Chapter 16
HART
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I HEARD HER laughter first.
Her real laugh.
It drew me to the curtain like a moth to a flame.
What I hadn’t expected was to find Bronx standing beside her. I hadn’t expected to see her hand on his arm as she listened to whatever he’s telling her. And especially not in the place I thought was ours to explore together—or had been.
Fuck, we’d snuck in once, when we were way too fucking young. And our past selves don’t own this spot.
I sure as hell never planned to come back, but Levi stuck me with a box full of something to drop off here from the birthday party Hope hosted for Jade. A box that buzzed the entire ride, and I refused to open it.
So here I am. And here she is, too—and Bronx. Please tell me this is one of his outlandish pranks.
The desire to shove him into that wall of dildos and choke him with one—and not in a kinky way—hits me hard.
Bronx sees me and raises his brows. “Well, now, I don’t ever recall seeing this guy in here before.”
My stomach drops at the look that flashes over her face when her eyes meet mine. The air between us crackles with unspoken tension, and a silent battle is waging in glances and tightened jaws.
What exactly are they doing here?
Together?
Is it what I think it is?
Is she following through with finishing the bucket list with him?
I don’t think I really have to ask. The answer looks pretty fucking clear.
“Here for a little something to spice up your night?” Bronx steps closer, his cologne, a cloying mix of musk and hay, ambushes my nostrils.
“I’m here to drop a box off to Charli.”
“Sure you are,” Bronx smirks.
“Levi sent me.”
“Sure he did.” His smirk widens. “Nice shiner, by the way.”
He’s really making it difficult not to shove him into that colorful wall.
There is no damn shiner. At least not one he can see. I’m pretty convinced my jaw is bruised under my scruff.
“C’mon, now, don’t be shy with us.” Bronx’s elbow hits my arm, and it takes all my strength not to grab him and slam his face into my knee.
Or kinda whack it back and forth on the dildo wall like a whack-a-mole.
“You’ve got a rep.” He doesn’t hide the excitement of thinking the rumors are true, that I’m that guy. “So what is it? VIP status? Free batteries for life?”
My jaw tightens.
“Tell us, how do you fill your tickle trunk without stepping foot in here?”
That makes Jade smirk.
She knows I don’t have a damn tickle trunk, and she knows she’s the reason everyone in town thinks I do.
The rumors she spread to ease the pain I had caused her. I don’t blame her, but I don’t like it either.
Bronx leans closer to me and whispers, not that quietly, “You sleeping with Charli?”
My mouth quirks into a snarl.
“Kiwi’s granddaughter? Not if I want to keep my balls.”
Bronx laughs loud enough that anyone shopping in the store will know he’s back here. Not that he cares.
Does she know he’s a regular here?
That she’d be on his rotation if she ended up in bed with him?
He’s been like this since we were teenagers, the three of us in the same class. I’d also been on the same football team as this dickhead. Me, the quarterback, and him, defensive tackle.
He treats women’s hearts the same now as he did then. Like matchbooks, striking ‘em quick and tossing ‘em quicker?
Does she know that?
Of course, she does. She said as much. He’d be willing to do any page in that book, no strings attached.
I’m hardly able to control the anger pulsing through my body. He wouldn’t be able to touch her if I put him in the hospital. The idea is more calming than it should be.
“Seriously, though, what’s your go-to?” Bronx peruses the expanse of shelves. “You’ve got to have some recommendations, and I’m genuinely curious as to what they are.”
I grit my teeth, my gaze flicking between Bronx’s cocky grin and Jade’s conflicted, but amused expression.
“I don’t think you’re interested in my opinion.” My voice is low and tight, each word forced through clenched teeth.
Bronx throws back his head, laughter booming through the store. “Oh, come on, don’t be shy. We’re all adults here. Unless you’re not into sharing.” He winks at Jade, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
I hate it to my core.
I say nothing, my patience snapping like a frayed thread.
“He’s shy.” Bronx glances at Jade, but she’s staring at me with a look I can’t read. “We’re always open to a new kinky toy, right, Jade?”
What the fuck does he mean we’re always open to a new kinky toy?
Have they been here before?
Together?
I’m gonna have an aneurysm right here in this room. Imagine the gossip: Hart Wilde dead in The Crimson Hollow.
I don’t reply. My eyes drop to Jade’s overloaded arms.
“It looks like y’all have plenty.”
“Is plenty ever enough?” Bronx is back to scouring the shelves. “You try a tickler?”
The feather Bronx threads through the ring he forms with his thumb and finger brings back horror memories I’d rather forget.
“I think it’s secretly Jade’s favorite.”
How the hell does he know Jade’s favorite?
Jade laughs. “I think the feather is your favorite.”
How the hell does she know his favorite?
Bronx’s laughter booms, and the sound grates on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
“What about this?” Bronx shuffles to a metal frame hanging by rope with buckles and footrests. “For hands-free play, we’ve got the Threesome Swing.”
Is he fucking serious?
“It’s adjustable, supports multiple positions, and allows for unrestricted access. It’s a game-changer for group dynamics.” He smirks over his shoulder. “Imagine the possibilities. You, me, and someone else.”
Why the hell is he looking at me?
Who’s the someone else? Am I the someone else?
“We could test it out tonight. Looks like we all have the same idea. And I’m free. What do y’all say?” The sheer audacity of his suggestion is staggering.
My jaw tightens. My shoulders square. My expression hardens, and the look I send him is enough of a no that I don’t have to mutter a word, but I say one anyway. To put a solid end to this conversation.
Bronx only smirks, unfettered by my rejection. “Why choose just one? Partners and toys.”
This is what Jade wants? A meaningless encounter with all that is this man?
His gaze scans the room with a predatory glint. It lands on a toy display nearby. With a casual stride, he picks one up, turning it over in his hands as if weighing its potential.
“The real fun begins when you mix and match. Imagine the Triple Teaser paired with the Threesome Ring, or the Triple Threat combined with the Mystery Box. The possibilities are endless.”
“You must think I didn’t hear you the first time,” I grit out. “I don’t need a second pitch. My answer’s not gonna change.”
He raises his hands. “Alright. Alright. Maybe another night.”
Maybe never.
“C’mon, Jade. Let’s pay for our fun finds and leave cranky pants with smurfsticicles.” Bronx collects some items from a pile I didn’t even notice, and his long strides take him straight past the curtain without waiting for Jade.
Real gentleman.
I don’t think when I grab her arm as she passes me. The heat of her skin spreads through my palm, stopping her in her tracks.
“What are you doing?” The question slips out, heavy and raw, like it’s coming from a place I can’t reach.
Her eyes snap up to me, and for a moment, we stare at one another.
Then her tongue darts across her soft lips. “Preparing for the rodeo. Gotta take down the bucket list like it’s 4th and goal. Hard. Fast. And no second-guessing.”
She pulls free and is gone, leaving me to wallow in something I don’t like: my feelings and my emotions.
I’m damn good at ignoring them, burying them, and keeping them buried.
But tonight, they drive me straight out the front door and to my little cabin next to the ranch hands’ quarters.
They keep me up all night. Tossing, turning, dreaming about her. About her with him. For an entire week. Living the dream I thought was mine.
Fuck that.
Before the crack of dawn, I’m awake, packed, and pulling the RV to the meeting spot.
She doesn’t get to do this bucket list without me.
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