Playing a Little by Breanna Hayse Page A

ways.” She put her mug down on the table and stood in front of him. “Right now, I need you to be consistent. I managed to divert you this morning and, by nature, I can be a little manipulative. I don’t like that part of me and want to change it.”
    “Really? What do you suggest I do about it, dear?” Erik raised his eyebrows with amusement at her doughtiness.
    “You can start with spanking me for breaking your house rules of jumping on the bed and swearing.” She attempted to appear brave, hoping that he would admire her integrity.
    “Seriously?” He looked taken aback. Soon a small smile covered his face. “You do understand that breaking house rules means a more severe punishment than what you have previously received, don’t you?”
    Camille nodded, lifting the Life Alert button from her neck and tossing it on the table. She was determined to see this through, without an escape. It was time for her to stop hiding from herself and the world. She needed this. “Yes, Uncle Erik, and I don’t need, or want, a way to run from what you have to teach me. I… I trust you.”
    “Trust is a gift that I don’t take lightly, darling. May I ask what really brought this on? Yes, we kissed, but…”
    “I had an epiphany, that’s all. I realized that I need to start somewhere in this healing process if I am ever going to be any good for anyone else I might end up with in my life,” Camille said softly. “I owe this to myself, and Stan, to at least try. I have to find a way to wipe out the past and not allow the words spoken to me in cruelty to have the power to dictate my future. No one can do that for me, but I need to learn some tools to help myself.”
    “You are wise beyond your years,” Erik sighed. “Are you going to allow me to direct you in any way that I see fit?”
    “Yes, sir. I will try not to fight you. No promises, though. If I am going to react, then it might also include noncompliance. I have to take the risk that being myself will not drive away the people I care about.”
    “I expect that. May I also touch you? Intimately?”
    Camille hesitated and then nodded her head. “I am just not ready for sex. I mean…”
    “Me neither, baby. With you, I would want to make certain that there is something more between us than a movie contract. You deserve that. Nothing less.”
    “Thank you,” Camille whispered. “That means a lot to me that you said that.”
    “Go to your room, Cami. You are to find a nice corner and put your little, freckled nose in it while you wait for me. I will be there shortly, after I straighten up in here and put the skates away.”
    “Yes, sir, Uncle Erik.” On impulse, Camille reached down and hugged him tightly before racing out of the room.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Erik leaned back against the sofa, watching the young woman scurry away. Then he reached forward to pick up the Life Alert button, holding it thoughtfully in his hand. What happened? he asked himself. It was just a kiss. Two kisses…
    No, not just a kiss. Not for him, anyway. The taste of her lips on his was the sweetest thing he could ever remember having experienced. She had abandoned her fears for him, trusting him to guide her through this journey into womanhood. Like him, she was tired of living her life in the way that others desired; she wanted to live for herself. Staring at the little device in his palm, he began to plot out his mission. First, to bring her to a place of true abandon and absolute trust and second, to make her his own possession. His fingers wrapped around the object in his hand, closing to a fist. She truly trusted him. She had no illusions about their future together and no hidden agenda. She simply wanted to heal. So did he.
    The clap of his boots along the wooden walkways rebounded off the walls and under the bridges. Erik had never noticed how hollow it sounded before, perhaps because his steps had not previously taken him to discipline his little girl. My Cami-girl , he