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C L A I R E

"Someone attacked you!?" Jesse shrieks as we Facetime early in the morning.

She is in her bed, still dressed in her pajamas with her hair in a messy bun above her head. She looks sleepy but better than me at least who is still reeling from yesterday's events.

I am lying on my stomach in Vaughn's bed while he is in the bathroom taking a shower. After what happened between us last night, I can't find the courage to face him. It is worse than the times we fight.

I let him touch me.

How could I have been so stupid?

"Yeah," I mutter, stealing a glance at the bathroom door where the sound of the shower running is clear.

I imagine Vaughn standing under the shower — naked — drops of water cascading down his body, from his hard chest to the V of his belly, his abs glistening with the moisture. He was so incredible with me last night. He actually made me sleep like the dead after the trauma I had been through.

I avert my eyes, ashamed of myself. Last night was a great slip on my part. I was so stressed that having Vaughn's fingers inside me provided the distraction I needed. He was like a magician working my body to all the right tricks. I haven't been able to stop my mind from repeating the visions of the night.

The way he kissed me with his skillful mouth, the feel of his hardened cock stroking my inner thigh through his pants. His fingers were rough and talented as they explored my depths. I was undone the moment he touched me.

So much for keeping my hormones in control.

"Claire?" Jesse calls, bringing my attention back to my iPad.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay now? What did Vaughn say?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I say. "He was...helpful."

Helpful? Really?

The bathroom door opens and my breath catches as Vaughn steps out dressed in nothing but a towel around his waist. His eyes meet mine and I see a small smirk on his lips as he walks towards the closet. Water droplets travel down the hard ridges of his chest and I find myself staring at them.

"I'll talk to you later," I murmur to Jesse and before she can say anything, I cut the call.

I watch Vaughn as he comes out with a pair of boxers, a white shirt, and black dress pants from the closet. He reaches for his towel and I am alerted.

"What are you doing?" I blurt out and he stops halfway through undoing the knot.

He turns around, making my eyes come in contact with his chiseled abs, still wet from the shower.

"I'm dressing?" he answers casually. "Or do you want me to walk around this way?"

"Go and dress somewhere else," I fold my arms over my chest, hugging my body. "I'm here too."

"It's my room, blondie." He puts his hands on his hips as he looks down at me. "I can walk around naked if I want to."

"But it's my room too now," I protest. "Go and change somewhere else. I don't want to see you naked."

He raises an eyebrow at that. "If I remember correctly, you seemed pretty excited to see me naked yesterday when I had my fingers in your—"

"Stop!" I pick up a pillow from the bed and bury my face in it, groaning loudly. "It was a mistake."

I hear his deep laughter. "You seem to be prone to making mistakes."

I look up from the pillow and find him already dressed in his boxers. I observe him as his muscles flex as he wears his shirt. It fits him perfectly like it was tailored specifically for him.

"I'm not prone to making mistakes," I mutter under my breath and he looks at my reflection in the mirror.

He keeps his eyes fixed on me as he buttons up his shirt and for some strange reason, I am not able to look away either.

"Mom organized a charity event today," he says after he is finished buttoning his shirt and he picks up his pants. "Be ready. We're leaving at four."

I roll my eyes, plopping myself down on the bed as I look at the ceiling. Being a Jackson is pretty tough apparently — you don't have a single day without some big event to attend.

"I'll go with Rose."

Being alone with Vaughn in his car after last night seems horrifying to even think of.

Fingers curl around my ankle, pulling me out of my reverie as Vaughn pulls me toward the edge of the bed. I gasp, sitting up, and find him with one of his hands on my ankle and the other pressed to the mattress right beside my waist.

"You're coming with me, Claire," he says in a warning voice, a dark look crossing his eyes.

I gulp. "No, I'm going with Rose."

He squeezes my ankle hard as he keeps me in place with his hard stare.

"No," he snarls. "You'll come with me. I don't want Rose getting any bad influence from you."

I look at him with my mouth agape. "What the fuck, Vaughn!? I'm not a bad influence and Rose is an adult."

He squeezes my ankle harder, yanking me closer to him. His face is inches away from mine and his glare is cold, testing my courage. His hold on my ankle is strong and I notice my nightgown rising above my thighs, displaying my calves to his bare eyes. His gaze flickers to my legs before he brings it back to my eyes.

"You're coming with me," he states and then moves his eyes over my body, studying me with an observant look. "And wear something proper."

His voice is so deep and to the point that I don't dare to argue.

"Okay." I nod.

"Good girl." He smirks before releasing me.

I watch him as he picks up his watch from the bedside table and opens the door to step out of the room.

Don't worry, Jackson. I will wear something very proper. For you.

***

"You wore that to piss me off, didn't you?" Vaughn's knuckles are white as they grip the steering wheel tight, the veins in his forearms coming into view.

I bite my cheek to hide my laughter. "So, you're gonna tell me what to wear now?" I scoff at him.

I am intentionally dressed in a backless black dress with a slutty neckline. I respect Doris a lot but I am never letting Vaughn believe that he can make me do as he wants to. I have had enough of that shit with my Dad and I am no longer a damsel in distress looking for a way out.

I am my own knight in shining armor.

Rose and Doris have already reached ahead of us to help with the preparation for the event. The Jacksons hold such charity events and auctions every month and the money is donated to orphanages and disaster relief funds. Doris is the manager of these events while Rose helps her with the accounts stuff.

That's all I got to know from my two hours of searching for them on Google. In short, the Jacksons are filthy rich and they don't hesitate to show it off to the world.

"It's my Mom's event, Claire," Vaughn says. "And if you do anything to ruin it then I swear...I'll forget all about what you said last night."

Last night. My apology.

"Forget that, Jackson." I shrug. "You think I care about you enough to apologize? Over my dead body."

He slows down the car as he looks at me with narrowed eyes. The road that we are driving through is small and lonely; Vaughn took it as a shortcut but I very much doubt it is. There aren't a lot of cars so we are basically on our own.

"Let me remind you something." Vaughn brings his eyes back to the road as he speaks. "My Mom means everything to me and if you do anything to hurt her, I'll never forgive you. Leave her out of your little games."

"I don't have any 'little games', Satan," I huff incredulously. "And for your information, what happened last night was a M-I-S-T-A-K-E. It'll never happen again."

"You've high expectations of yourself, Claire." He taps his fingers on the steering wheel. "Your body speaks different truths."

"Well, last night your body was speaking the truth too." I click my tongue, making him glance at my mouth. He may try to be an angry young man but at the end of the day, he is still just a man.

I have you where I want you, Jackson and it will continue to be so.

Satisfied with myself, I bring my eyes back on the road and the sight through the windshield makes me scream in fright.

"Stop!"

The car comes to a screeching halt as Vaughn presses on the brakes and we jerk forward.

"What the fuck!" Vaughn booms as he follows my line of sight.

There is a body lying in the middle of the road.