CHAPTER 15
Long summer days were passing by. Sam was healing, regaining some of her independence; she could finally pee and shower by herself, in peace! Hallelujah! Everything was calm, no odd episodes of any kind, which pretty much summed up what those incidents
were—her mind was obviously healing too. Dawson still didn’t let her out of his sight much, even stayed each night on the couch, like a gentleman. They lived their days like a family, enjoying each other, but nights were hard for her. She wanted him in her bed.
The couch was comfortable, but it was getting harder and harder to sleep on it knowing Sam was just feet away. However, he would respect boundaries. Ellie was in the house after all, and he didn’t want to send the wrong message. He already vowed to prove he was one of the good guys, that he was in this for all the right reasons, and they could depend on him. If a constant hard on and set of blue balls didn’t scream honor and loyalty, he didn’t know what did. He would wait for her to make the next move. He just hoped it was sooner, rather than later…cold showers sucked.
As promised, Morgan had been spending afternoons at Sugar Pine Stables with Ellie or just hanging around the house with Sam for a chick flick. Everly and Granny Lou spent a lot of time at the house as well, taking turns on meals, although more times than not, Dawson cooked for all the ladies in his life, under Lou’s watchful eye and instruction. He was a great student, loving every minute of Lou’s teachings.
All was good in their world, things falling into place. Sam couldn’t be happier with her sudden fairy tale life, but she worried it would eventually end as most fairy tales do, swift and abruptly. Dawson flooded her every thought, especially her dreams, making her cheeks blush, which didn’t go, unnoticed. That man swept in like some kind of hunky super hero, a really hot, sexy, mind blowing, super hero who made her squirm with a single look. Dear God, she needed him in her bed before she had an entirely new injury; it was already so hard to sit, it was making her fucking cranky.
Sam’s mood wasn’t lost on Dawson, or the others for that matter. Healing, yet still home bound since getting around was still a bit cumbersome, he was certain she had a bad case of cabin fever, an equal match to the fever of a different nature he was having himself. He came up with the perfect plan that was sure to ease some of that frustration he was sensing. She was getting around better, and it was time for an outing.
Sam was happy to get out of the house. It felt good to be going somewhere, anywhere; a trip to the dump would be better than another day cooped up inside. It also didn’t hurt that it was with her favorite guy. He was scoring points all over the place, the kind that made her core ache. Just before leaving, she noticed Dawson had been busy in the kitchen, but they hadn’t eaten. So, she imagined that the cooler he snuck into the back seat was their lunch, which meant picnic. This day was getting better by the minute.
After a short drive to a more secluded area, he finally parked his truck. Her heart sank as quickly as it had soared. They were there, at their sexy spot by the creek. Her body hummed at the memory, her last memory before the accident, but irritation killed the sexy vibe as she wondered what he was thinking coming here. How the hell was she supposed to make it down that bank with a bad leg, slide on her ass? That would be super
sexy and not embarrassing at all. She could just finish off the day by climbing back up the hill on her hands and knees like a child. Adorable
. Such a turn on.
She was knocked out of her pissed off fantasy when Dawson opened her door, lifted her right out of the truck, and carried her down the slight hill, blanket under an arm, sans crutches. Endearing to say the least, his move was hotter than hot. Feeling his body against hers was flammable; he was so damn sexy. When they reached their spot, he gingerly set her on a nearby boulder while he laid out a blanket. Oh yes, their
blanket. If this didn’t scream let’s have sex, she didn’t know what did. So, this is how the day was going to go, hot and steamy with a chance of naked; she could absolutely, without a doubt, handle that. Her sexual desires were pleading with the universe. Oh please, let me handle that.
After laying out the blanket, he returned to her, perched on the boulder, giving her a deep sultry stare and a wicked grin. Excitement soared through her as he walked up and stood between her parted legs, grabbed her face, and kissed her. A deep, sensual, toe curling, kiss; he had every last part of her body at full attention.
His hands roamed down her body, exploring and massaging as they went, making her thirst for more before landing on her hips. He lifted her, wrapping her around his waist, hands now firmly planted on her ass. Hot damn, he was getting right down to business. This was her new favorite kind of outing. He began to move toward the blanket, waiting until he was thoroughly satisfied with this kiss, before gently lowering her, mindful of her leg, to the blanket below them.
Breaking the kiss, he stood smiling down at her and laughed, noticing that she stared at the view before her. Oh yes, sitting as she was, eye level with one of her absolute favorite parts of him, directly in front of her. She licked her lips and reached for him just as he stepped away and headed back up the truck. What the hell? What was he up to besides being a tease? She was far from done. Watching his tight ass and muscled legs, perfectly displayed in her new favorite basketball shorts, climb that hill back to the truck, gave a show worthy of forgiveness. Cold shower no longer. He was a praiseworthy show to watch despite his wandering off, and an admirable and deserving outing, so far satisfied.
They sat on the bank, enjoying the picnic Dawson had packed for them. His food choices were perfect and impressive really, especially the wine and cheeses. Completely romantic and entirely premeditated, considering the brownies that were undoubtedly Granny Lou’s. This side of Dawson had her absolutely smitten. This was no longer just physical for her. If she was honest with herself, it hadn’t been all along; it was just the bonus. The emotional bond was real, strong and exciting, but completely frightening because he could still leave when this got old. This man, this sexy as hell, dominant, macho man was so tender and chivalrous, which made him all the more enticing.
“I picked this place on purpose, you know,” he stated.
“Oh really, and why was that?”
“The bank…it’s a little steep.”
“So you could make fun of me, or so I would need you to get down here?”
“No and yes. I would never make fun of you, ever.”
He continued to snack on his grapes as if what he just said was completely normal, not peculiar at all. His actions and words weren’t in sync, missing their parallel by huge margins. He had her head spinning.
“I knew you would need me to get down here. I was looking forward to that part. This was my way of having you to myself.”
“I see. So you trapped me. Isn’t that almost like kidnapping?”
That comment earned her a leering, side-eye look with wiggling eyebrows and that sly smile of his. Ornery but insanely adorable, he was going to be her undoing. She wanted him to believe she was appalled by his behavior, feminist crap and all that, but Lord have mercy, she was anything but. It was nice to let someone else take charge for a change, to let someone else be strong for her, something she never thought would happen. She was completely okay with it, as surprising as that was.
“You know you don’t have to do this, right? I’m not your responsibility. Everything is fine, I don’t need a body guard. I hate that I’ve taken you away from your job, from…”
“You’re wrong, Sam; you are my responsibility, and Elliot. When I lost my family, every last person I loved and cared about, I didn’t think I would have it again.”
“And what exactly is that?” She questioned with an ounce of snark and an equal part impatient curiosity.
“This. You consume me, every part of me, in every way possible. It feels…right. I have this overwhelming need to be with you, take care of you, protect you…kidnap you.”
Another eyebrow wiggle and his raw honesty earned him a chuckle as it lightened the heaviness his deeply felt words left on her heart. As much as she wanted to protest, her heart was fully on board. She wanted all of those things from him as much as he was willing to deliver them. She wanted desperately to submit to his confession and allow him to be all of those things, but she didn’t do temporary, and that’s all that was guaranteed.
He moved closer, placed a single hand on her cheek, and pulled her mouth to his. If his words weren’t enough, his profound confession was bolstered by a tender and deeply moving, impassioned kiss, where she felt his every emotion brand her soul. Her heart was winning the battle with her conscience—this man was everything.
“You make me a better man, give me purpose, complete me. I’m all in. I’m not going anywhere.”
Those words were her complete unraveling. They were what she didn’t know she was waiting to hear. He wouldn’t leave, and she believed him. She couldn’t doubt or deny this man. He was everything those who disappointed her weren’t. It was easier to leave up the walls and not risk her heart, or Ellie’s for that matter. She knew hurt and abandonment, and it was something she wasn’t quick to invite back in her life. The rawness of his words though, the truth she felt in them, broke through her vulnerable boundaries and replaced her fears with something new—hope, joy, and an emotion she wasn’t quite ready to admit. Her rules suddenly didn’t apply to him any longer; he had earned what she didn’t know she had to give…her.
“Then stay.”
There was something very wrong when they returned to the truck. Two of Dawson’s oversized tires were completely flat—one rear, one front, on opposite sides. It wasn’t entirely unheard of, in this terrain, to pick up a jagged rock or nature’s debris and find yourself with a flat, but this was unusual, considering the bulk of the tires he had on his truck and lack of potential culprit anywhere in the general vicinity. Two tires and two even lined cuts? Not nature’s doing unless there was a surly bear roaming around with a knife, completely pissed off.
It was happening again. There was that eerie nagging sensation that something was off balance in their world, something entirely wrong. While Sam called Evie, unable to reach Morgan, to get Ellie from camp, Dawson called AAA, now glad he had the service. Unwilling to alarm Sam, he kept to himself the obvious foot prints he found around the truck that lead to the nearby brush, which didn’t belong to a bear. Someone had been watching them.