40. Charleigh

FORTY

CHARLEIGH

I blinked my eyes open to dark eyes staring back.

"Rise and shine, Char-Bug. It's about time you woke up. I've been sitting here poking you in the arm for the last fifteen minutes, and you didn't even budge. I'd think you'd be a little more excited to see me, but I guess you were probably hoping to be waking up to a different Tayte."

Raven wagged her brows where she lay beside me with her hands curled under her cheek, blinking wide and teasing.

I couldn't help the groggy laugh as I sat up and pushed back the matted mess of hair from my face. "No way. You're way prettier than him."

Raven sat up, too, fighting a smile. "Obviously."

Then her expression deepened. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Memories of the night before flash-fired through my mind. River kissing me. His head between my thighs. His cock in my mouth.

A burn erupted on my skin, though my stomach squeezed with the emptiness of walking away.

"Tired," I told her.

Tired of running.

Tired of being alone.

Tired of this fight that I knew I'd have to wage for the rest of my life.

Her nod was perceptive. "I get it, my sweet little Char-Bug."

My lips tweaked at the edge. "Tell me you aren't going to keep on with that."

"Um, hello, of course, I am. You should have seen yourself last night while you were sleeping. All doe-like and dreamy with these little noises you make. Talk about adorbs. But you might have also mumbled a few…words."

She slipped off the side of the bed and stretched her arms overhead.

"Do I even want to ask?"

"Well, one word," she corrected with an emphatic bite to her bottom lip as she turned back around to look at me.

"What one word?"

"River."

I groaned.

"Well, I'm not saying it was my brother's name you were saying," she said, fully razzing. "I mean, there are a lot of really gorgeous rivers around here and you might have been dreaming about canoeing or fishing or doing something outdoorsy like that. You know, since you like hiking so much."

I choked out a laugh. Of course, she would rub that in. Then she really started rubbing it in. "Okay, let's be real here. It was totally my brother's name."

She started moaning. "River, oh River. Give it to me."

"Oh my God, stop," I begged, my hands covering my face, voice rippling with both embarrassment and amusement.

"River," she sang as she spun around in a circle. "Come to me, you beast of a man."

"You are so ridiculous," I choked as I chucked a pillow at her.

It struck her in the chest, and she cracked up before she came shimmying back to the bed. She stuck out both hands. "Come on, we need to get a move on. You're going to be late for work. "

Reluctance hummed in my spirit. I hadn't even considered going into work. Part of me had believed I'd be two states over by now, leaving their house the way I had last night.

Terrified and determined.

Now, I had no idea where I stood.

I finally accepted her hand and let her haul me off the bed.

"I'm going to brew some coffee," she said like it was her place rather than mine, not that I minded.

I liked it that she was comfortable.

That she didn't tiptoe.

My chest squeezed with the truth.

I liked her.

So much.

She headed out the door, shouting behind her as she went into the kitchen. "Do you mind if I borrow something to wear? I need to be downstairs in the shop in about thirty. My supplier will be banging at the back door, wondering where I am."

I could hear the clatter of the coffee carafe and water running, her voice still carrying through the space. "Seriously, thank God it's Friday, though, am I right? This girl is ready for the weekend and some fun. We're hitting Kane's tomorrow night for a little family celebration. Everyone is going to be there. Our friends from Redemption Hills are making the trip."

Her excitement traveled the motes that danced in the air. "Even Cash is going to be there, which means it's something special. Seriously, the guy doesn't come down from that cabin but a couple times a year. When I call him a recluse, he is a recluse . Love that grumbly bear with all my heart, though, so I totally know you're going to love him, too."

My head spun with what she was implying.

Like she just expected me to…go back.

My heart hurt where it pushed at my chest, that aching throb begging me to do it.

But how could I give in that way? Because I was sure River wasn't going to let it go.

Raven's voice broke through the spiral of my thoughts again, though this time, she was closer. "God, he is so hot, isn't he? Of course, he considers me his baby sister, which I personally think is gross since I really want him to put his dick in me."

Um what?

I scrambled out of the room to find her standing at the French doors that overlooked the street below.

I eased up behind her so I could peer out over the street.

Otto was out there, leaned against the wall of a building on the opposite side, a boot kicked to the bricks and his hands casually shoved in his pockets. The beast of a man appeared as if he didn't have a care in the world with the easy grins he kept tossing at people who passed him on the sidewalk.

"What's he doing out there?"

Raven glanced at me where I'd sidled up to her. "You didn't think my brother was going to send us off without protection, did you? But he knew you needed space, and he definitely needed to cool off himself, so he sent Otto."

My chest clutched. "Has he been out there all night?"

Raven looked at me as if I was still having trouble catching up.

Obviously, I was.

"Of course, Charleigh. It's what they do. And judging by the way River was looking at you last night? I'm pretty sure he's never going to stop watching over you."

She turned and headed back into my room as if the world wasn't spinning around us. She yanked open my closet door and dragged out a summer dress. "Oh, this is so cute! Don't mind if I do."

I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, so I only told her, "Don't think we're not going to talk about this Otto thing," as I crossed my room to the bathroom and shut the door behind me before I started to peel myself out of my sweats and tank so I could get into the shower.

I turned on the faucet to Raven shouting, "Don't act like you need to twist my arm, Charleigh. Otto is my very favorite subject."