Page 27 of A Little Christmas Jericho
Colter had no business looking as fine as he did standing in his front door, waiting for me.
But dammit, he really did lookgood.
As I pulled into the driveway he stepped out of the house completely and by the time I'd switched the car off he was reaching for my back door handle, immediately going for both Murphy and Daisy's leashes.
I knew I should probably feel annoyed that he went for my babies before coming to me, but it kind of proved that he was the right type of man for me.
With the dogs’ leashes in his hands he turned to me and gave me a quick, hard kiss. "I'm glad you agreed to come. I've been going out of my mind with worry since we said goodbye."
My heart warmed at his words, even if I didn't like that I'd worried him. "I'm glad you asked me to come. Now that I'm here, I realise how much the calls were creeping me out and how unsafe it was making me feel."
He gave me another kiss before grabbing one of the cat carriers with his other hand. "You get Tofu, and your bag. I've got these monsters."
Rushing to follow his order I followed him into the house, and in no time we had everyone settled.
By the time we were sitting at the kitchen table, the worries and fear had calmed down quite a bit.
Obviously that's when Colter decided to bring up the calls again. "I think we should go to the police."
"What?" I cried out. "No! That's totally overkill. It's only a couple of prank calls."
He stared at me, his brows drawn together but didn't respond.
"Seriously, Colter. You'll see, whoever it was is probably bored and over it by now. And either way, I'll be here for the next few days, so I'll be safe."
Colter didn't look convinced, his frown deep enough to leave a crease between his brows. "I still don't like it," he murmured, fingers drumming lightly on the table. "This doesn't feel like just a prank, baby. My gut is telling me this is more."
That sent a shiver through me I didn't want to admit to. I picked at the edge of my sleeve instead. A thoughtniggled, and I couldn't let it go. "It might be my ex."
"What do you mean," Colter practically growled, "it could be your ex? Is there something you haven't told me, Jericho?"
I swallowed down the sudden nerves at the commanding tone of his voice, and tried to push down the guilt I was feeling for not telling him about Oscar's texts. But to be fair, we were just starting out, and I didn't really want to send him running with all of my drama.
I swallowed again, the words sticking like glue in my throat. "It's nothing, really... he's just sent a few texts. Some nasty ones, and some sounding a bit delusional if I'm being honest. So I blocked his number."
I paused, and stared at Colter with large eyes. "I just realised... it's after I blocked him that the silent calls started."
Colter's jaw tightened, the muscle in his cheek ticking as he looked at me. He exhaled through his nose and leaned back in his chair, eyes closing for a second like he was trying to rein himself in. When they opened again, the anger was gone. But the emotion that replaced the anger was even worse.
It was worry.
"Jericho, baby," he said quietly, but firmly. "You can't hide things like that from me. Not things that might mean you're in danger."
"I didn't think it was a big deal." I stopped, took a breath and then tried again. "No, I didn't want tomakeit a big deal. We're still new, Colter. I didn't want to start off this relationship with all my baggage and scare you off before we could even get going."
His brows lifted, disbelief written all over his face. "That's a cop out," he said, his tone gentling but still leaving no room to squirm away. "You don't get to decide what I can handle, sweetheart. You don't get to protect me from your life. Or you. That's not how this works. How our dynamic works."
He pushed back his chair and came around to me, tipping my chin until I was forced to meet his gaze. "A relationship like ours only works if you trust me. Not just with the easy, fun parts. But the hard stuff too. Things that scare you, worry you, or just plain make you sad."
I bit my lip. "Idotrust you."
He shook his head slightly. "Not yet. And like I told you the other night, I can wait to earn all your trust, but you have to be a bit brave for me, too. Start by trusting me with your safety. If something happens, or someone messes with you, I want to know. That's not me being overbearing, Jericho. That's what being a Daddy is all about."
The words landed harder than I think he meant to. But I didn't think that was a bad thing, because it meant I actually took them in.
My throat burned as I nodded. "Okay," I whispered. "I promise to tell you next time."
He studied me for a long moment, and then the expression on his face softened even more. His thumb brushed over my bottom lip, lingering just enough to make my heart skip a beat. "Good boy," he murmured, causing my stomach to flutter. "That's all I need, baby."
