Wade
Fuck me sideways.
It took every ounce of strength in my body to rip my eyes from the vision of Ray bent over in the doorframe, tugging on her boots. Her tits were barely restrained in the low neckline of her dress, and when she bent over to pull her boot on?
Fuck me.
I was sure one of them was going to fall out, and I silently prayed to whoever was listening for it to happen.
Once she stood up, I raked my eyes over her entire body. She was stunning. Actually, stunning is too simple a word for the knockout standing in front of me. She was all curves and softness, yet her gaze was sharp as a knife.
As if the curtain had been pulled back and my eyes were seeing her for the first time, I couldn’t get enough. She was all silky tanned skin, thick, dark hair, and those lips… fuck.
When her eyes caught mine, her signature smirk kicked up on one side of her mouth. The things I’d do to that mou—
Nope. Not going there.
This was my best friend, for Christ’s sake. I had known this girl since we were preteens.
But the thing about growing up? Rayna Cortez wasn’t a girl anymore. She was an incredibly intelligent, hardworking, and caring woman. Not to mention, sexy as all fucking get out.
The self-deprecating thoughts started creeping in, a black cloud over the bright light that surrounded Ray.
She could do better than me. She deserved better than me. I wasn’t the type of man who deserved her. She needed someone who could make her happy, who was stable, a man who knew what he wanted out of life and wasn’t afraid to go after it.
Six months ago, I probably could have been that man. Now? I can barely get out of bed without a stiff drink in my hand and a whirlwind of thoughts about how useless I am.
I wouldn’t ever be able to deserve Ray, as much as I wanted to. I wasn’t that carefree man anymore.
Clearing my throat of the tightness of anxiety that threatened to cut off my breathing, I brought myself back to reality.
“You ready?” I asked her, stepping off the front porch and waiting for her to follow.
Ray didn’t reply, but I saw a quick flicker of sadness wash across her features.
She schooled it back into neutrality, but I had seen it, and the gut punch of realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
She was dressed up tonight, and it was far from her normal look.
Had she dressed up for me? There was no way.
I pushed the thought from my mind as I climbed in the truck and turned the key, the engine roaring to life.
The entire drive to Jack’s was spent in awkward silence, something neither of us was familiar with. It was unnerving to watch the town roll by without the constant commentary of what was happening at Ray’s house.
With ten kids, there was always a story to tell. But she sat silent, her hands clasped in front of her, watching out the window as if anything was more interesting than the inside of my truck cab.
It was unnatural to see her so docile. There hadn’t been a time since I’d met her in the cove that summer evening when Ray had been silent.
One of two things was happening: she was either upset about something and didn’t want to talk, or she was coming up with a plan. Neither was an inherently good option.
Pulling into the parking lot, her demeanor changed. A mask seemed to fall into place, arranging her features into her customary cheerful facade.
She looked over in my direction, her gaze full of fire as she smiled. Despite the dance of flames in her eyes, an unrelenting icy dread consumed me.
Something about the look on her face had my balls involuntarily shriveling and my dick rock hard with desire.
Ray was scary when she was mad, but this look? It was sheer determination, and I was sitting in the driver’s seat, an uncomfortable mix of deathly afraid and undeniably turned on.