Chapter 58 - Willow

"Help me get a dress on," I said, trying to will him into faster movement. The man was a slug in molasses on a cold day. I wanted to grab his shoulders, tug him in the right direction. But his shoulders were out of bounds.

He stood there, a dumbfounded look on his face. "All of this freakout is over her parents? Are they horrible people who hurt orphans or kill vagrants?"

I jerked back. "No! They're the salt of the earth. Very loving and cuddly." A smile pulled at my mouth. "Especially Momma. But you don't want to get on their bad side. I don't want you on their bad side. And if they find out that you were here last night, you'll never crawl out of the bad side." I cradled his cheeks between my palms. "They're important to me, Ryker."

He leaned forward, pressed his lips to mine. "Then I'll do my best. But they better not come down on you for anything. That I won't accept. You're a grown ass woman capable of making her own decisions about what she does with her body. They don't g