Frozen Valentine

back, do you?”
Do I?
At my apartment, I only have my personal belongings I keep hidden out of sight so my mother doesn’t see them. My laptop is there as well with all my books. Those are the only things I would want. I could easily get them and leave the rest behind. As for my parents, I could care less if I saw them again. I’m not worried about them.
“No, there’s nothing for me to go home for other than a few personal belongings I want to be able to keep,” I utter the words slightly breathless.
“Good, then we’ll get it out of there. Make a list and I’ll give it to your brother, he’ll make sure to send someone to get what you want.”
“Um, I don’t know. Maybe I should go get my stuff myself, Theo, I don’t want to cause trouble for my brother if our parents end up showing up.” And I didn’t. It’s bad enough I have to deal with their phone calls and such, Christian doesn’t need the headache.
“Blake, you don’t have to worry about your parents showing up or messing with you, if you don’t want them to,” he says firmly.
“I don’t want to see them,” I say, speaking the truth.
“Then you won’t but, Snowflake, can you tell me why? I saw the dozens of missed calls from both your parents and another number,” he says with no shame in his voice to the fact he went into my phone. “By the way, you should definitely put a password on your phone.” Theo grins.
Ugh. Great.
“They’re upset and demanding I come home. I’m sure now they will also say I’ve embarrassed them because I missed a dinner where they wanted to set me up with a man I don’t know. I continuously try to find a way out of their plans for me but nothing works. They simply are trying to live through me on every aspect they can by controlling everything I do. If it weren’t for my account that I use under Christian’s name, I’d have nothing they didn’t control. Most of my money from the firm I work in goes to an account they monitor. If I spend more than they think I should within a month’s time I’m getting lectured on the value of a dollar and that I don’t need things,” I blather.
“No more, Blake. They won’t have any say anymore, am I understood?” Theo growls, his hands firm in their touch but he doesn’t hurt me when he jerks my face closer to his. “You are mine and I’ll be making sure they’ll be doing nothing to put a look of misery on your face like you have now.”
Um.
Wow.
What he just said is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.
Closing my eyes, I nod in response.
Because of this man, I could very well be breathing easy for the first time in my life. I don’t know whether to cry out in joy or sob like a baby for allowing my parents to control me for so long.
Theo presses his lips to mine and captures my mouth in a kiss that seals my fate to him. I don’t know why but he’s captured my heart without me realizing it was happening.

Chapter Nine


Theo
Pulling back from the kiss, I want nothing more than to lay Blake down on the couch and sink into her heated sheath. Having her in my lap is pure torture but fuck me if I don’t enjoy her being there.
“I need to make a phone call and get an update on some things,” I say, releasing my hands from her face and place them back on her hips. I would prefer to be doing a lot of different things with her.
However, in order to make sure I can keep doing those things, I need to speak with Leo and Christian to see if I can’t find out if everything’s good to go. I also need to find out what the weather’s planning on doing. If it’s going to continue to snow like this, I need to make sure the generator is good to go in case we lose power and I need to bring in more firewood for the fireplace. With it still coming down out there we won’t be going anywhere. All the same, I need to make my way out there to my vehicle and see if I can’t pull it out of the ditch.
Maybe I can use one of the ATVs in the shed out back to help pull it out. If so, then I could get Blake to ride down there with me. She could sit in the driver’s seat and I can pull it up here to the house with her steering it in the direction I need it to go.
“Okay.” Blake nods and goes to slide off my lap. I tighten my grip on her waist and keep her in my lap.
“Said I gotta make a phone call didn’t say you had to get up from where you are,” I grumble, not ready for her to move.
“But, I can’t sit like this while you make your calls. I need to get a few things done and I wanted to check the weather on my phone,” she protests with a cute pout.
“What do you need to do?” I ask, lifting my brow in question.
“I want to get the kitchen cleaned up and start dinner so it has time to simmer. And then I want to see about enjoying more of the book I started. It’s really good,” she says while counting each thing on her fingers.
When she goes to count off the third thing, I lean in and stop her with my mouth on hers. I make it quick and brief but it’s enough to make her be quiet.
“This is what you’re gonna do, Snowflake. You can sit next to me. I’ll make my calls while you check the weather on your phone. After, I’ll help you