I desperately hoped I was wrong, but honestly… Only time would tell. In the meantime, I needed to protect my heart until I was sure Bishop would go all in with me like I was ready to be all in with him.
bishop
. . .
I hadsex with Lennox Hayes, and now she was asleep in my arms, drooling on my chest.
We’d stayed curled up on this tiny velvet couch, talking and touching and kissing until we’d apparently fallen asleep at some point during the night. It sure as hell wasn’t comfortable, either. Every muscle in my body ached as I woke to soft-spoken voices instead of the blaring alarm sound I’d used since I was a kid.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still used an alarm clock. I only used my phone as a backup in case we lost power. It wasn’t until I blinked away the sleep that I realized where I was or what I heard.
“…seen Bishop this morning?”
“No, but he could’ve ridden out early. He was bitchin’ about the fences down by the gate last night. Said they needed fixin’ ASAP.”
“Naw, Titan’s still here. Think he’s sick?”
There was a pause, and then both men laughed. “He’s worked through the flu before.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Lennox and I had fallen asleep on the couch.
In the old hayloft.
And now the barn below was crawling with employees and likely, her family.
Goddammit, Bishop. This is exactly why this was a horrible idea. Now the entire ranch is gonna know you fucked the boss’s daughter.
Panic took hold as voices filtered through the space—mundane conversations about what they had for breakfast or their weekend plans. Given the amount of people filtering in, I guessed it was around seven in the morning. How were we supposed to get out of here without raising suspicion? It was one thing for her to waltz down the steps and go about her day, but not for me.
I looked down at the woman lying on my chest. She was so beautiful, even with a thin line of drool spilling from her lips. A large window near the stairs filled the space with sunlight.
Everything looked different in the light of day. The loft was cozy enough that the small amount of clothes and random pillows around the floor made the space look cluttered. I’d seen Lennox’s room once in my life and knew this was standard operating procedure. She thrived in chaos, in an organized disorder.
Sometimes I’d ask her where something was just to be a smartass, and she would mouth off the exact location with her arms crossed and an “I fucking told you so” look on her face.
The shelves were filled with trophies and ribbons from her early riding days. There were random knick-knacks in the mix—some I recognized and some I didn’t. Only Lennox would have a goddamn disco ball as a shelf ornament.
In the past, I’d never cared much about how women decorated their spaces the morning after a hookup. I was quick to thank them for a great time, get dressed, and go about my day, but this was different.
I wanted to wake Lennox up and ask her about every object that piqued my curiosity. I wanted to watch a smile spread across her face as she vividly recalled the memories—becausethat woman could tell a story like nobody’s business—and imagine myself by her side.
More than anything, I wanted to stay here and watch her sleep, but I knew I couldn’t. The barn had gone silent apart from the horses chuffing in their stalls. Morning feeding was long over. If I slipped out now, I could probably make it to my cabin before anyone else came looking for me.
Worst case scenario, I could tell whoever I ran into that I’d been up all night with food poisoning to buy myself a little sympathy.
No one ever questioned that shit.
Slowly, I disentangled myself from Lennox, grabbing one of her pillows and sliding it beneath her head. She made a little whimpering noise that had me second-guessing, leaving her behind, but time wasn’t on our side. It wasn’t like I didn’t know where to find her. We’d see each other later today anyway.
When I was dressed, I squatted down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “See you soon, sweetheart,” I whispered, stopping as I realized the term of endearment had slipped free so easily.
What in the hell had this woman done to me last night? Suddenly, I was a worn piece of string wrapped so firmly around her finger that I’d do almost anything she asked me to. Maybe I always had been.
For all the shit we gave one another, if Lennox had asked me for something, I would’ve given it to her. It didn’t matter the time or the place, or the circumstance.
I’d do anything for her.
