Page 36 of Icebound Hearts

“Sawyer?”

The sound of Violet’s voice in the hallway makes my eyes shoot open. My gaze lands on the door, and in a flash, I realize too late that it never actually clicked shut.

Before I can say anything, it swings open, and Violet’s delicate features come into view on the other side.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt yourse?—”

She freezes when she catches sight of me, her eyes going wide.

Chapter 12

Violet

I stand frozen at Sawyer’s bedroom door, a shopping bag hanging limply from my grip.

Oh my god.

I didn’t think anyone was here when I got back to the house, but then I heard a voice upstairs. When I got to the top of the steps, I heard Sawyer curse in a voice that sounded strained, and I thought maybe he had hurt himself. The door wasn’t completely shut, and I thought I heard him say my name, so I didn’t even stop to think before I barged inside.

But clearly, the sound I heard wasn’t him grunting inpain.

“Shit,” I whisper, my jaw falling open as a rush of heat floods my cheeks. “I didn’t mean to?—”

For some unaccountable reason, my gaze drops downward, and I almost swallow my tongue in shock as I get a glimpse of his cock. He’s not just huge, he’s also got a bunch of piercings. I can only see a few of them because the rest are hidden by his hand, but it seems like they go all the way up the underside.

“I—I—sorry,” I stammer, yanking my gaze back up to his face.

He’s staring at me, his jaw tight and his nostrils flared, and it suddenly strikes me that even though I’ve apologized twice,I’mstillstanding here in the doorframe of his room, basically watching him jerk off.

“I’ll just, uh, go,” I say in a rush.

I whirl around and practically sprint down the stairs, my heart racing a mile a minute as I reach the first floor. I drop the bag I was carrying next to the couch, freeing up my hands so that I can press my palms to my cheeks in a futile attempt to tame what I know must be a raging blush.

I cannot believe I just did that. I walked in on Sawyer jerking off.

My heart, which is already thudding heavily, picks up its pace even more when I hear footsteps on the stairs and realize that he’s coming down after me.

I turn to face him, my expression cycling through several options in quick succession before I finally settle on something that’s supposed to look casual but probably doesn’t.

Sawyer reaches the bottom step, and his gaze finds mine. His hair is a bit disheveled, and the slight bulge at the front of his pants—coupled with how fast he made it down here after I left his room—makes me certain that he didn’t finish what he started up there before coming after me.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” he says, his voice a bit hoarse. “That never should’ve happened. I thought the door was closed, and I didn’t know you’d be back so soon. I never?—”

“It’s okay.”

I shake my head, my stomach flipping over itself as a memory of his pierced cock springs into my mind unbidden. How many were there? At least eight, I’m guessing.

He takes a step toward me, huffing a humorless laugh. “No it’s not. Are you fucking kidding me? That was so inappropriate.”

He looks truly distressed, his jaw tight and his shoulders tense, and I wonder if he thinks I’m mad or upset or something.I’m not though. I was startled by the sight of him like that, but honestly, it’s not his fault at all. If anything, it’s mine.

“You don’t have to apologize,” I blurt, cutting him off when he starts to speak again. “I mean, it’s your house, right? And I’m the one who walked in on you. I should’ve announced myself or texted that I was on my way back or something.”

Sawyer’s jaw works, a muscle in his cheek popping. He doesn’t look reassured by my words, and I can see the self-recrimination written all over his face. I hate the idea of him blaming himself for the fact thatI, a guest in his house, didn’t knock on his bedroom door before barging in. And even more than that, I hate the idea of seeing this chagrined, tight expression on his face every time he looks at me from now on.

So rather than trying to convince him that he has no reason to feel guilty, I opt for a different tactic.

Lifting one shoulder in a shrug, I hold his gaze and give him a lopsided grin. “Hey, at least now we’re even. Tit for tat, right? Or I guess, tit for dick.”

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