Page 50 of Absolution

“Ride me harder, wife,” he demands. “I want to feel your pussy come all over my dick.”

Arching my back more, I deepen his reach and the edge of my release begins to blossom. Each repetition sends my arousal branching out in my body until it hits the wall, and my orgasm hits me hard. My body feels as if I stuck my finger in an electric socket with sparks tingling up and down my flesh. As I ride out my pleasure, Ratchet’s balls clench as he finds his own release. I fall forward against his chest, and we both heave trying to catch our breaths. His arms come around my middle, pulling me into another deep kiss. The lights of a flashing security vehicle begin to illuminate off the parking garage walls, and we both laugh. I slide off of him, and we both bolt out of the bed of the truck and back into the cab. Ratchet smiles as he turns on the ignition, and we peel out of our not so secret hiding spot.

Taking a peek at my phone again, I see that it’s actually time for me to head into the terminal. My high from our time together fades quickly back into dread. It’s been over six months since I left California, and here I am going back empty-handed, without Ratchet. The strangeness of it all rattles me.

As he pulls back on to the road towards the departure drop-off lanes, I try to calm my nerves. Ratchet reaches over, and places his hand on my thigh.

“It’s going to be fine, Siren. Stop overthinking this.”

“I know it will be,” I reassure him and lie to myself.

Ratchet pulls up to the curb, hops out, and circles around to open the door for me. I take his extended hand, and slide from my seat. With so much of my stuff still back in California, I didn’t need to pack more than a few items that easily fit in my purse, along with the iPod shuffle that Ratchet had picked up for me for the flight.

He pulls me into an embrace, and my arms wrap around his neck. I didn’t want to let him go, but the terminal officer blew his whistle at us and told Ratchet he couldn’t park there at the terminal.

“Time for me to go,” I fretfully admit.

“I love you, Siren. Call me when you land,” he says, planting one last kiss on my lips.

“I love you.”

We reluctantly release each other, and I hitch my bag over my shoulder, heading into the terminal. As I make it through security, I have to force myself to shake off the feeling that I am making a mistake by leaving them both behind. My father could strike at any moment, and I am leaving them both exposed without telling Ratchet of his threats.

You have to do this, Ricca. It’s not the right time to tell him. Get the paperwork signed, and then unleash the hell fire down on him. Be patient.

The pep talk to my subconscious barely helps, but the call for my flight to board dishes up the distraction I need from my wavering thoughts. Settling into my seat, I keep my eyes trained on the window. The expansive Kentucky bluegrass fields fly by in an instant as the plane takes off, and within a few hours are replaced with the brown, dusty remains of former manicured lawns that make up most of Southern California. My hope to sleep on the plane was thwarted by the screaming baby, directly behind. Even hard rock turned up to eleven, wouldn’t have drowned out the noise.

After I disembark from the plane, I make my way to the outer terminal to call a cab, but as I step outside of the automatic doors, I see an unexpected sight. Dani and Darcy stand with an outstretched banner welcoming me home. Their excitement to see me eases my nerves about how much my time away would affect my relationships with the people back at the club. Maybe this won’t be as awkward as I thought it would be. The taxi traffic is heavy in the terminal. It finally clears, and I make my way over to them. Dani squeals and quickly draws me into a hug. Her arms around me are a welcoming embrace, instead of a panic-inducing motion.

She squeezes me tighter when she notices that I don’t resist her embrace. Darcy just smiles from the sidelines, but I pull her into the group hug.

“I’m so happy you’re back,” Dani declares. “You’ve missed so much.” My eyes fall to her rounded belly, and my mouth falls open in shock.

“I know, right? He’s insatiable.”

I look over to Darcy, and she shakes her.

“That is so not an option for me anymore. Five kids between us are enough for me.”

We all laugh, and Dani points towards the SUV waiting at the curb. Following around behind them, I take my first real breath of California air, but it doesn’t feel as much like home as I thought. But the biggest piece of my home isn’t here. Only a few hours apart, and I already miss him. Remembering his request, I slip my phone from my pocket, and shoot him a quick text to let him know I made it.

He responds right away, and I stow my phone again as I slide into the car. A driving beat of Justin Bieber powers out of the car stereo, and I cover my ears pretending to be tortured, until they switch the station. Not that he’s a terrible artist, but I can only take so much of a man singing like a damn girl.

Darcy steers the car off the curb, and onto the freeway. The familiar rush of the cars soothes my homesickness a little. Darcy and Dani chatter along as we drive, but I notice that suddenly we’re not taking the right exit for the clubhouse.

“Uh, I know it’s been a few months since I lived here, but did the clubhouse move or something?”

Dani peers over the passenger seat and just smiles.

“It didn’t, but we have a surprise for you. Ratchet wanted us to get you settled in, but we’re impatient,” Darcy declares, as she turns off the main drag into the newer part of Upland.

“And I need to pee again,” Dani adds.

Home after home zips by, before Darcy pulls off on a quiet side street and parks the SUV on the curb.

“And where are we exactly?” I ask, peering out of the window at a modest home nestled on a corner lot. The house’s stonewalls are beautiful, and accented with large bay windows in the front. The yard is pretty tiny, but that’s the norm for this part of town.

“Welcome home, Ricca,” Dani squeals as she opens the passenger side door. I follow her outside, and just stare from the sidewalk up at the house.

“Whose home? I don’t live here.”

“Uh yes, you do. This is Ratchet’s house.”

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