Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Ander

I wake up and the air around me is so cold I can see my breath fanning out in front of me. My fucking nipples are so hard they could cut a hole through the door or be used as glass breakers. The first thing I do is grab sweatpants and a shirt before I go to the window and look out into the dark night before checking to make sure someone hasn’t opened it recently. Rain is slowly falling on the ground making little rivers all throughout the yard. It just looks fucking cold. Once I find the window secure, I go out into the hall and over to the thermostat on the wall.

As soon as I look at the temp, I know exactly what is wrong. To check I go over to the vent and sure enough it is blowing cold air. It might be making the fucking place colder than it would be if it weren’t on at all. I click the toggle over to the off position and nothing happens. Shit!

“Why’s it so fucking cold?”

I jump when Lilly’s question comes so close to my elbow. She snuck up on me. “Is it cold downstairs too?”

She nods. Fuck! Instead of saying it, I point to the thermostat. The sinking look in Lilly’s eyes makes me want to just pack her up and take her to a hotel for the night. But I don’t think that’s something she will agree to.

“I told Dad it was wonky the last time I had to stay here.”

I fight the urge to drive to wherever Mr. Perkins is right now and choke him with my bare hands and put my mind to a solution that will warm Lilly up the fastest. “Do you have a fireplace?”

She nods. “In the den. It’s the only one.”

“Grab as many blankets as you can find and meet me down there.” Shit, I look at what she is wearing and take off the sweater I pulled on after waking up in the freezing cold. “Put this on and grab those blankets and pillows.”

She starts to refuse but I pull the body-warmed wool over her head and help her put her arms through it. It goes all the way to her knees. The image of her in front of me now makes me want to take care of her even more than before.

“I can grab another one, baby. Go. I’m going to find some wood.”

She nods, “In the barn. We keep some of it there. God, I hope there’s enough.”

“If there isn’t, I’ll find more. Grab those things I told you to find, angel .” I pull her back before she can walk away from me and find her mouth with mine. “That…works better than sweater ever did.”

I give her a wink and turn to find the wood. By the time I come back in with an arm full of wood, she’s made a huge pallet in the floor next to the fireplace. I don’t waste time getting the fire started for us. Once it’s where I want it and I am sure the room is starting to heat up, I go find the fuse that will turn off the unit, so it stops working against us. When I have that all done and an email sent to my assistant to make sure a heating and air technician gets out here as quickly as possible, I finally go back into the den and make my way over to the pile of blankets on the floor.

“Do you have to go to work tomorrow?” She shakes her head no and tracks me with her eyes.

As soon as I come close, Lilly looks up at me with questions swimming in her eyes. “Should we stay up the rest of the night to make sure the fire doesn’t go out?”

“I don’t think it would hurt if we both laid down and tried to get some rest. Honestly, the blankets should be enough to keep us warm, but I don’t think I’m going to be drifting off for a while. You should try to get some rest, even if you don’t have to work tomorrow.”

She sits down on the mountain of fluff and I start making my way over to the couch.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to take the couch.”

“But…it’s really far from the fire.”

“I’ll be alright, sweetheart. Get some rest.” She frowns and slightly pouts. My attention is focused on the soft lip she’s stuck out like a heat-seeking rocket. My own tongue comes out to swipe along my bottom lip searching for the flavor of her from before.

“But this is so big,” she sweeps her hand over the blankets, “and we have plenty of room, so we won’t touch or anything.”

My mouth tilts up in a grin. “Baby, if I lay down beside you there’s no way I’m keeping my hands off you. Better take the couch, if you don’t want us to touch.”

She turns big, pleading eyes up to me. “I’d be warmer if you slept down here with me.”

I step forward and tilt her face up so our eyes meet. My thumb slides over the cushion of her bottom lip. “Baby, if you want me beside you, you’re going to have to say the words. And, Lilly, make sure you understand what’s going to happen.”

“Are you going to sleep with me…like, have sex with me, if you stay close to me?”

I narrow my eyes. The sweater I gave her has fallen from her shoulder giving me a glimpse of the small strap of her tank top underneath it. It is so thin I knew she had to be freezing when we were standing in the upstairs hallway.

“It’s more than likely, yes.”

“Do you, um, want to sleep with me?”

I let out a loud laugh at the absurdity of this girl not realizing how fucking sexy she is. Could she really not understand that every fucking man around her wants to make love to her? But her eyes are showing me she’s not certain. She’s not being flirty or evasive, so I’ll tell her she’s sexy because she wants to hear what she already knows. She really has no idea.

I bend down so we are even closer together. “Baby, if I crawl in a bed with you, even one that’s nothing more than a pile of blankets on the floor, I’m going to at least taste you, and then there’s no going back. Once I have my first taste…well it changes everything. You ask me if I want to fuck you?” I pull her up on her knees and come close to her. “More than I want to take my next breath but…I’m not going to do a damn thing to make you question your trust in me.”

I stand up but realize my mistake immediately. It puts her in the perfect position to wrap those pillowy lips around my aching cock. I take a step back and force myself to look away from her but she’s reaching for my hand and pulling me right back.

When I open my eyes, she’s staring up at me. “Ander, I think I want you to lay next to me tonight.”

“You think, or you know.”

She gives me a dazzling smile and pulls on my hand. “I know. I want you beside me.”