Page 96 of Silver Brewer

You’re moving in with me.

Why? He didn’t agree to marry me. I’m an idiot.

Giant walks to the back of the SUV and pops the door open. He whistles low as he looks at Finn. “She never did know how to pack.”

“Hardy-har. Most of this is his.” The pack and play portable crib. A bouncing seat. Diapers. Bottles. Clothing. Teething toys.

Giant hands me Finn and takes the portable crib and a duffle bag in hand. He walks around the open door, and I assume I’m to follow him.

My heart hammers as I finally enter his cabin. The inside is rustic but cozy. The living room spans the length of the front of the house with a giant fireplace as the centerpiece. An overstuffed couch faces the fireplace with a bearskin rug on the floor. On one side of the chimney is a ladder leading up to a loft.

“My girls slept there. It was the original sleeping quarters. The rafters are low, and there’s a mattress on the floor.” Giant nods to the door next to the ladder. “My room is back there. I’ll set Finn’s crib up in there. It will be easier than hiking up and down that ladder. The kitchen’s on the other side,” he says, tipping his head to an archway opening to the right of the chimney.

“That’s not real, is it?” I ask of the rug.

“What do you think?”

“Wayfair dot com, I hope. Otherwise, Sarah might be upset,” I suggest, referencing a popular online homeware retailer and his animal-loving daughter. Giant chuckles, not answering me. He takes Finn’s stuff in his room, and I follow. The bed is made up with a camp blanket in red and black plaid. It’s a four-poster bed, and I can’t imagine his big body fitting on it. Then I imagine other things—like my wrists tied to the headboard or me bent over the footboard—and I want to cry at the ache in my core. He’s never going to enter me again. He wants to be roommates. I want a husband.

“You okay?” he asks, and I weakly smile.

“Yeah. I’m good.” I’m horrible. This isn’t the greeting I’d hoped for, but I was too romantic in my thoughts. I’d propose. He’d say yes. Then he’d say he loved me, forgave me, and couldn’t live without me.

Knew I’d never be able to live without you from that day forward.

He heads out to my SUV for another load and drops most of it just inside the cabin. “We can sort this later. I’ll start dinner.”

He’s so…standoffish again.

“Can I help?” I ask although I don’t know how or what I’d do. I’m losing the fight with tears as my eyes burn and my nose prickles.

“I got it. You look tired. Need a shower or a nap?”

I need both, but I’m afraid to leave his presence, and what about Finn? Oh, my poor boy. What have I done to us?

Giant walks up to me. “Why don’t you surrender him to me? Take a shower. Lie down. I’ll have dinner ready in an hour.” My brows pinch in question while his lips twist, and he nods to his bedroom. “Go.”

+ + +

The tears of emotional exhaustion fall as I shower in the small bathroom off his room. Like everything else in the cabin, it’s cozy and comforting, and the sensation of fluffy towels and Giant’s soap overwhelms me. I inhale as I wash and hold the towel to my puffy eyes when I finish. I slip into fresh jeans and a T-shirt and then climb onto the bed. The scent of him fills my nostrils as I roll into the pillow. My eyes close for a minute, and then I feel a dip behind me. I stiffen, feeling caught doing something I shouldn’t have.

His hand comes to my hips and skims up my side, hovering below my breasts, nudging at it but not cupping it.

“You’re really here, right? I’m not imagining you.” His nose dips into my wet hair, and he inhales. I shiver at the touch. His hand skates back down to my hip, tugging me back against him. His hard length rubs against my ass, and I arch my back. Instantly, I’m wet and ready and wanting him.

“Giant,” I hum.

“Later tonight, I’m going to take you so hard, Letty. I’m going to make you wish you never broke my heart.”

“Oh God,” I whimper, wanting the punishment and fearing the revenge.

“I broke my own when I did it.” I exhale, rubbing my backside against his firmness. “I’m so sorry, Giant. So very sorry.”

“We’ll see,” he says, kissing my shoulder and then lowering for my neck. He nips me hard, and I cry out, spinning to face him. His lips crash mine again, tongue forcing its way into my mouth. I whimper and moan and whine for more. I want him to take me. I want to give me to him.

He pulls back too quickly, too harsh. “Dinner’s ready.” And I want to cry out, let me be your feast. Let me nibble on you instead, but I keep all my thoughts packed away like my bags by his front door.

He rolls off the bed and holds out a hand for me. I follow, standing to face him, and then he tugs me into him again. A hand dips into my hair while another covers my ass. He pulls me into his chest, finding my lips again and kissing me hard. I don’t struggle. I don’t fight. I swallow each punishing kiss.