When I returned, everyone was laughing and joking, all having had at least a second glass of wine. Except Harrison—his hostility remained, and he was moody and unsocial. He sat at the end of the table, his arms folded over his chest, hardly participating in the conversation. All my life he’d been my hero. I'd listened to everything he’d told me like the adoring little sister I was. So why didn’t he want me to be happy now?
As soon as I took my place at the table again, I drank a glass of water with two painkillers. My head was pounding and I’d started to shiver, too. Since my birthday fiasco, just being in the same room as Harrison made me feel ill.
“Honey, stay here tonight. I’ll drop you and Rebecca at the airport tomorrow.” Mom placed her hand over mine and squeezed.
Feeling as awful as I did, I nodded. I really wasn’t in any condition to drive. I’d thrown up my entire meal and felt weak. Anyway, they’d insist on driving me to my so-called apartment if I refused to stay, so it was just easier to give in tonight. As for Lexi, the way she was going with the wine, she’d probably end up staying the night as well.
“I’ll bring you a nice hot cup of tea. Luckily you already packed for your trip before coming over for dinner, so you can just crawl into bed.”
Smiling weakly, I excused myself from the table and went to my old bedroom. Everything was just as I’d left it. I ran a hot bath before calling Ryder. He was going to be pissed off, but I'd have to make him understand that it was better this way.
“Baby, I'm sorry, but I'm feeling awful. I'm going to crawl into bed after a hot bath. I’ll meet you at the airport tomorrow. Luckily we’re both all packed—”
Ryder groaned. “Babe, I can hardly sleep even when you’re here. Tonight I’ll be rolling about the king-sized bed, missing you.”
“So you’re gonna miss me, huh?” I smiled a genuine smile for the first time tonight.
Chuckling, he confirmed my suspicions. “You know I'm addicted to you—I need to taste your pussy every night and every morning. This is going to be torture.”
”It's a gift, baby. The gift of missing me so that you can appreciate me more when I’m there.” I had to appease him, otherwise he might just decide to break and enter again tonight to get his taste of me. It was too risky, and besides, I was feeling off; I wasn’t in any mood for sex.
“Does that mean I can have extras when we get to New York? Maybe we can go to the bathroom together and I can lick your little pussy after you’ve sucked me off. Yeah. I like the sound of that.”
“Jesus, Ryder. It's only one night that I'm away—”
He carried on as if I hadn’t spoken. “Then I’m going to lift you up and fuck you against the wall. And I want you to moan so loud that everyone outside can hear.”
“Horny now, baby?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yeah. Always, Princess. Always horny for you. And I bet you’re wet for me right now, aren’t you? Reach down and feel, Jade, then tell me on a scale of one to ten how wet you are.”
“Ryder, don’t be silly.” I laughed, yet my nausea had gone and I felt my pussy clench. Ryder had a way with words that never failed to get me hot and horny.
He growled. “Do it, babe. Feel your slick pussy and tell me . . .”
I lay back on the bed and slipped my hand under my pants. I gasped as I touched my clit. Ryder chuckled. “You’re so fucking wet, aren’t you?”
“Jesus, Ryder, how do you do that?” I breathed. My panties were soaked, my pussy slick and throbbing.
“You do it to me too, babe. Right now I'm as hard as can be. A ten on the diamond scale of hardness.”
Heels clicking on the wooden floors alerted me that someone was approaching. “Jade, honey—” I withdrew my hand as soon as I heard my mother’s voice.
“Ryder, my mother is coming down the hallway. I’ll call you after I've had a bath, okay?”
He didn’t sound happy. “Fuck. You’re leaving me with a raging fucking hard-on, babe.”
Without apology, I turned my phone off and sat up as Mom entered my room. I didn’t know what to do with my wet finger, so I stuck it in my mouth. My mother raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. I kept sucking my finger, afraid she’d be able to smell my juices otherwise. Awkward didn’t even begin to describe it.
She placed the tea on the bedside table. “Thanks Mom,” I said, giving her a hug with one arm only.
She shook her head and left, closing the door behind her.
*****
When I emerged from the bath, my phone rang, so I wrapped the towel around me and ran to the bed to grab it.