24. A Delectable Little Snack
A DELECTABLE LITTLE SNACK
A spen
I sat in the middle of the overly comfortable bed, the deep olive-green puffy comforter across my lap, my tank top slightly askew from a troublesome cowboy.
My legs were crisscrossed, and my arms wrapped tightly around my body as I listened to him on the other side of the wall starting the bath for me.
I wasn’t even sure how I’d gotten here, honestly, but a deep unknown part of me, the part that I hadn’t previously allowed out because it never felt safe enough to do so, wanted more.
She craved more, needed more. And Rowan was…
he was more. I knew deep in my core that despite the serious breach of boundaries he’d crossed, he meant well.
He just went about it in a horrid way. Which, I guess, when you’d never cared enough to pursue a relationship with anyone before, it checked out. Sort of.
So I’d make him beg, crawl, and grovel. If he was willing to do so, this was where I wanted to be.
I wiped away the tear that escaped my eyes and pulled out my phone to text Ivy.
She had asked me if I was sure everything with Rowan and me was okay, and I’d told her, of course, just making him grovel even more now.
I wasn’t sure how to bring up to my bestie that he had done a full background check on me without my permission, and it included… gods only knew what.
She’d either be furious or compare him to another dark romance novel guy she’d love to have in her clutches.
Me: He’s drawing me a bath and then making me breakfast.
Ivy: AHHHH!
Ivy: As he should. You are a queen after all. He should act as such.
I smiled and set my phone on the side table, getting out of bed and heading to his master bath.
I wasn’t sure what I was braced for, but this wasn’t it.
He had filled the tub with bubbles and oils like he’d done before.
But apparently, he’d also done some shopping.
On the edge of the tub were two folded fluffy white towels and a black claw clip.
He was bent over the side of the tub, hand in the water, checking the temperature, I’d assume.
So I took a selfish moment to check out his backside.
He was still only in a tight pair of black boxer briefs, which left the rest of him very open to drool over.
He’d pulled his hair back in a bun, too, which just made me want to yank it down again.
I loved it when he left it down and free.
After a few moments of much-needed indulgence, I decided to be kind and make myself known.
“Wow, this is. Just. Wow,” I managed to say.
He quickly stood, shaking his wet hand off. “Uhm, it’s not a big deal. I wasn’t sure if it was a hair wash day or whatever. So, I uh…got some clips in case you didn’t have a hair band or something to tie it back with.” He cleared his throat, his cheeks starting to gain some darker color.
I couldn’t help but giggle at his level of discomfort. Ivy was right, there was no way he’d done this before me.
“How’d you know about claw clips and hair wash days?” I asked with a smile.
“Well, you know, I have longer hair. When I decided to grow it out, Payton made me go to a professional stylist. Told me if I was going to have long hair, I also wasn’t going to look homeless or some shit.
I dunno. But the stylist gave me some tips.
The clips I did go out and get…Mom likes those, and you have hair like hers…
” His hands were on his hips, and he rocked back on his heels before staring at the ground.
“I’m rambling. Anyway—the bath is ready.
Use whatever you want. I’m gonna…breakfast. Yeah. ”
I threw a hand over my mouth to keep myself from laughing and nodded.
“Oh yeah, there’s also a speaker over there if you want to listen to music. If not, there’s a sound machine—it has nature sounds and shit. It’s in the far corner. Okay, I’m done now,” he quickly said and then walked out of the bathroom.
I shook my head, leaving the door open in case he had any more strange instructions for me.
Deciding to turn on the sound machine since I left my phone next door in my temporary room, I clicked through until I found the rain and thunderstorm sounds.
Stripping off my clothes, I checked my backside in the mirror.
I felt as if something had bitten my ass cheek, but maybe I was losing my mind because I saw nothing there.
Shaking my head at myself, I clipped up my hair with the clip, and climbed into the tub and sank down, the water stopping just under my shoulders.
Rowan's house was great, but this was by far one of my favorite parts thus far.
I spent what felt like forever in the bath, just soaking and enjoying the warmth. But when my fingers started to prune, I decided it was time to face the music, so to speak. In other words, it was time to face my cowboy.
My cowboy? I internally slapped myself for even subconsciously claiming him, but my heart was ignoring it. She had full belief in the matter, which was just as dangerous.
I grabbed one of the towels and stepped out of the tub, slowly drying myself off.
It wasn’t until I stepped up to the mirror and stared at myself that I realized two things.
One, just how shitty I looked at the moment.
My skin was puffy and splotchy. My eyes were red-rimmed.
I looked as if I hadn’t slept in years. I released a slow breath, trying to let go of everything bothering me right now.
I pulled the claw clip from my hair, using my fingers to shake my long hair out.
I walked out into Rowan’s room and looked around, feeling somewhat lost. Which brought me to my second problem of the day—I had no clothes. No toothbrush. Not anything. I was…somewhat possessionless at the moment.
I looked around the room, deciding that I had one…
well, maybe two options. I could steal some of Rowan’s clothes, or I could stand here and cry.
That was about all I could come up with, so his clothes seemed to be the best option.
I walked into his closet, pulled a white t-shirt off the shelf, and tossed it on, then grabbed a pair of black boxer briefs.
Thankfully, he was larger than me, so they slid on and I rolled the waistband up a few times, so they looked similar to black spandex shorts.
It would have to do, for now.
Tossing my towel back in the bathroom, I walked downstairs to find him making what could only be described as a feast. He was listening to some country artist I’d never heard of before and flipping pancakes.
Bacon, sausage, an array of fruit, orange juice, and fried potatoes already sat on the island.
“Are we having people over or something? Wait, shouldn’t you be working right now?” I asked, realizing that he should’ve been out helping his brother hours ago.
“Nope. I texted Oliver last night. He was able to bring Lucas in to help him this morning. I figured we needed some time to chat before you had to be at work this afternoon,” he said while adding more pancake batter to the pan.
I shifted from foot to foot, suddenly wanting to talk about anything else. Maybe he sensed my unease because he looked away from the stove top and over toward me. I swore his jaw actually dropped as he looked me over—head to toes and back up again.
“You’re…you…uh fuck,” he muttered, turning back to the pan and flipping the pancake before it could burn. “Uh, little angel, we uhm…need to eat and you’re…fuck,” he muttered again.
I looked down at my outfit and smirked. Since I’d rolled up his boxers, you could just barely make out the bottom seam of them under the baggy t-shirt, which stopped mid-thigh on me.
“Is there something wrong with my outfit, cowboy?” I asked as I swayed slightly so the shirt showed off more of his boxers, and I bit my bottom lip.
I couldn’t even explain why I was trying to drive this man crazy, but damn if it didn’t feel good to do so.
Almost as if everything in my life wasn’t a chaotic mess right now—my ex wasn’t in town, and after me, my boyfriend hadn’t gone behind my back in the name of trying to protect me, and everything was sunshine and rainbows.
Rowan finished the pancake in the pan and then set it atop the rest of the stack. Turning off the stove top, he slowly walked towards me, stopping a few inches away.
“Is there a reason you’re standing in our kitchen, looking like a delectable little snack in my clothes right now?
” he asked with a quiet growl. I took a small note of the way he said our kitchen .
“Not that I mind seeing this…mouth-watering view you’re putting on for me right now, but this wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the reason behind you showing up with no bag in hand last night, would it? ”
I deflated in an instant. I should’ve known that Rowan watched me too closely not to notice that all I showed up with was my cell phone. He must’ve noticed the shift in my mood before he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Talk to me, angel,” he whispered, and he leaned down pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.
“I can’t go back to my apartment,” I replied.
When he realized I wasn’t going to elaborate beyond that, his eyebrows scrunched together.
“Aspen, I’m going to need more than that, and you know it.
Where are your clothes?” he asked, a bit firmer this time, and I shifted awkwardly between my feet.
But he didn’t release me. His arms stayed securely around my waist.
I was unsure if it was to keep me from trying to bolt again, or if it was just his way of making sure I felt secure and safe with him. I wasn’t sure yet how I felt about either option.
“I got back to my apartment last night after our…fight?—”
“Misunderstanding and slight disagreement,” he interrupted.
I rolled my eyes and tried to bite back the smile growing on my face.
“Whatever you’d like to call it. Anyway, when I got back to my apartment, someone had broken in and trashed the place.
The bathroom was flooded, my clothes were trashed, paint dumped everywhere, canvas’ slit.
” I felt his arms tighten around me, and his jaw clenched, but I continued anyway.
I was finally speaking about it without wanting to vomit, so I might as well finish.
“Thankfully, Ivy was with me. We called the police and filed a report. They took photos and said they’d contact Damien with the information for the insurance company.
I had her bring me here, and here I am.”
He pulled me in closer and hugged me tightly, which I happily returned. His face was buried in the crook of my neck, and I felt him slowly release a breath. “I’ll take care of it, little angel. Let’s eat,” he said.
I pulled away enough to look into his deep, ocean blue eyes. “What do you mean you’ll take care of it, Rowan?” I asked. He shook his head, effectively ending that line of thought when he suddenly picked me up; my legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as I let out a quick yelp.
“So, breakfast,” he stated as he carried me over to the island, sitting me atop the counter beside where he’d put all the food. He walked over, grabbed two plates from the cabinet, and came back. “Whatcha want?” he asked, staring at me expectantly.
I looked around at everything he’d put together, and I was suddenly torn between whether I wanted food or him .
No one had ever treated me like this before, and I knew that deep down my bar was pretty damn low.
The man had started me a bath and made breakfast, and I was acting as if it was some sort of marriage proposal.
“Pancakes, fruit, bacon, and coffee. Please,” I replied.
“Got it.” He made me a plate, setting it beside me on the counter.
He then went to the fridge, pulled out a couple of things, and set them beside me before he went to grab my coffee.
It took me a moment to realize what I was looking at, but it was chocolate coffee creamer, whipped cream, and he set the cinnamon down beside my cup of coffee.
“I’m not sure how much of everything you like in there, so that part is up to you for now, angel,” he said before turning away to make his plate.
I stared at the countertop filled with my favorite coffee ingredients, and this time, I couldn’t stop the tears that cascaded down my cheeks. When he walked back over toward me with his plate, he stopped and stared for a moment like a deer in headlights.
“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly, setting his plate next to mine and setting his hands on top of my thighs.
“You just…how did you even know what I like in my coffee?” I asked, wiping the tears from my now-wet cheeks.
He stared at me, eyes wide. “Is that really why you’re crying, Aspen?
” he asked gently. I rolled my eyes and nodded.
“I just paid attention when you ordered it at Buns of Delight before, and I texted Ivy a few days ago when I went shopping to confirm I had the right stuff. It wasn’t that big of a deal, especially not enough to make you cry.
” He reached up and wiped my cheeks clean for me again, and his hand cupped the back of my neck, pulling me down to kiss him.
It was a sweet and loving action, which just made me want to cry even more.
Why was this man so damn perfect? Even things he did that should be a huge red flag just made me want him more.
“No more crying, beautiful girl. Let’s eat,” he said as he stepped beside me and handed over my plate.
I nodded and we ate in silence for a few moments, but I truly couldn’t take my eyes off the man.
It was in the middle of him scooping a pile of pancakes into his mouth that I noticed his hand.
I sat for a moment, my head tilted slightly as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing across his knuckles.
“Uhm…Rowan? Did you get a new tattoo?” I asked quietly, trying to keep myself calm and collected while he stared back at me.
I loved his tattoos, and I’d taken the last damn near month to enjoy and run my tongue and lips over almost every bit of ink he had on his body.
So I knew the sunflower on the top of his left hand and the letters across his knuckles were new.
Especially the letters because I was damn sure I knew what they spelled.
A-S-P-E-N