A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

The Rogue’s Initiation Part 14

In the morning, I woke when I heard the bathroom door click closed. I folded the bed back into the couch and went to the master bathroom to take care of my business. I brushed my teeth and shaved. I didn’t want to shower until I had to. The scent of Sunny on my skin made me feel good.

Back in the kitchen, I pulled out stuff for breakfast. The fruit I picked up last night really helped to make a healthier looking breakfast. It made it seem like I had my s**t together.

Sunny came out fully dressed. She went to the backdoor and opened the blinds. Her eyes widened.

“We never get this much snow.” She whispered.

“We’re in a more mountainous region. With the forests and high elevation, it gives us snowier weather.” I smiled as I was serving her food.

“I grew up in Arizona. There was rarely snow and it was nothing like this. I always thought this was what winter would be like when I moved to Oregon, but it wasn’t.”

“You just weren’t in the right place. Sit.” I ordered, putting her plate down and pouring her some coffee.

She sat at the table and started putting sugar and cream into her coffee until it was practically white. I grabbed my plate and sat with her, putting two spoonfuls of sugar in my own cup. I stirred it slowly while I watched her sip her drink and wince.

“Do you not like coffee?” I asked.

“Um…. No. I just didn’t want to say anything, because you kind of saved my life last night and I turned you down when you….” Sunny looked away and blushed.

“So you decided drinking coffee was a good punishment? I wasn’t lying. I thought it was a dream before. I’ll always save you, Sunny. No p*****t and no punishment required. I love you. Do you want hot chocolate?”

“Yes.” She said softly.

“Marshmallows or whipped cream?”

“Whipped cream.”

I got up and pulled out a small sauce pan, then measured out a cup of milk and set it to heat while I got the cocoa mix from my pantry. Sometimes, I would mix some bourbon into my hot chocolate on really cold nights. If I wanted a buzz, I’d add a drop of colloidal silver.

There was always hot chocolate on hand. In fact, I had three types. This was the sweetest one. With how much sugar she put in her drink, I knew she’d like it. I went to the stove to give the milk a stir, then pulled out one of my four mugs. Once it was all mixed, I added whipped cream to the top and put a spoon in it.

“Here.” I said, settling it in front of her.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

I leaned in and she turned to look up into my eyes. “I love you, Sunny. There is nothing that makes me happier than doing things you like. That includes making you hot chocolate with whipped cream. I always want to take care of you in every way you need. Don’t tell me thank you and don’t tell me I didn’t have to. Instead, kiss me.”

Her focus dropped from my eyes to my lips. Sunny nodded and reached up to grasp behind my neck before pulling my lips to hers. I cupped her cheek with one hand and put the other behind her back, pulling her to stand with her chest pressed against me. She sighed softly and relaxed in my hold.

The feel of her lips and the searing nature of our shared kiss was exactly as I remembered it. I don’t know how long we kissed for. She pushed me away when her other hand came to rest on my bare chest and I could smell her become aroused.

“You’re welcome. Now, eat your breakfast. We’ll call Queen Bellamy when we’ve eaten.” I murmured as I traced over her lips with my thumb.

“Mmm.” Sunny hummed as I settled her back in her chair.

Once I was back in my seat, I started eating my food. When I looked up at Sunny, she was picking at her food. I was confused. After recovering from something like hypothermia, her energy level would be pretty low.

“Can… can you put on a shirt?” Sunny asked quietly.

“No. I’ve completely forgotten how they work. I’m not going to risk getting my head caught in a sleeve…. Not again…. Never again.” I replied, shaking my head slowly.

She laughed. I returned to eating my meal. Sunny was hard to figure out. She wanted me. Even when we first met, she wanted me. Was she really holding back because I was rogue born?

“Sunny…. Thank you.” I said, as I stared at my plate.

“For what?”

“For holding on to my offer. For giving me hope. For always laughing at my jokes and playing along with my silly scenes. For being you.” I told her.

We finished eating and I stood, picking up my plate, then heading over to get hers. Sunny wasn’t looking at me, she was looking at the floor. I stopped short of where her gaze fell and waited.

Her eyes slowly started climbing my body. The heat in her gaze turned me on. I could feel my renewed erection strain against my sweatpants. Her breathing sped up and her eyes lingered on the bulge in my pants before continuing up, over my bare stomach and chest, finally landing on my face.

“I’m not even naked this time.” She whispered.

“You don’t need to be. I have a photographic memory. I can always picture you naked. And I always will.” I told her. “Like I can randomly put on your special glasses, but I only see you.”

Sunny bit her lips together. “Umm. What now?”

“I’m going to go do the dishes. You’re going to get your phone off the counter and plug it in to charge, then grab your computer and your art pad and meet me in the office. That’s the door right next to the bathroom. When I’m done with the dishes, we’ll call Queen Bellamy and let her know when you can be back home.” I answered.

I got her dishes and took them into the kitchen before returning to get everything else. I liked to get the dishes done soon after I ate. They were easier to clean when the mess was fresh.

“I can help with the dishes. I ate half the food; I should do half the work.” Sunny said as she followed me into the kitchen.

Setting everything down, I heaved a deep sigh. She wanted to keep pressing me. She had no idea just how much I was holding back. I turned and stalked toward her. Her eyes widened as I stopped well within her personal space.

“When you own half this house, you can do half the work. For now, you’re a guest in my home. My guests are only required to keep themselves and their possessions clean. What you can do to help is what I told you to do.”

“You’re acting different than you did when we first met.” She murmured. “You didn’t seem like this at all.”

“I didn’t? Not even when we had that conversation in my truck? When we first met, I was stricken with immediate attraction to you. I’ve acted just like this ever since I decided I want you for more than a bed warmer or friend. You’re out of your comfort zone here. You’re the one not acting like yourself.”

“The way you keep acting makes me feel like I’m a wide-eyed innocent all over again. It’s intense.” Sunny chuckled lightly.

“I’m a rogue born wolf, Sunny. We’re pretty intense when we’re near the people we choose for our mates. You’re safe, though. I respect boundaries.” I told her.

“You told me to kiss you instead of saying thank you.”

“And you kissed me instead of fighting it or arguing. Now, go do what I told you to do. We need to get this out of the way so we can get some work done. I don’t normally work on weekends, but you made the trip all the way out here. We might as well get it done. Nothing else to do on days like this.” I answered.

Without waiting for a response, I leaned in and kissed the top of her head, then returned to the kitchen sink. A couple minutes later, she turned and left. That girl was going to drive me crazy.

-

After the dishes were set to dry, I wiped my hands on the hand towel hanging by the sink. I picked up my phone and checked it. I didn’t have a bunch of battery killer apps and rarely used the phone for much, so it was still at a seventy-five percent charge, even though I didn’t charge it last night.

Quickly, I looked a couple things up so I could confirm what I needed to tell Queen Bellamy. The report from the Oregon State Highway District was exactly what I expected. As soon as the road was cleared enough to get into town, I needed to get some shopping done.

I headed into the office. Sunny was sitting in the guest chair on the other side of my L-shaped desk. Her phone was charging nearby and her laptop was plugged in and turned on in front of her. She had something else plugged into it and was using a pen-shaped stylus on it. Must be her art pad.

Taking my seat, I wrote the Wi-Fi password on a piece of paper and slid it near her. She took it and looked at it.

“What is this? Why did you write my name with weird characters?”

“It’s the Wi-Fi password. I don’t have time to think up a less awkward password. We have stuff to do.” I told her.

She blushed. “You’re weird.”

“No. I’m just in love with you.” I replied.

Sunny didn’t have a response to that. She was so cute when she blushed and looked embarrassed. She nodded to me after getting the password put in. I pulled out my phone and dialed Queen Bellamy.

I don’t know if anyone really knew what Sunny coming up here when she did would mean. I felt a little bad about not telling her earlier, but there was nothing she could do then or now. It would give me plenty of time to win her over.

“Hello?”

“Queen Bellamy, it’s Vaughn Casey and Sunny Daley.” I said as I put the phone on speaker.

“Ah. Good. Talia told me she dropped Sunny off with no issues. I’m glad you two connected. I need you to work together to design a cover and I want illustrations on the insides of the covers. I want you to go over all the stories and the artwork for each of them. I sent you the mock-ups of what the pages will look like. At least, for the ones that have art. We’re still missing the artwork for some stories.” She responded.

“We should be able to do that. There was a little issue, though. A snow storm came in and Vaughn says we can’t leave his house for a couple days, so I’ll be late getting back.” Sunny told her.

“Sunny, we won’t be able to go to town for a couple days. We’re stuck here for the next three weeks, minimum. The highway district has closed the roads through the mountain pass. Which includes the road that branches off the highway to come here.” I informed them.

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” Sunny asked.

“Because it didn’t matter. My truck is snowed in. There’s almost three feet of snow on the ground and roads. Even if my truck wasn’t snowed in, I wouldn’t be able to take you home because of how piled up it is on the roads.”

She closed her eyes and hung her head. The idea of spending three weeks with me was really that bad? Or did she just think she couldn’t resist me if it needed to be for three weeks?

“Queen Bellamy. You promised me I just needed to come meet with the writer this weekend, you never told me the writer was Vaughn. You promised I’d be back home by Wednesday. I almost died.” Sunny told her.

“What?” Bellamy asked.

“She fell asleep in one of the chairs on my back porch. I didn’t know someone was coming to see me, so I went out to see my friends in town. I can confirm, if I’d stayed until closing at the bar, Sunny could have died of hypothermia.”

“I sent you a text letting you know the artist was coming to see you. That doesn’t make sense. I had Evan email you with the attachments and my notes. Did you get the email?”

I checked my email. It was there. Nothing about Sunny coming, which I reported back to Queen Bellamy.

“I have no idea what happened. I know I wrote and sent that text…. I’m so sorry, Sunny. I didn’t realize it hadn’t gone through.” She said.

“Why didn’t you tell me Vaughn was the writer?” Sunny asked.

“Because I didn’t have to. This is a project I requested you on and I’m paying a lot for you to be on it. This will pay off all of your debts to the community and the city. Is there a problem? I can find another illustrator, but having his name on this book will help draw in readers and will make even more money for our children’s programs. Your participation is negotiable. Well, Miss Daley? Would you like me to replace you?”

“No. You don’t understand, though.” Sunny said softly.

“And I don’t care. If you can do the work and you want the money, you will get over your issues and work with him. Mr. Casey, I expect you to be respectful to your coworker and not pick on her.” Bellamy ordered.

“I would never pick on her, Queen Bellamy. I love Sunny.” I replied.

“Can I go stay in town after the snow is clear?” Sunny asked.

“Can you afford to? You spent all of your savings at the auction and didn’t have enough saved to get your car fixed when it broke down. Can you really afford a motel or hotel for three weeks? Plus food?” Bellamy asked.

“The only place to stay in this town is an expensive bed and breakfast on the other side of town. It’s like almost two hundred or something a night and you only get breakfast provided, but they’re fully booked for Christmas and New Year’s.” I answered.

“You couldn’t afford eleven hundred to fix your car. The bed and breakfast is a lot more than that, if the minimum of three weeks is accurate and you’re not trapped there longer. You can’t live on one meal a day as a werewolf. And there’s no room for you there, even if the other two things weren’t a problem.” Bellamy told her.

“So there’s no way for me to get home and there’s no place for me to stay except with Vaughn. Awesome.” Sunny sighed.

“I don’t know why that’s a problem.” I said. “I’ll take care of you, Sunny. You’re safe here. I would never let anything happen to you.”

She sounded pretty disappointed. Her scent was nervous and worried. Sunny reached over to where her phone was charging and turned it on. She opened it and looked at something for a while before sighing again and shaking her head. Was it another male? Had she found someone else while I thought I was being clever? Damn it. I’d have to try even harder if she had someone else.