My Father’s Wife Chapter 05

My Father’s Wife Chapter 05

Clara’s POV

The morning sun filtered through the kitchen windows, blinding and aggressively cheerful.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons played softly from the Sonos speakers, and the rich scent of sizzling bacon filled the air.

Arthur stood by the Viking stove, expertly flipping a pancake.

When I walked in, he smiled gently, stepping over to press a soft kiss to my forehead.

“Morning, sweetheart. You look a bit tired,” Arthur said, his voice laced with a rare touch of tenderness. “I know I haven’t been as attentive lately. I’m sorry.”

A heavy wave of guilt slammed into my chest. I forced a weak smile and nodded. “It’s fine, Arthur. Really.”

Then, the screen door clicked.

Julian walked in.

He was wearing nothing but wet, sand-covered swim trunks, his chest bare, muscles glistening with seawater.

His hair was a wild mess, and his dark eyes immediately found mine.

There was no guilt in his expression. Only a raw, hungry recollection of what he had done to me on the laundry room floor.

“Julian, grab a plate,” Arthur said without looking up. “After breakfast, I need you to help me sort through some paperwork downstairs.”

“Sure, Dad,” Julian said smoothly.

He walked past me to grab a glass of juice. As he did, his bare, salt-crusted arm deliberately dragged against my bare back, sending a jolt of electricity straight down my spine.

We sat down at the breakfast table. Arthur sat at the head, checking his iPad. Julian sat directly across from me.

While Arthur turned his back to reach for the maple syrup, Julian dropped his fork.

He leaned down to retrieve it, and beneath the long linen tablecloth, I felt his bare foot slide up my calf.

His toes expertly hooked into the hem of my sundress, slowly parting the fabric and stroking the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.

I choked on my coffee, coughing violently.

“Everything alright, dear?” Arthur asked, looking at me with mild concern.

“Fine,” I choked out, gripping the edge of the table so hard my knuckles turned white.

Julian’s foot moved higher, his toes pressing into the heat between my thighs, his eyes locked onto mine with a wicked, unbothered grin.

“Just… hot.”

Arthur didn’t even look up from his iPad, but his brow furrowed as an email popped up on his screen. He let out a heavy, frustrated sigh.

“Dammit. Not now.”

He finally set the device down, looking at me with a rare expression of genuine regret.

“Sweetheart, I am so sorry. That was the firm. Compliance flagged something serious, and I need to be back in the city for an emergency meeting.”

Under the table, Julian’s big toe gave a deliberate, slow upward nudge.

A sharp tremor shot straight to my core. I dug my fingernails into the wood, desperately trying to keep my breathing steady.

“You… you have to go back to the city?” I managed, my voice thin.

“I have no choice. I gotta go,” Arthur nodded, rubbing his temples. “I’ll probably be tied up until tomorrow evening. I hate ruining our weekend like this.”

Across from me, Julian didn’t flinch. His foot remained buried high between my thighs, hot and unyielding in the shadow of the linen cloth.

“Don’t worry about it, Dad,” Julian said smoothly, his eyes never leaving my face. “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things.”

“Good. Julian, that paperwork still needs to be done,” Arthur said, standing and checking his watch. “Go through the boxes downstairs while I’m gone. The accountant needs everything by Monday.”

“Sure,” Julian murmured, his gaze dropping to my parted lips. “I can do that.”

The sudden scrape of Arthur’s chair snapped the spell.

Julian slowly, reluctantly slid his foot down my calf, the friction of his skin leaving a burning trail in its wake.