Chapter 23 Wren
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
WREN
Sly stands in the doorway, looking unsure as his eyes look between us.
“Sly? Is everything okay?” I ask, growing nervous.
“Hmm?” His eyes focus on me, and his brows lift in surprise. “Oh. Yes, everything is great.”
He runs a hand over the back of his neck nervously as Jagger and I exchange a confused glance. Sly never looks unsettled; this is entirely out of character for him.
“You’re scaring me. What’s going on?” I ask as I move to my knees at the edge of the bed.
His brows knit together as he looks at me, then he lets out a deep breath and pushes a hand through his hair, tilting his head to stare at the ceiling, as if gathering the courage to do something.
“Sly?”
He rolls his shoulders back, his head dropping back in place as his usual sharp green gaze fixates on me.
With his confidence back in place, he closes the distance between us, does a strange little bow, then holds out his hand, palm up, as he asks, “Wren, would you do me the pleasure of accompanying me on a date?”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “A date?” He was acting nervous about asking me on a date? He nods, and I smile, both in relief and excitement. “I’d love to.”
I place my hand in his, and he helps me off the bed. Suddenly, I remember what Jagger and I had just been doing, and I spin to face him. “Oh, what about—”
Jagger holds up his hands to stop me, then quickly signs, “Go with him. And have fun. You deserve it.”
I want to tell him that he deserves to have fun, too, but he grabs the TV remote, so I let Sly tug me out of the room.
“Where are we going? Do I need to change?” I ask as he leads me toward the living room.
“You’ll see in just a moment, and no, you’re perfect just as you are.”
When we step into the kitchen, Pete and Dex are sitting on the couch, their heads turn toward us. Pete winks at me, and Dex gives me a huge smile, as if they know something I don’t.
“This way.” Sly steps up to the back door and pulls it open.
My eyes widen in surprise when I take in the dark backyard.
“Wow, what’s all this?” I ask, taking in the scene.
There’s a blanket sprawled out in the middle of the lawn, with more blankets and pillows piled up around the edge, along with some of the emergency lanterns.
I see a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses, and off to the side, a small fire flickers, its bright orange flame lighting up the whole thing and completing the romantic setting.
He leads me forward, and I shiver, the cold night air brushing my legs. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and quickly leads me to the center of the blanket, helping me sit down. “Let’s get you warmed up first.”
He sits beside me and pulls a blanket across our lap, then reaches for the wine.
“Sly?” I ask, placing my hand on his arm. He looks at me with a raised eyebrow as I tell him, “You never answered my question. What’s all this for?”
“Oh, sorry. This is for our date. I thought we could just spend some time together, stargazing.” I tilt my head back and realize the night sky is full of bright stars tonight.
“It’s so pretty,” I tell him as he pours us both a glass of wine, passing me one, then holding his up in a toast.
“To the most beautiful woman in the world, and this long overdue date.”
“To us,” I reply, clinking my glass to his before we both take a sip. “What made you want to do this now?” I ask curiously.
“I should have done it weeks ago, as Dex did. But at the time, I was thinking we need to get out of danger first, then we can focus on this sort of thing.”
“What changed?” I ask, taking a sip of the wine that’s sweeter and tastier than I expected.
“I realized that you deserve better than that. You are missing out on so many firsts.” He shakes his head and turns his eyes to the stars as he continues. “I want to build a life with you. One that isn’t just filled with bad memories.”
“Sly…” He turns his head to me, and I set down my wine glass so I can clasp his hand between mine. “Every memory I have with you is a good one.”
“Even when you were taken while I was supposed to be protecting you?”
“Okay, well maybe not every memory,” I tell him. “But I choose not to remember that part. What I remember is how you wouldn’t let me go pee on my own.”
His eyebrows raise in surprise. “And that’s a happy memory for you?”
“Yeah, I—” My voice catches in my throat, and I feel heat creep up my neck, suddenly feeling embarrassed about it.
After setting his own wine glass aside, he cups my cheek, his green eye searching mine. “Tell me.”
I shrug, my eyes avoiding his as I tell him the truth.
“I kind of like it when you’re bossy, especially when you’re taking care of me.
And what I remember most from that day was what happened in the park behind the tree, the way you took care of me, then you refused to let me go to the bathroom on my own, to protect me.
I was embarrassed that you wouldn’t leave me there on my own, but at the same time…
I kind of loved it. That you refused to leave me because you wanted to keep me safe. ”
He doesn’t say anything, so I look at him. My tongue glides along my lower lip as I think about all the other times he’s been bossy.
“Remember how you made sure I was taken care of at the zoo?” He nods once, slowly, and I continue. “And when we first met?”
Anger flashes across his face. “You were about to be violated by that biker.”
I shrug. “I barely remember him. What I remember about that day is you guys rescuing me, how you didn’t hesitate to swoop in and kill to protect me. You stormed in like my knights in shining armor and carried me off to safety.”
“You’ve been stolen from us twice since we’ve been taking care of you.” Despite his self-deprecating words, his thumb starts to stroke my throat slowly, and his eyes track the motion.
“And you’ve rescued me three times. It might be four or five before we’re done with everything.”
His fingers flex as his brows pinch. “Don’t say that. I can’t bear to lose you again, Wren. Why aren’t you scared?”
“I’m terrified. But I know that being taken isn’t the worst thing in the world, because you’ll always come for me.”
“Always,” he promises, resting his forehead against mine and closing his eyes. He takes a deep breath, then adjusts us so we’re lying down, staring up at the stars, my head on his shoulder with his arm around me, and a blanket draped over us.
“This is nice,” I say, snuggling in closer as I hook my leg over him. He grabs it with his left hand, pulling it right across him as his right arm encircles me, his fingers trailing up and down my arm soothingly.
My fingers play with the buttons on his dress shirt as I stare up at the sky. He hums in agreement, then his left hand starts to move up and down my thigh.
His hand is so large, and his fingers so warm, that the second I realize how close he is to my pussy, I start to grow damp. I begin to imagine his fingers reaching higher and higher, wishing they would touch me where I’m craving him the most.
When he doesn’t push any further, I start to wonder if he’s waiting for me to make the first move, or if he’s holding back for some other reason.
I lick my lips as I flick open two buttons on his shirt, giving me enough room to slide my hand in and play with the smattering of hair on his chest, my nails scraping through it.
There’s something about touching him like this that makes him feel extra sexy, more manly, and rugged.
His outward appearance is so clean cut and put together that you’d expect him to have a shaved chest, and I love that he doesn’t.
He doesn’t have a lot of hair, but it’s enough to make my core tighten in arousal when I play with it.
His fingers dig into my thigh, and my hips instinctively roll against his leg, trying to seek the friction I need.
“Wren…” he says in a warning tone.
“Sly?” I ask, grinning against his chest.
“I don’t think we should do this.” My hand freezes, and I pull my head back so I can look him in the eyes.
“Why not?”
“It’s a big step, I’m not sure you’re ready.”
I sit up and turn toward him as he follows suit. “You know, you guys are really starting to hurt my feelings.”
A look of horror crosses his face. “What? Why?”
“First, Jagger refuses to have sex with me, and now you? Am I doing something wrong?”
He rubs my arm as he tries to soothe me. “No, of course not. We just don’t want to push you before you’re ready.”
“Sly, I already told you the other day that I was ready. Has something changed for you since then?”
He presses his lips together in a thin line as I tell myself not to cry. I refuse to be the type of girl who cries at every emotionally charged moment, as hard as that is sometimes. Right now, I’m just frustrated because I don’t understand why they’re holding back.
“You guys have all slept with who knows how many other women, but you don’t want to do that with me? Do you know how that makes me feel?” I ask, my hands clenching into fists.
“I’m sorry, Wren. I just wanted you to feel special. To feel loved.”
“I did! I do… But you need to listen to me, Sly. If I tell you I’m ready, you need to trust that I am.”
“It’s not just that,” he says before his eyes flick to the side for a moment in thought. “It’s… my control issues.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I say, shaking my head in confusion.
“It means I need to be in complete control when I’m with you… sexually.”
A small laugh escapes me, making him frown. “Uh, Sly? I kinda figured that out already. Did you not hear anything I just said? About liking when you’re bossy?”
“It’s not just about being bossy,” he says, pulling my hands up between his. “It’s about being in control. About you doing what I ask because you trust me to take care of you.”
I pull my legs under me so I’m kneeling in front of him, my hands still sandwiched between his as I try to convey how serious I am. “I do trust you, Sly. Why can’t you see that?”