Three times.
And she’d given as good as she’d gotten. He’d lost count of how many times she’d shattered.
But she’d been a virgin. What the hell had he been thinking?
“Where are you going?” He hadn’t meant to ask that question. He had meant to...apologize maybe. Instead, he could only focus on the kick of regret that he felt over the fact she put her jeans back on.
“I don’t have work clothes,” she said quietly. “I need to go get some. I need to get into the house without anyone seeing.”
“Why?”
“I’m still in the same clothes from last night. Anyway. I told Sammy that I might be out with friends. So...I can just tell her that I got drunk at the bar and fell asleep on my friend Lacey’s couch. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Right.”
Not that big of a deal. Everything inside of him felt like it had been demolished with a wrecking ball.
“I’ll see you for work.”
She turned toward him, and his gut tightened, his dick instantly getting hard. She was topless. And she had the most beautiful breasts he’d ever seen. It wasn’t the size, though they were generous enough. The shape. The way they fit in his hands. The color of her nipples, and the way they tightened when she was aroused. Or cold. He wasn’t exactly sure which she was now. But she was something.
“I... Yeah. I’ll see you at the barn.” She nodded decisively, a very Rose move, then went into the living room. He got out of bed, not bothering to grab any clothes, following her, getting there just in time to see her pick her bra up from the ground.
“You don’t have to leave.”
“We have work to do.”
She looked at him, and even in the gray light he could see color mounting in her cheeks. He looked down. He was sporting an erection, and wasn’t doing anything to hide it.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “You know we have work.”
It took him a minute to realize what she was apologizing for. “Are you...apologizing for my...?”
“Yes. Sorry about your penis. Anyway. I’ll see you.”
She dressed quickly, and scampered out like a frightened rabbit with a fox on her tail. And he supposed it was a fair enough move, all things considered.
Fox. Hen.
He had already eaten her up, though. So, the running was happening a little bit late.
After that he decided to get in a cold shower, and get dressed, doing his damnedest to not replay the events of the night before.
That had been a mistake.
Liar.
He gritted his teeth.
Yeah, he was really good at telling himself all the things he wished that he believed.
That Rose was some virgin princess who deserved better than a rough roll in the hay with a guy who couldn’t offer her more than good sex.
That he felt guilty for what he’d done. That it was a mistake and shouldn’t happen again.
Yeah. That was what a decent guy would think.
As he stepped out onto the porch and put his cowboy hat on his head, looking out at the ranch, this place that was his in part because of Rose’s brother. Because of the bond that they shared, which should have been something he wanted to honor a bit more. It was all the same.
All of it. Nothing had changed since he had stripped Rose Dalton naked on his couch. Since he had taken her virginity in his bedroom. The sky was still blue, the mountains were still tall and strong. It was just the inside of him that felt different.
Or perhaps, grimly aware of what he was.
Hank Dalton’s son, whether he wanted to be or not.
Because if he asked himself what Hank Dalton would have done, with a pretty little thing that showed up on his doorstep... Well, the answer was everything Logan had done.
Except, Hank Dalton wouldn’t have used a condom.
At least there was the condom.
He went out to the barn, but Rose wasn’t there. And so he got to his chores, expecting that she would show up at some point.
He didn’t see her. All day. Not until he came in the house at dinnertime, the smell of some kind of spicy baked good hitting him with force, right at the same time Rose appeared in the living room, making him crave a whole different kind of sweet.
“Didn’t see you all day,” he said.
“I was busy,” she said. “Ended up getting caught in the far pasture. Sorry about that.”
He would’ve been tempted to think that everything was normal. Except for the set of her shoulders. Usually, Rose had a particular look to her. Stood defiant, her posture straight. Instead, she was bowed in slightly, and that was unusual.
But almost the instant that he noticed it, she had corrected it, looking at him with defiance he couldn’t ignore.
That little brat was going to pretend that nothing had happened.
All of the nothing that they had done flashed into his mind. Naked skin and gasps of pleasure. The way that her skin tasted against his tongue. The way that soft body had felt beneath his hands.
Yeah, there was a reason this had been something they couldn’t do. Shouldn’t do.
It was just that he didn’t care anymore. It was done. And he wasn’t going to play around with it.
Maybe because you’re thirty-three and not twenty-three.
Well. Maybe. Wouldn’t hurt her to get a dose of maturity.
But there was nothing he could say because then Iris was in the room, greeting her sister with a much warmer smile than they’d gotten yesterday.
“Hi,” Iris said.
“Hi,” Rose said, and if he didn’t know Rose, he would have said that her greeting was shy. Hell, he supposed it was.
“I made your favorite,” Iris said. “Fried chicken and mashed potatoes.”
Rose lit up. “You did? Thank you.” She looked hopeful.
Food meant a lot to Rose. And in general, said a lot about the family. Iris and Sammy had been cooking for all of them for years. But particularly Iris, who had learned at a young age, and it made sure
