Chapter 33
THIRTY-THREE
A CABIN IN THE WOODS
Beckett
“I’ll be out of the office but have access to my email. If you need anything, let me know or shoot me a text, and I’ll respond as soon as I can.”
“No problem,” Maria, one of my associate attorneys, said. “Enjoy your time off, Mr. Crawford.”
Hanging up the phone, I pulled up to Addison’s apartment and slumped back in my seat for a second.
The few days between Christmas and New Year’s, when most people were enjoying their time off and preparing for the next year, I was working some insane hours.
Rather than forgetting what day it was in the whirlwind and the excitement of the holidays, I was glued to my laptop.
I’d wanted to give everyone as much time off as possible, even if it meant I was spending a little extra time working. And business was booming, which was really amazing for the firm but less than beneficial to my health. Or my relationship.
Which was why I’d taken matters into my own hands and was parked outside Addison’s place with a plan.
I shut off the car and stepped out into the cool evening air. I’d talked to her not long ago, so I knew she was home with some unusual time off, too.
I knocked, and the door swung open a few seconds later, revealing a slightly disheveled Addison. Her pink hair was tied on top of her head, and there was red paint, or at least that’s what it looked like, on her left cheek.
“Umm…hi,” she said. “What—what are you doing here?”
Smiling down at her, I kissed her forehead and slipped around her. There were craft supplies laid out across her coffee table and the smell of hot glue lingering in the air.
“What are you working on?”
She closed the door behind me and hurried to my side as I stood in the middle of her living room. She grabbed the remote and paused the TV, glancing around her space.
“I’m making fake cakes and rewatching Supernatural,” she said quickly. “But you didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
Eyeing the fake cake, which looked impressively real, I noted the bucket of spackle and smaller containers of it, which she’d appeared to dye in various shades.
Addison tugged the arm of my jacket and stepped in front of me, waving her hand in my face. “Hello? Earth to Beckett. What are you doing here?”
“Can’t I just drop in on my girlfriend to see how she’s doing?” I smiled, but she gave me an unimpressed look. Running my hands down her arms, I intertwined our fingers. “I’m here because I have a surprise. So, pack a bag, baby girl.”
Her eyebrows shot to her hairline, and her jaw dropped in surprise. “What—I can’t just leave, Beckett. I have work and my grandmothers. I can’t—”
Shaking my head, I grasped her cheeks and tilted her head higher so I could kiss her easily.
“I took care of all of it,” I explained before I kissed her again.
“I spoke with Caroline, and I know you don’t have any events in the next few days.
I also talked to Gloria, and she agreed to cover for you.
And Mary is going to be with your grandmothers.
Everything is good. You have no responsibilities for the next three days. ”
“You’re kidding?”
Shaking my head, I moved past her and paced into her bedroom. I flipped on the light and grabbed the same bag she always used from the top of her closet.
“Okay, I guess you’re not kidding,” she said as she followed me. “How did you manage this?”
Heading back into her room, I dropped her bag on her bed. “The only way we’re going to spend any significant amount of time together is if we make it happen. So, I made it happen. Now, pack, baby girl. We’re on a time crunch. Unless you want me to pack for you?”
I reached for her bag, but she covered my hand with her own, effectively stopping me.
“No, I will pack. Last time you packed lingerie and forgot pants.”
“Didn’t forget them, Bubbles. That was intentional.”
She shook her head and stepped between me and her bed, unzipping her bag and glancing down at the empty inside.
“Yes, I figured as much. What do I need to pack this time?”
“Nothing in particular or super nice. Comfortable clothes. Maybe some tennis shoes? Definitely something warm. Unfortunately, we’re not flying anywhere.”
She hummed and chewed her bottom lip as she often did when she was thinking.
“Well, that’s only partially helpful,” she quipped, then turned and planted her hands on my chest. “Now, you wait out here.” She pushed me until I was standing in her kitchen. “You’re too much of a distraction.”
“A distraction?” I asked with a laugh.
“Yes, and if you want me to hurry, I need you behind a closed door.”
She shut the door in my face with a playful smile, tilting her sweet lips, and I pouted in the kitchen by myself.
Driving through the mountains, Addison was in awe of the view from outside her window. Although it wasn’t snowing in the city, the surrounding landscape was scattered with white flakes that pelted the windshield. It wasn’t cold enough for it to really stick, but it had been a few days ago.
“I’ve never been to the mountains before,” Addison murmured from the passenger seat. My palm was pressed against her thigh, and she’d wound her arm around mine. “I’ve never really been anywhere, actually.”
She leaned against the window, her breath fogging up the glass with each exhale.
“Where do you want to go, baby girl? I’ll take you anywhere.”
When she didn’t respond immediately, I glanced over to see her eyes were heavy and struggling to stay open. But before she really fell asleep, she sighed and readjusted in her seat.
“Everywhere.”
A little over three hours later, we were pulling up to my parents’ mountain home.
Glancing over to the passenger seat, I smiled at Addison’s sleepy form. I reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear and dragged my fingers down the left side of her neck, lingering over her birthmark.
“We’re here, baby girl,” I whispered.
She stirred slowly and blinked awake. Peering out the window, she straightened with a yawn and stretched her arms out in front of her.
“Oh, wow. Where are we?” Her voice and eyes were still heavy with sleep, as was the lazy smile she shot my way.
“It’s my parents’ second house. They had some people do work on the kitchen a few weeks ago but haven’t had time to come check it out. When I offered to do it, I realized it would be the perfect getaway for us. It’s beautiful and secluded.”
“It’s so pretty,” she muttered to herself and leaned forward to look out the windshield and up toward the second story.
“Let’s go.”
She didn’t wait for me to round the car and open her door as I usually did. She stepped out of the car, and I gathered our bags from the trunk before leading us to the front door. I juggled our bags into one hand and managed to unlock the door, which creaked with the cold.
It was a beautiful house. The exterior was dark wood and dark gray stone. Large windows were a focal point in every room and were a requirement when my parents’ bought the house when Andrew and I were kids.
I waved Addison inside. She took a few steps and spun around in a circle, staring up at the vaulted ceilings and the large chandelier Andrew and I had almost tugged out of the ceiling when I’d egged him on, daring him to jump from the top of the staircase and reach for it.
I’d put a mattress beneath him at least.
“Beckett, this place is insane,” she said in an awe-filled voice. “If this is your parents’ second home, what does their first house look like? The Palace of Versailles?”
I dropped our bags by the door and locked it behind me as I tossed my keys into the metal dish on the long side table. “Yes, exactly, but act surprised when you see it for the first time.”
“I’ll do that.”
“So, I figured I’d give you the short version of the tour tonight and maybe the more in-depth one tomorrow, if you want.”
“Yes, please. I want.”
We peeked into the study, lined with partially empty shelves and dark wood paneling to our left, and the dining room to the right. I then led us through to the sunken living room directly across from the front door.
My mom had decorated it with the softest fabrics and leather accents. All the furniture was facing the large, stone fireplace and the picture windows spanning the back of the house.
“What an amazing view,” Addison muttered, pressing her hand against one of the chilly windows.
The view was pretty spectacular. It was a small yard that cascaded down a tree-heavy hill to a small stream that was likely frozen or close to it. Beyond the stream were hills and mountains of trees and snow as far as the eye could see.
It was beautiful, but watching her stare in awe and smile back at me was my version of the perfect view.
“It really is,” I agreed quietly, and when she noticed I was staring at her, she blushed.
I led her through the rest of the house, including the kitchen and the attached mudroom. Upstairs, I pointed out the office and the room I stayed in when Andrew and I were kids.
Shutting the door behind me, I led her down the hall, saving the best for last.
“Did you spend a lot of time here as a kid?”
“Yeah, we definitely did,” I said. “We came almost every summer for a few weeks, and we spent a lot of holidays here, too. I’ll show you all of mine and Andrew’s favorite places tomorrow.”
“Your secret spots?”
“Exactly.”
We stopped at the double doors leading into the main bedroom, and I pushed them open.
It was directly above the living room, so there was a similar view through floor-to-ceiling windows behind the bed.
The landscape was clouded by darkness, but a few snowflakes were illuminated by the light from inside.
“Oh my gosh,” Addison exclaimed. “And there’s another fireplace?!” She pointed to the stone fireplace that sat between the room and the bathroom as she crossed to it. “I think we should just stay in this room for the next few days. We never need to leave.”
“Except for food, maybe?”
She shook her head and sat down on the edge of the four-poster bed, kicking her boots off and climbing back toward the pillows. “No, we won’t need food.”
“Is that so?” I asked, following her lead and toeing off my boots. I dropped onto the bed and prowled toward her on my hands and knees.
She giggled and pushed back a piece of hair that had fallen into my face as I positioned myself between her legs, pressing my growing erection against the apex of her thighs. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, but they quickly found mine once again.
“All we need is in this room,” she muttered, bracing her hands against my cheeks and rolling her hips so her pussy slipped against the protruding zipper of my jeans.
“I agree.” I dropped a kiss to her neck and enjoyed the vibration of her moan against my lips. “Everything I’ll ever need is in this room. In this bed. Right here, beneath me.”