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Suddenly, Reese couldn’t catch her breath and her nipples pressed painfully against the soft cotton V-neck tee she had worn with her jeans.
She blinked slowly and remained focused on his face, unsure what else was going on around them. Not even caring.
All she knew was she had been in some sort of Twilight Zone. And now reality was clubbing her over the head. Just like when Warren had struck her.
She reminded herself of who she was, the reason she was there, how hard she had to work to get everything she had and how far she had come.
This man before her, this club, was reminding her of a life she had worked hard to escape. She had dragged her baby sister along with her out of the darkness and into the light where they could both have a future. Good ones.
She was not going back.
Not ever.
And neither was Reilly.
She’d make sure of it.
She slipped off the stool and glanced around until she found her sister. Ignoring Reilly’s complaints, Reese grabbed her arm and dragged her out of The Barn and back up to the apartment.
She locked the door, even knowing full well that Deacon had a key.
No matter how much she wanted him, this lifestyle was just too far out of her comfort zone. And, right now, having the door separating her and her sister from what surrounded them helped her gather the control that had slipped from her fingers.
And that false sense helped her breathe a little easier.
Chapter Fifteen
Reese checked to see if Reilly was sleeping. She was, if the soft, steady snores coming from her sister were any indication.
She carefully rolled out of bed and tagged the jeans she had shucked earlier. Once she hit the living room, she shimmied them up her legs and hips and under the peach satin mid-thigh chemise she had pulled on before bed. She found a pair of Reilly’s flip-flops on the floor by the couch. She slid her feet into those and her body out the front door into the mid-April night. The temperature was comfortable, and she wouldn’t need a jacket.
A creak had her head turning and she found a bare-chested Sig sprawled in a folding chair in front of his own apartment. His denim-clad legs were extended, his knees wide, his head back and he appeared completely chill. Probably because of what was in his hand.
“Hey.” He put the bowl to his lips and lifted a Bic to light it. She was a little impressed with how long he could hold the smoke in his lungs, before letting it roll from his lips into the ink-black sky.
No lights lit up the second-floor landing. Only the moon and the stars.
“Hey,” she returned the greeting, staring out into the darkness toward the open space she knew was just beyond. Stella told her the Amish farmed their fields and, in exchange, gave them an endless supply of fresh vegetables, meat, eggs and milk. “It’s peaceful out here.”
Sig snorted. “Not always. Parties can get a little wild. So can the sex. Nobody’s shy ‘round here, so expect to see some naked tits and ass, if you haven’t already. You watch long enough, might learn a thing or two.”
Reese’s mouth opened, then snapped shut. Maybe he was only kidding, so she played along. “I don’t think I need to learn a thing. Or even two.” And she had already seen plenty of naked bodies, and more, in the short time she spent downstairs earlier.
“Yeah? Then Deacon’s a lucky bastard.”
“Why’s that?”
Sig took another puff off the bowl before offering it to her, most likely just out of courtesy. But she moved closer and snagged it from his fingers. Since the contents were still lit, she took a long inhale, hearing the crackle of the pot burning.
“Damn, woman, didn’t expect you to take it.”
Suddenly, she felt fifteen again and hiding behind the B-wing of her high school with her classmates. She never had time to hang out with them after school or on weekends, so she took advantage of spending time with them between classes.
She blew the smoke out and away as she handed it back to him. She waved a hand. “Apparently, it helps me pull the stick out of my ass.”
Sig barked out a laugh and it sounded deafening compared to the quiet night.
“Do you know where Deacon is?”
“Prolly down in the bunkhouse. In his old room.”
“His old room,” Reese repeated in a murmur.
“Yeah, he’d moved into Judge’s old apartment when the Grumpy Green Giant moved out.”
She’d only been here one day, and she already knew who Sig was talking about. “Where did Judge go?”
“Rented a place in town temporarily ‘til his and his ol’ lady’s house is done bein’ built.”
She was still getting used to some of the terms these guys used. During the motorcycle ride earlier, she’d heard a few of them and asked what they meant. Apparently, Reilly had all the terms down pat already. She was fitting right in already. Which, again, worried Reese.
