Tackling Tobias (Big Sky Universe)

“Do you want more?” she asks, reaching for my empty plate. Hell, I didn’t even notice that I finished it all.

“Please.” She plates another round for me. I’m going to have to work hard after this meal.

“I just made enough. Perfect.” She takes the pot and sets it in the sink to rinse. I’m a little heartbroken that it’s all gone.

“Says you. I could eat this every day.” Okay, maybe not every day; I love steak as well.

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind, although I’m going to need to go to the grocery store before the year’s out. You’re out of a lot of things to make more of this pasta. Although, there are plenty of other meals I can prepare until then.”

Immediately I think about her out on the roads, driving and crashing on the ice. “No problem. I’ll take you into town as soon as the roads clear up.”

“You don’t have to do that. You’re busy. I brought my car with me, so I can drive into town,” she says while wiping down the kitchen island.

I reach out and stop her movement. “I’m not going to let you drive on these roads in this weather.”

“I thought the storm passed.”

“For the most part it will be entirely drivable in another day or so, but we’re still talking lots of ice on the roads and you’re not from around here, right?” I know that she’s from Indiana and that I’ve never seen her before the video, but I want her to tell me. If we’d met, I would have made her mine a long time ago.

“Okay. Well, I don’t need to go tomorrow, but at least in the next couple of days. So whenever it works best for you.” She shrugs, looking adorably sweet.

“I’ll let you know by lunch. How does that sound?”

“Great.” She begins to wash dishes while I finish my food. I would tell her not to, but I’m greedily focusing on her ass. Fuck, I nearly choke on my noodles. She turns. “A little too much.”

I take a drink of my tea to clear my throat. “Went down wrong.”

“I’m trying to off you on your first day back. Rogue noodles.” She smirks, pretending to be sneaky.

“You’re not getting away from me that easy.”

A blush comes over her face before she says, “You have me for three months.”

“Why three months?”

“It will be my birthday.”

Please tell me she’s over eighteen. She looks young, but I didn’t think she’d be a minor. “Which birthday?”

“My twenty-second.”

“Wow. So I know that John says you want to keep everything under the table because you don’t want someone to find you. I have to ask. Did you commit a crime?” I’m simply curious. Even if she did, I’d still protect her. It’s insane how I’d do anything to keep her safe.

“No. I’m not wanted by the police. I’m going to bed so I can get a decent amount of sleep. Do you need anything else?”

“No. Thank you, Ava. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Tobias.”

Chapter 4

Ava

I can feel his eyes on me as I leave the kitchen, and damn, those are some gorgeous hazel eyes. My heart’s racing so fast that I’m surprised I was able to keep any conversation with him. I had to keep looking away because Tobias is gorgeous from head to toe. He’s tall, muscular, like football-player big. His short hair is messy from the winter hat he had on. The man screams sexy to the point that I feel like I still can’t catch my breath. I don’t know how I make it through watching him eat with his strong jaw, chewing. His large forearms rested on the table, and I could see the corded muscle when he rolled up his sleeves.

The one thing I thought of when I saw him wasn’t fear, but a sense of safety, which is strange because we don’t know each other. For the supposed curmudgeon he came off very nice, especially someone who had no idea I was even here.

Then he stripped off my top. If I weren’t burning from the hot chocolate, I would have come on the spot. He acted fast and probably kept me from the burn deepening and needing medical attention. Although seeing John’s eyes widen and then narrow to anger, mortification swept over me.

Now as I make my way to my bedroom on the second floor, I do a slight turn around to steal a glance at the kitchen door, and there he is. “I just wanted to thank you for dinner again.”

“My pleasure, Tobias,” I say, turning my head quickly forward. I walk the rest of the way upstairs, refusing to look at him again. Louisa said that room downstairs was normally for the housekeeper but had been cleaned out and never replaced so I could take one upstairs. I didn’t think my heart could beat faster, but I guess I’m wrong. I take a deep breath the second I close the door to my temporary bedroom. I lean against the wooden surface, letting the past two hours wash over me. The next three months are going to be difficult, especially if he has a girlfriend.