Page 19 of Sweet Surrender
A scream penetrated the dream, jolting him awake before he realized what was going on.
“Taylor?”
He leapt out of bed and ran to the cabin door, yanking it open and found her on the other side. Her chest heaving, her skin so pale that her freckles stood out in stark contrast. They stared at each other for a moment. Then she lifted her arm and pointed towards her cabin.
“T…The b…back porch.”
“Stay here,” he said, stroking down her arm to comfort her before going to investigate.
He tried to keep his eyes focused in the pitch black, his ears listening for any foreign sounds. His breath slipped out as quietly as possible, he didn’t want to alert anyone to his presence if there was anyone around. Only now did he realize he had no idea what he was looking for. He crept around the side of the cabin, prepared for anything, when heat at his back had him spinning around, fists raised, primed to attack. Her mouth-watering cinnamon scent hit him just in time.
“Goddammit Taylor, I nearly hit you!” he hissed in the darkness.
“I didn’t want to be alone.” Her voice, so small, pierced his chest. She was shivering, her teeth chattering from shock. He took her hand and folded it between his, linking their fingers, trying to ignore how well they fit together.
He drew her close behind him as he walked around the porch, scanning the dark line of the trees surrounding them. An owl hooted, scaring the shit out of him but he didn’t see anything else.
“There,” she said, pointing to the deck of the porch. Then he saw it.
Five dead squirrels, arranged in the shape of a heart.
He cursed under his breath. “Okay sweetheart, let’s get you inside.”
He maneuvered her past the tiny corpses, keeping her view of them blocked as he led her inside the cabin and closed the door. Once inside, he took her to the pink two-seater couch and gently eased her down. Goosebumps covered her skin and her teeth still chattered so loudly he thought they would crack.
He grabbed the baby-pink throw blanket that felt as soft as her skin and wrapped it around her, tucking in the sides so she was swaddled like a child. Then he moved over to her kitchenette, looking for some mugs. He finally found them crammed in a random cupboard, none of the designs matching, typical Taylor.
He discreetly took in the details of her home, eager to drink them in. It was wall to wall pink and the textile of choice was fluffy. Nothing at all like the snarky, sarcastic ballbuster that Taylor appeared to be, but he knew the real her. He had seen her bedroom as a teenager and it looked exactly like this: fit for a princess.
Silence filled the small cabin as he made her some tea and brought it over, helping free her hands to hold the steaming mug.
“Drink this and I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?” he asked, unsure if she was reallyhere. Her eyes were glassy but still magnificent in their deep color. Eventually she nodded.
He stepped out onto the porch, surveying the scene. This was definitely Dale’s handiwork,the sick fuck.There was a ton of blood. The squirrel feeder was broken and there was food scattered everywhere. Beau swept up the food that had been spilt, probably by Taylor as the bag was on the porch too. She had obviously been feeding the little guys for a while if Dale knew about them.Why would he take the thing she loved away from her? What the fuck is wrong with him?
Beau found a little storage shed next to the porch and after rummaging around inside he grabbed a shovel, bucket and some rags. He set to work digging a little grave by the row of spruce trees that lined the back of the property. Once the animals were all buried, he filled up the bucket from the outside faucet and cleaned down the deck, getting rid of every trace of blood so she wouldn’t be reminded every time she looked at it. The squirrels were obviously important to her. No wonder she was so deeply shocked.
He went back inside, washing his hands in the kitchen sink before he turned to face Taylor again. She had fallen asleep, curled up on the couch, the blanket thrown off her. He watched her, her face softened in slumber. Her sassy mouth puffy from being nibbled on. God, he nearly kissed her tonight, what the hell had he been thinking? Once again, she had rejected him. When was he going to get it into his thick skull that she wasn’t interested in him?
He had gone to the bar once again in the hopes of getting her alone so he could apologize to her. He didn’t want her to feel pressured about the whole pretend relationship ruse that Dean came up with, and he wanted to tell her not to worry about it. But as soon as he saw her charming the pants off every man in the bar, every man except him, he’d turned defensive again.
Watching her slink around the bar, her hips swaying seductively as she walked, designed to draw his attention to her and make him want the one thing he couldn’t have, had set him off. He flirted his way round the bar, like he did all the time, desperate to prove that she didn’t affect him anymore.Because you think she doesn’t? You’re a fool.
When she served him at the bar and her expression immediately hardened from the flirty temptress she was, his stomach sank. His walls slammed back into place and his confidence disappeared.
After all the work he had done on himself. The workouts, the diets, beating the tests of his willpower, the cravings he’d ignored. Followed by surgeries to remove excess skin that left small scars he was super conscious of, let alone all the stretchmarks across his shoulders, back and hips. Yep, he felt like that sad little fat boy who had doted on her all over again and his attitude had kicked in. God knows why he had tried to flirt with her tonight. He knew better than that.
Then he’d tried to talk to her and instead of just having a normal conversation, he’d cornered her in her office.Being so close to her had turned him into some horny neanderthal trying to tamp down the intense need to dominate which only ever flared to life around her. When she got all sassy with him, he just wanted to put her over his knee.
Except something about the way she stared at him and the tension mounting between them had made him think…ugh never mind, what was the point? Why did he keep fucking up with her?
He moved over to her now, slid one arm under her knees, the other around her back and lifted her into his arms.She was a tall woman, but she felt tiny in his arms and that old urge to protect her roared to life. Her head fell perfectly into the crook of his neck. Her warm breath fanned over his skin and had him biting back a moan whilst his cock eagerly sprang to life at exactly the wrong moment.Jesus, really? Just from a bit of air on his neck?
She stirred as he carried her into the bedroom and began muttering, trying to fight his hold.Always rejecting me.
“Beau?”
“Go back to sleep sweetheart, we’ll talk in the morning,” he murmured. He shoved loads of clutter from her bed and onto the already messy floor.
