Page 3 of Vermilion Desire

“It says that Cal can still be your caretaker as long as he doesn’t miss more than four nights in one week.”

As I said, a bit overexaggerating on my part. I’m feeling desperate, so he can’t blame me, and Cal didn’t read too much into it before he signed. He said that I was an adult, and I could make my own decisions, so I couldn’t just let that freedom go to waste.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to do it, Mr. Wolf.” I look down on my socks, curling them on his kitchen floor.

“What would happen if I don’t sign it?” he questions, scrutinizing the top of my head, and the heat of his gaze makes my scalp itch.

It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth either. It’s a loophole that I found that comes into play for now. “The program will find a new caretaker for me. Away from here and I don’t know, maybe—”

“Where do I sign?” he inquires, taking the pen from the kitchen table.

My head snaps up with a smile. “On the last page!”

He narrows his eyes, but I don’t know what he’s thinking. He’s going to take me in, and I don’t have to think about how to find a reason to see him every day.

“Thank you!” I squeal, planting a kiss on his cheek as he finishes his signature on the paper.

He scowls, racking his fingers through my hair. The rough treatment makes me whine as he ruffles the already tangled mess while putting the stack of paper in my hands.

“As if I’m going to let you into another man’s home.” His words lace with overprotectiveness and a heavy tone of possessive.

A shiver curls into my spine as I shudder. He catches it with dark eyes, slowly watching my reaction with every second as his hand dips into the curve of my neck. He kneads there with intention as I hold back a whimper; it feels good for many reasons.

The dominance in the underlining touch and the piercing gaze that controls the erratic heartbeat in my ribs causes me to whisper his name in a manner too inappropriate.

“Did Cal drop you off here?” he asks.

“No,” I breathe. “I walked.”

“You what?”

My shoulders jump at the deadly drop of his voice. The frightening glare in his eyes strengthens as Mr. Wolf wraps his hand at the back of my neck, unyielding and hauntingly tight with an unforgivable heat scorching under his touch.

“Cal had to leave first and—”

“No excuses, baby.” He squeezes tighter in a warning. “You call me whenever you need me.”

I nod, swallowing the aching dryness in my throat. “I promise, Mr. Wolf.”

He praises. “Good girl. Now, call Cal and tell him you’re with me.”

I don’t try to suppress the shiver as I take out my phone to dial the number that I had memorized for emergency purposes. Before I could call, the knock on the front door snaps Mr. Wolf out of his haze.

He blinks and narrows his eyes in suspicion as he lets go of my neck. He pushes me behind him and approaches the door.

“Stay here.”

I obey him, watching him stop at the door for a moment as if he’s letting his sense guide him. It seems that whoever is at the door isn’t a threat when he opens it, and there comes Cal with an eyebrow raised at Mr. Wolf.

The men at the door talked for a moment, and he lets Cal in before tipping his head towards me. Cal cocks another eyebrow, a frown on his face as I can practically feel him reprimanding me with his aura.

“You need a curfew, kid,” Cal comments with a hand on my head, messing up the already messy hair.

He narrows his vision down at the stack of paper in my hands. “You already roped Wolf into this?”

“It’s better now than later.” I offer him a small smile.

He rolls his eyes so hard that I think they got stuck in the back of his head for a moment. “Did you ask or you just told him what to do?”

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