Chapter Thirteen
Fucking Chad.
Listening to Noelle laugh, watching her smile at this guy on the phone sends a hot streak of jealousy through me. On the hike up, she mentioned how her ex-boyfriend from high school is a team lead for local search and rescue. Which is not a job, by the way. I looked it up. It”s a volunteer position. His real job is a part-time park ranger. Not impressed.
What kind of name is Chad anyway? How does he expect to be taken seriously with a name like that?
My emails were quick. Everything is set up for my meeting with her landlord tomorrow. I asked my friend to chat tomorrow about scanning the library’s inventory for valuable book stock and shot off a quick request for my lawyer to draft up a partnership agreement on our Second Chance Stories concept.
Selling used books through Perkatory should be easy to incorporate if I program the point-of-sale system to log the proceeds into a separate accounting string and set up a monthly reconciliation and payment issuance through my financial team. We’ve done donation drives before, so I can model it off that process.
“How’s your mother doing?” Noelle asks, then laughs at something Chad says. Her cheeks are flushed like two rosy apples. She’s so fucking beautiful, it makes me want to take a picture, something to remember when she was all mine. Because if this phone call reminds me of anything, it’s that she’s about to be everything to that whole damn town again as soon as we get off this mountain.
I can give her space. I will.
But I also plan to offer her help at every opportunity. She accepted my donation of a Perkatory Pass as the raffle prize. That’s something we can bump our heads together on as well as getting an inventory check of her library through the system to search for valuable vintage books she can sell. Then setting up Second Chance Stories. I have plenty of reasons to hang around in a professional capacity.
Personally? I’m at war with myself. All signs point to her liking me. Like really liking me. Every time I casually bring up the next few days when we’ll be in town together, she’s receptive to me spending time with her. She”s the one who offered for me to stay with her, after all.
Still, unease tightens my chest.
The next few days will be a way to test how she interacts with me day to day, with everyone else around, her family, library patrons, Old Ethel. Fucking Chad. Will I be her friend staying from out of town that she avoids holding hands with? Or will she make it clear that we’re romantically linked?
Because we are. We have to be. This isn’t casual. There’s no way.
“That’s really sweet, Chad. You have such a good heart.”
My jaw ticks. I don’t even know what this guy looks like, but I imagine her with him, anyone other than me, and my whole body lights up with rage. Mine, the territorial, demon side of me wants to roar out.
But Noelle is completely genuine. She smiles with her whole face. She’s not placating this guy. She’s genuinely the nicest fucking person, and I hate that it makes me so nervous. Makes me feel like a monster for wishing she was a little less warm to everyone. Makes me worry that getting together with me was a bit of a charity case. She said it wasn’t. She never made me feel less than as a kid either, but damn. A lifetime of feeling unattractive has left me with self-doubt that can turn dark and ugly on a dime.
“One hour. Got it. We’ll be ready!” Her smile falters as fucking Chad says something I wish I could hear. “Oh yeah, it’s me and my friend who rented Miss Ethel’s cabin.”
Friend. My chest tightens. Take a breath, I remind myself. I have to prepare for the possibility that this was just a casual holiday fling for Noelle. She doesn’t date outsiders, after all.
Do I take that flight home next week and ask for a long-distance . . . friendship? I have enough confidence to know she’d want to stay in contact, at least. If so, I could be patient for more. There are all kinds of reasons for me to travel back to Winter Bliss for Perkatory. The manager needs a vacation? I’ll put a bug in her ear to encourage it and make sure I’m the first person she calls.
I nod to myself. That’s the plan. If things cool down between us when we get to town, if I’m just her friend again, it’s not the end of the world. Expect the worst and be happy with scraps. That’s the de facto strategy that’s kept my head above water so far.
“Mhmm. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.” Noelle tucks her phone away and gives me a thumbs up, but her eyes look a little sad. “He borrowed a vehicle that can make it up the mountain. They”ve only got it for a few hours, so he said to be ready. They”ll be here in one hour.”
“What”s wrong with that?” I ask.
“It”s silly.” She shakes her head. “I feel kinda sad to be leaving the cabin so soon.”
“I wish we had more time too.” I band my arm around her shoulders as we hike back down to the four walls that became our whole world these last few days.
Packing up my stuff takes no time at all. It’s just books and a few changes of clothes. When I drag my suitcase to the front door, Noelle is in the kitchen cleaning the last of the dishes.
She shuts off the faucet and wipes her hands dry, smiling at me over her shoulder. The morning sunlight glows around her, and I’m struck at once by a burning bright memory. She looks just like the first time I saw her in that picture window when we were kids, her red hair a messy, glowing halo of light. The prettiest girl I’d ever seen.
“I was going to clean up.” I pluck the dishtowel up and hang it on the little mushroom peg above the sink. “It’s still your vacation, and you know what that means.”
She giggles and rocks her luscious ass against me. “My punishment.”
Time isn’t on our side anymore. It’s slipping away. Too fast. I only have moments left where she’s all mine.
I roll her leggings down to just above her knees, pressing her against the counter. One arm stays in front of her, so she’s cushioned. This gives me access to her clit as I slide my fingers up and down.
“Spread your legs for me, goddess.”
She mewls as she tries to shuffle open as wide as she can within the constraint of her clothes. It’s not far enough.
I’m feverish and desperate, falling to my haunches to tear them further down until they’re at her ankles and the waistband has popped a few seams. Fuck it. I’ll buy her new ones later.
“I need a taste.” I brace both palms on her generous ass cheeks and at the same time, she tips her hips to give me access. Spreading her open, I lick a quick stripe from her clit to her hole. “That’s it. Let me worship you.”
She squeaks and trembles, ending on a high moan as I leisurely lick up and down, toying with her clit. A noisy Noelle is music to my ears, and I eat her like a starved man. Her salty honey taste was made for me. Nothing tastes better than her pleasure.
I dig deeper in, wanting more, not content until she’s dripping for me. I know the heat of my tongue sets off her arousal. I can taste it, like the sweetest treat in the world. Soon enough, she’s keening, early pulses of her impending orgasm teasing as my thick tongue works inside her at a steady pace.
She’s ready, but I want her last orgasm in this cabin to be with me buried inside her.
And we’re running out of time.
“So responsive.” I stand and whisper in her ear as I make quick work of my zipper, already rock hard. Her eagerness, her sounds, her everything makes me so hot; it’s like I turn into an animal, something else that only has the clearest of goals.
Fuck her and please her.
“You’re desperate for this, aren’t you?” My cock slides between her thighs, working her swollen pussy lips back and forth. She likes my boss voice, as she calls it. “Look how wet I make you. I think you’ll miss being my pretty little pet, hmm? All mine.”
Tell me you’ll miss me, I scream on the inside.
She shakes her head. “You’re staying with me until you leave.”
I’m staying as long as I can, as long as she’ll have me. Mother Below, I can’t waste a second more and tilt her hips back, lining the blunt head of my cock up. Her toes scramble off the ground as I hold her in position. Her hands reach up and back, grabbing both horns for leverage as I tease inside, taking it slow.
“I’m right where I belong.” Everything fuzzes for a moment as I press in. The feel of her choking the tip of my cock makes me light-headed, but I have to focus. There’s something I need from her now. Reassurance. More of her for the little time we have left. “Does that mean I get to keep spoiling you?”
“Unnngh, yes.” She’s like a doll in my arms, arched back, wet, and ready. Her grip on my horns tightens as she promises, “I’ll be home every night.”
Home. With her. The yearning that flares to life in me is almost painful. She’s making space for me in her life, even if it’s only for a few more days. It takes everything in me to not lose control and pound her straight into the counter like an animal. But this is my chance. A final negotiation of our last hours together.
“What time will you be home?” My teeth score her neck as my cock works inside.
“Seven.” She wiggles back with little gasps.
“Five.” I growl, feeling her clench against me when I bottom out. Her body is a lush paradise, curves everywhere, molded just for my greedy grip.
“Six,” she says after a sharp inhale.
“Deal.” I toy with her slippery, swollen clit a little more, and the tightness I feel every time I work my way inside her fades.
“Yes.” She melts in my arms, our connection silky. Unreal. “Mmmm you feel so good. So hot.”
Demons overheat when our emotions heighten and senses sharpen. All that remains is a primal hunger. Her blood sings for me. I can smell it; a tinge of copper in the air, wet earth and golden amber. I can feel it; the spark in my veins, how she’s changing me from the inside out, how I’ll never be complete without her.
There’s nothing I want more than to claim every part of her so no other man, no fucking Chad, ever thinks he can know her like this. I brace an arm up her sternum to hold her throat.
“You’re mine.” I command as I fuck her, like the force of my feelings makes it true, the submission of my entire spirit. My body and soul. “Take it.”
Our reflection in the window isn’t clear. It’s messy and muddled, but it’s perfect. Her arms bent back to grip my horns, my wreck of a face nuzzling up and down her neck. Her tits heaving as I move inside her, steady and deep.
The bouquet of her arousal is so thick; it makes my head spin. Need flares, shooting down my spine to pool at the center of my hips. My cock is the instrument, but everything I am is alive for her.
I slide my cheek against hers, only realizing once I see us in the window that it’s the right side, my scarred side, pressed against her perfect flushed skin. Our panting breaths fog the reflection slightly, but it’s still us, side by side, as close as can be.
“Perfect,” she says, her voice vibrating against my grip. “You’re perfect. Never stop.”
The rightness of us, skin to skin, breathing in time, moving together as one, undoes me.
“Fuck.” I squeeze her tight, her jaw arches up, and I come with a grunt. My fingers work her clit with insistence until she shakes and falls apart for me shortly after. My exhales are stuttered, overcome with an intensity I’ve never felt before.
I can’t lose her.
Even if I leave in a few days, it won’t be for long.
She swivels and presses a sweet kiss to my ruined cheek.
A loud honk from outside startles us both.
We fumble to dress, cursing and laughing, and are out the door in under a minute. My emotions are still a tangled mess. I just want to get back to her place and get my head on straight. Find our new normal for the next week. Figure out how to ask for more from her, for everything.
“Chad!” Noelle waves to a wiry-limbed human hanging out the driver’s side of a giant, yellow snowcat. It’s plain as day in his roving eyes and careful smile. He definitely still has a thing for her.
I lug my suitcase down the snowy steps when he sees me and shakes his head. “Only room for one.”
“What?” Noelle looks between him and me with wide, shocked eyes.
I see another park ranger in the front and a massive engine wheel between the first two bucket seats. No room up there and only a small bench seat in the back. A well-dressed demon and small human woman take up most of that space.
That crafty little shit, Chad, did this on purpose. I just know it. Did they really need two fucking rangers to drive this thing? I know for a fact Noelle told him I’d be coming too.
“I can sit on his lap,” Noelle offers. It’s a sweet thought, but I’m a very big dude, and that’s a tight fit as is.
Chad shakes his head with a forced grimace. “One person. Safety first.”
I leave my suitcase in the snow and stride forward, holding her hands in mine, heating them up while I lower my voice for privacy. “Listen. I’ll stay here. You’ve got more important things to sort out.” Her hair is messy, probably from rutting her like a feral caveman, so I smooth down the wavy tendrils dancing in the winter wind. “I can take my call tomorrow at Frostwing Lookout just fine.”
Her nostrils flare, eyes wet, but she nods and leans forward for a kiss. Just like that, in front of everyone and without a thought, she kissed me. I peck her back, still stunned. All my worries about us just being casual, me being a secret, melt away. She really wants me, and I don”t want to be the thing she worries about now. She needs reassurance.
“I’m sure it won’t take too long for the roads to be cleared,” I say, even though I’m not sure. I just can’t have her worrying about me when she’s already got the weight of the world on her shoulders trying to save the library.
I help hoist her into the vehicle, and she watches me with a dazed, forlorn expression that breaks my heart. After gently closing the door and walking backwards, I get an idea. “Call me!”
She tilts her head, confused. The service up here is shit and calls only get through half the time. Everyone knows that.
“Six o’clock on the dot.” I nod to Frostwing Lookout. Hiking half an hour uphill in the snow every night for the chance to talk to her is nothing. I’d do that and so much more. I smile and wink, exuding as much positivity as I can muster despite feeling like I’m about to snap. “A deal is a deal. I’ll be waiting.”
Her eyes water, but she nods. “A deal is a deal.”
That’s it. So help me Mother Darkness, I’m getting off this damn mountain if I have to tunnel my way through the avalanche myself. Noelle won’t be alone on New Year’s Eve ever again.
Chad bangs the side of the massive snow mobile monstrosity, making her jerk and tuck her arms inside the vehicle with one last, tiny wave.
I glare at him, wishing every inconvenient curse upon his head. May his soft bread always come with hard butter. A check engine light with no diagnosis. Milk he doesn’t realize is sour until that first lumpy sip.
The engine fires back up, spewing smoke into the clear blue sky, and that dickweed has the gall to salute me.
Fucking Chad.