Chapter 25
J ericho
I don’t know what I was thinking when I started flirting with her so openly.
Maybe I got tired of this odd situation of avoiding each other or maybe I just missed our quiet evenings.
Maybe I just wanted to face my feelings once and for all—it’s easy to hide behind text messages and be as bold as one wants to be.
But when a real woman, the very same woman who’s been haunting me in my dreams, stands in front of me, I turn into a Neanderthal and forget how to speak.
The moment I noticed her standing in my driveway, with only her nose and eyes poking from under the mountain of clothes she was wearing, I understood that I didn’t want to fight anymore.
Or maybe I’m just too fucking tired. I haven’t slept since yesterday morning.
The town called and asked if I could start late last night.
I was going to postpone it until morning, but then was reminded that that electrical permit I’ve been waiting for might finally be given to me if I make myself useful to the town.
So I didn’t really have a choice. That inspector with her unsolicited advice about my neighbor really didn’t take rejection well. When I went to the town inspection office the next day, there were multiple violations marked on the list. Some of them were plain absurd. Most of them, in fact.
Towns like this usually have enough manpower to plow the local roads, but this snowfall is turning out to be more than they could handle, so we’re forced to go to the highway and back.
The coffee in my thermos ran out about three hours into the day before the sun even came up, so I’d been pretty miserable ever since.
The feeling strengthened when I found an empty coffee bean bag in my kitchen cabinet.
I was ready to take caffeine in any form.
What I wasn’t ready for was an extra shot of happy hormones going straight to my brain when I tasted Nora’s lipstick on the mug.
It’s ridiculous that such a little thing would wake me up better than a hit to the guts.
But it happened. And I started blubbering nonsense I can’t erase now.
To be honest, I’m not sure I want to forget anything. Seeing Nora’s flushed face was a reward worth the embarrassment.
As I check through the rearview mirror to make sure her truck is still following me, I feel something close to content.
I haven’t slept or eaten for who knows how long.
I’m cranky and tired. And yet, seeing her Tacoma behind me somehow erases all the shit.
How have I become pussy whipped without even tasting the actual pussy?
I notice no lights as we pull into the diner. I plow the side of the road again and park my truck, not wanting her to go into the dark building by herself.
She jumps out of the truck and slips, nearly falling on the ground. I don’t make it to her in time, but she catches herself. By the time I reach her, she’s mumbling curses under her breath better than any sailor would. She’d make my crew proud.
“Thank you,” she says when she notices me approaching her. “I mean it, really. Thank you. I’d still be there, shoveling my driveway if not for you.”
I nod, uncomfortable with her gratitude. “Do you think,” I ask, turning toward the dark diner, “there will be a lot of people today considering the storm?”
She snorts. “You’d be surprised. If I had a choice, I’d be sitting flat on my butt in front of my TV, but the majority of the locals will be bored out of their minds by ten and will venture out.
Roads or no roads,” she shakes her head, “won’t stop them.
Plus, the plowing guys will be stopping by all day for food and coffee.
” Her eyes narrow. “Speaking of plowing guys. Want to get a quick breakfast?”
I want to thank her and excuse myself, but my stomach growls on cue so fucking loud it’s heard through the layers of my clothes. She laughs lightly and gestures for me to follow her.
“I won’t tell anyone you took a small break. C’mon, I’ll make you something. I’m not Roman, but it will be edible. I think,” she adds with a smile as she pushes the key into the door.
Once inside, she quickly turns on all the lights and nods at me to take a seat at the counter. “Give me a second, I’ll crank up the heat and start the coffee.”
She moves around the diner, looking comfortable and at home.
She knows where everything is, and her actions are efficient.
She’s in her space, on her rightful territory, and no one should come here and poison it for her.
A sudden wave of anger toward Dick the dick makes me clench my fists in attempts to redirect my uncontrollable anger.
A few minutes later, the heat is on and blowing warm air, the coffee is filling the air with a strong aroma, and something on top of the kitchen stove starts sizzling .
“Any preferences?” she asks, putting an apron over her fluffy pink sweater.
“Anything will do.”
“You got it, sir.” She salutes me with a laugh, but I’m not laughing. Her saying ‘sir’ even playfully… does things to me. Thirty minutes ago, I thought I was tired. Now I’m not so sure anymore. I guess it depends on the activity.
As I watch her move about the kitchen, a strange warmth starts spreading in my chest. Something I haven’t felt. Ever. It gets so warm and tight, it turns uncomfortable, and I bring my fist to rub on the spot.
She waltzes from the kitchen with a steaming plate in her hands and places it in front of me. It’s filled with eggs, bacon, sausages, and French toast, and my mouth waters instantly, accompanied by a loud sound from my stomach.
“Good. If you’re that hungry, you might not notice it’s not as good.” She laughs and goes to get us two cups of coffee.
“It’s good,” I reply before even trying it. “You made it,” I add for some incomprehensible reason. “So it’s good.”
Even though I’m hungry and ready to devour this meal along with the plate itself, I can’t bring myself to touch the food right away. I’m too busy watching two tiny pink spots appear on the globes of her cheeks. Her face stretches with a smile as she hides behind her cup.
Once I start eating, I inhale the food before I can even blink—it’s good. Really good. And she made it.
After checking the clock on the wall, I see that it’s time for me to go. Even if I want to stay. But her day will get busy soon, and so will mine.
I stand up and reach for my wallet, ready to settle the breakfast so I’m not in Nora’s debt. Her sharp smack against the counter halts me, reverberating through my bones.
“Put that thing away before I shove it up your… nose.” Her defiance is so sudden, so animated, that I can’t help but parrot it back .
“Nose?” She can’t be serious, but from the fierce look on her face, she is.
“Nose,” she repeats. Emphasizes. The fierce look intensifies as she folds her arms across her chest, taking a stance like she’s daring me to challenge her.
I want to challenge her. Just because I like this flushed look on her face.
“What about payment?” Just asking raises the temperature in the room, and my own stubbornness kicks in. I should leave it alone, but I don’t.
Her eyes squint, giving me the distinct impression that I’m stepping onto a minefield. And I’m loving it. Does she get this fierce everywhere?
“You already paid. By cleaning my driveway,” she clarifies with a sharp tone. “I owe you now.” We’re holding a stare-off, and her insistence throws me off more than I want to admit.
“I like paying it forward.” This is true, and it’s practical, but I’m already sensing the shift in her mood. I know this is about more than breakfast.
Her eyes narrow even further, turning into little slits of suspicion. That precipice I was on? I’m now fully over it. And yet, I don’t know how. “Do you? Paying or playing?”
Ah. There it is. The misstep I made is now glaring at me in bold neon colors.
“Paying, Nora. I don’t play.” I say it firmly, knowing full well that this isn’t enough for her.
So I add, on impulse, “Actually, I do. But different games.” I’m expecting that to lighten the moment, show a bit of humor, maybe diffuse what’s brewing between us.
But I can see instantly, in the hardening of her jaw, that I’ve only fueled her fire.
“I bet you do.” Her lips turn white around the edges, pressed together in accusation. How the hell did we get here? Not fifteen minutes ago, she was laughing, and I was feeling something goddamn close to joy. Now it’s like the air has been sucked out of the room .
She’s saying nonsense just for the sake of the fight, and another guy would probably just walk away. But I take a pause to look at her. Really look at her.
And when I do, I see that she’s hurt. By the things she thinks she saw, and I just keep playing into it. I don’t want to see her hurt. That game is not fun anymore.
So I decide for the both of us to move on from the situation. I step closer to the counter and lean toward her.
“Nora?” I say, and it’s not a question. It’s a decision.
She lets out a breath and instinctively leans forward, exactly what I’m hoping for.
Her eyes flash, like she knows something’s about to happen, but she won’t let herself believe it.
That’s all I need. My hand shoots up and grabs her chin, quickly sliding to her neck.
She’s tiny against me; my rough palm is fuckin’ giant, and it holds her neck and her chin—and her attention.
Her cheeks are pink like cherry blossoms, and when her mouth falls open in shock, her eyes wide and waiting, I know my timing is spot on.
Slightly pulling her toward me, I lean even closer to her face and cover her lips with mine.
Not gentle. Not savoring. My tongue quickly enters her mouth, meeting hers and doing a rough swap.
She tastes like peppermint and sugar. She tastes like Christmas morning.
And fuck, how I want to unwrap that present.
I hear her breath hitch, feel her body melt, and all I can think is that it’s about fuckin’ time I made a move.
The way she kisses me back, the way her tongue fights with mine, her lips soft and hungry—it drives me insane and makes me want more.
The kiss lasts maybe three seconds, if that.
Three seconds that shift the whole universe, then I pull away from her lips but not from her face.
Still holding her neck, I find her eyes and look into them as I speak.
“We’ll talk about it later, Little Witch.”
I place another quick kiss on her lips before I pull away and grab my jacket.
I walk away, not letting her see how much my hands are shaking.
When I reach the door, I turn and watch her standing there.
Jaw dropped. Her hands frozen over the counter.
Her cheeks pink and her expression fucking priceless.
I haven’t seen her so speechless before, and I’m glad it was me who made her that way. By the end of tonight, I sure as fuck hope that this woman’s thighs will be wrapped around my face.