13. Ike
13
IKE
I tucked a pillow under her head and wrapped a blanket around us, then pressed a kiss to her lips just because I could. There was no more hiding. No more pretending because she belonged to someone else. She was mine now, and I wouldn’t let her go no matter what.
I pulled the blanket up higher, making sure she was tucked in, and she chuckled. “I think I’m fully covered.”
“Just being thorough,” I rumbled, my hand sliding underneath to touch her again. Fuck, I loved the feel of her skin under my fingers. I lazily trailed them over her breast, circling her nipple as she smiled at me.
She shivered again and I sank down, slipping my arm underneath her neck as I pulled her into my side. I was so fucking content right now. Sleep threatened to take me under, but I didn’t want to waste a single fucking second with her. Not when I had waited so long for this moment. But I hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours since I woke up in that shipping container. I was plagued with nightmares, but they were all about her.
No one rescued us.
She died in my arms.
And the worst…She wasn’t there at all. I had been in the shipping container all alone, and I never got the chance to tell her how I felt.
I almost missed my chance with her. I hadn’t been brave enough with Jane and I missed out, but that wouldn’t happen with Isla. Now that I had her, there was no way I was letting her go. Kavanaugh could suck it if he thought he could win her back.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, her brows crinkled as she watched me.
“You don’t want to know all the things that are running through my head.”
“Actually, I do.”
Isla valued the truth above everything. I knew that and so even though I wanted to keep some things to myself, I would always give it to her straight. “I was thinking that you’re mine now. And I don’t give a fuck if Kavanaugh wants you back or not. He can’t have you.”
Her lips split into a grin. “And do I have a say in that?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, that’s interesting.”
“And why would that be?”
“Because it’s my life. I sort of assumed I would be allowed the small courtesy of choosing who I’m with.”
I stiffened at that. “Are you saying you want to be with him?”
“No. It wouldn’t have worked.”
I really didn’t want to hear about her relationship with Kavanaugh. Whatever the reasons she decided not to give it a try after we were rescued, I didn’t need to know. She wasn’t with him now.
I bent down and pressed my lips to hers in a slow, sensual kiss. As much as I wanted to ravage her, I also needed her to know that I didn’t just want to fuck her. She was everything to me. She shivered again and I tucked her in a little more, then eyed the fireplace. There was a stack of logs in a wood bin, but it looked as if it hadn’t been used at all.
“Why isn’t that working?”
Her head swiveled to face it. “Well, that would require one of us to know how to use it.”
Sighing, I climbed out from under the blanket and pulled on my pants.
“What are you doing?” she asked, leaning on her elbow as she watched me.
“Starting a fire.”
“But…why?”
“Because you have a fireplace. Hell, you have wood, but on a night like tonight, it’s not in use.”
She sat up, the blanket draping down her sides, exposing her back. It threw me off track for a moment as I looked at her creamy skin in the dim lights of the Christmas tree.
“Do you want some help?”
“No,” I grinned. “I want you to lay back and keep those toes warm.”
“You could keep my toes warm.”
My mind flashed back to the shipping container, how fucking cold she was and how there was nothing I could do about it. I did my best to smile, but failed miserably. “Just stay there and let the men do the work.”
“The men? There’s only you.”
“Yes, there is,” I said, my gaze meeting hers. “And it better remain that way.”
“You’re the one who said it,” she shot back. “I was just pointing out the error in your statement.”
What a ballbuster. I got to work on the fire, stacking the logs and making sure there was enough space between them to let the air flow properly. Thankfully, she had a fire starter, so I didn’t have to spend more time out here than necessary. All I could think about was getting back under that blanket with her and putting my hands on her body again.
Once the fire was started and I was sure it wasn’t going to go out, I crawled beneath the blanket, shucking my pants as I snuggled into her side. Yes, I fucking snuggled against her, and I wasn’t ashamed at all. I wanted her body pressed to mine, to feel the curve of her hip under my palm and her legs tangled with mine.
I watched the flames dancing in her eyes as she stared into the fire, a slight smile curving her lips. She looked content, something I always wanted to see from now on.
“What are you thinking?”
“About how much I wish there had been a fire in that shipping container.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “No, you don’t. We would have died of smoke inhalation.”
“But imagine how nice it would have been. With the Christmas decorations around and all the tea lights…”
“Is that why you were awake tonight?”
I felt her head nod against my arm. “Christmas isn’t the same this year.”
No, it wasn’t for me either, but not for the same reasons as her. “I was thinking about it too.”
She shifted until she was laying on her back and looking up at me. “Is that why you were here?”
I nodded. “I never had Christmas before.” I had already told her that. “But it sort of felt like you gave me a taste of it in that shipping container. I wanted to know what it felt like to have the real thing.”
A frown creased her lips. “I should have invited you over. I just wasn’t?—”
I pressed my finger to her lips, silencing her apologies. “I’m here now. That’s all I care about. And I told you not to come to me until you were sure.”
“You actually came to me,” she pointed out.
“Well, I couldn’t stay away,” I shrugged.
“I know. I saw you sitting by the curb.”
“You didn’t tell me to leave,” I whispered, brushing my lips against hers.
“Because I didn’t want you to.”
Her leg wrapped around mine, pulling me against her as I swallowed her words with my lips. Pulling her to me, I nestled between her legs and found my way home.
“Are we in the right house?”
“Of course we are.”
“Because when we went to bed last night, there was not a naked man on our living room floor.”
Bowie sighed heavily. “Obviously, he came over last night and they hooked up.”
“Hooked up or got together?”
“Is there a difference?”
“Of course, there’s a difference! One implies a casual affair while the other is a relationship!”
“Would you like me to wake him up and ask?”
“No! If you wake him up, he might roll over. And if he rolls over, he’ll be exposing himself to us.”
“And you would have a problem with that?”
“Not particularly, but I’m pretty sure you would.”
I slid my hand over Isla’s breast and gave a firm squeeze. I felt her body vibrate as she chuckled. Her sister and Bowie were killing my morning. We were going to have to stay at my place from now on just so I didn’t have to wake up and worry about someone walking in on me wrapped around my woman.
My woman.
Fuck, I never thought I would say that, but here I was, holding onto Isla like my life depended on it. I never in a million years would have thought she’d even consider falling for a guy like me. But then she was nearly blown up and a spark of hope lit inside me when she stayed at my place. Despite her feelings for Kavanaugh, I knew she felt something happening between us. But she fought it, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. I didn’t want it to happen either—not after all I went through with Jane.
Which begged the question, what the hell was I going to do now that I had Isla in my life? How was I going to keep her safe when I was so sure I couldn’t do the same for Jane?
“Do you think we should get up?” Isla murmured.
“Not yet.”
“They’re just going to keep arguing.”
“Fuck them,” I muttered, pulling her closer.
I felt her hand glide over my skin, and I thought she was going for my cock, but instead, something insanely sharp dug into my thigh. “Fuck! Alright, fine. I’m up.” I shot upright, tossing off the blanket and getting to my feet as Riley squeaked and turned around.
A tiny ball of fur shot out from under the blankets, zooming across the room. Isla was laughing hysterically, but all I could think about was how close that thing had come to taking out some very important pieces of my anatomy.
“That’s not funny,” I pointed at Isla.
Bowie stalked out of the room, complaining about seeing another man’s junk so early in the morning. That wasn’t my problem. If he didn’t want to see, he shouldn’t have stuck around.
I pulled on a pair of pants and stalked over to Isla, grabbing her—blanket and all— and hoisting her in the air. She squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck as I marched up the stairs with her.
“You don’t have that little monster in there, do you?”
“It’s a kitten, and no, I don’t.”
“Good. Fucking menace.”
She smacked me on the shoulder. “I can walk.”
“But you shouldn’t have to,” I muttered. It was way too fucking early, and I didn’t want to deal with anyone else in the house, but Isla happened to like her sister, so I was going to have to live with it. As soon as I was in her room, I gently lowered her to her feet and let the blanket drop to the floor.
“Mmm, now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“You know they’re right downstairs.”
“And?”
“And they’ll know if we’re up here for too long.”
“Of course, they’ll know. We won’t be down there.”
“You know what I mean,” she pressed. “They’ll know what we’re doing.”
“And we know what they were doing last night,” I said, cocking an eyebrow at her. “What’s your point?”
She flushed a little, her fingers tangling with one another. She was getting nervous, but I’d just have to give her time to work that shit out. As I told her last night, she was mine now. I bent and gave her a swift kiss, pulling her closer to me before stepping back and eyeing every inch of her body. Fuck, her curves were magnificent.
“I’ll be downstairs.” She started to pull her hair back, but I shook my head. “Leave it down.”
“What? Why?”
“I like you all wild-looking.”
I smirked at her as I turned on my heel and headed downstairs. The smell of coffee hit me as soon as I entered the living room. I swiped my shirt off the floor, shaking it out before shoving my arms through the sleeves. As I strode into the kitchen, I did up the buttons, leaving a couple open at the top.
“Coffee?” Bowie asked.
“Thanks.”
I nodded as he handed over a cup. His eyes flicked to Riley and an awkward silence filled the room. I knew she was about to grill me, but I waited, leaning back against the counter and crossing one ankle over the other as she worked her way up to spitting it out.
“Okay, who shows up at someone’s house in the middle of the night and sleeps with some woman in the middle of the living room?”
That wasn’t exactly what happened, but I got the gist. “I was invited.”
“By Isla? I doubt that.”
“And what makes you say that?”
“Because she would have told me if she was ready to move on to you.”
I didn’t say a word, waiting to hear what else she had to say. Bowie watched us both with a grin on his face as he waited for it all to unfold.
“Aren’t you going to explain yourself?”
“I don’t have to. I’m not fucking you.”
“Is that all she is to you?”
“Not even a little.”
“So, you’re sticking around?”
“Why is that your business?”
“Because it’s going to get awfully cramped in here. I don’t want to walk through here one morning and step on your dick.”
“I’m large, but not long enough for you to step on in the hallway.”
She narrowed her eyes at me like she wanted me to prove it. I set my cup down and reached for my zipper.
“Alright, alright!” Bowie shouted, his hands up as he stepped between us. “I think we get the point!”
“I could use some proof,” Riley shrugged.
Bowie’s jaw dropped. “I’m right here.”
I smirked at her as I grabbed my cup and took a sip. “Are we done?”
“Most definitely,” Bowie answered for her.
Riley narrowed her eyes at me, then stomped out of the room. I walked over to the table and took a seat, not bothered at all when Bowie sat down with me.
“So, I guess I have to get used to you being around now.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Only because I’m friends with Kavanaugh.”
“You’ll get over it.”
He shrugged. “It’s none of my business. But I saw all the things Kavanaugh did wrong. I tried to tell him, but he’s hard-headed, just like you.”
“Not just like me. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I have no intention of losing Isla.”
He sighed, glancing away. “We’re not going to have to become friends and hang out, are we?”
“Why? Is my personality not to your liking?”
“Not at all. I just want to know the expectations.”
“You do your thing and I’ll do mine.” Then I thought about it. “I imagine there will be times we’ll have to hang out because of them.”
“Right, but not like…when they’re not around, right?”
“Actually, I have this hunting trip planned. You wanna go?”
He perked up at that. “What are you hunting?”
“Humans.”