Chapter 173 Autumn’s POV

Chapter 173 Autumn’s POV
The guest wing of the Blackwood Manor was larger than the entire cabin I had paid for but it offered no sense of comfort. After Miller had delivered a tray of chamomile tea and a set of oversized clothes that smelled faintly of lavender, Lady Blackwood knocked gently on my door.

I had braved myself for a polite eviction or a cold interrogation, but she had simply stepped inside with a soft, weary smile. "I wanted to know if you were settling in properly, Autumn," she said, her voice missing the firm tone it held on the staircase.

She reached out, her soft cool elegant hand lightly brushing against my arm, "my son Jared was quite scared when he called ahead. I haven't seen him that unraveled in years, he's normally the cool type even under pressure, I'm glad he found you before the valley roads completely washed out."

"Thank you, Lady Blackwood," I murmured, feeling a sudden, unexpected warmth towards her, "also, thank you for letting me stay, I really didn't mean to impose, I told him to let me stay at a motel nearby."

"I'm glad he didn't, you aren't imposing, my dear," she replied softly, her eyes holding a gentle warmth, "the countryside is very beautiful but it is entirely unforgiving when a storm like this rolls in. Please, make yourself at home, as for the damage to your property, we're already handling it."

She patted my head gently, "get some sleep my dear, you've had a really terrifying night." I offered a small, grateful smile then lied through my teeth, "I think I will, I should probably try to rest now."

"Goodnight, Autumn." With another soft nod, she slipped out, closing the door behind her but the sleep never came. The silence of the massive mansion was deafening, but the pounding of the heavy rain that refused to lower its volume. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the world tilting again, the sensation of falling into the pitch-black emptiness of the flooded lane.

My mind kept trailing back to the moment Jared caught me, the strong grip of his hands, the warmth of his chest and the strange possessiveness in his eyes. By midnight, the walls of the guest room felt like they were closing in on me, quite suffocating..

Slowly, the storm was dying down, leaving the light drizzle on the roof. I exhaled deeply trying to find sleep, I threw on a heavy cardigan over the borrowed clothes and slipped out into the corridor trying to get air. The manor was dark, brightened by the pale glow of the full moon cutting through the grand skylights.

I moved slowly, down the staircase and through the hallway, finding a set of glass French doors that opened to the formal gardens, the rain had finally stopped. The midnight grounds were breathtakingly beautiful, the air was still cold but it held the scent of the beautiful roses around.

I walked down the gravel path, my breath blooming into pale clouds in the crisp night air, while clutching the cardigan tightly around my chest, "should I just go back?" I whispered under my breath.

I walked into what felt like an island that was cut away from the rest of the Blackwood Manor, it had towering stone walls and acres of private trees, a sharp snap of a stick broke the silence and my trance. I froze, my heart beating loudly against my chest.

I spun around, half expecting to see Miller or a security guard patrolling the grounds but I saw a tall silhouette that slowly moved from the shadow of a huge statue... Jared. He had changed out of his wet clothes into a dark blue sweater, with the sleeves pushed up to his forearms.

He held a cigarette between his fingers but stopped when he saw me, his eyes widening slightly before he dropped the cigarette into the damp floor, crushing it beneath the heel of his slippers. "Autumn," he said, his deep voice cutting through the silence of the night, "what are you doing here? It's past midnight."

"I couldn't sleep," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. I took a step back, suddenly aware of how alone we were. The terrifying attraction that always pulled me towards him felt twice as strong under the moonlit sky, "I needed some air, I can go back inside if I'm disrupting you."

"You're not disrupting me," Jared said immediately, taking a long move towards me and closing the distance between us before I could move any further, "I couldn't sleep either." He stopped just two feet away, under the pale moonlight, the sharp lines of his face looked more visible than I had ever noticed.

His dark eyes searched my face, staring at the slight tremor of my lips from the chill, "you're shivering," he murmured, his voice dropping lower than usual.

"I'm fine," I lied again, looking down at the gravel, "I was just thinking about the cabin, this was supposed to be my supposed getaway trip from the harsh reality of life and in a single night, nature decided it was its time to shine. I feel like I'm right back at the beginning."

He reached out, his warm fingers gently catching my chin, forcing me to look up and meet his gaze, the touch sent a sudden shiver straight down my spine, "you're wrong about being back at the beginning, Autumn. You're not alone out here."

“Can you not say that when you don't know how it feels to be me?” I said. The emotional distance I had spent weeks trying to maintain between us was rapidly evaporating into the midnight, "do you know how I felt when I saw you stumbling on that flooded road tonight? My heart literally stopped."

"Jared, I—"

Before I could even make a sentence, his lips crashed down onto mine, the midnight grounds vanishing into a blur nixed with heat and passion as I surrendered into his touch.