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“Jed Pruitt.”
Rooster nodded and scrubbed a hand over his mouth. He rocked back on his heels, his gaze shifting away from me, past my shoulder. Even though only a few inches stood between us, it felt like a chasm as big as the Grand Canyon. To prevent myself from apologizing, I started to ramble.
“We met after you…were gone. It happened so fast, Rooster. I was so goddamn angry, at you, at the world. Jed was a way to burn off that anger. We were rough together. Always fighting. Always screaming at each other. But I knew I could be angry with him and it was okay. Everyone else told me to get over you but I just…I couldn’t. And then one night, I’d had too much to drink. Jed did, too. The next thing I knew, we were at the courthouse, getting married.”
Rooster dragged his gaze back to me. I searched his face for understanding. I wouldn’t blame him if he was disgusted with me. I wouldn’t blame him if he walked away and never spoke to me again. This was my mess. I had to deal with the consequences.
“Do you love him?” Rooster asked softly.
I shook my head. “No. I never did.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied me. My skin felt hot and tight beneath the gaze of his sharp blue eyes.
“Did he hurt you?”
I gulped at the dark edge in Rooster’s voice, the rigid tension in his shoulders.
“No,” I whispered. “Not physically. But I quickly realized I didn’t like the person I became when I was with him. I turned into this shell of a woman and I hated it. Three days later, I filed for a divorce. It’s been a year and he refuses to sign the papers. I tried to get an annulment but it was denied. So, I left. I hoped that maybe if I was out of sight, out of mind, he would forget about me.”
Rooster made a noise of disagreement.
“You should know by now, it’s damn near impossible to forget a woman like you, Lou.”
Did you forget about me?I almost asked.
But no, just by looking at his face, I could tell I had lingered in the back of Rooster’s mind ever since he left Louisiana. A lump formed in my throat and I swayed toward him, my weight tipped onto my toes. All I wanted to do was sink into his arms, listen to his heartbeat, and feel the warmth of his skin against mine.
Tears blurred my vision and I squeezed my eyes shut. Turning my head aside, I swiped the tears away. Then I blew out a shaky breath.
“I fucked up, Rooster. I fucked up really bad and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Hey, hey,” he said gently. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll figure out something.”
“I can’t drag you into this. It’s not your fight.”
Rooster brushed his knuckles against my cheek, rubbing his thumb affectionately over my chin. I bit my tongue hard as fresh tears welled up in my eyes.
Curling my fingers around Rooster’s wrist, I shifted closer. He slid his palm against my cheek, cradling me. His other arm came around my waist as he inhaled a deep, steadying breath.
Slowly, carefully, I laid my head against Rooster’s chest. Years and years of tension I didn’t realize I’d been hauling around melted away. He was warm and solid andright here.How many times had I cried myself to sleep, wishing he would ride back into Baton Rouge and take me away with him? How many times had I cursed him for leaving me behind without a second look? How many times had I begged and bargained and pleaded to the empty, open road?
Please come back to me and I’ll forgive you for everything.
But I’m a married woman now. I have a husband, even if there’s no love between us. Rooster belonged to the past. He had to stay there. I needed to move on.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
As I pushed away, Rooster caught my face in his hands, dipped his head, and kissed me. As soon as the heat of his lips met mine, I whimpered. Twisting my fingers into his shirt, I deepened the kiss, biting at his lower lip, sliding my tongue against his. Rooster moved his hands down to my ass and squeezed, pulling me flush against him until I could feel the hard ridge of his cock, straining against his jeans.
Don’t do this,I told myself.Don’t go down this road.
Rooster fisted his hand in my hair, tugged my head back. When his mouth met the sensitive, delicate skin of my neck, I shuddered and my knees threatened to buckle.
You’re married to someone else,I told myself.And Rooster has already broken your heart once before.
“Inside,” I gasped.
I steered Rooster backward toward the door of my motel room. My fingers made quick work of his belt. He kept one hand anchored at my hip, holding me against him, until we were forced to trip and stumble over each other. Neither of us wanted to allow even a scrap of distance between us after years apart.
