Page 28 of Exile

I smirked, glancing at her. “Glad to have you on my side.”

“Always,” she said, her voice light, but the word hung between us like it meant more than just this conversation.

We walked in silence for a while after that, and we got closer to where she was staying. I never liked this campground. It was pretty safe around here, but I hated the idea of Darwynn staying in this tiny house alone. She didn’t seem to mind, though. She liked the calm. The quiet.

The automatic light turned on when we reached the small porch. She stopped and turned to me, tilting her head back to look up at me. She wasn’t small—about five-four. I was just a giant.

“So,” she said softly, pursing her lips as she eyed me closely. “Thank you for walking me home.”

“Anytime.”

I kept my eyes on her, taking in every single freckle on the right side of her face. I usually wasn’t curious or interested in knowing more about a woman, but with Darwynn, things were a little different.

It probably was the fact that she was my damn granddaughter.

It sure as fuck didn’t feel that way, though.

“What’s up with your freckles?” It sounded like an insult, but she didn’t take it like one.

She laughed, throwing her head back and exposing her delicate neck.

Fuck…

When her eyes met mine again, she said, “I wish I knew, but I guess it’s just genetics.”

“Your mother never had freckles,” I stated, remembering my daughter’s face. Though, I had no fucking clue what it looked like now. It’s been a while since she…ah, fuck that.

“No…but you do. So maybe I got them from you,” she said, her smile gentle.

“That’s sun damage, not genetic.”

“Right.” She looked amused, and I huffed.

“Go inside now. It’s late.”

“Yes, sir,” she muttered under her breath.

I raised a brow. “Sir?”

There was a teasing gleam in her different-colored eyes. “Does it bother you when I call you that?”

No, it fucking made my dick twitch.

I didn’t answer her. Instead, I kept my eyes closely on her face as she calculated her next move, and my body tensed when she stepped toward me. Her arms wrapped around my neck as her body pushed into mine, and I steadied us both as I rested my hand on her lower back.

She was tiny.

At least, against me, she was.

Her body melted into mine, and I let it happen, even if it took everything inside of me not to push her away.

This felt too damn fucking good, and not in the way it should have.

“Thank you again for tonight. I had a great time,” she said, her voice soft.

I clenched my jaw, my hand flexing on her back. “Anytime.”

We stayed like that for a while longer, but when I risked my mind to go places it shouldn’t go, I stepped away from her, keeping my hand on her hip to keep her at a safe distance.

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