Filed to story: Young Girls Forbidden Love Series: My Best Friend’s Daddy
“I am sorry for dragging you into my messy family drama,” Michael finally offered, looking at me with soft eyes.
“Someone in your family is attempting to blackmail you? Who would do that?” I asked, completely shocked.
I imagined my eyebrows were raised almost to my hairline as I watched Michael struggle to find a way to explain.
“I believe I told you a little about my father and my rocky relationship with him as I was growing up,” Michael said looking away again.
“Yes, a little, right after we watched the dolphins.”
“Well, a big part of the problems in our relationship was his lack of time to spend with me. When I was younger, I attributed it to him being busy with work, but after his death, I found out that it was likely because he was having an affair.”
“Oh, Michael, I am so sorry.”
I didn’t know what to say because I couldn’t imagine finding out about infidelity after already dealing with the death of your parents.
Losing my parents nearly broke me, and if I had found out they weren’t who I thought they were, it would have been too much. I could imagine how awful that must have been for him.
“I don’t know how long he was seeing this other woman, but she must have ended up pregnant at some point. I found out about Blaine a while ago, my half-brother, the result of my father’s long-hidden affair. I don’t know if my father even met his other son.”
“Have you ever met him?”
“No, I looked for him for a long time but wasn’t able to find him for many years. Once I did, I had my security look into him. To say he has made very poor decisions in his life is a major understatement. So I never arranged to meet him.”
I reached out and grabbed Michael’s hand. He curled his fingers in between mine as he continued talking. He stared at our hands now, struggling to meet my eyes.
“It wasn’t long after he found a match with the Astor family tree on a DNA result that I started getting random messages asking for money. My father, however, made it very clear that Blaine was to receive nothing. Then, after getting no response from me, he started going after my family members with threats.”
“Oh no,” I said with a look of sympathy in Michael’s direction, running my thumb lightly over his.
“I had my security team focusing their efforts on my extended family. I was ignorant to believe that he wouldn’t have me followed to the Bahamas. My oversight is the reason we were photographed. Blaine, my delinquent half-brother, has to be the one that is trying to get to me through you,” Michael finished with a look of guilt etched in the depths of his eyes.
“Michael, this is not your fault,” I said, squeezing his hand reassuringly, trying to get him to look at me.
“It is my fault. I am the reason that you are being blackmailed,” Michael said, finally looking into my eyes.
“If it weren’t me, I am sure they would have used someone else against you.”
“Shelby, don’t you get it?” Michael asked, his tone indicated that he was getting frustrated.
“Get what?” I asked, a little flustered. I slipped my hand out of his and held my own hands on my lap.
“If there had been another woman that he could have used against me, he would have. There has never been a woman I cared for enough. I believe that Blaine had us watched for a lot longer than the night before you left. He must have picked up that there was something more between us that he could use as leverage.”
“What is between us?” I asked barely above a whisper. I gripped my hands together tightly to keep them from shaking in anticipation.
Michael paused for a long time, clearly not sure how to answer. He seemed to have revealed more to me than he had intended.
After looking away for a while, he turned to me and stared at me intently, reaching out and grabbing my hands in his. The tension between us was evident.
“There is enough between us that I couldn’t bear to let Blaine hurt you,” Michael finally responded, not looking away.
Disappointment hit me like a truck. How could I expect him to want someone like me? Maybe his secretary was right.
“Oh,” was all I could manage. I felt completely deflated.
I knew I was being foolish. I shouldn’t want him to have feelings for me. He was old enough to be my father. Not to mention, he was my friend’s father. Former friend anyway….
Our relationship would bring nothing but heartache for both of us, but deep down, I couldn’t help but want him to feel something more for me.
I secretly hoped that he wanted me as much as I wanted him.
“Shelby…”
“No, it is okay, really,” I said, trying to shake the tears pooling in the corners of my eyes.
I tried to force a smile, but I couldn’t meet his gaze.
“Shelby, you are….”
“If you say like a daughter to you, that is so messed up,” I said, anger fueling the tears that were streaming down my face. I felt so stupid.
Finally, I stood and turned, trying to head for the door.
Michael stood with me, grabbing my arms gently and turning me to face him. He pulled me to him and heat immediately flushed in my cheeks as I laid my hands against his chest.
“Shelby, you are irresistible. I found myself searching you out just to spend a few fleeting moments with you. I did everything I could to keep my distance, but I couldn’t resist my own desire to be near you, to hear your laugh, or to be the reason for the smile on your beautiful lips,” Michael said.
My heartbeat fluttered in my chest, and I had to remind myself to breathe. It was difficult to focus on his words when he had my head swimming in possibilities.
He was intoxicating, his familiar scent drawing me in further.
“And that day that I took you to watch the dolphins, I knew that all my efforts were pointless. I gave into my feelings for you despite the fact that I knew it was wrong. I wanted nothing more than to take you right there on the sand of that beach.”
Michael’s lips tickled mine. He had inched ever closer as he admitted his feelings about me. I could feel his breathing against my face and fought to keep control of myself.
“I let my guard down because I thought it was safe. Safe for both of us. I liked the man I was when I was alone with you. During those weeks on the yacht, I was more myself with you than I had been in a really long time. You woke a desire in me that I didn’t know was still there.”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” I whispered, my lips brushing against Michael’s, my body leaning into his.
The urgency of Michael’s lips found mine, and I welcomed his mouth like a desperate need.
I moved my hands up his chest, gently caressing his neck as my hands made their way into his hair.
Finally, his tongue slipped into my mouth, and I let out a soft moan that had him pulling me closer to him.
Then, after a few passionate seconds, I came back to my senses and pulled away, breathing heavily. I stared at his face, drinking in how handsome he was.
“What’s wrong?” Michael asked, a frown forming on his still puffy lips.