Page 20 of Primal

“You need to get the fuck out of here,” he spat, obviously enraged. “Pack your shit and go.”

“He can’t,” I said. “There’s a risk of flash flooding, remember?”

The rain had gotten lighter overnight, but it was falling hard now, and the wind was howling.

“I don’t give a shit.”

“Well, I do. I don’t want him to die, even if he is acting like a jerk,” I replied.

“Well, I’m not sharing a room with you if I’m not getting laid,” Joey cut in, proving my point about him being a jerk. “You broke things off, so I think you should be the one to sleep on the couch for the next few days.”

“Watch it,” Dad snarled. “You show Poppy some respect or I’ll kick your ass out, storm or not.”

Seeing him threaten Joey in my honor did something to my body. I felt a rush of warmth and desire inside of me. I tried like hell to ignore the reaction, but I’ve never had someone stand up for me like that, and it was impossible not to be turned on, no matter how wrong it was.

I knew Joey could be a stubborn ass, but he must have decided he didn’t have it in him to stand up to my dad. He looked sheepish as he nodded.

“Fine. I’ll take the damn couch.”

At those words, he stormed past both of us and went upstairs, presumably going to get his stuff. Feeling lighter somehow, I turned to my dad with a smile. “How about I make us some breakfast?”

Chapter12

Axel

Iwas getting way more writing done than I would have thought possible when I learned I’d be sharing this cabin with three other people. I figured I would be too distracted by the noise they caused to focus, but when I locked myself in my room during the day, the steady patter of rain against my window helped to cover any small sounds that might come from downstairs.

I finished the third chapter of my novel and leaned back in my chair, stretching my arms over my head with a groan. I’d been sitting in front of my computer since right after breakfast, and I was ready to take a break. Checking the time, I wasn’t surprised by the stiffness of my limbs when I realized I’d been sitting in place for almost five hours.

Standing, I picked up the coffee cup I emptied hours ago and headed downstairs. I’d missed lunch, and my stomach rumbled in protest. Heading to the kitchen, I decided to throw together a sandwich to tide me over until dinner. Poppy was sitting at the island, and I was distracted from my goal as I saw she was bent over a sketchbook. I’d seen it in her hands a couple of times over the last three days, and I was curious enough to pull out the stool next to her and take a seat.

“What are you drawing, princess?” I asked, leaning over to get a look.

I almost expected her to pull it away or shut it to hide whatever she was working on from my view. We didn’t have a close relationship, after all. It was entirely possible that she’d want to keep whatever she was working on a secret.

Instead, she turned the sketchbook in my direction, revealing a drawing of a dress. I wasn’t expecting that, so I stared at it for a moment in surprise.

“It’s still a work in progress,” she said, starting to close the sketchbook, but I placed my hand on the page to stop her.

“No, it’s great,” I said, thinking the design was unique but somehow also familiar. The dress was a green color with a pattern of oblong shapes that were round at one end and pointed at the other.

“It’s inspired by the trees outside,” she said.

My eyes shifted to the window, and I realized that was exactly why it seemed familiar. She made the pattern look like leaves.

“Do you have other fashion designs?” I asked.

“Of course. I’ve been so inspired by being here.” She flipped to another page, and there was a blue skirt on the page that seemed to flow like water. “I want to start my own fashion line, you know.”

“I had no idea.”

And that made me a shitty father. If I were honest with myself, I hadn’t really thought of myself as a dad in years. Sure, I had a daughter, but Poppy was an adult now, and we rarely saw each other. I’d screwed things up in our relationship so long ago, it felt like it was impossible to fix any of it now.

We were almost strangers. Not that it made it okay to lean in close and inhale the fruity scent of her shampoo or to think about how soft her skin looked. Nope, I was still fucked up.

“I’ve been designing my own clothing line for the past year,” she said. “I started working for a pretty popular fashion designer just as a job to pay the bills. I didn’t expect it go anywhere, but once I started to work for him and saw exactly what his job is, it just clicked. I knew that this is what I want to do with my life.”

She flipped through the pages, showing me her designs and stopping to explain her inspiration for each one. Several of them had been drawn over the last few days, inspired by the nature around us. I knew she didn’t go to college for fashion design, but she seemed to have raw talent for this. I was impressed.