I’m not sure if I’m appreciative of this or if I’m frustrated. I’m not sure if I’m glad he dragged Mulligan out of the restaurant or if I’m humiliated and pissed. I’m not sure if I want to be alone right now or if I want to lose myself in his cabin imagining the life together we’ll most definitely never have.
All I do know is that every flex of his forearm is taunting me, and my panties are sopping wet.
Chapter Four
Reed
Her dress is modest. A knee length floral pattern with buttons running down the center, the cut over her full breasts covering every bit of cleavage. Her hair curled and partially twisted into a butterfly barrette I bought her a few months back at the farmer’s market. We’d been on a quest that morning to find banana peppers when she came across the handmade jeweler’s tent. The woman was selling everything from bracelets to earrings, but Nikki was drawn to the monarch butterfly barrette clipped to a rack at the front. She said she loved how its wings moved with the wind, but we both know it reminded her of her mother.
The day she passed, at least twelve monarchs gathered near the back garden where she liked to sit. One of them landed on Nikki’s knee and sat with her far longer than a butterfly usually sits.
I’m not a woo-woo symbols guy, but that was weird enough that even I think of her mother every time I see a monarch. I then subsequently wonder how she ever put up with Pete. Then again, he was different with her. Hell, he was different with everyone back then.
The road weaves up the mountain through a grove of pine as the sun drops fast behind the ridge, throwing long streaks of gold across the asphalt. Down in the valley, everything isshadowed dark blue as the guardrail flashes silver on the side of the road. It’s peaceful as hell up here and I’m looking forward to spending plenty of time hidden amidst the pines, though I wouldn’t mind if Nikki were hiding with me.
“Take another sip of water.” I glance toward my kitten before returning my gaze back at the road again, my heart drumming against my ribs as I try to calculate how tonight will go.
The last night we spent together was in her senior year of college, but she was afraid to be left alone. I was the guy who was keeping the werewolves and the vampires at bay. Trouble is… she’d already let the monster inside.
My head was in the gutter all night long with thoughts of stripping what little fabric covered her. Thoughts of what her little pussy looked like, smelled like, tasted like. I must have jerked off half a dozen times that weekend. Twice while I watched her outside with the family dog.
When she’s taken another sip of water, she twists toward me. “You’ve got a real daddy vibe about you. Anyone ever told you that?”
For some sick reason my cock twitches.
“Daddy vibe?What’s that mean?”
She shrugs and takes another sip of water, swishing it around before swallowing. “Like, caring for me with this panic stuff. Being way over the top protective.”
“Well,” I clear my throat, “if over the top protective means I’m a daddy, then I’ll be your daddy all day long. You,” I reach over and squeeze her thigh without thought, “you’re worth protecting.”
I’ve never done that before, and I don’t know where the fuck it just came from.
Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to faze her. Instead, she’s distracted by her phone again.
“What is it?”
“I texted Mulligan to apologize and maybe get the sale back. He left me on read, so,” she blows out a breath, “I guess that’s officially off.”
“Like I said, you’re destined for bigger things.”
“Spoken like a true daddy.” She grins and redirects her attention to my glove box, popping it open to rummage around inside.
“What are you looking for?”
“Clues.” She pulls out two screwdrivers and a tape measure, her little hand balancing everything as she digs with the other.
“Clues of what?”
“Women.”
“Women?”I laugh. “Well, I don’t keep women in my glove box, but—”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Seriously, though,” she says, dumping all the tools she’s found back inside, “when was the last time you had a girlfriend? Like a serious, romantic thing.”
My brows narrow. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I don’t know. I was just contemplating your daddy vibe, and I got thinking about how I’ve never seen a woman around you. So… I wondered if you kept them secret or something.”
