The devil

Chapter 4 Cain

The last thing I need right now is a scandal.

Correction—the last thing I need is to go up to her bedroom.

Yet, here I am…walking up the stairs. Heading straight for the Devil’s playground.

One mistake three weeks ago turned Eden from my sick little fantasy …to my greatest liability.  

It was hard enough not to think about her before that night…but it’s been impossible not to think about her since.

I’m so fucked.

She’s lying on her bed when I walk in—phone in hand, a cute little pout on her pretty face; like she’s waiting for someone to respond.

She’s been preoccupied with her phone a lot over the last two weeks, which wouldn’t be weird for any other girl her age, but Eden has never been what you would call normal. She has a lot of issues that prevent her from making and keeping friends.

She has a lot of issues that make people take advantage of her.

Which is why crossing the line was wrong on all accounts. She might be eighteen in a few hours, but I’m supposed to be the adult in this situation.

Then again, Eden’s more mature than most adults in this town. Unlike them, she’s not the type to spread false stories or go out of her way to hurt anyone.

Which is probably why her mother resented her so much. Karen was incredibly smart, sure; but she wasn’t a lot of other things. Things like kind, loyal, and charismatic. Things that make a person likable.

In other words, all the things Eden is.

I clear my throat to get her attention, fighting a bout of a

She narrows her eyes. “Did you need something?”

Eden is sweeter than sugar when she wants to be, but she’s also sassy as hell when she’s upset. It’s all I can do not to laugh because Eden being mad is the equivalent of a baby cub roaring.

She’s all bark and no bite.

“I got rid of the reporter.” I stick my hands in my pockets so I’m not tempted to touch her. “I also made a few phone calls. Let’s just say she won’t be conducting any more interviews.”

Thanks in part to my family and my deceased wife’s contacts, I have a few co

Which is why I relate to Eden so much. I know first-hand how poisonous Black Hallows can be. I know how it feels to have an entire town talk about you and your family behind your back but never to your face.

But unlike Eden, who hasn’t built an outer shell because her mother kept her hidden away to protect her own precious reputation—I was able to rise above it and come out on top.

However, we’ll both fall down if anyone ever finds out what transpired between us.

It’s bad enough everyone in Black Hallows already speculates about our relationship, given how close in age we are—and Eden’s past, thanks to that inappropriate teacher of hers.

It’s a shame he wasn’t put behind bars, because it was obvious to anyone with a pulse he was grooming her and only a matter of time before he did something heinous.

It really goes to show it’s not what you know in this town, it’s who you know. That pervert happened to be the nephew of a powerful judge, which had my wife—the DA who only earned her position because of her own manipulative ways—backing down and turning on her own kid.

The day Karen died, I promised myself two things. One—when I became mayor, I’d piss on her grave for being such a cunt to Eden. And two—I’d help Eden overcome her demons any way I could.

But it’s hard to do that when everyone around you thinks you must be sticking your dick in your stepdaughter.

It’s even harder when they’re not exactly wrong...because you’ve had the urge to make those rumors a reality for the last year.

With a sigh, I walk around her bedroom. Being so close to her when she’s lying on a bed isn’t good for my self-control. “I shouldn’t have pushed you to do those interviews. I’m sorry.”

Given people in town haven’t seen Eden in years because her disorders prevent her from stepping outside, I thought arranging a few interviews with the local media here at the house would be a good thing.

For her…and me.

But it backfired once they started publishing pictures of her.

Younger Eden was already a Lolita in their minds. But older Eden is everything wives’ nightmares and men’s wet dreams are made of.

Like temptation and sin wrapped up in a beautiful bow.

Long blonde hair, big blue eyes, pouty lips, curvy ass, legs for days, and a rack that makes a man curse and thank God every Sunday at his local church.

And don’t get me started on the tight holy grail between her creamy thighs.

Fuck.

Blowing out a breath, I force myself to stop thinking with the wrong head. Screwing my stepdaughter is out of the question. No matter how much I want to.

And after this weekend, hopefully the gossip—and my hunger— regarding me and Eden will clear up for good.

Eden doesn’t know yet, because I haven’t the heart nor the want to break it to her—but I have an arrangement with Margaret Bexley. Or rather, her governor father, who happened to be an old friend of my father’s.

Milton Bexley’s not only filtering a shit-ton of money into my campaign on the low, he’s not so secretly hoping I’ll take his place one day since he doesn’t have any sons, and his only daughter Margaret is more interested in being a Stepford wife to a politician than she is in actual politics.

On paper, the situation is perfect. Eons better than the arrangement I had with Karen—the one I stupidly accepted due to being young and impulsive.

I just have to tread carefully because perception is everything in this town. If I jump into a relationship with the governor’s daughter too quickly, people will think I’m only doing it for political gain.

But if I continue living as a widow with my gorgeous stepdaughter who’s locked up like a princess in a tower…it will only perpetuate gossip and make them uneasy.

And if they have any room for doubt about my character when it’s time to vote, I won’t have theirs.

I’ve worked my ass off for this for a long time now, waiting for the perfect moment to toss my hat into the ring. I couldn’t run while still married to Karen, due to more than half the people in town hating her. Unfortunately, divorcing her before ru

The fact that she was willing to drag her own mentally fragile daughter into the spotlight after the same town already chewed her up and spit her out just to ruin me speaks volumes.

Then again, Karen was ruthless.

Almost as ruthless as…

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I grit my teeth.

Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded of Damien King, given his obsession with me ruined my life twelve years ago.

Last I heard, he was a successful hedge fund investor with more money than God and was living halfway around the world on some exotic island…which suits me perfectly fine.

Because if I ever see him again…I can’t guarantee I won’t kill him.