Chapter 6 #2
Admittedly, I appreciate the appraisal coming from my brother, seeing as Ade has been jacked since before he was eighteen. And now that he’s in his late twenties, that kind of dedication definitely shows.
“How much did you lift?” he asks.
I almost smile. “You don’t wanna know.”
“One-forty?”
“More.”
He blinks across at me. “We’re talking kilograms, right?”
I chuckle at that and start cooking the meat, before glancing up at him and saying, “We’re talking kilograms.”
He shakes his head in amusement and mumbles, “You fucking psycho.”
We spend the next forty minutes cooking and talking about the rodeo, and then I’m plating up the food, ready to head to my room.
I nudge the kitchen door wider with the curve of my shoulder and carry the two plates of food, one in each hand, as I head down the hall.
My bedroom door is slightly ajar and I tap it with my quad so that it opens gently, and then I pause for a moment in the doorway as I’m met with my favorite sight.
Winter’s laying on her stomach, her ankles crossed, on top of my bed, drawing quietly in a sketchpad as the blazing sunset shimmers behind her.
She’s got my lamp on beside her as she rests her chin on her free arm, and as soon as she hears me in the doorway her eyes flick up to mine, sparkling and warm.
I swallow hard, keeping my breathing even, as she beams up at me and pushes up onto her knees. She’s wearing an amazing yellow sundress and a pair of fuzzy pink socks that match her hair.
Her curls brush softly against her cheeks as she pushes away her sketchpad, making room for me on the sheets.
“Hey,” I rumble, finally bringing myself to action, and pushing the door closed behind me so that it’s just the two of us in our room.
I place the plates of food on the bed and smile as Winter crawls over to me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and pulling me onto the quilt so that I can hold her.
“Hey,” she whispers back to me, giggling when I lower my face to the curve of her neck, and she falls softly back onto the comforter, wrapping her thighs around my waist.
“You smell so good,” she admits gently, her neck flushing pink as I caress her hips.
“It’s the food,” I mumble against her.
“It’s your shower gel,” she whispers back to me.
My biceps flex as I push myself upwards, holding my weight on my palms as I tower over her. Her little dimples pop as she searches my eyes and I feel my own gaze begin to heat as I look down at her.
“You like it?” I ask roughly, and she gives me her adorable smile.
“You know I do.”
I chuckle and kiss the tip of her nose.
“Wanna eat?” I ask quietly, reluctantly rolling over from between her thighs, and picking up a plate of food to pass over to her as she makes herself comfortable against the headboard.
She leans up to gently kiss my jaw as I arrange the pillows behind her, making sure it’s cozy.
“Thank you,” she purrs softly, and I press a kiss to her temple before sprawling out beside her.
“Want me to say grace?” I offer, and when she nods up at me, I take her hand.
She tries not to smile as she closes her eyes, so I bite playfully at her earlobe to make her laugh.
“Caden!” she squeals.
And I chuckle as I bite her again, rumbling, “There’s my little piglet.”
Winter rolls over, howling with laughter, and I tickle her waist until she can’t take it anymore.
“Do you forfeit?” I ask teasingly, laughing as she squeals, “I forfeit! I forfeit!” and then I roll onto my back.
We both pant up at the ceiling, letting our breathing settle, and I turn to her with a grin as she wiggles into my side.
“Say grace,” she whispers up to me.
I chuckle softly. “Yes, ma’am.”
We settle back up against the headboard, and I link Winter’s fingers through mine as she closes her eyes.
“Dear Lord, we thank you for the food before us, and the peace in our hearts that we are grateful for every day. Thank you for the time that you have blessed me to spend with my little piglet–”
“Caden!”
“–and may I honour your kindness in every minute of every day. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen–”
And then I’m laughing in a rush as Winter launches herself at my chest, my cheekbones burning with heat as she kisses me softly on the bed. I wrap my forearms around her back and gather her closer, savoring the moment.
“That was perfect,” she whispers up to me, and I hold her tighter, nuzzling her hair. “You’re always so good at saying grace.”
I swallow quietly. “Only with you.”
She pulls away from me with a gorgeous smile and I fight the urge to haul her back on top of me, caressing my palms around her waist as she tilts her head and strokes my chest.
“You’ve said it before, at dinner with your family. You’re always good at it, Caden, I promise.”
“Only when I can get the words out,” I whisper back to her, and she leans up to kiss the tip of my nose.
I breathe out a laugh and pull her in for a real kiss, groaning quietly when she returns the caress.
Winter has always been by my side, even when I was borderline nonverbal and she was the only person who I talked to.
We took it slow and steady, and she never asked me to be louder – we just grew together in that gentle quietness.
I give her a final searing kiss and lift my laptop off the bedside cabinet, opening it up in front of her so that she can take the reins.
“You can put something on, if you want,” I tell her, because even though I’m not fussed about watching while we eat, I know that Winter loves those old Western movies and I want her to have the best time while we’re home together.
“Are you sure?” she asks, laughing when I look up at her from my laidback position, and I press a kiss against her arm, letting her know that I’ll be happy with whatever she chooses.
I could sit with her in complete silence and be more comfortable than I am with anyone else, but I don’t mind the background noise if she likes it – I just want her to be happy.
Winter taps her fingers against the keyboard and one minute later we’re watching her favorite Western, where the premise really is as simple as an old-time rancher looking for a smoking hot wife.
I finish eating, set my plate on the floor, and I look up at Winter with a smirk, making her bite back her smile.
“What?” she asks slowly, laughing as I start gently kissing her thigh. “I know the movie’s outdated, alright? I can’t help that I like it!”
“Mm-hm,” I rumble against her. “It’s outdated alright.”
But I fucking love that she loves it, because just like the guy in the movie, one day I want to make Winter my smoking hot wife.
“Caden,” she giggles, eating her last mouthful with blushing cheeks, and as soon as she’s put her plate on the floor beside us, she’s squealing loudly as I grab her waist.
“Caden!” she exclaims, laughing with delight as I start tickling her stomach. “Your family’s going to hear us, and they’re going to think that we’re doing stuff!”
She squeaks again as I flip her over and then she’s giggling happily as I drop my weight on her back.
“They can’t hear us from this part of the house,” I tell her. “I promise, they’re not going to hear.”
I wrap my forearms around her waist, kissing my way down the side of her neck as she sighs contentedly.
“What were you drawing?” I mumble, as I slip the sleeve of her dress off her shoulder, rubbing my stubble against the soft curve, before nipping her gently with my teeth.
She peeks back at me with a smile, her pink curls brushing against my chest as I nudge her nose with mine. “You can have a look, if you want,” she whispers shyly.
I search her eyes before finally nodding and reaching behind me, picking up her sketchpad as she rolls over onto her back.
I carefully thumb my way through the pages, making my way to her most recent drawing, and the sketchpad is so full that she’s almost onto the final page.
There are a couple of wintery spruces and tall shaded pines…
and then my gaze moves over to the right, where she’s drawn a hockey player skating mid-game.
It’s a strikingly detailed action pose, with motion and shading to make it blur, and it’s so unbelievably good that I stare at it in silence for ten seconds straight.
Then I’m closing my laptop and setting her sketchpad on top of it, and gathering Winter in my arms as she peers up at me with those big eyes.
“Incredible,” I murmur, and her cheeks lift with happiness, blushing pink.
“Really?” she asks, and I nod down at her, rubbing her back.
“Yeah,” I rumble. “You’re unbelievable, baby.”
“Thank you,” she says softly. “How was the rink?”
“It was… different to be back there, but I went with Cassidy, so it was okay. We did two hours on the ice and then we hit up the gym.”
She twists her lips, hiding her smile, as she strokes her fingertips over my biceps.
I swallow hard and feel my eyelids grow heavy as she trails her nails down my tattoos.
“What did you do at the gym?” she asks.
“Just weights,” I rasp hoarsely.
Her dimples deepen. “How heavy?”
I smile at that. “Come here, and I’ll show you.”
I roll onto my back and Winter giggles as I haul her on top of me. Then I grip my palms around her waist and lift her up, making her squeal.
I lift her up and down a couple of times like the world’s lightest barbell, before exhaling and gathering her against me, chuckling gruffly as she kisses my neck.
“About four times as heavy as you,” I admit, and she strokes her fingers up my chest. “How were the kids?” I rasp down to her. “Did you enjoy your classes today?”
But she’s too preoccupied to respond, kissing my shoulders as I stroke her waist.
“Winter,” I murmur, groaning when she slips her hand up the bottom of my shirt.
I swallow hard and count to five, trying to remember everything that we were supposed to do tonight.
“The bath,” I rumble suddenly, pushing up onto my elbows and sitting upright. “When you were teaching your classes earlier, I told you that I was going to run you a bath.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she says. “I don’t always get sweaty after I ride.”