Cozy

by Alexa Riley

  “Hey!” I march over to the box as he opens the lid and luckily it’s filled with yarn. He reaches in, picking some of it up and inspecting it like he’s never seen anything like it before.

  “What is this?”

  “Yarn.” This time I make my tone as flat as his.

  “I meant what’s it for.” He looks from the yarn filling his hands to me.

  “I knit.”

  “You knit?” he repeats, his eyebrows furrowing together as he looks confused.

  “You’re lucky that box wasn't full of my panties.” He drops the yarn and steps away from the box. I have to fight a laugh at the look on his face. “Yes, I have panties in here,” I tease.

  “Someone packed your panties?” His face changes and I swear his eyes darken.

  “Let’s hope so. I can’t wear the ones I’ve got on now the whole time.” I try to tease him again, but the man is really on edge.

  “I told them not to touch them.” His voice is low as he starts ripping open each box. “I’ll have them fired.”

  I watch him with shock as he goes through all of them. He told the movers to not touch my underwear? I hadn't given it much thought but I guess it’s a little weird for someone to pack those private things. I should stop him from ripping open each box but it really does save me from having to do it later.

  “I don’t see any.” He’s breathing heavy like he just ran a few miles. Chopping wood didn't wind him, but somehow this has.

  “I’m glad you solved that riddle. Now you don’t have to fire anyone,” I say happily, not wanting anyone to lose their job over my underwear. “I guess I’ll go without or maybe I can knit some.” I laugh. “Is that a thing? Knitted undies? I’ve never tried that before.” I laugh harder at the thought, but when I look at Timber he isn't finding this so funny.

  “Dinner is in ten minutes,” he says before he stomps from the room and slams my door behind him.

  I cover my mouth to keep the bubble of laughter inside of me because I really wasn't trying to poke him. The reason I'm here is to make his life easier for the event planning. I think I might be more than he bargained for.

  Chapter 6

  Timber

  It’s been two solid weeks of hell on earth, and I don’t see an end in sight.

  “Timber?” Simon’s voice is tentative and I can tell he’s standing back farther than he normally does.

  “What.” I don’t even say it like a question, because I don’t want to be asked anything.

  He sighs as he walks closer and grabs the plate of uneaten food beside me. “You need sleep.”

  I clench my jaw because he’s right but he’s clearly stating the obvious and it’s irritating.

  “Is that all you came up here to tell me?”

  I stare down at Pippa in the garden pointing to people and calling out instructions on the walkie talkie in her hand. I got her that last week when I noticed her voice was hoarse from having to call out so loud all the time. I gave them to every person who comes on the property so she doesn’t have to be next to them to tell them what to do. Myself included. I reach down and touch the device next to me and turn up the volume so I can hear what she's saying. That’s another thing I didn’t like. She would go talk to people and I would be so far away I wouldn’t know what she was saying.

  “I heard Miss Pippa tell you to come up here and I was checking to see if you’re all right.”

  “Of course I’m all right!” I’m not all right.

  Two weeks of being around her every moment of every day. Two weeks of eating meals with her and reading in the library together at night while she knits. Two weeks of memorizing every curve of her body and every fleck of gold in her eyes. Two weeks of agony and need that I have no outlet for because my body has betrayed me.

  My cock is in a perpetual state of frustration with no sense of relief in sight. I’ve tried jerking off, but I can’t ever get to completion. Maybe if I could release some of this weight in my cock I wouldn’t be in so much pain. Maybe if she wasn’t so goddamn beautiful I wouldn’t pine after her like some starving puppy begging for any scrap of attention she gives me.

  Why does she smile so much? Why is she so damn happy every day when she walks into the kitchen?

  When I see her long tousled hair and rosy cheeks, it’s what I imagine she’d look like after I made love to her and every morning my day starts off in frustration.

  “Enough,” Simon says sharply, and I turn around to look at him with wide eyes.

  “What do you mean enough?”

  “Do you think I’m blind?” When I raise an eyebrow at him he rolls his eyes. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  I sigh as I push away from the window. “No,” I admit, because Simon is one of the smartest men I know.

  “You will never win her over with the way you’ve been acting around her.”

  “I don’t want to win her over.” I walk past him to the other side of the study and sit down at my desk. The lie hangs between us for a moment but he doesn’t call me on it.

  “The party is happening in two days, and she doesn’t have a gown yet.”

  “Have some dresses brought in,” I answer as I immediately click away on my keyboard looking for a personal shopper.

  “Timber, this is an opportunity for you.” Simon talks to me softly as if I’m a child.

  “An opportunity for what? The party is almost here which means she’s almost done and I can finally have my life back to the way it was before she walked into it.”

  The words taste bitter on my tongue and I hate how they make me feel.

  “You can never go back to the way things were before you saw her and the sooner you realize that the better.”

  I grumble as I look past him and to the window, desperate for him to leave so I can go back over there and watch her again.

  “I’ve already taken the liberty of having some options brought in for her tonight.”

  “Thank you.” My voice is low, and although I should be grateful, I’m jealous he’s done something nice for her.

  “I’ve asked that the gowns be presented one by one for your viewing,” he says as he turns away from me and grabs my tray of food.

  “Why?” My heartbeat begins to speed up with the anticipation of seeing her model clothes for me.

  “Because like I said, this is an opportunity for you, Timber. This is a chance for you to compliment her and let her know that you find her attractive. Give her praise and make her feel special. You don’t have much more time.”

  I press my lips together tightly but nod at him in answer.

  “I’ll have dinner served in the parlor while she’s trying on clothes. It will be more intimate in there.”

  I run my tongue along the edge of my teeth as I think about the word “intimate” in relation to Pippa.

  Simon walks to the door, but before he leaves he turns back to me one last time. “Don’t fuck this up.”

  I sit there stunned as he walks out without another word. He’s never spoken to me like that before and I don’t understand why he’s doing it now. Maybe he knows just how much this woman has affected me. Or maybe he’s tired of my bad mood.

  Either way, he’s right.

  Chapter 7

  Timber

  “I didn’t realize the event was so formal,” I comment as I look down the rows of dresses. Simon clears his throat behind me as he oversees the food being brought in and I remember what he told me. “It will be nice.”

  I chance a glance up at Pippa and see her looking at me with wide eyes. “I’m surprised to hear you say that.”

  “You’ve done a nice job on the place.” God, how many times am I going to say nice?

  The lady who brought in the dresses has another lady helping her. The older woman is in charge and a tall woman with strong arms is carrying most of the clothes. I assume she’s the assistant. The two of them are working to set up the racks of clothes with the accessories on a side table while Simon and a few of the staff ar
range the buffet nearby. Pippa and I are meant to look over the dresses then dine in here afterwards to discuss her options.

  Why anyone thought that I would be a good choice for this task is beyond me, but I can’t say I would have let anyone else do the job.

  “Coming from you I’ll take that as an Oscar-worthy performance.” She smiles at me over her cup of tea, and although I could kick myself for not being nicer to her, the praise warms me inside like I’m the one drinking the hot tea.

  “We’ll leave you to it,” Simon says as he checks over the covered dishes and leads the staff out of the room.

  The older woman introduces herself as Claire and then steps forward like she’s ready to give a speech. Everything inside of me is screaming for me to hold my hand up and tell her I don’t need the song and dance. I just want her to show us the damn dresses, but Simon’s words about not fucking this up keep ringing in my ear.

  “With your gorgeous coloring and curves I’ve selected a few key pieces and one or two rogue options.” She winks at Pippa, who beams up at her, and I’m thankful I’ve kept my mouth shut.

  “Thank you so much, I’m really excited.” Pippa does that thing with her lip where she bites on it for just a second then runs her tongue over it.

  She does that when she’s eager, and my mind has thought of all the ways she’d do that while underneath me.

  “We’ve set up a privacy screen over here.” Claire indicates to a small rack of silky things next to it. “You’ll have to change undergarments depending on the cut of the dress, but for the first one a silk slip will do.”

  Images of Pippa covered in expensive silk flood my mind like a waterfall and I want to blurt out that we’ll take everything, but I don’t. I grip the armrests of the chair so hard my knuckles turn white and I remind myself to breathe.

  “Perfect.” Pippa gets up and goes behind the partition that separates her naked body from everyone in the room. “Panties might be a nice change since I haven’t had them in so long.”

  I don’t know if I’m strong enough to make it through this. All I want right now is to scream for everyone to get out, Hulk smash that thing keeping me from seeing her, and take her to the floor. My cock throbs in time with my heartbeat and I can feel the heat creeping up my neck. Why can’t I control myself around her? Why do I keep my distance when I’m so damn desperate for just a shred of her attention?

  “Oh, this is so soft,” I hear her say and I close my eyes.

  The wood of the chair groans and I look down to see I’ve put a crack in one of the arms. “Shit.”

  Claire looks over at me and I pretend to crouch to cover it up. I have to get it together, but the thought of something against her bare skin that isn’t my hand is making my body uncomfortably tight.

  I look up in time to see Pippa walk out from behind the screen wearing a deep purple gown. It’s nipped at the waist and flares at the hip, but the strapless top is too low. I can see the rounded swells of her breasts and suddenly my mouth is as dry as a barren desert and I thirst for the dew of her flesh.

  It takes me a moment to clear my throat as I sit forward and try to hide the obscene outline of my cock in my jeans. “The color is beautiful.” I try to keep my comments brief because I want to scream at her to take it off and never let the light of day touch that dress, but I can’t dim the smile on her lips. I can’t be the one to take away the light in her eyes as she faces the mirror and turns.

  “It is, but the shape is all wrong,” Claire says, and I want to pay her double and kick her out at the same time.

  Pippa narrows her eyes at the dress and then cocks her head to the side. “You think so?”

  “We need to show off your figure down below.” Claire winks and motions for her to move back behind the screen. “You’ve got an incredible shape, and we don’t want to lose that.”

  I’ve spent hours of my life getting to know Pippa’s shape, and I don’t need a dress to tell me where her lines begin and end. But once again I bite my tongue and try to breathe.

  “For this dress you won’t need the slip. Just put on the silk thong and garters,” Claire calls out. “If you need help attaching them let me know.”

  My heart stops dead in my chest as I lean forward and put my face in my hands. I’m not going to survive this. My beauty in silk and garters? The fantasy of her in that almost brings me to my knees.

  After a moment of indulging in the dream of undoing her garters with my teeth I sit back in my seat and grab a pillow off the chair next to me and put it in my lap. There’s no other way to hide this monster trying to burst through my denim.

  This time when Pippa walks out from behind the screen she’s in a deep green dress the color of evergreens in the winter. The material goes over one shoulder and clings to her body all the way down and then flares out at her knees. When she turns around to face the mirror, I see that it’s completely backless all the way down to the top of her ass. If she bent over, the dress might burst in two, giving me a view of her tiny thong.

  “Oh, that’s lovely,” Claire coos, walking around Pippa.

  “Really?” I look up to see Pippa’s brows furrowed as she looks down at herself and smooths out the dress.

  “It’s not the one,” I say gently, and Pippa looks in the mirror and finds my eyes in the reflection. She smiles softly and then nods a little.

  “I don’t think so either.” Her smile grows in approval as she walks back behind the screen again and I’m left sitting here like I’ve been run over by a tank.

  Having her look at me like that while I’ve made her happy is almost too much. It’s like a drug and suddenly I want another hit of that. I want to do something else to make her happy and have her tell me what I’ve done was right.

  “For this next dress you won’t need undergarments. It’s made to your measurements and I don’t want to disrupt the fabric.”

  Claire grabs the dress off the hanger and passes it to Pippa. Meanwhile my world has just been hit by a nuclear explosion at the thought of her naked under her dress.

  When Pippa walks out she doesn’t go to the mirror right away. Instead she takes a few steps closer to me and waits for me to tell her what I think. The dress is the color of dark raspberries and has fragile lace that scoops over her breasts and down her body. It’s molded to her figure like it was indeed made for her. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. It’s delicate and soft just like her curves, and the way she’s looking at me right now, it’s like she’s begging me to let her have it.

  “She’ll have it,” I say simply and feel the power of her once again as she smiles.

  Chapter 8

  Pippa

  I take another bite of my steak as I watch Timber angrily cut into his own out of the corner of my eye. It’s hard to smile and chew at the same time but he has this effect on me and he’s not doing it on purpose. I don’t know why I find his grumpiness so adorable but it does something to my insides. The more he bristles, the more I want to get closer and that’s not good. I’m not trying to chase after him, but when I find myself seeking him out he’s never far away.

  “I don’t think you need a knife.” I take another bite. The meat is so tender you can cut it with your fork, and chef Celia is worth her weight in gold. I have no idea what it costs to have a chef on staff but damn that woman can cook. I’ve probably gained a good five pounds since I moved in but I don’t care. Every bite is worth it and I know I’m never eating this good again.

  “I know how to eat,” he grumbles.

  I think he wants to sound angry but the words come out like he’s frustrated. Everyone else has this weird fear of Timber and they all jump when he barks or says something. I just smile and shake my head at him. How can anyone be scared of him? He’s this giant bear that I’ve been having one too many dirty dreams about. I’m in full-blown crush mode and I don’t think he has any idea.

  He demands we eat every meal together but I’m the one who rattles on with conversation. I barely get anything
out of him and he knows almost everything about me. He sits and listens and will randomly ask a question. When I get one it feels like a small victory. God, that sounds so pathetic when I think about it.

  “Yes, I agree. You know how to show that steak who’s boss.” I laugh. “At the party you might not want to stab your food. You might scare the guests.”

  He stops sawing at his steak to look up at me. It’s the first time he’s looked at me since I sat down at the table with him tonight. Something is off and it feels a little awkward now. Our eyes lock and I see that same look he got when I came out in the last dress. The one he decided was the right choice. My breath catches and I will him to say something.

  I’ve caught him watching me over the past few weeks, but I didn’t know if it was him checking out the planning and what was going on or him checking me out. In my head I pretended it was me that kept his attention, but then today with the dress I saw something in his eyes. I was sure of it but brushed it aside because he stomped from the room the second after saying that was the dress. Either he really liked it or he was over the whole dress show. What man wants to watch a woman try on dress after dress? He was probably bored out of his mind even though I thought he enjoyed it.

  I wasn’t about to argue with him. The dress fit me perfectly and I felt sexy, yet refined. I’ve never been big on dressing up, but with a gown like that I’m really getting excited for the party.

  I completely forgot about having to attend even though Timber told me I was his date. I’ve been in party planning mode and forgot to think about what I’m wearing. I’ve ended up having to plan most of the event on my own, which was not part of the plan when my sister sent me out here. Now she sends me emails and texts but her boss still has her away for work. At least I haven’t had to tell her I’m living here. Who knows how that would go over? It’s been two weeks and I’m still alive and Timber hasn’t so much as touched me. I have to actively make that thought not bum me out.