Page 77 of The Devil's Reward
“For the love of God, do not finish that sentence,” I plead. “I’m going to need therapy.”
Mom scoffs. “Please. Your therapist would tell you this is healthy and they wish more families were like ours. But since you won’t give any dirty details, at least tell me if it was good.”
“Technically, they didn’t have sex,” Peyton interrupts.
“Why am I needed on this call again?” I ask drily. “I mean, if you’re going to tell the story anyway?”
“Fine, fine, sorry,” Peyton huffs.
“So whatdidyou do, then?” Mom asks, confused.
“Ah, well, we fooled around a bit,” I say awkwardly, glancing around again to make sure Macy hasn’t come down from her room.
Peyton groans. “Would you stop acting like a nun, Quinn? He ate her out like a pro, and then she gave him a blowjob. And from what she’s said, it was damn good one because he stayed and held her until early morning.”
“Fuck’s sakes,” I mutter, face flaming. “I told you that in confidence, Pey.”
“We both know that you would have never said anything and I would tell Mom anyway,” Peyton says carelessly. “Personally, I think this is great. He plans on sticking around, and he was great with Macy this morning, right?”
My heart warms at the memory of Shadow sitting on the couch with her this morning, doing her hair. I wish I had thought to record it. I was already halfway in love with the man, but his treatment of Macy this morning, being so kind and gentle and taking time to help her before he left, cemented it.
“He braided her hair,” I tell my Mom. “And answered a bunch of her questions.”
“Macy’s always been a good judge of character,” Mom muses. “And she obviously trusts him.”
“I think she’s after him for his ability to take her to her favorite places,” I chuckle. “I think she’s angling for him to take her to Disney or something, and with the way she’s got him wrapped around her finger already, she might succeed.”
“He sounds like a nice man,” Mom says warmly. Then she pauses. “Did you tell him about Bobby?” she asks gently.
Bobby’s name sends a stab of hurt through me, but instead of the lasting pain that has always accompanied his memory before, this time, it’s duller. “I did,” I say absently, thinking back to the conversation. “I told him everything.”
“You did?” Peyton asks, surprised.
“He… he came over the night before our date. The neighbor’s house was broken in to, and Shadow’s company does security systems so I messaged and asked him for a quote. He came right away.”
“Oh my God,” Mom gasps. “How far away from you? Are you sure it’s safe to be there?”
“We’re fine,” I rush out. “The cops feel it was an isolated incident. Anyway, he came over, and we got to talking and he asked me about Bobby. It just all spilled out. I think I was hoping that it might scare him off a little, make him think I had a lot of baggage, but instead, he was pissed on my behalf and told me that he was glad Bobby was dead.”
“I like him already,” my father says, obviously listening in.
“He’s been through his own trauma,” I explain. “It’s his story to tell, so I don’t want to share too much, but he was in the Forces and he lost his team on a mission.”
“That poor man,” Mom murmurs. “So he understands, to a degree, what you’ve been through.”
“Yeah,” I agree.
“Well, I’m looking forward to meeting him when we get there,” Peyton says brightly, changing the tone of the conversation.
“I don’t know how much you’ll see him,” I warn. “There was an accident yesterday, and someone tried to run him and a few others traveling with him off the road. They succeeded in running down their club President, and then hit the SUV carrying his wife, his two daughters-in-law, and their driver hard enough for it to roll multiple times. They’re all in the hospital.”
“Oh my God,” my mother gasps. “That’s awful.”
“Shadow was upset, which is part of the reason he was over last night. He was one of the ones to pull one of them out of the burning car just before it exploded.”
“Holy shit,” my sister mutters. “No wonder he wanted to come see you. After that, you need to get the adrenaline out of you somehow.”
I frown at her words. Wait, is she saying that Shadow only came over so he could work out his emotions with sex? I immediately dismiss that. I saw him, and I felt his anger at the whole situation. He even tried to leave, and he asked permission before we got busy. He didn’t press me for more, either.
