Chapter 7
Seven
Blair
It’s hard to swallow, but when Adrian finally backs up and hands me my glass of wine, I down it in just a few sips. Married?
This is so preposterous. I feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole. Surely this man, whom I just met this afternoon, wouldn’t really marry me to save me from the boring, prearranged life my parents have in mind. Who would do such a thing?
He’s adamant that he doesn’t want a divorce, either. Madness. He doesn’t know me.
“Come.” Adrian takes my hand and leads me from the warm living room toward the hallway. He releases me at the entrance. “Wait here.”
I watch as he banks the fire and turns out the lights. And then he’s back, my hand in his, the two of us shuffling toward his bedroom. Along the way, I happen to glance in one of the rooms we pass, stopping in my tracks.
Grabbing the doorframe, I stare into the room. “You have a nursery?” It’s not fully furnished, but there’s a crib filled with girly bedding and a changing table.
Adrian wraps his arms around me from behind and sets his chin on top of my head. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this…safe. Loved. Cherished. This man pays more attention to me than anyone I’ve ever spent time with, including my own parents.
“I told you I watch my nieces sometimes. They sleep here occasionally.”
My hand comes to my chest because, again, I think this aspect of Adrian is the single most compelling reason to marry him out of all the things he checks off the list. The man loves his nieces.
He has fucking toddler toys in his tub. That alone is reason enough to say, “I do.” I might be inclined to do so even if I didn’t need rescuing from a crazy family.
I’ve never thought for a single second about having kids. I’ve actually been rather repulsed by the idea. I would never raise a kid in the environment I grew up in, and that’s what would happen if I let my parents dictate who I marry.
Hell, they would probably buy the house next door and insist we eat dinner with them. They’d also likely openly discuss our sex life to make sure I was doing my best to procreate. Gross.
But Adrian… He wakes up my dormant ovaries. The man makes my pussy quiver and my nipples hard. And since I’m not wearing panties, my thighs are embarrassingly wet.
He doesn’t rush me. His hands rest on my shoulders while I stand in the doorway to this nursery and find myself thinking about what it would be like to have a baby with him. I don’t even know him. Do I?
When a flash of lightning is immediately followed by booming thunder, I jump in my spot and cry out.
Adrian squeezes me. “You’re safe here,” he whispers.
And I feel safe. Not just from the storm but from my life. I think this man could battle my demons and win. I’ve lost my mind.
Eventually, I turn away from the baby room and into his arms. He pulls me into his embrace. Now, he’s holding me chest to chest. Or chest to stomach, since he’s so much taller than I am.
He’s warm, physically and emotionally. Could he be duping me? How would I know?
But then I remember the nursery. His brothers and sisters-in-law obviously trust him enough to leave their daughters in his care. I tip my head back. “Where do they go?”
His brow furrows. I can’t see his eyes well. The only lighting is coming from his bedroom because I didn’t flip them off when I went to find him earlier. “Where does who go, princess?”
“Your brothers and their wives. When they go out and leave your nieces with you, where do they go? It didn’t look to me like there was much in town of any level of excitement. Is there even a bar?”
He grins. “There’s a hole-in-the-wall dive bar, but none of us have been there. Usually, when I watch my nieces, it’s not because their parents left the property. It’s so they can go back home and have their cabin to themselves.”
“Ohhh.” My face heats. Duh.
“I assume they make good use of their time because Hannah is pregnant with their second.”
I chuckle. “TMI.”
He laughs, too. “You were the curious one. I’m just providing answers to your questions.” He turns us toward the bedroom, guides me inside, and angles us toward the bathroom.
I fidget my hands in front of me while he opens a drawer before he triumphantly holds up an unwrapped toothbrush. “I knew I had a spare.”
“Thank you.” As I open it, he brushes his teeth. This should be awkward. We’re in the bathroom like an old married couple. I’ve never been in this sort of intimate situation with a man before. Not because I haven’t dated, but because I’ve simply never been this comfortable with anyone.
Maybe the reason we’ve jumped in so deep is that Adrian had no choice but to strip me naked and help me bathe earlier.
I was so cold that my core temperature was probably low, causing me to feel confused and lethargic.
I struggled to care that he was seeing me naked.
But did the odd circumstances cause us to feel more intimate than we really are?
Adrian steps aside and hands me the toothpaste. He also kisses me on the forehead before leaving the room.
For several seconds, I stare at the closed door. I get the feeling the man isn’t the sort of person who cares if we pee in front of each other. But he’s being cautious with my feelings tonight.
I brush my teeth, use the toilet, and wash my hands.
My reflection in the mirror is barely recognizable.
I’m not sure who I am. I’ve literally never left my hair to dry on its own in over a decade.
The natural wave is kind of refreshing. I think I might like it, which is good since there will be no call for styling my hair if I’m going to live alone in the mountains and spend my mornings in the garden.
Am I, though? Going to live alone? I arrived today with my ridiculous beliefs, dreams, and plans. Already, I’ve been deeply humbled. And rescued. I could throw in the towel and give it all up. I could move into this cabin and marry the owner.
I giggle. How preposterous.
When I enter the bedroom, Adrian is sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed. The only light is coming from a lamp on the nightstand. He smiles and holds out a T-shirt. “I thought you might be too hot sleeping in that sweatshirt. If you want to change…”
“Thank you.” I take it from him, feeling shy. I’m never shy. Not even with a lover.
I should return to the bathroom and change. He’s right. I’ll probably get too hot under the covers in his sweatshirt. It’s warm in the cabin. I wonder if he intentionally turned up the heat for me. He would do such a thing.
There’s a new distraction, keeping me rooted to my spot, unable to turn around.
Adrian is wearing nothing but loose nylon shorts.
His chest is bare, and fuck me, but it’s even finer, completely revealed, than I imagined earlier this afternoon when he had the top several buttons of his flannel undone.
Adrian is ripped. Is it a mountain man thing? Maybe he works hard in the fields or some shit. I’ve only dated studious guys who’ve never been in the woods, even to go camping. None of them were built like Adrian.
He starts chuckling.
I blush and jerk my gaze up to find his eyes wrinkled at the corners with laughter. No reason to deny my attraction. “Maybe I will marry you,” I toss out as I spin around and head back to the bathroom. I’m playing with fire.
Two seconds later, I return, wearing his T-shirt. It’s almost as long as the sweatshirt, reaching halfway down my thighs, but it’s also white and doing nothing to hide my nipples.
Am I about to have sex with Adrian?
He pulls the covers back and pats the mattress.
I’m irrationally nervous as I crawl onto the bed, trying not to flash him my pussy—which he’s pretty much already seen. I’m startled when he pulls the covers over me and sits on the edge of the bed.
He sets one palm on the other side of my hips. “You don’t need to panic. We’re not having sex tonight.”
“No?” I lift a brow.
“Nope. I’m not putting that kind of pressure on you. Plus, you’ve had a long day that ended with you nearly getting killed in a storm. You need your sleep.”
Shockingly, I’m not exactly relieved. A part of me would kind of like this man to fuck my brains out.
Yes, walking here in that storm was scary as fuck.
Yes, I could have been struck by a tree and now be lying on that path, bleeding to death.
Yes, I was fucking cold when I arrived. But the only lasting remnants of my stupidity are a few abrasions on my elbows, palms, and knees. Nothing that won’t disappear quickly.
I should be totally exhausted from the stress, but instead, I’m wide awake. Intrigued by this man who has basically proposed to me. If there’s even the smallest chance in hell that I’d consider marrying this man, I’m going to want to have had sex with him first.
“That being said,” he continues before I have a chance to formulate an appropriate response, “I’ll be happy to sleep on the couch if it makes you feel less nervous.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be ridiculous. Get into bed.”
He chuckles. “You sure?”
“Yes. I’m not the one who declared we weren’t having sex.”
Groaning, he stands and rounds to the other side. As soon as he’s under the covers, he rolls toward me and reaches out. “Come here.”
Hoping he’s changed his mind, I scoot closer and turn to face him. The lamp is still on, so I don’t have to guess about his expressions. He’s smirking.
Adrian reaches up and brushes a lock of hair away from my face before grazing a finger down my cheek and over my lips. “You’re gorgeous.”
“Thank you. You’re pretty damn handsome yourself. Are you always so altruistic on a first date?”
He chuckles. “Yes.”
I stare at him. “Really?”
His brows furrow. “Yes. I’ve never slept with a woman on the first date. I wouldn’t want any woman to think I took her out so I could get in her pants.”
“Ah, but I’m not wearing any. And this isn’t really a date. Or, by the same token, you could say it’s our second date since we also saw each other earlier.”
“Why are you trying so hard to get into my pants, Blair?” His voice is filled with genuine curiosity.