Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
Poppy
Three days had passed since the whole ordeal with getting kidnapped and rescued and learning all of the dirty secrets of my dead husband.
It had been nice staying at the inn, especially since Gage didn't give us a hard time about Patrick sleeping in my room, which meant he must've accepted that there was nothing that would keep us apart at this point.
Once the storm had passed and the roads were safe, Keith left, promising to keep us updated on when he got home.
He’d filled us in on the woman he had waiting for him in Colorado and how he was planning to propose to her on Christmas.
With it only being two days away, we wished him well and asked for pictures as soon as she said yes.
I sat on the couch, holding my coffee mug to my chest as a blanket covered my lap while Gage and Patrick talked outside.
It felt weird not having to worry about looking over our shoulders or having a constant threat looming in the distance.
While I had seen them arrest Paco, Lisa, and Officer Hughes, it still felt surreal to me that everything was over.
The front door opened, and Patrick headed inside while Gage stayed outside, clearing the driveway.
“What’s going on?” I asked, nodding to my cousin through the window.
“Julie and Daisy are on their way home, so he’s clearing the driveway for them,” Patrick answered as he sat beside me on the couch.
“He does realize that it’s still snowing, right?”
“Yeah, but to him, that doesn’t matter. He wants to make it as safe as possible for his girls when they get home.”
“I love how much he loves them,” I said softly, smiling warmly as I turned and looked at Patrick. “Almost as much as I love you.”
“No one could ever love anyone as much as I love you,” he countered, brushing his lips lightly against mine.
“Since he’s clearing the driveway, does that mean we can head out and go back to the cabin?” I asked, my voice too hopeful, giving me away.
“Baby, even if the driveway wasn’t clear, I would hoist you over my shoulder and carry you the two miles to my cabin if that’s what you wanted.”
“Well, I am pretty sure he heard us last night, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to stay quiet for much longer... so... yeah...”
Patrick stood up, grabbed my coffee cup from my hands, and set it on the coffee table before reaching down and putting me over his shoulder.
“Patrick!” I squealed, laughter erupting from me. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you home where you belong. Though I hate to tell you that I don’t think two miles is going to do anything to keep them from hearing you tonight.”
He tossed the blanket onto the couch and started walking to the door.
“I don’t have any of my stuff,” I said, still laughing.
“We’ll get it later.”
“I don’t even have shoes! Or my phone.”
He stopped and looked over his shoulder as I looked up at him.
“I’ll buy you new everything, Poppy. I don’t give a fuck about any of that right now. All I want is to take you home and devour you like the delicious treat you are. We can worry about the rest later.”
He slapped my ass, sending a jolt of excitement through me, before he opened the door and walked past Gage.
“Thanks for everything,” he said, walking far enough past that I caught the grin on my cousin’s face as he continued to clear the driveway. “We’ll see you on Christmas. Don’t call or text or come over until then.”
“Noted,” Gage replied, shaking his head as I let mine fall, getting the perfect view of Patrick’s tight ass in the gray sweatpants he had on.
Typically, I would have hated it if a man had carried me like this, but it turned out I loved everything Patrick did.
He had a way of making me feel safe and protected at all times, even when he did depraved things to my body.
We hadn’t been fully alone in what felt like months, which meant we were going to spend the next two days getting our fill of each other without having to worry about anyone else being there.