AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I did my best to snuff that coal out for the hundredth time and started backing away, the delicious bowl of chili I was still holding all but forgotten. “Well, it was really nice meeting you, Mary, and thank you, Alexis. I—I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”
Before either of them could respond, I turned on my heel and hot-stepped it away from the Clarke family booth, my friends trailing behind me.
“Does someone want to tell me why we’re walking so fast?” Wynn asked.
I didn’t slow down. “Nope. Just eager to get to the other booths before it gets too late.”
“I call BS,” Shane said, humor laced through her words. “My guess is it has something to do with a certain deputy staring at our friend here like she was an ice cream cone he wanted to slowly lick.”
Wynn pulled in a sharp breath. “You saw that too, huh?”
Deva, ever the well-meaning friend, jumped to what shethoughtwas my defense. “Guys, it’s not like that, okay? Actually, out of loyalty to Lyric, we all have to hate him for what he did after they slept—”
And this was what happened when you provided a sweet innocent with even the slightest amount of alcohol.
“Wait.What?” Shane squeaked.
I reluctantly came to a stop when I felt all of them grind to a halt behind me. Slowly, I turned around to find Wynn and Shane staring with wide, gaping eyes while Deva pulled her face into a cringe. “I’m sorry. It just slipped out! It was the beer.”
Wynn jabbed her finger at me, her tone growing fierce. “Start talking right this minute, missy.”
I arched a brow. “Are you trying Mary’s mother thing on me right now? Because I have to tell you, it’s not working.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, fine then. I’ll just make a scene.”
She sucked in a huge breath like she was about to start yelling. I rushed over to her, waving my hands in panic. “Okay! Okay, I’ll talk! Just—don’t make a typical Wynn scene, all right?”
She smiled triumphantly while I waved my little crew over to an empty picnic table to our right.
I let out a resigned sigh and started in. “It’s really not a big deal, but... Holton and I kind of had a one-night stand a while back.”
Wynn and Shane watched on silently, like they were waiting for more while Deva screwed her face up before blurting, “I wouldn’t put it so mildly. The jerk smashed your heart to bits the morning after when he told you it was a mistake.”
I leveled Deva with a flat look. “Honey, you’re never allowed to drink again.”
She pulled her lips into aneekbefore slapping her hands over them. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s happening!”
Wynn looked ready to throw down. “I’ll kill him.”
A suppressed huff of laughter pushed through my nose. “Easy killer. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to have to visit you in jail.”
Shane held up her hand, shaking her head in confusion. “Wait, he actually said that to you?”
I lifted a single shoulder in a shrug. “Not in those words exactly, but that was the gist of it.” My mind went back to what he’d said as I stood in my kitchen that morning and how badly it had hurt. I wouldn’t say he’d smashed my heart to bits as Deva had so eloquently described, but that wasn’t too far off the mark. Itstillhurt. Even now. “He made it clear he regretted it and couldn’t get out of my place fast enough.”
Wynn’s expression was fierce and pissed. “Yeah,definitelykilling him.”
Shane didn’t look any less confused than she’d been a minute ago. “I don’t understand. I mean, we saw how he was watching you; it was obvious there was something really freaking intense there. I mean, I thought he was seconds away from vaulting over that counter between you and ripping your clothes off.”
My whole body flushed at the image she’d just painted. Mainly because it wasn’t too far off the mark. That night, Holton Clarke, the all-American deputy, the protector of the people of Redemption, the good guy everyone loved was long gone, replaced with a man all too eager to fuck me right into the mattress. It was a side of him I was pretty sure not many people had seen, and it still made me so damn hot I had to squeeze my thighs together for relief.
I tried my best not to squirm in my seat, but the throb in my core and the scrape of my hard nipples against the lace of my bra was driving me insane. And that just pissed me off. I never thought it would be possible to be angry and turned on at the same time, but Holton was driving me crazy. I felt like he was giving me whiplash.
Steeling my spine and lifting my chin, I coated my words with determination as I stated, “Well, it doesn’t matter how he was looking at me. I don’t know if this was some kind of sick game he’s playing or if he’s just confused. All I know is it’s time for me to get the hell off this ride.”
My words may have sounded resolute, but inside, I was feeling anything but.
* * *
