AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Harper was one of those girls who was pretty without even trying. Twenty-seven years old, the same age as Emma, Harper barely wore any makeup, and typically wore jeans and cute lacy tops. Her hazel eyes didn’t need anything but a little mascara to stand out, and her honey-colored blond hair was a stunning color women in New York City would pay big bucks to achieve. From what Emma had learned, Harper didn’t just work at Kinky Spurs—in fact, she’d finished culinary school in Denver recently, becoming a certified chef.
Har
per greeted Emma with a warm hug, then said, “You are supposed to be alive, but a girl must be preoccupied with a hot man if she forgets to answer her phone. I was getting worried.”
“Oh, shit,” Emma grumbled. Dammit, she hadn’t taken her phone with her last night. “I’m sorry, I stayed at Shep’s.”
Harper slowly began to grin. “Now this I have to hear, and since you made me worry, you should feel terrible, which means I deserve to hear every juicy detail.”
Emma laughed and turned toward the fence, giving the animals one last look. Everyone was settled, grazing in the field. “Come on, let’s go inside and make some coffee. This is going to take a while.”
Harper laced her arm with Emma’s. “I like the sound of this story already.”
Arm in arm they hurried into the house, and Emma set to brewing the coffee in the kitchen.
“Oh, before I forget because the hot shit you’re going to tell me is going to melt my brain.” Harper dropped into the chair at the kitchen table, crossing her legs. “Megan said you can take as long as you want off. She’s got you covered.”
“Actually, about that,” Emma said, turning on the faucet to fill up the coffee pot. “Tell her I’ll be there tonight.”
Harper frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to ride the sick leave train any longer?”
Emma shook her head. She was a worker, and while she liked her free time with Shep, she didn’t want to grow too used to that either. “I’m good.” Truth was, she had an ulterior motive for wanting to go back to work. She wanted to see Shep again in that element now. She craved to taste again what she’d felt on that stage with him. That intensity. And this time, she could let the fantasy build throughout the night and then sleep with him to a perfect satisfaction.
With the coffee brewed, Emma poured it into two mugs then fetched the sugar and milk, placing them all on the table. When she took her seat, Harper nearly bounced out of hers. “Tell me all the juice about Shep Blackshaw!”
“The juice is that Shep’s hot.” Emma laughed softly.
“That is not enough juice.” Harper’s eyes all but sparkled. “Tell me everything.”
Emma regarded her friend. She looked a little too interested. “Why do you want to know so bad?”
“Are you kidding me?” Harper leaned forward, face lit up. “To be with a Blackshaw brother makes you immediately the talk of Kinky Spurs.”
Emma sighed. “Which, of course, is exactly what I don’t want.” It was so far from what she wanted, in fact. “And what does being with one of them matter anyway?”
“Um, hello, have you seen them?”
Emma shrugged. “Actually, no, I’ve never met Chase and Nash.”
“Well, honey, let me tell you. The Blackshaw boys are like the hot fudge to an ice cream sundae. They are that sweet, hot, delicious thing that every girl wants.”
“Because they’re good looking?”
“That, and they know their way between the sheets.” Harper hesitated and shrugged. “Or at least that’s the word around the Spurs.”
A cold discomfort began to slide up Emma’s spine, the hair rising on her neck. Before she got ahead of herself and panicked where she didn’t need to panic, she reminded herself that this was nothing like what she’d had with Jake. She and Shep weren’t dating, and she certainly wasn’t falling for him because A, no one fell in love after a few days and B, her emotions were too messed up to love anyone else but herself right now.
Harper leaned forward, eyes bright. “So, lay it on me. Is Shep all that his reputation claims him to be?”
Emma couldn’t lie. “I don’t know what his reputation claims him to be, but I imagine he’s actually better than that.”
“Damn, I’m so jelly,” Harper quipped.
Emma laughed, sipped her coffee, then added, “To be honest, it’s more than the incredible sex. He just feels good to be around.”
Harper nodded like she totally understood. “He’s total alpha, and he’s got his shit together. A perfect combination.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.” Emma paused and considered. “I think the thing I find sexiest about him is that he pays so much attention to me. I’m not used to that.”
