I almost drop my hand and step back, not wanting to cross a line with my sweet girl, but when she melts against me, I know I’m done for.
We walk around the perimeter of my property, and I point out things here and there, like my veggie garden, the greenhouse I’m in the middle of building, and the chicken coop. She brushes her fingertips over the leaves of my garden and giggles and squeals when a hen clucks at her and takes a few steps forward in challenge.
“I’ll protect you,” I tell her valiantly in an over-dramatic voice as I step in between her and the potential poultry menace. “Ah, it’s just Hilda. She’s all cluck, no buck.”
I’m rewarded with another soft laugh, and Blakely takes my hand again, tilting her head up to meet my gaze. God, she’s gorgeous. Her precious, tender heart is right there, shining through her icy blue irises. I hope she trusts me with it one day.
“Is that a real saying, or did you just make that up?” Blakely asks, a skeptical look on her lovely face.
“It’s totally a saying,” I lie, giving her a smirk.
“Uh-huh.” Blakely narrows her eyes at me.
I can’t help but pull her into my embrace again. This is what I want. Blakely, right here in my arms. Forever.
6
BLAKELY
Iblink my eyes open, smiling when the familiar cedarwood scent of Cassian’s bed and sheets fills my lungs. This time, I remember exactly where I am.I’m somewhere safe.It’s still a strange concept to me, being safe. So is waking up with a smile.
I roll over onto my back, stretching beneath the warm, soft blankets and stifling a yawn. The bedroom looks like it’s glowing orange as streaks of early morning sunlight break through the blinds. Everything has a fuzzy, magical feeling, especially when little dust motes catch the sunlight and sparkle as they float through the air.
My thoughts drift to Cassian, my mind conjuring up his brownish-auburn hair and thick beard I didn't know I'd like so much. In such a short time, he's shown me more kindness and mercy than anyone I've ever met. And for some reason I still can't figure out, Cassian wants to be near me.
Heat rises to my cheeks as I remember him pressing the lightest kiss to the top of my head yesterday. It was so gentle, and more than that, it felt like something we've always done. Of course, Cassian gives me sweet kisses.
I’m trying not to get my hopes up. I know nothing about men and even less about relationships. The only example of love I had growing up came with a heavy hand of violence and manipulation. I watched my aunt and uncle tear into each other, pushing, pulling, and clawing at each other over any little thing. When my uncle got tired of tossing my aunt around, he turned his attention to me.
I don’t want to dwell on those awful thoughts anymore. I escaped from all that. I don’t have a plan for the rest of my life yet. A silly part of me hopes Cassian will be part of my future, but again, I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
When my bladder finally gets the best of me, I reluctantly peel off the warm blankets and tiptoe across the hall to the bathroom. Cassian gave me another pair of his sweatpants and a t-shirt last night after I rinsed off and he changed my bandages. He handled me with such tenderness I almost cried. The way his fingertips tickled my skin made me shiver and wonder if I could get him to touch me in other ways…
After washing my hands, I head toward the living room, unsure if Cassian is awake. Something tells me he doesn’t get much sleep in general, so I would hate to wake him if he’s finally getting some rest.
The breath is stolen from my lungs when I peek around the corner, my eyes immediately latching onto a shirtless Cassian doing sit-ups in the middle of the living room floor. Sunlight kisses the contours of his muscles as I watch him in silence. Cassian exhales and breathes in fresh air before doing another round of sit-ups in quick succession. My gaze is glued to his torso, watching those muscles tighten and flex.
My body heats even though a shiver runs down my spine. Everything feels tingly and extra-sensitive, and I’m suddenly aware of a dull ache between my thighs throbbing in time with my racing heartbeat.
“Blakely,” Cassian says, startling me out of my trance. He sounds as surprised to see me as I was to stumble upon him a few moments ago.
"I, um, I'm sorry," I stutter, suddenly feeling like I'm intruding on a private moment. Of course, he's forced to do his workouts somewhere else. I kicked him out of his bedroom.
Cassian jumps up from his position on the floor, grabbing a towel and wiping off his glistening skin as he makes his way toward me. “No more apologizing when you’ve done nothing wrong,” he says, coming to a stop right in front of me.
I'm about to apologize for apologizing, but Cassian quirks up an eyebrow and gives me a knowing look. How can he tell what I'm thinking?
Instead of saying I’m sorry, I clear my throat and try to gather my wits about me enough to ask if I can lick the sweat from his chest.Crap.No.I mean, I’m going to ask him if I cancook breakfast. Yes. That’s a much safer and saner activity.
My eye catches on a particularly nasty scar on his shoulder, and then I see another one, even deeper, on the right side of his abdomen. I move forward, my hand reaching out before I know what I'm doing. I rest my palm over the worst of the scar, wishing I could take away whatever trauma he has attached to it.
Cassian tenses and inhales sharply, making me freeze. I immediately pull my hand away, but he doesn’t let me get very far. Cassian loops his fingers around my wrist, drawing my hand back to his torso. He presses my palm over the raised skin, holding me there while our eyes meet.
I can hardly breathe as I stand before the sexiest, kindest man I’ve ever met.
“You can touch me if you want,” he murmurs, the moment intimate and somehow sacred.
I don’t think he’s ever shared this much of himself with anyone before. I’m unsure how I earned his trust, but I promisemyself I won’t let him down. I’ll protect all the pieces of his heart like he keeps promising to protect me.
