“I’d rather not, if that’s alright with you. Can you come by my home?”
I could hear him gathering his things as he answered, “I can be there in about twenty. Does that work for you?”
“Absolutely,” I sighed. “I’ll see you then.
The line went silent, and instantly breathed a sigh of relief. If all went according to plan, then all this rubbish would be over, and my life wouldn’t be left in shambles. It was days like this that I wished I was a smoker, or at least a heavy drinker. I took a sip of water before lying my head back, ready for a nap. And I would’ve been able to do just that had Joey not come barreling through the back door. I popped up entirely too fast, practically tossing myself out of the hammock and onto the ground. Before my face could catch myself on the grass, Joey’s rather large arms caught me, cradling me against his chest as he scooped me up and carried me inside.
“Jesus, woman! You’re gonna kill yourself.”
“No I’m not. Now put me down.” He gently placed me on the couch, and then took a seat across from me in the armchair.
“What the hell were you doin’ outside anyway?”
“Well…” Before I could explain, there was a knock at the door. Joey glanced back and forth between me and the door, confusion evident in his expression.
“Who the hell is here?” He was on his way to answer the door, all the while staring at me.
I let out a knackered sigh as I annoyingly shook my head at him, “Just open the door, Jo.”
“Yes Master.” He teased.
I was two seconds away from chucking a pillow at him when he swung the door open wide. “Please com in, Detective Ronstead.” I half shouted from my stationery position on the couch.
“Yes, please come in.” Joey hesitated.
Joey walked behind Detective Ronstead, mouthing things I couldn’t quite decipher, most likely do to my inebriated state. I held my hand out for Detective Ronstead as he approached, and he quickly reciprocated.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Reynolds.”
“Please, call me Diem.” I smiled as he took the seat that Joey had been occupying just mere minutes ago.
“Alright then, Diem.” Detective Ronstead pulled out a small notepad and a pen, unbuttoned his navy pinstriped suit jacket, and made himself comfortable. “ You said you had some information that would help?”
“Yes.” I straightened my body so I was now facing him. “I actually have a recording you will want to hear.”
He arched one of his perfectly sculpted, dark eyebrows, which had me believe that I had his full attention. And as he began to speak, I was instantly mesmerized by the man sitting before me. His blue eyes stood out in stark contrast against his coffee colored skin and dark hair, and I was suddenly finding it hard to pay attention. It wasn’t until he cleared his throat that I realized he had been talking to me all along.
“I’m sorry, what?” Joey shot me a smug look, one that I caught out of the corner of my eye. I simply rolled my eyes at him, and then turned my attention back on Detective Handsome.
“I was just asking how you happened to come across this recording, and how exactly you obtained it.”
“Well...Mr. Payne actually showed up at my house a bit ago.”
“WHAT?” Both Joey and Detective Ronstead responded in unison as they both turned their attention on me.
“Calm down, both of you. Nothing happened. He said he came by to apologize, and even offered to pay my medical bills. The recording will explain things far better than I can. Here.” I handed Detective Ronstead my phone with the recording already pulled up on it. “Just press play.”
He nodded before tapping the screen, and then sat forward with his elbows on his knees, completely enthralled with the voice that soon came on through the speaker. Thomas’ smug voice echoed throughout the small space as I tried to swallow back the bile that was creeping up into my throat. He had a voice that instantly made me cringe, and it was unfortunate that I even had to hear it again so soon. I sat back, watching Detective Ronstead’s facial expressions to gauge just how miffed he was going to be. When the recording ended, Detective Ronstead tapped the screen again, and then handed me back my phone. I was trying to get a read on him, to get any sense of what was going through his mind, but it was far harder than I imagined it would be.
“So he just came over of his own volition?”
“Yes, sir. I was flabbergasted when I opened the door and saw him standing on the other side.”
“Was anybody home with you at the time?”
I shook my head, “Joey had just left to get food, when Mr. Payne showed up.”
“Did he threaten you in any way? Come near you in a threatening manner, or anything like that?”
“No.” Joey was now at my side, holding onto my free hand rather tightly.
“Well, given this new evidence, and his confession, I think it’s pretty safe to say that we can pick him up.”
“Detective Ronstead, is it possible to get an order of protection for Diem?”
“That will definitely happen, as long as that’s what Diem wants.”
Detective Ronstead looked at me for a response. “Absolutely.”
“Then we can most definitely do that when we file all the other charges. Excuse me for one second please?”
“Of course.” I smiled. Detective Ronstead pressed his cell phone to his ear and then made his way over to the foyer.
As soon as he was out of earshot distance, Joey turned to me, his expression clearly full of anger. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this? Why didn’t you call me as soon as he showed up here?” He was trying to hush his aggravated tone, but I could tell that he was livid.
“I’m sorry, Jo. I didn’t know what to do. The only reason I even recorded anything was because I remembered that my phone was in my pocket at the time. I should’ve called, I know that, but I really am sorry. I honestly thought that getting his confession was far more important than calling my boyfriend.” I chanced a glance up at Joey, hoping that he wasn’t still mad at me. I was so wrong. “Joey, you can’t seriously be mad at me for this. I was perfectly fine, and if I had felt threatened in any way, I would’ve called you. He was actually quite nice about the whole thing.”
“Damn right, he should be. He could’ve killed you, Diem. Does that even register with you?”
Now he was just being mean, “Of course it registers with me. Don’t you dare talk to me like I’m some daft child. You do realize I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, don’t you?”
“Yes, Diem. I do. I wasn’t trying to imply that you’re some kind of invalid or something.”
His dismissive tone had my anger at an all time high. “Well that’s exactly how you’re making me feel, and it’s not fair. You don’t get to be mad at me because I answered the door.” I crossed my good arm over my chest, doing my best impression of pouting.
“Babe?” I continued to look away. “Baby, please talk to me.”
“What do you-“
“Sorry about that.” Detective Ronstead was back in front of us, taking his seat across from me. “Ok, so I just spoke with my Captain. Looks like we’ve got officers going to Mr. Payne’s house now to pick him up. My best advice is to get a hold of your attorney, or hire one if you don’t have one already, and see where you go from here. As soon as we have him in custody, we will give you a call. In the meantime, if you have questions, or you remember anything that was said before you started the recording, please feel free to reach out to us.” Detective Ronstead stood and held his hand out for mine. We shook hands, as did Joey and him, and then we escorted Detective Ronstead to the door.
Once Detective Ronstead was gone, I turned to Joey in hopes that he would be far more empathetic than he was a few minutes ago. Luck was on my side, because as soon as he turned around after closing the door, he was slipping his arms carefully around my waist. My body instantly responded in such a way that I wasn’t prepared for, and as much as
I wanted to follow my bodies lead, I was far too tired and in quite a bit of pain. Joey must’ve realized it as well because he simply placed a tender kiss to my lips, and then carried me up to bed. Once I was all tucked in, I found myself needing to ask the one question I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to.
“When do you leave?”
Joey’s head snapped up, fear evident in his gaze. “I leave Thursday for our game in Arizona.” He dropped his head in disappointment.
“Hey,” I gently caressed Joey’s cheek with the back of my hand, “I’m not mad. I know it’s your job, and I’m only here to support and love you. I don’t want you feeling bad about leaving, all because this happened to me. I’m going to be just fine. I’ve got Troy here to help me, and my father is still in town. I’ll have plenty of help, and you don’t even leave for five more days. We’re going to get through this.”
Joey pressed his face into the palm of my hands as his sultry gaze met mine. “I’m gonna miss you like crazy.”
“And me you.”
“How did I get so lucky?”
“I ask myself that question every day, love.”
“You know, just because you can’t move much, doesn’t mean I can’t pleasure you the way you deserve to be pleasured.” He looked up at my with a wink before sliding down the length of my body, positioning his mouth in front of my entrance.
With every warm breath that he breathed, my body flooded with desire, desire that began to soak my panties. He nibbled and sucked his way up my inner thighs until he was back at my most needy part. Without pulling aside my panties, he licked between my lips, making sure to stop for a brief moment when he reached my clit. I writhed and wriggled beneath his every touch, and if I didn’t know better I would think that he was just teasing me, but luckily I knew exactly what he was doing.
As his tongue continued to massage my clit over the thin lace fabric of my panties, I could feel myself beginning to fall over the edge much quicker than anticipated. With my free hand, I pushed my fingers back through his thick head of hair, giving it a nice tug whenever the tip of his glorious tongue hit my clit. I was just about to let go, when he suddenly pulled back, but before I could get too irritated, his long deft fingers slightly pulled the thin lace to the side, and then slid deep inside me.
My back arched just enough to where it wasn’t too painful with every thrust of his fingers. He started with one, but rather quickly switched to two. His thumb rubbed my clit as his fingers pushed in and out of me at a dizzying pace, and I wasn’t sure just how much more I could take before I ravaged him myself. As soon as I felt his fingers disappear, I glanced down to see what he was doing. As my eyes locked with his, he placed each finger that had just been inside of me, into his mouth, sucking off the remnants of me. It was far more arousing than I thought it would be, and by the time he was done, I was practically begging for him to take me...all of me.
Joey’s mouth fell to my clit, licking and sucking until the flood gates opened and I was losing all control. His name rolled off of the tip of my tongue as he sucked on my pulsing clit. Before I was able to catch my breath, he was positioning himself at my entrance, ready to go. With a single nod, he thrust into me, my pussy opening wide to accommodate his girth. My back arched again, and his name echoed throughout my room as he moved in and out of me, claiming me as his very own.
“Harder, Jo, harder.” I moaned, and he happily obliged.
It pained me not to be able to take control and show him just how much I enjoyed being with him, but soon enough I would be back to normal, and I would make up for lost time.
Over and over and over again he took me directly to the edge, and then slowly pulled me back. It was all consuming and quite literally had me begging for more. With a few more thrusts, Joey and I were crumbling into pieces beneath one another, with him eventually falling onto the bed next to me.
This is everything I needed in my life at this exact moment, and I was perfectly content knowing that it was. My life has drastically changed over the last year, and I was extremely proud of how far I’d come. Finding Joey was an unexpected surprise, but a surprise I would forever be grateful for. We were well on our way to living the life that we both envisioned, and after all that had happened, nothing was going to stand in our way.
Book Four
Kayla & Madison
Chapter 55
Kayla
I hesitantly walked into the restaurant, not knowin’ what to expect from all of this. I knew deep down that this needed to happen, but I was still nervous beyond words. Did I really want to do this after all these years? Sure I’ve thought about my father throughout the years, but those feelings were usually ones of rage and contempt. Definitely not the emotions I should be sharing with him tonight. I glanced around between the bar and the restaurant in search of my father, but I didn’t see him anywhere. Part of me was relieved, thinkin’ maybe he decided to bail on tonight like he’d bailed on me for my entire life, but deep, deep down, I think I was starting to feel...sad. A few more glances, and I was ready to throw in the towel. I pulled my sweater up over my shoulders as I headed for the door, but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw my father approaching me.
“Hey, were you leaving?” His voice still had a way of makin’ me feel like I was in trouble.
I swallowed hard, tryin’ not to hurt his feelings. “No, I was just going to go grab something out of my car.” Liar!
“Well, shall we?” My father waved his hand towards the entrance to the restaurant as he held open the door with his other hand.
I walked past my father and through the door, hoping and praying that this night ended on a high note, and not with me runnin’ back to my hotel room to cry on my fiancé’s shoulder. Not two steps in, and I was already regretting my decision to stay. It was awkward, and I honestly didn’t know if I actually cared about mending our relationship.
“Table for two?”
I guess it was too late now. “Yes.” I replied.
“Follow me.”
The cute young brunette led us to one of the booths in the back, and I was grateful that we had the back of the restaurant to ourselves, just in case this went awry.
“Will this work?” My mouth fell open in shock as the tiny brunette flipped her hair over her shoulder as she attempted to flirt with my father. Ew!
“This will be fine. Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” she purred as she handed my father his menu and walked away, turnin’ around to make sure my creepy father was watching her walk back towards the front.
When he finally turned his attention back on me, he was met with a scowl.
“What? She was cute.”
“Um, number one...gross. Number two...if you wanted to go out and hunt for a new wife, or daughter for that matter, then you shouldn’t have invited your actual daughter.” I immediately turned my attention to my menu. Given that I couldn’t drink because of my current state, I figured I could at least eat my weight in expensive food that my father was paying for.
“I’m sorry, KJ.”
I quickly glanced up from my menu, shooting him a cross look, “Don’t call me that.”
“You don’t like your nickname anymore? That’s the whole reason I picked your name.”
“Oh, I do like my nickname, but you don’t get to call me that.”
He nodded in recognition, “I understand.”
“So...would you like me to start, or do you want to start?” The inflection in his tone made it clear that he would like to start, and just for that reason, I started first.
“I’m gonna start. Would you even have contacted me, or tried to get a hold of me, had Diem not found me first?”
My father was clearly taken aback by my blunt assertiveness. “So...we’re just jumping right in, aren’t we?”
“Did you really expect me to sugarcoat this?”
He shook his head in shame, “No, I suppose I didn’t. Honestly Kayla, I didn’t know what to expect coming into tonight. But to answ
er your question, I honestly don’t know.” He glanced up from his menu and continued speaking. “It’s not that I never wanted to speak to you ever again. I have thought about you every single day since I left. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss you and wish I would’ve been a better man. And now,” he pointed at my burgeoning belly, “knowing that I’ve missed out on so much, it literally breaks my heart on a constant basis.”
My eyes fell as I let out a solemn sigh. Was I really starting to feel bad for this man? The man who left me all alone with a drunk for a mother, and nowhere to go but down. But as much as I hated the man sitting across from me, my heart ached, not for him, but for me, and the father I could’ve had. “Tell me what happened.” My voice was barely above a whisper, but I could tell by the ashamed look on his face, he heard me loud and clear.
“Do you want me to start at the beginning?” I simply nodded, urging him to continue. “When I first met your mom, I thought I had won the lottery. She was beautiful, inside and out, and there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy to get her to accept my proposal. Your granddad made sure to put me through the wringer until I proved myself worthy, but in the end, I won him and your gran over. After that, it was smooth sailing. Or at least I thought.”
A small smile formed on my face as I imagined my granddad berating my father, and forcin’ him to prove himself. I would’ve paid money to see that.
“Your mother wasn’t always the mother you knew. She was kind and selfless. When we found out she was pregnant, we were both over the moon. I envisioned our lives together for years to come, but unfortunately, you’re mother had other plans. She didn’t like that I worked so much, and when I got promoted and had to start traveling, well let’s just say it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I never wanted to leave. I tried with every fiber of my being to make things work, but then your mom started drinking to deal with the loneliness, and well...you know what happened after that.”
This Family of Ours (Raine #6) Page 34