Page 219 of I Never Stopped Loving You

He takes my hand and leads me into what I’m assuming is a house. My boots echo on the hardwood floor. The rustic smell of pine and cedar surrounds me, warm and comforting. Where the hell are we?

He continues to lead me forward until he pauses. He turns my body to face a different angle, then steps behind me. He wraps his arms around my body, pulling me tight against him before leaning down to kiss the side of my neck.

“Take off the blindfold, Little Rabbit.”

Finally!

I quickly remove the blindfold, and I’m left completely speechless.

We’re inside a house, but not just any house. We’re in a log cabin, standing in the front room. The room is filled with a soft glow from a fireplace along the wall. A dark green sectional couch faces the fireplace, and there’s a TV mounted on the wall above.

My eyes take in the entire open space. There’s a kitchen and dining room off to the left. The front door is off to my right. There’s a single door just to the right of a large staircase that goes up a few steps, then turns before leading up to the second floor. The ceiling is high and dark compared to the light colored wood that makes up the walls of the cabin.

I’m still in awe as I continue to look around the room. Noah is still behind me with his arms wrapped around my body, but he’s stayed silent. I can feel his heart beating rapidly, as if he’s nervously waiting for my reaction.

“Well…What do you think?” he finally asks.

“It’s beautiful. Did you rent it for the weekend?”

“It’s ours, Willow. It’s all ours.”

I spin to him quickly, looking him in the eyes.

“Ours? But I thought we weren’t moving…”

“We aren’t. I’ve been looking into a vacation home for us. Somewhere we can go that was far enough away from the city so we could relax, but still close enough to come up every weekend if we wanted to.”

“Where are we then?”

“Near Forester. Just north of Port Sanilac. Only about an hour and a half away from our house.”

“This is all ours?” I ask, glancing around the room.

“Yes. Do you like it?” he hesitantly asks.

“No.”

“What?”

“I love it,” I tease.

I couldn’t resist doing that to him after everything he’s done tonight.

“For fuck’s sake. Don’t do that.”

“Were you actually worried I wouldn’t like it?” I ask as I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him.

“I just wanted it to be perfect for you. You deserve to have a place to relax, away from our jobs and the city.”

“It’s perfect. I love it. Except you still have to show me one more room,” I say coyly.

“And it’s the best room in the house,” he says as he kisses me again.

“Well, then, you'd better take me there. Do I need the blindfold again?”

“Not this second…but you will.”

My heart beats rapidly against my chest as my body heats with excitement. The last time I was blindfolded was a very, very eye-opening experience. It was one that I’ll never forget, and I’ve been hoping it would happen again. I discovered a darker side to me that night, one that he explored and urged me to allow myself to enjoy.