Dylan (24 page)

I walk closer until I can breathe her sweet
scent into my lungs, and feel the heat of her body against mine. I
move her hair away from her neck then I press my lips against her
ear.

“You look beautiful, Angel. Thank you for
staying with me.” I press a soft kiss against her neck and step
back.

Her cheeks are a beautiful shade of red, and
her lips are plump and begging for me to nibble on them. I force
myself to hold back walk around the car, and open her door for her
instead. Raven smiles as she climbs in. I watch as Jim walks
outside carrying two pink luggage bags. I take them from him and
wave him off with a smile as I load them into my car.

I climb inside lacing my fingers through
Ravens. Maybe I should ask Raven if she wants to meet my mother,
but right now, I’m too afraid she’ll say no. I really want to
introduce them. So, I say nothing as I head toward the only other
woman I will ever love.

***

She isn’t sitting outside, so she is
probably already resting for the night. If this weren’t such a big
deal for me, I would wait until tomorrow, but I’m too anxious to
drive away now.

“Where are we?” I glance over at Raven to
see she is looking out the window at the beautiful coastal house
with a look of awe on her face.

“You like it?” I squeeze her hand, and she
turns to look at me with excitement in her eyes.

“Is this your house?” She questions me, and
I instantly wonder what she’ll think when she sees the
apartment.

“Not exactly. This is my mother’s
house.”

Raven’s lips part in shock. “Your mother?
You want me to meet your mother?”

I nod, but for the first time since I picked
her up, my stomach is tight with nerves. Raven doesn’t say
anything, but I can tell she’s nervous by the sudden straightening
of her spine.

We climb out, and I lift a sleeping Harper
in my arms so that I can rest my free hand on Raven’s hip and tug
her close. I press a kiss against Raven’s hair and lead us inside.
When I open the door, June is sitting in one of the living room
chairs. Her blue-green eyes shift to me before roaming over Raven
and Harper curiously.

“Mom in bed?”

June nods. I start to head that way when
June’s voice stops me. “Are you going to introduce us, Dylan?”

Fuck. I guess
. “June, this is my
girlfriend Raven, and this sleeping beauty is Harper. Raven this is
my mother’s nurse, June.”

At my introduction, I can see fire spark in
June’s gaze. I ignore it. I’ve given her no reason to be jealous,
and she doesn’t have anything on Raven anyway.

“It’s nice to meet you ladies.” June finally
says as her eyes move over every inch of Raven, eyeing up what she
thinks is competition, but there is no competition. Raven won long
before I ever met her.

“You too.”

I tug Raven in closer, and she snuggles into
me as I walk toward Mom’s room. I try to move my arm to open the
door, but Raven stops me.

“Why does your Mom need a nurse?” The
sadness in her eyes makes me crazy.

How fucking beautiful does someone have to
be to go through what she did and come out still being sad for
others.

“I told you about the car accident she had
when I was little. I can’t always be her to care for her, so I
hired June to stay with her.” I talk quietly so that I don’t wake
up Harper, and the look that crosses over Raven’s face reaffirms
what I already know. She’s a fucking angel. “Let’s go.”

I move my arm, and this time she lets me. I
open the door, motioning her to head in before me. We walk into the
room, and my eyes land on the one woman who has been the center of
my world for so long, and the knowledge that she isn’t the only
woman in my life anymore is a shock wave to my system that I hadn’t
expected.

Her eyes slide open tiredly as the door
closes behind us, but instead of the small smile I’m used to seeing
she has nothing but a blank face and wandering eyes. I motion for
Raven to take my usual seat. Once she’s seated, I gently maneuver
Harper into her arms.

Then I face my mother, and that smile slowly
stirs on her fragile face. “Hey, Mama.” I lean in placing a soft
kiss to her forehead. “Remember me telling you about this beautiful
girl that had me all twisted up? Let me introduce you to Raven, and
her daughter Harper.” I step back and motion to the girls.

Raven’s face is a bright shade of red, but
there is a brighter smile on her face. Harper is still sleeping,
but she is just as beautiful as her mama is. When I look back at
Mom, I think I can see a look of happiness in her face, but as
usual, I can’t be sure.

“I wanted Raven to meet the main woman in my
life before I took her to dinner.” I wink at Raven as I sit on the
edge of Mama’s bed. I grab her hand in mine. Mama’s eyes seem to
focus too intently on my face. Shit. My face. Fuck.

Mama jerks her hand from mine, and her face
goes blank again. She seems completely peaceful, and subdued, but I
know what just happened. Mama’s about to lose it.

“June!” I yell, and Harper jumps in Raven’s
arms. “Sorry, Angel. I didn’t mean to wake her, but could you
please wait outside a minute.”

Raven stands just as June opens the door to
enter the room. “Why are you yelling, Dylan?”

“You better get a needle ready.”

I don’t say anything else, or even pay
attention to whether or not Raven and Harper leave. I give Mama my
whole focus. Calming her down is something I can usually do, but
usually she isn’t upset with me. This time, it’s all me.

“Mama?” I reach for her hand again, but she
jerks it clumsily away. “Mama, please? I’m sorry. Please, calm
down.”

Not caring if she hits me, I climb onto the
mattress and wrap my arms around my mother. She feels frail and
small, but still comforting even though she’s angry with me.

“I love you Mama. I’m sorry.”

“I got the needle.” I hear June’s voice, and
open my eyes to see she is already standing next to the bed. “I
need you to move, Dylan.”

I start to shift off the bed. Mom seems a
little more relaxed now, but I don’t know that she won’t still act
out. Mama doesn’t usually hurt me, even when she’s upset with me,
but she has gotten ahold of June a few times.

“Be careful.” I stand and let June move in
front of me.

“I always am, Dylan.” June lifts the sleeve
on Mom’s nightgown to expose the flesh of her upper arm. “So, you
have a girlfriend.” June’s eyes lift to me. “And a kid?”

I shake my head. “Harper isn’t my kid, she’s
Raven’s, but I’m hoping to step in as that role if she keeps me
around.”

June chuckles as she turns back to prepping
Mom’s arm. “Trust me, Dylan, she’ll keep you around.”

My arms cross over my chest. I don’t speak
until she lifts her eyes to me again. “Why do I feel like you meant
more by that comment then what you actually said?”

June shrugs. “I don’t know. I just don’t
think that little girl has the experience to keep you
satisfied.”

My arms drop. I take a step toward her, my
temper rising to the surface. “I’d watch what you say next, June. I
need Raven. I can replace you.”

June sucks in a startled gasp, and turns
away from me to look back at Mom. “I’m sorry.” Her tone is flat.
It’s not at all the one I’m used to hearing from her. Now I feel
like a dick.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be an ass. Just
don’t talk about Raven, okay? Because, if it comes down to it. I
will choose her, and I won’t think twice about it.”

June shakes her head as she moves the needle
into place. Before either of us see it coming, Mom reaches over and
grabs June’s hair tightly in her grasp and pulls.

“Fuck!” June droops the needle and reaches
for her hair to try to stop Mama from yanking it out.

“Come on, Mama. Let go.” I move around to
help June gently loosen Mama’s hold.

After what seems like forever, but is
probably only a few seconds, Mama’s grip loosens. Once she’s free,
June makes quick work of finding the needle and inserting it into
Mama’s arm.

“Shit. I’m sorry, June. Are you okay?”

I move my hands to the spot on her head that
Mama was yanking at and move the strands away to see the area
better. June’s scalp is red and swollen, and there is a small bald
spot.

I look back at Mama, but her eyes have
fallen closed. My eyes move to her hands to see strands of blonde
hair weaved between her frail fingers.

“I’m sorry. I forgot about my face.”

“Yeah, I don’t see how. You look like
hell.”

“Thanks.” A grin pulls at my lips, and June
gives me a small smile. “I’ll swing by tomorrow to talk to
her.”

June nods, but doesn’t say anything else as
I leave the room.

Raven is sitting on the sofa where I usually
sleep when I crash here. Seeing her here tugs at my chest. Having
her around makes everything seem brighter. Raven looks at me
curiously, but Harper has fallen back asleep in her arms.

“I’m sorry. I forgot how torn up I look.
Mama doesn’t like seeing me hurt. It upsets her.”

“You don’t have to explain, Dylan.”

“Yes, I do, Raven. I wanted this to be
perfect, and it almost was. Until I went and messed it up.”

“It was perfect. You have no idea what it
means to me that you would want me to meet your mother.”

“Let’s walk to my place. I wanted to take
you out, but Harper looks like she’s ready to call it a night, and
I’m ready to have some one-on-one time with my angel.”

Raven smiles up at me from the sofa.
“Okay.”

“Okay. Let me take Harper so you don’t have
to walk with her.”

I walk closer, leaning down as Raven helps
situate Harper in my arms without waking her up. I place a kiss on
Raven’s check, stand up, and head outside. We walk the small
distance to the apartment, and I can read the curiosity in her
face. She wants to ask me all kinds of questions, but I just want
to have her alone again.

We enter the apartment, and I leave Raven
standing in the living room as I take Harper into the spare room
across from mine. I lay her on the bed, cover her up, and close the
door as I walk the short distance to my room.

I change into a different t-shirt and a pair
of sleep pants. I would just walk out there naked, but I’m not sure
how Raven would handle that. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable
in any way. These should be easy enough to slip off though.

When I get back to the living room, Raven is
looking around at everything. Taking it in from top to bottom, but
all I can see is Raven. She is more beautiful than any woman I’ve
ever met.

“Come here, Angel.”

Raven’s eyes land on me, and she smiles. “Is
that an order?” She asks playfully.

“No, that’s a wish. I wish you’d get your
sexy ass over here.”

Raven’s skin flames red as she walks toward
me. “Let me make your dream come true.”

“Angel, you already have.”

As soon as she reaches me, I pull her into
my arms. My lips land on hers, greedily sipping at her perfect
pout. When she reaches up to lace her arms around my neck, my hands
go straight to her firm ass. I flex my fingers and groan at the
perfect roundness under my palms.

“This is where you belong, Raven. Right
here. Seeing you here in my place is driving me crazy.” I speak the
words through soft kisses as I slowly pull her back toward my room.
The door is open already, and I waste no time moving us across the
room toward the bed.

I shift around, and release her long enough
to lie back on the bed before pulling her to straddle over my
thighs. The feel of her body against mine is addictive. I lay
kisses along the skin of her neck, below her ear, and over her
shoulder. My fingers run the length of her creamy skin, and slip
under the hem of her skirt.

“You are perfect, Angel. So fucking
incre—”

“Mommy?”

We jerk apart quickly at the sound of
Harper’s small voice. She is standing in the doorway of my bedroom.
Raven takes a second to smooth her skirt, and run her fingers
through her hair before turning to face Harper.

“What’s wrong, Harper?” Raven moves across
the room kneeling down carefully in front of her daughter.

“I wot scared.”

Raven pulls Harper into her arms while
looking pleadingly up at me.

“What?” I mouth the word to her, and she
tips her head toward the bed.

I smile as I finally register what she’s
asking. I pull the blankets back, and move underneath them.

“Come on, ladies. I’m tired.” I fake a yawn,
and wink at Raven’s smiling face.

She mouths the words
thank you
as she
slides in next to me, and Harper snuggles in on the other side of
her. I lean down, and whisper into her ear so only she can hear me.
“Anything for you, Angel.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Raven

I wake to the
delicious smell of eggs and toast. It’s ridiculous how such a
simple gesture causes this silly grin to grow on my lips. I peek an
eye open slowly, and realize I’m alone. The sheets are a disaster,
my hair probably even more of one, and I’d give anything for my
toothbrush right now.

I stand up, run my fingers through my
tangled locks, and push open the bedroom door. I can hear Harper’s
giggles from down the small corridor, and Dylan’s voice as he walks
her through all the steps to making the “world’s greatest omelet.”
I feel my smile grow. As I sneak quietly around the corner to see
Harper sitting on the counter watching Dylan cook, I know without a
doubt I have completely fallen in love with this secretive man.

I don’t make a sound. For a few minutes they
continue chatting without noticing me. It gives me plenty of time
to reflect on this newest revelation, but all I can focus on is the
flex of muscles that ripple under Dylan’s t-shirt as he shifts
easily around his kitchen. His sleep pants hang perfectly on his
hips, and his hair is sexily disheveled.