Chapter 19
Rhyland
I can recall the commercial from my childhood that said the best part of waking up was a cup of coffee.
Those people clearly never woke up with Payton Mosby in their arms. Because I’m pretty sure that would top any coffee.
The only thing I could think of that would make it even better was if we were naked.
My dick still hates me because I stopped him from having all the fun last night. We will get there, but I wanted to prove to her it’s not just about sex with me, hence why we had to talk before things got so out of control.
When I woke up in her bed alone yesterday, I never thought we would’ve ended up back here.
Leaving the house yesterday, I had no clue what it was going to be like when I got home.
Was Payton going to be mad at me? Were things going to be awkward?
And then the shit hit the fan. In the shower, I was quick to wash the blood on my hands as I thought about what I would say.
I mean, how do you say thanks for confessing your thoughts the night before, so tonight, I was so keyed up and surprised by him showing up that I just unleashed hell?
My mind replayed everything as I walked down the stairs, but when I saw that motherfucker standing in my doorway, all of those calm words I had flew right out the door.
How the hell did he even find out where she was staying?
Not that I think he would ever be violent with them, but if he tries to come back, he will have to go through me first. His abuse was anything but physical, from what I understand.
Isn’t that bad enough? I had planned to tell him to get off my property, or I’d be calling the cops, but then she stood up to the man and slammed the door in his face.
Pride had filled my chest. And when she kissed me, that was it—the world as I had known it ceased to exist. It was a whole new world for us—one where now that I knew what her lips felt like against mine, I would fight to the death to feel them over and over.
Our talk last night had been a long time coming, and maybe the events of the last twenty-four hours were a sign from some higher power that enough was enough. We had waited long enough. It was time to be open and honest about what we want and to go about getting it.
Payton stirs in my arm, and her ass rubs against my dick, and I have to bite my lip to keep from groaning.
“Good morning,” she says as she stretches. God, her voice is sexy in the morning. The smallest hint of rasp, and it makes me wonder if her voice will be like that after I spend a night fucking her throat.
Shit, don’t think about sex. I try to pull my hips back so that my dick doesn’t poke the bear. However, she must sense me backing away because her ass is like a magnet to my dick.
“Good morning,” I reply and press a kiss to her shoulder.
Spinning in my arms, Payton gives me her first genuine smile of the morning. “You don’t regret it, do you?”
“Never” is out of my mouth before I can even ask her to elaborate more.
Do I regret taking care of her and Gabby two nights ago? Never.
Do I regret punching his sorry excuse of her ex-husband? Never.
Do I regret finally getting the girl? Never.
Do I regret keeping us on the down-low, especially from her brother, who is my best friend and the person I’ve never kept secrets from?
That’s a tough one. No, I don’t regret it because I understand why she wants to keep it quiet for now, but she better believe as soon as we decide to go public, I will always make it known that she is mine.
I press my lips to hers and thrust my tongue into her mouth, not worrying about morning breath or morning wood.
When we finally pull back, I brush some fallen hair strands away from her face.
“Wow, now, that’s a way to wake up. A girl could get used to that. You might spoil me.” Just imagine how spoiled she would feel if she were waking up with my fingers or cock sliding inside her. I suppress a groan at the picture of her naked under me, begging for me.
“You deserve to be spoiled, babe.” I roll her onto her back and settle myself between her thighs.
My hand just grazes the underside of her breast when a soft coo comes from the crib. “Looks like someone’s up.” Payton wiggles out from underneath me. “Finish this later?”
“Absolutely.” I prop myself up on my elbow. Payton adjusts her clothes and leans one hand on the bed, closing the distance between us. I tangle my fingers in her hair and claim her lips before she pulls back teasingly and walks over to the crib.
“Good morning, sweet girl. Did you sleep okay?”
Okay, maybe I should have my head examined that I also find her baby talk voice sexy. Or maybe it’s just the woman attached to it.
As I watch Payton pick up her daughter and hold her to her chest, my heart swells, and I have to rub the ache in my chest. I know I’m already in too deep, but I don’t even care.
I’ve sat back for years and watched on the sidelines, not just with Payton, but in these past few hours, I feel like I’ve been sitting on the sidelines of my whole life.
Not anymore. I rise to a sitting position and stretch my arms up.
I inspect my fists and see that one is more bruised than the other, but as I clench and release my hands, I don’t feel any pain at least. That’s good . I press to stand and adjust my boxers to keep my dick in check and walk over to where Payton stands.
Wrapping both girls in my arms, I first press a kiss to Payton’s head and then to Gabby’s. Before I pull back, I take a deep inhale. I wonder how babies always smell so good. Well, not always . This girl can let out some nasty smells, just like her uncle, but mostly, she smells wonderful.
“I thought I would make us breakfast. Hungry?”
Payton looks up at me with hunger in her eyes. “Starving.” And I’m not sure if she means for food. The feeling is mutual, babe.
“I’ll get her changed, and we will be down in a minute.”
My cell phone feels like it weighs a ton in my hand.
I’ve put off what I’ve had to do most of the morning, but I know before I head into work I need to talk to the Mosby boys and clear the air.
Well, if I still have a job to show up to.
Neither Archer nor Ollie reached out since I left them last night, and I figured if I was being fired, they would have fired me on the spot last night.
They’re not malicious in planning to hold this over my head.
And Payton never heard from Joel, and the cops never showed up on my doorstep, so I assume if we’re in the clear, they are, too.
But not hearing from him makes me think even more of what the hell was he to gain from doing this?
The more time I spend on it, the more I realize it may have been just wanting to fuck with Payton’s head.
“I’ll be right back.” With a quick kiss to the top of Payton’s head, I excuse myself into the backyard.
I’m unsure which to reach out to first. Ollie is probably my safest choice. Is it a cop-out? Fuck yeah.
“Sup, Balboa,” my best friend says when the call connects.
“You’re funny,” I say dryly, although I guess I deserved the nickname.
He laughs. “I’d like to think so, and my wife agrees.”
I roll my eyes and take a deep breath. “Listen, Ollie, I’m sorry for what happened. I let the situation get out of hand, and I’m not proud of it.”
“Well, you should be. I mean, not that it happened, but you should be proud of that right hook. It was a fantastic reminder for me to remember not to piss you off.”
I chuckle and debate about telling him that Joel showed up here afterward, but Payton and I decided it was best to keep that part to ourselves unless it became an issue. I can protect the two of them and don’t need either of her brothers impeding that.
“Anything else you wanna talk about?” Ollie says, as if he knows something that he’s choosing not to say.
Does he know? No, he couldn’t possibly know. It’s on the tip of my tongue to confess my feelings for his sister, but I wouldn’t betray Payton’s trust after promising to keep things between us for now. Plus, one brawl on our hands is enough for now.
“No, I’m good over here. I just needed to clear the air and make sure that I still had a job to come to.”
“You’re fucking nuts if you think that that would have done anything to what we have. I’ll see ya later, alright?”
“Yeah, I’ll be in in a few hours.”
“Cool. Oh, and Rhy?” he calls out just as I’m about to hang up.
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for having my sister’s back.”
“Always. She’s like a sister to me.” I cringe as the words leave my mouth.
There is nothing sisterly and brotherly about the way I feel about his sister.
As I hang up the phone, I close my eyes, look up at the sky, and exhale a harsh breath.
I can’t believe I just lied to my best friend.
This might all backfire in our faces, but as I head back into the house, I know she’s worth it.
I’d walk through hell and back to spend time with her.
“Everything okay?” Payton asks when I re-enter the room. She has Gabby on the floor on that piano mat she loves.
“Yeah.” I walk over and sit behind Payton, our legs touching.
Now that I’ve put my feelings out there to her, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to not touching her. When we’re in the safety of our home, that’s one thing, but where does it leave us on the outside?
I rest my hands on her thighs and my chin on her shoulder while I stare down at Gabby, who is giggling up a storm. Thank fuck, she didn’t wait too long to show Mommy her new talent.
“What did my brother have to say?”
“Not much, I guess. But I still have a job, so there’s that.”
“That’s good, because I would miss you at work. And looking at your cute butt in your chef’s whites.”
I bite down on her shoulder, and she yelps. What she doesn’t know is how many times I’ve checked her ass out, too.
“What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Umm, I don’t think I have anything off the top of my head. Why?”
“I want to take you out.”
“Like on a date?”
“Yeah. Let me take you out as a redo to your first date getting back out there.” And possibly your last first date.
She leans back against my shoulder and smiles up at me.
“What’s that look for?”
“Nothing. I’m just waiting to wake up from all of this.”
“I promise you’re not dreaming and that this is real.”
“Do you think you could get a sitter for this little princess?”
“Yeah.” She leans back against my chest again. “I want to give my mom a break, so I’ll reach out to Hollie. I know she’s been dying for some Gabby time, so I’m sure she’ll have no problem saying yes.”
“Perfect, just let me know.”
I cup her cheek with my right hand and kiss her. Her tongue slips into my mouth, deepening the kiss, and I groan.
Notes blast, and we pull apart quickly. We look down to find Gabby working on her kicks, being a little wiggle worm with a huge smile on her face.
“Hmm, seems like someone hates not being the center of attention.”
“Hmm, wonder where she got that from,” I tease back. “But she seems to make a habit of that, but hey, I’ll take loud music notes from the piano pad than loud musical farts from her butt.”
Payton’s body vibrates against mine with her laughter.
We spend the rest of the day before I need to go in for my shift in our safe bubble.
I don’t know how I’m going to make it through work tonight, especially once Payton comes in for her shift after dropping off Gabby with her mom, without touching her.
But the thing that powers me through is that once we get done working, I can touch her all I want, and I can’t wait to get her back to bed and in my arms—right where she belongs.