Under the Billionaire's Shelter - Jamie Knight Page 0,7
the slugger resting casually on my shoulder.
They nearly crawled over each other trying to get back to the rickety old stairs and up into the empty sun-dappled streets.
“Was it something I said?”
Chapter Five - Brigid
I could have fucked him right there on the floor of the record store. I really thought he was going to be a fling, just a bit of fun, but my feelings were telling me something quite different.
He was so funny and sexy I could already barely stand it. The fact that he was also protective and really good with Polly was the absolute clincher. I hadn’t even managed to go on a date since my ex walked out, most guys running a mile when they found out I was a single mom. It was as if some of them thought I was wearing a sign saying “damaged goods” from that point on.
I was still buzzing when I got home, Polly already fast asleep from all the excitement. I still didn’t know exactly what Leif’s intentions were, but I certainly knew what I wanted them to be if I had any say in it. Preferably to go straight into the bedroom when the lockdown was over. His or mine, it really made no difference.
“Liff?” Polly asked, as I put her in her crib.
“He’s gone, honey.”
“Oh,” she said, taking it better than I might have expected.
She really was quite mature for her age.
Singing Polly to sleep with folk songs so old no one knows who wrote them originally, I slipped out of the nursery and went into the kitchen, feeling the urge to strip down to nothing. Suddenly I knew what the poets were talking about when they described ‘fire on her skin.’
Forgoing water or even juice, I went straight for the wine again, promising myself I would pay Meegan back, not even caring if she gave me shit for drinking it. I had nerves to quell, and in that moment, it wasn’t important in my eyes.
The sweet fermented grapes hit the back of my throat with a burn, almost making me moan with pleasure and relief. I wanted so much to play with myself, but somehow it didn’t feel right doing it without Leif’s permission and guidance. After all, he was the one who made me feel this way.
Not that I really thought he would care. He didn’t strike me as the controlling type. He just seemed to understand me so well, given that what happened on video chat was as far as I had ever really gone with indulging my submissive nature. At least, with a partner that actually knew what it was that I was doing. Leif was gentle and had known what I wanted.
Meegan was gone by the next morning, even though she had come in late the night before. I often wondered when she even slept.
I had heard rumors of medical professionals crashing in break rooms, or even in empty ward beds between shifts. One of the many reasons I would never be heard complaining about being in lockdown. I knew that it could be so much worse.
Polly was calling for me. Quiet but clear, even through the door that separated us. I went to get her up.
“What would you like for breakfast?” I asked, getting Polly into her highchair.
“Baby thakths!”
Realizing she had said “baby shakes” and not “baby cakes,” I tried to fathom how I could whip up such a concoction. Meegan had a blender, of course. She basically subsisted on a liquid diet, cooked food taking time and energy she just didn’t have.
What Leif had actually put into his special smoothie to get her to drink it down so fast, I hadn’t the foggiest. I decided to wing it, grabbing bananas and whatever fruits I could find and shoving them in the blender, hoping the result would pass Polly’s taste test.
“Yummy!” she exclaimed, declaring her approval. Rarely had I ever been so relieved.
Bellies full, we went for a walk. It was healthy for both of us - exercise for me and additions to her vocabulary for Polly. Most of the urban wildlife was pretty tame. I could only hope it would be a good long while before she had occasion to learn the word “skunk.”
I thought I was dreaming. There was no way he was actually there. Riding his bike. Dressed much the same as he had been before, except with a much less scary shirt. He smiled at us almost as though he had been expecting to see us.