Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
I rub my thumb across her tiny toes. I lean in and stop myself, jerking back before my mouth can press a kiss to one of them.
“What the fuck is wrong with me?” I stand, letting her feet go. “Get it together,” I tell myself, heading to my room to grab a pair of thick socks. I put them on her feet.
Bear lets out another whimper. “She’s going to be all right,” I reassure him, and I tell myself, too. I do my best to not stare when I remove her dress, leaving her in a simple white cotton bra and panties. I wrap one blanket around her, then lay another one over her. I place a pillow under her head.
She lets out a small sigh and snuggles in deeper. A pressure in my chest that I hadn’t realized was there lifts. Bear’s giant ass jumps up on the end of the couch by her feet. He faces her, keeping his attention trained on our snow angel. I decide at that moment that I’ll call her Snow until she’s able to tell me her real name.
When my phone goes off, I debate answering it, but it’s Ace. He’ll keep calling, or worse, show up here. That is the last thing I want right now.
“What?” I say when I answer. I sit down on the end of the couch next to her. My fingers drift down her jaw, noticing that her cheeks are starting to turn pink. That’s a good thing. Her thick lashes lay against her cheeks, making me wonder what color her eyes are.
“Damn, just calling to make sure you got home okay. It got bad out there quickly.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I respond absently. Snow scrunches her nose, and I wonder what she might be dreaming about.
“Garrett!” my brother barks through the phone. “Are you listening to me?”
“Yes,” I grunt, standing to step away from the couch. My snow angel clearly needs rest.
“What is going on? Something is up.” Of course, he can tell I'm off. I glance back toward the couch. I tell my brother almost everything, but for some reason, I don’t want to share this. Not yet.
She’s mine.
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 experienced before. 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.”