And damn if I don’t already want more of her. What the fuck, am I seventeen again?
I glance at the clock. Three fifty-four a.m.
Will she let me make love to her one more time before Ranger wakes up and I’m forced to pay attention to something besides her body and our pleasure? I really hope so because sex may be the best—and only—tool I have to persuade Masey to stay long enough to see if this fling could lead to more.
I sound like I’m out of my mind. But I’m totally, completely serious.
As I slide against her, she welcomes me with open arms, pressing reverent kisses across my chest before she lays her head there with a satisfied sigh. “Wow.”
“Wow,” I second.
“I’m exhausted and sore, but my body feels so alive.”
Just what I wanted to hear. I roll her to her back and hover over her with a smile. “Not regretting tonight so far?”
She shakes her head, her stare solemn and honest. “No. I thought I would. I thought I would feel as if I’d done something rash or unwise or… I don’t know. I’m all for a woman having sex with whomever she wants if it makes her feel good. I can’t stand slut shaming. But I never saw myself being with anyone but Thom and I worried—”
“You’d wish you hadn’t?”
“Yeah.” She glides a hand over my shoulder and kisses me. “But now I’m kicking myself for not taking Harlow’s advice sooner and coming to meet you.”
Her admission hits my brain. “You came to meet me?”
“Yeah. I wanted to see Harlow, and I needed some time away to get a fresh perspective. But—”
“Because the breakup was too new?”
“You’d think so, right? But no. I kept seeing them, Thom and Betsy—”
“That’s his new girlfriend, Betsy?”
“Yeah. I kept seeing them around town and I thought I’d feel something. Jealousy? Sadness? Anger?” She shakes her head. “Nothing except regret that I’d wasted ten years on a man who didn’t really understand me—and didn’t try to.”
I hold her closer. “I’m sorry, honey. He’s a douche, and you deserve more.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault; it’s mine.”
“If I could have been there to save you from all that, I would.”
“I’m not sure I would have listened. I needed to go through the crap and the breakup, you know? And once the shock wore off, all I felt was numb. Doing my job seemed normal. So did spending time with my mom. But everything else felt like a void. I spent months thinking I was…broken or something. The day we split, I cried, mostly because losing him was like losing a fixture in my life. Well, and my dad had died the week before.”
“I heard. What a prick,” I mutter like a curse. “Thom, not your dad.”
She nods. “But I haven’t cried since. I didn’t know why…until you pointed out that I’d probably never really loved him in the first place. I’d just gotten used to him. I feel stupid that I didn’t recognize it sooner.”
“Not stupid. Loyal. And there’s no reason to be ashamed of that. I just hope you’ve learned to make your happiness a priority.”
“I’m trying. But I thought having sex with someone else would feel weird, foreign, wrong. Something.” A big smile transforms her lush mouth into something beautiful. “But it was amazing.”
I can’t resist kissing her—and prying for more information. “What if I’m not done with you yet?”
She giggles. “I won’t be upset. Who needs sleep? Unless you have to work later. Then not sleeping will suck but—”
“I don’t have to work.”
“I should, but I’ll squeeze in a nap or two once I get back to my rental.”
She thinks I’m going to just let her go? Not if I can help it. If I can keep her another day or two, somehow parlay that into a week or two, is there any chance she’ll fall for me for real? Maybe, but my inner bachelor warns that I could fall, too.
But I’m worried it’s already too late to save myself.
“Or you could take the day off,” I suggest.
She traces her fingertip across my jaw with a teasing flick. “And do what?”
“I’m pretty sure I could come up”—I rock my erection against her hip—“with something.”
“Doesn’t that thing ever get tired?” Her giggle tells me she’s not at all upset.
“Not when you’re around.”
“Well, since I’m here and you’re here and we just happen to be naked…”
“And in my bed with my cock screaming for more of you… Are you too sore,