Chapter 22
Kourtney
W hy does his mom have to be so sweet? Why do Ben and Matt have to ruin my life again? He couldn’t just leave it at running me out of Phoenix. He has to take it as far as taking the only man I’ve ever loved away from me, too?
I left Tiny’s house tonight with the excuse of one of my world-famous headaches, which is slightly true. Although I definitely exaggerated, I still have a dull throbbing at the base of my head. Meatball must sense my foul mood as he purrs against me, kneading his head against my upper arm as I finger my way through his long, soft fur.
I took my medicine as soon as I walked in the door, and just like I thought, within thirty minutes, it has definitely calmed the pounding in my skull. But with the release of the headache, a whole new pain arose. The thought of losing Tiny is tearing my heart in two. I’m not even sure when the tears started, just that they have, and I can’t seem to get them to stop.
Meatball’s purrs get stronger, and I rub his back, letting him know I’m okay.
Opening my eyes, a bright light catches my attention. I turn to my bedside and realize my phone is vibrating. Tiny’s face illuminates the darkness in my room.
For a second, I contemplate ignoring the call. I could pretend I was sleeping. Deciding against it, I answer the call and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?” I sniffle and then curse myself because he definitely just heard that.
“Come open the door, honey.”
“What?”
“Door. Come open it.”
I scramble up in bed, wincing when Meatball scatters away and into the bathroom. Tiny hangs up before I can say anything else.
Looking down at the pajamas I threw on, I decide they are fine enough to answer the door in, but for safe measure, I grab my silk robe before leaving my room.
With how paranoid I am after my run-in with Ben today, I go so far as checking the peephole before opening the door for Tiny.
I barely have time to take a breath, say hi, or literally do anything before Tiny shoves his way inside. I’m in his arms in a millisecond, and he’s running his hands all over my body, but not in a sexual way. It’s more like he’s making sure I’m really here.
“Tiny?” I squeak as his lips press at the slip of skin between my neck and shoulder. He breathes heavily into my neck and holds me to him like I’m seconds from disappearing into thin air.
“Nathan?”
Pulling just a fraction away from me, he holds my hands gently in his face, pressing kisses to my forehead and both cheeks. Then he gently runs his fingertips along my cheeks where Ben so roughly squeezed. If I’m honest with myself, my cheeks are most definitely sore from the encounter.
“Why didn’t you tell me someone hurt you?” Tiny asks with the gentlest voice I’ve ever heard from him.
I look up into his whiskey eyes curiously. “What do you mean?”
“Who was that man, honey?”
I pull back even more, searching his face for any answer I can find. “What man? What are you talking about, Nathan?”
Taking me by the hand, he leads me into my kitchen and guides me to sit on a stool while he stands next to me, caging me in. “The man at your office, Kourtney.”
My brows furrow, and I shake my head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“I watched the cameras at your office, honey. I saw a man in a suit come into the office and attack you. Who was it?”
My eyes widen, and I pull away from him. “You watched the cameras at my office?”
My heart rate speeds up at the thought of him watching me. Just how often does he watch me? What the hell?
I can’t tell if my heart races in fear or out of appreciation. Is this a major red flag, or deep down, do I like the thought of him watching me when we aren’t together? That’s crazy, right?
He runs his hand along the back of his neck, and I can’t help but notice as his shirt sleeve raises and shows off the intricate lines of his muscles.
Focus Kourtney.
I watch as he seems to war with himself on what to say and the correct way to answer. “I knew something was wrong. I could feel it. You weren’t yourself, and I wanted to see what happened so I could fix it.”
I release a breath at that. How can I be mad at the invasion of privacy when he did it because he was worried about me? But still…
“How often do you watch me, Tiny?”
Shaking his head, he turns a hard glare back on me. “That doesn’t matter. Who is that man, Kourtney?”
“What do you mean it doesn't matter? Do you watch me often?”
“Who is that man, Kourtney?” he asks sternly.
I stare defiantly into his eyes. His eyes don’t falter one bit, shit. Fine.
“Ben.”
His brows rise with surprise. “Ben? Your ex?”
“That’s the one.”
“What the fuck does he want? Why is he here?”
I roll my eyes and shrug. “Fuck if I know!” Tiny lets out a growl at my attitude, causing me to roll my eyes again. “He cornered me at my office. Why are you mad at me!”
“Woah, woah, woah, baby. I’m not mad at you. I just need to know what the fuck he’s doing here so I can get fucking rid of him, but only after breaking every last bone in both his hands for thinking he can fucking touch you.”
His aggression has my belly tightening, and not in a bad way. His possession does something to my insides. Something very nice.
That, along with him watching me when we aren’t together, all because he’s thinking about me? Yum.
What the fuck is wrong with you, Kourtney. Jesus.
“What did he say to you?”
“He came with Matt. Something about supporting his brother to get Evie back.”
“Is that all? Why did he grab your face?”
I throw my hands up. Does he think it’s my fault that Ben grabbed me?
“Wait, I can tell in your face that you think I’m blaming you for that.” Tiny bends down to my level. “Look in my eyes, honey.” I obey his command and take a breath at the severity of his gaze. “Never, in the history of ever or in the future, is it ever the woman’s fault for a man to touch them forcefully in any way. Do you understand me?”
Biting my lip, I nod.
“Let me rephrase. What happened before he took that step?”
“H-he told me he missed me,” my voice shakes. “Then, when he said how we were good together, I said no. He didn’t like that.”
Tiny gently grasps my thighs in encouragement, so I continue. I tell him everything, from the second Ben walked in and every word said until he left.
“You know that’s not true, right?”
I scoff, wiping my thumb along the tear I didn’t mean to let escape.
Holding my face ever so gently in his big hands, he whispers, “Baby, look at me.”
I bring my blurry vision up to his once again. My chest constricts as he runs his thumbs underneath both of my eyes. “I love you,” he says, searching my eyes, rendering me completely speechless.
A sob catches in my throat, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Surely he didn’t just say those words to me.
Burying my face in his chest, he holds me to him as I continue to sob into his shirt. Why am I crying again? Jesus. The man of my dreams just told me he loves me, and what am I doing? Making a mess of his shirt while he’s probably regretting saying it.
After a few seconds, I take a breath and pull back to rest my chin against his chest, looking up into his smiling face. “Can you try that again? I promise not to cry this time.”
The corner of his mouth smirks up, he runs his fingers through my loose hair. Pressing the softest kiss to my lips, he runs his nose along mine. “I love you.”
I have a death grip on the sides of his shirt, anchoring me in place. “I love you so much, Nathan.”
“Why are you crying, babe?”
“Fuck if I know!” I cry out. “I guess I convinced myself that between Matt, Ben, and Evie, you’d grow to think the way they do and hate me. I’d lose you, and you’ve become so important to me.”
“Hey, have a little more faith in me than that, yeah?”
I nod, biting my lip. “I can try.”
Tiny is a very sexual man, and I would also consider myself a very sexual woman, but this Tiny is very sweet. Most of his kisses turn deep, passionate, and hungry. The kiss he gives me now is content and full of love. He makes no move to deepen it, and as soon as I try to deepen it, he pulls away.
“Do you really watch me?” I ask quietly, breaking the silence.
“Ahh,” he forces out a breath with a small chuckle. “Can we just skip over that and pretend we didn’t talk about it.”
My right brow rises, and he takes a step back, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine. Yes, I watch you. I don’t always watch you. If I think about you throughout the day, I just may glance over the office once or twice.”
“Hmm,” I smirk, knowing damn well he’s underselling how often he watches me.
“Does that bother you?”
I cross my arms over my chest, bringing my finger up to my chin, and tap it gently, pretending to think about it. “Actually, I was honestly thinking it was kinda hot. But I can’t promise it won’t freak me out now, knowing that you could be watching me at any point in the day. I mean, what if I have a wedgie and I’m trying to relieve myself in the privacy of my own office or something?”
Tiny throws his head back and lets out a belly laugh. “Babe, if it gives me a potential chance at seeing what underwear you’re wearing that day, pick away.”
I slap my hand against his chest and laugh with him. “I cannot believe you just said that.”
Wrapping me back in his arms, he presses another kiss to my head. “How’s your head? Or was that just an excuse? I didn’t know you get headaches.”
Resting the side of my face against his chest, I revel in the feel of his strong arms wrapped around me. This is my new favorite place to be. Even if my headache hadn’t gone away, I think being right here would make the pain just a little bit easier to bear.
“I’ve always gotten them, unfortunately. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better at detecting them before they get too bad. I don’t get them as often as I used to since I started a new medication. But sometimes I have to take something extra.”
I moan as his fingers run through my hair, his expert fingers massaging my scalp on each pass. “You’ll show me where the medicine is and what else I can do to help when they come on?”
I smile and nod against his chest. This man is perfect. And I tell him so, I also spend the rest of the night showing him just how perfect I think he is.