Darby
He was cooking again.
I had woken from a chaotic and scary dream and smelt his homely cooking. Suddenly, I felt a little calmer knowing I was here with him and not back at the clubhouse. I grabbed one of the mini dresses from my bag that had so graciously been handed over from the cop’s girlfriend and pulled it on. I never usually wore these things but I had to admit it was nice to not have to match two sets of clothing and I could just walk out of my room and into the kitchen where the smell of butter and maple syrup assaulted my senses.
“You slept in,” he said. I looked over, expecting him to be half naked again, but he had on a tank top. I could just see enough of his arms to see the winding snake tattoo up the backside of his arm. It was detailed and had pops of colour but most of it was black and gray.
“Yeah, I didn't think I needed to be up for anything.”
He turned around and put something from the pan onto a plate before he rinsed the pan. “Fair enough. Look, I know it sucks being cooped up in here so how about this…I can take you for walks in the woods. I can get you anything you need, magazines or spa treatments and things you can do at home. We don’t both have to suffer.”
“You’re suffering?” I asked, feeling a little hurt that he thinks I’m that shallow that I could be won over by magazines.
Sighing, he handed me a plate piled high with pancakes, fresh strawberries, banana slices and maple syrup drizzling down the sides. It looked like one of those fake ads for the perfect pancake. Even the cakes looked perfect.
“Who taught you how to cook?” I asked him as we sat down at the computer. “These look amazing.”
“My grandma,” he said. “She raised me.”
“She sounds like a very loving grandma.”
I could tell he wasn’t comfortable talking about it so I didn’t want to push him. It was nice when we just ate together, peaceful. I found that I looked forward to meal times, even just sitting here with him, it had made all those nasty dreams I’d been having go away. I didn’t understand why I felt so safe with him, he could barely tolerate me and yet I wasn’t going to knock the feeling. I’d never felt safe, not even with my brother Keefe watching over me.
“The woods…I can walk through them?”
He looked up, and nodded. “I can take you through them but I’ll hang back so you can do whatever it is you do.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, Darby, I don’t know what you like or what you want to do. I just want to keep you safe until we don’t have to anymore. I’m not going to handcuff you to me, I’m going to give you space.”
Instantly, I felt bad. He was trying to respect my boundaries while also keeping me safe and I kept blowing up at him because he didn’t know how to handle me. Instead of responding, I ate my pancakes. He waited at the table until I was done and he took both our plates to the sink to wash them.
“Get your shoes on,” he said. “We’ll go for a walk and get some fresh air.”
I headed back to my room and located my pink Chuck Taylors before I joined him at the door. He opened it with a code but I couldn’t see it and he led me down the back steps of the outdoor setting and through the gardens. A small gate between two large hedges led us onto a dirt path. Two large overarching trees that looked like they had been around forever led us into the woods. Birds chirped and sang as we moved together through the bit of untouched nature. There was a place like this in Belfast that not many knew about either and I would often run there after school before I was expected back at the clubhouse and just sit in nature. It was…nice to be at one with the birds and the animals that skittered around the dead leaves, looking for berries and nuts to eat.
“Thank you for this,” I said to him after a beat. “I really do love walking in nature.”
He smiled slightly, but didn’t say anything and we walked in silence, the soft breeze floating through my hair and reminding me that I wasn’t captive, I was free from my family. They just needed to find me a new identity so my dad and brothers couldn’t find me.
Then…I would truly be free.
Rebel
Jesus Christ, she was beautiful.
She closed her eyes and let the breeze hit her, pushing her hair back from her face. My eyes traveled from her jaw to the creamy skin of her neck and down to her chest. My cock was stiffening against my pants just from the way she looked through the trees. Lucky I wore black all the time, but fuck me.
The more time I spent with her, the less I thought of her as a princess and maybe she just put it on like Shona had said. I wanted to see what she was like without all the pretense, without fear in the back of her mind. I wanted to see the real Darby.
No. Absolutely not.
Stomping on that thought quickly to stub it out.
I was not a one woman kind of man. I couldn’t have these thoughts about her. She was only nineteen for fuck’s sake. The wind was blowing her perfume in my direction and that only made my dick harder for her. She smelled of strawberries and citrus, and I wanted more than anything to breathe her in. I wanted to hold her against me, and kiss along that creamy jaw until she moaned my name.
Fuck. No.
