CHAPTER SEVEN
“It’s really starting to come down now,” I say, pulling my truck under the carport and cutting the engine.
Pinky nods, staring out her window at the snow blanketing the yard. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
We got lucky, making it home when we did. The roads between the shopping center and here were already covered and getting slick as hell.
“Sit tight, butterfly.” I hop out of the truck, the cold air biting at my exposed skin, and hurry around to her side.
Opening the door, I reach up and grab her by the waist, lifting her down from the high seat like she weighs nothing. Her small hands grip my shoulders, and when I set her on her feet, her cheeks are flushed pink.
“Thanks,” she says, looking up at me with those big blue eyes.
I can’t help myself. I lean down and press a quick kiss to her lips. It’s getting harder and harder to keep my hands off her now that I’ve claimed her, and she didn’t run for the hills.
“Go on inside, baby, and I’ll bring this shit in,” I tell her, pulling the keys from my pocket and handing them to her.
“Yes, please.” She shivers, grabbing the keys and turning toward the door.
I watch her ass as she scurries away, her little legs moving quickly in those tight jeans. I chuckle to myself.
My Florida girl is definitely not used to a winter wonderland.
Turning back to the truck, I start grabbing bags from the bed.
There’s a lot of shit to carry in—groceries, clothes, stuff that wouldn’t fit in the saddlebags when we left the beach, and all the other stuff we bought to make this place livable.
I stack as many bags as I can on each arm and head for the door.
Inside, Pinky’s already cleared off the island in my kitchen. Damn, my girl works fast. She’s even pulled our food out of the bag and set it out on the now-clean surface.
“Thanks,” I grunt, hefting the bags onto the counter next to our dinner. “I’ll go get the rest.”
“I’ll help,” she offers, moving toward the door.
I shake my head. “Too cold. Eat your food before it gets cold.”
She looks like she wants to argue, but then nods and picks up her burger while I head back outside for another load. It takes three more trips to get everything inside, and by the time I’m done, my nose is numb and my fingers are stiff from the cold.
I kick the door closed behind me with my boot and drop the last of the bags on the floor. “Fuck, it’s coming down hard now.”
Pinky’s standing by the kitchen window, watching the snow with a look of wonder on her face. She turns when I speak, and I’m struck again by how beautiful she is in the warm light of my kitchen.
“It’s like a snow globe out there,” she says.
I strip off my gloves and toss them on the counter, then pull off my wet jacket and hang it on the back of a chair. Walking over to where she’s set out our food, I grab my burger and take a big bite. Cold, but still good.
“This needs to be washed,” Pinky says, pulling clothes from one of the bags.
I steal one of her fries and pop it in my mouth. “Laundry room’s through there,” I tell her, nodding toward a doorway off the kitchen.
She grabs a few of the bags and heads in that direction. I hear the washer lid open, then the sound of water starting to fill the drum.
While she’s busy with that, I open the fridge and start putting away the groceries. It’s a weird feeling, having food in my fridge that I didn’t get from a drive-thru or a pizza delivery guy. Even weirder is having a woman in my space.
I’ve been alone in this trailer for eight years, ever since my mother died.
Oh, I’ve brought women back here for a quick fuck, but none of them ever stayed long enough to see the place in the light of day.
None of them ever put their clothes in my washer or their food in my fridge, that’s for damn sure.
It feels... good. Like something that’s been missing has finally fallen into place.
“Where do you want the cereal?” Pinky asks, coming back to the kitchen.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I almost don’t hear her. “Huh? Oh, uh, that cabinet above the microwave.” I point.
She opens the cabinet and stands on her tiptoes, but she’s too short to reach the shelf. Without a word, I step up behind her, pressing my front to her back as I take the cereal box from her hand and easily set it on the shelf.
She leans back against me, her little body fitting perfectly against mine. “Thanks.”
I wrap my arm around her waist, holding her there. “You’re welcome, butterfly.”
We stay like that for a moment, just breathing together, and my cock starts to respond to her proximity. Reluctantly, I let her go and step back. There’ll be time for that later.
We continue putting the groceries away, working around each other in the small space. I catch her sneaking fries every time she passes the island, and it makes me smile. She’s got an appetite for such a tiny thing.
“So,” she says, opening a drawer to put away some utensils we bought. “This is where—” She stops abruptly, pulling something out of the drawer. “What’s this?”
She turns, holding up an old photograph. My chest tightens when I see what it is. I move closer, taking it from her hand.
“That’s me and Morpheus,” I say, looking down at the two young men in army fatigues, arms slung around each other’s shoulders, shit-eating grins on their faces.
Her jaw drops. “No shit? That’s you?” She leans in, studying the picture. “You were hot shit, honey!”
I smirk, feeling a strange mix of pride and nostalgia as I look at my younger self. “We served in the army together. Ten years. We were just kids when we joined up.”
“How old were you?” she asks, her eyes never leaving the photo.
“I was nineteen. Morpheus was eighteen.” I run my thumb over the edge of the picture, remembering. “We went through basic training together, got stationed together. Served in the same unit for a decade.”
She looks up at me with those big blue eyes. “What made you decide to join the army?”
I shrug. “Didn’t have many options. My old man split when I was a kid. Mom was working two jobs to keep a roof over our heads. I wasn’t exactly college material.”
“I think you’re smarter than you let on,” she says, a little smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
I grunt, not sure how to respond to that. I’ve never thought of myself as particularly smart. Street smart, yeah. Good with my hands, definitely. But book learning was never my thing.
She presses herself against my chest, her small hand coming to rest over my heart. “Thank you for your service.”
Something inside me falls a little harder at her words. I dip my head to kiss her, my hand coming up to cup the back of her neck—
And then the power flickers, and the kitchen goes dark when it dies completely.
“Motherfucker,” I growl, stepping back and nearly tripping over a grocery bag I’d set on the floor.
“What happened?” Pinky’s voice sounds small and scared in the dark.
“Power’s out. Snow probably took down a line somewhere.” I feel my way to one of the kitchen drawers, pull out the flashlight I keep handy for times just like this, and stuff it in my back pocket. “There are some candles in that cabinet over the sink.”
I hear her moving carefully in the darkness, then the sound of the cabinet opening. “I can’t see anything,” she says, her voice rising. “We’re going to freeze to death.”
I dig in my pocket, pull out my lighter, and flick it open. The small flame illuminates her face, her eyes wide with panic.
“No, we won’t,” I assure her, handing her the lighter. “We’ve got a fireplace.” I thumb over my shoulder toward the living room.
She peers around me, the lighter casting a glow as she spots the stone fireplace along the far wall of the living room. “Thank the gods.”
“I’ll go grab some wood,” I say, reaching for my jacket.
“Be careful,” she calls after me as I head for the door.
Outside, the snow is coming down hard, big fat flakes swirling in the beam of my flashlight.
I trudge through what’s already accumulated, at least three inches, toward the woodshed at the edge of the property.
My breath puffs out in front of me in white clouds as I grab an armful of split logs and head back to the house.
By the time I make it back inside, my face is numb, and my arms are aching from carrying the heavy load. “Son of a bitch,” I spit out, kicking off my boots by the door. “It’s colder than a witch’s titty out there.”
My eyes go to Pinky when she giggles. Glad she’s entertained by me freezing my balls off. I shiver.
“Is this okay?” I glance around at the lit candles in the room. The effect is... romantic as hell, actually.
“This is nice, baby,” I say, carrying the wood to the fireplace.
She smiles, the candlelight making her pink hair look almost golden. “I’m trying to seduce you.”
“You don’t gotta try hard, babygirl. I’m all yours.” I tease, setting the logs down before arranging them in the fireplace. As I work, I’m acutely aware of Pinky moving around behind me, putting away the last of our groceries by candlelight.
“Do you need any help?” she asks, coming to stand beside me as I crumple up some newspaper for kindling.
“I’ve got it.” I strike another match and touch it to the paper, watching as the flames catch and grow. “Used to do this all the time as a kid. Our heat was always going out.”
She kneels next to me, holding her hands out to the growing flames. “I’ve never had a real fireplace before. Only one of those electric ones.”
I snort. “Those aren’t fireplaces. They’re fancy space heaters.”
She laughs, and the sound warms me from the inside out. I’ve never wished I had a bearskin rug more than I do right now, watching her bathed in firelight, her face glowing from its warmth.
“There,” I say as the logs catch and the fire really gets going. “That should keep us from freezing our toes off.”
“It’s beautiful,” she says, staring into the flames.