Chapter Nine
Sebastian
Watching something you love vanish is a hell I would not wish on my worst enemies.
Scout sailed out of town, out of my life, as if she did not leave a huge, empty, Scout-shaped hole in her wake. It was bound to happen; I suppose. From the very start, she had her eyes on the horizon. I was not enough to keep her here, and that cut me deep.
It has been just a few days without her, but it might as well be years. I am on edge, my body aches from trying to hold my shattered heart together, and I have not slept in days. Being out on the landing has become more dangerous than ever because I cannot focus on anything I am doing.
“Go home,” Hardy tells me for the third day. He is being a hell of a lot more patient than I deserve. “Go home or go find her. Whatever will make you better, you cannot be up here in this state. You will hurt someone, and you do not want that on your head.”
Nodding at him, I turn off my baler and climb down. I have no business being up here now. I am exhausted, my vision is unfocused, and I am wound so tight I could explode at any moment. None of the guys up here deserve that. They have all been understanding, but I am over the line now, I have gone too far. I might not have a place up on this landing after this.
On the way home, I think of a dozen ways to fix things. I could go after her. Hell, I started to that night. I just...after all we had shared, I was livid she could just leave. I am not prideful. I could have gone after her and gotten on my knees to beg her to come home. I said I’d never do that again, but for her, for my Scout, I would live my life on my knees if I had to.
“Can’t go chasing after someone who doesn’t want to be caught.”
Shifting the truck into park, I shake my head. I do not want to go inside. It still feels like she is there. That sweet strawberry scent of hers is on my sheets, on the bed, on my own damn skin. No amount of cold showers, laundry, scrubbing the place down, can ever wash her out of my life.
Climbing from the truck, I slam the door behind me, watching as the echo sends a flock of birds fluttering towards the skies. It’s a cool day out with the storm season brewing in the west. I am looking forward to the bad weather that slows Driftwood to a halt. Give me time to heal.
Stomping up the stairs, I kick my boots off outside the door before I reach for the handle. I pause, seeing the door is not fully closed. A prickle of fear races up my spine. Kicking the door open slightly, I reach a hand in for the gun I have stashed inside the coat rack. If it is a bear, the shotgun will do no good, but it will do just fine for anything else inside.
Busting through the door, I raise up the shotgun and aim. I drop it immediately as I stagger backwards. There is a creature inside, no doubt. One I never expected to see again. Standing in the kitchen—wearing my fucking sweatshirt—is the woman I want to always come home to.
Scout turns, throwing her hands up. “Don’t shoot. I screwed up pretty bad, but I think a firing squad is harsh punishment.”
Glaring at her, I try to calm my thudding heart. Try to shake off the shudder working its way through me. The entire cabin smells of her sweet strawberry scent, and the fire she managed to get going. I turn, slamming the door behind me as I put the gun back where I got it from. I am stalling. Buying time to figure out what the hell to say to her.
“Where the hell did you go? Why the hell did you come back?”
Scout flinches as my voice booms in the cabin’s silence. I want to go to her, to sweep her up in my arms, comfort her, but I do not move. I can’t. Not when I have no idea why she is standing here. In my sweatshirt. Jesus, she looks good in that; the hem hitting her bare thighs, the cuffs of the too-long arms hiding her tiny hands.
“Well, hello to you too, lover,” she hisses at me, turning to stomp out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
I almost want to laugh. Because she is pouting at me. Pouting. At me. After she took off on me for days after telling me we were done. Instead, I watch her bare ass sway as she goes upstairs towards our bedroom. I grunt a string of curses as I palm my cock, considering all the ways I can punish her.
Walking in the bedroom, I notice a few things. First, her bags are half unpacked, most of her things taking up space with mine. That soothes the rawness inside of me just a little. The second thing I notice is her sitting on the edge of the bed, knees drawn up, her little body drowning in my sweater.
“That that off,” I growl, stalking towards her slowly.
The air grows thick in the room. Scout lifts her head, pouting at me with that pretty pink mouth and those big eyes of hers. I stare down at her as those eyes slowly change. They storm with contempt. With challenge. I tilt my head, nodding at the sweatshirt she has yet to take off. Those eyes flare with heat as she sits back on her hands, letting the shirt rise up her thighs.
“Take,” I bite each word out as I stand in front of her, slowly undoing my belt. “It. Off. Now,” I bark the last word, the snap of my belt pulling off making her jump.
I am shaking with fear, with hope, with need. Why did she go? What brought her back to me? Is this for good or is she just here to torture me? These thoughts fly through my head as I reach out, grabbing the neckline of the sweatshirt, gathering it up tight. Scout lets out a gasp, her pupils dilating, breath heaving, her curvy little body trembling beneath me.
“Don’t punish me,” she pleads even as she licks her lips, rubbing her thighs against me as she spreads them wide.
“You came back to punish me, then?”
“No. No, I....you can punish me for going. Just...d-don’t punish me because I came back. I... I h-had to, Sebastian,” she moans my name as she presses against me, her hands pushing at my clothes, hot on my skin.
“Never should have left me,” I whisper, fisting her thick hair, yanking her head back. “Did you want me to chase after you? Or did you want me to beg you to stay?”
To my pleasure and my horror, a tear slips down her temple as her chin trembles. I swallow past the lump of emotion in my throat. This is what she wants, I can feel it. It is what I need. That is why she is giving it to me. I bend my head, holding her gaze as I tilt her head so I can lick the tear away.
“Yes, baby,” she purrs, bobbing her head slightly. “We figure it out. That is what grown-ups do in a grown-up relationship.”
Nodding my head as she parrots my words from the day she left, I let go of my grip on her hair. Stepping back, I take a deep breath, inhaling her sweetness. I drag it back into my lungs greedily. Not just that sugar sweet strawberry scent that drives me wild. Her arousal, the stickiness I know is soaking her thighs.
Reaching down, I slap her thighs gently, forcing them to open wider. Scout gasps as I find her soaked, my fingers rough as they spread her open. I growl, shoving two fingers inside her. No panties. No bra. Just my clothes on her skin, covering her in my scent the way I am covered in hers.
“Take it off,” I bark again, pulling my fingers from her.
This time, she does not hesitate or challenge me. Sitting back, she whips the hooded sweatshirt up and off, tossing it behind me. I almost laugh at how eager she is. Her soft tits bounce as she falls back on her elbows, spreading out beneath me. A little moan spills past her lips when I reach down, tracing her pink lips with the stickiness coating my fingers.
“Suck,” I command, heart thundering, my cock aching as she closes her lips around my fingers, sucking her cream off greedily. “That’s my girl. Because that is what you are, yes? Nod if you understand you cannot leave me, you can go wherever you want, baby. You won’t ever escape me. You came back because you figured that out. Is that why you’re here?”
Scout nods as her gaze holds mine. “Yes. I... I should never have left. I was...I thought...I just did not want....”
Cutting her off, I dip my head to brush my mouth over hers. “You were afraid of becoming my problem. We’re in a relationship, baby. Like it or not, you became my problem the moment we met. The same way I became yours. It’s part of being grown up, part of starting a life, building something with someone. You about ready to be a grownup?”
Scout smirks as I lick her mouth playfully. “Yes. I am. Ready to grow up. To start a life, to build something with someone. With you.”
Nodding again, I pull back, letting her peel my shirt off, then yank at my jeans. We’re naked in seconds, but I don’t do what I’ve been aching to do. I do not climb between her thighs and fuck her good and hard to punish her. This time, I need to punish her. I need to show her what will happen any time she tries to run or pretend this thing we have can be forgotten or ignored.
“Lie down,” I command, stepping back to give her room. “Open your mouth,” I follow up as she shuffles onto her stomach. Her head snaps up, eyes molten as they watch me. Without hesitation, her plump mouth pops open, her tongue flattening to make room. Grinning at her, I fist her hair again, yanking her head back. “Good girl. Now let me punish you, honey.”
Angling my hips, I push my cock past her lips, hissing as her tongue curls around me. Going all the way to the back of her throat, I watch her eyes water as I gag her. Still, she doesn’t stop me, doesn’t tap my legs as a sign that it’s too much. No, she just stares at me, letting me push even deeper.
“That’s it,” I hum as I rock in and out of her hot, wet mouth. “That’s my girl. So pretty choking my cock down your throat, honey.”
Grunting as she sucks harder, eager to please me, I fuck her face like a savage. I piston my hips, slamming deeper and deeper down her throat. Scout gags and tears slip down her face, but she doesn’t stop me. She doesn’t ask me to let up. Because she knows I need it, she lets me punish her.
Reaching out, I smack her plump ass, smiling at the way it bounces. I smack the other cheek, leaving big, red handprints on her creamy skin. Still fucking her mouth, I reach between her thighs, pushing them wider, fingers seeking her pussy. I groan when I find how soaked she is, her cream coating her thighs as she chokes on my cock.
“Hmm, I am not punishing you right, am I? Not when your pussy is begging for my cock. Not sure you deserve to come, baby. Do you think you do?” I laugh when she nods, still sucking me down greedily. My fingers pump inside of her until she shakes, then I pull them out.
Stepping back, I pull out of her mouth. Scout whimpers and pouts at me, making my cock leak cum. Jesus, she’s perfect. And I was a damn fool to let her go. To not put up a fight with her that day when it was so obvious she was running scared. I was a coward. I could not believe I had her, so it made sense to me I would lose her.
Next time she tries to run, I will remember this moment. This heated, heavy, come-to-God moment when we admit to ourselves that we cannot live without each other. Bending, I tip her head back, brushing my lips over hers. They’re wet and sticky, but she is just as sweet as always, and I savor her.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she pants between kisses as I slide her beneath me, climbing over her. “I... I won’t do it again. I won’t go again.”
Nodding, I brush her hair back, cradling her face gently. I kiss her again, sealing that promise between us. But her punishment is not over. I believe her. Not only do I believe her, but I also know I won’t let this happen again. If it comes up, if she ever thinks of going, I will go with her. I will track her down and drag her back here or follow her all over the world.
There is no me without her now.
“Truth or dare, honey?” We both know there is just one choice.
“Dare.”
“Show me you belong to me, Scout. I. Dare. You.”