Lyriope stumbles back, taking several moments to gather herself and pull up her pants and panties. She’s breathing hard, her lip is quivering, and I can smell her arousal thick in the air.
She wants more.
I can feel it. I can nearly taste the sweet and musky flavor of her sex. And I can see it in the way her face is flushed and her eyes needy.
“Now, let’s call your brother first,” I say, getting back on task. I dial the number that I have and put the phone on speaker.
A still shaken and stunned Lyriope simply stands as I do so. It takes the sound of her brother’s voice answering the phone for her to snap out of the nearly hypnotized daze she’s under.
“Dylan?” she squeaks, staring at the phone speaker as if she can actually see her brother staring back at her. “Are you okay?”
“Lyriope! Where are you? Are you alright?” Dylan’s voice rapid fires back.
“I’m fine. I’m”—her eyes shoot to mine for a split second—“I’m safe.”
“What the fuck is going on? Men arrived at my school and—”
“Dylan,” I interrupt. “This is Nick Hudson. I’m sure you’ve been brought up to speed on who I am, what my intentions are with your sister, and how I’ve chosen to help you both out.”
I hear Dylan clear his voice on the other end, realizing he’s on speaker phone and I can hear him. “Yes, sir. I’m aware.”
“Your sister needs to know that you are well and all is good,” I say calmly but with a firmness in my tone to remind Dylan of just who I am and what I expect.
“I’m fine, Lyriope,” Dylan says quickly. “Mr. Hudson has arranged for me to go to…” he pauses. “I’m in a secret location and have been given an internship of a lifetime.”
Lyriope glances at me. “Why can’t he tell me where he is?”
“For his safety,” I counter. I give her a warning look and pick up the pen that was just lodged in her ass.
“Don’t worry about me,” Dylan says. “I’m just worried about you. How could Mom and that shithead get you in this situation? I told you to stay out of their mess.”
“You know I’ve never been able to,” she mumbles, looking down at her feet as she does.
“And look where that’s landed you, and me. And let me guess… Mom and her loser are off living their life with no consequences?”
“They left to explore a new business opportunity. Or at least that’s what they told me before they packed up and left,” she says, avoiding my stare.
“Good. Keep it that way. She’s never been a mother to us, and this last stunt proves it. The fact that you and I have to be ripped out of our lives in order to be protected”—I hear him release a deep breath—“promise me that you’re done with them.”
She doesn’t answer right away, and by the way her nose crinkles and her brow furrows, I can see it pains her to have this discussion and exploring the idea of walking away from her mother forever.
“Promise me,” he pushes.
She sighs loudly.
“Lyriope, it’s time you put yourself first for a change. You can’t always take care of her. She’s a fucking mess and pulling us down with her. It’s time we break the chain.” He pauses and when Lyriope doesn’t answer, he continues with, “Where are they now?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she finally says, shaking her head as if Dylan can see her. “I just care that you’re safe.”
“I am. What about you?”
Lyriope looks at me with her sad eyes and nods. “I’m in a secure location as well.”
I decide the conversation needs to come to an end. I don’t like seeing Lyriope like this. It’s like she’s beaten down when it comes to discussing her mother. She almost appears tired rather than just sad. Regardless of what she’s feeling, I don’t like it and feel the need to step in to end it.
“I’ll have Lyriope call again soon,” I say, placing my finger over the button to end the call.
“I love you,” Lyriope quickly says.
“I love you,” Dylan replies before I disconnect the call.
“Okay, now we call Sasha,” I say, growing impatient with all this technical housekeeping I promised. I understand her need, and I gave my word, but this little Hallmark movie is like fingers down a chalkboard to me. “Make it quick. We’ve both been up for… a long time. It’s time for bed.”
Though I doubt I can fall asleep as easily as my body demands, I know that Lyriope needs her rest as well.
“That was too quick of a call with my brother,” she says, her jaw locked, and her eyes narrow. “And you didn’t need to be in on the conversation. I understand your rules and I don’t need you hovering over me to make sure they’re followed.”