Page 21 of Indebted

I needed to distract myself and fast. “Isn’t there a way to stop her?”

Justin shook his head. “If Winny signs the consent form, then it’s a done deal.”

“Her mom is making her sign it. You know that, right?” I hated this helpless feeling inside me, the despondence of Winny’s face as she’d accepted her fate.

Justin’s thumb brushed soothing strokes against my shoulder, setting off a chain reaction within me. “I do. It’s part of the job Katie. Why do you think I want this clinic so damn bad?” His fingers tightened around my shoulder as his eyes went distant. “You think I like watching girls like Winny going through this? If I knew what I knew now back when I was in school, I would’ve never listened to my father and taken over. I wanted to help people, but that’s not what people come here for, it’s not what I thought I could make it be.”

His words unveiled another layer of Justin Kingston—a man that had a dream to help those who wouldn’t help themselves. He was an admirable man.

“You can still help people,” I found myself saying.

“Oh yeah?” his brow lifted. “I thought I was a villain? You hate me.”

I wished I could. But I didn’t. Quite the opposite in fact, and it rattled me.

As if he could read my thoughts, a slow grin slipped across his face. “So how far from the villain camp have I traveled?”

I huffed a laugh. “Don’t push your luck. You’re tolerable.” It was total bullshit.

“I can live with tolerable,” his thumb was back to stroking small circles against the fabric of my blouse, but it might as well have been against my bare skin for how I reacted to it.

My throat grew dry and the air between us seemed to shrink.

I was keenly aware of his body so close to mine, the scent of chlorine teasing me.

“What are you doing?” my voice came out soft as a whisper.

The feral look in his eyes had my heart tripping over itself. I’d never had that kind of attention from a man before—a single minded focus made me think he wanted to do nothing more than devour me.

“Being tolerable.” The tension in his body was palpable, as if he were holding himself back.

I swallowed thickly. “Tolerable is good.”

His hand left my shoulder to trail down the front of my arm, achingly slow. “Yeah?” his voice had turned to gravel, the edges of his fingers grazing the outside of my breast.

I gasped. The sound echoing in the empty space.

Anyone could walk in on us right now and it only added to the adrenaline pumping through my body, fueling my excitement higher.

His fingers grew bolder, reaching out to flick over my nipple.

I bit my lip to keep from moaning, moisture flooding my sex.

He electrified me with one simple touch. It wasn’t fair. I could only imagine what he’d do to me skin on skin.

“T-this is wrong,” the words barely made it past my lips as he took my hardened nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it back and forth.

“You don’t think I know that?” he growled, sounding angry. “You make me lose my fucking mind, Katie.” As if to punish me for that fact, he pinched my nipple harder and my mouth dropped open in a silent scream. “Open your eyes,” he commanded.

My head snapped up, two glowing blue flames watching my every move.

“Tell me to stop,” he grit between clenched teeth. He had my whole breast in his hand now, palming it as if testing the weight and feel.

I knew I would kick myself later for my lapse in judgement, but at the moment I didn’t care. “Don’t stop.”

“Fuck.” His other hand reached for my other breast, giving it the same treatment.

“How do they compare?”