CHAPTER 24 #2
Kelly’s smile is luminous. She’s up and rushes toward me to pull me into a hug.
Before I even know what is happening, she’s gently pushing me away from Dad’s office.
“Then you go and be happy, Helen.” There’s a tone in her voice, urgent and pleading.
“Just don’t forget to visit me now and again, even if you’re not seeing him.
He might never figure out what it means to have two amazing daughters, but that’s his loss. Not yours,” her words are fierce.
“I know,” I whisper, “I’m learning how to not blame myself for it anymore. It was never my responsibility to hold it all together. I was just a child.”
Kelly breathes out, “Oh, honey. Seeing you like this is wonderful. You hold onto your man and never let him go.”
The smile on my face is huge. Because that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I give Kelly a squeeze and then I walk out of the building and head straight to Sweetwater Valley to see my man at the station to surprise him. I was nervous before about being seen in town, but after dinner at The Goose, I feel a lot more comfortable with it and have explored a lot more.
Everyone has been nice. If the only reason that they’ve been kind to me is because Rhodes claimed me so publicly, I’ll take it. For now.
Sweetwater Valley feels like home, and I love waking up in Rhodes’s arms every morning. As I walk toward Carla, she points toward my man’s office and nods eagerly while mouthing that I can go on in.
With a smile and a wave, I head toward where I know Rhodes is trying to get some work done. Knowing him, he’s probably been thinking about me far too much. As long as it only happens when he’s trying to do paperwork, I’m good with it.
After I knock, I stride into the office, but only once I hear him grumble, “Come in.”
Before he looks up, I take a moment to admire my man. He’s handsome, but there’s something about him that makes him even more attractive to me. Is it his soul? Is it his confidence?
I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter.
I’m amused as hell when he glances up and then goes back to doing his paperwork for a few seconds. Then he does a double take before jumping up out of his chair and closing the distance between us.
His large hands cup my face and his eyes race between mine to study me and find out how I’m doing and what I’m thinking. He knew I was planning to stop by and see my dad today.
I don’t say a word as I let my head fall forward until my forehead rests right above where his heart is steadily beating.
“That bad, Sweetheart?”
I feel the words more than I hear them, but I don’t even bother looking up, I just nod while keeping my face hidden. He runs a hand up and down my spine and I sigh into the feeling. Having his hands on me always makes me feel better.
“I’m sorry,” he rumbles and I can hear his barely restrained anger.
It’s completely warranted. It’s not like Dad doesn’t know that Rhodes is a good man. He knows, but he would rather shove me into a box of his own design instead of wanting me to be happy.
What a shame.
“Maybe one day he’ll get out of his way and see what he’s losing out on. If it happens then I’ll think about what it means for my relationship with him. If he doesn’t, then he’s going to be a lonely man.”
“It’s not your fault,” he murmurs softly as his hand runs up and down my spine. “He’s a grown man and he should have never put adult problems and pain on two little girls. That’s on him, and never on you or Jessi.”
I smile against his chest. “My sister likes you,” I murmur.
She does too. She came over for dinner at some point between the declarations of our feelings and moving in together. As it should be. She’s the only family whose opinion actually matters. At least I didn’t ambush him like G-Bets did to me.
“Good because she’s my sister,” Rhodes muses. “I’ve never had a sister. It’s strange, but I like it.”
I prop my chin on his chest and blink up at him. When he looks down at me, his grey eyes heat. He sweeps me up in his arms and strides around his desk until he sits in his chair and I’m perched on the edge of his desk.
“What are you doing?” I whisper-yell the question, but all Rhodes does is flash me a wicked grin.
His hands slide up my bare thighs. Suddenly, I’m not sure if it was genius of me to wear a sundress, or if I was only tempting fate.
I glance over my shoulder at the door, and I know I didn’t lock it. Carla is right there, and a deputy could walk by at any moment. Why does that thrill me when I should be batting Rhodes’s hands away from my body?
Mischievousness and bad decisions dance in my man’s eyes. “I think you know exactly what I’m doing.”
Before I can tell him what a bad idea this is, he pulls my panties to the side and plunges two fingers inside of me while his thumb finds my clit with an accuracy which should be concerning but instead feels grounding. My hips rock and I grind against his hand.
“You’re going to come all over my fingers because I can tell you need it. Then we’re going to head home and have a relaxing night where we get lost in each other,” his words are husky.
As his thumb circles my clit and he pumps his fingers inside of me, I grip his shoulders. My nails dig into his muscles through his shirt. I have to bite my lips to stop the moans from spilling free. I don’t want anyone to hear us.
His voice drops an octave, “You’re being such a good girl and being quiet for me.”
I gasp as my head drops back on my shoulders as my thighs clench. “Please,” I murmur.
“Coat my fingers in your juices so I can take you home and bury my cock inside of you,” he growls, every word a demand.
My orgasm washes over me, and my walls clamp down on his fingers as a whimper floats through the air. I don’t hear a damn thing as bliss washes through me.
As the world around me starts to filter back in, Rhodes is murmuring sweet words and whispered promises. He locks eyes with me as he pulls his fingers free of my pussy and proceeds to lick my arousal from his fingers. It’s hot as hell and I’m tempted to pull out my man’s cock and sink down onto it.
Rhodes smirks as he rights my clothes and then he stands and pulls me up to do the same. My legs are wobbly, but I manage.
“I love you, Helen,” his voice is soft and I am ensnared by his grey eyes.
He pulls a ring out of his pocket and holds it up between us. “We’ve been moving fast, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I know what I want and you are at the center of every single dream I have. How about we keep building our life together and you agree to become my wife?”
Tear prick the back of my eyes and I’m nodding before my lips can even catch up with my heart. “Yes,” I croak.
Rhodes kisses me like I’m precious, like I’m fragile but not breakable at the same time. I melt into him and know that when we get home, Stella will be waiting for us, and he’ll follow through with his plans.
This is the life I wasn’t sure I would ever have, but I’m grateful as hell that Rhodes never once ran from his feelings for me. He embraced them and trusted them.
Our future is ahead of us and as long as I can avoid being arrested by him, I think we’ll be just fine.