Page 39 of How to Trust a Hellhound
“Exactly. So just… I don’t know, Josh, maybe try to put yourself first for once,” Seb said. “And call the therapist. I think it would be good.”
“Yeah, I will. But how are you?” I asked. I didn’t want to monopolize the conversation.
“I’m good. Nothing on the dating front, unless you count the birds,” he answered.
I chuckled. Seb had befriended the local crows, and he was sort of fascinated with them. “What did they do now? Still leaving you shiny rocks?”
“Yeah, and other shiny things. Plus, and this is really wild—they left me a stuffed crow. How funny is that? It’s small and light, so it wouldn’t have been hard for one of them to carry, but it’s so funny that they would give that to me. And it’s kind of hysterical to think of a crow carrying a stuffed crow and someone seeing that.”
I laughed. “You have to tell Toby. He’ll totally put that in one of his books.”
“Oh, he definitely will!” Seb agreed. “I have to call and check in with him next. You should go make that appointment. And when are you seeing Wilder next?”
“I’ll call the office as soon as we get off the phone,” I answered, feeling determined. “And Wilder is coming by when I’m done with work today. I’m working from home for a couple days. Which reminds me that I need to talk to Liam about paying rent. I’d like to stay here, although not having a road to the cabin is a pain. Wilder said they’re having that done soon, though. The Smith property is really pretty, though.”
Seb agreed, and we made small talk for a few more minutes before he got off the phone to call Toby, promising not to give away my news about Wilder. Not that I minded if he did—Toby, Seb, and I shared pretty much everything and had since college.
That thought made me feel bad for shutting them out when everything was happening with Rick. They were the best, though, and I knew they didn’t hold it against me.
I called Aiden’s therapist, Helene, and made an appointment with her. She seemed really nice on the phone, and she ended up having a few moments to talk. She asked me what was bringing me to therapy, and next thing I knew, I was pouring out my story aboutRick. She was very easy to talk to, and I felt really good about going to see her. It was also nice that I’d given her some of the backstory before we met in person. It felt good to know she didn’t judge me for what happened, and she was reassuring about it not being my fault. I could see why Aiden liked her.
I passed the rest of the afternoon with numbers and spreadsheets, and time dragged while I waited for the work day to end so Wilder could come over. Maybe things with him were all kinds of fast, but Wilder was just such a good person.
I’d always known that Rick was kind of an asshole. He had plenty of red flags, but the sex had been really good at first, and I had kept making excuses for his bad behavior. I always wanted to believe the best of people, and I guess sometimes that didn’t work out in my favor. Next thing I knew, we were living together because Rick had hinted that he needed a cheaper place to stay, and I, of course, had been helpful. Then it had just seemed really complicated to break things off.
I sighed, finishing up the last spreadsheet for the day. Enough thinking about Rick. I had Wilder to look forward to. He was sweet and kind, and it didn’t hurt that he was also sexy as sin. Who knew that an older guy was my type? The bit of gray in his hair really did it for me. He was in amazing shape and built just like his sons, too, which made sense considering he was in some secret military organization or something.
And yeah, that was a little worrisome. What if he got hurt? What if something happened to him? Did he get, like, deployed on jobs or anything? I guess those were things we would need to talk about.
Mostly, though, I hoped there was more kissing. And maybe more than that. It had been a long time since I’d had intimacy, and I was craving it.
As if that thought conjured him up, I heard a knock on the door, and I knew it was Wilder. I yelled for him to come in as I closed my laptop and got up, stretching.
Wilder came into the living room where I’d been working for the last hour (I alternated between the kitchen table and couch—I didn’t have an office set up yet), and he made a sound of appreciation. I felt my face get warm, but I didn’t stop stretching. It was nice to think he thought I was sexy.
I also wasn’t sure what to do next. Did I go over and kiss him hello? Hug him? Do an awkward Toby wave? Luckily he walked right in and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, sighing at the contact. Being in Wilder’s arms made me feel safe.
He smelled so good, like the outdoors and man. His arms and chest were firm and muscled, and I couldn’t help thinking about the kiss yesterday. I was getting turned on just from being in his arms, and it would have been embarrassing if I didn’t know he returned my interest. He growled low in this throat, which was crazy hot, and then his lips were on mine.
Thank god. The man was a freaking amazing kisser. He led the kiss, licking at my lips until I opened up, his tongue playing with mine and licking into my mouth. When he nipped at my bottom lip, drawing it between his teeth, I couldn’t help the sound that escaped me.
Wilder put his hands under my ass and lifted me up. Holy shit, that was fucking hot, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. He continued to kiss me, our mouths slanting together, his teeth lightly nibbling on my lips between kisses. He walked with me and rested my ass on something, and I vaguely realized from the height it had to be the kitchen table, because we were pretty even.
Wilder bit down onto my lip hard, and the zing went through my entire body, making me gasp. I jerked my hips into his, desperate for some friction, and I felt his hardness against mine. I leaned my head back and groaned at the contact.
“Do you like that? Do you like a little bite with your pleasure?” he rumbled, and he kissed his way down my neck, lightly nibbling.
His light nibbles felt like a tease, and I wanted more.
“Answer me, Mei Ume,” he growled.
“Yes!” I gasped.
In reward his teeth sunk into the space between my shoulder and my neck, the feel of it making my entire body jerk. He pulled off and licked at the spot, and I hoped he’d left a mark. The idea of it was such a turn on.
“What do you want, Mei Ume?” Wilder asked.
“I want to make you come,” I answered. “I want to please you.” I wanted to show Wilder I could bring him pleasure, too. I wanted to make him happy.
