Page 35 of Stitch & Steel
Just followed her inside.
Scout padded along at her heels, still wide awake like he was on night duty. Little traitor had claimed her bed already, his tail thumping once like he knew he won.
Bella paused at her door, fingers lingering on the knob, her eyes catching mine in the glow from the hallway.
“You’re really walking me to bed like some gentleman in a black-and-white movie?”
I leaned one shoulder against the wall, arms crossed over my chest. “I’ve been worse things.”
She laughed, then got shy all of a sudden, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, thanks… for tonight. For fixing up this place. For…”
She trailed off. But I heard what she didn’t say.
I stepped in close, one hand lifting to her cheek like it belonged there.
“Scout,” I said, glancing over her shoulder at the wolfish dog already sprawled out across her pillows, “you better keep her safe tonight.”
Bella huffed out a laugh. “He’s not exactly a killer.”
I didn’t look away from her. “Then I’ll do the job myself.”
Before she could answer, I kissed her.
Soft, at first. Just a taste.
Then deeper—like I couldn’t help it. Like Ineededit.
She gasped against my mouth, hands curling into the fabric of my shirt as I backed her gently against the doorframe. That scent—citrus and summer—flooded my head. She tasted like honeyed tea and promises I wasn’t ready to make out loud yet.
But hell if I wasn’t thinking them.
When I pulled back, her lips were parted, eyes wide.
I brushed my thumb over her lower lip. “Sweet dreams, darlin’.”
Then I turned and walked down the hall before I did something stupid. Like follow her inside and show her every damn reason why I couldn’t sleep without her anymore.
Outside, the stars were stitched across the sky like silver thread. A late-summer breeze curled through the trees, whispering of fall. The fireflies had dimmed, but the night still glowed warm and full.
I stood there, breathing it all in.
The cabin. The mountain. Her.
Thiswas what I wanted. Not just the lust. Not just the need. But thechance.
Bella wasn’t like anyone I’d ever known. She was strong but soft. Sarcastic but kind. She didn’t know how rare she was out here, in a world that often took more than it gave.
And me?
I’d be damned if I let her go without fighting for her.
I was gonna court her, old-school and hard.
And maybe, just maybe…
Convince her that her life wasn’t waiting back in the city?—
It was already here, tucked between these hills and wrapped in the arms of a man who’d guard her with everything he had.
