Chapter 5 #2
I wasn’t sure how I was going to go back to sleeping alone.
I shifted a little, rolling so I face him.
In slumber he looked peaceful. Still hot as hell, but without the intensity that clung to him like a shadow.
I could only imagine him in the corporate world, dressed in a sharp suit, staring his client’s down so they would listen.
I knew I couldn’t resist his stare.
I peered past him to the window. The snow had stopped finally, the wind blowing itself out in the night.
We’d spent all of our time in bed, talking, eating makeshift meals in the kitchen.
Drinking wine or for him, whiskey. We sat on the sofa and played card games.
Laughed. Talked more. I knew about his upbringing and he admitted his hurt over the woman who had tried to trick him.
I confessed to being heartbroken at the news of never having kids. I admitted how scared I had been when Alan started stalking me. How alone I felt.
Somehow our confessions seemed easier in the confines of the cottage, the storm outside a protective barrier as we shared our secrets.
The bed was warm and cozy, Sully his own furnace. The air was still chilly, but the heater worked well, making it at least livable. I returned my gaze to him, finding his eyes open, studying me.
“Hi,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “What has you thinking so hard?”
“Nothing. The storm is over I think.”
“It calmed down around four.”
“Do you think trains will run today?”
He shook his head. “Not until tomorrow at the earliest. Limited service but I think they’ll start.” He traced a finger down my cheek. “Anxious to get away from me, Autumn?”
“No.”
A smile split his face. “Good.”
“I need to let Bonnie know I’m okay.”
“We’ll walk to the village later. We can get cell signals. Even my booster didn’t work with the storm.”
“Okay.”
“I think Bonnie leaves a set of warm boots in the cupboard you can use. I doubt the runners I saw when I got here will do much to keep your feet from freezing.”
“Sounds good.”
“Coffee first.”
I hummed. “Yes.”
“You make such good coffee,” he said, nudging me, his eyes dancing with mischief.
“Sully—it’s cold outside this bed. You make the coffee.”
He rolled over instead and pinned me to the mattress. “How about I warm you up first. Then you make me coffee?”
“Sounds like a fair deal,” I replied, my voice breathless.
He lowered his face, tracing a nipple with his tongue. “I’ll make it more than fair.”
And he did.
Sully
The trek to the village was slow. The usual paths were obliviated with the amount of snow around, although now the sun was out and the snow was already glistening as it started to melt.
The boots Autumn borrowed were too big, but she tied they tightly around her ankles to stop them falling off.
Her gait amused me being more like a horse clopping than her usual graceful walk.
I teased her and she threw a snowball at me.
I tossed her in the snow and kissed her until she promised to behave, then pulled her out of the snow and brushed her off.
I barely recognized myself. I wanted to make her laugh and smile.
I liked teasing her—her reactions making me smile.
She did a lot of things that made me smile.
We got to the village, heading straight to the pub.
We walked in and it felt as if every eye was on us.
Mostly because they were. I had never walked into the pub with anyone but Bonnie.
I ignored the curious stares, pulling her through the crowd to a vacant booth I saw in the corner.
I headed to the bar, ordering drinks and some lunch.
Mrs. Harris looked up at me. “Well now,” she drawled, obviously recognizing Autumn and knowing I had been at the cottage as well.
“Don’t even start,” I warned. “What’s the news on the trains?”
“If they can make it from Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon, they’ll be one at six heading back. If not then on Monday.”
“Right.” I picked up the drinks. “Thanks, Scotty.”
I carried the tray to the table. Autumn was on the phone. “No, I’m fine Bonnie. I was perfectly safe at the cottage.” She listened a moment. “No. Everything was great. I’m heading back once the trains start running.”
“Tomorrow maybe,” I mouthed, wondering why that word made me so unhappy.
“Tomorrow,” she repeated to my cousin. “So I’ll see you Monday. If there’s an issue, then Tuesday.”
She said her goodbyes, then hung up.
I smirked at her. “I noticed you didn’t tell her I was here with you.”
She picked up her glass, taking a sip. “I didn’t have the strength for those questions over the phone. I’ll tell her in person. Besides, I had no idea what you wanted me to say. Or if you wanted me to pretend this never happened.”
I sat back, swallowing some Guinness. The dark bitter brew was an explosion of taste in my mouth. “I don’t think either of us can pretend that, mo fhia beag.”
“What should I tell her?”
“Tell her the truth. I came up not knowing you were there. We shared the cottage and…” I trailed off.
“… had a nice, friendly weekend?” she whispered, a flicker of pain crossing her face as she said it. It matched the one that rumbled in my chest.
“A nice, friendly weekend,” I repeated with a frown.
“That works.” I leaned closer. “Or you could tell her we couldn’t keep our hands off each other and I fucked you in every room of the cottage.
Took you on every available surface. Fell so hard and fast I couldn’t bear the thought of letting you go.
That I followed you back to Edinburgh grateful I had three more weeks to see you every chance I got.
That I planned to try and convince you to stay. ”
She blinked.
I picked up my mug. “But the nice weekend thing works too. Might be simpler.”
She swallowed. “Certainly less graphic.”
I stood, seeing Scotty waving at me that the food was ready.
“My version is the truth though,” I said, meeting her eyes so she knew I was serious.
I liked how she blushed as I walked away.
We ate the pies and mash in silence. I devoured mine, while Autumn picked at hers. She looked dazed and upset. I pushed her plate closer. “Eat. Please.”
“What you said—”
I shook my head. “We’ll talk about it at the cottage. Eat. We’ll get a few things at the store and head back.”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
I reached across the table and touched her cheek. “Neither do I.”
Time seemed to fly back the next twenty-four hours.
While in the village I had contacted the heat pump company who had sent someone out and got it started again.
They agreed it needed a protective cage around it that would still allow it the fresh air it needed and he assured me I would see plans in the next few days.
The cottage was once again warm, but it didn’t stop me from staying close to Autumn.
I had meant what I said when I told her I had fallen hard and fast. I was also a man who hated games and said that he thought and felt.
After the workman left I came inside and sat on the sofa drinking the hot coffee waiting for me.
Autumn was in the wing back chair she’d been sitting in when I first arrived, a coffee beside her, her Kindle open.
But I noticed it wasn’t on, and it was being used as a prop.
“Why are you over there?” I asked quietly.
“I’m reading.”
“With no screen?”
She glanced down. “Oh, I guess it shut off.”
“What are you thinking, mo fhia beag? What is causing that little vee on your forehead?”
She lifted her finger, rubbing between her eyes as if to erase it. She paused and I held up my hand. “Don’t tell me nothing. I already know you well enough to see your tells.”
“What you said in the pub…”
“I meant it.”
“Are you sure its not just the, um, sex?”
I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, the sex is phenomenal. Best I ever had. But its not just that. It’s what you do to me in here.” I tapped my chest.
“Which is?”
“I feel alive. Looking at you makes me smile. Talking with you is fun. Laughing with you is even better.”
“But it’s new—that will wear off.”
“No. It won’t. I’m not that sort of guy.”
She was quiet, contemplative.
“How would that work, Sully? I live in Canada. You live here.”
“And you’re unhappy in Canada. So you apply for a transfer to the Scottish office and move here. If that doesn’t work, you find another job. Or come work for me.” I shrugged. “Or don’t work. Volunteer places. We’ll travel. Have adventures. Be together.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“It could be. Or it could be difficult. We can get married and sort it out later.”
She gaped at me. “Married? Holy shit, hold your horses, mister. We just met.”
I had to chuckle. “Just putting that out there so you know how serious I am.”
She leaned forward, earnest. “You don’t know me. I might be a kleptomaniac. I might sleepwalk. Maybe I’m a serial killer. I might snore.” She sat back as if triumphant. “I might have planned this entire encounter to lure you into my trap and steal all your money.”
I burst out laughing. “Yes, no doubt you and Lloyd are in cahoots. He got me here and you seduced me with your wiles. You conjured up the storm with your hidden powers so we’d be stuck, and you fiddled with the heat pump.
I should have known.” I shook my head, feigning sadness. “Too good to be true.”
She sighed in exasperation. I stood and crossed the room, kneeling in front of her chair and taking her hands. “Maybe I’m a difficult man. Bossy. Irritating. Maybe I can’t keep my hands off of you. Maybe I’m thinking I found the best thing in my life and I don’t want to let her go.”
“You are all those things,” she responded dryly. “Except I don’t understand the last one.”
“I know you don’t. Whatever men have been in your life haven’t treated you the way you should be treated. I plan to change that. Everything you find wrong, I find perfect. Even how you snore and drool on my chest at times.”
Color flooded her cheeks, making me chuckle.
“I know you’re not perfect, Autumn. Neither am I.
But I think we’re perfect together. I love talking to you.
Listening. Your voice soothes something inside me.
The way you look at me makes me feel invincible.
I want to protect you. Find the man that scared you and end him.
Keep you safe. Let you feel how loved you are. ”
She blinked. “You can’t possibly love me.”
“Because it’s too fast?”
“That doesn’t happen in real life.”
“My cousin Finn met his wife Una when she was eighteen. He walked away because she was too young. But he was never able to get her out of his system. They met again years later and are married and happy. He always knew. Niall helped Anna out of a terrible situation and couldn’t let her go.
They’re married now too. I think maybe hard and fast runs in our DNA. ”
I drew in a deep breath. “But if you tell me you don’t feel anything, I’ll make sure you get back to Edinburgh and leave you alone. I won’t bother you.” I swallowed. “Is that what you want?”
Her lovely eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. “I hate thinking of saying goodbye,” she admitted. “But it seems so unreal.”
I wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks.
“It is real. I promise. And it might be difficult. But I’m serious.
Tell me I can see you while you’re here.
Promise me you’ll keep an open mind. We can figure it out together.
If you have to go back, we can work towards a future.
Because I want that with you. I’m certain of it.
” I paused. “As long as you want it too.”
“I do.”
“Then we go back to Edinburgh together. We see each other as much as possible. We make plans.”
“How will we tell Bonnie?”
I laughed. “Over a pint and a plate of her favorite fish and chips. She’ll be thrilled. She’ll want to help. She’s talked about you so often I almost felt as if I already knew you.”
“Me too.”
I grinned. “Maybe she’s the witch who put this together.”
Autumn smiled, the smile that was my favorite. Wide and filled with joy.
“Maybe,” she said.
I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight. I liked how she felt in my embrace. I liked everything about her.
And I planned on making sure she knew that so the next three weeks could become more.
They would become forever.
Our forever.