“Fuck,” he finally whispered, his voice hoarse from shouting.
“Yeah,” I agreed, staring up at the ceiling. “That what you wanted, so that’s what you got.”
I expected him to start freaking out, to jump up and run back to his room filled with regret and shame. Instead, he rolled onto his side, facing me, his expression thoughtful in the moonlight.
“You were right,” he said softly.
“About what?” I turned my head to look at him.
“I won’t forget this.” A small smile played at his lips. “Ever.”
Something warm and unfamiliar bloomed in my chest at his words. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This was supposed to be just a fuck, a way to pass the time and ruin the too-good pastor. It wasn’t supposed to make me feel... whatever the fuck this was.
I rolled away from him, sitting up on the edge of the bed. “You should go back to your room,” I said, my voice gruffer than I intended. “It’s late and I’m done with you.”
I felt the mattress shift as he sat up behind me. His hand, tentative and gentle, touched my shoulder. “Cash...”
“Go,” I repeated, shrugging off his touch. “We both got what we wanted. No need to make it weird.”
His hand fell away, and I heard him sigh softly. The bed shifted again as he got up, and I listened to the sound of him gathering his clothes from the floor. I kept my back to him, not trusting myself to look at him standing there naked and well-fucked in the moonlight.
“Thank you,” he said quietly from the doorway.
I snorted. “For what? Fucking you?”
“For making me remember what it feels like to be alive.”
Before I could respond, he was gone, the soft click of the door the only evidence he’d been there at all. Well, that and his cum all over my sheets.
I stared at the empty doorway, my heartbeat still pounding in my ears. His words hung in the air between us, cutting deeper than I wanted to admit. What the fuck did he mean by that? Making him feel alive? This wasn’t supposed to be meaningful. It was supposed to be a quick fuck, a way to scratch an itch while I waited to get out of this godforsaken town.
And yet... there was something about the way he’d looked at me, something in those blue eyes that made my chest tighten uncomfortably.
“Fuck him,” I muttered, falling back onto the bed. The sheets were damp and the whole room smelled like sex.
Maybe shouldn’t have kicked him out like that. Then again, that was the plan. Fuck him and send him packing. But the hurt in his voice when I dismissed him... It bothered me more than it should have.
I rolled onto my side, punching my pillow into a more comfortable shape. This was getting complicated for no reason, and I hated complications. All I wanted was to sell the ranch, get my money, and disappear. The last thing I needed was some pastor with puppy dog eyes getting attached to me.
But damn, he’d felt good. Better than I’d expected. The way he’d surrendered to me, the sounds he’d made... the memory of him begging for more had my cock stirring again despite myself.
“Get it together, Cash,” I grumbled, turning over to get comfortable. “You’ve got a new life waitin’ for you. Nobody wants you here anyway.”
With that final thought, I forced my eyes closed and tried to sleep.
But all I could see in my mind’s eye was Mike, desperate and begging for more. And the worst part was, I wanted to do it all again, no matter how much I tried to deny it.
Chapter 12
Mike
Iwas sitting in a corner booth at the diner, nursing a cup of coffee, and trying to ignore the ache that reminded me of my poor decisions the night before.
Letting Cash Callahan fuck me senseless wasn’t exactly theworstdecision I’d ever made. But it was definitely in my top five. Because now, despite whatever had happened between us, Cash was still going to be living at the parsonage for some time. We had to get on with our day-to-day business while knowing full well what we’d done. For him, that might not be a problem. But I knew myself.
Cash had been one of the best fucks I’d had in years, possibly ever. And that meant, no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn’t be able to look at him the same. That made him dangerous to be around. He now held a power over me. I’d never be able to look into his eyes and not think of the way his thick cock felt inside me.
That didn’t sound exactly proper for a preacher in a small town. Not to mention, Cash was a broken man. Even after fucking me, he refused to talk about anything personal. He’d kicked me out of his room for even asking.
