11. Triton
I wasn’tsure how I’d keep my hands off her when we returned to Maplewood, but I’d figure out a way. Nothing was going to keep me from Bess. She’d opened my heart and made me realize I didn’t have to spend the rest of my life alone. The light in her was strong enough to drive away the darkness in me. She’d shown me that again and again over the past several days.
I stared up into her eyes as she lifted her hips and slid down onto my cock. “Fuck, that feels good.”
Her fingers gripped the headboard for leverage and her tits bounced up and down as she rode me hard. When her head rolled back and she closed her eyes, I knew she was close. I thrust my hips, angling to reach the spot that would send her spiraling out of control.
“I’m close, so fudging close.” Her hips stilled and she clenched the walls of her pussy around me as her orgasm rocked through her.
Knowing she was satisfied, I let myself go and we came together. One of these days, I’d spill my seed into her with nothing between us. I couldn’t fucking wait.
She laid down on my chest, exhausted from the hours we’d spent exploring each other’s bodies for what might be the last time for a while.
“I love you so much, Bess.” My hand skimmed down her bare back and over her ass. I’d never get enough of her.
She propped her chin on her fist and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I love you too.”
We hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and it was almost time for dinner. “You want me to make something, or should we go out? I still haven’t taken you to my favorite restaurant. They’ve got the best Mexican food in Texas.”
“Can we stay here? I don’t want to share you with anyone else tonight. If we’re heading back soon, I want to spend as much time together as we can.”
“Whatever you want, baby.” I shifted her onto her side and rolled out of bed to go take care of the condom.
She pulled my t-shirt on and headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll go see what we have in the fridge.”
As I passed through the hall on my way to the bathroom, I saw the shadow of someone standing on the porch. “Someone’s outside. Get down while I check it out.”
Bess crouched behind the breakfast bar while I walked toward the door to peek through the peephole. Probably just one of the Calhouns checking in on us or maybe one of my foster brothers stopping by the shoot the shit. No one else knew we were here.
Before I reached it, a heavy knock sounded then the door opened. Shit, I’d been so eager to get Bess into bed that I hadn’t flipped the deadbolt.
“Bess, are you in here?” Her dad stepped into the cottage, his eyebrows shooting halfway up his forehead when he saw me standing there as naked as the day I was born.
“Pastor Trammer. Can you give me a second? I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“Where is she?” He glanced around the room, his eyes wild with anger.
“I’ll get her for you. Please, just give me a minute to get dressed and we can talk about this man to man.” I kept my voice steady and spoke through gritted teeth. This wasn’t how I wanted her father to find out about us.
He rushed past me and spotted her on the kitchen floor. “Bess? What exactly is going on here?”
She stood, my t-shirt barely covering her ass. “Daddy, I can explain.”
His face went from white to bright red in a split second. “Get your things. I’m taking you home.”
“But—”
“Now!” He pointed down the hall. “You’ve got one minute to put on some clothes and meet me outside before your mother comes in and sees you like this. Go.”
She scurried down the hall while I grabbed a pillow from the couch and held it in front of my crotch. “Sir, it’s not what it looks like. I’m in love with Bess.”
He turned on me, his finger jabbing the air like a dagger. “Don’t even say her name. You’ve ruined her.”
“With all due respect, sir, she’s a grown woman.” I knew he wouldn’t embrace the idea of me and Bess being together, but I’d hoped to ease him into it and win him over a little at a time.
“She might have the body of a woman, but she’s my little girl. I should have known you’d have an ulterior motive in getting her out from under the protection of my roof.” He moved back toward the door, his eyes taking in everything in the cottage Bess and I had shared.
“It’s not like that. I love her. I want to marry her.”
He let out a laugh. “You? Marrying my Bess? If you want her to be happy, you’ll stay far away from her.”
At that moment, Bess came out of the bedroom. She’d thrown on a pair of shorts and her own t-shirt and held her bag in her hands. She looked at me with tears spilling down her cheeks. “You want to marry me?”
“Yes.” I took a step toward her, but her father put out a hand to block me.
“Over my dead body.” He nodded toward the door. “Your mother’s waiting outside. Come with me now, and I won’t break her heart by telling her what I saw here today.”
“Bess, don’t go. Let’s talk about this,” I begged.
She shoved her laptop in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. “I can’t right now. Let’s talk when everyone’s had a chance to calm down.”
“Okay.” I’d honor her wishes about leaving with her parents, but I was still in charge of keeping her safe, especially now that she was mine. “Just don’t go back to the house. I think the cartel is watching, and I won’t let them get their hands on you.”
She looked to her dad. “He’s right. You should listen to him. Triton has a lot more experience with stuff like this and knows what he’s talking about.”
Paster Trammer opened the front door and ushered her out. “We don’t need his assistance with this matter any longer. I’m working with the sheriff’s department now.”
I wanted to run after her but didn’t want to make things worse by having her mother see me wearing a throw pillow. She wiped at her cheeks as she got into the back seat of her dad’s truck. If he wasn’t going to listen to me, I’d have to take matters into my own hands. I rushed back to the bedroom and pulled on my jeans and a t-shirt. Then I raced out to my truck and peeled out of the drive while I dialed Aldis, the president of the Rebel Hearts.
* * *
Bess
Wave after waveof emotion rolled over me as I sat in the back seat and tried to calm down. I kept reminding myself that my dad was only doing what he thought was right. My mom had taken one look at his face when he got into the truck and hadn’t said a word in the hour and a half since we left the cottage. A tension-filled silence had settled over all of us with only the sound of my dad’s favorite inspirational radio station playing in the background.
I’d wanted to stay with Triton. Wanted it so much, I’d even considered telling my dad he should leave without me. But then I thought about how much that would hurt him. If Triton truly meant all the promises he’d made, he’d wait for me. My dad would come around. How could he not when Triton was the most gentle, kind, sensitive man I’d ever met?
With that settled, I rested my head against the headrest and looked out the window at the flat, brown earth flying by. A huge black SUV pulled up on our left like it was going to pass us on the two-lane road. When it drew up even with us, the driver swerved to the right, bumping into the rear panel of my dad’s truck and causing us to veer onto the shoulder.
“What was that?” My mom turned around to look out the back window at the SUV that had pulled in behind us.
“I think they’re trying to run us off the road.” Fear wrapped around my heart, and I grabbed my phone. Triton would know what to do.
“Bess, where are you?”
Just hearing his voice held my panic at bay. “We’re about halfway back to Maplewood. A black SUV is trying to run us off the road.”
“How many vehicles?”
“Just one. The driver looks like the man who came to visit my dad’s office and there’s another guy in the front seat. The windows are too dark to see if there’s anyone else.”
The SUV rammed us from behind. My phone flew onto the floor.
“Phil, do something!” Mom gripped the handle above her door in a death grip.
“Call the sheriff’s department,” he yelled back at her. “Tell them to send someone as soon as they can.”
“They’re ninety miles away,” I said.
Mom closed her eyes and started to pray as my dad stepped on the gas. I fumbled to reach my phone where it landed between my feet.
“They just rammed us from behind. What should we do?”
“Hang in there. I’m not that far behind you, and I’ve got a few of my brothers and the Lonestar Riders with me. My Rebel Hearts brothers are coming from Maplewood and should be there soon as well. Tell your dad to stay on the road and whatever you do, don’t stop.” He paused and his voice cracked just the slightest bit. “I love you, Bess. I’m coming for you. Hang in there, Sugar Pie.”
“I love you too.” I didn’t care if my mom heard me and wondered who I was talking to. With my life on the line, the only thing I knew with one-hundred percent certainty was that I would never willingly walk away from him again. “I’m sorry for leaving you. You were right. I should have stayed.”
“Shh. None of that matters right now. I’ll be there soon, baby. I’m going to call Chance to find out how far out they are. I’ll call you back in just a minute, okay?”
“Okay.” Tears sprang up, prickling the back of my eyelids. I didn’t want to hang up, but I also wanted to be strong for him. He disconnected and I glanced out the back window. The SUV had fallen back a bit but now sped toward us again. I braced myself for the impact as they flew past us then swerved into our lane. The truck left the road and sailed over a metal guardrail. Then my world exploded.