Page 34 of Tethered

“Yes, please.” She looks so damn excited that it’s infectious. Despite feeling awkward as fuck about what happened between Riggs and me just moments ago, I can’t help but smile along with her.

“Pancakes first, though, missy. Why don’t you go ask your mom if she wants some, and if so, what flavor, and then come back so you can help me,” Riggs instructs her.

“Yippee!” she shouts, making him grin.

She scurries off as he calls after her. “Don’t forget to wash your hands, Cookie.”

“Okay!” she yells back.

Riggs stalks back over to me. “You’d better go before I remember why this is such a bad idea and chain you to the bed instead.”

I step up on my tiptoes and kiss him lightly. “If anyone is getting chained to the bed, it’s you, so that I can have my wicked way with you. Call it payback for me having to wear wet panties all day. It’s going to be uncomfortable as fuck.”

“But every time you move, you’ll think of me and what I did to you. I bet you last an hour before you have to find a restroom and get yourself off, fucking some of my cum back inside you where it belongs.”

And I’m pretty sure I just had a mini orgasm again, thanks to his dirty words. “Behave yourself.”

He winks. “I’m always good. Real good.”

I groan before shoving him away, making him laugh. I head to the door as he calls my name. I look over my shoulder, his face serious once more.

“You’re badass, I get it. But shit happens sometimes. No matter where you go or what you do, you do whatever it takes to come home to me, okay?”

I walk over to him and reach up, lifting his eyepatch as he freezes solid. I get up on my tiptoes as I grasp a handful of his T-shirt and tug him toward me. He shudders when I press a soft kiss against his ruined skin, showing him my acceptance and love in the only way I know how.

“I promise. I will always come home to you,” I whisper, feeling strangely choked up. I cover his eye back up and take a step back when we hear Hannah approaching.

“Good, I’m gonna hold you to that.” He winks as Hannah runs in. “Now get out of here so I can make pancakes with my second favorite girl.”

Chapter Eleven

Ihave everything outside and ready to go when Austin pulls up.

“I’ll admit, I was really fucking surprised when you called,” he says, climbing out of his vehicle, which this time is a shiny black Ram pickup.

“Good surprised or bad surprised?”

“Definitely good. Here, let me grab those.”

I walk past him and drop the tailgate before stepping back so he can load the first of the boxes. It doesn’t take long before he’sdone. He lifts the tailgate, then walks around to the passenger side and holds the door open for me.

I thank him and climb in, ignoring how I feel with him this close to me. Once I’m in, he leans over and straps me in, making me suck in a surprised breath. He acts like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Maybe it is for him, but not for me. Up until the other night, I wouldn’t have thrown water on him if he were on fire.

He closes the door and climbs in beside me. “So where to?”

“The post office,” I answer, cringing at how breathless my voice sounds.

“Right. I probably could have figured that out for myself.” He chuckles as he starts the truck and heads away from the ranch. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure?”

“What’s with all the trees?”

I look out the back window, not sure how much he can see from this side of the building. Sure enough, the trees have grown around the house in a protective embrace.

“They were like this when I came back from the hospital,” I admit.

“Wait, what?”