Chapter Twelve
Rosie
I lean back in the tub and rest my head against a rolled towel. The water is still steaming hot, and though the shampoo I poured in to make bubbles isn’t creating the fizziest bath, my skin feels extra moisturized, and the room smells clean and fresh.
After the freezing cold rain, the warm cocoon I’ve built feels really good, but I’m still a little shook up by Owen’s offer to sell his grandpa’s shop. Never in a million years would I ever let him go through with it, but the offer alone has me overthinking how big a deal all this virginity stuff is to him.
Maybe I should think about how I could get out of the contract with Fantasy Driver. I mean, maybe my virginity does mean something more than I’m giving it credit for.
I space out, trying to think of ways to ditch the contract, but outside of taking a loan, which no one would ever give me, there are not a lot of options.
A heavy knock hits the door, followed by a deep voice that’s immediately comforting. “You decent?”
I glance down at my naked body barely covered by the suds of three small bubbles. “Not really, but…”
“I can come back,” Moose says, his tone thick with something I can’t describe any other way than emotional, which isn’t the normal for him.
“No, you’re good. Nothing you haven’t seen at this point.” I laugh nervously, pushing the suds down over my stomach that suddenly feels bloated.
The door creaks as he pushes it open and glances toward me. “Shit, you’re really naked.”
“Yeah, I’m… in the tub. Do you bathe with your clothes on?”
“No, I shower.”
“Do you shower with your clothes on?”
He shakes his head as though my comment is ridiculous, then turns away from me, rubbing his hands together as though he has something to say.
“Umm… everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he groans roughly. We haven’t bumped into each other since the spanking incident. I wonder if this has to do with that. “I needed to talk to you, and I figured you can’t get away if you’re in the tub.”
“Oh, so this is by force?” I love how intense everything is with Moose.
“No,” he growls. “It’s… just listen.”
“Okay, let me get cozy first. You can sit down by the way.”
His tone deepens. “Little girl…”
I smile at the frustrated sound of ‘ little girl.’ “I’m ready. Go.”
He huffs, pacing the room, though never making eye contact with me. “I don’t know how to do this shit.”
“What shit?”
“This talking shit.”
“Okay, but you’re here.”
“Are you listening?” He scrubs his hand over his beard.
I laugh. “Yeah, I’m listening. You know, whatever you have to say is fine. I’ll still think you’re a big, sexy, beast of a man, and I’ll still want all those spankings.”
He groans as though he’s annoyed, which sort of gets me off. “I like you, a lot. I… think about you, and it’s hard to focus on anything else, which isn’t a thing for me. I’m generally good at focusing.”
“Okay,” I try not to smile.
“Don’t talk yet. I’m not done.” His tone is forward and hard, and though it’s not the usual way I like people talking to me, I know his intensions, and my heart swells.
“I haven’t dated in a long time. It’s probably been a decade, so I don’t know how to say this right. I have no experience with this romance shit.”
“I think it’s pretty romantic that you came in here and sat with me.”
“No. Women like flowers, chocolate, and love notes. I’m not good at that stuff, that’s why my past relationships failed. I get it, but I don’t know,” he sighs loudly, “I think I’ve been looking for a woman who wants the same things I do. Comfort and peace.” He turns towards me. “When I met you, I realized it wasn’t that I didn’t have the capacity for romance before, it was that I hadn’t met the right woman yet. All the sudden, I want to pick flowers and say sappy shit, which is throwin’ me for a loop.”
A tear streaks down my cheek as I listen to Moose talk. It’s not easy for him to be vulnerable. “I can’t stop thinking about you either, and romance is pretty subjective. I’m not a flowers and chocolates kind of girl. I’m a, spend time with me and show me you care, girl.”
He stays quiet as though he’s trying to calculate the exact amount of pain this whole thing is going to cause him.
“How do you feel most loved?”
He shrugs and brushes his hand down over his beard as he paces. “I don’t know… helping me out, I guess. I’m always so fuckin’ busy. Anything that helps me work faster feels like love to me.”
“So, you like your dinner made and your house cleaned, and you need someone to come out and help with chores?”
“Yeah, but that’s sexist to ask for, right?”
“Why is that sexist? I want you to feel loved. I want to care for you, too.”
He glances toward me, then away again, but doesn’t speak. I wonder if he’s overthinking what to say next. Finally, he groans, “No woman is that simple.”
“I’m not simple,” I laugh. “I’m lying here trying to figure out how I feel for three men while I try to understand why the hell everyone hates the sheriff so much.”
Moose’s eyes widen. “You’re still thinking about that man? I thought we’d moved past that. I told you yesterday I didn’t want you going there.”
“Oh,” I grin, “did you? Well, unfortunately for you, and everyone else in my life, I have debts to pay.”
He turns toward me, wide and tall, his brows narrowed. “You’re not going. Tell me you understand.”
Rolling my eyes, I stand from the tub and reach for the towel I laid on the back of the toilet. “I’m not having this conversation again.”
“You are having this conversation again, or I’ll chain you up myself.” He growls out the words as he wraps me up in the soft, fluffy towel. “Which is it going to be?”
My phone buzzes on the bathroom counter, but I don’t check it. I’m too busy staring up at the big, burly, angry giant in front of me.
“You like all three of us, don’t you?”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
“Fucking hell, just say it. We all know it’s true.”
I offer a shallow nod, afraid of his reaction.
He growls under his breath and sighs. “And you know how difficult something like this is to comprehend for a guy like me?”
“I know it’s weird, and maybe I’m a selfish bitch for wanting all of you, I just—”
“I didn’t say that. In theory, I like the idea of you always having someone. I like the idea of knowing when I can’t be in the room with you, Owen or Hawk can, but I need you to really listen to me.” His expression is hard and focused. “If I agree to any of this, you’re ours to protect. You don’t run off in the middle of the night, you don’t make secret plans, and you don’t handle shit on your own.”
“Wait, so you’re on board with this whole poly thing? I thought you’d be the hardest to convince.”
He laughs under his breath and looks away for a second before glancing back. “What choice do I have? I like you more than I’ve liked anyone in decades. Should I sit here and watch you fuck my best buddies, build a life with them, and have their babies? No fuckin’ way. I’m not being left out.”
My belly warms and I brush my fingertips into the back of his hair, biting back a smile. “You want me to have your babies?”
The towel drops and he presses my body against his, holding my head under his chin. He’s wearing his work jeans and an old flannel, but even with his boots off, he towers over me. “Yes,” he trails his rough fingertips over the back of my shoulder, “that would be nice.”
I’m on fire. I’m always on fire around this man. The way he looks, the way he touches me, the way he talks, it’s all so roughly masculine.
“Little girl,” he groans and leans down, kissing my lips hard and fast, heavy and strong. His giant hand lands on the side of my cheek and he presses my body against the back wall of the bathroom as my phone continues to vibrate on the counter. “You’re trouble.”
I’m not gonna make it.
His hand wraps around my throat and he leans in again, pressing his lips against mine as his hard cock pokes into my stomach. “The things you’re doin’ to me are so fuck—”
“Are you guys in there?” Hawk’s voice echoes through the bathroom door. “We’ve got a problem downstairs.”
Moose’s heavy gaze meets mine. “Don’t move.” He backs up and opens the bathroom door a crack to talk to Hawk, but I get the feeling this isn’t a normal, everyday kind of conversation. Something bad has happened.
I should’ve brought clothes in. The only thing I see to wear is a Hufflepuff T-shirt that’s hung behind the door. I gather it's Hawk’s since I know Owen isn’t into Harry Potter and I can’t imagine Moose is either, but ya never know.
“What’s the problem?” Moose asks.
“Just come downstairs.”
“No, what’s going on?” I interject, opening the door further. “Is everything okay?”
Hawk drags in a deep breath and lets it out slowly as the sharp pop of gunfire splits the silence.
What the fuck?
My eyes dart up at Hawk’s then toward Moose as I try to convince myself that what I heard wasn’t a gunshot at all. It could’ve been a car backfiring or a firecracker going off. Yeah, that’s all it was, right?
Moose swings open the bathroom door and darts to the back bedroom, peeking out the window. “Is that the fucking sheriff?”
“He’s here for Rosie.” Hawk glances toward me with a tight jaw. I don’t think I’ve seen him this stressed before. “Did you check your phone? I guess your friend Jen has been trying to get ahold of you. When she couldn’t, she texted Owen. Apparently, the sheriff bought some missing girl last year on Fantasy Driver. Well, she wasn’t missing when he bought her. She went missing afterward.”
My mind reels until I’m bent over with an aching stomach. What is he saying? I can’t be hearing him right. “Why is the sheriff here, though? It’s… I’ve still got hours before my time is up.”
“Owen got the message at work and lost it. I don’t know all the details. Everyone is pretty pissed out there.”
This is insane. “This has to be a mistake. He’s the sheriff . This is a small town. They’d have arrested him for kidnapping or done something, right?”
Moose groans under his breath. “If he can swing three hundred thousand to pay for sex, I imagine he’s got plenty for bribes.” He growls under his breath and lowers his voice as he says, “Stay here, under the bed. Don’t move.”
“I’m the one that—”
“Tell me you understand,” he grumbles, this time louder. His shoulders are tense, and his fists are clenched. I know he’s serious, but at the end of the day, I did this. I caused this reaction, and I’m the only one who can get us out.
I glance toward Hawk. “Can we have just a second?”
He rolls his neck to the side. “We don’t have a lot of time, so hurry, and do what Moose asks. If he doesn’t know you’re here, he’ll leave.” Hawk turns away and jogs down the stairs.
“He’s right,” Moose squeezes the sides of my arms as he says, “I have to move. This is my property.”
I stare up at him, wet my lips, and drag in a deep breath. “I don’t want you guys to get hurt, not on account of me. I couldn’t live with myself.”
His shoulders tense and he looks toward the ground, then up again as his rough hand lands under my chin. With a low, quiet voice, he says, “I love you, little girl. I need you to listen to me.”
A rush of warmth spreads down my arms and up again as I stare at the giant, my heart pounding. Did he just tell me he loves me? That can’t have been easy for him. “You love me?”
He glances away, scrubbing his hand over his beard. “Don’t make me say it again. Now, get under the bed.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, my heart filled to the brim, “but it’s time for me to finish what I started.” I wiggle loose from his grip and take off down the stairs, knowing full well I could be making the worst decision of my life.