Chapter 29
Chapter twenty-nine
When we land, fluffy snowflakes are falling lightly from the sky.
There’s a black SUV waiting for us on the tarmac.
Cas helps me out of the plane and loads me in the car.
Then he wrangles some of the bags. I stare, unable to stop watching the way the giant flakes melt when they land on his black hoodie.
Perhaps the universe thinks he’s as smoldering hot as I do. My thoughts make me laugh.
Thankfully, I’ve pulled myself together by the time Cas climbs into the car. He’s covered in half-melted flakes. “It’s really picking up out there.”
I shrug, unfazed about a little snow. “Us Colorado girls aren’t afraid of snow, Cas Wilder.”
He grins. “Noted. But that’s not what I’m worried about.”
He swipes open his phone and begins studying the weather app. The word ALERT glows on his screen. I know what that means. “Uh, Cas,” I grimace, “you do have food and essentials,, right?”
He throws his head back and laughs deeply. “Oh, darling, I’m more than prepared for a blizzard. In fact, I can’t wait to be snowed in with you.”
Fuck. I squeeze my legs together. I’m not going to be able to walk by the time he’s done with me. I try not to think about it, turning to gape at the cityscape out the window. There are so many lights. “Wow,” I sigh, taking as much as I can in.
Cas cracks a grin. “I know, Manhattan is pretty cool, huh?”
I nod. “Is Brooklyn like this?” I ask.
“No.” Amusement lights up his face. “Brooklyn is…” he searches for a word to describe it. “Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.
I cross my arms, sulking, and he shrugs his apologies. In no time at all, we pull up to a tree-lined street and adorable townhouses towering over the snow-covered asphalt.
Wow.
He lives here, and he’s willing to give it all up and start over in Colorado?. This street looks like it’s right out of a movie. My breath catches, and he picks up on it instantly.
“See? How can I explain this?” Cas waves his hand out over the street.
“Um, I guess I would have said the perfect holiday romance movie set.” My voice is hoarse and raspy from the coldness in the air.
He narrows his eyes as the car comes to a stop,the tires crunching over the snow until silence once again surrounds us. “You, my darling, are having a cup of tea, and then it’s straight to bed.”
I stick out my lip in a pout. “Are you sure it’s straight to bed? I could go for—“
Cas cuts me off, pressing a finger against my lips and nodding his head toward the front seat. The driver is unbuckling his seatbelt, unfazed. So now he wants discretion, but the plane was no big deal?Go figure.
In the 10 milliseconds it takes for the driver to close his door, then walk to Cas’s and open it, I blurt out, “Round 2.”
Cas shakes his head before sliding out of the car and helping me.
“I’ll be right back to carry some of the bags,” Cas calls to the driver as he leads me up the sidewalk and a small set of steps.
The front door is heavy wood. He unlocks it, swinging it open and leading me inside.
The entryway light is on, sweeping over a steep staircase with wooden steps and a carved wooden rail.
It’s older and charming, full of character despite the modern upgrades and fresh paint.
“Wait here,” Cas huffs before jogging down the steps to help the driver.
He hits the bottom step and grabs two suitcases.
I watch, not the least bit disappointed at the ease with which he carries them.
They roll across the entryway floor as he flings them inside before turning for the next set.
Once all the luggage is inside, Cas closes the door behind himself and twists the lock.
“Like I said, I’m locking you up and never letting you leave my sight again.
” He wraps his arms around me in a firm embrace.
Despite the alarm bells ringing in my head, begging me not to fall for him, I relax, melting against the sexiest man to ever walk this planet.
I don’t know how long we stand like this, only that once he does release me, I instantly want to be back in his arms.
Shivering, I reach for my luggage so I can change. I normally travel in my favorite pair of leopard-print sweats, but since I was kidnapped and not given the option to change, I’d like to shower and crawl into them. New York is fucking cold.
“Let me give you the tour,” Cas says, interrupting my thoughts and offering me his hand.
I release my fingers from my suitcase to reach for his. “Bring your bag.” He chuckles. “We can start upstairs.” I look from him to my luggage to the stairs, then back at him.
“I’ll carry it,” he laughs, scooping mine and one of his bags up by the handles. “Follow me.”
In a mocking snarky tone, I pop off, “Oh no. I’ve been kidnapped and there’s no escape.”
“Hey, if you want to brave the blizzard outside, you’re always welcome to see how far you get,” Cas bites back, his cockiness enthralling as usual.
“New York is the kind of cold that sinks into your bones. We don’t always get that in Denver. It’s more of a dry cold,” I complain.
“I guess that makes you a willing victim,” he teases with a bit of a growl.
“I guess it does, Mr. Stalker,” I quip back.
Upstairs, there’s a small landing that opens to a larger loft area.
He has it set up as a second family room.
There are several Xbox remotes charging in a corner and a giant flat-screen on the wall opposite his black leather sectional.
There’s also what looks like a door leading to an outside space.
Cas motions for me to follow him into the bedroom.
“The bathroom’s through there,” he points to his left, then spins around the room.
“Put your stuff wherever, but that sexy little ass of yours better climb into bed and get some rest.” Cas smirks, obviously waiting for my argument—he knows me so well, and yet it still feels like I know nothing about him.
“I thought you said tour, mister, not a turn-down service for bed,” I tease, giving him exactly the attitude he was waiting for. I shiver, making a brrr sound. “I’m freezing. Before I go to bed, I need a warm shower.”
Cas shakes his head. “I’ll leave you to it. When you’re finished, come downstairs and I’ll make you a cup of tea. We can finish the tour since my little muse isn’t tired yet.”
“That’s better,” I whisper, leaning into him to dust a kiss against his neck, his bearded cheek tickling mine.
I wheel my suitcase into his bathroom and marvel at the modern upgrades.
He’s definitely living comfortably. I turn on the water in the large walk-in shower, then gut my luggage in the middle of the bathroom floor.
Once I’ve pulled out everything I need, I put it back together and roll it out of the way.
There’s a pile of towels on a hanging rack, so I pull one off and set it next to my things on the counter.
When I finally step inside the warm water, I allow it to roll over my body and soak into my skin.
The heat feels so good after a long tour weekend and the freezing cold we flew into.
I take my time washing, enjoying every minute of the warmth.
Afterwards, I dress in my plush, baggy sweats.
Despite my earlier complaint of not being tired yet, I could definitely crawl into Cas’s bed and crash now, but he made me tea, and I don’t want to hurt his feelings, so I force myself to turn away from the inviting bed and trudge downstairs to where he’s waiting.
He went through a lot of trouble convincing me not to run away from all this.
If I can choke down black coffee, a few swallows of tea seems perfectly doable.
At the bottom of the stairs, I step onto the hardwood floor, my fluffy socks pattering against it until I reach the end of the entry hall.
It dumps me out into an open-concept kitchen and family room.
Cas is standing in the kitchen behind the oversized island.
He leans against it effortlessly. His muscles bulge beneath the black long-sleeve band tee he’s wearing.
Steam rises from the cups in front of him, crafting a picture perfect scene, or maybe I think Cas wilder is a total hottie and I missed him more than I care to admit.
My eyes slide over him for another pass, then stop on the tattoo on his neck.
I admire the artwork for a few stolen beats, then drop my gaze pausing when I notice what his shirt says.
“Do you always wear your own T-shirt?” I ask, cocking my head to one side.
He shrugs. “Why not? It’s free advertising. Plus, I like them.”
I shake my head. He’s ridiculously obsessed with himself, and I think it’s cute. I should probably be concerned about how attractive Cas’s confidence is.
He smiles at me, and I melt.
“You look ridiculous,” he scoffs.
“I don’t care. These are my favorite. They’re soft and snuggly. Don’t judge me.” I lift a brow in challenge.
He rolls his eyes. “Come tell me how you like your tea.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t really drink tea. I’m more of a coffee person. Make it how you make yours as long as it isn’t awful and gross.”
This earns me a hard stare. “Not a tea person? You’re a monster. Well, I hope you like bagels, because that’s basically all people eat here.”
“Shut up. I saw several other options on our drive through the city.”
Cas slides me a cup of tea. I eye it warily, then hesitantly bring it to my lips and take a sip.
It’s surprisingly good. Warm, spicy, and a little sweet.
I take a few more drinks. Cas does the same, watching as I gulp it down.
“Maybe I can be a tea person,” I sigh wistfully as I place my cup on the countertop.
“Good girl. I hoped you’d change your mind. So about the bagels—“ he teases, allowing his words to fall off into laughter.
“Who taught you how to make tea?” I ask him casually, searching for something I can learn about him.
His eyes glaze over, and he gets a wistful look in his eyes as he thinks about it. “My grandmother, I guess. I spent a lot of time with her when I was growing up and she always made tea. She was a crazy old bat, obsessed with England and the entire royal family.”
“She sounds lovely,” I reply, lightly squeezing his forearm the way Roxy squeezes my hand for reassurance when we have a deep conversation.
He places both our cups in his empty sink, sliding effortlessly around the kitchen to meet me on the other side of the island.
“Downstairs is a quick tour, and there’s nothing but a recording studio in my basement.
” Cas leads me into the living room, points to a small office off the living room, mentions another bathroom, and then motions down the hall to a spare bedroom.
“Up to bed then?” I ask, now that his tour is complete.
“Up to bed where I plan to keep you,” he replies.
I follow him upstairs. In his room, he pulls the blankets back, tucks me in, then kisses my forehead. “I’m just going to rinse off too. I’ve been traveling all day, but it was worth it to kidnap you.”
“Okay,” I whisper, biting my lip nervously. I don’t know what to say to that. I can’t just agree with him. If he gets used to being right all the time—well, I guess it really doesn’t matter. He can’t possibly get any fuller of himself.
I watch as Cas turns on a Christmas movie, then walks across the room to flip on a fireplace I didn’t notice earlier. It looks cozy, off to the corner with its own sitting area. Cas’s bedroom is nice. It’s very him. I didn’t expect his place to be this big when he said it was smaller than my house.
He slinks off to the shower with one last look over his shoulder at me.
It’s a look I don’t think I was supposed to see.
For a moment, his mask of confidence slips, and he looks at me with so much vulnerability and emotion on his face.
I finally see past all his confidence. Beneath it all is a man who’s utterly obsessed with me and all my chaos.
The final wall I built between us comes crumbling down.
I want nothing more than for Cas to look at me like this every day for the rest of my life. I suck in my breath and hold it.
I think Cas Wilder is in love with me. But what’s even more terrifying is the fact that I think I might be in love with him too.
I’m not ready to be in love again, or maybe it doesn’t work that way. What if I don’t have a choice because my heart’s already decided? I yawn, turning the thoughts over in my head.
The water starts running, and no matter how hard I try to keep my eyes open, I fail.
Cas slips into bed a short time later, pulling me close until he’s cradling my body against his.
I can feel the faint tickle of his beard as he nuzzles against my neck and shoulder, planting soft kisses before whispering in my ear, “Good night, Vivienne.”
Lying in his arms feels good. It feels right.
Soon I fall into a deep, restful sleep. The kind of sleep I’ve been chasing for months because I was trying to stop something inevitable with him. I should’ve known it would be impossible.