Page 31 of Bottles & Blades

She’s a virgin.

She spent most of her life in a fucking hospital.

She lives in a tiny apartment, is worried about a couple of dishes and some clutter and is studying languages.

She deserves a little bit of light, a little bit of control.

So, I lean back against the couch cushion, mirroring her position, cramming my legs beneath me when all I want to do is lay them straight on the small ass sofa and draw her against my chest, wrap my arms around her, bury my face in her hair.

This is dumb as fuck.

Being here like this, with a woman like her.

Too young. Too sweet. Too fucking tempting.

And yet…my ass is glued to the goddamned cushion.

She opens her mouth, and I can already see that the light dancing across her face is fading, insecurity creeping back in.

A pang in my chest.

The words just flow out of me.

“Sometimes I hate my life.”

Her eyes go wide, but I’m still talking.

“I know that makes me sound like an asshole. I have a life most people would dream of. I get to spend my time working on the things I love.”

“What are those?” she asks softly.

“Hockey. I own the Eagles,” I add when her brow furrows. “And wine.” I nod to bottle, take in the beauty of her expression gentling, that lush mouth tipping up at the corners.

“Well,” she says, and fuck, the humor that slides back into her eyes has my heart squeezing, “I’m more of a Gold fan, but your wine is good.”

I chuckle. “Brutal, buttercup.”

“Why do you call me that?”

“Because you smell like one.” I tilt my head, studying her when she frowns. “What?”

“Well,” she says slowly, “buttercups don’t really have a scent.”

I take her hand. “They do.” I tap my nose. “It’s my job to know these things.”

“With your wine?”

I nod. “You smell like buttercups, baby. Well, like one particularly special variety. It’s a soft scent, like most of those types of flowers, a gentle mix of citrus and rose, but it’s one of my favorites.”

“What’s its name?”

“Of the flower?”

“Yeah,” she whispers.

“It’s called the Ranunculus Persian Buttercup.”

“Fancy name for a buttercup.”

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