“I told him you were amazing. That we were explosive together.” She paused to hiccup several times again before continuing. “I wasn’t about to look like a pathetic, sexless woman, sitting home pining over my ex, who was talking about all the good sex he’s having. That’s what sold me on this new idea. While we’re apart, Carl won’t be the only one living it up. If he doesn’t like it, I guess he’ll have to get his shit together and beg me to come back.”
“Well, I’ve got bad news for you.”
“What’s that?” she asked as we approached the bar, and I reached for the door.
“As far as everyone in Cottonwood Cove knows—and the rest of the world, if I’m being honest,” I said, pausing as she rested against the door and looked up at me, waiting for me to finish what I was saying. Country music boomed from the bar.
“Yeah?”
“You’re my woman. And I can’t have you out there looking for a random man.”
Her lips turned up in the corners. “You want me, don’t you, Chewy?”
I did, didn’t I?
Cage was right.
The thought of claiming Reese in a way I never imagined possible didn’t have me running scared.
I wanted her as more than my fake girlfriend.
As more than just a best friend.
I wanted to make Reese Murphy feel good in a way her boyfriend never would.
Even if I knew I couldn’t keep her forever. Eventually, she’d go back to Carl because that was who she wanted to spend her life with.
And my life would return to normal.
Dating and having a good time.
But for this short time… I wanted this.
“Bah! I got you.” She patted my cheek and chuckled. “You should have seen your face. The fear. Don’t worry. I’m more than aware that this isn’t real, Chewy. So, we’ll just have to figure out how we’re going to find me a lover that I can sneak around with. Come on. Tonight, I just want to dance with you.”
She led me to the dance floor, and I wanted to stop her and tell her she was wrong.
Because for the first time in my life, I realized I wanted a woman who didn’t want me back.
ten
Reese
I woke up with my mouth dry and my head pounding. I’d had several tequila shots at Garrity’s, and if memory served, Finn had tossed me over his shoulder and walked all the way home when he’d insisted that I’d had enough.
And then I remembered that he’d tucked me into my bed and put a glass of water on the nightstand for me. I felt around for the glass, and just as my dehydrated mouth started to water, I knocked the glass onto the carpet and spilled the water.
Damn it.
This was why I’d never been a big drinker.
But I’d had a lot of fun.
Too much fun.
Finn and I danced for hours.
I stumbled to my feet and found my phone. It was three o’clock in the morning, and I’d been asleep for less than an hour. I made my way to the kitchen and poured a large glass of water, chugging it beside the sink.
I heard a noise.
It sounded like someone was groaning.
Finn was known for sleepwalking, and I couldn’t even count how many times he’d wandered around when we were kids and when we lived together as adults.
“Chewy?” I whispered as I tiptoed down the hall toward his bedroom.
The house was dark, but a light was coming from beneath his door, which was cracked open. I stood beside it and heard a deep moan.
I pushed the door open the slightest bit and saw the lamp sitting on his bedside table was turned on, providing just the slightest bit of light. I heard the gruff noise again, and I tiptoed toward the bathroom. I was still drunk enough that my walk felt a little wobbly, but I was sober enough to be curious about what was going on.
Was he sleepwalking?
Did he have a woman here?
We’d come home alone together.
I held my breath as I moved through his dimly lit bedroom. The bathroom door was ajar. The light from his closet must have been on, because there was just enough light to make out his silhouette. He stood over the sink, head down, boxers shoved down as he gripped his dick and stroked himself.
I’d never seen anything more magnificent in my life.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and the muscles in his back strained with each pump of his hand.
I pushed into the bathroom further, and he froze for a moment before glancing over his shoulder.
“You watching me, Reese?”
“I am,” I whispered.
“Come here.” He turned toward me, stroking himself slower now. “Does this turn you on?”