Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
KNOX
I don’t know what the hell just happened. One minute, I’m ordering more inventory, and the next, I’m running outside with Griffin. Raven’s scream had the hair on my arms standing on end. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.
“This is ridiculous,” Raven complains.
I’ve seen Griffin carry many people, and not one of them has ever complained.
“How unfortunate for you,” I quip.
The glare Raven shoots my direction does little to intimidate me. It’s more adorable than anything else.
Benny holds the door open as we cross the threshold. “Shit,” he mutters when he gets a good look at the blood on Raven’s legs. “Do I need to call an ambulance?”
“No!” Raven answers immediately.
Griffin’s tone is unmistakably serious when he says, “If we need to call an ambulance, we’re calling an ambulance.”
“No. Hospitals.”
Raven said the same thing outside, but it was more of a plea. Now, it’s a command. Her voice is unshakable, the complete opposite of how we found her outside.
The staring contest between Raven and Griffin is tense. But it ends abruptly when Griffin sighs. “Fine.”
“Thank you,” Raven says with a sassy head nod.
I snag the first aid kit from behind the counter as Griffin sits Raven on the bar. When I go back to the other side to stand in front of her, I grab a stool and sit my ass down.
Scooting forward leaves little room for Raven’s long legs. I’m a big guy. It is what it is. But then I realize our position…
Fuck me.
I accidentally moved the stool too far forward, and now I’m literally in between her thighs.
Lifting my head, I catch Raven’s gulp and watch the way it makes her slender throat move. Hopefully she swallows like that with a dick in her mouth…
My cock is already hard and ready for her. The zipper of my jeans becomes wildly uncomfortable. I wouldn’t be surprised if my dick breaks through. It’s practically desperate for her.
I’m desperate for her.
But she’s bleeding.
So, I turn my attention away from the tempting view and get to work using wipes and bandages to clean her up.
Griffin plops onto the stool next to me and doesn’t miss a beat. “What happened out there, Raven?”
Raven clears her throat. “I saw a rattlesnake.”
My head whips in her direction. “Come again?”
“A rattlesnake?” Griffin furrows his brows in disbelief.
“Yep.” Raven pops her lips as she answers and doesn’t bother to explain more.
“And you screamed bloody murder because…” Griffin leads Raven to give another answer.
“It scared me.” She shrugs a shoulder.
“So, you dropped to the ground to…what? Slither on the ground so it would think you’re a snake as well?” I question.
She frowns lightly. “Something like that.”
Griffin sets his elbow on the bar and tips his body to the side. “Where did you say you were from again?”
“New York,” Raven replies a little too quickly.
Griffin and I exchange a look.
“Anywhere before that?” Griffin presses.
“New York,” Raven repeats, but slowly this time. Her blasé attitude doesn’t seem genuine.
I squint my eyes. “And in New York, they pretend to be snakes to scare them off?”
“Indeed.” Raven nods.
“Liar, liar. Pants on fire,” Griffin sings like we’re back in third grade.
“I’m no such thing, Griffin Montgomery,” Raven shoots back as her eyes turn to slits.
I’m not a fan of liars. Never have been. But I get the feeling Raven isn’t lying to gain something. This seems more like a lie of necessity.
Raven glances down at me. My hands are resting on her thighs, and I’m still between them.
“Oh, look! You’re done. Thanks! I feel all better, Dr. Montgomery.” Raven places her hand on my shoulder to guide me backward and give her space. Instead, I stand up and put my hands on her waist, lifting her up off the bar and setting her on her feet on the floor.
“Oh. A doctor and a gentleman,” Raven teases.
Griffin scoffs behind me.
“I’ll be whatever you need me to be, Darlin’,” I tease back with a wink.
An adorable pink hue brightens her cheeks as her eyes widen.
Raven clears her throat again. “Well, this has been fun! But it’s late. See y’all tomorrow!” She snatches her purse and is out the door before we can say bye.
We’re left behind like a pair of monkeys scratching their heads. Griffin steps up to my side, and we both continue staring at the door, dumbfounded.
“Did you believe…” I start.
“Nope.” Griffin pops his lips like Raven did earlier.
“She said…”
“Y’all.” Griffin nods.
“So, New York…”
“A lie,” he confirms.
“Are we gonna…”
“Yep,” Griffin confirms again.
“Glad to see we’re on the same page.”
“Always.”
My ride home from the bar was short-lived. I need the open road. I need the wind whipping around my body as I breeze down the pavement. I need that reset.
But today was not the day, and tonight is not the night.
Griffin got home about thirty minutes before me. I’m sure he’s asleep by now. That man can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and he sleeps like the dead.
I drop the keys to my bike on the little table as I trudge through the entryway. My boots practically dragging across the plain-tiled floor, and I stomp my way up the stairs to my bedroom. When I walk through the first door on the left, my bedroom, I begin shedding my clothes.
Stripping all the way down to nothing, I fall into bed, groaning.
Sometimes, I wonder how much longer I can keep doing these extensive workdays.
I’ve lived a life that hasn’t been easy.
It’s been brutal to my body. So when I lie down in my bed at night, every bone, joint, and muscle cries in relief.
“What a day,” I say to myself. And what a day it was indeed.
Raven’s soft moans and sighs have been playing in my head on repeat. It’s a soundtrack I never want to lose.
The way she rubbed her warm pussy against my length has me itching to make that happen again. But this time, Raven would drop to her knees in front of me, undoing my pants and tonguing each inch of my newly exposed skin. Her tongue is warm and wet, causing all my blood to rush straight to my dick.
“Shit.” I rip my sheets off and wrap my hand around my thickening cock. I move my hand up and down, the friction all too perfect as the scene continues to play out in my mind.
Raven would pull down my pants to my lower thighs, allowing my dick to spring free. It would already be hard and dripping. Her tongue would peek out and lick my precum.
My thumb swipes across my slit at the end. I thrust my hips up into my hand, and the moan in my throat echoes around the room.
In my mind, Raven wraps her plump, sweet lips around my shaft and takes more of my length into her mouth as her tongue slides along the underside.
“Shit, shit, shit.” My hips pump faster, and my fist squeezes, adding a pinch of pain to my pleasure. The bite pushes me over the edge, and ropes of my release shoot from my cock as I pump harder.
When I come back from the high of pleasure, I look down and take in the large amounts of cum all over my stomach and thighs. Reaching my hand over the side of the bed, I snag the first piece of fabric I can and use it to wipe up my mess.
It’s official. Raven Henry is going to be the death of me. Death by fictional blow job.
My phone begins buzzing, but I ignore it, opting for sleep instead. But sleep proves to be elusive after the third time my phone goes off.
“This better be important,” I mutter to myself.
Jumping out of bed, I find my jeans on the floor and pull my cell phone from the front pocket. Caller ID says “Unknown.” I tap the green button and hold my phone up to my ear.
“Who the hell is this?”
“A concerned third party. Did you read your father’s letter?” The voice is deep and almost sounds electronic, as if the person on the other end is using something to disguise their voice.
If they know about the letter, then they probably work for the prison or maybe even the post office, but I’m betting on the prison. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie easily.
“I know you got it. When you read it, remember that you shouldn’t believe everything you’re told.” The mysterious voice ends the call before I can ask more questions.
Whoever that was, they’re not on Amos’s side. They want him to stay in prison. But does that mean Amos is telling the truth? Does he really have proof that he’s innocent?
I blow out a heavy breath, knowing what I have to do next—wake up Griffin. Never a fun task.