Fourteen
Montana
My eyes opened, and I sat up, gasping for breath as I stared at the wall. I could feel my heart racing, and my body was coated in a sheen of sweat, causing my camisole to stick to me. The door opened banging against the wall, the light from the other room illuminating the darkness as Than came rushing inside. His eyes swung to me, and he stopped. I was already having oxygen-intake problems. The sight of Than in only a pair of boxers and mussed hair did not help.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice raspy from sleep.
I shook my head. “I, um…I…” I didn’t know what was wrong.
Why was he in here? This wasn’t going to help slow my racing heart.
“You screamed.”
I took in another staggering breath. “I think I must have had a bad dream. I don’t know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He stood there, studying me, and then his eyes drifted down to my chest. I could see him tense up from here. I licked my lips and did a quick scan of his bare chest and then down to…oh! His…he…was erect. My eyes snapped back up to his face.
He had an erection. A large one. I wanted to look again. But his eyes returned to my face. We were both silent for several moments. My heavy breathing was the only sound.
“You’re okay now?” he asked me, his tone huskier, and I shivered.
“Yes.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
He nodded, then turned and left, closing the door behind him. I placed a hand on my heart and tried to will it to slow. It had only been a look, but my body now ached in areas I wished it didn’t. Lying back down, I turned to stare out the window. I couldn’t remember my dream or what had made me scream, but I was glad. Whatever it had been was upsetting. The sight of Than in his boxers, however, was a distraction.
My eyes felt heavy, and I closed them reluctantly, not wanting whatever nightmare I’d had to return. Opening them back up, I wasn’t sure if I’d dozed off or not, but I’d heard something. I listened to see if maybe I’d, in fact, been dreaming. There it was again. Although I couldn’t place the sound.
Was it a humming?
I sat up, but stayed in the bed to see if it went away. It came again, louder this time. No, that was a groan, or it sounded like one. It had been faint before, but in the quiet cabin, every creak and crack was heard.
Tossing the covers back, I dropped my feet to the floor and walked over to the door. Was someone in there with him? It sounded like he was whispering. I pressed my ear to the door and then quickly stepped back when I heard a definite masculine moan.
Had he FaceTimed the girl he had spoken to on the phone Saturday in the middle of the night for phone sex?
I should go back to bed, but I didn’t. I stood there, staring at the door while listening to Than. The longer I listened, the more positive I was that he was getting himself off. He must have in AirPods because I couldn’t hear her. Jealousy knotted in my chest, and as much as I hated it, I couldn’t stop it.
My gaze dropped to the doorknob, and I considered opening it just a tiny crack to peek. All I would see was the back of his head though, and that was if he was sitting up.
No. I should just go to bed. Let him do his thing.
“Fuuuck, baby.” His groan was still quiet, but it was more audible than before.
There was an instant tingle between my legs, and I held my breath and moved back to the door to listen.
A low, deep, “Uuuuuh,” from him had me pressing my legs together.
I waited for more, but it had gone silent. Wouldn’t he be talking to her after? When nothing else was said, I eased back to my bed, hoping he couldn’t hear my footsteps.
Once I was under the covers, I tried to imagine his face when he was pleasuring himself. How he would look when he was having sex. What his hands would feel like on my skin. This time, when I closed my eyes, I hoped Than would be in my dreams.
Facing Than the next morning was something I was reluctant to do, but seeing as he was my ride to school, there was no way to hide from him any longer. When I walked into the kitchen to find him…scrambling eggs, I paused. He glanced up at me, and a half smile curled his lips. He had really great lips.
“Might as well put the bag down and get some coffee,” he told me. “Baskin flipped his shit about Crew, and until Linc gets back to me, you’re not going to school.”
I let my book bag slide down my arm. “Are you serious? It’s my second day. I stayed up late, doing Calculus.”
He shrugged. “You threatened to out Baskin. He’s not going to trust you around his nephew.”
I wasn’t going to stay in here and listen to this. I knew his opinion of me. Not in the mood for a recap. Turning around, I started to go back into the bedroom.
“I’m making breakfast. The least you could do is come sit down and keep me company.”
I paused. Was he talking to me? I glanced back toward the living room side to see if someone else was here that I hadn’t noticed. Than tended to draw my complete attention. Which was unfortunate.
There was no one there.
I dropped the bag from my hand and looked at him. “You want me to keep you company?” I asked.
His deep chuckle was one I didn’t hear enough, but when I did, it gave me goose bumps.
“Who else would I be talking to?”
Oh, I don’t know. Anyone but me.
“Uh, the last time I checked, you would rather eat rocks than be around me.”
He was grinning when he looked back at me again. “That’s a little harsh. I love my teeth. I wouldn’t eat rocks for anyone.”
Rolling my eyes, I walked over to a stool and sat down. “Did Linc say what Baskin wanted to do about Crew?” I asked him.
Than put the eggs onto two plates. “Nope. Do you want bacon? There’s some in the fridge I can fry up.”
Frustrated that he wasn’t giving me more information about my school situation, I replied. “Yes. I mean, if you want some too.”
“Six, there will never come a time when I don’t want bacon,” he drawled as he smirked at me.
My brows drew together. “Six?”
He opened the door to the refrigerator and retrieved the bacon. “Montana is a mouthful.”
“So, you’re going to call me Six?” I asked. “As if it’s not insulting enough that you ranked me a six, you have to remind me by calling me Six?” I should have gone to the bedroom.
He plopped the package of bacon onto the counter, then turned to me. “You’re not blind or that naive,” he told me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, wishing I didn’t care about that damn ranking.
Than walked over to the counter and placed both his hands, palms down, on it, then leaned toward me. “You know what you look like. You know how guys react to you.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and straightened, wanting to put a little distance between us—because with him that close, it made me frazzled. And why did he smell so good? Had he taken a shower, and where?
“We’re talking about you, not all guys,” I pointed out.
He moved back, and his eyes drifted down to my chest, then back up to my face slowly. “You’re not a six,” he said, then went to get the package of bacon and opened it.
I wanted to ask what number I was, but I also feared the answer. His rankings were insulting anyway, and I refused to believe all guys ranked females.
“I let Jack out this morning when I went down to the stables to get a shower. I need to go let out Diane and Heartland after we eat.” He glanced back at me. “You want to ride Jack? I’ll give you your first lesson.”
My head snapped up from studying my hands in my lap, and I stared at him to see if he was serious. He was waiting on a response.
“Me, ride a horse?”
His grin was back, and he nodded. “Jack will be good for a beginner. He belongs to Stevie, Linc’s little girl. She learned to ride on him.”
Wow. Linc’s daughter had her own horse.
I wanted to ride, but I was also scared. The horses were beautiful, but the idea of getting on the back of one was intimidating.
“Is this your attempt to kill me off?” I asked.
He threw back his head and laughed as the bacon began to sizzle in the skillet. “No, I swear you’ll be safe.”
I sat there for a moment and watched him. This change in his treatment of me was suspicious. He’d barely been able to be around me yesterday.
Deciding to just ask and get it out there, I blurted, “Why are you suddenly treating me differently?”
He didn’t respond at first, and I wondered if he’d go back to loathing me. Maybe he had mood swings, and this was one of them.
“I thought this would be short-term, but it looks like it’s going to take longer than I expected. If we have to live together, then we might as well get along,” he told me.
Why had he expected it to be short-term? It had always been three months. Hadn’t it? Or was there something I didn’t know?
I bit my bottom lip and debated asking that or letting it go for now.
Than put the bacon on the plate with the eggs and toast, then picked up both plates and set one in front of me and the other beside me. “Let’s be friends.”
His eyes met mine as he said it. They looked sincere. I was just hesitant to trust him.
“Okay,” I agreed. “And thank you for breakfast.”
“You need to eat more than a banana. It’s the most important meal of the day.”