6. Owen
6
OWEN
What the fuck are you doing? Get off her.
It takes superhuman strength to not kiss Everly and instead roll off her body. I want—damn, I want that kiss. But I know I won’t stop there. The moment her lips touch mine, the monster will be free. He’ll take her innocence, consume her sunshine until there’s nothing good left.
I deserve this. I deserve to be tormented every day, to live my days out in hell. I just never thought the devil would send an angel to tempt me.
Forcing myself to my feet, I ignore the pain in my back. The tree may have hurt like a son of a bitch, but it broke our fall and kept us from tumbling into a ravine.
“Oh no.” Everly is on her feet again. She’s staring into the distance, and it takes me a moment to spot what she’s looking at. The sled is broken to pieces against another tree, the one we would have hit head-on if I hadn’t pulled us from the malfunctioning ride.
“It’s not a big deal,” I reassure her quickly, hating the idea that she’s upset. “I can build you another one.”
Hell, I’ll build this woman a hundred more sleds if it will put a smile on her face. I don’t know when or how but at some point, her happiness became the most important thing in the world to me. Now I’ll do anything for her because I could live for a lifetime on just one of her pretty smiles.
“You must have worked so hard on that,” she whispers.
She looks so cute with her pouty full lip that I sling an arm around her shoulders. “As long as you weren’t hurt, I don’t give a damn about that silly toy.”
When she glances at me, I fight the urge to kiss her all over again. I want to spend my days and nights kissing her everywhere, putting my lips all over her skin. I want to know what those freckles on her face taste like and nip at the creamy skin of her tits before sticking my tongue in her pink hole.
“Look,” I say, forcing myself not to dwell on thoughts of what I can’t have. “I said I’d show you what I do. Follow me.”
I don’t hold Everly’s hand as we walk this time. I know the moment I feel her soft skin against mine, I’ll want to pin her up against the nearest tree and give her three mind-blowing orgasms in a row. Shit, I’m not sure even that would be enough.
We step around the bend and there in the distance is the second cabin I built. It didn’t take nearly as long as it did when I built mine.
“You own cabins?” She asks as we step onto the front porch.
“I build them. I’ve built two besides my own and when the winter is over, I’ll start on the third one.” I’ve purchased a considerable amount of land around these parts. The work I did may have been classified, but it also paid damn well.
I grope for the key I hid around her and unlock the door so she can go inside. I want to see it through her eyes just this once. I love the way she looks at the world, her innocence and optimism despite her own struggles with her illness and the loneliness it causes her.
“But you already have a cabin,” she points out as she enters the living room. This cabin features a wall of glass windows that let the light in. Despite the fact that the day is overcast, she still somehow glows against it. Maybe it’s just her, her natural sunshine. “Do you plan to sell them?”
I shake my head. “These are vacation homes. I loan them to veterans and their families. It gives them space to decompress when they come stateside. It’s also a retreat where they can reconnect with their families without the stress of jumping immediately back into everyday life.”
I got the idea after seeing my brother Amos struggle when he retired from the Marines. He never complained about it, but I knew his transition could have been smoother. He could have used a space like this, the option to get away from everything and simply come back to himself. I want to give that to other veterans.
“You’re amazing,” she whispers. The awe in her gaze is making me feel like I’m a fuckin’ hero and not the monster I am. Dammit, I want to be worthy of that awe. I want to wake up to see her looking at me like that every morning. Maybe then the pain and guilt would be quiet, at least for a few hours. But that’s more than I deserve, and I won’t ask for it.
The snow outside which has been light flurries for most of the morning picks up, the flakes becoming bigger. The sky is darkening again, and we still have a mile before we’re back at my place.
I clear my throat, reminding myself that she wouldn’t say that if she knew about the things I’d done, the choices I’ve made. “We should go.”
She runs her fingers along the wooden chess board I carved that’s sitting on the coffee table. Most of the furniture in these cabins is made with my own hands as well. Every detail is chosen with the hopes that it will soothe and comfort a hurting veteran and those who love him or her.
She gives me a small smile. “Once a hero, always a hero.”
“That’s what I love about veterans,” I explain as she follows me onto the porch. I lock the door and hide the key again.
“I wasn’t talking about the veterans,” she says huskily. “I was talking about you.” Then before I can respond, she stands on her tiptoes and presses a chaste kiss to my cheek. Without another word, she turns and starts walking in the direction we came.
Everly
By the time we make it back to Owen’s cabin, the snow has picked up. I’m cold and wet but I’m at peace.
Wandering through the forest with Owen in silence was oddly relaxing. He hasn’t said a word since I called him a hero. I saw the guilt that flashed in his eyes when I said that. He doesn’t feel like one. I wish I could make him see himself through my eyes. He’s a good and caring man, even if he tries to tell himself that he’s not.
My teeth chatter as I step onto Owen’s porch. It’s funny how just yesterday I entered the wrong cabin. Or maybe it was the right one. Because even if he doesn’t realize it, Owen needs me. He needs someone to show him a bit of compassion and remind him that it’s OK to start living again.
He lets us into the house then frowns. “Dammit, I shouldn’t have kept you out so long. You’re freezing.”
“N-no,” I protest. “I had f-fun.”
Ignoring my words, Owen scoops me into his arms and stalks toward the master bathroom. He’s carrying me again and if my toes weren’t numb, I think I’d enjoy it more.
He yanks open the shower stall and steps inside, turning the water on. He puts his back to it as the cold stream hits him.
I shiver again, hating that he’s cold. After a moment, he turns and I’m enveloped by the warm water.
“Can you stand?” He barks the words and for the first time, I realize he’s worried about me.
I nod and manage to put my weight on my legs. But I still can’t stop shivering. We weren’t out there for that long, but I guess my body isn’t happy. I don’t always respond well to extreme temperatures. I should have warned Owen and feel a stab of guilt that I didn’t. But I just wanted to be with him. I wanted to be normal for a few minutes.
As soon as my feet touch the floor, Owen’s hands are on me. He’s yanking off my coat and scarf. He discards the wet items on the shower floor. Next comes my long t-shirt and tank.
I shiver again when I realize I’m standing in front of Owen in just my bra. His chest heaves when he sees my nipples are sharp little points against the nearly transparent purple fabric. Still, he wrestles the wet bra from my clammy skin easily.
As soon as he does, he pauses long enough to stroke a thumb across one of my nipples. “I want to fuck these tits one day.”
My breathing speeds up and it has nothing to do with how cold I am. I wonder if this means he’s going to act on the desire he’s been keeping caged. “I want that.” My voice doesn’t sound like my own anymore. It’s needy and breathless and filled with so much desire.
He closes his eyes and reaches for the waistband of my jeans. It takes a bit of shimmying, but he helps me out of them. Then he reaches for my underwear. I’m glad I’m soaked all the way through, so he hasn’t realized I’m weird yet.
He starts to reach for the curls between my thighs then stops himself. “Push me away and call me an asshole, sweetheart. Do it now before I ruin both of us.”