Page 114 of Icebound Hearts
I step closer to the stairs, chewing on my lip until it stings. I’ve just reached the top step when Miriam raises her voice a little, and the sound reaches my ears more clearly than her previous words have.
“Are you kidding me?” she asks, derision in her tone. “You really are fucking the nanny, aren’t you?” She snorts. “Wow. What a fantastic example you’re setting for Jake.”
My heart jumps into my throat, my eyes going wide.Shit. I don’t know if she picked up something between us when we walked in, but I wouldn’t be all that surprised if she had. We weren’t expecting to see her, and although Sawyer wasn’t touching me or anything when we walked inside, he had just hadhis fucking hand up my dress. She must’ve noticed something in the way we looked or acted as we stepped into the house.
“Jake doesn’t know,” Sawyer responds, not bothering to deny her accusation. “And you of all people have no room to talk about setting an example for him. Yes, Violet and I have been hooking up, but it hasn’t impacted Jake at all. And it won’t. She and I are just having some fun together. It’s not going to last, and we both know that. Either way, it’s none of your fucking business.”
Something in my stomach twists at his words. They’re exactly what we agreed to—what we both want—but hearing him say it all out loud like that makes the temporary nature of our relationship feel more real than it ever has.
Miriam makes a dismissive sound. “I guess that’s the benefit of being a single father, isn’t it? You meet all these sweet, impressionable young women who come to babysit Jake, and I bet they fall all over themselves to spend time with ‘Daddy.’ Seriously, how old is she? Twenty? Twenty-one?”
“She’s twenty-five,” he bites out, and Miriam snorts again.
“Well, no matter how old she is, you’re taking advantage of her. It’s disgusting.”
Her voice drops on the last word, and she draws it out a little as if she’s twisting a knife in his chest. Something flares inside me in response. It’s a different kind of protectiveness than I felt when I looked at Jake, but I can’t stand hearing her speak to Sawyer like that. Can’t stand her trying to make him feel guilty for something that’s been so special and amazing. Something that I asked him for—no,beggedhim for—and that I’ll never forget as long as I live.
Before I can think twice about it, I’m moving, my feet carrying me quickly down the stairs. They’re both still standing in the living room, and they look up as I enter.
Without breaking stride, I walk over to Sawyer confidently and wrap an arm around his waist, standing beside him.
“You’re wrong about that,” I tell Miriam. “He’s not taking advantage of me at all. Maybe I’m not as old as you, but I’m a grown woman, and I can decide what or who I want. Andhe’swho I want. Do you have any idea how much he’s taught me?”
Miriam blinks at me as if surprised by my sudden appearance. “What do you mean? Taught you what?”
Her gaze flicks from me to Sawyer, who wraps his own arm around my waist, his hand settling possessively at my hip. I lean into him a little, bolstered by the heat and strength of his solid body.
“Oh, so many things.” I smile brightly at her. “For one thing, he’s taught me how many times I can come—in a row. Can you believe I used to think it was just once? Now I’m pretty sure my record is seven.”
“Eight,” Sawyer corrects, his voice rumbling in his chest.
My smile widens, and I blink innocently at Miriam. “Oops, my mistake. Eight. I’ve also learned that I like sexting, love giving blowjobs, and am ahugefan of piercings. Plus, I’ve learned how long a professional athlete like Sawyer can hold his breath while I ride his face.” I chuckle, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “Turns out it’s pretty damn long. But most of all, he’s taught me how good it feels to give a man something no other woman ever has.”
Miriam’s face turns a deeper shade of red with every word I speak, and her expression twists when I’m finished. I must have gotten to her, because she seems speechless.
Good. That seems like a first.
“So, no,” I say, keeping the pleasant smile locked on my face. “I wouldn’t say that Sawyer has taken advantage of me at all. In fact, I’d say that he’s one of the most amazing people I know. He’s kind, he’s caring, he’s generous, and I consider myself luckyto have gotten to spend time living with him. If you couldn’t appreciate any of that while you had him, that’s your loss. It’s certainly not his.”
The smile slips away as some of the anger boiling in my veins on Sawyer’s behalf bleeds through, and Miriam yanks her head back as if she’s been slapped. She stares at me with unblinking eyes for a long moment, her nostrils flared wide and her lips pressed into a thin line. Then her focus snaps back to Sawyer.
“Are you going to let her talk to me like that?” she demands, her voice taking on a shrill edge.
Sawyer chuckles, squeezing my hip. “I think you’re under the mistaken impression that Ilether do anything. Like she said, she’s an adult. She makes her own decisions.”
Miriam’s face contorts with anger, and I tense up a bit, my heart fluttering. She looks furious, and I have a fleeting moment to wonder if I made things worse by marching down here and throwing my relationship with Sawyer in her face like this—not just because we’re supposed to be keeping it quiet, but because she clearly doesn’t like me.
She opens her mouth as if she’s going to say something, but then she snaps it shut again. With her expression set in a rigid mask, she storms around us, heading toward the door. She yanks it open, then glares over her shoulder at Sawyer.
“Forget I even asked for your help,” she spits. “I don’t need it. I hope you and yournannyare very happy together.” She sneers at me. “You two fucking deserve each other.”
With that, she steps outside and slams the door behind her. I wince at the sound, glancing toward the stairs as I listen for any indication that Jake has woken up. At least I shut his door all the way, since that probably helped to muffle the sound.
When several heartbeats pass without any noises filtering down from upstairs, my focus shifts to Sawyer. He still has hisarm wrapped around me, and he’s gazing down at me with an intense, unreadable expression.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, grimacing. “I shouldn’t have said all of that. I mean, I know she had already figured out that we’ve been sleeping together, but I didn’t have to give her more details. It just made me so mad, hearing her talk to you like that. Hearing her imply that you’re anything less than a kind, decent man, when you’re one of the most honorable people I’ve ever met. I couldn’t stand to?—”
My words break off as Sawyer’s lips crash down on mine. He hauls me against him, both of his arms banding around me in a way that pins my body against his until I’m molded to him, my tongue sliding against his and my arms wrapped around his neck.