He pulled his finger free of my sheath, and I whimpered, the desire for him to keep moving overwhelming me. “Don’t stop.” I was prepared to beg for his touch. Now that I’d had a small taste, I doubted I’d ever get enough. “Please, Ty, I need—”
His eyelids popped open, his determined gaze met mine.
“You will come. Every time I touch your sweet little pussy, you will come for me. Understand, baby?”
My back arched, his filthy words acting as music to my ears.
“Answer me, Heidi,” he demanded when I remained silent, his free hand cupping my breast, “or I’ll stop.”
I shook my head, making strands of sweat-slicked hair stick to my damp skin. “Don’t s-stop.”
His finger plunged back inside, his thumb circling my nub in time with each of his thrusts.
“Are you going to come for me?”
I jerked my head down once and sunk my teeth into my bottom lip.
Ty’s shoulders shook as he slid a second digit inside me, slowly stretching my untouched body. The burning bite of pain that came next was extinguished when his thumb moved faster, working me into a frenzy.
My heart slammed against my rib cage, and my belly clenched as I watched his eyes darken, the cobalt blue bleeding into a deep sapphire.
“Then come for me, Angel”—he pressed down on my clit harder and dipped his fingers deeper—"now."
The dirty command, combined with one final pump of his fingers sent me hurtling headfirst into a state of bliss that left my body limp and my mind blank.
I opened my mouth to scream, the pressure threatening to rip me apart at the seams, but he leaned down and covered my mouth with his, capturing each moan as my entire world splintered.
Eyes screwed shut, I once again dug my nails into his flesh and held onto him as he played my pussy like a fiddle, wringing every drop of pleasure from me that I had to give and then some.
Tongues dueling, he dominated me with kiss after kiss, his wicked mouth possessing mine.
I whined in protest when he broke our connection and sat back. Through half-lidded eyes I watched, completely dazed, as he raised his fingers and slipped them between his lips, sucking them dry.
“Oh God,” I cried out, my heart beating in time with my quickened breaths.
“Next time you come, Heidi,” he said, dropping his hand to my belly where it rested. “It’ll be on my tongue.”
My eyes moved to the hardness that lined the front of his dark pants, the outline of his thick cock visible. Following my line of sight, he palmed what I desperately wanted to see, taste, and touch.
Drunk from the orgasm he’d just gifted me, I sat up and hooked my fingers into his waistband. “Turnabout is fair play.” I nodded toward the other side of the bench seat. “Sit.”
“You going to suck my cock, Angel?”
I traced my lower lip with my tongue, making his right hand twitch. “Sit,” I said again, the demand in my voice clear. “I may not know what I’m doing, but I’ll figure it out.”
He started to move, the lust on his face clearly evident. “I’ll show you, baby. Just—”
Tap, tap, tap.
We both froze when someone tapped on the window behind me.
I turned my head and peered through the—thankfully—tinted glass. “I don’t know what y’all are doing in there, in my driveway no less,” Kyle said. “But you need to cut it out because the Crazy Chick Club is headed this way and Grandmama’s leading the charge.”
Ty looked out the rear window. “Shit,” he mumbled. “The Crazy Old Biddy is going to whoop my ass.” He narrowed his eyes, squinting to see better. “She doesn’t have her shotgun, does she? I can outrun a flyswatter, but I can’t outrun a round of buckshot.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake!” Placing my palms on Ty’s chest, I pushed him away and sat up. Gathering my hair into a messy bun on top of my head, I secured it with a hair tie from my wrist and straightened my clothes. “Nobody is shooting anybody.”
Kyle chuckled from outside the truck. “Better hurry. You’ve only got about thirty-seconds until they get here.”
I popped open the truck door, hitting Kyle. “Move, Hulk.”
He stepped out of the way, his eyes taking in my flushed cheeks and swollen lips. Quirking a brow, he crossed his arms over his chest. “This sure escalated quickly.”
With a roll of my eyes, I turned to face Ty. “So,” I said, smiling. “About that date. When are you picking me up?”
He jerked his head up from where he fumbled with his belt, surprise clearly evident on his face.
Guess he thought I’d back out.
“As soon as possible. When are you off again?”
“Monday.”
“You work during the day or night shift this weekend?”
“Both.” Confusion flitted across his face. “I work first shift both days, but Saturday evening is outreach night.”
His brows drew together. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s where we deliver care packages to the people who live on the streets around the shelter. It’s something new we’re doing.” A smile graced my face. “It was Ashley’s idea.”
His eye twitched, a telltale sign that he wasn’t happy. “What time?”
“Eight. Why?”
“You do not,” he said, his teeth gritted, “step foot on those streets until I get there.”
Wait a dang minute.
My hands went to my hips. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll be there before eight, but if I’m not, you stay put. Understand?” I reared back, prepared to rip him a new one, but stopped short when he quickly added, “Nothing can happen to you, Angel.” His voice grew softer, less harsh with each word he spoke. “Wait for me so I can at least keep you safe.”
My anger disappeared, and my heart warmed.
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll wait.”
When did I become so docile?
“Good girl.” Those words, combined with his tone, caused goosebumps to break out along my skin. “After—”
“Heidi Lynn Johnson!” Grandmama shouted, interrupting Ty. “I can see you’ve got your hearing aids in so I’m about to holler your ear off. I’ve got a dadgum bone to pick with you, ya little hussy!”
I turned, coming face to face with one Crazy Old Biddy, who sat behind the steering wheel of a bubblegum pink golf cart, along with a group of women who weren’t just my friends and co-workers, but also my family.
Maddie, Shelby, Hope, Clara, Ashley…
Each of them stood next to Grandmama, wearing matching scowls on their faces. The only people missing were Charlotte, Carissa, and Ms. Dottie.
The former two were at work, and since Kyle wasn’t holding Lily Ann in his arms, I assumed Ms. Dottie was busy snuggling her only grandchild.
Ready to get this over with, I lifted my hand and offered them a small wave. “Uh, hi.”
No one waved back.
That’s when I knew I was in deep trouble.
Eleven
Heidi
I should probably start running now.
“You left the shelter the other night?” Ashley blurted out, looking ready to strangle me with her bare hands. “Without an escort? And I’m just now finding this out?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, wringing my hands together. “It was stupid of me. I know better, and I swear I won’t do it again.”
“You’re damned right you won’t,” Shelby said, stepping up next to Ashley. “You ever pull something so idiotic again, and I will shove my cowgirl boot so far up your ass you’ll be spitting leather for a month!”
Beside Shelby, Clara covered her face with her palms, struggling to hold back laughter. “How eloquent of you, Mrs. Moretti.”
Shelby responded by flipping Clara off, which only made her laugh harder.
Hope, sweetheart that she is, wrapped her arms around her belly and shifted her weight from one foot to the next. “Promise you won’t do it again?” she asked, speaking slowly in cas
e I needed to read her lips. “Because if something happens to you, I won’t handle that well.”
I held up my finger. “I won’t. Pinky promise.”
She smiled. “Good. That means I don’t have to yell.”
“Well, I’m sure as shit gonna yell,” Shelby fussed, her hands going to her hips. “I seriously can’t believe you.”
Ashley softly elbowed her mother, giving her a pointed look. “Chill out, Mominator.”
Shelby huffed out a breath, then fell silent.
Maddie, who’d only glared at me up to that point rushed forward, closing the space between her and me. Hands on her hips, she came to a stop in front of me. “If you ever”—tears filled her pretty emerald eyes, causing my heart to splinter in a million pieces—“do something so dumb again, I will jerk a knot in your behind!”
“I didn’t mean to upset everyone,” I said, honestly. “I swear I won’t do something so reckless again.”
And I wouldn’t.
I’d been tired and cranky when I walked out of the shelter alone. It was stupid, irresponsible, and the consequences of my actions would’ve devastated a lot of people.
I realized that.
“You better not or else I’m calling your Daddy,” she threatened. “And we both know what’ll happen then.”
He’d kill me.
That’s what would happen.
Then he’d resurrect me just to do it again.
“Well, I ain’t accepting no cotton-pickin’ apology,” Grandmama said, digging through her huge purse. “I let my grandbabies get away with far too much stuff cause that’s what a Grandmama is supposed to do, but when you put yourselves in danger, enough is enough.” In the blink of an eye, she whipped out her infamous flyswatter. “And now I’m about to tan your hide.”
My back straightened.
“Heidi,” Maddie said, wide-eyed. “Even though I’m mad at you, I don’t want to see you get your butt whipped. So, if I were you, I’d start running”— she pointed toward the sidewalk—“that way.”
“Oh fuck this,” Ty said, speaking up for the first time as he climbed out of his truck. “I don’t care what she did, nobody is touching my woman.” He stared at Grandmama. “If you want to get to her, you’ll have to get through me first, and I’m sure as hell not known for being an easy fight.”
Grandmama quirked a brow.
She almost looked impressed.
Swinging her gaze to Kyle and Hendrix—where the hell did Hendrix come from?—she said two words. “Hold him.”
Both guys lunged for Ty, wrapping their arms around each of his arms. “You motherfuckers!” he yelled, his face reddening as they held him in place.
“Let him—”
I jerked when Maddie grabbed my arm. “Forget Ty, Heidi. He’s not the one Grandmama is after. Seriously, run.” She pointed toward the sidewalk again. “Like, now.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
Kicking off my flip-flops, I darted past Grandmama, down the driveway, and across the road. Bare feet slapping the concrete sidewalk, I pumped my arms and urged my legs to move faster.
Behind me, I heard her whip her golf cart around and give chase, the whine of the cart’s motor growing louder with each second that ticked by.
“You can’t outrun me, hussy, so get your rear end back here so I can tear it up!”
I ran faster.
Before long my lungs began to scream, and my legs grew heavy.
I’m so out of shape!
Knowing it was useless, not to mention dang near impossible, to keep running, I slowed down and then turned, ready to face her head-on, figuring I might as well get it over with.
Her wide eyes filled with surprise as she came rolling to a stop in front of me.
“I’m chunky, Grandmama,” I said in between pants for breaths. “The only running I do is when Clara and I chase down the taco truck at work.” I grimaced and lifted my right foot, inspecting the sole for damage. “My feet are killing me.”
One corner of her mouth tipped up. “How bad do they hurt?”
“Pretty bad.”
She turned and peeked over her shoulder, back toward where we’d just come from. Putting my foot down, I followed her line of sight.
I hadn’t realized how far I’d run. It couldn’t have been more than a few blocks, but thanks to a small curve in the road, I couldn’t see Carissa’s house.
“Well,” she said, patting the seat beside her. “It’s best you get off ‘em then.”
“I’m not coming over there just so you can whack me with that hunk of metal you claim is a flyswatter.”
I eyed her warily.
She rolled hers in return.
“I ain’t gonna whack you this time. But”—she pointed a shaking finger in my direction—“the next time you do something so dadgum foolish, I will do as I said before and tear your butt up. You understand me?"
I nodded. “Yes ma’am, I do.”
She patted the seat again, before reaching into her purse. “Alright, then. Come on and sit down. I’ve got something for you.”
Hobbling to the golf cart, I plopped down next to her.
Relief washed through me when she handed me a bottle of water from her purse. “Take a sip of that. It’ll help with all that huffin’ and puffin’ you’re doing.”
Without thinking, I unscrewed the lid and took a long pull.
The moment the cool liquid hit my tongue, my throat and eyes began to burn. I gagged, then spit the liquid fire out, spraying it all over my legs and Grandmama’s golf cart.
“What in the name of sweet baby Jesus are you doing?” she hollered, horror etched on her face. “That’s my best shine!”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my arm. “You gave me moonshine? I thought it was water!”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why would I be carrying around water in my purse for?”
“Because most people do!”
She waved a dismissive hand at me. “I ain’t most people.”
That was the truth if I ever heard it.
Coughing, I fanned my mouth with my hand, the burn still present. “For Pete’s sake, it’s like taking a shot of diesel fuel!”
Grandmama chuckled. “You get used to it after a while.”
I didn’t want to get used to it. I wasn’t telling Grandmama that though. She’d probably disown me.
“So,” she said, ripping the bottle from my hand and screwing the cap back on. “You ready to head on back?”
I nodded. “I’m hungry.”
“Now that,” she said, starting the golf cart. “I can fix.” She glanced over, her aged eyes assessing me shrewdly. “But first, I have just one question.”
“Ask.”
Placing a hand on my knee, she squeezed. Her touch was comforting, a stark contrast to the threats she’d delivered minutes earlier. “You like Ty? Cause he sure likes you, but you two have been mixing like oil and water here lately.”
I stared out at the road before us, my stomach in a thousand knots. “He scares me.”
“Why?”
I gave her a knowing look. “You know why.”
“No I don’t, else I wouldn’t ask.”
“He scares me because I like him.”
“So then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is his anger. Add that to the fact that he is exactly like the people who tormented me for over a decade and I’m not what you might call real trusting of him.”
Seems my body trusts him just fine though…
Grandmama took my hand in hers. “Ty’s angry cause he’s broken, baby.”
“I don’t know how to fix angry. Even if part of me wants to.”
Tears filled her eyes; an event that only happened once in a blue moon. “You fix it by loving him.”
“What?”
“Heidi Lynn, listen to me. That man has a lot of reasons for feeling the way he does, and not a one of ‘em is his fault. And that anger you just mentioned? It’s the whole reason he did wh
at he did as a youngin’. You’re a social worker now, you know how it works. When people are hurt, they sometimes do hurtful things themselves. I’m not saying it’s right, cause it ain’t, but in his case I’m a lot more willing to forgive his past transgressions.”
I had no clue what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”
She shook her head before pulling out a hanky and wiping her eyes. “It ain’t my place to confess his truths, but I’ll say this—that boy went through hell as a kid, and the Devil still stalks his shadow to this day. Why, if I were him, I’d be mad as all get out too.”
Weston’s words from the Coffee Hut came rushing back.
Go find Ty’s father and have a conversation with him. You’ll find out real quick what kind of toxic blood Jacobs has running through his veins.
“Someone hurt him, didn’t they?”
“They sure did, Heidi Lynn,” she replied, nodding. “They sure enough did.”
The sadness lining Grandmama’s voice made my heart twist.
I suddenly found it hard to breathe as realization slammed into me, and the reason for Ty’s past behavior became crystal clear.
Someone had hurt him, and in turn, he’d lashed out and hurt others in a cycle of gut-wrenching violence.
Placing my elbows on my thighs, I leaned forward. “Was it his father?”
Grandmama sealed her lips, refusing to speak.
Her silence was the only answer I needed.
“Like I said, he’s been through hell, and I think it’s high time somebody shows him what heaven looks like.” She glanced at me and winked. “And by somebody I mean you.”
“Yeah? And what if he breaks my heart? Are you going to console me while I drown the pain in cheap Mexican food and boxed wine?”
Her head jerked back as if I’d just suggested she stop frying her famous chicken in Crisco. “Hell no! If he breaks your heart, I’m gonna shoot him right in his tight behind! Ain’t nobody going to hurt one of my grandbabies and get away with it.”
I burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny? It wouldn’t be the first time I popped a cap in somebody’s butt over one of y’all. I’m sure it won’t be the last either. Heck, look at how many great grandbabies I’ve got to protect now. At this point, I’m gonna need to live to be a hundred and fifty!”
Every Wrong You Right: A Redeeming Love Novel (Book 6) Page 9
