Page 34 of I'll Keep Her Safe

We need to stop this line of conversation because I don’t want to get used to having someone fight in my corner. Especially someone I know I can’t have. Someone who will leave.

“Mr. Mathers,” Poppy begins again, and I sense my opening.

“Poppy—” I drag a hand down my face, exhaling. “Can you please stop calling me that? It makes me feel about a million years old.”

“Oh.” A rosy color dusts her cheeks. “Sorry,” she mumbles. “I… I didn’t realize.”

“You’re being polite, I get it.” I smile in understanding. “But it’s not necessary. Call me Wyatt.”

She swallows, as if she’s trying to say it, but the word is too big for her mouth. “I’ll… I’ll try.”

Sugar chooses this moment to jump onto me and knead my chest with her claws, and I let out a yelp that makes Poppy laugh. I’m pleased for the distraction, and even more pleased when Poppy rises to her feet, declaring she’s going to make dinner.

I don’t know what came over me, sharing all of that with her, but I need to be careful.

I need to remember what this is.

14

Poppy

Iclose my bedroom door, Sugar at my feet. Mr. Mathers—shit, Wyatt. I’m supposed to call him Wyatt—is running himself a hot bath, at my suggestion. It will be good for his sore back.

I made mushroom risotto for dinner, whichWyatt—

That’s really going to take some getting used to. I’ve been calling him Mr. Mathers because he’s my friend’s dad, and it’s respectful. Plus, it seemed to put a little distance between us. But as I sat on his sofa and rubbed Deep Heat into his back while he told me about what Bailey’s mom did, it felt like any distance I’d tried to establish was long gone.

And the truth is, I didn’t mind at all.

So, okay. He wants me to call him Wyatt… I’ll call him Wyatt. I’ll just have to get used to it.

Anyway, I made risotto for me and Wyatt, which he ate on the sofa because he was already comfortable there with the heating pad. After an awkward conversation from where I sat at the counter, I joined him. This time, we didn’t talk. Instead, he passed me the remote and told me to watch whatever I wanted. I’ve been bingeing Schitt’s Creek for the second time, so I put that on, and he smiled, agreeing it was a great show.

Only, I couldn’t focus on the TV. Not with Wyatt next to me, not after I’d seen him shirtless and felt his smooth skin. Watching him come through the door practically doubled over in pain was awful, and all I could think of was helping him feel better. Usually I’d do that with food, but I knew he needed something else.

I didn’t expect him to let me massage cream into his back. And I definitely didn’t expect that massive maple tree tattoo stretching over every inch of his skin. And God, hisskin—like warm butter under my fingertips, muscles so firm I wanted to take a bite out of him. I tried not to enjoy touching him, really I did, but I’m only human, and I was close enough to smell him, that intoxicating mix of sweat and earth and his cologne that smells like sage, and holy fuck, okay, I’ll admit it, I was a little turned on.

When he turned around, I was not prepared. I was not prepared for the muscular definition in his torso, the tattoos of plants and birds and butterflies spanning his abs and pecs, the salt-and-pepper hair that dusted his chest. And I wasespeciallyunprepared for the piercing on his right nipple. Why is that so hot? It’s only a tiny bar of metal, but…fuck me. I wanted to pull it between my teeth, to trail my tongue over every inch of his skin.

Thank God he put his shirt back on.

And then when he shared about Bailey’s mom… I couldn’t believe it. All this time I’d assumed he was absent from Bailey’s life by choice, but by the way his face crumpled as he spoke I knew he was telling the truth. Bailey’s mom is the person in the wrong, not him. And knowing him better, as I do now, that makes a lot more sense to me. In fact, he’s the opposite of everything I’d assumed. He’s compassionate and caring. He’s selfless enough to take the fall for Bailey’s mom’s bad judgment. He’s suffered to protect their relationship.

And it’s unfair. He deserves better than that.

Part of me wants to tell Bailey the truth about her dad, because I’m sure it would only make their relationship better, but it’s not my place, and he’s right, it would hurt her relationship with her mom, which is already rocky. I don’t blame him for struggling with what to do, even if I think he’s being too self-sacrificing.

I sink onto my bed and Sugar jumps up beside me, nuzzling her head into my arm. She’s gained a little weight in the short time we’ve had her, and her coat looks better too. I’m relieved to see her looking healthier.

The water shuts off in the bathroom, and a moment later, Wyatt lets out a low sound of satisfaction as he eases himself into the tub. I considered offering to help him bathe, but figured that might be pushing it a bit far. The poor guy has had enough of me perving over him for one day.

Besides, what would Bailey think if she knew the thoughts I’d had about her dad? She’d be horrified, wouldn’t she?

Not that she’d ever find out. She’s too damn distracted to talk to me, anyway.

My bitterness takes me by surprise, and I check myself. It’s not personal; she’s busy with her new job, her new life on the West Coast. Besides, that hasn’t stopped her from checking in to make sure I’m okay. She just doesn’t have time for the new business right now, but that’s fine. I’m making it work without her.

There’s a sound as Wyatt shifts in the tub, the water moving and a soft sigh from him. I’m sure he’s only getting comfortable with his sore back, but my dirty mind imagines something else. It imagines him naked, with one hand wrapped around his cock. Heat blooms low in my belly.

---