Chapter 33 #2
He looks down at my hand on his elbow for a brief moment before following me inside. It’s early evening, but with the gray clouds, it looks much darker.
I walk inside, shivering as I grab a clean beach towel and start drying my hair. Dayton picks one out from the basket by the door and dries his face off. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and dries it, too, before checking his weather app.
A few seconds later, his jaw tics.
“What is it?”
“High winds and a flash flood warning. The local weather service says to take cover away from windows and to conserve water. We might lose power.”
“The house …” I whisper, covering my mouth with my hand.
Dayton’s expression is grim as he continues drying his body off. “We need to focus on our immediate safety.”
He searches my lower kitchen cabinets until he finds my big soup pot. He starts filling it with water.
“Do you have any flashlights or candles?”
I nod, pointing to the drawer they’re in. He opens it and pulls out two flashlights and a lighter. As soon as he turns off the water filling the pot, the power goes out.
My heart thunders inside my chest. I immediately step toward him. He switches the flashlight on, and I realize we both moved closer together on instinct. I don’t want to analyze what instinct made me do that. I glance at the windows as the wind howls outside.
“We’ll be safe here. These windows are built for hurricane weather. Only a bullet could bust that glass.”
He licks his lips, stepping toward me. “I really was just on a walk when the rain started. I didn’t intend to even come this far, but …” He swallows. “I saw the gray clouds and decided to make sure you were okay.”
The ice around my heart starts to thaw. I nod as a shiver passes over me. The AC inside is still on.
After a brief pause of debate, he flickers his amber eyes over me. Finally, he gives up whatever battle he was waging inside and wraps his arm around my shoulders. I’m shivering, so I lean into his comforting body heat. My teeth are chattering.
I hate storms. My dad died from getting caught in a storm, riding his motorcycle. The eighteen-wheeler driver never saw him through the downpour.
“Let’s get you out of this wet T-shirt. You’re freezing.”
I look down, realizing my nipples are poking through the thin layers. He sets the flashlight down on the counter so it shines over us and helps me peel the soaked shirt off.
He’s already seen it all, so I untie my bikini top. He sucks in a ragged breath.
I halfway expect him to start kissing me or to initiate sex, but he doesn’t. I wiggle out of the bottoms, dropping them onto the growing puddle on the floor.
He looks like he’s in physical pain as he wraps me up in the beach towel and massages the goose bumps on my arms. I freeze when he presses a kiss to my wet hair before moving over to my dresser and pulling out a pair of comfortable boy-shorts underwear, my thickest gray sweatpants, and my Save the Turtles T-shirt.
When he comes back over, he slides my head through the hole of the T-shirt before pulling the towel away. With each of his gentle movements, my anxiety over the storm eases.
He’s here. He came to check on me.
My icy chest thaws a little more.
He kneels down in front of me and holds out my underwear for me to step into before following with the sweats.
Once I’m fully dressed, he leads me over to the bed. I lie down against the collection of fluffy pillows, and he covers me with a throw blanket. I watch him, assuming he’s going to get changed into dry clothes, but he goes back to my dresser and gets me a pair of socks.
I can’t hold back a small smile as he gently tugs them over each of my feet.
“I’m gonna change. Are you hungry? When did you last eat?”
“I had some grapes around lunch.”
He looks displeased.
I watch him clean up the water on the floor, change into a pair of gym shorts he left on the chair, and pull some ingredients out of the fridge to make me a sandwich.
My stomach growls, making me realize how hungry I really am.
Thunder claps outside as rain pelts the window. The rustling of the palm trees is so loud; I’m afraid one could snap in half and crash into the room.
I huddle under the blankets, realizing he guided me toward the side of the bed that’s farthest from the window.
He walks over with two plates and a can of Diet Coke from the fridge, which he already opened. He settles on the bed next to me before handing me my food.
He made me a sandwich and added potato chips on the side. I bite into the bread.
“How did you know I like mustard and mayo?”
He smiles, taking a bite of his. “You haven’t really changed much since high school.”
After thirteen years, he still remembers my condiment preferences.
I don’t even know how to process that. He finishes his food first and takes my plate for me when I’m done.
After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, he settles in bed next to me, tucking me into his chest. He smells like rain.
“I was planning on staying at the Grand Palm tonight, but—”
“You can’t leave in this weather.”
“I know. I just wanted you to know that was the plan.”
I chew my lower lip. After a few minutes of listening to his steady, strong heartbeat, I start drawing circles on his forearm with my thumb. His hand moves to cup the side of my hip under the covers. Lightning strikes somewhere close, illuminating the dark room.
“I’m scared,” I whisper.
“You’re safe. You’re safe right here with me.”
He kisses my forehead again. A tear slips out of the corner of my eye before I feel the pull of sleep come over me.
My eyelids slowly close. Dayton sinks farther into the pillows, pulling me even closer into him.
With the smell of his musky sandalwood cologne mixing with the rain, I drift off to sleep.