Page 24 of Sweet Dreams

“It’s a little liquid, Teagan. No worries. Get home and feel better.”

Silas steers me toward the door, never letting me go. But instead of hanging a left toward my shop, he turns right.

“Where are we going? The shop is the other way.”

“I’m taking you home.”

“This isn’t the way to my house, Silas.”

He tucks my head closer to his chest. “My house is closer, and you need the sleep. If you want, I can check on the shop.”

“Nancy stopped by; that’s why I have a headache. I swear the karma bus will take that witch out one day, and I’ll be watching from the sidelines, eating my popcorn and enjoying the show.”

“Come on, my little psycho pants, let's get you some meds and into bed before you plan the murder for everyone in this town.”

“Not everyone, one particular person, Silas. You have no idea what shit I went through so far this morning. God, I hate that woman.”

“It’s alright, Dimples. Don’t drown in anger. It’ll only ruin you.” He brushes my hair to the side, and I notice a grim look on his face. When he spots me watching, he smiles.

“Don’t worry about me, Teagan. That’s a life I left behind. Stop talking, or you’ll make your headache worse; a few more blocks and we’re at my place. How you feeling?”

I give him a thumbs up, but in reality, my head wants to explode, and I want to tear it off my shoulders and kick it across the road.

He chuckles. “Come on, I’ve got a bed with your name on it.”

At this point, I don’t care whose bed it is. I need to lie down. Even though I can’t afford to be away from the shop, what if Nancy returns and rains down on everything. John will be left to the wolf, and then what? This isn’t how I pictured my day going. All this stress has finally caught up to me when I can’t afford it.

Walking back into Silas’s place feels natural. His house is minimalist—white walls without pictures, no décor in sight. For one person, a couch and loveseat in the living room seems to be a lot. Heguides me up the stairs to where his bedroom is. A bed and a dresser, nothing more.

“Is this thing made out of clouds?” I lay starfish on his bed, making a snow angel in his sheets before finding a comfortable spot.

“Ah, memory foam. Here, take these.” He hands me two white pills and a glass of water. I stare at them for a second. “Don’t worry, they are only Tylenol, I swear. Want me to get the bottle to show you?”

“No, I trust you. Thanks again, Sunshine.” I swallow the pills and close my eyes. The warmth of the blanket wraps around me.

“Rest, Dimples. I’ll be here when you wake up.” His lips brush across my forehead.

I roll onto my side and breathe Silas's woodsy scent before falling into a deepsleep.

Last night was fucking hot. I can’t believe Teagan would let a stranger do something like that to her, let alone touch her in public. I can’t get the thought of her moans out of my head. The way her ass moved across my cock, fuck. It’s no wonder I came in my boxers like a teenager. I can’t believe I did that. There’s no coming back from that. How am I supposed to tell her the truth after all that? I had to fight the urge to pull both our pants down and fuck the living hell out of her.

But I don’t want some masked man to be the first to fuck her; I want it to be me. I can only hope she doesn’t kick me out of her life when the truth comesout. I should’ve stopped before my heart fell for her because the last thing I expected was for her to be sleeping in my bed.

I should've seen that coming with Nancy. She needs to be brought down a peg or two. She’s like a dog with a bone. Nancy won’t rest until everything is buried. I’m nearly tempted to dial up Leroy and have him scare the shit out of her. But call me spontaneous because I'm feeling a tad impulsive right now.

I check on Teagan again, ensuring she’s asleep before heading to the kitchen. I’ll probably regret this phone call later but right now. I’m pissed off. I’ve never used this burner phone so much in one month as I have right now.

“Blackwell. Missed me already? I am hard to forget.”

“Shut it. I need your help.” Those words taste like shit falling from my mouth.

“Hold up. Can you say those last words one more time? It sounded like you needed some assistance. The same person who never listens or asks for anything suddenly needs help?”

I tap my forehead with the phone. “Are you going to listen or not?”

“Shoot.”

“There’s this lady.” Ibegin.