Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Normal. I have to try.
“So, Maci, what do you do?” I ask.
“I’m studying graphic design,” she replies, fiddling with her hair like she’s nervous.
I take a sip of coffee, almost spilling it. My hand is trembling. She’s got me all kinds of twisted.
“That sounds interesting,” I say blandly. “Why did you choose that?”
“I’ve always loved art,” she replies. “I’m focusing on digital illustration like graphic novels, that sort of thing. Though I’m not sure that there’s a future in it.”
“Why do you say that?”
She shrugs. “It’s competitive.”
“I’m sure you could do it,” I say, too passionately.
“Do what?” Kayla says, returning with the eggs.
“Be a digital illustrator,” I say, forcibly removing the passion from my voice.
“Oh, definitely.” Kayla places the eggs on the counter and drips some oil into a pan. “You should see her work, Dad. She’s talented.”
I’d love that, I almost say, but like a douche, I say nothing. My hunger for Maci may push me the other way, making me overly awkward and cruel. I shouldn’t let it. I should try to behave normally, but I can’t figure out what that means. If I didn’t want to claim Maci, what would I say? How would I behave? I feel trapped.
It’s been minutes, but I can’t connect to the man I was before I saw her. I want to kiss, hold, and tell her she can conquer the world. I want to tear her underwear off with my teeth and suck on her clit so hard her whole body shakes until she orgasms and pleasure crashes through her.
No, dammit. I’m getting hard in shorts. I need to calm down before I stand up and they see.
I almost laugh at myself. Not that anything’s funny, but these are some seriously insane thoughts going through my head. As a CEO, I’ve always tried to be conscious of my mental landscape. I like to think of it as spending mental units. I’ve got a hundred mental units. Where am I going to aim them? How am I going to use them most effectively?
Now, every single one is aimed at Maci. They’re aimed at savage ideas of stripping her naked, kissing and biting her creamy, thick body, and making her skin as red as her nervous cheeks. I want to claim her, own her, and make her mine. This is beyond messed up. I’m getting hard with my daughter in the same room. That’s just wrong.
Taking slow breaths, I do my best to smile to keep my focus anywhere except on Maci. That’s the only thing I can do.
“Have you told Dad about your graphic novel?” Kayla says innocently.
“No,” Maci murmurs from beside me in a small voice. Don’t look at her, I roar in my mind. Her small, timid voice makes me want to turn and tell her she never has to be nervous around me. She never has to doubt if she’s good enough. “We haven’t been talking much.”
“Well… why don’t you?”
Maci laughs awkwardly, nervously. Damn. Is she feeling it, too, this hunger? Maybe that’s just wishful thinking or, more accurately, self-destructive feeling. “I don’t think he’s interested, Kay.”
“Dad,” Kalya says, giving me a look. She’s being playful and lighthearted and has no idea how badly I want to claim her friend. It’s probably the last thing she would imagine. “Don’t be rude.”
I try to smirk. “Are you trying to teach me how to be social, Kayla?”
“You know somebody has to,” she teases.
Luckily, Kayla turns back to the pan, so she doesn’t realize I’m purposefully not looking at her when I ask Maci, “What’s your graphic novel about?”
“It’s… nothing.”
“Maci,” Kayla laughs, shaking her head, still with her back turned. “Don’t make me teach you how to be social, too.”
“It’s just a training project. That’s how I’m looking at it. It’s about a woman who falls down a well but enters a magical kingdom.”
“A training project?” I ask.
“I’ve been trying to work on graphic novels for years,” she says, “but it’s always been so stop-and-start. I’ll get a few pages in, and then the self-doubt will creep up on me and ruin it. So, this time, I’m working on something I don’t really care about, and it’s working.” The passion sparking in her voice is almost enough to make me look at her. “I’m making progress. Weirdly, even if I started the project not caring, now I do.”
“That sounds like a clever way to direct your mind,” I say, impressed.
“Uh oh,” Kayla laughs. “You’re about to get Dad started on mental models, productivity, and all that jazz.”
“Mental models?” Maci asks.
I can feel her staring at me. I know I need to be better and control myself, but it’s just so damn difficult. I turn, drinking in the sight of her wide, interested eyes. Her lips are still pursed in that kissable, fuckable way.