Instead, his voice drops to a low growl. “Stay the fuck away from her, Keller. This is your only warning.”
The words aren’t meant for me, but the hatred in his tone makes my head snap up.
Apparently, Mr. Cowboydoeshave a name.
I blow him a goodbye kiss, giggling as I’m carried through the bar draped over Emmett’s muscled shoulder.
If the room wasn’t spinning before, it definitely is now. I try to squirm out of his hold but he squeezes me tighter—and before I can protest any further, a sharp sting blooms across my ass.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he drawls, hand lingering possessively over me. “But it’s time you call it a night.”
My gasp catches in my throat.
He actually spanked me.In front of everyone at Lucky’s.
My brain feels like it’s filled with marbles, and by the time I process it, we’re outside. The night air bites at my skin.
He gently sets me on the passenger seat of Wesley’s truck. My pulse is jackhammering as I scoot back to the middle of the bench seat, putting space between us, but I’m unable to take my eyes off the rise and fall of his chest.
I lean back on my elbows, gaze dragging down the hard lines of his body. His thighs, his shoulders, the outline of his cock beneath his jeans. When my eyes flick up again, his are darker, hungry, and he licks his lips slowly, crawling toward me across the seat.
Our noses nearly touch, breath mingling, his eyes burning into mine. I see it—the exact second he falters, poised between walking away and giving in.
His hands come down on the seat, caging me in, and suddenly his weight is pressing between my legs. I can feel us teetering,about to break open into something we won’t be able to take back—
And then the driver’s-side door wrenches open and Wesley slides behind the wheel.
I jolt, sitting up, heat and shame flooding me as Emmett pushes himself upright into his seat.
The silence is suffocating as we buckle in and Wesley starts the truck, his jaw locked tight.
Did he see the way his brother and I were looking at each other?
God, I’m pathetic. Iwanthim to be jealous. If he’s jealous, he still cares. If he ever really cared at all.
The opening chords of “Fade Into You” crackle through the speakers, and my chest caves in. My phone must have connected automatically.
Wesley reaches for the volume knob, his hand grazing the skin of my bare thigh. The contact burns, and his eyes catch mine in the rearview mirror.
Memories from that night flash through my mind. A montage of what once was.
His stubbled cheek rubbing against the inside of my thighs. Our skin glowing under the moon and stars. The way my body molded around him.
He looks away first, averting his eyes back to the road, but I see the flick of his gaze on me again and again. He rubs his palm on his thigh, back and forth as the song continues playing. I’m haunted by the reminder of everything I’ve lost this summer.
By the time we pull up to the main house, all I want is to cocoon myself into my favorite quilt and sleep forever.
Wesley hops out of the truck quickly, slamming the door behind him. He’s inside before I can clumsily stumble out of the passenger side.
Okay, so maybe I’m a little drunker than I thought.
I trip over my own feet, and before I can faceplant into the gravel, Emmett’s arm snakes around my waist—catching me, steadying me, and guiding me up the porch steps without ever letting go.
Inside, I toe my boots off quietly, peeking over my shoulder toward him. He’s waiting at the base of the stairs, watching me in a way that makes the air feel different. Then he reaches out and threads his fingers through mine, tugging me gently up the steps. He walks me right past my bedroom door, past Wesley’s, until we stop in front of his.
My eyes fall to my hand still linked to his, our fingers woven together. The air thickens between us and my pulse thrums wildly in my ears, drowning out everything else.
“Wanna know a secret?” he murmurs, a soft whisper against my ear.
