Page 105 of Renegade Rift

MERCER: Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the trip.

MERCER: No, I don't want to talk about it.

FORD: Seriously?

SOPHIA: After all this time, that’s all we get?! Three bullshit texts. Ford is working his ass off to help you, and I’m single handedly assuring you don’t starve.

MERCER: And I didn’t ask either of you to help me.

FORD: You don’t have to.

FORD: That’s what you do for people you care about.

MERCER: And maybe that’s the problem. You assume everyone wants your help and then owes you for it.

MERCER: Talk after the hearing.

FORD: Fine

CHATPER THIRTY-SIX

FORD

Let this be a lesson to people everywhere: Don’t text when you’re angry.

Also, don’t leave the gorgeous woman in your arms to do so.

I didn’t heed my own advice, and now I’m sitting here spinning my wheels, trying to figure out where the hell I went wrong. I’m also wondering if I can slip back into bed without Juliet noticing I was ever gone.

My brain hurts.

To be fair, this probably needed to happen on all fronts. I shouldn’t have stayed in bed with Juliet as long as I did. It only served to make me want to have her in my arms every night and wake up to her soft little snores.

And starting that group chat with Mercer and Soph was a long time coming. We needed the opportunity to call each other out. Even if I disagree wholeheartedly with his observations.

We want what’s best for him. To help make the transition from Chicago to New York a smooth one. We want him to know he’s not alone, especially after everyone bailed on him and allowed the court of public opinion to reign supreme.

I just don’t understand how any of that could be seen as a bad thing.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

Juliet’s voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance up to where she’s standing on the other side of the kitchen island.

She’s a fucking vision in a pair of sleep shorts and an oversized Blues t-shirt she very clearly stole from the closet in the guest room. Not that I mind. She looks good wearing me. Especially when she’s without a bra with her nipples on display just below the team logo.

“Yeah,” I mutter, willing my cock to behave. “Everything’s fine. Why?”

“It’s just when I walked out here you didn’t even look up, and you were staring at your phone like—” she gasps. “What happened to your phone?”

I glance down at the still shattered screen and then over at where her demon spawn of a cat has jumped up on the island. “It fell off the counter. But I already ordered another one. It should come in later today.”

Lodhi meows and I hope he recognizes I just kept him from getting a scolding.

“Oh, good.” Juliet rounds the island and opens the upper cupboard where we keep the cat food.

As she rolls onto her tiptoes and reaches for it, my eyes drift to the spot where ass cheeks peek out from her shorts and give way to her long tan legs. I’m fully aware I should offer to help her, but the view of her padding around my kitchen, doing mundane tasks and showing off hints of my favorite body parts is infinitely helping my mood.

My thoughts drift to last night and the sight of her naked, writhing above me as she rode my mouth to what looked like a top ten orgasm.

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