Page 4 of Say It's Forever

I grit my teeth at my own barbaric thought, finding it absurd. Perhaps I am losing my mind up here alone. I don’t have a clue who this girl is or where she came from. What I do know is that no one out here wanders around in those clothes she had on in a snowstorm without a reason, and that reason can't be a good one. Not if she was willing to freeze to death for it.

“It’s nothing,” I tell him so that he’ll leave me alone.

“Bullshit.” Ace calls me out right away. “It’s not Mindy, right? She returned to the bar, pissed."

“You think I would have something going on with Mindy?” I’m actually offended.

“No, but what the fuck else could it be? Bear okay?”

“He’s good.” Great actually. I’ll have to make him a steak as a reward for taking care of my girl.

“Fine, whatever. I’ll call you in the morning to check on you.”

“I don’t need a fucking check-in.”

“Too bad,” Ace responds before ending the call. I shove the phone back into my pocket, then go back over to Snow. I sit down in front of the couch, leaning back on it. I don’t want her to wake alone and scared in an unfamiliar place.

It's probably not going to be any better to wake up to a man who is easily twice her size. Fuck. Maybe three times. But I’m not leaving this spot. Not until she wakes up, and I can make sure she's okay.

My Snow will open those eyes and show me what beautiful color they are because I know they will be breathtaking... like the rest of her.

4

WINTER

Icuddle deeper into the blanket, feeling warm and cozy. When did my bed get so soft? “Libby,” I mutter. A whine for a response has my eyes flying open as I jerk to sit up. I come face-to-face with a massive dog.

“Bear.” A deep voice rumbles next to me. I let out a small scream and jump. Not that I go anywhere. I’m on a couch. My eyes lock on a massive-sized man. He goes with the massive-sized dog. Holy crap!

“Green,” he says, a half-smile pulling at his lips. It makes him appear less intense. I relax a little.

“Green?” I repeat because I can’t find words of my own at the moment.

“Your eyes. Been wondering what color they’d be.”

“Oh.” I take in the man sitting on the floor next to the couch. He's wearing a plain black shirt that hugs his arms tightly. Tattoos run up his arms, disappearing under the shirt. My whole body warms as I take him in. A reaction I’ve never experiencedbefore. This man is full of sin. I can hear my mother's words in my head. His eyes drop, and I follow them. “Oh my gosh!” I grab the blanket and yank it up to cover my bra. How did I not realize I was only in a bra and underwear? I can feel socks on my feet, too. “My clothes.”

“Put the dress in the dryer.” The man speaks as he stands, his deep voice once again having an effect on my body. What the heck is going on with me? I drop my head back and stare up at him. How does he look even bigger? I really had no idea that they made men this size. No one looks like him on the compound. I bet it costs a fortune to feed him.

“Why did you, ah”—I hold the blanket tighter to my body—“take it?” I can’t seem to string a whole sentence together in front of this man.

“You were soaked and freezing. I did what I had to.” He gives no apology for that. “Stay put,” he orders before walking off. I turn to watch him go down a hallway and disappear into another room. A small sense of panic builds in me in his absence, which is ridiculous. He’s a stranger.

I take the moment to soak in where I am. His home is nothing like mine. The walls and floor are all wood. There is a massive stone fireplace with a robust fire going. Over it hangs a flat-screen television. We don’t own a television at the compound. It isn't allowed. Though a select few members have them, they are higher-ups in the church. Of course, the normal rules don’t apply to them.

The living room area opens up into a kitchen with shiny appliances. This man must be really rich. Didn’t he say he put my dress in the dryer? We hand wash and hang all our clothes. I’ve never even used a washing machine. I know what they are,but we weren’t allowed to have them. It was actually one of the many things Joseph had told me about that he had in his home. He was always trying to tell me how much I was going to enjoy being married to him. That I would have an easier life. If it meant I didn't have to be his wife, I'd rather just keep washing my clothes and hanging them.

“You can wear this.” I jerk my attention away from the fancy kitchen back to the giant man. He hands me a shirt. “It’s mine, but it will pretty much be a dress on you.”

I take the shirt from him. “Not from where I come from.” I pull the shirt over my head. “Dresses go to your ankles.”

“If you say so.” He drops down in a chair next to the couch, his attention fully on me. "How are you feeling, Snow?”

“Snow?”

He shrugs. “It’s what I’ve been calling you.”

“Oh.” I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. Why do I like that he gave me a name? “It’s Winter actually.”

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