Chapter 7
Seriously, Single
WES
I’m not sure me helping her is a good idea. Domestic disputes like this can be so messy. And domestic disputes that involve the Callahan family? Extra messy. Also, I’m already not quite in control of how my body is reacting to her. It’s just a physical attraction, obviously.
“How’d you lose track of him?” I sneak a look at her while I briskly whisk the hot chocolate, making sure all the cocoa mix dissolves as the milk heats.
Callie scoffs.
Sir Fluffy appears in the kitchen, stretching his legs, likely fresh from a power nap in his favorite spot in front of the heater in the guest bedroom. He meows and weaves himself in and out of my legs, begging for a treat or pets.
“You have a cat.”
“I do.” I glance over at her. “You’re not allergic, are you?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Why do you care?”
When I do interact with women, even pretty ones, I’m often met with flirting and interested, lingering gazes. This suspicion bordering on hostility is intriguing. Like she already doesn’t like me, so I don’t have to worry about impressing her. Maybe it was the zip ties.
“Noah is allergic, so he has to take daily allergy medicine and get shots so he can even walk in here.”
“Noah?”
“My brother.” I stop whisking and make sure the hot chocolate is lump-free. It smells delicious. “Do you have a cat?”
“No.” She spits out her answer, then sighs.
I let the silence fall. What did I do to deserve her contempt?
“Sorry. I meant no.” This time, she says the word with less force. I bite back a grin. “I have a rabbit.”
“What’s his name?” Given her feisty attitude, I’d have guessed she has something sharp like a hedgehog or a snake.
I lay the whisk on a spoon tray shaped like a smiling moose head and pull out two mugs.
The hot chocolate is the perfect temperature as I pour it—steaming, but not so much that it’ll burn going down.
I prepare a special serving for Callie. “Marshmallows?”
“Sure?” She half laughs, and I grin as I sprinkle in some small marshmallows. “My rabbit’s name is Honey Bunny.”
“That’s cute.” I walk over to the couch and hold out a mug. Shit. I didn’t plan on a pet that might need to be fed. She’s not going to like it when I insist she spend the night at the cabin for her own safety.
“You know what? You’re really weird.” Callie accepts the hot chocolate and wraps her hands around the ceramic, breathing in the sweet steam.
“That’s not very nice.” I settle on the couch an entire cushion away from her, prepared to fend her off if she attacks me. I probably shouldn’t have handed her a mug of hot liquid.
“Sorry. I just—this has been a surprising evening.” She glances outside, where it’s already dark, but still bright because of the pure white snow blanketing the outside world. “Night?”
“What kind of rabbit is Honey Bunny?”
“A giant lop-eared.” Sir Fluffy strolls over and sniffs at Callie’s feet. She leans down and scratches his head. “And he would kick your cat’s ass.”
I chuckle. “Sir Fluffy’s an old dude, so I don’t doubt it.”
“Sir Fluffy?” She shakes her head. “I feel like I’m in some alternate dimension right now.”
“Because of the hot chocolate?” I furrow my brow. “Or because you have a rabbit named Honey Bunny, and I have a cat named Sir Fluffy?”
“Um, yes. Those things.” Callie sips and moans. “This is so good.”
I watch with fascination, trying to ignore my dick twitching at her moan. I’m not going to lie, I’m very much enjoying having a pretty woman curled up on my couch. It’s nice to have company that isn’t Noah. For a second, I picture her reaching over to rub her hand on my—
“Listen. Here’s the deal. Like I said in my messages, I’m trying to divorce my husband, but I need to find him to sign the papers and return something very important to me.
My mother’s ring. He disappeared a month ago, then called me two weeks ago, but I have no idea where he is.
And he doesn’t want me to know for some reason. ”
Fuck. I clear my throat and adjust myself. I need to focus.
Her eyes dart down to my crotch, and she flushes. I guess I wasn’t very subtle. She’s definitely not thinking about touching my cock, but then I realize her nipples have hardened to little peaks beneath her tight shirt so maybe she is?
“What’s the urgency?” I manage.
“I’m just… done.” Callie clears her throat and smooths her hair.
She pulls a thick chunk over her right shoulder.
“My father died three months ago, and I realized that I want out of my marriage. I want to get away from my family and my old life. I want to start over and live a crime-free life, so I’m going to move to Seattle to get a master’s in library science. ”
“Yeah?” I chuckle. “A librarian in Seattle sounds pretty wholesome.” And the exact opposite of me. I’m the least wholesome person she could possibly connect herself to.
“I’m less going for a wholesome vibe, and more a safe one. Ethical. Legal.”
“Hm. Got it.” Also not words that describe me or my life.
“I already work at a library, but I’m a library assistant, not a full librarian.”
“Which one do you work at?” I am very much enjoying the image of Callie Callahan in a long skirt and cute tight sweater carrying books pressed against her chest.
“The one on Congress.” She shakes her head. “But that’s not why we’re here.”
I nod, making a mental note of her workplace location, which she tossed out to me like it’s nothing. I’d do just about anything to see her at work, but she should not have told me that. The woman has no sense of self-preservation.
I shouldn’t agree to help Callie Callahan.
I’m too attracted to her. It’s been a long time since the last weekend trip to Boston with Noah where I found a flirty woman at a bar and took her to my hotel room to fuck.
She was more than happy to do whatever I wanted.
She was pretty and sweet and made all the right sounds.
But it was too easy. Boring. And I crave connection, not just fucking.
Something tells me sleeping with Callie would be more complicated than that.
My motivation comes from protecting women and children in the way in which my mother and sister weren’t.
Ivy was only fourteen when she was killed.
Fourteen years old. Some monster assaulted her and then looked her in her pretty blue eyes and shot her?
And my mother, the kindest woman ever? My father shouldn’t have done what he did to bring on the murders, but no one deserved what happened to my family.
After that first kill taking out our family’s murderer, Noah and I hadn’t planned to do it again. Or at least I hadn’t. But my brother decided it was his life’s mission, and I wasn’t going to let him do it on his own. He’s impulsive and gets distracted by shiny objects, so I need to protect him.
I’ve lost too many people. I can’t lose him.
“Forget it though, I’m not sure we can recover from the way, uh, this started.” She waves a hand between me and her.
“You mean you stalking me, me knocking you out, and the whole zip-tie situation? That’s not the foundation for a beautiful relationship?” I sip from my mug and lick the extra chocolate from my lips. “I feel like we could move on.”
She gawks at me, watching my tongue move across my upper lip.
Married to a criminal, the daughter of one, sister of one, yet she has no clue what she’s doing. Callie Callahan is the world’s most unlikely good girl.
She has no idea whose cabin she’s in.
No idea what I’m capable of.
But… she needs my help. She needs someone’s help, at least, and I think I need to be the one to provide it.
Callie needs someone to protect her.
And that’s what I do best.
Callie’s eyelids flutter.
Ah, good. The sedative I slipped into her hot chocolate is taking effect. I’m feeling the slightest bit of remorse for drugging her. Again. But I’m not trying to do anything bad, I just don’t want her to fight me so much on the next thing I’m going to suggest.
“So will you help?” she asks, her voice a whisper and her eyes fluttering.
“Let’s talk about it tomorrow.” She probably won’t remember anything that happens in the next few minutes, so there’s no point in agreeing.
“But tonight? You’re not going anywhere.
” I nod outside to the storm. White swirls tap on the window, the visibility to the woodpile I was at just a little while ago gone.
“I am not sleeping here.” She shakes her head violently, even as she stares out at the storm, even as she fights to open her eyes.
“I have a guest room.”
“No.” Her eyes widen briefly and with great effort. “But I am so tired all of a sudden.”
“You’ve been through a lot today. I promise I won’t bother you.”
She lifts her hot chocolate but doesn’t quite get it to her mouth. I reach over and take the mug from her hands before she drops it, sliding it and mine onto the side table.
“I have a t-shirt you can sleep in. I’ll even make you coffee in the morning.”
“I don’t need a t-shirt to sleep in,” she yawns, leaning her head back on the couch and blinking her eyes at me charmingly. “And what about Honey Bunny?”
“Does he need to be fed tonight?” That’ll complicate the situation, but I’ll figure out how to get the rabbit some food.
“No he doesn’t need food tonight, but he likes snacks and snuggles.” Callie’s eyes close. She’s fucking adorable.
“So Honey Bunny will be okay without you for a night.” The very last thing I want to do is put her pet in danger, but at this point, I’m not sure if she’s still capable of responding, or if she’s already passed out.
“Yeah. He’s okay for tonight.” Callie lifts her head and opens her eyes one last time, smiling lazily at me. “Thanks, Wes.”
Something shifts in my chest. Man, I’m so into that open smile. “For what?” I ask, but she’s already passed out.
I scoot over and gently pull her in my direction so her head nods onto my shoulder instead of lolling uncomfortably on the other side. I let her press herself against me. Sir Fluffy stares at me judgmentally.
“What? I’m not going to do anything bad.” I sigh and scoot out from beneath Callie and lay her body gently across the couch, then tuck a gray fuzzy fleece blanket on top of her.
Sir Fluffy meows as I deposit the mugs in my sink.
Callie should be out for the night, but I don’t want to leave her alone for long. I quickly grab the supplies I need, fish her car keys out of her jacket pocket, and suit up in my boots, jacket, gloves, and balaclava.
It’s bitterly cold and quiet outside, the snow carpeting the ground and covering the trees, making everything white and beautiful.
I trudge through four inches of snow down my driveway and to the road to get to her car, clearing it off and driving it slowly to my cabin.
I’m lucky I can even get it off the side of the road, and I’m lucky her shit car makes it down my snowy driveway.
Before heading back inside, I stick a tracker under the carriage of the vehicle, holding it in place for a few seconds to make sure it sticks.
I hurry back inside my cabin with her purse, which was on her passenger seat, and I’m satisfied to see she’s still passed out on the couch.
I unblock the cellular network, open the drawer next to my utensils, and pull out her phone.
She uses face ID, so I wave it in front of her and get to work installing a stalkerware app—spyware but for stalkers—so I can keep track of her once she’s gone.
Then I stick a tiny tracker inside her phone case.
It’s not as powerful as the bigger ones but gets the job done.
I wish I could install cameras in her living space, but I can’t get to Portland in this weather, and I don’t want to run into her brother.
I’ll do that later. There’s a text from someone named Lola cancelling drinks tonight because of the snow—that’s damn convenient for me—so I respond to the text with a thumbs up.
I leave her phone on the counter and re-block her cellular network for another eight hours. In the morning, she’ll find she can use her phone again.
My phone buzzes, and it’s Noah.
Noah
what did you do
I sigh. This whole situation is so not my fault, and of course I look like the bad guy. Yes, I’m intense with women, which is why I don’t get involved. This one just showed up on my doorstep.
Me
I literally did nothing. She followed me home from Portland
and let’s not pretend that I’m not the one usually cleaning up your messes
Noah
yeah, sure, okay. Need my help?
Me
nope. Just letting you know what’s going on. I’m sending her on her way tomorrow after the storm clears
I gather Callie in my arms for the second time tonight and walk her to the guest room.
She’s in jeans and that long-sleeved shirt.
I can’t let her sleep in uncomfortable denim, and I have a fantasy image in my head of her in one of my t-shirts.
I’m not gonna be satisfied until I see it in real life.
I lower her on the bed and stare at her, dark hair spread out around her head.
Her shirt is tight around her ribs and has ridden up, exposing a soft, curvy section of skin.
Ink peeks out, and I nudge up her shirt so I can see the whole thing.
It’s a beautiful tattoo of a phoenix, stretching from below her right breast down into her jeans.
It’s fierce and powerful and incredibly hot.
And the underside of her breast peeking out from her bra?
Fuuuuck me. I reach down and rub my cock, hardening in my joggers.
Nope. Don’t be a freaking creep.
I let go of myself and focus on getting her changed. Am I still being creepy? Yes. But I won’t touch her inappropriately, I swear.
It’s been a while since I got obsessive over a woman. Guess I’m due.
I reach over and unbutton Callie’s jeans, pulling the zipper down and groaning at the site of her low-rise white underwear.
I tug the denim down her hips, swallowing hard at the sight of her underwear ridden up in the back, exposing the side of her ass cheek.
I can’t help but rub my cock once more after I pull the jeans off the rest of the way.
Fuck me, the sight of her long, smooth legs and curvy thighs are too much for me.
I know I should stop, but I tug her shirt up her abdomen and over her breasts, my breath catching when her thin, lacy bra is fully revealed, her nipples visible through the fabric.
That’s why it was so easy to see her arousal before.
There’s barely anything here. I rush to pull her shirt the rest of the way off, then tug on the oversized t-shirt I brought in.
I reluctantly cover her breasts and pull the shirt down over her pussy.
If I didn’t have any integrity, I’d just swipe once between her legs to see if she’s wet. Fuck, I’m tempted.
But I’m not like that.
I pull a blanket over Callie, turn off the light, and leave her to get some rest.
Now I’m left with a rock-hard cock and only my hand to take care of it.