Page 50 of Imperfect Saint
“Cabin in the woods? Yeah.” She giggled a little when he raised one eyebrow, “I promise there’s no boogeymen waiting inside if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Hunter chuckled and pulled her hand just enough to make her step towards him, “Would you protect me if there were?”
“Absolutely not.” She teased as she looked up at him, “I’d shove you in front of me and then make a run for it.”
“That’s my girl.” He grinned as he bent and pressed a sweet, light kiss to her lips. “Always put yourself first. Always.”
Millie tiptoed up to get one more, quick kiss, just because she’d liked that he’d called her his girl, “Come on, let’s go inside.”
“Inside?” He seemed skeptical. “Is that thing safe? It looks older than the state of Tennessee.”
“Oh, don’t be such a city boy. It’s completely stable.” Millie pulled on his hand, dragging him along behind her as she moved up the small steps and into the little cabin. “This cabin was built forever ago. I’ll give you that. The guys that worked the still used it as a bunkhouse. It fell into disrepair for a while sure but then Colin found it when we were kids and we insisted Dad fix it up for us to use as a fort. Now it’s…”
“Wow.” Hunter stepped through the door behind her and she grinned when his eyes went wide, taking in the small space.
From the outside it looked like a derelict old cabin in the woods. It could have been part of any scary movie. He was right about that. But inside was another story altogether.
The rough wood floors had been sanded down until they shone. Curtains hung over the windows. A wrought iron bed took up most of the one room cabin but there was a small table to the side of it with a lamp and some books and on the far wall one of the big windows had a bench seat carved into the wood for relaxing. The old fireplace in the corner wasn’t burning because it was still too warm to need it but all over the room there were candles littering every surface, burning with warmth and flickering golden light to fill the space with a lovely, sweet, intimate feel.
“Wow.” Hunter said again as he turned in a circle, taking it all in. “This is incredible.”
“Right?” Millie shut the door behind them and leaned against it, “We used to play out here when we were kids and then as we got older it sorta turned into a little safe space where we could escape and be on our own. Colin and Reed used it to meet even when Dad was being… Dad. This was their place.”
Hunter turned back to her and raised an eyebrow, “Are we invading their little wedding night lovenest?”
“Nope.”
“Are you sure? Because the rose petals on the bed and the champagne on the nightstand say otherwise.”
Millie used the door to keep herself steady as she lifted one foot and toed off her heels. She did it again and watched as Hunter watched her. Heat pooled in her belly as his eyes slowly slid from her bare feet up her legs and body.
“That’s what they wanted to tell me earlier.”
“Huh?” Hunter licked his lips when she took her glasses off and set them aside.
“After all the drama of the day, they don’t want to stick around. They want to get a head start on their honeymoon so they’re planning to sneak away and catch an earlier flight. They’ll be in Mexico by dawn.” Millie pushed up from the door and smiled when Hunter’s Adam’s apple bobbed, “They pulled me aside earlier to tell me goodbye and that they love me and they wanted me to know that they both approve of you, wholeheartedly, and to prove it, they told me we could have the cabin tonight. Reed even moved our suitcases out here as a surprise. They gave us this cabin so we could have our own space and a little privacy.”
“So they just… gave us their bridal suite basically.” Hunter looked thoughtful as he glanced around the room again.
Millie stopped a few feet from him and tilted her head, trying to gauge his expression, “I thought you’d be happy that we had somewhere all to ourselves but you don’t look happy, Hunter.”
“No. I am.” He turned back to her quickly and shook his head, “I am. This place is…”
When he trailed off Millie shrugged, “Beautiful? Secluded? Intimate?”
Hunter smiled again, soft and easy, “It’s all of those things and more.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Hunter’s smile fell and he shook his head again, “It’s just… it’s been a long day, Mills. It’s been a long weekend really. You’ve dealt with so much over the last few days, hell even just the last few hours. I don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing you for more. I want more. God, Mills, I want everything with you. But we don’t have to start tonight. We can wait. I don’t want you to think I can’t wait for you to be ready.”
Her heart, that silly thing inside her chest that she’d spent the better part of the last year trying to piece back together, gave a quick squeeze of pain. Not because she was hurting. That wasn’t it at all. Her heart finally felt whole and it was healing and it was this man that had helped her to get this far. This sweet, gentle, understanding man that even now, surrounded by all of this beauty and intended seduction, managed to think only of her wellbeing.
She moved closer to him and raised her palms to cup his handsome face, “You’re not pushing me, Hunter. I’m the one that brought you here. If anything, I’m the one pushing you.”
“You know I want you.” He raised his own hands and covered hers, “But…”
“I want you too. I want this. I want to leave the past behind me and not think about it anymore tonight. I want to enjoy this time that we have together. I want to feel safe and happy and you make me feel those things.”
