by E. L. Todd
“If you’re still going to go, then let me walk you.”
“Are you insane?” He was going to walk through the snow and back just to make sure I got there okay? “Hawke, I’ll be fine.”
“How will I know that? Your cell phone won’t work so how will I be able to check? What if you don’t make it to the store? How will I find you?”
Damn, he was a drama queen.
“I’m not stopping you from going. Therefore, I’m not breaking any rules.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You could spare me the trip if you just stayed home.”
“Hawke, I have to work.”
He sighed then walked into the bedroom. “Then give me a minute to change.”
***
The weather conditions really were terrible. Snow constantly blew in the hard wind and the sidewalk was slippery and wet. Hawke held my hand and guided me forward, making sure I didn’t slip or drown in a pile of snow. We didn’t speak because we couldn’t be heard anyway.
Now I was dreading the walk back to the apartment.
Despite my expensive winter coat, I was still freezing. There was no one else on the streets because of the weather, but then again, I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me. Everything was a blanket of white.
It would normally take me two minutes to cross one block, but today, it took nearly ten minutes. Thankfully, I wore gloves. Otherwise, my fingers would have frozen off.
I kept walking when I bumped into something solid. I was off balance for a moment, unsure what I hit. Hawke’s hold on me stopped me from falling. Then out of nowhere, a blade was held in my line of vision.
“Your purse.” He grabbed the strap from my shoulder and tried to yank it off.
I was being robbed and threatened at the same time. I should’ve let him take my bag, but I was pissed some asshole was taking advantage of a girl trying to get through the snow. “Go to hell.” I threw my palm up and hit him right in the nose. He stumbled back, my purse still clutched in his hands.
Hawke shoved me out of the way then cornered our assailant. He kicked the knife out of his grasp then punched him hard in the face. “You picked the wrong person to fuck with.” He ripped the purse out of his freezing hands then kicked him hard in the side. It was clear he wasn’t done because he pulled his fist back.
“Hawke, that’s enough.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
“I don’t think so.” He twisted from my grasp and chased after the mugger.
“Hawke. Stop.”
He slowly lowered his hand and looked at me.
“He’s homeless in a blizzard. I don’t need to say more than that.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me.
He walked beside me with the same glare on his face.
I knew I would get an earful for this later.
We reached the bakery and welcomed the warmth of the place. It was quiet inside, the polar opposite of the outside. Not many customers were there, but people still showed up.
Hawke pulled back his hood then ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll pick you up at three.”
“You don’t need to come get me.”
He gave me the darkest glare I’ve ever seen. “Trust me on this. You better be here at three.” He dared me to defy him, to say the wrong thing to make him snap.
“Fine.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t seem at all grateful, just irritated. Without saying goodbye, he turned on his heel and returned to the storm. In just a few seconds, he disappeared into the canvas of snow.
***
Hawke walked inside right at three.
I knew it would be World War III when we got home. The threat was clear in his eyes. He was beyond pissed at me, even though ten hours had come and gone. I grabbed my purse and met him at the entrance.
He didn’t say a word to me.
“I’m ready.”
He pulled up my hood then walked out.
It was a little easier to walk back since the wind was moving with us. The snow was thick in the air, not the cute snowflake kind. The weather was so intense even a polar bear wouldn’t last.
There were no muggers this time, and we returned to his apartment without any complications. The second we entered the building, the warmth greeted us. I removed my gloves and pulled down my hood before we even entered his apartment.
Once we were inside, he threw off his gloves and jacket, unable to wear them for a moment longer.
It was nice to be home after the long day I had. It was still fairly busy despite the insane weather. Customers had nothing else to do but sit around and drink coffee.
Hawke stared me down like a bomb about to explode.
“What?”
“What?” His eyes narrowed to slits. “Are you serious right now?”
“We got there and back just fine. Chill.”
“Chill? Don’t fucking tell me to chill.”
Here we go. “Don’t cuss at me.”
“Don’t piss me off.”
“Look, I had to work today. You didn’t have to walk me.”
“If I didn’t walk you, that mugger would have had you.”
“Had me? In case you don’t remember, I punched him in the nose. I can handle myself.”
“It could have gone much differently.”
“But it didn’t.” It was always the worst case scenario with him.
“I admire you for being so strong and brave all the time. I really do. But sometimes your courage is borderline stupid. You can’t defeat everything, especially Mother Nature.”
“It was two blocks. Two.” I held up two fingers.
“I don’t care if it was next door. You aren’t immortal, Frankie.”
“Stop calling me that.” I hated it when he referred to me that way. It was insulting.
“It’s your name, right?”
“You know that’s not my name.” He only called me muffin, nothing else.
“Well, you aren’t my girl right now so I don’t know what else to call you.”
I threw my glove at him. “Don’t talk like that.”
“Then don’t act like that.” His eyes burned with fire.
“You know what?” I picked up the glove from the ground and put it on. “I’m going home.”
He released a loud laugh. It sounded terrifying. “You’re funny, Frankie.”
“I’m serious.”
“I’m not letting you walk out that door. You can wait until the storm passes. After that, do whatever the hell you want. I don’t give a damn.”
“You don’t tell me what to do.”
“Actually, I do.” He placed his body in between the door and me. “Last time I checked, you were mine. Instead of seeing my requests as commands, see them for what they really are. I’m a man madly in love with this girl, and all I want to do is protect her, not control her. I’ve never told you what to wear, what to do, or who you can hang out with. The only time I ask for anything, it’s for your safety. You need to learn to respect me and knock off his childish behavior. Despite your stubbornness, I love you. I love you so damn much. What do I have to do to make that clear?” He stepped closer to me, forcing me to back up. His arms hung at his sides but his stance was still threatening. “Grow. Up. Frankie.” He walked around me, his shoulder sliding past mine, and entered the bathroom. A moment later, the shower started to run.
I breathed a deep sigh before I removed my coat and sweater. I was so determined to keep my independence that I forgot I already committed to sharing my life with someone else. I couldn’t have both—all the time. I didn’t have to do what he said, but I should be more sensitive to the things he asked for. He was right when he said he didn’t ask for much. If I wore a skimpy dress when I went out with Marie, he never made a comment about it. If he saw me talking to a handsome guy at the bakery, he never got jealous. He never looked through my phone when I was in another room. He was the perfect man—nearly all the time.
I removed my clothes before I wa
lked into the bathroom. He was washing his hair as he stood under the warm water. Even through the distorted glass, I could see the details of his perfect physique.
I got into the shower then closed the door behind me.
He kept his back to me, ignoring me.
I came behind him then rested my forehead against his back. “I’m sorry.”
He rinsed the shampoo from his hair then stood still. “For what?”
“Being…stubborn.”
He turned around and faced me, the aggression absent from his eyes. “I’m sorry I called you Frankie.”
“It’s okay.” I gave him a small smile, silently asking if we were okay. “I know you mean well. I shouldn’t get so worked up over it.”
“You’re independent and I get that. It’s hard to let someone else take care of you.”
At least he understood it. “We’re okay?”
“No matter how pissed I am, we’re always okay.” His arms moved around my body and brought me close to his chest. Soap dripped from his body to mine. One hand rested on the small of my back, spanning the entire area with just his palm. “You’re my world. You’ll always be my world.”
“Thanks for putting up with me. I know I’m a lot to handle.”
“You’re a lot of woman.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “And I’m man enough to handle it.”
Ready
Hawke
On Christmas day, Francesca introduced me as Hawke. She didn’t specify what I was to Joe, what our relationship was, or what we meant to each other. It didn’t bother me because I understood. Boyfriend wasn’t the right word to describe me at all. I was a lot more than that. Just saying my name was better than a meaningless label.
And that’s when everything changed.
I didn’t want to be her boyfriend anymore. What we had was light-years beyond amateur love. The gifts we exchanged were evidence enough. I didn’t need more time to figure out how I felt. My bachelor days were long gone, and I never wanted to revisit them.
I wanted to marry her.
***
“Dude, why are we here?” Axel tightened Marie’s jacket around her body to keep her warm from the cold. When he didn’t think it was enough, he wrapped her in his own jacket.
“Babe, I’m fine.” She pushed it off her shoulders.
“No. I don’t want you to get sick.” He wrapped her up and placed his arms around her.
I would never get over how attentive Axel was. When he was a bachelor, he didn’t give a damn about anyone but himself and his cock. “I want you guys to help me with something.”
“What?” Marie asked.
I turned to the jewelry store we stood in front of. “Help me pick out a ring.”
Marie’s jaw dropped and she let out a scream that made the other pedestrians swerve out of her way.
Axel was just as surprised. “Holy mother fucking shit.”
Marie jumped up and down. “She’s going to be so happy. Oh my god.”
“Wow.” Axel forgot about the cold and rubbed his temple. “This is huge.”
“I should have done it a long time ago.” Like, on our first date.
“You want us to help?” Axel asked.
“I think I know what I want to get her. I just want you to be there.” I pictured the ring Francesca would wear every day for the rest of her life. I didn’t know much about rings because I never put any thought into it before.
“Then let’s do it!” Marie headed into the jewelry shop first.
Axel chuckled. “Déjà vu.”
***
“This one is gorgeous!” Marie pointed into the glass box. A large diamond sat on a platinum ring.
“That’s flashy,” Axel said. “What about this one?” He pointed to a princess cut with diamonds in the band.
I didn’t see her wearing either one of those. “I think I’m going to custom design it.”
“That’s perfect!” Marie clapped her hands in excitement.
Axel looked threatened. “I didn’t customize your ring but it’s still nice.”
“It’s very nice, Axel.” She kissed his cheek to stroke his ego.
He relaxed slightly.
I met with the designer and we took a seat in her office.
“So, what did you have in mind?” She placed an iPad in front of me and held a stylus in her fingertips. “We can literally do anything you want.”
“Well, I want it to be different than anything she’s ever seen.” It had to be unique. That was a criteria of mine.
“Of course. Why don’t you swipe through some of the examples to get an idea?” She handed over the stylus.
I slowly began to piece together everything I wanted, picking the platinum metal and designing the band. I created three segmented bands that stretched across the top and molded together so it had an earthly feel to it. I placed the engraving inside the band them admired my handiwork.
It was the ring.
I pushed the iPad back to her. “This is it. Size five.”
Axel stared at it with a confused expression. “Are you on a budget or something?”
“Why?” I narrowed my eyes, unsure why he asked that.
“Well…there are no diamonds.” He pointed at the picture. “Unless you just forgot.”
“I’m not putting diamonds on it.” I didn’t see Francesca wearing that. She’d want to wear her ring to work but if it contained an enormous rock, she wouldn’t feel comfortable. What was the point of having a ring if she couldn’t wear it every day?
“Why not?” Axel asked. “If it doesn’t have a diamond, she’s not going to like it.”
“No,” Marie said. “It’s perfect for her. I can see her wearing this.”
“Oh…” Axel gave up and fell quiet.
“I want her to have something no one else has ever seen,” I said. “And this suits her.”
The designer gave me a smile. “The ring will take six weeks to be created. And you’ll have to pay up front—no refunds.”
“That’s fine.” I pulled out my card and handed it over.
“This is so exciting,” Marie said. “In six weeks, Francesca is going to be your fiancée.”
Six weeks was a long time. I’d have to be patient. “I can’t wait.”
“Then she won’t be my problem anymore,” Axel said. “She’ll be all yours.”
“She was never your problem.” Francesca took care of herself from the very beginning. She didn’t need anyone else—and that included me.
“How are you going to propose?” Marie asked.
I knew a long time ago. “On our first Christmas together, she gave me her journal. It was something really personal and beautiful. I started my own journal years ago, so I was going to give that to her—with the ring inside.”
Winter Wonderland
Hawke
The blizzard moved on and the snow started to melt. People returned to their busy lives, waiting for spring to arrive. I went back to work and met a few more clients. Six week was a long time to wait, but it wasn’t that long in the span of our lifetime. I could be patient.
When I came home from work, Francesca was already there. She let herself in and made herself at home.
I loved coming home to her. “Hey, Muffin. How was work?”
“Good. I hired a few more employees. Maybe that will speed up customer service.”
I grabbed a beer from the fridge. “Maybe you should get a bigger place.” It was the first thing I thought when I walked into the crowd at lunchtime.
“Too much work.”
“Or open a second location.”
“Definitely too much work.”
I sat on the couch beside her and gave her a kiss. “Too bad there’s not two of you.”
She grinned. “You would love that, wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know… I can hardly handle one of you as it is.”
“Have you ever had a threesome before?”
I tried not to flinch at the question. She didn�
�t usually ask me about my prior sex life. When we got back together, she was haunted by the women I’d slept with. If she asked me about it now, she must be fine with it. “Yes.”
She grabbed my beer and took a drink.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.”
I took the beer back and took a long drink. “What do you want to do tonight?”
She leaned back into the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. “Would you judge me if I said I wanted to stay home and do nothing?”
“No.”
“Because that’s all I ever want to do now. I never want to go out.”
“I feel the same way.”
She leaned into my side. “We’re an old married couple.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“We’re boring.”
“If people saw us in action, they wouldn’t think we’re boring.” I kissed the top of her head.
“I used to make fun of Marie when she and Axel got serious. Now I’m doing the same thing.”
“I like staying home with you every night. Honestly, there’s no one else I’d rather be with.”
She hugged and squeezed me like a stuffed animal. “Me too.”
***
She pushed me on the bed then pulled my boxers to my ankles.
I propped myself on my elbows and watched her kneel on the floor. She was just in her bra and panties, and I knew what was coming next.
She grabbed a cup of ice water and took a drink, playing with an ice cube in her mouth.
My dick automatically hardened because it knew what was about to happen. I loved being buried deep inside her, but being inside her mouth was just as good. She gave awesome head, the best I ever had. I wanted to come just thinking about it.
She kept the ice cube in one cheek and set the glass on the ground beside her.
An ice cube blowjob. She’s never given me one of those before.
She started at my balls and licked the sensitive skin. The coldness of her tongue immediately made my cock twitch. It gave me a rush of arousal that was practically blinding.
She slowly made her way up my shaft until she reached my tip. When she was there, she rubbed the ice cube across the tender skin. The ice cube was smaller than it was a few minutes ago but it still felt good. Then she took me all the way into her mouth, the ice cube sliding by as she moved her tongue around.