Page 41 of Ravenous

She’d been in a funk today, which was why I’d gone over. She hadn’t been able to get a new air conditioner which meant she wasn’t sleeping, which meant she couldn’t keep herself together. She’d considered telling Clyde yes to a date, but that made her anxious. What if he changed his mind and turned her down? All the usual girl thoughts circled her brain.

She’d called in sick to work today because she couldn’t get out of bed. When I saw her, she was in a very dark place. I never knew when it was bad enough that I should take her to a hospital or something.

She’d never tried to self-harm, so at least I didn’t have to worry about that.

Still, she was my mom, and I wanted her to be happy. It was hard to watch someone not even try.

To add to my gloominess, the insurance adjuster showed up to inspect the damage, and it sounded like it was going to be weeks before I even found out how much they would pay for the renovations. I could hire someone to do the work sooner, and I’d be reimbursed, but I couldn’t afford it.

I needed to follow up on my idea of picking up some shifts at Cody’s for extra cash. That meant all day in my studio and late nights slinging drinks.

I sighed again because I was tired just thinking about it.

Bright side. Think of the bright side.My business was going great, and the setbacks weren’t something a client saw. I made pottery. It broke. It could be so much worse. I was lucky enough to know Cody and have been a previous employee. It’d be easy for me to transition back. I was lucky to be able to get a fill-in job like that one in such a small town.

I was lucky.

Right?

I stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself, and then headed to my bedroom to find some clothes. It was still a disaster inside. The bed pushed up on end, mostly blocking my closet. I hadn’t even been in with a broom to clear the rubble because I wasn’t sure if the roof would collapse on me if I did. There was no light since the ceiling had collapsed and took the sconce with it, so I had to rely on the hallway one to try to see.

“Joy?” The sound of Wes’ deep voice calling from my back door didn’t startle me. It sent a surge of pleasure and comfort through me. Like Wes belonged in my house. In my life.

“I’m in the bedroom,” I called back.

“You’d better not be.”

I smiled at his bossy growl.

“Well, my clothes are in here. I can’t very well run around naked, can I?”

His heavy footsteps announced his approach. “It’s not safe.” In a matter of seconds, he was in the bedroom, picking me up by the waist, and swinging me around to put me back in the hallway. My towel dislodged and dropped in the doorway.

“Fuck, honey.” His eyes seemed to glow bright green as he glowered at me. His gaze dipped to my breasts, and he growled in a low animalistic rumble. “Definitely nothing wrong with naked,” he muttered, stooping to pick up my towel as he took a slow perusal of my body.

I chuckled and felt my nipples harden.

Slowly, taking way more time than was needed, he wrapped the towel back around me, looking his fill first. “I’llget your clothes out of there. Fuck, I’m sorry I didn’t think to do it yesterday. But why are you even over here? Not only am I not sure about your roof caving in, but you have broken electrical wires hangin’ in here. You could be electrocuted.”

Some of that sense of defeat started to creep back in. He wasn’t helping me keep my thoughts positive.

My house was a literal disaster, and I had to live like this for weeks if not months.

“Why didn’t you shower at my place?” he demanded.

My shoulders sagged. “I…had a rough day. I just needed to be alone for a little bit to get myself together before I came over.”

“Together?” Wes’ lifted me straight up before I knew what was happening with his forearm beneath my ass. He pinned me against the wall of the hallway and pressed his body against mine, bringing us nose to nose, my feet hovering a foot above the ground. I could feel his hard dick through his jeans, and he had it pressing right against my pussy. I whimpered, then rolled my hips. “What does that mean?”

I sighed. “It means I didn’t want to bother you or Remy with my crankiness or my bad day.”

He huffed out a laugh. “You? Cranky? I think I’m the one who’s always cranky. Honey, you don’t have to get yourself together for me. You don’t have to hide your bad day. Not for Remy, either. She’s four. I know you’ve seen her fuss and have a tantrum. And me, well, I guess I have a grown-up version all the time.”

My eyes smarted. Ack. I didn’t want to cry, even though what he said was funny. And true.

I tried to kiss him, to divert the rush of emotion, but he remained still, not kissing me back.

I drew back, perplexed.

---