Chapter 16 #2
“Not a fan of Vegas?”
“Not particularly. Again, so cliché. Plus, his friends weren’t super warm and welcoming.
I didn’t really want to go, but then one of our nurses got fired, and we were short-staffed, so I had to stay back and work.
I thought he’d jump at the chance to go alone and do whatever the fuck he wanted in Vegas.
I didn’t really care. I’d so checked out of the relationship by then.
But he was livid. Said it made him look bad to his friends, and I’m unreliable, and my job is stupid, and blah, blah, blah. ”
I roll my eyes, and it makes Blake laugh.
“You really didn’t care what he thought.”
“Not even a little. At that point, I walked on eggshells, mostly because I didn’t want more lectures, and I was so tired of living with him.
I was saving to get my own place. But he went to Vegas, and I worked, and when he got home, he stopped speaking to me altogether.
Like, I got the silent treatment for weeks. ”
“He didn’t speak to you for weeks?”
“Three weeks. He’d glare, and he’d still check on me on his lunch breaks, but no words were spoken. It was fucking bliss. ”
Blake snorts. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny. What an asshole.”
“I can laugh at a lot now because he was so ridiculous. While he gave me the silent treatment, I found the traveling nurse job. It paid well, and I could leave Oregon and put some distance between me and him. I told my family I was breaking up with him, and they were glad. Especially because Ava spilled the beans about the cheating. I think all of the brothers wanted to kick his ass.”
“ I want to kick his ass, sugar.”
I laugh. “He was supposed to go on a work trip, and I was going to leave then. I know it sounds chickenshit, but he owned a gun, and he was so unstable sometimes that I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t hurt me when I told him it was over.”
“Smart girl,” Blake says, kissing my head.
“But just three days before that trip, Nathan decided the silent treatment was over.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. He started in on one of his lectures, and I completely shut it down. I grabbed a few things—most of my stuff was already packed and shipped ahead to Ava—and I told him that he was never allowed to speak to me again, and I left. I’ve never seen him, or heard from him, since then.”
We walk over a bridge where a waterfall runs through and stop to take it in.
“I already had trust issues,” I say to him as he leans his back against the railing, listening to me. “And then he happened, and it really made me second-guess myself and my instincts.”
“He was a lying asshole, and it took him a while to show you exactly who he is.” Blake tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. I notice he does that a lot when he wants to touch me, and I kind of love it. “But you got away, Harper. You stood up for yourself, and you ended it.”
I blow out a breath, listening to the water.
“Yeah. I should have done it sooner. I also need to apologize because I never should have said what I did this morning. I know that you’re not the same person.
That was an instinctual moment for me after what I went through with Nathan.
I know, in my heart of hearts, that you’re nothing like that man.
You’d never intentionally hurt me, but it’s a trauma response.
It’s been so ingrained after those two years that sometimes I just react, even if it’s not what I really think. ”
Blake glances at the waterfall as if he’s thinking, and for a heartbeat, I worry that he’s about to call this whole thing off.
“We’re still learning each other,” he says. “Relationships aren’t easy. I will tell you that I don’t have the patience of Job. I can lose my temper now and again. Mostly when someone I love is hurting or if things don’t go right at work.”
“I can be a downright bitch when I’m hangry,” I inform him, and he chuckles and drifts his finger down my arm. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a smart-ass. ”
“I might have noticed.” He laughs again when I narrow my eyes at him. “I’ll keep you fed, sugar. I won’t ever disrespect you the way you have been. I’d never intentionally hurt you. Infidelity doesn’t interest me. In fact, it pisses me off.”
“Right? If you want to fuck someone else, that’s fine, but break it off with the one you already have first. It’s not hard.”
He nods, a smile tickling his lips. “He’s an absolute fucking idiot, Harper. I’m grateful because now you’re mine, and I’ll never make the mistake of fucking it up with you like that, but what a complete moron.”
You’re mine. Why does that make me so hot?
“Yeah.” I toss my hair over my shoulder. “I am a catch.”
I’m relieved that it’s all out there and that the mood is lighter. Blake’s eyes are full of tenderness and happiness as he stares down at me, and then he’s taking the pack off, and I start to feel drops of rain on my face.
I look up in surprise.
“It’s raining.”
Blake also glances up and then smiles at me. “You might melt. You’re pretty sweet.”
I snort at that. “Right. So sweet.”
He takes my hand and pulls me against him, wraps his arm around my waist, and presses his forehead to mine.
“You taste sweet,” he murmurs just as the sky opens up and starts to pour.
We stare at each other in shock for a minute, and then we start laughing. Blake kisses my wet nose and starts to dance with me. Not a little swaying slow dance, either.
He twirls me under his arm, then pushes me away and twirls me back again. If I’m not mistaken, we’re doing the jitterbug here on this bridge, in the woods, in the pouring rain.
And it might be the most romantic moment of my life.
“You’ve got moves, Dr. Blackwell.” I laugh when he dips me back and bites my neck before spinning me away from him again.
“Everyone should dance in the rain,” he says, and then his arms loop around me, and he’s swaying me back and forth, his lips pressed to my forehead.
We’re soaked to the bones, but I don’t care.
His lips find mine and brush back and forth before he melts into me, his tongue gliding over my lips and tongue.
We both groan, pressing harder against each other.
“You’re amazing,” he says against my lips.
“There is nothing about your past that scares me. You’re so fucking strong, Harper.
I’m proud of you. And if you need me to remind you every fucking day that I am your biggest fan, that I want to lose myself inside you and only you every chance I get, and that you’re absolutely beautiful inside and out, I will. I have no problem with that.”
I cup his cheek and close my eyes, leaning into him. “Thank you.”
“It’s my job to make sure you feel safe.”
“You do. But I think it’s my job to make you feel safe, too. It goes both ways. And I feel awful that I didn’t do that for you this morning.”
“No more feeling awful.” He hugs me to him, here in this downpour, and holds me close. “But I might have to go to Portland to kick someone’s ass.”
I scoff, but I see he’s not kidding when I look up.
“Not worth it.”
“Oh, I think it would definitely be worth it.”
Shaking my head, I pull back. The rain is starting to lighten up. “I just need you here, with me, and Portland can stay in the past where it belongs.”
“Deal. Come on, sugar, let’s get you out of this rain before you melt away on me.”
“I think we have to run back to stay warm.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Are you okay with that?”
“Psh. You forget who you’re talking to.”
I take off ahead of him, careful not to slip and fall in the muddy spots, and hear his footfalls behind me. I know he can run much faster than me, but he’s keeping my pace. When we get back to the car, the sky opens up again, and the rain comes down in sheets.
Blake lets the backpack fall to the ground, and pins me against the side of the car, his hands cradling my face, and he’s kissing me here in the rain.
“You’re incredible,” he says, meeting my gaze. “I don’t give a shit about your past, Harper. I don’t care. I want you , and everything that comes with you.”
I cling to him. His words are a balm to my battered soul. How did I find him? How did it take me this long to find him?
Finally, he backs away and opens the car door, and I realize that not only are we soaked, but now we have to ride back in his fancy Mercedes.
“Get in the car,” Blake yells above the noise of the rain hammering around us.
“No way. I’ll ruin your fancy seat.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the seat. Get out of this rain, Harper.”
He tosses the pack in the back, and I wince as I sit on his leather seat. Blake climbs in next to me.
“Your poor car.”
“It’s just a car, baby.”
“No, my car is just a car. This is more than that.”
“Nope.” He takes my hand and kisses my fingers. “As long as you’re okay, I don’t care about this vehicle. Let’s go home and get dry.”
“We might just stay naked for a bit.”
His eyebrow lifts. “That’s a fantastic plan.”