5. Winston
Winston
“Shit,” she whispered, and a deep sound resonated through me.
“Language, baby,” I warned. I shouldn’t have. She wasn’t mine anymore. I had done a damn good job of losing her, but I’d be damned if that would last any longer. I could almost hear her beautiful green eyes rolling in the darkness.
“The lights are out,” she said, ignoring my comment, not arguing with me that I didn’t have a leg to stand on to tell her to watch her pretty, little mouth.
“Storm’s pretty bad out there,” I shared softly.
“Storm?” she repeated, and I felt her front press against mine.
Fuck! Just that small brush of her body against mine had my dick waking up despite the bitter icy cold that was starting to seep into the cabin. She hadn’t had a chance to draw down the blinds on the windows in the living space, and it was the only thing that let in some kind of light from the outside. It wasn’t much, but it let me make out the angles of her face, giving me a small glimpse of her features up close and personal.
Jesus, I’d missed her.
I’d seen her from afar these last couple of weeks when I’d been sitting outside her place, or gym, or office. But those had just been glimpses. Hours waiting for a split second of her from afar.
But up close like this?
My eyes dropped to her mouth. The pronounced cupid’s bow of her top lip called to me like no other.
“Wh-what do you mean, storm?” The fear in her voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I shook my head before I exhaled roughly.
“A snowstorm, baby. A pretty bad one from what it sounded like on the radio.”
“Radio? I didn’t hear about any storm! Wouldn’t I get some kind of weather alert on my phone?”
“Maybe, but reception can be shit normally up in these parts and worse in a storm.” I patted my legs and jacket for my phone. “I forgot mine in the car.”
“Wait… what are you doing here?” she repeated. Her hands fisted my jacket, and her eyes widened.
Almost like she realized just how close she was standing, she backed away. Allie touched the towel wrapped around her head for a moment. The gesture only made my eyes drop to her breasts, just in time to watch them jiggle beneath the sexy little satin nightgown she had on. Her nipples seemed to stand at attention for me before she crossed her arms in front of herself.
“How did you know I would be here?”
“Al––“ A brow rose, and I took a breath.
“Piper,” she guessed. “That little sneak,” she muttered. “What did she do? Call you? Give you a heads-up to come look for me?” she accused, then she stomped her foot a little. Fuck, she was adorable.
“No.” I shook my head. “Piper didn’t call. She kinda…”
“Kinda, what?” Her brows bunched, but when I saw her shiver, I didn’t think before I took a step back and started to undo my jacket. Her eyes widened.
“Wait! What are you doing?” she squeaked but didn’t fight me when I gave her my jacket, wrapping her up. I loved the way she looked in my clothes. Loved the way the jacket seemed to swallow her up. Like my body when it is on top of her.
“You’re cold.” I scowled. I couldn’t help it. There was something about Alaska Villanueva that brought out this overprotective side of me. One that was simply dedicated to her. “You’re not wearing enough,” I muttered under my breath.
“I have a jacket.” She rolled her eyes, and my jaw clenched.
“If you do, then why aren’t you wearing it?” I asked and then, because I realized what she had been wearing when she opened the door in a strange place, I couldn’t get myself to shut up. “And why would you open the door wearing almost nothing? I could have been some stranger, or an ax murderer!”
“I checked the peephole before I opened the door,” she responded. “And I just got out of the bath!” she exclaimed with attitude.
It was obvious I was making a bigger mess out of our situation. Shit. The whole flight and drive here, I had wracked my brain, trying to come up with the right words to tell her, to make her understand why I’d been the way I’d been. That when she thought I was being cold or indifferent, I’d just been trying to hold back. Too keep the need to touch her, fuck her, and breed her at bay. But nothing came out.
Not a fucking sound.
Instead, I took her hand in mine. The softness of her palm made my body ache in a whole other way. My heart finally felt peace after a month of turmoil. Our fingers laced together. I was positive she would remove her hand, but when she didn’t, I gently pulled her back into my arms.
“I was outside your place when you left,” I admitted. I knew how much of a fucking stalker it would make me sound like, but if anyone in this world could understand the shit in my head, it would be her.
Allie was my everything. My princess. The sweetness I needed to get through the day. My soulmate.
“What?”
“And if I’m being honest… this last month…” I hesitated.
“Yeah?” She pulled back a little and blinked, watching me closely, ready to call me on any kind of bullshit. It was one of the many things I loved about Allie. She wasn’t afraid to call me on my shit.
“I’ve been around.”
“Around?” she repeated.
“Around,” she said once again but in a different tone and moved back a small step, but I didn’t let go of her hand. “You’ve been watching me?”
“You wanted space,” I reminded her. She laughed roughly.
“No. We broke up.” She shook the towel off her head and tossed it in the direction of the couch with her free hand. Fucking hell, the sight of her long dark tresses made my hands itch to touch her.
“I didn’t agree to that,” I responded, and she crossed her arms in front of her
“Excuse me? What?”
“Look, I just?—“
“You what? Got tired of me? Was I too much? Did I call too often or not talk dirty enough when we played?” she cut me off.
Each question she asked slashed at my heart. I’d done that. I’d put those thoughts into her head because I’d been so stuck in mine. “Fuck no.” I sighed. “It had nothing to do with you?—“
“So, this was an it’s me, not you kinda situation? Are you seriously saying that to me right now?” She rolled her eyes and tried to shake my hand away, but I didn’t let her.
“I was afraid,” I blurted out. She shook her head.
“You? Afraid? Of what?” She kept taking more steps away, forcing me to release her hand, and even though we were less than six feet apart, I hated the distance.
“Of you!” I exclaimed. Her eyes widened. Not with surprise but anger.
“Me!?” she repeated loudly.
“Yes. No. Fuck!” I cursed.
My hands had a mind of their own. I took a step forward and reached for her, pulling her into me again. Thankfully, she didn’t fight me on it. This was not at all how I had seen this whole thing playing out.
“I wanted you too much,” I finally spit out. The words sounded even stupider when I heard them out loud. They bounced around in my head because I was met with nothing but silence. My eyes strained to get a clearer view of her, but in the darkness, I couldn’t make out what she was thinking. All I could do was feel, and the fact she hadn’t pushed me away gave me hope.
“I’m so damn in love with you,” I rasped, swallowing hard. “I can’t keep watching you from afar. Hoping that you’ll message me. That you’ll change your mind about me. I need you, Allie.” My voice sounded scratchy in my own ears. “I swear I won’t do that again. I won’t shut you out or––“
“Shut up,” she whispered. My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my goddamn chest with how badly it was thumping away.
“Allie, princess, please! Just let me explain––“
“Shut up and kiss me,” she demanded.
I didn’t hesitate. We had a crap ton of shit to talk about and figure out, but I gave her exactly what she wanted. Because if anything, I could give her this.
I could work at being the man she needed.
The daddy she craved.