A good man helps his woman’s family.
The man raises his hands, backing away, and then he turns and ducks his head, jogging across the park. He joins the path and begins pushing a shopping cart piled high with plastic bags, trash, and clothes hangers.
I watch him, a dark note touching me. I would’ve torn him to pieces for the way he spoke to my woman. And he’s living like that, so down on his luck.
Fuck.
I wish the world could be simpler sometimes.
There’s nothing simple about my heart pounding, telling me to grab Rachel, to cradle her close, so she knows she’s safe, and I’d never let anybody hurt her.
But I have to remember what I told Rusty before I left for the park after deciding I would leave him at home. Since I’d already walked him three times by then, he was pooped and snuggled in bed.
“I can’t let her know how deeply I feel, boy. I have to play it casually. Because what are the chances she feels the same?”
Now, after watching the would-be assaulter shuffle off, I turn to Rachel and her sister.
Rachel captivates and dominates my attention, with her hands crossed over her middle. She’s squeezing onto the fabric of her dress, her cheeks flushed, her teeth biting down on her lip.
“Thanks for that,” she says after a pause.
She couldn’t sound more sweet or inexperienced if she tried. Fuck, my woman is making my balls swell, making my shaft burn as my seed threatens to explode.
But it’s not just the physical.
Every reaction is matched with a yearning deep inside of me, nestled someplace only she’s ever touched, can ever touch.
“I wasn’t going to let him hurt you.”
My words come out with far too much intensity, the exact opposite of the tone I told Rusty I would take.
“Nor you.” I gesture at her sister. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“I’m Autumn,” she says, walking over to us. “And, anyway, I didn’t think any of us had met?”
I smirk, nodding at Rachel and offering my hand. “Nice to officially meet you.”
She reaches out and takes my hand.
Sparks buzz between us. There’s electricity flaring and hissing.
It travels up and down my arm like energy designed specifically to draw us closer together. It’s difficult not to grip on tighter, to squeeze down and feel her lust blazing through her hand. If she’s feeling the same way I do.
My thoughts are too clouded for me to judge. It’s taking all my attention simply to hold back this tidal wave of desire.
Letting my hand go, she makes a cute sighing noise. “So it really is you.”
I chuckle. “You sound surprised.”
“We thought you might be a crazy ax murderer,” Autumn says. “But, clearly, you’re not. So tell me, Ryland, are you going to hurt my sister?”
“What?” I snap, unable to hide my disgust.
Autumn folds her arms, staring hard at me. Despite being caught off guard by her questions, I can’t deny part of me is relieved. It’s good that my woman has somebody looking out for her.
In the rare, rare instances I’m not able to ride to my woman’s rescue, it’s good to know there’s backup, even if the backup is currently aimed at me.
“It’s a fair question,” Autumn goes on.
“Autumn,” Rachel hisses out the side of her mouth.
“It is,” Autumn presses.
“No,” I growl. “I’m not going to hurt her. I couldn’t even think about hurting her.”
Careful.
For some reason, the voice belongs to my uncle. It’s like that old bastard is warning me not to care too deeply, not to allow my desire or my want to show through just yet.
I push the voice away – push the man away.
“So why did you want to meet her?” Autumn asks,
I smirk. “Because she’s beautiful. Because I wanted to… want to… get to know her better. Is that good enough?”
It’s difficult to look at my woman for long. My words have made her blush, her cheeks turning a fierce red, the blush even spreading down to her neck. My manhood pushes against my pants, against my zipper, making me want to groan. To grab those hips, bring my lips down to hers…
It’d be heaven.
“Yeah.” Autumn laughs. “Thank God for that.”
“What?” Rachel says quietly.
“He was honest, sis,” Autumn says. “That shows a lot. Do you want me to stay?”
Rachel flinches and looks at her. It seems like the sisters are talking in that silent way some siblings have. Autumn grins and shrugs, and Rachel laughs, shaking her head.
“I never said I wanted you to leave.”
“You didn’t have to say it,” Autumn retorts. “So?”
“Well…it’s clearly him.”
My blushing sweet little thing won’t look at me, her eyes aimed stubbornly at her sister. And yet surely it’s a good sign that she wants to be alone, that she feels comfortable enough for us to be alone.
Maybe she knows too.
Maybe she senses it.