“Yeah, after brunch, we will get all bundled up and cozy. We can have a movie day in the living room,” he suggests easily. I look up at him and smile. Completely.
“Hmm,” I moan before leaning into his arms. “I like the sound of that.” I sigh against his strong chest before pulling away. “Now, hurry up and finish cooking. I’m starving,” I joke around and feel his lips at the top of my head before he steps away and returns to flipping pancakes.
Oh, yeah. I am not going to overthink this.
If my time with Owen is limited, I’m going to squeeze every drop of joy I can from this week. Because once it comes to an end, he may send me off and act like it never happened. But I will carry the memory in my heart forever.
Which is funny, because that is also the same amount of time I want to stay by his side.
7
OWEN
This blizzard may have wreaked havoc all through Moonlit Pines, but personally, I don’t want it to end. Hell, it can stay fucking frozen outside forever for all I care. I’m not ready for the storm to end.
The week has been incredible.Best ever,a little voice whispers happily in my head. And fuck if that ain’t the truth. Though the snow has been bad, over four feet of snow has blanketed the mountain. Not that I mind. Not when I luckily, unknowingly was prepared. My kitchen fully stocked and a backup generator and more than enough firewood and propane to get us through.
We haven’t stepped foot out of my cabin, and I have to admit, even if just to myself, I love having her sole attention.God, I’m a selfish bastard!And an instaitable one as well.
No matter how much I try to give her body a moment to rest and recuperate, I still find myself reaching for Tessa, and she never denies me. Not once. It seems my princess is just as hungry for me as I have been for her. Like our soulds are making up for lost time. Hell, if I could figure out a way to control the weather, I would keep Moonlit Pines caps covered in snow longpast autumn, if it means keeping Tessa next to me in my bed, day in and day out.
Ending every night and starting every day with my girl in my arms is beyond anything I could have imagined, and I thought I had a damn good imaginiation.
The reality of Tessa is so much more than any fantasy I could have conjured up. Real life with her pales any daydream. She is so much more than I could have ever hoped for.
We’re in my bed, and even though she is in my arms, I pull her in closer, kissing the hair atop her head before breathing in her scent deeply. I’ve made her come twice, and I finished deep inside of her. I know I’ m a bastard, but the thought of anything between us has me wanting to break something. Every single time I’ve taken her has been unprotected. It’s careless and selfish. A primal caveman side of me hopes my seed takes root.
She’s fast asleep as I glance down and soak in the sight of her. My fingers stroke her dark hair as I breathe easier knowing she’s right there. Right where I only ever dreamed. This whole time during the blizzard has felt like a damn dream. One I don’t want to wake up from. I want her in my bed forever.
Throughout the week, we cooked, watched movies, played boardgames. She’s kicked my ass at Scrabble more times than I want to admit. And we drank wine in front of the fire before I made love to her in front of it as the storm roared outside. Both of us in our own little world.
A world I don’t want to step out of.
In my line of work, working from home, I never really stop when a blizzard or bad weather hits. I usually just carry on unless my backup generator fails me or gets tripped up. But Tessa, she’s had to stop everything this week and spend it with me. Wearing my clothes. And I have been next to her for almost every minute of it. Only taking care of work that was pressing or urgent, I took the time off. Being in coding and programing,disconnecting isn’t usually easy, but it came as naturally as breathing, knowing I was going to spend time with her.
As a working adult, I’ve never taken a day off. Not a complete one. It’s something I always get guff about from my sister or mom. Always riding me about being a workaholic. Usually, just taking half a day off makes me anxious to get back to work
Yet this last week has been the best week of my life. And it has everything to do with the time I spent with Tessa. She is mine.
My one. My other half. My soulmate.
And I am done keeping my distance.
Now that I know there is absolutely nothing going on between her and Eli, I’m ready to step up and claim her.
But when I think about what it would look like, I freeze. Everything inside of me is yelling at me to wake her. To tell her she’s mine, not ask because I don’t want to chance her saying no. She shifts and cuddles into me. Breathing in deeply, I watch as a smile forms on her lips while she dreams.
Fuck.
I don’t only want to claim her as my own, I love her. I love her more than I ever thought was possible. Her everyday life is different from mine. So different, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like when we tried to make a go of it.
Would our schedules clash? Would she get pissed about the late hours I put in when I am on a deadline for a project? Would I be okay with letting her out of my sight? With her leaving so damn early?
I shake my head at my crazy thoughts. I feel like a stalker, but in a way, aren’t I one when it comes to her? Shit, I’ve hacked into her Pinterest account to look at the shit she saved and purchased things off her Dream Home board to surround myself with things she likes. All to make me feel closer to her. So that one day, if she came here, she would want to stay. Forever.
I stroke her shoulder and know no matter the situation, I will find a way to make us work. There is no other option. I’m not going to let her go. No way in hell was I given this week, this miracle of an opportunity, to let it go to waste. She is mine.
I am a Woodman.
