“Shower next.”
His ocean eyes shine with lust.
“Again?” I bite my lip, excitedly.
“I’m going to fuck you in every room of this house, sweetheart.”
For the next seven days,it’s paradise. Days of shed hunting, drawing, eating food, tangled in bedsheets, and talking about anything and everything. I feel like we’re in our own world up here.
I’m curled up in the Sleepy Coldwater, Alaska sweater, another pair of dark grey sweatpants, barefoot as “Indigo” by Sam Barber feat. Avery Anna plays low and soft on the radio in the corner.
Gavin Ariksen is mutating my brain and blood chemistry. One kiss and taste broke the rules I made for myself so I don’t fall for any man.
But how can I not want more after what we just shared all these nights? I want more again, and again.
I stare at his sleeping face, heartbeat after heartbeat. Running my digits through his chest, over every scar, I can’t help but want to know every single thing about him.
I want to know more about his time in the military, but he hasn’t wanted to talk about that yet.
Gavin is asleep on his side. His hair is tousled, his beard longer than the first day I met him. He’s just…intriguing, and I can’t get enough.
I look down at the sketch pad Gavin gave me.
He inspired me to dive back into my craft. Being here in this cabin, with Gavin’s help, I dreamed again.
After he fell asleep, I poured it all on paper and pencil. It’s old-school for me, but I still love the classic art I create with charcoal and a number 2 pencil—a nice break from technology. I didn’t have to think too hard when I turned the page.It was instinct. A breath of fresh air after feeling like I’ve been in an ocean in the depths of hell. I knew what I wanted to draw and haven’t stopped to take a break. I’ve been sitting in the corner of the room on the couch, drawing Gavin.
My new muse.
The pencil in my hand reminds me of the woman I used to be. With every stroke of the pencil, I get lost and go somewhere no one can hurt me. My spark is back. Lightly giggling to myself, I continue to shade in my favorite part of Gavin’s face.His eyes. Every time he looks at me, I melt.
I glance up at him as he turns in his sleep. The white blankets wrinkle as he moves. He frowns, his chest rising and falling faster than before, so I saunter over to him.
Is he having a nightmare?
I shouldn’t wake him up even though I want to.
The sound of a door slamming catches my attention. I palm my scream, keeping it inside so I don’t startle Gavin awake. He’s lying on his side with his back to me, mumbling incoherently. Ireach out to tap his shoulders, but another door slam pulls me away.
Regardless, someone is in here.
Is it Merelyn or Georgia? My mind travels to the worst—the one who’s been after me.
No, I won’t go there.
I place my sketchbook down on the nightstand with the pencil next to it, and open the door to the bedroom. The feeling of being watched returns as I take the first step in the dark hallway. The first thing I see makes my blood run cold, and I gasp.
CHAPTER 27
GAVIN
Another fight. Another senseless argument, and of all days, on Christmas morning. Mother says it’s a day of family, unity, and gratitude. Now that I’m eight years old, I want to give Mama something special, but Father says we don’t have any money for gifts this year.
So I wanted to find more deer sheds in the woods and make them into a bowl for decoration. I know she’ll love it because Mama loves her decorations. Every holiday, she decorates the house to match each season with colors and trinkets. Sometimes, she’ll go into town to the local Sleepy Coldwater thrift shop and get things from the store to do DIY decor. I help her when Dad isn’t having me work on the ranch, and it’s our time together. Mama does everything she can to keep me away from his wrath, but I can tell she’s scared of him, too.
Now, it’s Christmas. Dad has been angrier these days and won’t let me leave the house. I don’t have anything to give her today, but I hope we can just spend time together…but it’s already impossible.
Dad stayed up all night drinking liquor, and now my mother and I get to be his punching bags again.
