’t be dozens of people staring at her like they did in the big cities.

The diner was tiny—the smallest I had ever seen—sandwiched between a few other businesses. We walked in, and there were only a few patrons seated. Sloane wore a baseball cap, as if that would make her less recognizable; anyone who glanced her way would still know she was the stunning fucking daughter of the President. The way her tits looked in her tight T-shirt would have anyone’s attention, really.

We sat in a booth by the window and looked over the menu. I could tell Sloane was excited to be out without being noticed. I wondered if she would still be as popular when Jake wasn’t president anymore. I knew that was something she thought about.

After Sloane ordered an omelet and I opted for Belgian waffles, she sighed and smiled, tilting her head at me.

“I really love being with you,” she said earnestly.

Fuck, my heart melted. “I love being with you too, baby,” I smiled.

She glanced around briefly before reaching for my hand on the table. I didn’t care who saw; I took her hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I want to tell Jake soon,” I blurted out.

Sloane’s face fell. “Why?” She pulled her hand away.

I looked out the window, letting out a sigh as my empty hands rested on the table. “Because I want us to be together. Really be together. I don’t want to hide anymore, baby,” I explained.

Her brows knitted together as she stared at me. “He’s going to fire you. You won’t get to be around as much,” she argued.

I shrugged. “So what? I’ll find another job. You can be with me at my apartment. We’ll figure it out. You’re eighteen, baby. You don’t need his permission, even if he is the fucking President,” I joked.

She didn’t laugh. “What about…your friendship?” she asked hesitantly.

I paused before answering. “You’re more important.” It was the truth; this girl, the love of my life, mattered more than my twenty-year friendship. Admitting it was hard, but I knew it was true.

She shook her head, sadness flickering in her eyes. “Really?”

I nodded. “Of course, baby. You’re it—you’re the one. We’re gonna get married, and you’re going to be stuck with me for another forty or fifty years until I croak.”

That brought a smile to her face. “I hope it’s longer than that.” Thank fuck, she’s happy again . “But…how are we going to tell him?”

I shot her a serious look. “ We’re not telling him; I’m telling him. I don’t want you to see your dad punching me in the fucking face,” I explained.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not letting you do it alone,” she huffed.

I blinked at her, realizing I couldn’t argue with her resolve. “We’ll figure it out. It doesn’t need to happen today. We’ll…we’ll prepare for it,” I assured her.

She sighed and nodded. “Okay.”

We ate our food, chatting as the diners around us came and went, mostly keeping to themselves. After I paid the bill, I took her hand and led her to my bike.

“Anywhere else you want to go, baby?” I asked, leaning against the bike and pulling her close by the hips.

Traffic was light, and I wasn’t worried about anyone seeing us. Fuck ’em.

Sloane placed her hands on my arms and shrugged. “Let’s go back to your apartment. I just want to spend time with you,” she replied earnestly.

Fuck, this girl was giving me a toothache. I smiled and gently pressed my lips to hers. She moaned quietly, pulling me closer. Once we parted, I gave her a playful tap on the ass. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Sloane and I sat on the couch together, her legs resting on my thighs as we watched some reality show on Netflix that she liked. It was complete trash, but it was entertaining. Just being with her, spending lazy time together, made me so fucking happy. I rubbed my hands over her legs, and she looked up at me with a sly smile.

We were suddenly interrupted by her phone buzzing violently on the coffee table. I leaned over to grab it for her, and my heart dropped when I saw Jake was calling. In all the time Sloane and I had spent together, he had never once called her. I handed her the phone, feeling sick to my stomach. She eyed it with confusion.

“Hey, Dad?” she answered.

Her eyes widened slowly, and her face went pale. She looked up at me, lips parted in shock.

“I’m…I’m out shopping. Why?”

I waited, watching intently, wishing she would put the call on speaker.

“I’m not going to come home right this instant . What’s going on?” Her brows furrowed as she glanced back at me.

“Oh, Dad…it’s—” she began, but his voice cut her off.

Her chest rose and fell quickly, panic evident in her demeanor.

“I—I will explain everything when I get home, okay?” she said quietly.

Her eyes suddenly darted to mine. Fuck, he knows. How does he know? “Yes.” She paused for a moment before speaking again. “He’ll be there too.” Her eyes squeezed shut tightly, and she lowered the phone.

“What’s going on?” I asked impatiently.

Sloane opened her eyes and shook her head. “Someone…someone took pictures of us at the diner. And outside of it. My dad said it’s all over the Internet,” she explained quietly, tears welling in her eyes.

“Oh, fucking shit,” I blurted out. “What the fuck? I didn’t even see anyone around!”

She continued to shake her head. “We need to get back. We need to diffuse this,” she thought aloud.

Her phone began vibrating again. This time, it was Ana calling. Sloane burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.

“I can’t. I can’t—” she started, so I took her phone and pressed it to my ear.

“Ana,” I answered.

“Callan! Where’s Sloane? I told you two to be fucking careful. Did you hear? I’m sure you heard because Jake is furious, and I just heard him yelling at her. Fuck. Where is she?” She spoke in one long breath.

“She’s here. We’ll be there soon,” I said, keeping it brief before I hung up.

I hadn’t expected shit to escalate so quickly. And this wasn’t how I wanted Jake to find out. I didn’t want the world to know about us this way, either.

I pulled Sloane into my arms as she cried. “We’ll get through this, baby. Remember? We need to be strong together,” I said, needing to remind myself just as much.

“I know,” she said between hiccuped breaths. “I know. I love you. I love you, Callan,” she repeated.

I took a deep breath and rubbed her back in soothing circles. “I love you, baby.”

This was going to be the hardest fucking moment of my life.