Page 28 of When You Saved Me

Iwas stuck here.

With the one person I had tried like hell to avoid.

Chapter 11

Charlie

“How did we get here, buddy?” I curled my fingertips over Casper’s scalp. His ears twitched and he purred in appreciation.

An entire day had gone by since Deacon and I realized we were snowed in together. We both handled the situation by busying ourselves and avoiding one another as much as possible.

The first night I’d stayed with him, I saw a glimpse of the man my body desired. He was all dark and broody with long lashes over hooded eyes that told me the desperation I felt for him was mutual.

He’d been gruff and while he didn’t tell me he wanted to share a bed; I could see the need in his eyes to be close to me. But then he shut down the moment I started asking questions.

It seemed there was a firm boundary in place and I was starting to think that maybe he just hadn’t had sex in a longtime and now that he had a pretty girl in his space, the temptation was too bothersome. Whatever connection we might have was likely just physical for him and I had to come to terms with that at some point.

Did I want the physical connection too? Would that be enough for me if things started to heat up between us? If I let myself give in to the small part of himself he might be willing to offer, would I be okay with it after the deed was done?

I’d been with men before. I’d even had a few serious relationships in my past. None of which turned into anything more, obviously. And none of which were with men who made me feel topsy-turvy like Deacon did. But that didn’t mean it would be a good idea for me to give in to the temptation because I had a feeling that if I did,Iwould be the one who ended up with a broken heart.

But damn was that temptation pulling at me today.

Grasping the two mugs of hot chocolate I’d made, I peeked at him through the blinds of the window by the front door. His broad shoulders worked hard as he dove the edge of the snow shovel into the mountain of snow in front of his porch. I bit my lip as I watched him work, each movement of his strong body making heat pool at my center. Before long, I was practically sweating in my jeans and long-sleeve shirt.

I’d never really been around a man like him before. One who worked with his hands in such a proficient way. I couldn’t help my mind from trailing off to thoughts of how he might use those hands on me.

My bottom lip suffered as my bite deepened. I was in bigtrouble with this one, and maybe I should have just stayed inside and minded my own business. Instead, I followed that invisible string that had first appeared when he’d called out to me in my darkest hour and walked outside.

Cold air bit at my skin like a thousand needles pricking me at once. Casper meowed by my side as we walked through the windy swirls of fresh snow that started coming down.

Deacon looked over his shoulder at us and I was once again stricken with the handsomeness that was carved into every plane of his being. From his black hair that was starting to grow unruly at the nape of his neck to the strong structure of his jaw that always seemed to give away what he was thinking by how tightly he ground his teeth. The green of his eyes seemed shadowed today, darkened by the looming threat of the storm. And those plush lips that I thought way too much about had been drawn into a firm line.

I wondered, then, what it might feel like to see him smile. Full and wide. Like he had no care in the world or no trace of some horrific memory from past times pulling on his attention.

As he stalked toward me his lips turned downward into a deep frown.

Today wouldn’t be the day I saw that smile, I realized.

Extending my right arm, I offered him a mug of hot chocolate. “I thought this might warm you up some. You’ve been out here working all morning.”

His gaze set on me for a moment before dipping to thesteaming mug. When he didn’t take it immediately, I lifted it a fraction and joked, “I promise I didn’t poison it or anything.”

Deacon’s thick brows rose as he looked back at me. “You sure about that?”

Was that a joke? Did Deacon Calhoun just try to say something funny?

My lips pulled back and despite the frigid air, I felt heat bloom in my cheeks. “You’ll have to taste it to find out.”

He huffed a breath through his nose then wrapped his bare hands around the mug. His fingertips grazed against mine. The warmth of them shocked me and I sucked in a breath. In this weather…how could he still be hot to the touch?

I slid my hand off the mug and tucked it into my jeans pocket as I tried to ward off the butterflies in my stomach.

Yup.

I was in deep with this one and touchinganypart of Deacon was only going to lead to my own demise.

No matter how hard I tried to look away, I found myself gawking at his lips as they moved over the edge of the mug, and he took a long sip of the hot chocolate.

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