15. Poppy
Chapter 15
Poppy
I woke up with sweat trickling down my temple. For a moment, I thought the overwhelming heat was caused by my dad’s naked body wrapped around my own, but as I came fully into consciousness, I realized it was much more than that. It was sweltering in the room.
I sat up, making my dad’s arm fall from my chest to my waist, and looked around the room. The rain was still falling outside, and I was getting really tired of seeing that view out the window.
Struggling to pull myself out of my dad’s hold, I got out of the bed just as there was a knock at the door.
“It’s me,” Mason called out, and I scooped dad’s shirt off the floor before padding to the door and unlocking it. The shirt fell to mid-thigh, and Mason’s gaze roamed over my bare skin before he met my eyes. When he did, I saw a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
“Air conditioning is out,” he said grimly.
Well, that explained the uncomfortable heat.
“Can it be fixed?”
The sound of movement came from behind me, and I turned to see my dad pulling on his pants. There was something about him in only a pair of jeans, and barefoot, shot my libido through the roof, so I looked away from him. We needed to focus on the problem at hand right now.
“What’s going on?” Dad asked, joining us at the door.
“AC isn’t working,” Mason explained. “I’m not sure what’s wrong, but I was about to go check it out.”
“I’ll go with you,” Dad said, stepping past me to leave the room.
Mason nodded, and it struck me how different this interaction was from the scene that occurred when we first arrived. The two of them were at each other’s throats then, and it seemed there had been tension between them ever since, but now, they almost seemed friendly.
What changed? It couldn’t have been me, could it?
“By the way, good morning, sweetheart,” Mason said with a wink. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips.
“Uh…good morning,” I replied, thrown off by the unexpected kiss.
Not to be outdone, my dad placed an arm around my waist and pulled me in close. His kiss was just as intense as Mason’s, and a moment later, I found myself alone in the room with my turbulent thoughts.
Feeling drained by the sweltering heat, I made a beeline for the bathroom. I quickly undressed and stepped into a refreshing shower. It was amusing to compare my experience last night, soaking in the hot tub, with my current situation of standing under a cool stream of water. I prayed Axel and Mason had managed to resolve the air conditioning issue because it was unbearable in this heat, despite the rain. If anything, the storm only added to the discomfort, bringing a heavy humidity along with it.
So, I lingered under the cool spray of water, soaking up as much time as I reasonably could out of the heat. When I stepped out of the shower, I didn’t even want to get dressed, but walking around naked wasn’t an option.
A nearly hysterical laugh left me as I realized Joey was the reason I couldn’t do that, and not my father or stepfather. How was this my life?
Grabbing my lightest dress out of the closet, I pulled it on, not bothering with a bra. I had big breasts, so I rarely went without one, but the top of the dress was tight enough to mostly keep everything in place, and I couldn’t stand the thought of wearing more clothing than was absolutely necessary.
That meant no panties either.
I gathered my thick brown tresses into a tousled bun atop my head to beat the scorching heat, and descended the stairs. The first floor was marginally cooler than the second, thanks to the ceiling fan, but it was still sweltering. I noticed I wasn't alone in feeling uncomfortable; all three men were roaming around in just their boxer shorts. Mason was busy in the kitchen, blending smoothies. Joey stood by the window with a jarring frown etched on his face.
My mouth watered as I caught sight of my dad. He was sitting on the couch, working on a jigsaw puzzle. His strong back muscles flexed as he reached for a piece. I strolled over, looking down at the puzzle pieces spread all over the coffee table.
“Where did this come from?” I asked.
“I found it on a shelf in the coat closet by the door,” he said, glancing up at me. I saw his eyes focus in on my nipples pebbling against the front of my yellow dress. He took a deep breath and focused on my face. “I need a break from writing, and there’s not much but weather reports on the TV, so I figured I’d give it a shot.”
I took a seat next to him on the couch, our thighs pressed together. I saw a corner piece, so I grabbed it and put in place on the coffee table. “So, I guess there’s no good news about the air conditioner?”
“Nope,” he said. “Mason and I couldn’t figure out what’s wrong with it.”
I sighed. The storm was projected to last two more days. It was going to be miserable without air conditioning.
Mason came into the room with a smoothie for me and Axel. He didn’t bother to offer Joey one, and I knew I probably should’ve felt bad for him, but I didn’t have that in me anymore. I didn’t feel anything for the guy.
Mason brought over an armchair from the fireplace and sat across from us on the other side of the coffee table. For a moment, we all worked on the puzzle and sipped our cold smoothies, which helped a little with the oppressive heat.
I glanced up when Mason attached two puzzle pieces together and found myself entranced by him. He was so damn good-looking, and the way his hard muscles shifted every time he moved reminded me of the way he fucked me like a wild animal last night. I felt myself starting to blush at the memory.
“What are you looking at?”
I jolted at the sound of Joey’s voice coming from beside me. He’d abandoned his moping at the window and came over to see what we were doing. I looked up at him looming over me.
“What?” I asked, feeling flustered.
He looked pissed off, and I didn’t know if it was the weather or the fact that I dumped him that set him off, but I’d seen him in this kind of mood before, and I know he could be vicious.
“You were just checking out your stepdad,” he sneered. He was also in his boxers, but he did not look nearly as good. He was more leanly muscled, skinny rather than well-built. I never used to mind it, but seeing him right next to my dad and Mason really put things into perspective. They were on an entirely different level.
“You’re crazy,” I said, hoping that he couldn’t hear how rattled I felt in my voice. I hated that he caught me staring at Mason. “I was not. ”
“I saw you. What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to get back at me by ogling your own stepdad in front of me? Are you trying to make me jealous?”
I felt my dad tense next to me, and Mason was glaring at Joey. I jumped out of my seat before one of them interfered. I wanted to at least try to handle this myself.
“You are crazy if you think that I have any interest in making you jealous,” I snapped. “I’m done with you Joey.”
“Then, why the hell did you bring me here?” he asked, his voice rising.
My jaw dropped as indignation rose within me. “You begged me to let you come! I was ready to walk away after I caught you fucking that slut.”
“Yeah, right,” Joey scoffed. “You were always going to come back to me. You can’t do better than me.”
“Bullshit,” Mason growled while my dad also shot to his feet.
“Call off your guard dogs,” Joey said, sneering at me. “And don’t think I believe this bullshit about these guys being here accidently. It’s too much of a coincidence. I don’t know what the hell your plan was, but I’m not playing this little game. You’re not worth it.”
Rage exploded inside of me, and I had to fight back the urge to shriek in his face. How dare he?
“You know what, Joey? You’re the one who chased after me. I think you know exactly how much I’m worth. I’ve taken care of you for the past six months, thinking it was an expression of mutual affection that we had. Now, I see the truth. You took advantage of my urge to care for you. And what did I get in return? Maybe two orgasms in six months?” I laughed, even though there was nothing at all funny about his shitty attitude. “You are pathetic Joey, but I’m glad I brought you here. If I’d just ended things after I caught you cheating, I would have spent weeks feeling heartbroken and inadequate. Now, after your shitty behavior here, I realize I can do so much better.”
And maybe the actions of my dad and Mason had something to do with that.
Joey’s face contorted with rage. His fists clenched, and the corded muscles of his neck stuck out.
I’d never seen him this angry, and if my dad hadn’t been standing right behind me, I might have been afraid.
But I knew both he and Mason had my back, so there was no way Joey would get away with physically hurting me, and I doubt he had the balls to emotionally hurt me again after everything he did already.
A moment later, I realized I’d underestimated him.
Joey actually took a step backward, and I thought he was just backing down until he reached down to grab my sketchbook from the end table. The move was so unexpected I didn’t even manage to react before he was striding to the front door. My stomach dropped as I realized what he was doing.
“N-no!” I shouted, stumbling forward as I followed him out onto the porch. I’d just stepped out when he flung the sketchbook out into the rain.
My knees gave out as I watched the thing land in the mud, my precious sketches ruined. I would have fallen on the porch if my dad wasn’t there to catch me. I felt like my heart was being ripped out as I watched the heavy rain continue to fall onto the sketchbook, which sank further into the wet sludge.
Suddenly, Mason ran past us, rushing out into the rain and grabbing it. I felt numb as I watched him, barely noticing my dad guided me to sit in one of the rocking chairs on the porch. Then, he was shoving Joey back into the house.
“That’s it, motherfucker. You are out of here.”
“What? You can’t do that!” Joey protested.
“The hell I can’t. You’ve got five minutes to get your shit before I beat the hell out of you.”
Mason hurried back onto the porch, clutching the muddy sketchbook against his bare chest. I saw the pity in his eyes, and it seemed to set off the tears that were suddenly running down my face. I shifted my gaze to the sketchbook again. It was full of a year’s worth of my design ideas. Was any of it salvageable?
Mason moved into the cabin without a word, and when he came back out a moment later, it wasn’t it sight, and he’d wiped his chest clean. “You okay, sweetheart?”
I swiped the tears from my cheeks and managed to give him a weak, watery smile. “Thanks for getting it for me.”
At that moment, Joey and my dad came back out onto the porch. Their words earlier did not really register with me because of my shock and horror, but now I realized what was happening. I stood and stepped in front of them. Joey was now dressed and lugging his suitcase behind him, looking sheepish. I could see he regretted what he’d done.
But it was too late for regret. He’d gutted me.
Still, I had to try to stop this. “Dad, you can’t kick him out. Remember the flash flood warnings?”
“I don’t give a damn what happens to him,” Dad growled, grabbing Joey by the arm and dragging him to the steps. “He’s out of here, Poppy, and I won’t hear another word about it.”
Joey remained silent, neither speaking to me nor resisting my father's hold. He simply left, darting out into the rain and jumping into his rental car. I stood there, watching as he turned the vehicle around and drove off into the distance until his taillights disappeared. It wasn't until Mason's hand on my arm registered that I refocused my attention on the present moment.
“Come on, let’s go inside.”
My dad was already inside, standing in the living room and waiting for us. There was still anger radiating from him, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me. He was still pissed about what Joey did, and so was I. I had a feeling we needed a distraction.
As if Mason read my mind, he came around to stand in front of me with a spark of mischief in his eyes. “Now that we’re alone, take off your dress.”