Live-In Position (29 page)

“Dr. Bishop, it’s seven,” I whispered.

Why the hell am I whispering if I want to wake him up?
I shook my head and tried again.

“Dr. Bishop, it’s seven.”

He buried further into my side. Groaning loudly, he stretched onto his back. I began to move onto my left side, trying roll out of bed. His arm wrapped around me and pulled me back to him, burying his face in my neck.

“Mmm…you smell so good.” He breathed heavily against my skin.

“It’s seven.” I squeezed my eyes closed and willed myself not to launch a full-scale attack on his body.

He growled quietly against my neck before rolling away from me and slipping off my bed. As he walked toward my door, I placed my hand on my chest, my heart pounding, and took a deep breath.

“Until next time.”

I raised my head at his goodbye, but he was already gone.

THE HOUSE WAS eerily quiet when Victoria and I headed downstairs later in the morning. Having grown accustomed to the daily chaos of the Bishop family, it was odd. I wondered where Allison had gone and if both Connor and Juliet had joined her. Shaking off my thoughts, I started breakfast for the both of us.

We ate quietly at the breakfast bar and then headed back up to her room to go through her clothes. She was in the middle of trying on her third uniform, twirling in a pleated skirt that was way too short for her.

“I’d say you’ve definitely grown over the summer,” I giggled.

“I have to agree.”

Victoria and I both looked toward the door, surprised to see Dr. Bishop leaning against the doorframe.

“We are going to buy new school clothes tomorrow.” Victoria beamed.

“That sounds fun,” he grinned.

“I can’t wait,” she exclaimed and ran into her bathroom to remove the too small uniform.

I shook my head and watched her disappear behind the door. The intensity of him fell upon me. My body could feel his every breath and movement without one glance in his direction. I knew he was standing behind me before he spoke.

“You’ve been busy today.” The coolness of his voice was in drastic conflict to the heat radiating within me.

“A little,” I managed to squeak out from the floor.

After exhaling a deep breath, I continued to fold the clothes piled around me. Victoria emerged from her bathroom in another uniform and tossed her skirt at me.

“Hey, how about handing it to me next time?”

“Sorry,” she smiled sweetly. “Look, these are too short too.” She pointed to her ankles.

I raised one eyebrow at her and crooked my pointer finger. She walked over so I could examine her waist. Her pants were pulled up way too high. Laughing, I adjusted them.

“I think these will be okay for a couple of months.” I tapped her butt gently.

Victoria gave me a sly grin before running back to the bathroom. I folded the skirt.

“Can I ask about how things went?” I slowly placed the skirt onto a pile.

“You can.” Without looking, I could hear the smirk that was surely on his face.

“Well, um –”

“She still has to visit with Grace.”

“What?” I finally looked up at him.

“It will be supervised visitations. Since she is her mother, they are giving her another chance.” He cleared his throat. “It didn’t help when I stormed over there and removed her from Grace’s home without contacting my lawyer or hers before doing so.”

My eyes narrowed. “When does she have to go?”

“I will be driving her to Grace’s on Saturday. The court appointed chaperone will arrive when I do and will stay until I pick her up that evening.”

“So how much bigger did I get?” She handed over the pair of pants she had been wearing a few moments ago.

I forced my attention back to Victoria.

“Um, it seems you’ve grown a lot.” I forced a smile.

“Victoria, I need to have a word with you.” Dr. Bishop moved away from me as he spoke. I heard the sigh of her mattress as he sat down on it. “Come.”

Victoria obeyed her father and sat next to him on the bed.

I couldn’t stand it. Grabbing the pile of clothes that still fit her, I stood from the floor and moved to put her clothes away. As I was placing each garment on a hanger, I could hear the conversation from her closet.

Dr. Bishop explained to Victoria the judge’s decision. She argued that it wasn’t fair and that she didn’t want to go. He went over the details of the chaperone and made it clear she would not have to spend the night with Grace. I heard the hard stomps of her feet before her bathroom door slammed shut. Dropping my head against the wall in her closet, I sighed heavily.

“She’s not happy with me.”

He startled me, and my body went rigid.

“I heard.” I bit my lip.

The passion started to build. I think we both realized at the same moment that I would have nowhere to run to. “I should check on her.” My words came out quickly as I brushed by him.

I knocked lightly on her bathroom door.

“Victoria?” I could hear her sniffling. “Can I come in?”

“No,” she sniffed.

“Please?” I placed my palm against the door.

“No,” she sniffed again.

“Okay,” I resigned. “I’m going to go make some cookies so when you feel like coming out, I’ll be in the kitchen.” I waited for a few moments, but she didn’t say a word. I left her room and went down to prepare for baking.

I combined ingredients, mixed and stirred, and spooned the cookie dough onto cookie sheets. She never showed. When I finished baking all the cookies, I poured a glass of milk and put some cookies on a plate before going back to her room.

Victoria’s bedroom door was still open so I walked right in. My first glance was to the bathroom door, which was now open. Then my eyes landed on the bed, and I stopped mid-stride. Dr. Bishop rested against the headboard, his head lolled back and eyes closed. Victoria clung to his chest. The warmth of the moment would forever weaken his icy persona. I quietly padded out of the room.

It was about two hours later when Victoria burst into my bedroom. I was sitting at my desk working on my book.

“Hey, you. Are you feeling better?” I closed my laptop and sat back in my chair.

She shrugged. “A little.”

“Well, that’s better than not at all.” I winked at her and stood up. “How about some cookies?”

“Before dinner?” There was a gleam in her eye.

“Yep, a before dinner treat.” We headed to the kitchen. Victoria didn’t mention Grace for the rest of the evening.

Dr. Bishop disappeared into his office while Victoria and I went about our evening activities. It wasn’t until Victoria was sound asleep that he reappeared.

“Miss Ashwood.”

I closed Victoria’s door and spun at the sound of his voice.

“Quit doing that,” I scolded in a whisper.

“Doing what?” He arched one eyebrow.

“Appearing out of nowhere,” I breathed.

He half grinned.

“Good night, Dr. Bishop.” I walked to my room.

I expected him to say something, but he never did. Once in my room, I took a deep breath and grabbed a pair of cotton shorts and t-shirt before heading to the shower.

The steamy water felt amazing rolling over my bare skin, loosening up some of the tension in my back. My mind went to work trying to process Dr. Bishop’s persistence and what to do about the irrational idea that we should have more than an employee-employer relationship. The moment the water started to cool, I shut off the valve and stepped out of the shower.

I dried my body and hair before I lathered myself in some lavender relaxation lotion. I slipped on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Since I was only climbing into bed, I decided against underwear and bra.

The conditioner I used in the shower made my hair easier to brush through before I braided it down my back. I brushed my teeth, and with a final look in the mirror, I headed to my bed. Flicking off the bathroom light, motion around my bed caught my attention, and I stilled.

“Sophia.” Dr. Bishop’s voice was as intense and cool as always.

How is it possible for such a cool tone to make fire rip throughout my body? And why oh why did I forego the bra and underwear?
The lump in my throat made it impossible for me to respond.

“Uh…”

I heard a light chuckle from him.

“I told you, sleeping without you the night before was not pleasant for me. Not now that I know what it’s like to sleep next to you.”

His words sent heated waves of embarrassment coursing through my body. I thanked God that the lights were out and he probably couldn’t see the affect he was having on me.

“Oh.”

As soon as I managed to squeak out the ridiculous response, I wanted to smack my palm to my face. Before he could say anything else, I slowly approached the bed and slipped under the covers, keeping close to the edge. When my head hit my pillow, his arm slinked around my waist and pulled me toward the middle of the bed.

“We don’t want you to fall off, now do we?”

There was no way he couldn’t hear my breathing hitch from his closeness.

“Dr. Bishop –”

“Miss Ashwood?” he rebutted.

“I…I just…I think this is a really bad idea.” My words came out breathier than I intended, and my bottom lip was going to be paying tomorrow for the amount of action my teeth were giving it.

“And why is that?”

“You know exactly why,” I snapped.

“Sophia, we‘ve been over this. There is no way I can stay away from you, especially not now.” His hand cupped my neck, and his thumb traced my jaw.

“Then perhaps I should move forward with my resignation before –”

His body shadowed mine just before his lips came at me with ferocity. This time, he was going to consume me.

“Denied,” he mumbled against my lips before pressing his mouth to mine once more.

Our mouths and tongues wrestled for dominance. His hand ran up and down my side, prickling my skin with goose bumps. On his third pass over my side, boldness took over his roaming hands. My fingers threaded into his soft hair and I tugged hard. The growl that escaped his chest was unexpected, and it sent flaming tingles in my thighs. My mind and body were already drowning in lust-filled heat. His feather-light touch skimmed over my side and hip. Fingers curled inside the elastic waistband of my shorts and, with a couple of tugs, brought them to the middle of my thighs. Forgetting all my reasons to stop this, I raised my legs, thinking he would slip my shorts all the way off. Instead, the weight of his body lessened. I was a little confused until he returned with his clothing removed.

“Holy hell, Dr. Bishop,” burst from my mouth as our bodies met.

“Heaven,” he moaned. His voice was so low I didn’t know if he intended for me to hear him. Dr. Bishop grabbed the shorts resting midway down my thighs, using them as his reigns while his motions increased. He never faltered. I screamed his name and tore at the sheets. My overwhelming release sent him into frenzy. He collapsed forward onto his hands.