Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
H udson
“You really surprise me, ya know that?” She smiles up at me the next evening.
I grin, taking her bait. “Yeah, how’s that, Treasure?”
Her eyes slide from the starry night surrounding us down to my worn leather boots.
“A night at the carnival–it’s sweet.” She looks me up and down again. “You look all rugged and out-of-place–like you just walked off the mountain.”
“I did.” I chuckle. I hadn’t even thought about what I was wearing before we left the house; the idea to hit the traveling carnival in town was a last-minute one. Now, we sit side by side in an old ferris wheel, wobbling in the breeze. “Forgive me—I’m distracted by a beauty with pouty lips and a sassy mouth.”
Her grin splits. “Truth is, I think your work boots are hot. I love what an adventurous, hard workin’ man you are.”
My cock throbs at her words. “Good.”
The little heartbeat at her throat quickens and every part of me wants to lick her creamy exposed flesh. Then, the ferris wheel shifts forward again, causing our cage to jerk gently.
I cast my eyes out to the twinkling golden lights that dot the carnival grounds—tiny specks of people shuffling around below us.
“How crazy would you think I am if I said I’ve never been on a ferris wheel before?” She pops a cloud of pink cotton candy into her mouth and smiles.
“I’d say you’re bat-shit.” I brush against her thigh as our bodies press close, suspended high above the carnival. “And I’d say what kind of childhood did you have if you’ve never hung in a metal basket above a crowd at deadly heights?”
I grin, thinking that despite everything, it feels so damn fun to see laughter sparkle in her eyes again. I grew up with a pretty stable childhood in every way, but there’s something a little darker that clouds Palmer’s eyes sometimes. “There wasn’t a lot of time on the schedule for things like cotton candy, carnivals, and,” she says, her eyes drifting to the nighttime crowd below, “laughter.”
“It’s a good thing you found me then,” I say, intertwining my fingers with hers on instinct.
“I think you found me,” she replies with a bright smile. “This big fluffy elephant you won me thanks you too.” She pets the soft gray stuffed animal in her lap. “I’ve had so much fun tonight.”
She pops another cloud of periwinkle cotton candy into her mouth and savors it as it melts on her tongue. “I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun at a carnival.” The metal cage shifts into gear, moving us slowly around the wheel as riders exit at the bottom. “The last time I was here, I had pimples and coke-bottle glasses.”
She bursts into a quiet giggle. “I can’t imagine you with nerd glasses.”
“Good, don’t ever try again. I’ve long buried all the photo evidence.”
“Surely I can sweet-talk your mom into sharing the goods?” she teases, and that sparks a thought in my mind.
“Hey, why don’t you come next time my mom does family dinner?” Her eyebrows rise as her eyes swirl with inexplicable emotions.
“And like…” she tilts her head adorably, “meet your people?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s what I mean.” The ferris wheel moves forward a few more notches.
“Are we really ready for that step?” She jokes—and I like it. I adjust my seat, the feel of her bare thigh pressed against mine over the last ten minutes enough to remind me of what she tastes like on my tongue.
“Oh, we’re definitely ready, Treasure.” My thumb pads her full bottom lip, gently sliding across the tender flesh before pressing our lips together in a tender kiss. I don’t give a damn if we look like lovestruck teenagers—I am lovestruck, twisted head over heels for this woman.
“You make me so happy…I didn’t know it was possible to feel so…” she licks her lips, “safe.”
My heart sinks at the word safe; it isn’t the first time she’s expressed sentiments like this, and it makes me wonder about the details of her life before I came in. “I vow to you right here and now, on my word as a man: you’ll always be safe as long as I’m around, Palmer. You never have to worry about that.”
She nods, happiness lighting up her cheeks. “You keep proving that to me, over and over.”
“I’m a man of few words but a lot of action—it takes some getting used to.”
“Not for me,” she says, spreading her palm on my cheek as her thumb traces the arch of my cheekbone. “It’s just one of the things I love about you.”
“Mm,” I murmur, placing another hungry kiss on her lips. “Let’s talk more about all those other things you love about me.”
The rusted metal door creaks on its hinges as a teen carnie swings it wide, gesturing us out. I clasp her hand, guiding her out and down the steps—laughter and the scent of fried dough filling the night air. “The comedy show just started on the main stage. What do you say we throw popcorn at the poor bastard every time he cracks a corny joke?”
“Sounds like the best idea yet.” She grins up at me, eyes dancing with fire, amusement, and everything sweet in life that I crave. Whoever wronged her in the past gets a one-way ticket to hell if I ever cross their path.
I pause, holding her to me as I push my fingers into her hair as we hold each other for extra long beats, the chaotic world spinning around us while I lose myself in her hair, her eyes, and deep down in her sweet soul. “It’s weird when I’m with you—I’ve never felt like a changed man and my truest self all at once.”
Her eyes grow heavy, silence weighing on us like raindrops as we lose ourselves.
“I’ve never been the kind of person who needed others to make me happy, but you make me laugh, smile, and want to dance, sing—do every other crazy thing on earth,” she confesses. “And eat cotton candy in bed every day.” I snag a pink tuft, dusting it along the button of her cute nose before teasing it at her lips. She nips it, and it dissolves on contact as her lips turn a deeper shade of pink.
“Here, let me get that.” I dart my tongue out to lick away the sugary sweetness.
She groans, her thighs shifting restlessly. “Maybe it’s time we go home.”
“Mm, I like the sound of that even more,” I growl, lifting her easily and spinning her as our lips stay locked.
“Wait!” she giggles, pulling away from my lips. “I dropped the elephant!” I turn with her in my arms, bending quickly to retrieve the elephant while keeping her safely secured in my embrace.
“I vote we name him Treasure.” I dust him off on my thigh before passing him to her.
But her eyes aren’t on me or Treasure—they fix on something over my shoulder, wide with quiet horror.
“Palmer?” I breathe, trying to catch her attention.
“Look what he’s doing,” she mumbles, fear and anxiety ricocheting in her tone.
“Who?” I spin, sliding her down my body as my eyes scan the crowd.
“Him.” She points, and there, across the dusty aisle and shrouded in shadows, an older man yanks on a young woman’s arm. The carnival drowns out their voices, but the rage on his face makes it clear the woman is scared. Before I can even register what to do next, the man releases her arm then shoves her forcefully into the dust, his arm cocked back as he glares.
“Oh, fuck no.” I spit, closing the distance in a flash and hauling that useless fuck away from the woman. I shove him repeatedly until he’s pressed against the brick wall of a utility building, my hands shaking as I restrain myself from throttling this motherfucker into the hospital. I can’t utter words—I only see red, every overwhelming urge to pile drive any piece of shit who abuses a woman surging through me.
His face turns red, then an awkward shade of blueberry, before I do the only thing I can think of to protect us both from my rage: I land a right hook to his face, hard enough to knock his fucking teeth out and leave a knot on the back of his head when it hits the brick wall. I loosen my grip on his neck, releasing his windpipe as he whistles and gasps for breath, his fingers clawing at my throat.
“Who the fuck are you?” he spits, blood pooling in his mouth.
“Your worst nightmare, motherfucker.” I tighten my hold on his windpipe again, choking off his oxygen just to show him I can do it. His eyes flash with worry as his hands claw desperately before I let him drop in a heap onto the dusty ground. “Useless.” I kick him, a cloud of dust billowing as he scrambles away like a crab—a sight that brings a smile to my face.
“Thank you.” The woman who’d been hovering out of view now hovers at my shoulder, gratitude etched on her face. “He’s been on my ass for weeks, begging me to take him back.” I shake my head, refocusing on reality as I take in her anxious features. “You might want to check on your girl though—she doesn’t look too good.” My mind races, and for the first time I turn to lock eyes with Palmer.
Except she’s crumpled on the ground, her face buried in her hands. My heart sinks.
“Oh, Jesus.” I rush to her side, lifting her face in my palms to take in her features. “Are you okay, baby?”
Every muscle trembles as she barely manages a head shake. I swallow the lump of fear in my throat, adrenaline still coursing through me after throttling that fuckhead, and now she expects me to be the tender man who rescues her.
I lift her in my arms and stride straight toward the parking lot, piling her into my truck and buckling her in safely before roaring off back to my house. We pull into my driveway in less than five minutes, and I carry her into my bed, sliding her under the covers while murmuring softly in her ear. “I’ve got you, baby—I’m right here. Nothing’s gonna happen, and that woman is perfectly fine.”
But my words seem to fall flat. All she does is tremble, tears leaking from her sad eyes.