“You need to calm your shit. You’re making me nervous, and it’s not gonna help both of us being nervous.”
I know Tylan’s right, but I can’t help it. I feel like if I don’t keep fixing stuff, making sure things are clean and as they should be around the house, I’ll start to freak. This is a big step, huge for Tylan and I don’t want to be the one who messes it up for him. I don’t want Maggie to see how scared I am. Making her want to take these two kids and hightail it out of here. “I want everything to be right.”
“They’re fucking kids, not royalty. This house is like a fucking palace compared to what they’re used to, I’m sure.” He takes my hands from fluffing the pillows…again. Turning so that I’m facing him, he brings his hands up, cupping my face, and gives me a slight smile. “We’ve got this.” He pulls me closer to him, placing his lips to my forehead. “The kids are gonna love it.”
“What if they don’t?”
“If they don’t, then fuck ’em.”
“Tylan!” I smack his hand from my face.
“I say it because they’re going to be grateful for everything you’re doing for them. And if they aren’t then I’ll beat it into ’em.” He gives me a joking smirk, and his crudeness actually settles my nerves.
I suck in a breath when I hear the doorbell ring, breaking our little pep talk session. Tylan’s eyes find mine; I see the uncertainty in them. No matter the jokes he tells me, the smart remarks he delivers, he’s more scared than I am. He’s doing this for me, not for him, and I need to be strong. I need to be the rock when he’s the one likely to crumble. Family is a sore subject for him, and if it weren’t for me, these kids would have been sucked into the system, and he wouldn’t have thought twice about them.
Tylan pulls open the door, and upon hearing the commotion, Goober comes scampering from down the hall and stops at my feet. “There’s a puppy!” Roxy squeals as she runs into the house, completely ignoring her uncle and me. She plops herself on her bottom as Goober jumps at her, licking her face. Her laughs and seeing the happiness on her face make all my worries dissolve.
When I pull my eyes from Roxy, I see Maggie, Ryder, and Tylan all standing there watching the exchange. Tylan swallows as he sees his niece interact with my dog and I can’t help but wonder what’s going through this mind. Ryder, on the other hand, looks as though he wants to be anywhere, but here and I know that we’ll have a hard and long road ahead of us when it comes to him and his ‘I hate the world’ attitude. I understand, though. He’s been dealt a crappy hand and it seems to only get crappier by the day. I hope that we can change that.
“Do you guys have any questions for us?” I ask the kids as soon as Maggie leaves.
Everything went according to plan, or so she said as we spoke briefly on the front porch. We did a walkthrough of the house; we showed the kids their rooms, where I’ll be sleeping and where Tylan will be sleeping. Roxy loved her room. She said she’s never seen anything like it. Ryder, on the other hand, didn’t hate his room, but he didn’t say he liked it either. He just dropped what little he had in his possession on the bed and followed by dropping himself on the bed as well.
Maggie has taken it upon herself to enroll the kids in the local school. Both will be attending the elementary school that’s two blocks over. Tylan wasn’t too happy about it. He thinks the kids are going to have a hard time making friends with it being the middle of the school year and didn’t want them to have to deal with all of that. He thought since I was going to school to teach, that I could teach them here at the house and avoid all the judgment that the kids will more than likely experience with being in a new school and all. But Maggie and I both agreed that they need to be social, and going to school with kids their own age will be the best way to accomplish that.
“Can Goober sleep with me?” Roxy asks. She has insisted on carrying him around like a baby, and he hasn’t minded at all.
“No,” Tylan answers before I can get my answer in.
Her little lip quivers as her eyes fill with tears. “Why not?”
“The thing probably has fleas, Rox.”
My eyes cut to Ryder. “No, he doesn’t,” I address him firmly.
I bend down to meet Roxy eye to eye. I don’t want her intimidated or feel scared for asking her question. I don’t want either of these kids to think they can’t talk to us. Well, at least to me since it seems that Tylan is going to be a little bit overwhelming to approach until they feel comfortable with him.
“Because, sweetie, he has his own bed in the living room. He likes it there, so that’s where he sleeps.”
“Oh.” Her little voice is faint. She sounds so defeated. I look up to Tylan for help since he’s just standing there.
“I’ll move his bed into your room. But you gotta keep your door open so he can go outside in the middle of the night if he needs to.” Tylan’s resolution has my shoulders relax a little.
“Okay, deal!” Roxie says with a smile.
The kids have been asleep for a couple of hours now, and the house is quiet. Tylan, normally a night owl, turned in shortly after the kids did. I know today was emotional for him. I can only imagine the thoughts that were going through his mind the entire night. His life is a complete one-eighty now, so far from where he thought he would be.
Cracking my bedroom door open, I stick my head out to listen for any sounds. I’m worried that Roxy is going to wake up, scared. I feel for that little girl. Padding quietly down the hall, I push through Roxy’s door. Her head is on her pillow while she clutches one of the baby dolls Savannah got her in her arms. She’s kicked her legs free of the blankets. I bring the covers over her body and place a kiss on her cheek, leaving her room as quietly as I entered it.
I notice Ryder’s door is now open. We put small night lights in each of the rooms to make sure the kids can see if they need to. The soft glow of Ryder’s room reveals that he’s taken down some, but not all of the posters Tylan has hung up. Knowing that we kind of got it right makes me feel like we’re going in the right direction.
As I turn my back to leave, I see a small movement, and Goober pops his head up from beneath the covers. He wiggles his little body, causing Ryder to adjust and bring him closer to his chest. Goober lies his head back down without so much as a fight.
“What are you doing, Sugar Tits?”
Jumping, I let out a small squeak. Spinning around, I smack Tylan on the chest. “You scared the crap out of me. Why would you do that?” My voice is a rough whisper. “That’s so not nice.”
He silently laughs, his bare chest heaves with amusement. “You had that one coming.”
“Oh yeah.” I run my hands up his abdomen, my nails raking across his skin. The growl coming from his throat fuels my desire. Lifting myself to the tips of my toes, I snake my arms around his neck, bringing his lips to mine.
Instantly, he’s hard. I can feel his stiffness against my stomach. Pushing me up against the hall wall, right next to Ryder’s room, he deepens our kiss. “Fuck yeah.” He whispers against my lips.
I let out a soft whimper as his fingers push into my panties. My body’s on fire for him. He works his fingers in and out of me with precision, knowing just where to stroke to bring me pleasure. An orgasm hits will full force, causing my knees to weaken. I can feel his lips curl into a smile behind his kiss. You’d think I’d be satisfied, but my orgasm only fuels my desire to be with him, to feel him slide into me…
But not this time. Not right now.
Pushing against his chest, he takes a step back. He’s panting, lips pink and swollen. “Good night, Tylan.” I pat his chest, stepping around him.
“What the fuck?” he says a little too loud for my liking.
I look over my shoulder. “It’s called payback for today.” I give him a little wink, closing my bedroom door behind me.