Chapter 5 #2
“For a while. But I have friends with kids and I love my job, so it’s enough.” She paused. “You?”
“Sporting accident. I didn’t even know until my, ah, girlfriend at the time was trying to get pregnant without my knowing it. She got angry when it didn’t happen. We broke up, but I got checked out. Like you, I was told the chances were slim to none.”
“I’m sorry for her deception and that you had to find out that way.”
I shrugged. “Better I found out then than after we were married. I never had dreams of kids, really. I wanted to be a solicitor. Make lots of money. Travel. I felt sad for a while, but I came to terms with it. Much like you did. We find other joys, right?”
She nodded. “Sometimes I wonder if I would have made a good mom, but most times, I’m happy with my life.”
“Me too.”
I studied her. “You bring me joy.”
She laughed. “You hardly know me.”
“Doesn’t matter. I look at you, and I feel…” I shrugged, unsure how to express it.
“Horny?” she said with a grin.
I pulled her close and kissed her. “Without a doubt. But happy too. If this happened with anyone else, I’d be trudging to the village, demanding someone find me a way back to Edinburgh. But with you, I’m very content to stay here. Ravish you. Eat and relax. Let the fecking snow fall all it wants.”
She giggled. “You are one diverse man, Sully Black. Oddly romantic but so…”
“Manly? Sexy?”
She stroked my jaw. “All of the above, plus down-to-earth. You throw out curses, making them sound delightful.”
“You should see me in the office. Nothing delightful when I’m cursing then. People cower. Run as if an ogre were chasing them.”
“I doubt that.”
I lowered my voice and deepened my brogue. “You want ta see? I can be a horny ogre and chase you around like the fair maiden terrified of how I’ll devour you if I catch you.”
She glanced around the room, and I leered at her. “I’ll give you a head start.” I pushed her off my lap. “But I’m coming for ya in five…”
“There’s nowhere to run!” she exclaimed, panicked and laughing at the same time.
“Four.”
She ran down the hall, slamming the bedroom door. Which had no lock on it. I chuckled as I stood and stretched. “Three,” I called, tearing off my shirt.
I wasn’t going to need it.
My sweats followed. “Two!”
I opened the door, wearing only my boxers, a smile, and the hard-on I couldn’t control around her. I was constantly needing to be inside her. She was like my own Viagra.
She was easy to find, huddling under the covers as if I wouldn’t spot her instantly. I threw back the blankets and grinned down at her.
“One.”
AUTUMN
I woke, wrapped in Sully. The man was huge and took up a great deal of the massive bed in the room. And had an affinity, it seemed, for draping himself around me.
And I loved it. I felt safe, cared for.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to go back to sleeping alone.
I shifted a little, rolling so I faced him.
In slumber, he looked peaceful. Still hot as hell, but without the intensity that clung to him like a shadow.
I could only imagine him in the corporate world, dressed in a sharp suit, staring his clients down so they would listen.
I knew I couldn’t resist his stare.
I peered past him to the window. The snow had finally stopped, the wind blowing itself out in the night.
We’d spent all our time in bed, talking, eating makeshift meals in the kitchen.
Drinking wine or, for him, whiskey. We sat on the sofa and played card games.
Laughed. Talked more. I knew about his upbringing, and he admitted his hurt over the woman who had tried to trick him.
I confessed to being heartbroken at the news of never having kids. I admitted how scared I had been when Alan started stalking me. How alone I felt.
Somehow our confessions seemed easier in the confines of the cottage, the storm outside a protective barrier as we shared our secrets.
The bed was warm and cozy, Sully his own furnace. The air was still chilly, but the heater worked well, making it at least livable. I returned my gaze to him, finding his eyes open, studying me.
“Hi,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “What has you thinking so hard?”
“Nothing. The storm is over, I think.”
“It calmed down around four.”
“Do you think trains will run today?”
He shook his head. “Not until tomorrow at the earliest. Limited service, but I think they’ll start.” He traced a finger down my cheek. “Anxious to get away from me, Autumn?”
“No.”
A smile split his face. “Good.”
“I need to let Bonnie know I’m okay. Check on my aunt if I can.”
“We’ll walk to the village later. We can get cell signals. Even my booster didn’t work with the storm.”
“I know. I had tried using my cell earlier but got no signal. I wasn’t really worried at that point, but I didn’t know how long the storm was going to rage on for.”
“I don’t think anyone did.”
“Okay, so we’ll walk to the village and check in with people who might be worried.”
“Aye. I think Bonnie leaves a set of warm boots in the cupboard you can use. I doubt the runners I saw when I got here will do much to keep your feet from freezing.”
“Sounds good.”
“Coffee first.”
I hummed. “Yes.”
“You make such good coffee,” he said, nudging me, his eyes dancing with mischief.
“Sully, it’s cold outside this bed. You make the coffee.”
He rolled over instead and pinned me to the mattress. “How about I warm you up first? Then you make me coffee?”
“Sounds like a fair deal,” I replied, my voice breathless.
He lowered his face, tracing a nipple with his tongue. “I’ll make it more than fair.”
And he did.
SULLY
The trek to the village was slow. The usual paths were obscured with the amount of snow around.
Although, now the sun was out, and the snow was already glistening as it started to melt.
The boots Autumn borrowed were too big, but she tied them tightly around her ankles to stop them from falling off.
Her gait amused me, being more like a horse clopping than her usual graceful walk.
I teased her, and she threw a snowball at me.
I tossed her into the snow and kissed her until she promised to behave, then pulled her out of the drift and brushed her off.
I barely recognized myself. I wanted to make her laugh and grin.
I liked teasing her—her reactions making me smile.
She did a lot of things that made me smile.
We got to the village, heading straight to the pub.
We walked in, and it felt as if every eye was on us.
Mostly because they were. I had never walked into the pub with anyone but Bonnie.
I ignored the curious stares, pulling Autumn through the crowd to a vacant booth I saw in the corner.
I headed to the bar, ordering drinks and some lunch while Autumn called her aunt and Bonnie.
Mrs. Harris looked up at me from her seat at the counter.
“Well now,” she drawled, obviously recognizing Autumn and knowing I had been at the cottage as well.
“Don’t even start,” I warned. “What’s the news on the trains?”
“If they can make it from Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon, there’ll be one at six heading back. If not, then on Monday.”
“Right.” I picked up the drinks and nodded at the barman. “Thanks, Scotty.”
I carried the tray to the table. Autumn was on the phone. “No, I’m fine, Bonnie. I was perfectly safe at the cottage.” She listened a moment. “No. Everything was great. I’m heading back once the trains start running.”
“Tomorrow, maybe,” I mouthed, wondering why that word made me so unhappy.
“Tomorrow,” she repeated to my cousin. “So, I’ll see you Monday. If there’s an issue, then Tuesday.”
She said her goodbyes, then hung up.
I smirked at her. “I noticed you didn’t tell her I was here with you.”
She picked up her glass, taking a sip. “I didn’t have the strength for those questions over the phone. I’ll tell her in person. Besides, I had no idea what you wanted me to say. Or if you wanted me to pretend this never happened.”
I sat back, swallowing some Guinness. The dark, bitter brew was an explosion of taste in my mouth. “I don’t think either of us can pretend that, mo fhiadh beag.”
“No,” she agreed, lifting her glass.
“Your aunt okay?”
“Yes. About to leave for her brunch with the girls, as she called it, so it was a short call. I told her I was at a cottage in Scotland by the water and fine. That was all she needed to hear.”
“Ah,” I murmured.
She worried her bottom lip, obviously fretting about something.
“What is it?” I asked.
“What should I tell Bonnie?”
“Tell her the truth. I came up, not knowing you were there. We shared the cottage and…” I trailed off.
“…had a nice, friendly weekend?” she whispered, a flicker of pain crossing her face as she said the words. It matched the one that sparked in my chest at the thought of dismissing our time together.
“A nice, friendly weekend,” I repeated with a frown.
“That works.” I leaned closer. “Or you could tell her we couldn’t keep our hands off each other and I fucked you in every room of the cottage.
Took you on every available surface. Fell so hard and fast, I couldn’t bear the thought of letting you go.
That I followed you back to Edinburgh, grateful I had three more weeks to see you every chance I got.
That I planned to try to convince you to stay. ”
She blinked.
I picked up my mug. “But the nice weekend thing works too. Might be simpler.”
She swallowed. “Certainly less graphic.”
I stood, seeing Scotty waving at me that the food was ready.
“My version is the truth, though,” I said, meeting her eyes so she knew I was serious.
I liked how she blushed as I walked away.
I returned to the table, and we ate the pies and mash in silence. I devoured mine, while Autumn picked at hers. She looked dazed and upset. I pushed her plate closer. “Eat. Please.”
“What you said—”
I shook my head. “We’ll talk about it at the cottage. Eat. We’ll get a few things at the store and head back.”