Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
ETHAN
As predicted, breakfast is a very tricky business with Ollie close to me.
And not because he’s not capable. Not at all.
He’s quick and efficient and knows his way around a kitchen. Like someone who has been making his own meals for years.
No, the reason it’s a tricky business is because I can’t stop staring at him like an idiot.
For fuck’s sake, I’ve been inside him countless times these past few days, but one peek at the way the flannel rises to expose his pale thighs when he goes up on his toes to reach something from the higher cabinets, has me digging my nails into my palms to stop myself from tackling him to the floor.
Case in point, it’s the third time he’s caught me looking at him while I’m supposed to be doing something completely different.
He bites his lip to hide his smile but his pink cheeks betray him.
“Do you need something, Ethan?”
“Do you want me to answer that truthfully?”
“Will it result in burning our food?”
“Probably.”
His breath hitches.
“Please don’t tempt me.”
Fuck, the way I want him all the damn time. But he’s right, he needs to eat and hydrate.
Hell, I need to eat and hydrate.
“Fine, I’ll behave,” I sigh exaggeratedly and he grins, the knife flying on the pepper he’s been cutting. “You’re really good in the kitchen.”
He shoots me a small smile.
“With all the part time jobs I’ve had over the years, I’ve picked up a few things. Plus, I’ve been on my own since I can remember.”
He says it like it’s no big deal but his shoulders visibly tense.
And suddenly the day I found him and brought him here is stark clear—how he was adamant that there was no one to call for him, eyes lost and scared.
Does he have no family to claim as his own?
Fuck, has he never had anyone to care for him?
I’d hate to make any assumptions, but it would certainly explain why his eyes always widen when I do something nice for him. Like he has trouble believing someone would do anything nice for him.
The thought coats my throat with bitterness.
My gaze strays to my left, to this sweet man who’s always blushing, and all I wish is that I could make sure he never had to feel like he’s on his own ever again.
We’re side by side, so all I have to do to reach him is lean down.
I place a soft kiss on his dark curls and his eyes fly up to meet mine—wide and questioning.
“I think you’ve done pretty great on your own,” I tell him with all the sincerity I can muster.
His eyes water and for a moment I think I’ve said something wrong, but then a beautiful smile blooms on his face and all I can do is stare once again.
“Hey, I have an idea,” I say suddenly, needing to do something—anything—to dispel the hints of sadness still lingering in his gaze. “How about we eat, and then bundle up and go out in the snow?”
And as it turns out, in all my 36 years, I’d never truly witnessed what absolute happiness looked like.
***
“You are so damn big,” Oliver mumbles as he’s fighting to find his feet in a pair of my sweats.
“I thought you liked it,” I answer, shooting him a filthy grin that makes him laugh and shake his head.
“I do,” he says in a breathy voice that makes my blood heat. “But this is just ridiculous. Look at me.”
Does he expect me to think he doesn’t look good in my clothes even if they look huge on him?
“Baby,” I tell him as my hands find the waistband of the sweats he’s wearing and roll it a couple of times. “You look fucking edible and fucking adorable in my clothes. And I need you,” I pause to peck his nose, “to be warm out there. So, get ready for a lot of big clothes on you.”
He wraps his arms around my neck and smiles.
“I don’t mind. I like having your scent on me.”
I grip his hips and pull him until we’re flush against each other.
“On you,” I utter hoarsely, “Or inside you?”
His eyes never leave mine as he licks his dry lips and I zero in on the action.
“Both,” he whispers, and I groan as my forehead touches his.
“Ollie?”
“Hm?”
“You know you’re safe from what we did last night, right? That there’s no chance of pregnancy on your first heat?”
The thought has been eating at me and I need to make sure that he isn’t worried about that, because even though it was the most intense experience of my life, I would never have bred him if there could have been repercussions he doesn’t want.
I feel him nod against me. “I know, Ethan.”
My thumbs rub circles on his hips as his soft voice washes over me.
“I wouldn’t have put you through such a risk.”
Long fingers run through the short hair at my nape.
“I believe you,” he says calmly, and suddenly, green eyes peer into mine. “You’ve kept me safe since the beginning. Why would you stop now?”
His gentle words are so surprising that my mouth opens uselessly, nothing coming out.
Thankfully, he takes pity on me and arches his neck to brush his lips against mine.
“Now, I think you promised me an outing, Mr. Forest Ranger.”
The giggle that startles out of him when I swoop in and pick him up fills the whole room.
“I sure as fuck did, sweetheart. Let’s go.”