She moved her hand higher, let it rest on his hardness. “Good to hear.”
She left her hand there, not pressing down or otherwise increasing the pressure, which made him want her touch more. He’d been so focused on the whirlwind of their marriage, he hadn’t given any thought to their wedding night. But he was ecstatic his wife had more foresight than he did.
He lay back flat and looked at Ariel, who let her hand meander from his erection, up his torso, and then back down. That faint little smile played on her face as she touched him softly, and at the sight of her face, his heart tugged, and his cock went stone solid.
When she tugged at his waistband, he lifted his hips enough that she could maneuver his pants down and then lowered them, his fully engorged cock springing free, no longer confined.
“Ahh,” he moaned when she kissed around the root of his shaft, her lips and warm breath against his sensitized skin making him harden even further.
As she alternated between kissing him and tracing her tongue along the veins that lined his rod, she gripped him tight and moved her hand, working at his shaft and crown with her hand as she again kissed and licked at his base. She worked him in an unpredictable rhythm, increasing the pressure of her hand, the frequency and depth of her licks and kisses, the precum that dribbled from his slit in a steady stream, easing her path.
Ariel’s breath fanned against him, and his skin pulled tight, his hips jerking into her touch. When she licked at a thick vein and then sucked at it with her lips, he couldn’t hold back. Her hand still grasping him tightly, he came, his cum bursting from him in a rush, coating her hand and his stomach.
“That wasn’t so bad for a wedding night, huh?” Ariel said, hand still gripping his shaft.
“Who said it was over?” he replied.
Chapter Seventeen
“I should kick your ass, Thornehill,” Matt said that Saturday evening as he walked into the sheriff’s department.
“You can try, but I’d have to embarrass you and then arrest you.”
“I’d love you to test that out. You couldn’t give me a heads-up, man? You knew Ariel and I were together.”
“Come on, Poole. That doesn't matter. You know I can’t reveal that information,” Cyrus said.
He did, but he couldn’t blast the social worker or Matilda Mallick, so Cyrus would have to do.
“You know it’s crap. Anyone with eyes and no agenda can see that Ariel loves that child and takes excellent care of her.”
Cyrus looked at him sympathetically. “Yeah, we can, but you know we have to investigate. Nothing’s coming of it, so just let Matilda blow off her steam and she’ll settle down.”
Matt knew his friend hadn’t said the name on accident, and Matt took it as an offer of appeasement.
“I heard congratulations are in order,” he said a moment later.
“They are, but it sucks that Matilda and her gang—”
Matt cut off short, remembering that Cyrus’s mother was a member of said gang.
“Uh-huh,” the other man said. “Mason’s?”
“Rain check. I have to grab a few things before I head home.”
Cyrus nodded, and it occurred to Matt that he wasn’t thinking of his house when he said home. He was headed there to pick up a few things, but knew he wouldn’t be at peace until he was back with Ariel and Dani.
••••
A little over a month after the wedding, things had calmed so much that Ariel was finally starting to believe things would be okay. Dani had mentioned missing her grandparents, and she and Matt had talked about trying to set things straight with Matilda so the girl wouldn’t have to suffer. But for the most part, things had gone smoothly, so much so that she missed him when he was not around, and especially those evenings when he manned the hotline overnight. Still, Ariel was happier than she’d been in years.
But when her doorbell chimed, she had the sneaking feeling that the comfort they had found was short-lived. She didn’t recognize the person standing on the porch but she opened the door anyway.
“Ariel Poole?” the man said.
She nodded, and he shoved a piece of paper into her hands. “You have been served,” he said, and then he scurried away.
“Served…?”
Ariel opened the paper and read. The formal-looking document with its legalistic wording had her heart pounding into hyperdrive.
The District Court of Thornehill Springs County, In re. D.M.
The paper, one she now realized was a legal complaint, fluttered out of her hand. How was this even possible? She didn’t know, but it seemed Ariel had relaxed too soon and that Matilda Mallick really did have sway. Because she was suing Ariel for custody of Dani.
Chapter Eighteen
Ariel practically shook with rage. She’d thought Matilda had done her worst, but she had been mistaken, and the thought that that woman had first had the nerve to claim that she was unfit and was now trying to take her daughter from her blinded her to anything but her outrage.
As usual, the Mallicks’ driveway was full, but Ariel didn’t give a crap if the president and first lady were inside, they were going to handle this right now.
Ariel ran up the driveway, her now gently rounded stomach not deterring her in the least, and flung open the front door without bothering to knock. The sound of laughter and animated conversation hit her, only stoking her rage.
She looked at the curio cabinet, barely resisting the impulse to tip it over. Then she glanced down at the shoes next to the doorway and then the little basket with courtesy socks that Matilda kept next to the front door. Tried to imagine her rambunctious daughter living in this stifling environment, surrounded by porcelain and doilies and things she couldn’t touch.
Tried to imagine hard her daughter living anywhere but with her and Matt.
Her heart stopped, her blood turning cold.
“Matilda!” she screamed.
The voices quieted to a low murmur, and Ariel laughed as she pictured the expressions on the women’s faces. She sounded unhinged and in truth she was.
“Ariel! I know you didn’t come in here uninvited and I know you aren’t yelling at me.” Matilda stomped toward Ariel, body rigid, face twisted at the grave offense.
“I did, I am, and I’m going to stay until we hash this out. We can do it here in front of everyone, or we can take this somewhere private. But we will be having this conversation, Matilda. This nonsense has to stop,” Ariel said.
“Well, we agree on something. And it’s just this type of behavior that has me concerned for my granddaughter. You can’t control yourself, so how are you going to set an example for her?”
Ariel thought her head was going to explode. Control herself? Control herself!
“You have to be…” She trailed off when she caught Matilda’s eyes, saw how deeply the woman believed what she was spewing.
It felt like she was someone else, was somewhere else, watching the scene unfold as if it were a movie. And though it was her own body moving, she was surprised at the sight of her hand reaching out, pushing at the curio cabinet filled with the porcelain tea sets that Dani loved so much, pushing it until it fell. It hit the hardwood floor with a resounding clang followed by the shattering of glass.
“Now that we’ve established I can control myself, can we talk?” Ariel said.
Matilda gaped, mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. Ariel could scarcely believe she had done that, but all things considered Matilda was getting off easy.
“Ariel, why don’t we step outside?” she heard someone say. Then she saw Mandy approaching. The other woman was calm, but she couldn’t hide her surprise.
“Hello, Mandy. Matilda and I have some things to discuss.”
“Are we going to discuss how you’re going to pay for that? Are you going to use the blood money you get every month to reimburse me?” Matilda said, voice wavering with the strength of her scorn.
“Blood money?” Ariel repeated, confused.
And then Matilda’s meaning hit her. “The benefits? This is about benefits?”
Matilda approached, stepping over the shattered glass and porcelain on her floor, seeming to have forgotten the other women crowded into the living room watching the scene unfold.
“This is probably all about money to you, but it’s principle to me,” Matilda said, standing close enough that Ariel could smell her noxious perfume. Something else she could chalk up to pregnancy hormones.
“I really think we should talk about this later,” Mandy said, moving around the sofa to approach Ariel.
“There’s nothing to talk about. She’s unfit, and that’s all there is to it,” Matilda said. “And after this, no one will be able to disagree.”
Again Ariel’s hand snaked out as if it had a mind of its own, and before she knew it, she had Matilda’s forearm tight in her grip. The other woman was older, but not at all weak, but Ariel’s rage fueled by years of resentment, strengthened her. She clamped her hand down even tighter, uncaring of any bruises she might leave.
She whispered low in her throat, “Understand this, Matilda, you will not ever,
ever
take my daughter from me.”
She held Matilda’s gaze with hard eyes, and Matilda stared back, eyes equally hard. But as Ariel watched, Matilda transformed in front of her very eyes.
“Oh my God, she’s attacking me! Someone call the police! She broke in and attacked me!” Matilda screamed.
She started flailing and Ariel let her go, and a few seconds later she felt Mandy’s arm around her shoulders, turning her.
“Let’s get you outside,” Mandy said, seeming calm despite the wailing old woman behind her who was now surrounded by her clucking flock of companions. She let herself be led out and then stood on the sidewalk. Mandy kept her arm around her as if she were afraid to let go.
“Don’t worry, Mandy. I’m not going to run back in there and kick her ass, though trust me, I want to,” she said.
“You wouldn’t be the first to want to,” Mandy said, offering up a shy smile.
Ariel laughed, hoping that she didn’t sound as unhinged as she had earlier. But, as the reality of what had just happened hit her, her laughter died in her throat.
“Oh God. This is bad, right?” she asked, turning to Mandy.
The other woman didn’t speak, but Ariel could see her agreement in her face.
“Let’s just wait here,” Mandy said in lieu of an answer. “I’m sure Cyrus will be along any time now.”
Suddenly weak, Ariel lowered herself to the sidewalk, wondering how much worse things were going to get.
Chapter Nineteen
It didn’t take long to find out. The sheriff arrived within five minutes.
“At least he didn’t turn on the siren,” she said wryly, though the humor was inappropriate. This was a bad, bad situation, and what had been intended as a way to talk some sense into Matilda had only served to escalate things.
“Ariel. Mandy,” Cyrus said. “Heard there was some trouble.”
“It’s…”
“It’s fine, Mandy.” Then she turned to Cyrus. “Go talk to Matilda. I’m sure she’ll have everyone, including you, completely convinced I’ve murdered her even though she’s very much alive.”
“You wait here,” Cyrus said, a statement and not a question.
She nodded and then watched as the sheriff lumbered up the porch and went into the house.
The next few minutes felt like an eternity, but Ariel could almost see Matilda spinning her tale, reveling in the attention, excited about the gossip, and elated to be in possession of ammunition, a brick for the wall Matilda was building to prove that Ariel was unfit to take care of her baby girl.
A few minutes later, he returned, his face stony, but the faintest bit of sympathy in his eyes.
“Her arm’s bruised, Ariel. And she says you busted up that cabinet and came in without knocking.”
Ariel said nothing.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cuff you. But I’ll put them on in front.”
And with that, Cyrus grabbed the handcuffs off the big belt on his waist, ones she suspected he rarely had occasion to use, and especially not in the middle of the day when someone was stone-cold sober. Ariel stood with Mandy, who touched her shoulder.
“Ariel Poole, you’re under arrest for assault, trespassing, and criminal destruction of property. You have the right to remain silent…”
••••
Blessed with a rare break between patients, Matt quickly worked through some paperwork, anxious to finish up so that he could spend uninterrupted time with Dani and Ariel tonight. He was making good headway, and more importantly, couldn’t remember a time he’d been this excited to go home.
This was working. They were working. He could see it in them, felt it in himself. It might not have been what she’d imagined, maybe didn’t touch what she’d shared with Daniel, but this little family was working.
He glanced at the phone as it rang but didn’t recognize the number. That was odd. All of his friends knew he was mostly occupied during the day, so his cell phone seldom rang. Curious as to who the caller was, he picked up.
“You’ve received a call from an inmate at the Thornehill Springs County Jail. If you accept the charges, please press one,” a robotic voice said.