Adjusting the shower curtain behind him, Rhy closes the distance between us. “Hi,” he sighs, looking down at me, a gentle smile on his face.
“Hi,” I reply. “You’re home early.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, well, now I have someones”—he emphasizes thes, meaning more than one person—“to come home to.”
I push up on my toes and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling his mouth to mine. This kiss is savage, neither one of us holding back.I need more. I need to touch him.
Swapping our positions, I press my palm against Rhy’s chest so he’s flush against the shower wall. I never break our eye contact as I drop to my knees.
“Payton,” he gasps when I grip his shaft firmly and stroke him, just how I know he likes. I slowly draw him into my mouth. I work my mouth and fist in tandem till Rhyland grips my hair. “Baby, I’m close. I’m about to come down your throat.” If he thought that was going to deter me, it actually makes me suck harder and faster.
“Oh, fuck.” His body tenses as he comes down my throat. I swallow every drop and make a show of wiping my mouth with my thumb as I stand.
“God, I love you,” he says, and I jerk my head up at him as he finishes his statement. “On your knees, but I also love you from behind. I just need a minute.”
Rhyland takes his time teasing me, washing my hair and my body, paying special attention to my breasts and pussy.
It’s then that I know that no matter the outcome, I am definitely never giving this man up.
Chapter 26
Payton
“Cheers to the birthday boy,” everyone says in unison, clinking our glasses together.
Today is Rhyland’s birthday, and while he doesn’t like to celebrate it, I convinced him to have my family over. I took care of everything, from cleaning up the house to cooking the food and even baking a cake. Of course, the look on his face when he saw the chaos I had caused in the kitchen this morning was priceless. He ended up grabbing Gabby from her high chair and left the kitchen, never to return till I was wiping down the counters a few hours later.
But it was all worth it as I look around at all the food and everyone’s smiling faces—especially the birthday boy himself.
“Man, I can’t even remember the last time we were with you on your birthday,” Ollie says.
“Pay suggested we get together, and I must agree she was right. It’s nice to be surrounded by loved ones.”
“Yes, it is,” Mom says as she walks out on the deck with Gabby in her arms. “By the way, the house is looking great. I love the photos up the stairs. That one of Payton by the water is one of my favorites.”
“Mom’s right. It looks so homey,” Ollie adds. “You’ve lived here for how long, Rhy? And it’s never looked like someone actually lived here.” His tone is teasing, and he’s not completely wrong, but I can’t help but roll my eyes.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve hung photos all over the house. Some are landscape images by local photographers that we picked up at the farmer’s market, while others are of our families and Gabby. I even snagged some Holland Mosby originals, which are my favorite, but then again, I might be a little biased.
Rhy shrugs my brother’s comment off before turning his attention to my mom. “Thank you, but don’t look at me. That’s also this girl right here.” He bumps my shoulder with his, smirking. “The girls have definitely been making this house more of a home.”
“Damn, sis. Maybe you should’ve moved in years ago. Looks like you’re good for him,” Ollie responds.
For a moment, I pretend that he’s saying that aboutusand not just like this. It’s honestly so hard to be this close and not hold his hand or rest my head on his shoulder like we do when we watch TV on the couch.
I end up giving a tight smile to keep from screaming how good he’s been for me, too. He’s been amazing with Gabby and at seeing my worth, all the while repairing what Joel broke. And of course, all the orgasms don’t hurt.
As I observe how easily conversation comes between everyone, I realize that whenever I brought Joel around, it wasneverlike this. It was tense and awkward. Why did I put up with it for aslong as I did? Gabby’s laughter draws my attention to her and where she sits on my mom’s lap at the end of the table, grabbing and showing off her feet—her latest fascination. I can’t help but feel so thankful that this is my life. The only thing that could top this feeling would be if I could lean over and kiss the birthday boy and not give my family a heart attack.
I’ve finally dug into my food when my phone rings in my pocket. Who could be calling me when really everyone I talk to is right here, minus Sara Beth? I reach into my pocket and see “Allison Clarke”—my lawyer.
After the incident with Joel, I had tried to push it to the back of my mind, but it was eating me up with thewhy,so I had put a call in to her office. Allison told me she would look into the issue and get back to me.
“I’ll be right back,” I whisper to Rhy, excusing myself from the table and heading inside.
“Hello,” I answer hesitantly, thankful I didn’t eat too much because I can already feel my stomach turning in anticipation of what she might say. Was our simple divorce and him signing away his rights over too good to be true?
“Hi, Payton. Sorry to bother you over the weekend.”
