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Right now, I don’t want to think about Dr. Reynolds.
I just want to go home and be with my family.
CHAPTER TEN
Oakland
When we pull up to the house, I'm surprised to see Mila and Morgan playing in the front yard with Knox's old lady, G.
Noticing my confusion, Thorn squeezes my hand gently and says, “I called G on my way to pick you up and asked her to pick up the girls from school. I figured you might need some time to decompress.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his cheek. Having people to pitch in and help out isn’t something I’m used to.
As soon as we step out of the truck, the girls come running. “Mommy!” Morgan cries as Mila shouts for her dad’s attention, “Daddy!”
I scoop Morgan up into my arms, hugging her tightly as Mila wraps herself around Thorn's legs.
“Hey, baby girl. Did you have a good day at school?" I ask, giggling when I hear Thorn asks Mila the same thing.
“Yes,” the girls answer in unison as G approaches, concern showing in her eyes. “Everything okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, just—” I nod down at the girls and widen my eyes, signaling it’s not something I want the girls to hear about. “Work stuff. And thank you for picking them up from school.”
G waves off my thanks. “Anytime, babe. That's what family's for.” She squeezes my arm before turning to the girls. “Alright, munchkins. Let's load up in Auntie G’s truck and go pick up the boys. They’ve been driving me crazy about wanting to go to the go-cart track. What do y’all think? Should we take them?”
Another wave of gratitude washes over me when the girls start bouncing on their toes and shouting how they want to ride go-carts too as they race off towards her Suburban.
Thorn wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me close as we watch G and the girls climb in her truck and drive away. “Come on, baby. Let's get you inside.”
“Yeah,” I agree, following him into the house.
Once we're in the bedroom, Thorn kicks our door closed, sits me down on the bed, and kneels in front of me. I can see the concern on his face and it’s killing me. I feel like I’ve brought so much turmoil into his life.
“Talk to me, Oakland. What happened?”
I pull in a deep breath, steeling myself. “It’s Dr. Reynolds.” My eyes drop to my clasped hands on my lap, “He's been making me uncomfortable for a while now, but today was different. Today,” I shake my head, “he cornered me in the supply closet and theway he was looking at me,” I lift my head and lock eyes with his, “I could see how unhinged he was and then he tried to touch me, called me his love, said we’d be good together.”
Thorn drops his face into my lap, his head shaking back and forth. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Thorn, no,” I plead, cupping his face and lifting it up so I can look him in the eyes. “That's not the answer. I'm going to report him tomorrow.”
His eyes search mine for a long minute. “I need you to listen closely, Oakland. We’ll do this your way, but if this motherfucker persists after you make your complaint, I’m handling it my way.”
I lean forward, resting my forehead against his. “Okay.”
I don’t like it, but I know this is how things work in his world and I’m trying to respect that.
He pulls back slightly, his eyes boring into mine. “You’re mine, baby, and whether you realize it or not, that means something.”
My cheeks warm at his possessiveness. I know it goes against all things feminism, but belonging to Thorn makes me feel safe, and protected.
“I love you,” I whisper.
Thorn’s face finally relaxes, a small grin forming on his lips as he pulls me closer for a kiss.
When we finally break apart, both of us breathless, he rests his forehead against mine. “I love you too, baby. So, fucking much.”
I close my eyes as he captures my lips again, his tongue exploring my mouth.
