Chapter 19
Reese
I felt like a thief in the night, sneaking out of the mark’s house with the stolen treasure. Except I was slipping out of my own bed, in my own damn apartment, and the only stolen treasure was my sanity. I was also sort of concerned my escape wouldn’t be free and clear.
I freed myself from the sheet and stood next to the bed, wanting to rejoin the man who lay there fast asleep.
Clay lay sprawled on his stomach, the cotton sheet barely covering his ass.
His arm reached across the mattress exactly where I had once been, as if reaching for me.
His face was buried in my pillow. The same one I bit into to keep from screaming the second time we had sex during the night.
All three times were hard and furious, all-consuming and overwhelming.
The night was amazing.
And now it was over.
Except I didn’t want it to be. I wanted to crawl back into my bed and curl myself around him. I wanted to lose myself in his touch, his kiss, his body, like I had all night long.
We’d agreed to a single night, and I couldn’t give myself anything more. It would be a catastrophe on so many levels; I couldn’t even begin to entertain them all.
So instead, I’d gathered some clothes and scurried across the apartment, sneaking into Kellan’s empty bathroom.
I stepped into the shower and wished Clay were here with me.
I wanted to let the steam coast over us, not that we’d need help creating heat.
We had that covered in fine fashion. Squirting some of my brother’s body wash on my hands, not happy I’d be smelling like a damn forest, I washed quickly.
If I didn’t, my hands would linger on my body, and that was the very last thing I needed.
A full night of sex hadn’t even come close to tamping out the desire Clay stirred within me.
After showering, I dressed, all the while hoping I could avoid Clay when I emerged.
Which I did. I sneaked back into my room for shoes, and he was still in the same position.
I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, but the man apparently slept like the dead since I was nowhere near where he last saw me and he hadn’t even noticed.
Which was good, because then I could leave without recrimination or temptation.
But it would have been nice to see him.
No, it wouldn’t have.
It would have made it harder to leave. It would have led to another mistake.
No, that wasn’t right at all. There was no way I could see last night as a mistake. It may not have been the best idea, it may bite me in the ass in the long run, but I refused to call it a mistake. I’d never experienced a night quite like it.
Simply put, it was the best night of my life.
Now I had to figure out how to put it and him out of my mind.
It wasn’t like I didn’t have other stuff to think about and plan for. I had so many notebooks with plans for the businesses that I suspected they were actually multiplying in my desk. I think I was keeping a couple of planner companies solvent all on my own.
I turned away and stepped outside the room. “Bye, Clay.”
My whispered words haunted me as I strode down the hall and into the great room.
I didn’t like the finality I heard in my voice, even though I knew it was for the best. The red glowing letters on the stove read three-thirty.
It was way too early for me to head over to the front desk, but I couldn’t stay here, and where else could I go?
Ever would kill me first and ask questions later if I woke her up at this time of day.
I didn’t want to go for a drive, and I wouldn’t even consider barging in on anyone else in the family.
Slipping out the apartment door, I padded across the front balcony and to the stairs.
I bent over to put my shoes on when I reached the bottom and headed for the house.
The B&B was dark at this time of the morning, except for one room, and even though common sense said to stay away from the kitchen, it was exactly where I headed. The side door opened easily.
The look on my brother’s face was anything but easy.
“Looks like I made the right call staying over at Owen’s last night.
” He waved his hand in my direction, as if he could tell everything Clay and I did simply from the look of me.
Personally, I thought I cleaned up and hid it all pretty well.
“I did not need to be around for any of that. Should I expect him in a few minutes?”
Moving into the room, I beelined for the refrigerator and poured iced coffee into a tumbler, needing something to wake me up given that I hadn’t slept more than a few minutes.
I could play it off like I had no idea what he was talking about.
Except we both knew that wouldn’t work. My brother wasn’t an idiot, and knowing my family, Beck had texted everyone as soon as he’d had Abby buckled in her car seat.
So, while I couldn’t act like I hadn’t spent the night having the wildest sex of my life, I certainly didn’t need to share that, nor did I have to act like it meant anything other than scratching an itch.
Because that was all it could mean.
“I have no idea. He’s fast asleep.”
“And you left him?”
I exchanged the pitcher of coffee for milk and continued to doctor my drink. “Yes, I left him. I have things to do.” Even to my own ears, that sounded stupid. “Okay, don’t say it. I have nothing to do, but I couldn’t stay.”
“Do you think that was a wise move?”
Logan busied himself pre-heating the oven and taking this morning’s pastries out of the refrigerator while glancing at me as if I were a wild animal he didn’t want to startle.
“Sleeping with him or leaving him?”
“Well, both probably.”
“Lo, I have no fucking idea. I wish I could say I did, but I don’t.
” Ever was my go-to person for relationship and sex talk, as were some of the other ladies in the family.
I rarely talked to my brother about this topic for a wealth of reasons, but he was my only option at the moment.
So lucky him. “Do I think I fucked up his helping us? To be honest, no, I don’t.
I think if he makes it through the two weeks and wants to do business together, I think he will, without a consideration to what happened between us.
” Clay didn’t exactly seem like the type of man to let anything personal get in the way of business.
Yeah, well, I didn’t think he’d give in to what sparked between us, now did I?
“What about you?” Logan asked as he slid a tray of scones in the oven.
“What about me? It doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
Except it did. This whole thing started because I pushed for it. My family, cousins and parentals, had put me in charge. Could I work with Clay? Could I stop myself from feeling anything stronger than I do right now? Could I move past him at some point, even if I saw him from time to time?
“It does, Ree, but you have to make that decision for yourself. I’ll tell you what I told the guys tonight: you’re the only one I can see doing this. It’s your vision on the line.”
Shaking my head, I put a hand up to stop his words. “It’s all of ours.”
“No. We each have our own. You, and only you, have the vision for the family, for everyone. Like Gramps always had. If Clay wants to work with us, I have no doubt you can put aside what just happened and see it through.” He rounded the island and wrapped me in a hug.
Considering his foot plus of height on me, it was like being engulfed by a bear.
“But only you can decide if anything else is possible.”
With a kiss on my head, he stepped back and crossed to the stove.
I wanted to ask what he meant, but I was afraid too.
Some things are better left unsaid and unthought.
If only I could do that latter.
Bestie
You know, a thank you wouldn’t kill you.
But only if you got some?
Also, did you know we’ve been surpassed?
Your niece has decided “Mr. Clay” is her favorite. WTF? I bought that child a new toy last week, and this is what I get?
REESE! Are you reading these?
Or are you doing something else? *Wiggles brows*
If you would just write everything in one message, I’d know when it was free to respond.
This is more me though.
Who did you have a date with, Everleigh? Why didn’t I know about it?
Ava
Abby had been talking non-stop about her new friend. I saw the opportunity and took it to get you two together. So I told my roomie I’d meet her in Rockford for dinner and a movie. She was all for it when I told her it might get you laid.
See what I did? Everything in one message. :P
Seriously?
I hate you.
Pffft. Now tell me. Was there any laying involved?
Ummm….
YES!
Meet me in town for lunch.
Noon at Millie’s.
Raising my face to the sun, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
The normal small-town noises floated around me, from the country music blaring from a passing car to dogs barking as they were walked around the town square.
Humid air filled my lungs while sunlight warmed my face, but I expected nothing different during early June in Virginia.
Simply being in town grounded me, and right now I needed it.
The previous hours had dragged by, and with each passing minute, I worried more and more about running into Clay.
About what I’d say to him after scurrying out of my apartment.
About what I’d feel when I saw him again.
Would I breathe easily knowing I satisfied a craving for more of him, or would the need be stronger?
I worried it would be the latter, because what the hell would I do then?
It was dumb luck I hadn’t been at the desk when he’d come into the house. Luck I’d had very little of lately. My brother made sure to tell me, however, that I had one very unhappy man searching for me.
It wasn’t the first time, and it likely wouldn’t be the last time.
Nor would it be the last time I hid from him, even if unintentionally, while trying to get my bearings.