Chapter Five
Atickle against my skin is what rouses me from the most delicious dream.
I ignore it, guessing it’s a hair, until I feel it again trailing down my arm. I slap it away, my brain now convinced it must be a spider. As my eyes snap open at the thought of spider legs crawling over me, I realize it’s not legs but fingers.
I yank my head around so hard my neck cracks. And there he is in all his sleepy glory, leaning on one arm beside me as he trails those talented fingers across my skin.
“Riggs,” I choke, somewhat horrified when I realize I fell asleep. Fuck, he’s gonna be so mad at me. And he should be. I took advantage of him. He must hate me.
“You didn’t lock the door.”
“I didn’t lock the door,” I agree, my voice barely above a whisper.
He leans in closer. “I can taste you when I lick my lips, but I’d rather get my breakfast from the source.”
Before my brain can process his words, he has me up and over him. I grip the headboard as he yanks me by the hips to his face.
“I want you to ride my face and come all over my tongue.”
“I can’t. I didn’t get to clean up. You…came inside me and—”
I yelp when his warm tongue slides from my clit to the bottom of my pussy before dipping inside me.
“All I taste is us. It’s my new favorite thing to eat.”
Any other protest I might make gets stuck on my tongue. Well, his tongue actually.
His hands guide my movements, which is just as well because I’m out of my element. Still, I’ve always been a fast learner, and if there is anything worth training for, it would be this. I move against him, rocking my hips as he sucks, flicks, and fucks me with his tongue until I’m a sobbing mess.
“Come for me, Opie.”
I throw my head back and cry out, his permission the trigger I needed to let go. The guilt and embarrassment of how we ended up here dissipate in that moment. Nothing else matters right now but this, but him.
When the high eventually fades, my embarrassment returns. I scramble off him, but before I get too far, I find myself on my back with him looming over me.
“You are getting far too good at that,” I grumble, not looking at him.
“Why are you trying to run from me?”
“I’m not running. I was going to clean up.”
His gaze moves over my face, trying to read if I’m being genuine. “Please don’t regret this.”
I sigh and reach up to cup his face. “There are many things in my life that I regret, but you’ll never be one of them.
” My thumb moves over his eyepatch, and he freezes.
I move my fingers to the edge of the patch to slide beneath it.
Something crosses his face, but it’s gone before I can figure out what, and then he’s distracting me with that mouth of his.
If it weren’t for the house stirring, I could have stayed there forever. Reluctantly, I pull away. “Dawn and Hannah are here.”
He frowns before looking around. There is no way I could have known that. I try to think of something to say, but he shakes his head, giving me a knowing look before climbing off the bed and lifting me to my feet. “Another one of those things you’ll tell me later, right?”
I wince but nod. “Right.”
“You don’t need to look so worried. It’s not like you eat babies or something.”
“Of course not. Their bones get stuck in my teeth.”
“And I’m sure I’d have noticed if you could animate the dead.”
“Well…you have seen me in the morning, right?”
He grins. “Good point. How about I go investigate and make sure they’re okay while you put something on?”
“And will you be investigating naked?”
“No ma’am. All this is for your eyes only.”
“Good answer, cowboy.”
Feeling the house’s impatience, I hurry to the bathroom to take a quick shower and throw on a yellow sundress.
I slip on some socks and slide on my boots before pulling my hair back into a ponytail.
I head downstairs, making a quick detour to my workshop to take something that will prevent me from getting a UTI.
By the time I get to the kitchen, Hannah is digging into a bowl of cereal while Dawn watches on with a mug of coffee in her hands.
Her bruises are deeper today, though hopefully a little less painful than before, if she’s been using the cream I left for her.
She winces as she swallows her coffee, making me curse for not thinking of her throat sooner.
She must hear me because she jumps, and coffee sloshes over the rim of the mug.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s me. I’m all kinds of jumpy.”
“That’s to be expected,” I tell her softly, my eyes drifting to Hannah. “How did you guys sleep?”
“Surprisingly well, actually. I think you get to a certain point when your body shuts down.”
“I get that, trust me.”
“Here you go.” Riggs hands Dawn a plate of scrambled eggs.
“I figured it would be easier to get down something soft. You want eggs, Opie?”
“Opie? I thought your name was Calliope.” Hannah looks up from her bowl with a frown.
“I gave her a nickname. Something only I call her. That way, she knows she’s special to me,” Riggs tells her with a wink.
“Do I get a nickname?”
“Hmm…how does Hannah Banana sound?”
Hannah squeals with laughter. “No, silly, you can’t call me that. Bananas are a fruit. I’m not a fruit.”
“You’re right, of course. Can’t get anything past a smart cookie like you.”
“There’s your nickname. Cookie. We like smart girls in this house.” I ruffle Hannah’s hair as she giggles.
“I can be a cookie. I love cookies.”
Dawn watches her daughter with soft eyes. She must feel my gaze on her because she looks up at me.
“I have a friend coming today to tweak the security.”
Her eyes widen before I continue. “David is a good guy. Loyal. He’s the guardian of his little sisters, who will be coming today as well. It might be nice for Hannah to have someone to play with while we get things sorted out.”
“Okay,” she says quietly.
“He’s loyal and…well, you’ll see when he gets here. My point is you don’t need to worry. You can trust him.”
“I trust you, and that’s enough for me.”
A warmth moves through me at her words. I cough to clear my throat, which reminds me. “I have something that should help your throat. I should have thought of it before—”
She smiles at me, shaking her head. “I think you have enough going on in your head as it is, but thank you. Is it something you made?”
I nod, watching her reaction.
“Good. If it’s half as good as the bruise cream, I’ll be feeling right as rain by dinner time.”
“Happy to help.”
“About that…as much as I appreciate everything you’re doing for us, I’m not comfortable not pulling my weight. There must be something I can do around here to help.”
As much as I want to tell her it’s not necessary, I know this is a crucial step for her to get back on her feet and claim back some of her independence.
“Well, if you promise me you’ll let yourself heal first, then I might have just the thing for you.
That cream I made for you is just one of the many things I make and sell online.
Problem is, sales have exceeded my expectations. ”
“That’s not a bad problem to have.”
“No, but I’m spending more time packing and shipping than I am on making the products.”
“Well, those are things I can easily do.”
“And I’ll pay you.”
“No, you don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do. If we do this, I’ll hire you to run that side of things. And before you argue, rent and board are all gonna be included. I was going to have to hire someone anyway. Why can’t it be you? Honestly, I might need to hire another couple of people before the year is out.”
She swallows hard, looking from me to Riggs, who nods encouragingly. “Yes, okay. And thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Actually, I do. More than you’ll ever know.”
I turn when I sense someone approaching the house. Riggs looks my way before his eyes go to the window. “What is it?”
“I don’t know yet. Dawn, stay here, and don’t let Hannah out of your sight.”
I head to the door, feeling Riggs behind me. My power courses through my body in preparation, but when I open the door, it fizzles away.
The sheriff’s cruiser pulls up in front of the house. I want to close the door and walk away, no matter how childish that might make me. I fold my arms over my chest as Riggs steps up behind me, one of his arms wrapping around me in a proprietary manner.
We stand in silent solidarity as Shepard gets out of his car, with his stupid hat on his stupid head, and walks over to us. “Riggs. Poppy.”
“What do you want, Sheriff?” I mean, the audacity of this man to call me Poppy. Who the fuck does he think he is?
“I’m here to talk to Dawn.”
“And what makes you think she’s here?”
He sighs and nods to her car. Right, I should have thought about that.
“Well, it’s unfortunate then that she doesn’t want to speak to you.”
“I’m going to need to talk to her anyway,” he says gently, his eyes drinking me in.
He looks tired, like he hasn’t been sleeping well.
I don’t want to care, I really don’t, but it’s hard not to.
Tired cops often wind up dead cops, and as angry as I am at the asshat, I don’t want to see him dead either.
“You here to arrest her?”
“No—”
“Then you can go. I’ve already told you she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Poppy—”
“I said no.” I seethe, not bothering to hide the hurt in my voice.
He moves closer, but Riggs backs us up, keeping space between us.
“She didn’t come home last night, and neither did Hannah. I have to make sure they’re okay.”
“And of course my word isn’t good enough, is it?” And dammit, I can’t hide the bitterness either.
“It’s okay, Calliope.” I turn my head at the sound of Dawn’s voice. She has her arms wrapped around her middle as she stays back, but she doesn’t hide from Shepard.
I glance around and don’t see Hannah. I take a relieved sigh and turn back to Shepard, who looks at Dawn with gritted teeth.
“He do that?”
“You know he did,” Dawn replies.
“You’re gonna make a statement. I can pick him up—”
“No. It didn’t work the other times he was picked up and taken in, and I doubt it will work now. All it does is piss him off, and he takes it out on me.”
“This time could be different. Maybe this time, he might actually see some real jail time.”
“And you want me to risk myself and my daughter on a maybe?”
Shepard yanks his hat off and runs his hands through his hair in agitation. “You know he’s going to make this hard for you, Dawn.”
“Are you fucking serious?” I hiss before she can answer.
“Without her pressing charges, my hands are tied. You think I fucking like this?” he snaps at me.
“No, but I don’t like your insinuation that she should go back either.”
“That’s not what I said,” he growls at me.
Riggs jumps in. “Alright, everyone, calm the fuck down.”
“As you can see, Sheriff, Dawn is fine now that she is here with us, where we can and will keep her and Hannah safe.”
“And I’m grateful for that, but you don’t know what this man is like. I know you got a taste,” he says to me before looking back at Dawn. “But Dawn knows how vindictive he can be. He’ll push for custody of Hannah just because he can.”
“He can try, but he won’t be getting his hands on her,” I hiss.
He shakes his head. “He has a lot of friends down here, and Dawn has…”
“None. You can say it out loud, Sheriff. That’s what happens when you’re forced to give them up because he either turns them to his side or threatens them as a way to control me.
No. I’m not going back. I’m staying here and so is Hannah.
Let him take me to court. The man doesn’t even know the date of his child’s birthday,” Dawn says, sounding exhausted.
Shepard puts his hat back on before looking at me, his eyes full of remorse when he speaks. “The fact you’re living with two convicted criminals will go against you.”
I rear back as if he struck me, and Riggs snarls in response. But it’s Dawn who walks forward and down the steps until she’s right in front of Shepard, pointing her finger at him.
“Riggs and Calliope have done more for Hannah and me than my husband has in years. Do you know Riggs baked cookies with Hannah yesterday? Her father has never even made her a fucking sandwich. And do you know why he was baking with her? So he could distract her from seeing her mother black and blue again, help her forget about the handprint on her face, and so that Calliope could sneak me upstairs and help me clean away the remnants of my husband’s brand of loving from my thighs. ”
Riggs goes rigid at my back. Shepard looks like he wants to pull his gun and shoot her husband himself.
I pull away from Riggs and walk down to stand next to Dawn, my hand slipping into her shaking one so I can lend her courage. Though if you ask me, this woman has it in spades and doesn’t know it.
“That apartment is in his name. He can keep it. I want nothing from it other than a few personal items like birth certificates and stuff.”
“I might have a criminal conviction, Sheriff. But I also have a shit-ton of money, and I can tie that man up in litigation until Hannah turns eighteen if I have to,” I bite out.
Dawn looks up at me in surprise. I nudge my hip with hers before turning back to Shepard.
“Alright, if that’s what you want. I’ll accompany you to get your things. That way, he can’t try anything.”
Dawn visibly wilts at the thought of facing him again, and who can blame her?
“I’ll go. You tell me what you need and where to find it, and I’ll get everything for you.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Shepard begins.
I glare at him. “I think it will be less traumatic for everyone this way. And I’ll take comfort knowing she’s safe here with Riggs.”
Riggs doesn’t look happy about me leaving without him, but he keeps his mouth shut, knowing this is the best outcome for everyone. Besides, I doubt Shepard will let me get hurt on his watch.
“Okay. If that’s what needs to be done, then I’ll take Calliope to collect your things,” he tells Dawn gently.
Dawn looks up at me in relief. “I’ll write down everything I want and where to find it all.”
“Okay.”
She heads inside as I turn back to Shepard, but I don’t know what to say.
“Why don’t you go grab a couple of those wheeled crates you have. It will be easier than having to go back and forth to the cruiser,” Riggs says to me after a minute.
I look between the two of them and nod. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time. There’s no rush,” he replies, his eyes on Shepard. He’s been waiting for this moment to give the man some home truths, and who am I to deny him that?
“Just don’t hit him. He’s petty enough to arrest you for it,” I throw over my shoulder, making Riggs laugh. I smile as the sound of it follows me all the way upstairs.