Chapter Eleven
The hard bang from the front door jolted him awake. “Levi,” Mom called out.
Mildly hungover from that bad habit he needed to break, he looked around for Cayden’s sexy ass. He found no trace of her anywhere. He hoped she didn’t show up somewhere naked in front of his mom. Since his parents witnessed their last and most damaging fight, he didn’t want them to watch his fall from the wagon again.
“Levi!” Struggling to move, he snatched his sweats off the floor. Every ounce of energy had been drained from him. Only an hour into sleep, he needed to get rid of his mom fast.
“Good morning, sunshine,” she sang in greeting as he raced down the stairs. She was decked out in her Sunday’s best. “Do you want to go to church with me?”
“No,” he flat out said before he brushed a kiss past her cheek. “I can’t believe you’re up this early.” Levi gave his house a cursory once over and found no physical trace of Cayden anywhere. Her clothes from last night were gone, but the bottle of Riesling still lay on the floor.
“That’s a shame, we could have fun.”
Using his foot, he pushed the bottle into the sitting room, then turned his mother around to block her view. “I doubt it.”
“Cayden’s coming.”
“What?” he asked, confused about his mother’s mental health. “There’s no way you got her to go to church with you.”
“Why not?” Cayden asked outside his screen door. Dressed in a floral number, she’d tied her hair up in a sweet ponytail. He had no idea how she found the time to get ready, but she played her dutiful daughter role perfectly.
Dressed for Sunday school, even he believed the church wouldn’t burn down once she stepped in to it.
“That award’s ceremony must have worn you out. Did you get enough sleep?” She opened the door and walked into the house. “You look tired.”
“Some of us have to get at least a couple of hours to function.” Levi stared at her pointedly.
“Give me a second, Cayden. I have to get the Jell-O mold out of the fridge,” Mom said
“What the… Why is that abomination in my house?”
“Our refrigerator is on the fritz and yours has more space, dear!” Mom screamed on her way to the kitchen. “Besides, I didn’t want your father to eat the Jell-O salad.”
“After all those filthy things you did to me, you really should go to church,” Cayden whispered.
“Do you think she dropped off that Jell-O concoction when I was sucking your clit last night?” he challenged.
“Probably around the fourth orgasm. My screams weren’t that strong by then.”
His cock grew instantly hard, and he cursed the missed opportunity to take her against the wall.
“Did you convince him to get dressed, honey?” His mother came back cradling the dessert that induced plenty of his childhood nightmares.
“Of course not. It’s just so hard to make him come … ow!” Cayden stepped out of his reach. “Did you just pinch me?” She grabbed the spot on her arm where he twisted her skin. Nothing like the doozies he scored from his aunts growing up, but he definitely needed to make her pie hole.
“Levi! Don’t be angry at Cayden for being the good egg. You should be by joining your mother for worship.”
No matter what, his parents would always take her side. Regardless of her saving the family business, she still would have had them wrapped around her pinky finger—a lot like she did with everyone else.
“Come on, Cayden.” Mom sniffed.
Before the beauty could follow his mom out the door, Levi caught her arm. “I know what you’re doing,” he whispered.
“Uh, yeah … I’m going to church.” She reached toward his forehead. “Do we need to get you checked?”
He grasped her hand. “You’re using my mom to ask questions about Shana,” he hissed.
“That’s because you told me I couldn’t. Do you need to see a doctor? You seem to be forgetting a lot of stuff lately.”
“I also told you to stop investigating this one, but that doesn’t seem to matter.” He glanced over her head at his mom.
“Everyone will open up to Lydia and no one will be the wiser.” Cayden turned to leave.
Without letting her go, he brought her hand to his lips and planted a kiss to her palm. “Be careful,” he told her.
Cayden gave him one of her megawatt smiles. “Always.” Her eyebrow twitched at her lie.
She slipped out of the house to his protest. In all honesty, he worried about her, even when he resented the shit out of her.