She’s in control and she calls the shots, but fuck if I wasn’t dying to hear her say those words.

There’s a condom in my wallet on top of my nightstand. I pull it out, tearing the foil packet and slipping it over my swollen cock. It barely contains me, but it’ll do the job. I climb over top of her, pinning her to my mattress with the weight of my body.

“Do you remember what I told you that first week, Waverly?” I whisper.

“You won’t destroy me, Jensen, and I definitely won’t fall in love with you,” she sighs. Her eyes squeeze tight as her legs widen for me. I ready my cock at her tight entrance.

“Once I fuck you,” I say, “there’s no going back. You won’t be able to undo this and you won’t be allowed to blame me. This is all you. I may have kissed you, but the rest was all your doing.”

She grips fistfuls of the quilt that rests beneath us, squirming beneath me as if having to wait is physically painful. Her tongue runs the length of her bottom lip. “What are you waiting for?”

Her body tenses and welcomes me at the same time, my cock sliding into her constricted pussy with natural resistance. God, she’s skintight around me, like her body is latching onto mine and refusing to let go.

Her fingers dig into my back, all ten of them, all at once, and then her nails drag down my flesh.

“Relax,” I breathe.

She winces. I’m bigger than average, and she’s a fucking virgin. It’s got to be painful. I resist the urge to pound the fuck out of her unspoiled pussy and go slow.

“I promise it’ll feel good soon.” I lean down and kiss her lips, not because I’m trying to be romantic, but because I hope it’ll loosen her up, relax her a bit. Her legs fall to the sides, spread wide for me as I circle my hips into hers. Her wetness is saturating, and within a few minutes I’m full on thrusting. I grip the headboard for leverage, plunging myself deep inside her. Soft moans leave her lips, and the faint scent of her innocent arousal fills the air.

I cover her mouth with my hand. “Shh…”

The fact that we could get caught at any moment weighs heavy in the corner of my mind. In a perfect world, Waverly would not be losing her virginity to her stepbrother on a crappy guest bed in her father’s house. Maybe she deserves romance and flowers and true love, but she picked me. I’m what she wanted, so I’m what she gets.

But time is of the essence, and we have to get the show on the road, and I’m not quite in the mood to get caught.

I scoop her ass with my hands, pulling her into me with each hard thrust, going deeper and deeper and watching her round tits bounce.

Her lips part, her face twisting and then relaxing as she fucks me back all on her own.

“Come on my cock, Waverly,” I coax her. My mind blanks and my body numbs. She fights the gasps and moans that so desperately want to escape her pretty, fuckable lips. Pressure builds at the base of my cock, working upwards until I can’t fight it anymore. Her hands slide to my hips, pressing me into her as she comes all over my rock hard cock. Intensity soars through me until I bury my face between her tits and unload inside her.

The moment I’m spent, I collapse on top of her, both of us struggling to catch our breaths. I’m in a daze, but only for a short while.

“You gotta go,” I tell her. “Not trying to be a dick, but people are probably going to be looking for you soon, and the last thing we need is them busting into my room and wondering why the fuck it smells like sex.”

I climb off her, and we throw our clothes on in record time, me wrapping the used condom in a handful of peach Kleenex and burying it in the bottom of my trashcan. I’ll take out the trash first thing in the morning. Her hair is messy, spilling down her shoulders in tangled curls. Sex hair looks good as hell on her.

“You okay?” I ask.

She spins to face me, her lips pull into a Cheshire grin. “What do you think?”

“Did you think when you walked in here tonight, you wouldn’t be walking out a virgin?”

“I didn’t think, Jensen. I knew.”

CHAPTER 22

WAVERLY

I leave Jensen’s room with a delicious soreness between my legs, ripe with satisfaction and void of an ounce of regret. I’m taking back my life and finding my dignity one brave, bold, uncharacteristic decision at a time.

I refuse to be married off or have my body given to a man chosen for me.

I swear my soul glows, radiating clear through to my fingertips—though it could easily be the last remnants of the soul-shattering orgasm working its way out of my system.

Either way, I’m basking in it. I want to remember this feeling the rest of my days.

I tiptoe into my room and peer out the window just in time to see Bruce climbing into his car and pulling away. Perfect timing. I have no idea how long I’ve been up here, but I can’t imagine it’s been more than an hour.

Heavy footsteps trudge up the stairs, sounding closer with each thump. My door swings open wide, my father standing in the doorway. His jaw is set, and he’s peering down at me with a fevered stare.

Does he know?!

I pull in a long, cool breath and force a smile on my face. “Hi, Dad.”

He shuts the door behind him and charges at me, his fists clenched and his face reddening with each heavy second. “What you did tonight was unacceptable.”

My heart whooshes in my ears as I attempt to steady my breathing. “Can you be more specific?”

His lips pinch together into a menacing smile, his eyes dart around the room. He lifts his hand to his jaw, raking the side of his face in slow, hard strokes. I don’t recognize this man. This man is not my father. I don’t know who he is.

“You do understand Bruce Waterman is a member of the quorum, right?” His penetrating gaze holds mine. “He came here to meet my daughters, whom I boast about on a regular basis. My pride and joy. My shining examples…” He shakes his head, gathering his thoughts some more. “You’re an embarrassment to me, your mothers, and the rest of the family. You have disgraced us. Who do you think you are, running off like that?”

My father has never spoken to me with words so harsh before. My lip trembles, and I feel myself falling from the highest high to the lowest low. I sink into my mattress, burying my head in my hands.

“I was uncomfortable,” I sob. “The way he looked at me. The whole thing. And Bellamy said—”

“You have too much free will. That’s the problem.” His voice cuts through mine, muting my opinions. “Something has changed in you, Waverly. You’re not the young woman I raised you to be.”

“You’re wrong. I am a good woman.” I stand up for myself knowing my words fall upon deaf ears. Once my father’s mind is made up, there’s no convincing him otherwise. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to do.”

“You’re lying.” His hands dig into his hips. “You’re looking me in the eye and lying.”

I shake my head, wiping away tears that stain my cheeks and make my hair stick to my skin. He knows. He probably knows everything. Or he’s bluffing. Either way, I’m fighting a losing battle.

“You’re not going to college this fall, Waverly,” his voice is a low sneer. “I clearly haven’t done my part raising you into a respectable young woman who can make proper choices for herself. You demonstrated that tonight by the way you treated Mr. Waterman. I fear for your soul if I send you out on your own. The modern world is wicked, filled with temptations and sin.”

“You don’t need to fear for my soul, Dad.” I wipe away heavy tears, but they continue falling, landing on the tops of my thighs. I glance up at him, pleading with my eyes because I know my words are merely lightweight. “You promised. You promised I could go to college if I got my scholarship and demonstrated that I’m responsible and dependable and—”

“Some things are more important than college.” His words set fire to my future.