Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Paisley
The following day after Isaiah’s accident, we had our first official date.
He drove me up to the top of the mountain and parked at a viewing spot, backing his truck in so the bed faced the sky.
He set up blankets and pillows, and a feast of the local diner food, as we watched the sunset over the mountains.
Since then, we really hadn’t left each other’s side.
After a week, he asked me to be his official girlfriend.
Considering how much time we spent together, it made sense.
I spent every free second I had between work and chores with him, and he did the same for me.
Most of the time, I stayed at his place because of Gruff, who seemed like a monstrous beast in my tiny ass apartment, not to mention that a dog his size needed space and a backyard.
Isaiah has dropped hint after hint about me moving in. And I was seriously considering taking him up on the offer. It wasn’t a hard decision to leave a small apartment behind for a beautiful log cabin.
Yet was it all too fast?
Or was that how the Appleridge lovebug worked after all?
Isaiah’s fingers danced over my skin, his lips following behind, worshipping every inch of my body. We hadn’t left his bed in two days.
Two days.
Two magical, tantalizing days of only us between the sheets.
Somehow, I managed two days off in a row from the bakery and Isaiah took the time off, leaving us completely free for forty-eight hours.
It had been better than I imagined.
Better than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Lingering touches, kisses, fevered whispers, declarations of love and promises of the future, of a life together, of exploring this insane desire between each other. Of learning each other’s bodies, our likes and dislikes, and everything in between.
We enjoyed take out in bed, movies, wine, chocolate, and showers. Oh, the showers. Isaiah washed my body as if he worshipped the very ground I walked on, and it always ended with wild sex.
Isaiah pressed his lips to my shoulder as he spooned me from behind, his hard dick resting between my ass cheeks. He moved his hips, grinding against me, as one hand slipped between my legs, his talented fingers landing on my clit.
My head fell back against his chest as his fingers picked up speed along with his hips, his hot, needy mouth on my neck.
The orgasm came fast, my clit already over sensitized, and before I could stop it, it crashed through me, pleasure coursing through every limb.
“I love watching you fall apart from the wicked things I do to you.” Isaiah whispered before nipping at my neck. “I’m falling in love with you, Paisley.”
I froze. I swallowed over the sudden lump in my throat. I rolled over to face him and looked in his eyes, pure love pouring out of them and onto me. I studied his face, traced his features with my fingers, outlined his beard, and kissed him gently. “I’m falling for you too.”
The next day at the bakery, my legs weren’t cooperating. As if I’d run a thousand miles at the gym, they were sore and unsteady. Even my hips and between my legs ached, my lips still swollen, and my mind everywhere but in the present.
“It hits hard, doesn’t it?” Ruby smiled over the rim of her coffee cup as she watched me punch in for my shift.
“What does?” I grabbed my apron from the hook and slid it on, tying the straps in the back.
She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “Don’t play coy. I saw him drop you off in his big truck. So, I take it things are going well?”
My cheeks flushed. Damn traitors.
“Yes, very well.”
“Are you moving in together yet?” Ruby laughed, her eyes dancing with delight.
I looked at her with surprise. “How did you know he asked me that?”
“Oh, sugar pie, the love bug works fast around these mountains. Men and women stake their claim and the rest is history. If you’re questioning how, then you’re normal.
We all questioned it. But it’s how things go around here.
I’d say you’ve gotten yourself an official Appleridge mountain man.
Make sure you invite me to the wedding.” Ruby grinned before disappearing into her office.
The wedding?
No one said anything about weddings around here.
But the thought jolted my heart into high speed.
I wasn’t ready for marriage, was I?
Take a breath. Enjoy the ride.
During my lunch hour, Isaiah stopped by the bakery. I loaded him and his crew with sandwiches and coffee, along with raspberry cheese Danish for dessert.
“I’ll see you tonight, sweetheart.” Isaiah said before planting a kiss on my lips.
When he walked out the door, me still watching him like a lost puppy, Stella appeared next to me. “You’ve got it bad, girl.”
“Oh my God, does everyone notice?” I exclaimed, throwing my hands into the air.
Stella threw her head back with laughter. “Small town, sweetie, of course we all notice. But he’s got it bad, too. You see the way he looks at you? Same way Julian looks at me. Like he’d give you the world.”
I said nothing while I digested her words.
“He drops you off and picks you up now even though you have a car, hmm?” Stella mused.
“He’s a tad overprotective. Wants to make sure I arrive safe with the muddy roads and whatnot.”
She smiled knowingly. “The mud dried up a week ago.”
“I know.”
We both laughed.
“He’s your lobster. Don’t let him go.” Stella patted my arm before walking away.
He’s your lobster.
I was hopelessly in love with Isaiah. I repeated it out loud to myself. “I’m hopelessly in love with Isaiah.” A chill ran through me.
The love bug wasn’t just some story.
It was the truth.
And it brought me to the love of my life.