Three more days. That's all I have left. Three more days before I'm supposed to let her go back to her life, her mother, her world that doesn't include me.
It's not enough.
Not nearly fucking enough.
I tighten my arms around her and press my lips to her hair. She sighs in her sleep and burrows closer, and something in my chest cracks wide open.
I'm not letting her go. I don't care what I promised. I don't care about the deal or the timeline or any of the bullshit I told her to get her here.
She's mine now.
And I keep what's mine.
31
JADE
Iwake up to a world that's disappeared.
The window is nothing but white. Not the soft, pretty white of yesterday's snowfall, but an angry, churning wall of it, so thick I can't see the trees that were visible just hours ago. The wind howls like something alive and furious, rattling the cabin, making the whole structure groan.
Phoenix is already out of bed. I can hear him moving around the place, and a moment later, the smell of coffee reaches me. I pull the blanket tighter and watch the storm rage outside.
"It's bad."
I turn to find him standing by the kitchenette, two mugs in hand. He's wearing jeans and a thermal henley that clings to his chest in ways I'm trying very hard not to notice. His hair is messy, his jaw shadowed with stubble, and he looks like a model out of an LL Bean catalog.
"How bad?" I ask, sitting up and accepting the coffee he offers.
"Blizzard. White-out conditions." He moves to the window, staring out at the wall of white like he can intimidate it into submission. "I'm going to check the road."
"In this?"
"I'll be fine."
Before I can argue, he's pulling on his jacket and boots. A blast of icy wind tears through the cabin when he opens the door, and then he's gone, swallowed by the storm.
I sit there, clutching my coffee, trying not to worry. It doesn’t go well.
Twenty minutes later, the door bursts open and Phoenix stumbles inside, covered in snow, his face red from the cold. He kicks the door shut and leans against it, breathing hard.
"Well?" I ask.
"It's impassable." He pulls off his gloves and runs a hand through his snow-crusted hair. "The road is buried under at least three feet of snow, and it's still coming down hard. We're not going anywhere for days."
Days.
The word hits me like a punch to the chest.
"Day seven was the deal." I set down my coffee and stand, my heart starting to race. "You said seven days, Phoenix. That's what you promised."
"I can't control the weather, Jade."
"Convenient."
He goes still, his dark eyes narrowing. "You think I’m making the blizzard?"
I cross my arms over my chest, fighting the smile that wants to creep across my face. "I think the timing is suspicious."
