I close my eyes and smile as he presses a soft kiss to the top of my head. Affection from Colt Fowler feels like a big, fuzzy blanket, wrapping me in a comforting warmth that makes me feel sleepy, safe. I could curl up into him and drift off for the rest of forever, if he let me.
I shake my head. “Not weird. At least, not how I meant.”
His thumb trails over my bottom lip and I have to keep my knees from buckling under the touch. “Good,” he purrs.
After a moment too long of staring at him, nipples pebbling under my bra, I breathe, “Mr. Fowler, we’re on the clock.”
“That we are, Rowan,” he says with a smirk. He gently taps my forehead before tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. “So responsible, this one.”
His hand trails back down to my jaw and that thumb brushes across my lower lip one more time before he steps away to open the door again. I move to one of the seats in front of his desk, plopping down into it and crossing one leg over the other, trying to calm the ache rising between my legs.
TWENTY-SIX
Rowan
My body is screaming at me this morning as I lie in bed, like every piece that holds me together is sitting at a low burn, even down to my fingertips. I groan as I get up, both from pain and from the dread of going to the office today.
It’s not like my job is all that physically intensive, but the last time this happened, I passed out in Colt’s office, and I still haven’t gotten over the embarrassment of that. I really would rather avoid a repeat; and I don’t miss work. I show up for my obligations, no matter what.
Despite how crappy I feel, I get up and grab my cane for support, then make the long trek from my bedroom to the dining room, following the familiar smell of Colt’s morning espresso. He sits at the table, reading the news on his phone, just like he does every morning.
“Morning! Happy Wednesday,” I sing to him.
“Happy Wednesday, Rowan.” Keeping his head down, face toward his phone, he lifts his eyes to look at me, then pulls his cup from his mouth and sets it down gently on the table. “No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You’re not going in today.”
“It’s a weekday. I have work on those days,” I taunt, just a little. “My boss can be a real hardass, you know.”
Moving his full attention to me, he says, “You’re pale, your cheeks are flushed, and you’ve got a white-knuckle grip on that thing. You’re staying home, Rowan. You feel like shit.”
“I can still work,” I tell him, taking the seat across from him.
His eyes narrow at me – not with anger, but with a protectiveness behind the expression. “No.”
“Colt—”
“You won’t win this fight, baby girl.”
He stands and plops his dishes into the dishwasher, then disappears down the hallway. I guess that’s the end of that conversation.
I stay seated at the table and wait for Macie to come out so I can fix her a bowl of cereal. Thankfully, there are at least three different kinds chock full of marshmallows and colorful pieces in the cabinet, so she has her choice. Hell, she can mix and match all of them if she wants to. It’s an easy breakfast I don’t have to stand for half an hour to make for her.
Colt reappears not much later, still in his comfy clothes. I figured he had gone off to his room to change, but I guess not. He walks over to Macie and pats her head with a smile.
“Morning, kiddo. Sleep well?”
Her head nods excitedly. “I picked out my show and tell, too!”
“Awesome! What did you go with?” He asks.
“Astro-bunny,” she tells him.
A smile spreads across my face. Astro-bunny is literally just a stuffed purple bunny that she shoved an astronaut’s helmet onto. It’s her favorite toy in her now ridiculously large collection – at least, it feels ridiculous now. Colt bought Astro-bunny for her about a week after wegot here; I think he wanted her to know she was safe, and that he paid attention to her interests. It was really, incredibly sweet.
“Your friends are gonna love her,” I say while I pour milk over her bowl of cereal.
