Ready or Not (Aspen Ridge Holiday Novellas)

3. Wes

Chapter Three

WES

I knew lusting after my son’s girlfriend was wrong, but fuck if I could help it. Not that I tried hard to fight my desire. Lilith was everything. From the moment he brought her home I was knocked off-kilter. She became the center of my gravity and didn’t even know it. My obsession. The way I yearned to see her, even if it was just a glimpse, made my heart race in anticipation, to the point of pain. I wanted to be engulfed in her presence, to drown in her. Every passing second away from her felt like an eternity. Now that I know she’s single, watching Lilith has become my addiction.

I know she feels me, always close by but never making myself known. I know it’s wrong, but I can’t control it. I don’t want to. I won’t fight it because I’m too far gone for her. That little show she gave me last night at her window sealed her fate. There’s a filthy side to her that she’s aware of, she’s just had to keep it hidden for so long. I need to free her; that side she keeps locked up tight. Which is how I ended up sitting in the window seat of Bean Haven drinking a hot coffee while watching her help decorate Main Street for the Aspen family’s annual harvest festival.

Following her yesterday was exquisite. I love how intuitive she is, how she responds is so beautiful. Her body language changes, becoming more alert; her facial expressions showing fear and curiosity, even temptation. She feels me close by. Every time my eyes are on her she picks up on it immediately, and her spine stiffens as she looks around for her admirer. She’s always left disappointed though, I won’t make myself known until I’m ready to claim her.

Today Lilith is wearing a pair of black leggings that hug every lithe inch of her legs, a large, slouchy maroon sweater, brown boots that stop right under her knee, and a pair of cream socks that stick out the top. She’s cute as fuck with her hair tied up in a bun, and big gold hoop earrings. I flip through the photos on my laptop that I’ve taken of her over the last week, and my dick stirs to life, ready to claim what’s his. I keep an eye on Lilith while sifting through the information I’ve gathered. I’ve made a good living out of being a private investigator, so following her and gaining access to all the information I could ever want was child’s play.

A lot of it I already knew based on her last name, everyone in AR is familiar with the Aspens. The family name has been commonplace since they founded the town and named it after themselves.

After going over her background for the hundredth time, I lose myself to hacking into her social media accounts, which was easier than it should have been, and I plan to talk to her about creating secure passwords. While I’m busy scrolling through her photos and reading her messages, I find a little golden ticket. Marcus Chamberlin wants to take my little one on a date—no doubt per his parents’ request—and suggested driving into the city for a nice meal on the water and getting a hotel room after. Pretentious fuck. She doesn’t need your money and a charming dinner at a steakhouse, she needs to be held down by her throat and devoured like the goddess she is.

Lilith suggests they go to the Halloween party at the old abandoned asylum instead, and it fills me with excitement and pride. And just like that, my girl paved the way for me to finally take what’s mine.

Lost to planning exactly how I want Halloween night to go, while also keeping my eyes on her as she helps spread faux spiderwebs across the window pane of Book Bound, I don’t notice when my son walks in with his arm slung over a girl’s shoulders. They walk through Bean Haven and get in line, ordering their seasonal drinks before Adam even realizes I’m sitting here.

“Oh, hey, Dad.”

The young girl under his arm awkwardly walks forward with him, her arm around his lower back and her other holding a mug of, what’s no doubt, steaming hot pumpkin garbage.

“Hey, Adam.”

“You working from here? Weird seeing you out of the house. Oooh wait, are you on assignment? Who’s the mark?”

I ignore his ignorant comments, he knows the rules and shouldn’t be talking about what I do in front of anyone, and especially not outside of the house, in case I am currently on assignment. But I want to know who the girl is.

“Are you going to introduce me to your date or just continue to be rude?” I ask him, appalled. I thought I taught him better than this. What did Lilith ever see in him?

As if I summoned her, in she walks, her eyes immediately connecting with mine. She holds them for a moment before looking away, and I helplessly watch the moment she sees Adam and the girl he has already moved on with. She looks them both up and down before rolling her eyes and walking to the counter to place her order—no doubt a pumpkin spice latte.

“Hi, sir, I’m Eden. I’m not from here. We met at a mission program through our churches. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

Finally? My idiot son either moves on quickly or there’s some concerning overlap here.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Lilith take her to-go cup and pastry bag from Hannah before walking our way, chin lifted, shoulders held back, and spine straight. That’s my girl. Show him what he’s missing. I bet if I spread her out on the table right now and ate her pussy until she screamed my name, he’d really realize exactly what he’s missing. Not that he’ll ever get a chance with her again. She’s mine.

“Hey, Mr. Draven, Adam. Who’s this?” she says, her head cocking to the side as she pulls out a chair and sits across from me. Her confidence, whether false bravado or not, is attractive as fuck. Yes, little girl, make waves, come alive for daddy.

Adam shifts on his feet and looks around blankly as he stumbles over how to answer. Eden puts out her hand in Lilith’s direction to offer a handshake as she speaks, “I’m Eden, Adam’s girlfriend.”

To my surprise, Lilith doesn’t feign shock, irritation, or anger. She smiles brightly, condescendingly, and I seem to be the only one aware of it. Did she already know?

“That’s so cute! How long have you two been . . . what do you call it? Dating? Courting?”

“Courting. And?—”

“We really need to be heading out,” Adam interrupts as he tries to steer Eden away from the fun.

“No, son, I insist. I’d love to know what’s going on in your life. How long has this been a thing, Eden? Go on.”

“Oh, six months or so. Time has been flying, but we’re so in love. Isn’t that right, Adam?” she says as she looks up at my moron spawn with doe eyes, oblivious to the fact that he was two-timing her.”

“Ahh, must explain why he didn’t want to put his cock in me. I thought it was because something was wrong with it but clearly, he was too busy putting it in you.”

By some miracle, I keep my features under control as I pick up my coffee and take a slow sip, hiding my smirk. I’ve said it before, my son is a goddamn idiot. Lilith gives both of them a huge smile while Eden’s mouth hangs open like a trout, her face bright red in embarrassment, or horror. Probably a decent mix of both. Adam looks equally stunned, as if he didn’t expect Lilith to be so crude. He doesn’t know my girl.

“I’ll meet you outside, Eden, she’s a liar and out of her mind. I’ll be right there.”

Eden listens to him, not surprisingly. I’m sure being raised to be a subservient little housewife and bear lots of children has taught her to obey him well. Adam’s face morphs the moment the bell chimes above the door, signaling Eden’s departure, and I sit up straighter, no longer relaxed and amused. His eyebrows pinch together as he leans against his hand on the table, bending forward into Lilith’s space.

“You know why I didn’t fuck you, Lily, I didn’t lie about waiting until marriage.” The words are forced, his molars grinding together. “But there’s something evil about you. There’s darkness there, and I wouldn’t take a chance with you if you were the last woman on Earth. Only the devil himself would want you.”

“Well, Adam, thank god for that! Fingers crossed he finds me. Sounds like he’d be a good time. Real godly of you to cheat, by the way. But I heard your God forgives, so lucky you.”

“Adam, I think you’re done here.” My voice is firm, leaving no room for argument. I’ve had enough of this shitshow, and I’m ready to talk to Lilith alone.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t want to spend any more time in the presence of such filth.”

“Adam,” I growl. He looks at me before looking back at Lilith and I stand abruptly, moving to get out of the booth. Lucky for Adam, he gets the hint and leaves, walking out the door and leaving me alone in the booth with Lilith. Settling back into my seat, I take her in, trying to get a read on how she’s feeling. Her face is tilted down toward her coffee, her long, manicured nails rapping across the top of the table, as she’s lost in thought. I reach forward hesitantly, placing my hand over hers in hopes of offering her support. When she looks up, her eyes are unreadable as they flick down to where our hands are connected. Disappointment flows through me as she slowly pulls them free into her lap . I have the strongest desire to comfort her, to erase all memories of anyone who came before me.

“I’m fine, Mr. Draven. And also mortified. I’m so sorry you had to hear all of that. I kind of saw red and just reacted.”

“It’s Wes. There’s nothing to be mortified about. Dad or not, I’m still human, and you defended yourself, you should be proud of that.”

“Still. I’m sure you could have lived a loooong happy life without hearing those details.”

“Trust me, Lilith, knowing those things only makes me see what an idiot my son is. He didn’t realize what he had right in front of him.”

“You mean a dark, evil demon?”

I look into her beautiful hazel eyes, captivated by the power she has over me; the darkness that plays in her irises, the secrets locked behind them, drawing me in like a moth to a flame. She pulls me deeper and deeper with each passing moment. I don’t look away when I answer her question.

“Yes.”

Her plump pink lips turn up, eyes squinting with malice and mischief, and my heart nearly bursts in my chest. She has no fucking idea who she really is, who she could be if she just gave in to the dark desires simmering just below the surface of those bewitching eyes. Soon enough, I’m going to show her.

There’s no going back now.