01:His Return
MAYA
“Dad is coming today,” Becca dropped the bombshell.
The ceramic mug slipped from my fingers, clattering against the marble kitchen counter. I stared at, my best friend turned sister, trying to process what I’d just heard as my heart performed an unwelcome gymnastics routine.
“What suddenly changed?” I managed to ask.
Becca’s green eyes sparkled with happiness. “He said he has sorted everything now, and it was finally safe for him to return.” She paused, studying my face, maybe because she wasn't getting the same energy. “But there’s also good news.”
I felt myself drift away, my mind automatically conjuring images of Robert’s sharp jawline, the way his p***s dangled around in those ridiculous tight shorts he wears about.
It had been five years since I’d seen him, since he’d vanished from his daughter's life, leaving behind only a note about keeping Becca safe.
“Madam, won’t you ask me what the good news was?” Becca’s voice cut through my reverie, her fingers snapping in front of my face with dramatic exasperation.
“I’m sorry,” I said, forcing myself back to the present. “What’s the good news?”
“He’s finally coming to stay!”
Before I could react, she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders with enough force to nearly topple us both.
“God, Maya, I should be furious with him for abandoning me, but I can’t help it. I’ve missed him so much. And his pancakes—holy hell, I’ve been dreaming about those blueberry pancakes for years.”
I returned her embrace mechanically, but inside, a war was raging. If I’m being honest, I’ve never understood the correlation between Robert’s disappearance and Becca’s safety.
Immediately after Elena Ricardo’s cold death, he disappeared. How could he think leaving his fifteen-year-old daughter with her best friend and nanny was what she needed to be safe?
But now he was coming back to live here permanently.
If Robert Ricardo was really going to live with us in this mansion… I couldn’t explain what that did to me, but trust me, it wasn’t good.
This was his mansion, if anyone had to leave, it would be me. And where would a homeless girl like me go?
“Tomorrow is his fortieth birthday,” Becca continued, oblivious to my internal crisis. “I want us to throw him a surprise party. Something spectacular. He deserves that much after everything he’s been through.”
The joy radiating from her face was infectious, and despite my turmoil, I found myself genuinely happy for her. But selfishly, I was drowning in my concerns.
“You’re spiraling,” a voice in my head warned. “Get it together.”
“You can’t speak that way. Get it together,” a voice inside me scolded. Yes, I’d buried my stupid, unruly crush years ago when all my greenlight turned into him caring further for me. And that’s all it had been—childhood nonsense.
He took care of me and made me safe after my adopted parents died and no one was ready to take me in. It was normal for a fourteen-year-old girl to get silly crushes on people who were kind to her. It didn’t mean anything.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
***
I paced nervously, checking my phone for the hundredth time. Robert was expected any minute and Becca had vanished on a last-minute wine run, promising to return before her father arrived. That was two hours ago.
I’d called her six times. Each call went straight to voicemail.
“Come on, Becca,” I muttered, anxiety gnawing at my stomach. The surprise party was her idea, and now she might miss his arrival entirely.
My heart hammered every time I checked the driveway, terrified he would show up before she returned.
And of course, that’s exactly what happened.
A sleek black SUV rolled up the drive like a shadow on wheels. My pulse went berserk.
The back door opened and I watched as Robert Ricardo stepped out.
My breath caught.
Five years had only refined him, adding silver strands to his gold hair. His shoulders filled out his charcoal suit jacket—a definition of perfectly made for you.
Why was I suddenly feeling this way?
I forced myself to look away, pressing my back against the wall as if it could somehow anchor me to reality. This was ridiculous, I could handle seeing him again without falling apart.
I wanted to run upstairs and lock my door. Pretend I hadn’t seen him. Pretend I wasn’t here. Only, if I didn’t act fast, I’d ruin everything Becca had planned.
Just stick to the plan. Hide behind his bedroom door with the birthday popper, wait for him to enter, then surprise him with confetti and congratulations. Becca would arrive just in time to see his face light up with joy. Perfect.
Except nothing about this felt perfect.
“You can do it, Maya,” I whispered to myself. I grabbed the small party popper we’d hidden in the kitchen drawer and tiptoed toward his room, rehearsing the moment over and over in my head. Smile and pretend you’re not burning alive inside.
This was it. I could do this. Just wait for him to enter, then spring the surprise.
Stupid me.
By the time he was about to unlock his bedroom door and step inside, I’d already panicked. Instead of standing behind the door like I’d practiced, I darted into the bathroom and shut myself inside, clutching the popper like an i***t.
I was now trapped in his bathroom. And that’s how everything went to hell.
****
Horrifyingly, footsteps approached the bathroom door.
Panic consumed me entirely. I looked around frantically for somewhere to hide.
I dove behind the marble bathtub just as the door handle turned.
From my hiding spot, I had a perfect view of the bathroom through the gap between the tub and the wall. This was insane.
Oh God, no!
Robert moved into view and my brain short-circuited completely. He was removing his shirt. I tried to close my eyes, only that they refused to obey my command. His tattoos had gone from one axe on his arm into several tattoos covering his chest completely.
Maybe I should have announced my presence and explained the misunderstanding but this view was worth all the risk.
I swallowed a big lump and somewhere in the rational part of my brain that wasn’t currently being hijacked by hormones, I knew I needed to leave now. Before this got any worse.
But then he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his underwear.
The fabric slid down and suddenly I was seeing all of the man who’d haunted my dreams and made every other man seem pale in comparison.
He was magnificent and perfect in ways that made my chest tight and my breathing shallow.
God forgive me, I stared at the long, veined length of him, and the velvet red tip. Even though his p***s wasn't at work, it still turned me on with its size. I can't get enough of my naughty daydreaming of how he’d grow inside of me.
Heat pooled low in my stomach, spreading through my limbs like wildfire as I continued to think of all the sins worth hanging that I wanted to commit.
My p***y throbbed as I thought of taking bold steps and wrapping my mouth around his p***s, but I guess I wasn't much of a bad girl.
My hand slid between my thigh, pushing my pants aside before my mind could argue. My fingers found my c**t, circling it in trembling desperation. A choked sound escaped my lips as I bit down hard on my lower lip, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more.
This was so incredibly wrong on every reasonable level. But I couldn’t stop.
I traced slow circles, fighting to keep my breathing quiet as Robert moved toward the shower.
The sound of running water filled the bathroom, providing cover for the soft whimper that escaped my lips despite my best efforts. I added pressure, my movements becoming more urgent as I watched him step beneath the spray.
My ring finger pushed into my p***y, curling inside, sending shockwaves up my spine. My other fingers worked furiously at my c**t, slick heat flooding between my thighs.
I tried to be silent. I tried to swallow my moans. But the bathroom was too quiet, and the running water has suddenly stopped.
Somewhere between one heartbeat and the next, I knew I wasn’t alone anymore.
Robert had turned. He was looking at me.
I didn’t know what had caught his attention—maybe my soft gasp or there was truly a chemistry between us.
But his green eyes locked on mine, darkening to something dangerous that I couldn’t name.
Naked, he stepped closer. His gaze traveled down my body, pausing at my trembling hand between my legs.
My pulse pounded but I was determined than ever, so I won't stop.
I parted my lips, my body betraying me again, ready for the kiss I was sure would come.
And that’s where the world stopped.