AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yes, he’d be that man—portray that image for the eyes of a boy who hoped to be the man to touch his daughter’s body and heart. He'd be protective like that. He'd be that kind of dad. And there's some weird thing inside me that likes the idea of that—of having that with Nick. A daughter. Someone we care for together. A child. A life.
It's been days, less than a week—four days—we’re going on four days and I'm thinking of kids with Nick. I'm crazy.
I'm a lunatic.
I should be committed.
Yes, yes, I should be. There's no excuse for these crazy thoughts. They're complete insanity. I need help. Maybe I should run. Oh, but I don't want to run.
The stairs moan, and I know Nick is on his way down. My heart starts to race in my chest. There's a quick pitter-patter to every beat.
What am I going to say? After this morning, after he did what he did—his face down there between my legs. Oh my God.How he made me feel.
I can't even. It's too much. It was so good. I want it again.
I wanthim.
I want to do to him what he's doing to me. I want to drive him absolutely mad for me. I want to bring his body to that peak. I want to make sure that when this is done, and I leave here, he remembers me.
Oh, that thought hurts. That I could possibly leave here—that I could be nothing more than a memory to this man hurts so deep inside me, for a moment I can’t breathe.
He appears again in a dark sweater and jeans. He looks so good. He always looks so good. Devilish. His scarred face is beautiful. I know he doesn't see it that way. But it is, he is. It makes him look bad and sinful.
He looks tough and rough. Like he could go a round or two without breaking a sweat.
“I made coffee,” I tell him when his eyes come to me.
“Thanks.” He heads into the kitchen. He fixes his coffee before he comes to sit with me in the living room. His big body commands the couch, and his eyes fall on me, making me feel heavy and hot under his gaze. “I'll head out after this; plow the drives I need to plow.”
“Drives?”
“Yeah. I plow for a couple neighbors. They're older and they need the help.”
“Oh, that's really nice of you.”
“I've been doing it for years,” he shrugs off the compliment.
I take a sip of my coffee. “I’m sure they really appreciate it.”
“I like plowing. And anyway, I've got the skid steer, so it's not like it isn't easy.”
“Right.” I laugh, casting my gaze back outside to the beautiful day that sits like an elephant between us. I should address it, but I don't. “How long will it take you to plow?”
He shrugs. “A couple hours?”
“Do you think after, if we have time before Trevor comes for dinner, we could go to town?”
His body tenses, his jaw hardening. My heart flutters as he asks roughly, “You want to go to town?”
“I'd love to see Cottonwood Hollow. I didn't get to see it when I arrived. You know, snowstorm at all.”
His eyes are intense on me. “Sure. We can go to town.”
I continue because I'm starting to feel nervous. And when I'm nervous, I like to babble. So, I start, “I wouldn't mind doing some shopping. I still have hope about setting up a tree here. Right here. I think right in front of this window. It would be so beautiful, Nick.” I sigh, like I’m seeing it right here in my mind’s eye. “A big tree with red bulbs. Maybe a few gold bulbs tossed in. Or rose gold. Ohh!” I clap my hands together excitedly as the vision really comes to life. “I could find rose gold ornaments. Nick, it would be so pretty.”
He brings his coffee to his lips. But I see it—the smile he's trying to hide. He likes that I want this, that I want a tree in his house. That I'm still talking about staying for the Christmas holiday even though the storm has given way, setting me up for my freedom. His freedom. This freedom neither of us wants.
I continue, “I have no gift wrap. And I'm pretty sure you don’t have any either, you know, considering you're the Grinch.”
