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If I wasn’t so full of fairy dust from my night with Taylor, I’d be more than pissed, I’d be black with rage.
Riding back to the clubhouse, I pulled over next to a field of corn and called Taylor. She didn’t answer the first call, but picked up the second.
“Hey.” I couldn’t help but smile when I heard her voice. I was looking forward to seeing her and having her beautiful body under mine later. I needed to kiss her sweet lips to get the foul taste of sleaze out of my mouth.
“Hey.” Her voice was smoky, like she was still tangled in the warm bed I’d left her in.
“I’ve got some business back at the clubhouse, but I can wrap it up in a few hours. You want to go out for supper? Or you want to eat in?”
She hesitated. “Yeah, I don’t know…I mean…I’m not sure.”
There was something strange in her voice.
“I can pick up some takeout and be at your place by six.”
“Yeah…I don’t know…”
She sounded off.
“Babe, is everything okay?”
I heard her hesitate again. “Maybe tonight isn’t a good idea.”
“You don’t want me to come over?”
I heard her swallow thickly as she hesitated. “I’ve got a bit of a headache.”
I looked across at the corn crops swaying in the gentle wind.
“I’m very good with my hands. Scalp massages happen to be my specialty.”
She chuckled softly. “That’s definitely not your specialty.”
“I can do that, too, if you think it will help,” I added huskily, knowing exactly what she was talking about.
She laughed again but it faded fast. “Maybe I should have an early night.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I think…I’m just tired.”
She was blowing me off.
She didn’t sound tired.
She sounded like she was lying.
Had last night scared her off? She’d seemed fine this morning. So soft and welcoming. Hell, she’d trembled beneath me, moaning my name with pleasure when I’d made her come.
But now…something wasn’t quite right.
Was she pulling away from me?
Fuck.
“Are you sure that’s it?” I asked, my voice hard.
She hesitated, and it twisted a knot in my chest.
“Sure. Yes. Of course.”
She was lying. I could hear it in her voice. I raked my hand through my hair. I knew I should let it go. Get off the phone and see her tomorrow. But the idea that she was pulling away from us fucking killed me.
“Listen, are we okay?” The long pause told me we weren’t.
I thought I heard her bite back a sob, but I couldn’t be sure. Her voice was small. “I just feel a little unwell tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
I nodded, not because of her comment, but because my suspicions were right, something was wrong and she was avoiding me.
I had taken things too far.
Gotten lost in what I felt for her.
And it had frightened her.
Now she was running scared.
Feeling uneasy, I decided to let it go. I wanted to make her mine, but I was fighting an invisible entity. Something I couldn’t see. Something she wouldn’t share. And if I pushed, she would retreat even further.
“If you change your mind, give me a call, okay?”
Something was wrong with my little bird, and the idea that she might regret what was happening between us gutted me.
But I would give her the space she wanted tonight. Then tomorrow, I was going to find out what the fuck had gone wrong.
TAYLOR
After I hung up from Bull, I picked up Noah and took him home. When it got dark, I crawled into bed, feeling heavy with emotion. I knew Bull wanted answers. And he deserved them. But I was afraid once I opened that can of worms it would be the end for us.
I thought about last night and this morning, and my stomach churned with guilt and regret. What we had was magical. But it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. And I’d been foolish getting lost in the addictive delirium of it.
I turned restlessly on my bed, finding it hard to relax. Since receiving that phone call my world had turned upside down. My heart had broken.
Now, my body ached and my head pounded with anxiety, until I could barely keep my eyes open. I squeezed them shut and let go of my thoughts, allowing my mind to drift away as I sank into a strange, broken twilight sleep.
Sunlight glittered through trees with a dreamy, late afternoon light. We lay on the warm grass, laughing, the perfume of spring magnolias hanging in the air. I loved these moments with Jacob. Loved how we laughed and how at ease we were together.
Jacob was my very best friend in the whole world. Someone I loved. I didn’t need to be anyone but myself with him.
The sound of the car pulling into the driveway drew our attention away from our laughter. I rolled onto my stomach and watched Alex’s wife, Victoria, bring her Porsche to a stop, and climb out, her dark bob bouncing as she walked inside. I glanced over at Jacob who was watching her intently.
