Chapter 14
fourteen
Waking up in Magnolia’s bed, her soft body wrapped around mine, is a dream I hope I never wake up from.
Her head is nestled in the curve of my shoulder, her breathing soft and steady.
Fuck, she is beautiful. Her deep red curls spread across my arm and I thank god for the privilege of holding her like this.
As if she can sense me watching her, a smile splits her lips.
“It’s creepy to watch people sleep, Dalton,” she says with her eyes still closed, and I scoff.
“I’m already creepy, baby. Might as well embrace it.” I kiss her forehead, running my fingers through her curls. “God, you are so gorgeous.”
She blushes, the deep red color staining her skin, and I wish I could save this image in my mind forever. She isn’t used to hearing such praise, but it’s all she’s ever gonna get from me. Thunder rumbles outside and she jumps slightly.
“What was that, angel? You scared of storms?” I ask, holding her a little tighter.
“Not really scared. Just…nervous. Don’t make fun. I know I’m a grownup and I shouldn’t be scared,” she says, pulling the comforter up under her chin. She looks so fucking cute.
“How about we stay in today? We can read, maybe have a little sex, maybe have some snacks, see where the day takes us?” I suggest jokingly, but totally serious.
She giggles, pink dusting across her cheeks in the way it always does when she’s both embarrassed and turned on.
I wish I could trace every freckle with my tongue.
I’d spend every single day for the rest of my life memorizing her perfect skin if she let me.
She jumps up from the bed, my black t-shirt hanging off her shoulder.
Damn, she looks perfect in my clothes. Better than I ever have in them, that’s for damn sure.
She disappears down the hall for only a moment before walking back into the room with her e-reader in one hand and a glass of water in the other.
I take the glass when she offers it to me and she slides back into bed, curling into my side like she’s always belonged there.
“Whatcha reading this week, angel?” I ask, setting the glass down and wrapping her tighter against me.
“It’s a…ummm…it’s just,” she’s embarrassed about something. I’m not sure why, we’ve read a lot of the same things. I doubt there’s anything she could read that would surprise me at this point.
“Spit it out, come on. Mafia? Brother’s best friend? Tell me, angel.” I snag her kindle, using my free hand to pin her down to the mattress as she tries to snatch it back.
“Dalton! Give it back!” She squeals, which only makes me hold it out further. Now I have to know what she’s hiding. I tap the screen and read the first paragraph I see aloud.
“ Even though I love the pain and the blood now coating our bodies and hands, I grab the knife between us, moving it away to give me room… Magnolia Azalea! What the hell kind of pornography are you reading?” I say, smiling down at her as she covers her face with both hands.
I see a deep red blush staining her bare skin, and I bite my lip.
I wanna taste every fucking inch of this woman.
“Give it back!” she says, kicking her legs wildly beneath me. I lower my body down on top of her, pining her firmly in place. She looks away, embarrassed. I toss her kindle to the side and wrap my hand around her throat, gentle but commanding, and drag her gaze back to mine.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Magnolia. You can read whatever the fuck you want to read and fantasize about any dark and dirty craving you can imagine. As long as the only man fulfilling those fantasies is me, understand?” I flex my fingers, putting the slightest pressure against her neck, and she moans. “Tell me you understand, angel. Now.”
“Yes. I understand,” she says softly, licking her lips. I watch her pupils dilate and I know she loves the control I have over her. I’m glad, because I’m never willing to give it up.
“Good, now you can read your book to me and I’ll imagine all the feral ways I’m going to obliterate your embarrassment.” I kiss the tip of her nose and she smiles.
“You make me feel…worthy,” she whispers, and something clenches in my chest.
Falling for this woman wasn’t part of my plans, but Magnolia has proven in such a short time that all my carefully made plans are worthless if she’s not in them.
If you had asked me even a month ago, I would’ve told you I had no interest in settling down or spending more than one night with any woman.
But Magnolia reached into my chest and squeezed my heart until it started beating again, until I could hardly bear to be apart from her.
“You are worthy, angel. Worthy of appreciation, worthy of love, worthy of a man who treats you like the fucking queen you are.” I punctuate every statement with a kiss against her sternum, laying my head on her chest and wrapping my arms around her.
I’ve never been one to cuddle, but with Magnolia, it just feels right.
She runs her fingers through my hair and across my shoulders, tracing my tattoos gently.
I’m not sure how long we lay like this, tangled together without a single thought of any problem outside this room.
Her chest rises and falls slowly, but I know she’s not asleep.
Her fingertips are still stroking through my hair absentmindedly as she reads.
If this became the rest of my life, I wouldn’t complain for even a minute.
“Eventually we’re gonna have to get up,” she says without moving.
“Nope. Just let me die here,” I say, snuggling my face tighter against her chest.
“But we’ll need fooooood.” She groans at the same time my stomach growls. We both laugh as I finally pull myself up and off of her. Immediately, I miss the closeness, but I still get up and dressed.
“You wait here. I’ll run down the street and pick up something from the diner, okay?” I kiss her forehead just as thunder claps outside the window. She shifts uncomfortably and I kiss her again. “I promise, I’ll be right back, angel.”
“Ok,” she grimaces. “Hurry back.”
“I will, I promise.” I place one more kiss on the tip of her nose before I’m out the door. I barely make it down the stairs of her apartment building before my phone rings. Breaker’s name flashes across the screen and I pick up before the second ring.
“Hey man, what’s up?” I ask, pulling the hood of my sweatshirt up to block out some of the rain.
“We’ve got- tell- where-” Static muffles his voice, and I wonder where the hell he’s calling me from.
“Break? Dude, I can’t hear you. Your signal must be really bad.” I shout over the sound of the rain. No one else is dumb enough to be out in it like I am, but when my girl is hungry, I have to deliver.
“Iris! Aaron- not- fuck! Can you hear me?” He breaks up again, angry shouts barely audible through the line.
“Man, I don’t know where you are, but I can’t hear a damn thing you’re saying. Call me back.” I hang up and pocket my phone as I jog across the street.
Water rushes almost to the curb in some parts of the street and I’m wishing we had a food delivery service in this town right about now. Even though it’s almost July, the wind and rain are much colder than usual. I cut across the sidewalk, the diner just ahead thankfully.
Just as I cross in front of the side street next to the diner, headlights shine down the alleyway. I fuckin hate it when people aren’t considerate of other people.
“Turn your fuckin’ brights off, asshole!” I shout, but before I can move, the driver hits the gas. A black town car barrels straight for me with no intention of slowing down. I’m stunned for a moment. Is this fucker really gonna hit me?
“What the fuck!” I yell, diving out of the way only a second before the car would’ve taken me out.
My body slams into the pavement and I wince, feeling the small bones of my left wrist twinge as I brace against the impact.
That’s definitely gonna hurt like a bitch after the adrenaline wears off.
I watch from the ground as the taillights never slow down, taking a right turn out of the town square and disappearing.
Somebody just tried to run me over. I could be dead right now. What. The. Fuck.
My mind immediately wanders to the list of people who could be trying to kill me at any moment. It’s not a short one. But I’d be willing to bet this time it had something to do with a certain redhead I left only a few minutes ago.
Rain pelts against my face and the ground around me, but I don’t move to get up.
My injured wrist rests against my chest as the cool water soaks me to the bone.
Why is it that no matter how much I want to let the sun shine on my life, the darkness always creeps in?
My cell rings, pulling me from my downward spiral.
Breaker’s name flashes across the screen again and I swipe to answer.
“Iris? Hello? Can you hear me?” He says, panic in his voice.
“Yep. You got me. Guess what? Somebody just tried to kill me. I know you’re shocked by that,” I say, my tone flat and expressionless. Nothing surprises me anymore, honestly.
“What?! I was trying to tell you! Look, this web of bullshit you and Magnolia are tangled in is way more complex than you realize. Are you with her now?” He snaps, and I shake my head.
“No. Currently, I am laying on the ground getting absolutely drenched and nursing a possibly broken wrist. Ya know, typical day in the life, really,” I say sarcastically.
“Well, get up, get Magnolia, and get to my house. We’re locking this shit down now,” he barks, his tone always commanding.
“Ok, daddy. I love it when you tell me what to do. We’ll be there soon,” I say, and he grumbles through the line before hanging up.
I groan, using my free hand to support myself and stand.
I don’t want to feel so fucking defeated, but damn, I do.
Making my way back to Magnolia’s apartment in half the time, I open the front door and find her standing in the kitchen, her green hoodie barely covering the thick globes of her ass and the tiny scraps of lace covering it. Damn, she is so beautiful.
“Oh, my god! Dalton, you’re soaked!” She says, rushing to my side.
“Pack a bag, angel. We need to go.”