Page 22 of Love Set Me Free

She felt his eyes on her, but she didn’t say anything more, prompting him to finally speak. “No problem.”

He subtly placed his hand on her knee before starting the car. She cringed slightly and shifted out of his reach, ready to forget this whole lunch date ever happened.

It’d had been a draining day for Kydrick, both emotionally and physically, and the only thing he wanted to do was see Paisley and hang out with her to unwind.

When he pulled up to her job to pick her up, he was surprised to see her already standing outside the building. His plan had been that he was going to go inside and get her. He was excited at the thought of a smile spreading across her face when he popped up in her office, but it seemed Paisley had other plans.

When she saw him pull up, he noticed a frown on her pretty face and immediately figured she had a rough first day back at work. That worried him because he had some things to talk to her about tonight, but he would check her temperature first. If he needed to make sure she relaxed and had a smooth night instead of tackling some of the emotional baggage he came with, then he would. Before he could get out and open her door for her, she snatched it open herself and slid in without a word.

“Now you know I open the doors around here,” Kydrick said, trying to lighten the mood some by adding a teasing tone to his voice.

She grunted and then muttered, “Can we just go home, please?”

“Hey. What’s wrong, Pooh? I need to beat someone up?” He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, and he noticed her red-rimmed eyes. His brows pulled together, but before he could ask what was wrong again, she pulled away from him and looked out the window.

“Please, Kydrick.” Her voice sounded so low that he almost missed what she said, but he didn’t, and he heard the pleading in her voice.

Instead of pushing her, he decided to get her home and get to the bottom of her mood once they were there.

After pulling away from her job, he drove in complete silence, trying to come up with a plan to turn Paisley’s mood around while thinking about everything that happened today. His mind felt heavy, but his priority was to make sure Paisley was okay.

When they finally pulled up to her house, she opened her door and got out before he could even shut the car off. That caused his brows to pull together, but he took a deep breath so he wouldn’t get upset. If he didn’t know any better, he felt like she was pissed off at him for reasons completely unknown to him.

With a sigh, he turned the car off and got out, trudging up to the front door, which she left unlocked and open for him.

After stepping inside, he removed his shoes and went to the living room to see if Paisley was in there. She wasn’t, so he moved around the lower level of the home before concluding that she must be in her room. That was a sign that she wanted some space, but she had the wrong one for that. Kydrick wasready to get to the bottom of her attitude so they could unwind because that was all he desired at the moment.

Kydrick took two steps at a time up to the second floor and his long legs made quick work of making it to her bedroom. After knocking a couple of times and not hearing a response, he opened the door and poked his head in.

His jaw clenched when he saw Paisley lying on her bed and scrolling on her phone. She had stripped down to her panties and a tank top, and his dick immediately stiffened. He wondered if he should give her some privacy or step further into the room. The last time he saw her with such little clothing on was when they were teens, swimming at the lake. Paisley and Janelle always wore matching bikinis, but his eyes had been for Janelle at the time. Now, he couldn’t understand why. Janelle was pretty, but Paisley… she was breathtaking.

“What, Kydrick?”

Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts as he stayed stuck in the doorway. His face frowned up at the tone of her voice, and he decided to go further into the room instead of leaving her alone, because at that point, she had him fucked up, and she had to know it too.

With quick strides, he walked over to the bed and pulled her up so she sat facing his chest. With his strong hand, he gripped her chin and forced her to look into his eyes.

“The fuck is yo’ problem?”

This tone was one he tried hard to keep in his past. In prison, he had to take on a hardened tone and demeanor to survive. He never wanted to show this side to Paisley or be this way around her, but his emotions were already heightened for the day, and her attitude didn’t help. Here he was hoping to come home to her and take solace in her safe space, but she wasn’t trying to give that to him, and he didn’t understand why.

“Move, Kydrick,” she uttered, trying to pull away from him.

“Nah. Tell me what yo’ problem is. What I do to you?”

She glared up at him, and he saw tears gathering in her eyes. That alarmed him because although he asked the question, he really didn’t think he had done anything to her.

“I saw you today… with Janelle.”

Kydrick’s brows raised as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. He planned on talking to Paisley about that tonight. This was not how he wanted to have the conversation. He sighed and then sat down on the bed beside her.

“She got in contact with me last night. I guess one of the parents or someone gave her my phone number. She asked if we could have lunch so she could clear the air. I said yes, and I planned on telling you all about it tonight.”

Paisley crossed her arms over her perky breasts and looked out the large window in her room. Finally, she blew out a long breath and looked at Kydrick.

“I wish you would have told me beforehand.”

“I understand that, but I didn’t really know what she was going to say, so instead of leaving you with that anxiety all day, I decided to get all the information and then tell you. It was never my intention to keep it from you, Pooh.”

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