Chapter 7
Stylz
The first rays of morning light are just starting to peek through the frosty cabin windows when I finally stir awake. My body”s deliciously sore in that deep, satisfying way that can only come after a night of mind-blowing sex.
A lazy grin tugs at my lips as memories of last night come flooding back—the frenzied passion, the heat of Delilah”s skin against mine, the way she cried out my name. Just thinking about it has my blood heating all over again.
I glance down at the woman still sound asleep in my arms, all tousled hair and soft curves pressed against me. In the pale dawn light, she looks utterly at peace, her features relaxed in a way I didn”t realize I”d been craving to see.
As if she can sense my eyes on her, Delilah stirs slightly, letting out the most adorable little sigh as she burrows deeper into my embrace. My arm tightens reflexively around her, pulling her closer until there”s not a breath of space between us.
It feels... right. Natural. Like we were meant to fit together this way all along, two puzzle pieces finally slotted into place.
The realization hits me square in the gut, stealing my breath for a moment. I”ve never felt this kind of profound connection with anyone before. Sure, there”ve been flings—nights of casual, no-strings-attached fun—but this?
This is something else entirely.
I press a kiss to the top of Delilah”s head, inhaling her warm, floral scent. She shifts again, those long lashes fluttering open to reveal eyes still heavy with sleep.
”Mmm, morning,” she mumbles, her voice low and scratchy. Goddamn, if that isn”t the sexiest thing I”ve ever heard.
”Mornin”, gorgeous.” The words rumble out of me, low and rough, and I can”t resist leaning in to capture her lips in a lingering kiss.
She responds with a soft hum of pleasure, her fingers trailing lazily down my chest, raising goosebumps in their wake. In this little cocoon we”ve created, everything is quiet and still and perfect.
Until the distant roar of engines shatters the stillness.
Delilah tenses in my arms, her eyes going wide. ”Is that...?”
I give a slow nod, feeling that same reluctance to let our intimate little world be disrupted. ”Sounds like the rescue crew. They must”ve finally been able to mobilize.”
As if on cue, Declan Wilder”s booming voice echoes from somewhere outside. ”Steele! You alive in there?”
Delilah”s cheeks flush prettily at the implication. I shoot her a roguish wink as I call back, ”No thanks to your slow ass finally getting here!”
Declan”s mocking laughter rings out. ”Yeah, yeah. We”re comin” to getcha, so get decent!”
With a resigned sigh, I start extracting myself from our rumpled sheets. ”C”mon, gorgeous. Time to face the real world again.”
I tug on my clothes as she does the same, neither of us able to quite meet each other”s eyes. There”s a strange sort of shyness between us now—like we”re both still processing the profound intimacy we”ve shared and what it could mean going forward.
Once we’re dressed, I open the door and blink against the bright glare bouncing off the freshly fallen snow, my eyes quickly landing on the two snowmobiles idling nearby. Their riders, fellow rescuers Garrett and Declan, stand beside them, shovels in their hands. They’ve already cleared a path from the door for us.
”Steele, you dirty dog!” Garrett calls out with a wolfish grin. ”No wonder you were in no hurry to get rescued.”
”Didn”t realize you had such nice company keeping you warm,” Declan adds, giving Delilah an obvious once-over. The undisguised admiration in his voice makes me want to clock him, but at the same time? I can”t fucking blame him.
”Alright, that”s enough,” I growl, shooting the two of them a quelling look. ”Eyes off the lady before I shut ”em for ya.”
Laughing, Delilah takes my hand, allowing me to pull her up behind me on the snowmobile while Garrett and Declan take the other one. Her arms wind around my waist, her body molding to mine. I gun the engine, letting it roar to life beneath us, then take off in a spray of fresh powder. Delilah lets out a whoop of surprised laughter, the sound sending tingles straight down my spine.
Unable to resist, I start showing off—whipping around tight turns, catching air off little moguls, just to hear that wild, joyful sound spill from her lips again. Her grip tightens around me, but there”s no fear, only exhilaration.
This woman is something else.
The rush of cold air stings my eyes, but I don”t even care. All I can focus on is how Delilah”s laughter rings out, bright and carefree, her arms clutching me with a trust that feels just as intimate as anything we shared last night.
By the time we finally pull up to the Silverpine Lodge, I”m utterly drunk on her—the scent of her hair, the warmth of her body pressed against mine, that infectious delight that she seems to exude from her very core.
She hops off with a breathless giggle, her cheeks flushed from the icy wind, those inky curls dancing around her face. My chest tightens at the sight of her so gloriously windswept and radiant.
”That was amazing!” Delilah exclaims, still buzzing with adrenaline as she throws her arms around me.
I tug Delilah closer, savoring the way she melts against me, so warm and soft and real. For a crazy moment, I”m tempted to never let her go—just keep holding onto her here, the rest of the world be damned.
”Hey,” I murmur against the crown of her head. ”Have dinner with me tonight?”
Delilah pulls back just enough to meet my gaze. ”Oooh, as tempting as that is, I actually have other plans already lined up for this evening.”
I raise an eyebrow. ”Other plans, huh? Should I be jealous?”
”Maybe a little,” she teases, bopping me lightly on the nose. ”A girl”s gotta have some secrets, right?”
I pretend to consider this for a moment, tapping my chin in an exaggerated display of contemplation. ”Nah, I don”t think I like the sound of that. I”m a much bigger fan of full disclosure, myself.”
”Is that so?” Delilah arches one perfectly sculpted brow. ”Well then, I suppose you”ll just have to wait and see what I”ve got up my sleeve, won”t you?”
The spark of challenge in her eyes is like a match to gasoline, that playful defiance igniting a slow burn inside me all over again. I can”t resist pulling her flush against me, delighting in the way her breath hitches at the sudden contact.
”You know I”m not a very patient man, princess,” I point out.
”Then I guess it”s a good thing I’m learning to live on the edge.”
With a low chuckle, I reluctantly release her, forcing myself to take a step back before I do something we”ll both regret—or maybe not regret at all. ”Alright, alright, you win. This time.”
”We”ll see about that.” Delilah flashes me one last coy smile before turning on her heel and sauntering back toward the lodge.
Without Delilah to keep me company, I spend the day cleaning up the honeymoon cabin, restoring it to its pristine state. It’s late, almost dark, as I guide my truck back through the dimly lit streets of Silverpine, contemplating dinner.
As I round the next corner, the soft glow of Chez Maurice comes into view—Silverpine”s one ”fancy” restaurant, known for its romantic ambiance and candlelit dining.
And that”s when I see her.
Delilah, radiant as ever in that figure-hugging red dress, is seated across from a man in an impeccably tailored suit, the two of them leaning in close as they converse in hushed tones.
My grip tightens on the steering wheel until my knuckles go white.
A date.
She”s on a fucking date.
The realization steals the breath from my lungs. Flashes of my past assault me—the bitter sting of being left behind by the woman I thought I”d spend my life with, all because I wasn”t enough for her.
Suddenly, it”s like I”m living that nightmare all over again. Only this time, it cuts deeper than I ever could”ve imagined.
My foot slams the brake before I can think twice. I yank the truck into park, the engine idling as I throw open the door and storm toward the entrance, my blood thundering in my ears.
The maitre d” tries to stop me with a polite, ”Excuse me, sir—” but I brush past him without a second glance. I”m zeroed in on Delilah, my focus narrowing until she”s all I can see.
”Well, well,” I growl as I reach their table, my tone laced with acid. ”I guess our little fling was just another notch on your bedpost, princess.”
Delilah”s head whips up, her eyes going wide as they meet my furious glare. For a beat, she looks utterly stunned—then her expression hardens into one of icy disdain.
”Stylz, what the hell—”
”Don”t bother,” I cut her off with a harsh bark of laughter. ”I get it. You were just slumming it with the local redneck for a few kicks, right? Thought you”d have a little fun before running back to your precious city life?”
The man she”s with is on his feet now, stepping between us with a look of outrage. ”I”m going to have to ask you to leave, sir—”
”Stay out of this,” I snarl, shoving him aside with more force than intended. He goes stumbling back, nearly colliding with a passing waiter.
”Stylz!” Delilah gasps, surging to her feet. Her eyes blaze with a potent mix of anger and hurt that makes my heart clench despite my own fury. ”What is wrong with you? If you”d pull your head out of your ass for two seconds, you”d realize—”
”Realize what?” I demand, taking a menacing step forward. The man tries to intervene again, but a warning glare from me has him freezing in place. ”That you were just using me for a fling this whole time? That you never took us seriously?”
Delilah”s expression crumples for the briefest of moments, a hairline fracture in her icy facade. When she speaks again, her voice is quieter but no less fierce.
”Is that really what you think of me, Stylz? That I”m the type of person who would toy with someone”s feelings like that?”
The wounded resignation in her tone gives me pause, the anger draining from me in a dizzying rush. My shoulders slump as the weight of my rash behavior starts to sink in.
”I... no, of course not. I just—”
”Just what?” She shakes her head slowly, a muscle ticking in her jaw. ”Saw me having dinner with another man and automatically assumed the worst?”
I swallow hard, my throat feeling impossibly tight. ”Delilah, I—”
”Save it.” She cuts me off again. ”If you truly think I”m capable of being that cruel, that manipulative, then maybe we”re not as compatible as I thought.”
With that, she turns on her heel and stalks out of the restaurant without a backward glance. I”m left standing there like an idiot, the weight of my mistake crashing down on me in waves.
How could I let my insecurities get the better of me like that? After everything Delilah and I have shared, all the vulnerability and trust, how could I throw it back in her face so callously?
I glance over at her dinner companion, who”s watching me with an expression of utter disdain.
”I don”t know what”s going on between you two,” he says coolly, straightening his tie, ”but I”d start doing some serious groveling. Because I just offered her a job here, and I don”t want you to mess this up for either of us.”
His words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest.
A job. In Silverpine.
Delilah truly was considering relocating here... to be with me.
And like a colossal idiot, I let my jealousy and self-doubt blind me to the truth, lashing out in a way that may have just cost me the best thing I”ve ever had.
I open my mouth, but no words come. What could I possibly say to make up for this catastrophic lack of faith in her?
The man regards me with a mixture of pity and contempt before shaking his head. ”I”d get moving if I were you. A woman like that doesn”t come around every day.”
Then he”s brushing past me, striding out of the restaurant with his head held high, leaving me alone with the weight of my transgressions.
My legs feel heavy as I finally force myself to move, to follow the path Delilah took out into the crisp night air. I have to make this right, no matter what it takes. I won”t—I can”t—lose her over something as stupid as my own hang-ups about being left behind.
Delilah deserves better than that. She deserves a man who trusts her, who believes in her with every fiber of his being.
And if I have to spend every day proving that I can be that man, then so be it.
Because the truth is, I”m already there when it comes to Delilah Delgado. Somehow, this city girl has snuck past all my defenses to capture my heart in a way I never saw coming.
I just hope I haven”t blown my only chance to show her how damn precious that is to me.