“Th-the ca-cabin.” I pointed behind me. Caleb looked, and I knew the moment he spotted the hidden cabin when his brow rose.
“How did you know?—“
“Tru-trust me?” I stuttered because the cold was really starting to get to me.
“You have no idea how much I already do, baby girl,” he shared with absolute confidence.
His tone and words made my knees a little wobbly before he kissed my forehead and, without missing a beat, carried me through the slightly unmaintained woods and straight to the small cabin I remembered so fondly. I’d noticed this past summer that it hadn’t been torn down. The door opened without issue, like I knew it would, and he shut it behind him. I was surprised how clean the place was, almost like someone had refreshed everything. The bedding, pillows; even the old couch seemed to be clean and not dusty.
Caleb set me down carefully, slowly letting me slide down along his front, making sure I felt just how hard his body was before he leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
“Rosie…” His chest rose and fell heavily. His magnificent hands stroked my back, reminding me of the sodden material of my pink hoodie. We were both drenched through.
“You’re soaked.” He swallowed, and I nodded.
“You are, too,” I whispered back.
“There’s a lot we need to talk about.“Shit, was this about me calling him daddy?He probably thought I was a freak and couldn’t wait for the rain to stop so he could get the hell away from me. “But first, I need to make sure you’re okay. Let me take care of you.” I blinked as my brain slowly processed his words.
“What?”
“Let me take care of you, baby girl.” The term of endearment caused my brain to buffer.Baby girl.No one had ever called me that. Sometimes, in the books I read, it was hot or sweet, but I figured if I was ever called that in real life, I’d cringe.
I was wrong. I didn’t cringe. I melted.
“Baby…” I licked my lips and didn’t miss the way his eyes skated down to my mouth, making it tingle for more of his kisses.
“Please?” he asked sweetly. I shook my head, trying to ignore the way my body trembled. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold, wet clothes I wore or nerves.Liar,a little voice inside my head snickered.It’s all him.Caleb’s jaw clenched, and his eyes skated over my face, studying me for a moment before he quickly got to work.
Walking me to the edge of the bed, he kissed me again before he looked around the small old cabin. He opened and shut each door, slowly discovering the small layout of the one-bedroom, one-bathroom, open-floorplan tiny cabin. I watched his back stretch and reach for the top shelf of the small closet next tothe bathroom door. I’d never been more grateful for extra sheets than when he came back with them and tossed them on the bed next to me.
“May I?” he asked, and even though I had an idea about what he was asking for, I wasn’t positive. Yet I nodded, giving him permission to do whatever he wanted with my body because I didn’t trust my own voice. Not when it felt like I was ready to self-combust and freeze all at the same time.
Caleb’s cool fingertips slid under my hoodie and pulled it up and over my head. His blue gaze stayed fixated on my green one while he undressed me. Piece by piece, the heavily-soaked fabric fell onto the ground with plop. But he didn’t leer at my body like so many other men had in the past. Whether behind closed doors or on set or on location at a shoot, men had always seen me as an object. One to covet and think they owned for one reason or the other.
But not Caleb.
Which was crazy. I’d just met the man, but I knew deep down to the marrow of my bones that he was different. The way his stare locked with mine, never looking anywhere else, made me feel special. Seen.I am his.
“Here, let me,” he said, slowly wrapping me up in one of the white sheets he’d found. “It’s a little stiff, but it’s dry.”
“Thank you,” I answered softly. Too many emotions were bubbling up to the surface.
“Let’s get you warm.” Caleb stepped away, but not before taking my hand in his. The gesture was simple but meant so much more than he could ever imagine. When was the last time anyone had taken care of me like this? Worried about me being warm and cozy? I quickly blinked away the tears that threatened as he led me towards the bed. “Get under the covers, babe.”
“What? What about you?” My teeth chattered, and I saw how it worried him.
“Trust me?” he asked, and I couldn’t help myself.
“More than you could ever know,” I repeated the words he’d given me outside and really meant them.
“Good girl.” He kissed my forehead again, and if any of walls I had erected were still up, that small yet ridiculously tender feat would have torn them all down.
He tucked me in and bent to pick up my wet discarded clothes.
“I can—“ I started to offer, but he shot me a look that made me think better of saying anything.Daddy doesn’t like that,I thought and had to press my lips together.
He headed to the kitchen and tossed them over the counter. I watched as he took his own clothes off, and it wasn’t a hardship. Checking out the most alluring man I’d ever seen undress was like foreplay to every single one of my senses. The scent of the cabin mingled with the rain from outside and Caleb. My hands ached to take his jacket as it came off and then help him unbutton the soaked dress shirt beneath that was now plastered to his hard, muscled body. It clung to him like a second skin, hardly leaving much to the imagination, and I couldn’t stop staring at him. I should have given the man some privacy, showed him the same decorum he’d shown me, but I couldn’t stop staring.
