the last of her contractions fade away and she collapses against my chest, heaving in great deep breaths.
I stroke her hair as she melts into me. I brush my lips over her temple. “Feel better?”
She nods, still panting.
“Cat.”
“Yes.” Her voice is sleepy now, heavy and full.
“Tomorrow, when the embarrassment sinks in, I want you to remember something.” I still, gentle now as I cup her pussy.
She relaxes against me. “What?”
I chuckle. It’s a bit mean, but it’s also the truth, and I can’t help myself. I’ve had a tight leash on my true nature since I’ve been here, and I want to let it loose, to remember what it feels like.
I stroke over her swollen flesh, and she shudders a bit. It’s a bone-deep satisfaction. “Just know that when you face me for the first time, and you’re all humiliated by your wanton actions, I’m going to know you’re sore from my fingers pounding inside you. And I want you to know, as our eyes meet, that despite all the ways you’ll hate me, I’ll know exactly how much you loved it.”
She bats at me half-heartedly. “You’re such an arrogant bastard.”
I whisper as she grows heavy on me, “Honey, you don’t know the half of it.”
7
Cat
The second my eyes pop open, I’m horrified.
My head pounds from the liquor I consumed, but it pales compared to my mortification.
I mean, I predicted the consequences last night, but it’s even worse than I imagined. If only I hadn’t let alcohol make me believe I’d get over it.
What have I done?
My mind fills with images of me riding Caden in the car, the way he made me come.
The things he said to me.
The things I said to him.
I groan, flop over onto my stomach, and shield my eyes from the sun with my arm. What exactly came over me?
Caden, that’s what.
The man has put me under some sort of spell—plied me with tequila and a good time, and look where it got me. Despite my best efforts to stay away from him, to keep my distance, I fell into his clutches the first chance I got.
And what really gets me, what really sticks in my craw… It’s all my fault.
He kept his distance just fine.
He had no problem resisting me.
He didn’t seem to suffer any temptation at all.
I practically begged him, and he refused me!
Yes, he let me use him as a masturbation tool, but he hadn’t really been a participant.
I am so mortified I’m not sure how I can face the day.
But unfortunately, I have no choice.
Things are crazy, and my to-do list is out of control.
So, here’s the plan. I’m going to tackle this first thing.
I’m not going to avoid him.
Nor am I going to take the easy way out and avoid the subject.
No, I’m going to march right into his office, apologize for sexually harassing him, and promise what happened last night will never happen again.
Then I will put up all my walls and stay the hell away from Caden Landry.
That man is dangerous.
He makes me stupid. And reckless.
And apparently super slutty.
He’s bad news, and I will stay away.
I flop over onto my back and stare up at the ceiling.
I blow out a hard breath, ignoring the heat low in my belly at the images running rampant in my brain.
I made this mess, and now I’ll unmake it.
I throw off the covers.
Time to get this trainwreck under control.
An hour later I’ve washed away the shame, pulled my hair into a tight bun, put on jeans and a soft green T-shirt, and am marching down the path to the distillery—all no nonsense and take-charge attitude.
Sure, my heart is pounding and my stomach feels like it might jump into my throat, but I will not be deterred.
Luke, one of our supervisors, waves me over. “Hey, Cat, we need to talk about the employee schedule for next week.”
For a split second I want to run to him and immerse myself in whatever issue he has, but I squash the impulse. I deal with this now. Like a Band-Aid, I’m ripping this fucker straight off.
I nod. “Give me thirty.”
“Sure thing,” he says, offering me a smile. At twenty-five, he’s boyishly handsome and charming and, like Haley, customers adore him. He’s also managed to talk one of the more popular local restaurants into stocking our reserves, and word of mouth is definitely picking up speed. If only all my hiring decisions were so sound.
My gaze is trained on the hall, and I pick up my gait,