Chapter 25
P ulling into the parking lot of The Loaded Hog, I’ve got my windows down to let the warm summer breeze glide across my skin, and hopefully blow away the sex hormones clinging to me like cotton candy clouds.
Good lord, I’ve had some fantastic nights in my life, indulging in a whole lot of decadent fun, but nothing can hold a candle to all the ways Beau Heartford just upended my world.
After parking, I quickly check my reflection in the rearview, scrutinizing myself for any smudged mascara or pesky love hearts that might be hanging around in my eyes, long overdue for their checkout time.
What might be most depressing in this scenario is that I’m going to have to lie through my teeth to Layla… and Briar… and Sky—which sits awkwardly on my conscience even just thinking about the idea. It’s not like I can tell anyone a single detail about my night. I can’t even tell my best friend about the most incredible sex I’ve ever had. Shit .
A fact that is indeed a crying shame, because that cowboy certainly knows how to use the equipment he’s been blessed with. It’s honestly doing his dick a disservice to not be able to publicly, and enthusiastically, sing the praises of his ability to find that spot, repeatedly.
Talk about a revelation. There’s nothing more disappointing, after a bunch of flirting and talking a big game, than to discover that getting down to business can so often involve fumbling hands and failed orgasms.
Where Beau and I are concerned, we crash land firmly in the category where our chemistry between the sheets is explosive.
Goddamn him and his slutty mustache for making me come harder than I’ve ever been able to, with or without the assistance of a battery-operated teammate.
A flood of heat rushes between my thighs, recalling every stroke and scratch of his mouth beneath me this morning.
Nope, my pussy and I are not spending any more time thinking about the vision of him staring up at me while sucking down on my clit until I couldn’t stop shaking.
I take a moment to check my phone, immediately feeling a plummeting feeling in my stomach when I open my inbox to find a flood of messages from Layla.
Um. Hi.
You dirty little liar.
So much for “I’ll let you know I’m home safe.” Since you never actually messaged me, I’m going to assume you either went full wolf shifter and slept naked under the stars, or your memory got wiped by aliens.
If that’s the case, here’s your reminder that you have an important meeting today.
(Good luck, by the way).
Shit.
Sorry!
Humblest apologies being accepted, or do I gotta grovel my ass up to Devil’s Peak?
I might have gotten a little over-cooked in the sun and forgot to check my phone. But I’m fine, and about to toss my brilliant ideas at The Loaded Hog… so fingers crossed you don’t hate me and maybe feel like smooching a horseshoe for good luck for me?
God, one night, and I’m already making up lies to my best friend. Even when Layla was first sneaking around with Colt, she at least told me there was someone, even if she avoided telling me the details of who it was.
As I’m scrolling through a few last minute details to refresh myself, I see there are some new messages from my sisters. It’s nothing in particular, just some cute photos of them and their friends hanging out together in their school uniforms. Seeing their faces sends a further double-dose of worry through me, because no matter how much I might want Beau, what would it do to my family if this got back to them?
They might not realize just how much pressure I feel on my shoulders to do everything perfectly, and maybe it was never their intention, but it’s always been there. Coming from a family of successful academics and scientists, while I’ve always been the creative free spirit? Yeah, the subtle pressure has always hung around my head that I should be following their path.
When I told them I wanted to start my own marketing and PR agency, they were supportive, as they always are. But the lingering feeling never quite goes away that they are expecting me to do everything right .
Would it crush them entirely to know I’ve made the choice to fall into bed with a married man? Especially knowing what my mom went through to make the decision to walk away from a terrible relationship. She would be so disappointed. I can already see her face lined with worry and sadness at me being the wild child who has once again failed to live up to expectations.
My selfishness when it comes to desiring Beau can’t be enough of a reason to let myself get caught in a complicated situation. We’ve made the correct decision ending it after one night. Even though it’s going to be insanely hard to be around him from here on out, I’m determined to do the best I can with this job.
Tessa is counting on me. My family keeps telling me how proud they are of me. The twins look up to me.
Christ. What kind of role model am I being for my younger sisters by messing around with a man who is legally still married? Putting to one side all of the pieces Beau has let me know about, there is a very real scenario that paves the bottom line here. He isn’t single, and he certainly isn’t a man who I should be allowing myself to be distracted by.
Let alone, how hard would my family take it if rumor got out that I fucked my boss? That Beau fooled around with an employee? Shit like that sticks, and couldn’t be worse for my reputation starting a new business. Even if unproven, it might become a lingering shadow following me around, the kind to undo all the hard work I’m putting in here to make the ranch a success as it opens its gates to the public.
Glaring at myself in the mirror, I give myself the bottom line… time to pick my jaw up off the floor, wipe the drool from my chin, and dust off this post-multiple-orgasm daze I’ve been afflicted with.
I’ve got a client proposal to nail, and all going to plan, an event to host that’ll knock Crimson Ridge’s cute lil cowboy booties off.
Slipping out of the truck, I scoop up my things from the backseat, clutching everything against my chest. I’ve got all the tools I need to wow this particular Hayes twin. It’s showtime . The moment when I need to throw my shoulders back and shake off the events of last night. I’m moving forward, starting right now.
We certainly got it out of our systems, and it had to end. That’s the reality of the secret we now share. Life carries on.