“What do you mean? You’re literally going right there.”
He shrugged, backing toward the door, ready to make his escape. “Boss’s orders.”
Then he was gone.
Sutton raced after him, but Johns was quick on his feet for such a big guy—though not as big as me. He peeled out of my driveway and down the lane, Sutton running and yelling futilely behind him.
When she spun toward the house again, she found me standing on the porch, watching her.
“You fucking prick.”
“A fucking prick I may be,” I agreed. “But I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“It’s not like I’m planning on staying at home and giving this fucker another shot at me!” she shouted. Then quieter: “I’m not that reckless.”
There was a lot to read between the lines of those four words, a callback to a different time, a different place. The last time her personal space had been violated, and she’d curled in on herself.
This version of Sutton was vastly different from her twenty-year-old self. I could see it in the set of her shoulders and the determination in her eyes.
She wouldn’t be backing down—not from me, not from anyone.
Fuck, she was beautiful.
“Come inside, sunny. Please. It’s late, and you’ve just been through an ordeal.”
The words were soft but firm. Demanding. I waited with bated breath to see if she obeyed.
Her head turned toward the woods, and though I couldn’t see her expression, I could guess she stared longingly at the path that brought her to me, debating the sensibility of braving it once again.
Eventually, when my bare feet were fucking solid chunks of ice attached to my legs, her shoulders slumped in surrender.
Atta girl.
“Just for tonight, right?” she said, wagging her finger in my direction.
“Right. Just for tonight.”
I’d let her believe that—for now.
When she nodded her assent, I headed back in, pain pricking my feet and hands when the warmth penetrated my skin. Once we were back inside and the door was closed behind us, Sutton shuffled her feet awkwardly, as though not sure what to do or where to go.
“Are you okay?” I asked, genuinely curious about the answer.
“I’m fine,” she snapped with a glare.
I’d been trying to extend an olive branch, but apparently Sutton wasn’t having it. In her eyes, at least for the moment, I was an asshole.
Goddamn right I was. There was no way in hell, not as long as I drew breath, I was letting Sutton out of my sight tonight. As long as she was safe, she could hate me all she wanted.
“Let me show you to the guest room.” I jerked my head toward the stairs, and she dutifully followed, though I noted she dragged her damn feet the entire way. Her fluffy grey cat remained curled in her arms like some sort of shield against me.
“If you need to shower or anything, there are already towels in the bathroom, which is right across the hall.”
“And where’s your room?”
I smirked. “Why, sunny? You wanna sleep with me tonight?”
“Actually just want to make sure I’m as far away from you as possible.”
