Page 61 of Guarded By the Phantom

I hid the phone in my bedside drawer and went to sleep, doing my best not to fret about what he’d think.

Nothing, as it turned out. Because the next morning, he was nowhere to be seen.

My mother went off to church, and since she gave me the silent treatment, I got no comments when I didn’t set off with her. My father wasn’t home, of course, and I wondered bitterly how many nights a week he actually spent here.

I never gave it much thought, most likely to protect myself, but he was probably cheating on my mother. They didn’t love each other, after all. Their marriage had been arranged or maybe forced, and no wonder it was unhappy.

With a start, I understood that even if I had been born the boy they wanted, they’d still be miserably stuck together, without even the option of divorce, since it would likely tank my father’s career. A weight lifted off my shoulders, and I realized I musthave carried a load of guilt around having been born a girl. But none of it was my fault.

Feeling bolstered and even more determined to avoid the hell my parents lived in, I set out to find Phantom. But he wasn’t in his room nor in the kitchen. When I went out into the garden, searching for him, I thought I heard faint rustles and once, I saw a flash of black.

“Are you playing hide and seek?” I asked, turning in a circle to find him.

He didn’t answer. I rolled my eyes and sighed, wondering if he was avoiding me because of the half-nude picture I sent him. It was ridiculous, too. Hadn’t he already seen my breasts when he peeped at me from the tree?

I gasped when an idea hit me, turning to look at the wall of windows marking my ballet studio.

Therewasone thing I could do, after all. Except… ballet wasn’t sexy, was it? But I sometimes tried other types of dance when I knew for sure I was on my own. I loved channeling my emotions into movement, but it was private and vulnerable, and that was the reason why I was so upset when Phantom saw me then.

This time, though, I wanted him to look.

Bracing my shoulders, I went inside.

Chapter 21

Phantom

Ihid high in a tree, watching her as she stomped off to the house. I didn’t trust myself to face her. My phone burned a hole in my pants, and even though I looked at her photo just five minutes ago, I wanted to take it out and look again.

I was doomed.

It wasn’t even that spicy. I’d received many more explicit ones over the years from women who wanted to fuck me, but this hit different. My doll smiled with just a hint of shyness, teasing me, her clean face framed by the pink sheets, and I just couldn’t handle it.

She was too sweet for me. Too good. Too shy. Too naïve. Too…

Music blasted from the house, making me flinch. I crept closer on the branch, honing in on the ballet studio, where Barbara stood, wearing just a bright pink leotard, her legs bare save for a pair of socks. A single chair stood in the middle of the dancefloor.

My jaw dropped as she grabbed it and lowered herself to the ground, opening her legs wide, her feet poised on tiptoes. Her eyes were trained on the windows, her face determined. It wasn’t even a very seductive look, all things considered, but it was my catnip.

Because I loved it when she was angry. Every glare in my direction was like a hot lick to my cock, and now, as she stood and circled the chair in slow, enticing steps, I couldn’t help but groan from the weight of her delicious glower.

She didn’t even see me, but she knew I was looking.

When she bent over that chair, giving me a first-class view of her ass, I clutched the branch so as not to fall off.Her legs slid slowly apart, and then she arched, swinging her leg back and turning, her hands clutching the seat of the chair behind her. Her head fell back, eyes closed, while she worked her legs, showing off for me.

“Dirty girl,” I whispered reverently, watching as she swung her leg in a wide circle, giving me a glimpse of her barely covered crotch. I had no doubt what this was. She danced for me, determined to break through my restraint. I had no idea the little kitten had it in her.

Fuck, I could go there right now. I could tackle her to the floor and make her pay for teasing me. My body throbbed, my vision pink with desire, and still, I didn’t move.

If I went to her, it would be messy. I’d take her roughly, just pushing the slip of fabric to the side and slamming in, not caring that she was a virgin. Because she asked for it so tauntingly, I would treat it like a challenge.

I would hurt her. And I’d rather die.

She let go of the chair, spun around in a few pirouettes, and then her legs slid apart in a slow, teasing split. I whimpered deep in my throat, the display of flexibility setting my imagination on fire. She could probably do things with her body few womencould. Maybe I could fold her up like a pretzel, push her legs behind her head, hold down her wrists and ankles together, and pound into her while she screamed helplessly, unable to move.

When she got back to her feet, breathing hard, she turned the chair and straddled it. She looked out the window, right into the tree I hid in, and slowly rode the seat, her eyes burning with every seductive roll of her hips.

I snapped.

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