One Hundred Glances (An Aspen Cove Small Town Romance Book 14)

by Kelly Collins

She let go of his arm and stopped. “You’re so full of shit. You’ve done nothing but nurture and care for me this whole time. You got saddled with a babysitting job, but you rose to the occasion, and for that I thank you.”

  She pulled her cane from her bag and unfolded it and moved forward, leaving him behind.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Back to your apartment. I don’t want your help Baxter, and I don’t want you if you’re not willing to trust in what we are building together.” She pointed from her to the direction he stood. “You and I, we were special.”

  “You are special.”

  She laughed, but not in that funny, humorous way. “Yep, I’m special all right.” She moved down the street with him following. “A special kind of annoying and frustrating and needy, but I don’t need you. I wanted you in a way that I haven’t wanted anyone else because you got me, or I thought you did.”

  His heart was near bursting with everything from want to fear. He got her, and that scared the hell out of him.

  “Sosie, you are ...” what did he say when she was everything he wanted, but the thought of letting her down terrified him. “More than I deserve.” He moved toward her and when she stopped, he brushed away the hair that had fallen across her eyes. Those eyes that somehow saw into the deepest part of his soul. “You and I are special. Chance brought us together, but I love you by choice.”

  She leaned forward until her head rested on his sternum. “The only thing I have left to offer is my heart and my trust, what will you do with it?”

  He repositioned himself with one hand on her back and bent over to sweep her into his arms. Once he had her secured, he moved quickly toward the back of the bakery, and the staircase that would take them home. Home ... It had a nice ring to it.

  “What are you doing? Put me down.”

  “I’m taking you to bed. My bed where no tears have been shed and no fear of the dark has been felt.”

  “Oh,” she giggled. “Carry on then.”

  He took care not to hit her head on the wall as he took two steps at a time. When they got to the top and realized the door was locked, he groaned.

  “Reach into my pocket and grab my keys.”

  She reached down to fumble for his pocket and skimmed over his hardness. “Oh, wow. That’s impressive.”

  “You’re killing me, Sosie.”

  She lifted her hand in the air with the key swinging from her index finger. “Got it.”

  After a few misses, she unlocked the door. As they moved down the hallway with her in his arms, she kicked off her shoes. They hit the wooden floor with a thud.

  “Don’t forget those are there, I don’t want you to break your pretty little neck in the morning tripping over them.” He set her on the edge of the bed. “God, Sosie, you literally take my breath away.”

  She reached out and tugged on his belt loops. Losing his balance, he fell onto the bed next to her. They lined up on their sides facing one another.

  “Are you sure about this?” she asked. “I don’t want this to happen because you feel sorry for me, or because you feel guilty. I don’t want to be your pity fu—”

  He covered her mouth with his, delving in to taste her sweetness. He nipped and nibbled at her bottom lip until it plumped.

  His hand skimmed over the hem of the dress, lifting the soft fabric up her thighs—smooth velvety skin with goosebumps dotting the surface.

  He wanted to touch every part of her, fully explore the canvas of her body. His insides shook with need, but he took his time. At the back of her dress, he tugged the zipper tooth by tooth until half the fabric fell to the bed. The other half, he teased off her shoulder and worked down her body until only her sweet lace bra and underwear remained.

  Looking at her lying there made him want to bite his knuckles, pound his chest, and scream she was his. He had an almost feral need to claim her.

  Her delicate fingers pulled at the hem of his T-shirt, working it up until she couldn’t move it anymore. He rose to a seated position to pull it over his head.

  “I wish I could see you unwrap yourself. It feels kind of like Christmas.”

  “Sosie, it’s Christmas in July, and you’re everything I’ve been asking Santa for since I could remember.”

  Her hands slid over his chest, and he wondered if she felt the same tingle he did in her fingertips, an electrical current that danced at his nerve endings.

  “Tell me about you, what color is your skin? Are you fair like your sister or tawny from days in the sun?”

  “I’m darker than my sister in every way. Dark hair, dark eyes, and tan skin. If we didn’t come out of the same womb minutes apart, my father would have thought Riley wasn’t his. I favor him, but Riley looks exactly like the picture we have of our mother.”

  “I can see you in my mind. I’ve put together what I know and what I feel, and you’re perfect.”

  Her hand moved to the button of his jeans where he covered it with his own. “This will change everything.”

  She pressed her lips to his chest. “You’ve already changed everything. I’m more than I ever thought I could be because of you.”

  He shook his head. “No, you’re just more.” His lips met hers for a languorous kiss.

  She tugged and pulled at the button until it sprang free. The zipper went next. Seconds later, he shimmied out of his boxers and jeans.

  He lay naked next to her lacy underwear and closed his eyes. He wanted to experience everything the way she did—through touch.

  With the slip of his fingers under the elastic of her panties, he tugged them down inch by inch.

  “My eyes are closed,” he said.

  “Why,” she said in a throaty whisper.

  “I want to experience our first time the way you do. Raw and unfiltered with touch, taste, scent, and sound as our only way to explore.” He unhooked her bra and tossed it aside. Keeping his eyes closed, he worked his hands over her body.

  To feel her like this was thrilling. It struck him as funny how seeing dimmed his other senses. The synapses in his brain fired each time he heard her moan, or felt her breath hitch. He didn’t need his eyes to please her.

  A brush against her nipple pulled a mewling, needy sound from her throat. The ghost of his touch along her hip sent her body thrusting toward him, grinding against his length. He touched her everywhere, tasted her in all the places he dreamed of, and kissed her senseless.

  Her breath hitched when his tongue stroked her. She combed her fingers through his hair when he kissed her.

  This was it. He gloved up and hovered over her, pressing gently inside her. Behind his closed lids, he relived the fireworks of the night. Blasts of red, white, and green flashed as he sank himself deep inside her.

  Their bodies moved together effortlessly. They shared a rhythm that, somehow, they both knew.

  He kept the pace steady but shifted his position several times until her raspy breath and sexy moans told him she was close.

  “So good,” he said.

  “Oh, yes.” She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him deeper into bliss.

  He never knew it could be this good. Take away his sight, and everything else compensated. “You feel incredible,” he said as he moved inside her in a way that seemed to set her on fire. And when his name burst from her lips, and her body shuddered beneath his, he let himself surge free in that moment.

  Sinking next to her, spent but satisfied, he opened his eyes to find her cheeks pink, her hairline damp with sweat, and a smile on her face.

  “Oh my God, is that the way it’s supposed to be?” She rolled toward him and rested her head against his chest.

  With his hands wrapped around her, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him.

  “It was damn amazing. I swear, I saw fireworks.”

  “I see them all the time.”

  He frowned and went still. Did she mean that all sex was firework worthy? “Every time you have sex?”

  She shifted until she
was comfortable with her naked body draped over him like a blanket.

  “No, I meant that behind my eyelids, I see flashes of color. Red, white, green, and occasionally I swear I see blue and gold. Tonight, I saw a full spectrum of color. Every shade of the rainbow and everything in between.”

  He relaxed beneath her. “Sosie, thank you for being with me—for trusting me with your body and your heart.”

  She laughed. “I know when you said you loved me earlier, you didn’t mean true love, but I like the way you make my heart feel. It’s as if you’ve stitched my hurts up and made me whole again.”

  “You were always whole. Meeting you has made me think about how much our vision hinders us. We look at people and judge them by their appearance, or their expressions, and never take the time to see a person for who they are. When I say you’re beautiful, it’s not just your looks. Although, you’re hot by any standard.” He ran his hands over her bare back. “When I look at you, I see a woman whose strength lies in her heart. You give everything you have to those around you. Tonight, you gave me your body and your heart, and I promise to keep it safe. When I said, I loved you earlier, I meant it. There is so much to love about you, Sosie, from your courage to your sweetness to the little mole above your right breast.”

  “You said you didn’t look.” She moved on top of him, getting a reaction he wasn’t sure she was ready for.

  “Oh, I looked, but that was before I closed my eyes and felt you. You seeped into my pores like honey—sticky and sweet and so good for me.”

  His length bobbed against her, and she giggled. “Round two?”

  He spent the next hour loving her more than he knew possible. When it was over, he pulled her back to his front and wrapped his body around her like armor. Sosie was here, and she was his, and he’d do everything in his power to be the man she needed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What’s going in here?” She brushed her foot across the flooring of the kitchen.

  “I’ll pull up the tile and make it all hardwood, but would it be easier for you if the flooring changed? That way you’d know where you were in the house.”

  Baxter moved toward her and pressed his body into hers. His lips brushed over her neck until he found the lobe of her ear. “What do you want?”

  She gripped his hips and pulled him closer. “Do you even have to ask?” Since that first night of lovemaking five days ago, they’d been inseparable. She worked by his side during the day on his other projects and at his house at night.

  He wanted to finish it so they could move in together. It was all happening so fast. Her heart told her to go full steam ahead, but her mind told her to slow it down. It was two against one because her body was in sync with her heart.

  “I love that you’re considering me in your choices, but this is your house.”

  He bit her lobe, hard enough to sting, but not cause lingering pain. “What are we doing here, Sosie? We’re together, aren’t we?”

  Her head nodded before the word yes came to her brain. “Yes, we’re together.”

  “Then what do you want to have in your house.”

  “I love the look of hardwood. What about if you saw several lines at the transition? I’d be able to feel the ridges with my cane and my feet.”

  “Transitional ridges it is. Now let’s get on to the good stuff. We’re nearly done and have to pick out the finishing touches. What color granite do you want?”

  She laughed. “I don’t care. I can’t see it, so what does it matter?”

  He placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her lips before taking a step back. “You might not see it, but you’ll know what’s here, and you will picture it in your head. If it’s not what you like, then it’s not good. Haven’t you ever imagined a house of your own?”

  “I used to have a loft in Denver. That was before ...” She moved her hands through the air.

  “Before you lost your sight?”

  “No, I gave it up prior to that. My brother needed treatment none of us could afford, and I downsized so I could help.”

  She could almost see him shaking his head. “I don’t get it. Why aren’t they here helping you? Where’s your dad?”

  “Last I heard he was living in Montego Bay with his third wife.”

  “And your mom?”

  “Told you already, she’s in Tuscany.”

  “Right, living off your paintings.”

  “It’s not like that. I haven’t told her I’m blind.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Because she couldn’t handle it.”

  “When does your brother get out of rehab?”

  “I’d say any day now. He’ll call when he’s released.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I’m here, and I’m not leaving. If you want to get rid of me, you’ll have to leave me first.”

  “I’ve made love to you. Leaving you after that is unlikely. Living without you is like living without air. Can’t be done.”

  “Glad to hear that. I feel the same way.” He leaned in and kissed her. “Now, back to the stone, what do you want?”

  She loved him for his consideration. “I’d love a stone with lots of neutral colors. I once saw something called butterfly beige. It’s black and white with patches of earth mixed in. I’d love to see that with antiqued cream cabinets and a soft-beige paint with warm undertones.”

  “Consider it done.”

  He was on the phone within seconds, spouting off measurements and colors, and when he hung up, he threw his hands in the air, or so she thought. It was one of those times where she was certain she’d seen the action, but after a blink of her eyes, she knew she couldn’t have. She rubbed her eyes and blinked several times.

  “You okay?”

  She cocked her head side to side, trying to get the kink out of her neck. “Did you just fist the air above your head?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  She shook her head. Did I see that? She closed her eyes and tried to figure it out. If she saw it, would she have taken in everything else around her? “Are you wearing a blue shirt?” That’s what her brain said.

  “No, it’s green.” He lifted her chin. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Just tired.”

  “Let me put my Sosie Grant original on the mantel, and we’ll go.”

  He moved away, and something slid across a surface in the distance.

  “You didn’t put that awful piece over the fireplace, did you?”

  “I did. It’s beautiful. You called it Rage, but it’s not that at all. It’s the day you let your fears die, and you were born again. You accepted what the universe had given you and made it work. It might have been the day I fell in love with you.”

  He’d said those words to her countless times, and each time was like the first. They never ceased to amaze her or fill her with warmth.

  “I love you too, Baxter Black. You add color to my life.” Her stomach grumbled.

  “Maybe it’s time I added nutrients to your body.”

  “Is that what we’re calling it today?”

  “Let’s go to Maisey’s, and then to the Brewhouse for a beer.”

  “Are you asking me on another date?”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked her out of the house—their house.

  “I guess I am.”

  It was a short drive from the house to the diner. When they walked inside, his sister greeted them both with a hug.

  “Where have you two been hiding?”

  Sosie could feel her cheeks heat. Her damn pale skin always gave her away.

  “We’ve been busy.” Baxter walked her over to the booth on the wall, where she sat the first day they met. He’d dubbed it their booth, and as long as it was unoccupied, they always sat there.

  “Ben has cleaned up the kitchen and won’t dirty it, so if you don’t want him to burn your food in protest, I’d order the special. Tonight is chicken and waffles.”

  She never understood the combination
but liked them separately. “Sounds good to me, but can I have them on separate plates? I don’t want syrup on my chicken.”

  “You got it,” The light thud of her shoes faded as she walked away.

  “What about me?” Baxter called after her.

  “You get what I bring you,” she yelled back.

  “Siblings, they’re a pain in the ass, and yet, I love her to pieces.”

  Sosie smiled, thinking about her brother. “I can’t wait until you meet Gage.”

  “I look forward to it. Maybe he’d like to move to Aspen Cove? When he’s not in treatment, where does he live?”

  She shrugged. “When he had a job, he lived in Phoenix, but as things got worse, he couldn’t keep up with rent. He couch-surfed until he ran out of friends. Drunks have a way of burning bridges.”

  “I’m sure he could use the apartment until he gets his feet on the ground. What job skills does he have.”

  “He’s charming,” she said. “All the women like him.”

  “Yeah, not sure there’s a gigolo position open in town. What did he do for a living before his life turned to shit?”

  “He’s dabbled in a lot of things. I’m not sure he ever really found his passion.”

  “There are a ton of people here who could help with that.”

  She reached across the table and took his hand. “Isn’t saving one Grant enough for a lifetime.”

  “No, sweetheart, I know you’ll never be happy if he’s not okay, and I want to make you happy.”

  The bell above the door rang, and she instinctively turned her head to face it. “Who just came in?”

  The bench beneath Baxter squeaked. “It’s Jake, Natalie, and Will.”

  The sound of a herd of cattle shuffled across the floor. Or at least that was what six feet sounded like to her. Lately, all of her senses were on overload.

  “Baxter, good to see you.”

  She glanced in the voice’s direction.

  Baxter squeezed her hand. “Sosie, this is Jake Powers, and next to him is Natalie. She used to wait tables here at the diner, but now she runs the bookstore.”

  “Oh,” Sosie gushed. “I totally forgot about the bookstore. I’ll have to stop by.”

  A hand settled on her shoulder. “You come by anytime,” a sweet voice said.