Exile

Chapter 8

DARWYNN

Without planning it, Caspian and I simultaneously showed up at the bar the next night. He was there first, sitting at the bar with his body turned toward the entrance like he had been waiting to see me walk in.

When I walked in, and our eyes met, I noticed a gleam in his gaze. One I hadn’t seen before. He was excited to see me, happy that I was there, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Once I sat next to him at the bar, we sat silently for a moment before I turned to face him with a smile. “I was hoping to see you again. Though, I didn’t think it would be here.”

He scoffed, his gaze fixed on the glass in front of him. He was drinking whiskey again, and I was slowly getting used to its scent. Hard liquor wasn’t my thing, but it fit him, and I seemed to like anything about him.

“I’m only here because I knew you would be, and I don’t want anyone to talk to you. Or touch you.”

I would've laughed if any other man had said that to me. I was confident and strong enough to fight off any man who tried to bother me, but having Caspian protect me from any asshole sounded nice.

My smile widened, but I didn’t give a reply. I picked up my Pepsi and took a few sips as I turned my head to look around the bar. There weren’t many people here tonight. Just the three men playing pool like every night I had been here, and one couple sitting comfortably at a booth.

The soft music was louder than the chatter, and it all felt so cozy. “I don’t think I’d get in trouble today. There’s not much going on here.”

I turned to face him again, my body toward him and my knees pressing against the side of his leg.

Caspian shot me a glance and shook his head. “You never know when someone shows up and ruins the night for you. I’m here now, so you’ll be safe, and that’s all that matters to me.”

Fine with me.

I pursed my lips and looked around again before my eyes landed on the side of his face. His white beard was freshly cut, looking as clean as ever, and his neck-long hair sat in perfect waves on top of his head, giving him that attractive silver fox look.

No wonder why he’s a Hollywood legend. He’s handsome.

Without giving it a second thought, I pulled out my phone and opened my Google app to find pictures of him when he was younger. The search results did not disappoint, and I smirked when I saw a still from an older movie he was in, standing shirtless, showing off his muscular build.

“You haven’t stopped working out, have you?”

I asked, taking in his broad shoulders and hard chest. His arms were thick, covered in a flannel shirt, but I could still see his muscles flexing under the fabric.

His head turned, and his eyes fell to my phone. With a frown, he said, “Quit looking at that.”

“I just wanted to know what you looked like when you were my age,”

I replied with a shrug. “No guy I ever met had looked like you.”

“So?”

He wasn’t amused by my story. He wasn’t uncomfortable, but he simply didn’t want me to look at old pictures of him.

Grumpy old man.

I put my phone away and sighed, deciding to change the subject. “I saw a flyer at the general store this morning for a beer and cider festival in Bruce Mines. I figured we could go since there’s not much happening around here. What do you think?”

“I don’t usually go out in public,”

he muttered, sipping his liquor.

“Usually. Maybe that can change. The festival starts on Thursday. Maybe we can go then,”

I suggested, tapping my fingers on my thighs. My knees were still pressing against his thigh, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

He was thinking about it, but it took him too long to reply, and I was getting impatient because hanging out with him sounded fun, and I didn’t want him to overthink it and say no. “You could wear a baseball hat and glasses. I know it’s not that good of a disguise, but I’d love to go with you. And if people recognize you and start to bother you, I will tell them off.”

He snorted a laugh, which sounded like an insult. “You telling people off?”

Rude, but he was right. I probably couldn’t achieve anything by asking people not to bother a Hollywood actor.

“Fine, maybe that wouldn’t be so effective. But…maybe the people there won’t even care that you’re there. I mean, not that you’re not extremely famous or anything—”

“I was famous.”

“Right.”

I pursed my lips. Everyone besides him—and maybe everyone in this village—thought differently. “Still. Will you please come to the beer and cider festival with me?”

“Do you even like beer or cider? I haven’t seen you drink alcohol since you came here.”

Well observed.

“No. But I bet you do, and I’d give anything to see you try it and maybe break a smile because you enjoy it so much.”

I was hopeful I would get him to break one day. I was positive that as grumpy as he was, that wasn’t the real him. I believed his past made him cranky, and maybe he just needed someone to help him become the man he used to be.

He observed me with narrowed eyes, tapping the side of his glass with his finger. He was thinking, weighing his options and trying to understand if this meant much to me.

“Fine.”

“Really?”

My eyes widened in surprise as I rested my left hand on his shoulder. “Oh, it will be so much fun! Festival food is always so delicious.”

He tried to shrug off my hand but stopped when I almost fell off my stool out of excitement. He turned toward me, putting both hands on my hips to hold me in place. “Careful.”

I calmed down from my very short high, forcing myself to keep the excitement inside. “I just really like festivals,”

I admitted with a tight grin.

“I can tell.”

His hands left my body as quickly as they were placed on me, and he turned back around to rest his forearms on the counter. “Your enthusiasm is sweeter than that fucking chocolate cake you made for me.”

I had to let those words play in my head a couple more times before I realized what he said. Although it sounded like a compliment, seeing as he hated sweet things, I wasn’t sure I could take it as one.

I pursed my lips and decided not to play into his comment. Instead, I got up and slapped his back lightly. “I’m going to the toilet,”

I announced, leaving him at the bar.

CASPIAN

I’ve never been a fan of sugary things.

Couldn’t explain why, and I never bothered to figure it out.

But out of all the sweet things I ever had, Darwynn was on another level of sweetness. The way her eyes widened and sparkled with so much joy when I agreed to go to the festival with her was a sight I hoped to see more often. For that, I’d be way kinder toward her. More open. Less…broody. Grumpy.

When the bar's door opened, I initially didn’t bother looking at who was coming in, but when the obnoxious voice of a man I’d rather not face echoed around me, I had to turn my head.

Henry stood there, grinning, unfazed by the bar's lack of people. I stared him down, waiting for his eyes to meet mine. When they finally did, his expression changed from arrogance to unsureness.

I saw him mouth “shit,”

and I raised a brow at him, happy with the effect my presence had on him. I truly wasn’t a violent man, but if he ever tried to flirt with Darwynn again, I would punch him straight in the face.

Without saying a word to him, I emptied my glass and got up from the stool with my eyes still on him, watching him as he simply stood there, frozen, like a prey scared to move and get the hunter’s attention.

“Motherfucker,”

I muttered, turning away to head to the restrooms. I needed to keep Darwynn safe, and I didn’t care if she thought I was overreacting. Men like Henry were unpredictable, and I sure as hell wouldn’t let him get close to her again. Not even to talk.

I got to the narrow hallway with the two bathroom doors and waited for her to come out of the right one. It didn’t take her long before she stood before me, and we were quickly cramped between the tight walls, facing each other.

“Oh, do you also have to—”

“No.”

Her head was tilted back, her remarkable eyes looking curiously at me in the dim light. Her lips parted, and I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander over her face. My hands didn’t seem to understand what was happening because they were suddenly on her hips. My dick twitched, and my jaw ticked as I tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.

“Is everything okay?”

Darwynn asked, her voice soft. So damn soft.

I managed one quick nod.

My left hand rested on her hip while I moved my right up her side, caressing her waist and then her arm until I cupped the side of her neck.

Her breath hitched as I moved my fingers into her thick, brown hair at the back of her head. As her strands curled around them, she tilted her head further back, exposing her neck.

Every inch of her body—at least the parts I’ve seen of it for now—were perfect. Her skin was soft and warm to the touch, and the way she melted into me, just like she had when we hugged the other night, did something to me.

Something I didn’t allow my mind to explore further.

Darwynn didn’t question what I was doing. She simply stood there, with her hands hanging by her sides and her eyes staring up at me. She wasn’t pulling back or pushing me away, but I feared that was because I was holding her captive between my body and the wall behind her. Shit…I wasn’t any better than Henry.

With one last glance to her lips, I dropped my hand from her hair and pushed them into my pockets so they wouldn’t wander off without my damn permission. I cleared my throat. “We’re leaving.”

I could tell she wanted to argue, but she simply accepted my demand for some reason. “Okay.”

Shit, I didn’t give her the wrong impression, did I?

“I’m taking you home. Where you’re staying,”

I clarified.

“Okay,”

she said again, her smile tight.

Before I changed my mind, I walked ahead and made sure she followed me back to the bar, where I put money on the counter and gave the bartender a nod.

Once we were outside, Darwynn wrapped her hand around my arm, and I led her down the road to the campgrounds.

“Is Henry the reason why we left?”

Of course, she figured it out.

“Yes.”

“You know, we could’ve just ignored him. I was having a really good time with you at the bar,”

she told me.

I looked at her and sighed. “But I wasn’t. Not with him in the same room.”

I hated the idea of ruining her night. I had to make this better.

Stopping, I looked around before meeting her eyes. We weren’t far from the bar, and she looked at me with expectation.

“I don’t want him near you. Or any woman, for that matter. But other women are not my business right now. You are.”

I paused to think about my next words, hoping to see her smile again. “So if we go back inside, you promise me not to look at him. Don’t give him attention. None. Focus on me.”

She studied me, her eyes searching my face as the tip of her tongue slowly brushed across her bottom lip. The corner of her mouth lifted ever so slightly, and a hint of mischief flashed through her eyes.

She put one hand on my stomach and stepped toward me, tilting her head back to keep eye contact.

What she said next made me want to wrap my hand around her throat and push her up against the damn tree. “If you want to be alone with me, just say it.”

Fuck…