She pats Hank’s head. “Be a good boy.”
I walk Hank outside, and Anders opens the door, not even questioning me about bringing Hank.
“The dog too?” I hear Eli say from the front, but he doesn’t directly ask me about it, so I ignore him.
Hank sits in the middle between Anders and me as we head back to the cabin. Mikael doesn’t say a word, and I don’t push. The ball is in his court.
To put it quite simply, Eli’s room is now my room. I’m not really sure what came over me, but now it feels right in the cabin. Now that Eli’s bed is covered in my pillows and blankets, it’s like I’ve scent marked this room as me. I didn’t know I had this possessive streak in me, but here we are.
Warm arms wrap around my waist. “Everything better now?” Anders asks.
“Much better.”
“If you need anything else to feel comfortable here, just let us know.”
I lace my fingers with his around my waist and hum. “You know, some blackout curtains would be nice. That way it doesn’t get so bright in here in the morning.”
“I’ll tell Eli to order some.” He kisses the side of my face.
“We’re going to go lift for a while. Do you want to come?”
“No, I think I’ll take Hank for a walk.”
“Stay close to the house.”
I nod and roll over in his arms. He bends down and places a kiss on my lips. Kissing Anders is like having a warm blanket wrapped around me. I feel safe with him. I groan as we break apart, wanting it to go further, but Hank is nudging my leg.
“Keep our girl safe,” he says to Hank, and I grin.
I get on all my cold weather gear and put on my boots and take Hank outside. For the most part, he’s a good boy, and I know he won’t run off. The biggest worry about him is eating shit he’s not supposed to.
“Come on, boy, you want to go play outside?” His tail wags, and I slide open the backdoor, and we walk toward the lake. It’s not snowing today, but everything is still covered in white from the last couple of days. As we approach the lake, I see the back of someone’s head. The dark tendrils of hair peeking out from his wool cap lets me know that it’s Mikael.
Hank runs to him, and Mikael pets his ears and massive head.
“You’re not weight training?” I ask, not sitting on the bench unless he asks me to. He shakes his head and sips the thermos in his hand.
He scoots over, and I take that as a good enough invitation. The bench is cold, but I do my very best to not complain.
“No, I need to clear my head.” He sips again and holds out the thermos to me. It’s stupid that I’m excited to put my lips where his have been, but I take it in my hand and sip. It’s hot chocolate and Baileys. I hum as the chocolatey goodness slides down my throat.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
He groans and leans forward. His elbows resting on his knees as he takes a moment to collect himself. “I don’t want to fight this anymore, but I don’t know if I can let you in,” he says softly, and I appreciate his vulnerability.
“You can talk to me.”
“I don’t know how to do relationships. I’ve never seen a good one. The idea of this being long distance sounds fucking awful. But I know deep down you’re mine—ours. I don’t want to fight it anymore.”
“So don’t.”
He looks over at me. He looks vulnerable and almost like he’s irritated by the fact that he’s opening up.
“I feel like you only want me because I’m your scent match, or we’re forced into this. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be with me too. Eli and Anders treat you right.”
“You could treat me the same, you know?”
“I don’t know how.”
