Page 36 of Tyson (Ariel Kimber 4.50)

I shoved her hands out of the way as I reached for her. I shoved my hands in under her armpits and lifted her up. I hauled her across the bed and dropped her into my lap. Her side was to my front with both her legs draped over my thigh and her ass firmly in my lap. I wrapped my arms around her, one of my hands went low on her back and the other one moved to the back of her head. I pushed on her head and she got with the program as she got my meaning. She collapsed against me, her arms going around my middle as she stuffed her face into my neck.

Immediately, wet hit my skin where her face was and I silently cursed.

Jesus fucking Christ.

"It's gonna be okay, baby," I assured her quietly as she burrowed into my body and I held her tighter.

My eyes went to the door when I heard it creak open. Uncle Quint stood in the door, staring at Ariel in my lap crying. She didn't even know he was there. Uncle Quint's face got tight, his mouth pinched and he shook his head slowly before backing out of the room and closing the door quietly behind him. I didn't know what the hell that meant and I didn't give the first fuck. He was probably just being his normal brand of nosy asshole that had no problem bursting into my space without knocking in order to keep tabs on Ariel.

What an asshole.

"You're not a horrible person," I told Ariel as I pushed my Uncle out of my mind and focused solely on the sad and confused girl in my arms. "Those two, your fake mom and Chuck, they were the horrible people, girl. Not you, though, never you."

The wet coming out of her eyes had started to soak into my t-shirt there was so much of it.

I laid back, taking her with me and, so lost in her own despair, I didn't even think she noticed I was moving her around.

I rolled to my side and held her tightly in my arms and pressed up to my chest, front to front, our legs tangled together.

I held her there until she stopped crying and the shaking stopped. Eventually, she lay there, still and unmoving with her hand fisted into the back of my t-shirt. One side of the neck of said t-shirt completely soaked in her tears.

I lifted my hand to her face and brushed the hair back out of her eyes, tucking it back behind her studded ear.

Her eyes were scrunched closed tightly as if to keep the world around her out if only she didn't have to look at it. Her beautiful face was finally red and splotchy from something outside of embarrassment and I felt bad for thinking she looked better when embarrassed and was glad she hadn't made the unnecessary effort to put on makeup today because it would have been smeared all down her face.

"Do you feel better now that you've got that out of your system?" I murmured.

I hoped like hell she said yes and wasn't disappointed when she muttered back, "Yeah, Ty, I feel better now."

She didn't sound very convincing but I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and take her word for it. She'd just cried her eyes out over feeling guilty she was glad two people were dead when they didn't deserve her guilt. She didn't need me to give her shit on top of that.

"Okay, girl," I mumbled back, not contradicting her even though I didn't believe her, giving her what I thought she needed. And I was glad I did it when her eyes opened and she looked up at me with green eyes full of relief and a small smile on her lips.

"Thanks, Ty." She whispered. “Sorry I cried all over you and got your shirt wet. I don't know what's wrong with me right now."

I shrugged my shoulders, letting her know I didn't care and it was no big deal to me.

"It's just a shirt, girl," I told her. "I've got plenty of them and I know how to use a washing machine to get your snot out of this one.

Her arms around my back tensed, her green eyes flashed and she snapped, "I didn't get snot on you, Tyson. That's gross. I can't believe you think I'd be that gross with you."

I grinned at her broadly and her body started as her eyes dropped down to my mouth and her lips parted sweetly.

"You okay, girl?" I asked, wondering if she was staring at my mouth like that because she wanted to kiss me or if I had something stuck in my teeth.

"Yeah," she mumbled and said no more.

My grin grew until it turned into a smile and my lips twitched with suppressed laughter.

She liked it when I grinned at her and she definitely wanted to kiss me. I had been noticing this more and more lately, her staring at my mouth like that after I smiled at her and I liked it a whole hell of a lot.

“Do you want me to put my tongue in your mouth?” I asked her seriously.

"Do I... Do I,what?" She sputtered as she looked at me in horror.

My smile stretched as wide as it could get.

"My tongue, girl," I said around my smile. "Do you want me to put it in your mouth? You keep looking at my mouth like you expect me to do something with it. So..." I trailed off and shrugged like it was no big deal to me either way. Which was a straight up lie.

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