“Hey, you.” She stood up fully, looking down at her camera. Her shoulders slumped as she shook her head before putting the camera away in her case a few feet to her left. Clearly, she was done for the night. I almost recommended staying out here longer because I could tell she was dissatisfied, but she looked exhausted. Her green eyes were a darker shade, and her lids were lowered with sleepiness that I found oddly sexy. I was glad she wouldn’t have to drive back when she was this tired.
“How long have you been out here?” I asked quietly as I took her camera bag from her, running my fingers up her bare arms.
“A few hours,” she admitted while walking next to me up the incline.A few hours?I didn’t like that shit at all.
I could also see that something was very clearly bothering her right now, but I didn’t push it. If she was out here because of Yates, I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea. Her keys jingled as she pulled them from her pocket. “I’ll meet you back—”
“No.” King stood up from where he had been leaning against the car, watching us approaching, and Yates climbed out of the car as the other two stayed in the back. “Yates offered to drive your car back, princess. You are coming with us. You don’t have your glasses with you as it is.” It was true, she didn’t. Dahlia didn’t need glasses most of the time, but she had a very small prescription and used them to drive at night.
Dahlia froze, seeing Yates, as I gently took the keys from her hand and tossed them his way. He offered her one more look before walking towards her car and hopping in, the lights flooding the area in front of us. Dahlia muttered something about ‘overreacting,’ but I had a feeling she wasn’t saying Yates was overreacting. No, I was positive my sugar somehow had worked this out in her head where she needed to apologize.
I didn’t like that shit at all. Yates had boundary issues.
That was the thing with Dahlia—she was sweet as apple pie and would rather take the blame for something than ever put it on anyone else. True, Yates’ point about her talking to us was valid, but there were better ways to communicate that. I wrapped an arm around her waist as she leaned into me comfortably.
The car ride back was quiet as she sat between Lincoln and I, Dermot having moved up front. Her eyes were closed until we got home, and she blinked up at me with bright green eyes, letting out a cute yawn before giving each of us a hug and making her way across the street towards her house.
Even Dermot got a hug. The man looked a bit shocked, and King offered me an amused look before looking back at his cousin with a calculating expression. Yeah, he was aware of his cousin’s reaction towards Dahlia. Called that shit. Not that it was all that surprising—she had that effect on everyone she met.
Dahlia was like a beautiful, sweet flower in the middle of all this darkness. It was why it was so damn difficult to keep other men away from her. Hell, other people in general. People who wanted to damage that sweetness. To stop her from growing even more passionate and loving towards those around her, to strangle that beauty. I knew it was impossible to keep her protected from everything in this world, but I would do my damn best.
I watched her cross the street, and when Yates parked her car, I paused, wondering if they were going to talk. I shook my head as Dahlia wrapped her arms around his waist, saying something that had him kissing her forehead. I hoped he understood how fucking lucky he was. Bastard. As he walked back home, he offered us a wave, seemingly lost in thought.
I didn’t blame him. It had been a long night.
“See you guys tomorrow,” I called out as my brother walked with me towards our estate, leaving King and Dermot talking quietly about something behind us in the driveway.
Our house was silent as we walked in, and I found myself heading towards my studio on the top floor of the house instead of my bedroom. I was tired, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I got something down. I tugged off my shirt and ran a hand over my face, turning on a light over my most recent project. I looked over the current canvas and tilted my head, enjoying how it was coming out.
The strokes were even in shading, and the vibrant green I’d chosen stood out, even in the dim light. Then again, it was hard for me to not love the painting considering the subject.
Anything with Dahlia’s face on it had that effect on me.