As someone who has been through a lot today, being cared for by a man who has already gone above and beyond makes me want to trust him.
Biting my lip, I give a curt nod. “Okay. But in the morning, if all is well?”
He nods and turns away from me. “I’ll get you to where you need to be. Now, let’s get you cleaned up so I can get dinner going.”
The way my stomach is clenching up, there’s no way it’s from hunger for food. Instead, I want… something else entirely.
I think… I want Callan.
4
Callan
Doing all the dirty work of preparing the meat for stew while Emery is carefully showering, I catch myself leaning against the counter and just listening to the hiss of the water.
I never realized how thin the walls of my cabin are. Then again, I’ve never tried to have company over. Never wanted anyone in my space like this before.
Never wanted to shove a woman’s thighs apart and get a taste of the sweetness she’s been keeping all to herself, injury be damned.
“Fucking hell…” Scolding myself over a cutting board, I don’t need to look down my stomach to know what this woman is doing to me. I can feel the swell of my cock taunting me, hell,beggingme to get her out of my system before I accidentally pick her up and set her on literallyanythingand take her there on the spot.
Slicing through the meat, each cut follows with a reason why I should take things slower.
She looks like she’s a fresh adult. She’d mention some photography classes, so maybe early twenties if I’m lucky.
Doesn’t make a difference. Double her age, she’d be smart not to pay some old asshole who has been through enough to make him hide out in the mountains to avoid people. She doesn’t deserve any of that.
As much as I despise the idea, living down in town, I’m sure she’s got many men more her age riding her tail. Fuck, does she have a boyfriend? Surely, if someone was there, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to let her go.
Despite it being none of my business, I want to ask. Hell, Ineedto know, or else I’m going to grind my teeth into dust the more I think about it.
By the time I’m cooking the meat and throwing everything together in a pot to heat, I hear her steps.
I wish I had enough time to prepare myself for the sight before me. Once I turn, the damage is done.
Emery is standing there wearing one of my flannels. She’d skipped the first button, showing off enough skin to make me want to howl. But then my eyes trail down the path of the rest of the buttons, and I see where the hem of the shirt rests against.
Beautiful pale skin with more freckles. I was too worried about her wound to notice them before.
“The pants I gave you…” The words leave me sounding completely wrong. Broken.
She pinches the shirt, unknowingly showing off another inch higher. “They didn’t come close to fitting. Felt more like a hazard, and I thought it would be easier to keep an eye on my leg this way.” Looking up, she’s radiating innocence. “Is that a bad idea? I could try rolling them up, but—”
“No…” Forcing the word out, I jerk my head to look at the stew. “This is fine.”
It’s not completely a lie until she approaches me, brushing against me to see what I have going on. She’s smelling like my body wash, and one inhale is all it takes for my thoughts to downspiral.
“Vegetable soup? You hunt your veggies, too?” Looking at me, she teases me with a smile.
I can’t do it. I’m a man who has hit his limit.
“Here.” Grabbing her hand, I plant the wooden spoon in it. Before I pull her toward me, I’m yanking my body away before I do something stupid and scare her away. “Stir it. Don’t let it burn.”
I barely hear her acknowledgment before I leave the room. Not giving a damn that I’m running away, I’m breathless by the time I reach the bathroom. Still damp with heat, I’m tearing off my clothes to get beneath the shower stream.
In here, I allow myself to imagine it. Emery cleaning herself, using all of my belongings while she does it. As soon as my hand is around my cock, I’m asking myself the real questions.
When washing her body, did she tuck her hand between her thighs? God, what about those breasts? Surely, she cupped them and gave them both a little squeeze.
