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“We’ll see ourselves out,” I told Abilene, then turned to head back toward the house.
“Hope you’re wearing sunscreen,” Thatcher said. “I hear skin cancer is a real bitch.”
Rolling my eyes, I let out a deep breath. That was done. Jameson would leave Briar alone. I’d keep tabs on him for a while to be sure he never got close to her. No one was going to give her a reason to fear again.
• Seven •
“You can be such a good girl after being a little brat.”
Briar
When Storm was with me, I didn’t think about much else. Just him. Being with him. But it was when I was here without the distraction of his gorgeous smile and sexy body that I remembered all the things I needed to worry about. Living this fairy tale we were currently in was amazing, but I knew better than anyone that this wouldn’t last. Nothing good lasted. Not for me.
And I had never had anything remotely close to this good. Dovie was going to get used to it, and I hated the thought of when this ended. We’d be back to running, and she’d lose the small taste of life she was getting here. Thanks to Storm’s sister, she had her first friends other than me. People closer to her age that she could do things with.
I couldn’t stay in this house, being kept all the time. I had to get a job. Make money again and put it back. Storm thought he wanted to keep me forever, but men were fickle creatures. Eventually, he’d tire of all this. It was new right now, and, yes, the sex was the best experience of my life, but it couldn’t always be that phenomenal. Right? He’d get bored or annoyed with having us here all the time. At some point, he’d miss his privacy.
I needed to call Bash. He’d give me my job back. He said if I ever came back, I had a job, and I owed him at least two grand. He’d given me a little over three grand, but some of that was the money he’d owed me and my tips. I could work that off, then start saving until the day came when we needed it.
Reaching for my glass of water, I took a drink just as the small chime went off when the front door was opened. Turning, I walked out of the kitchen and toward the foyer.
Storm met me as I turned the corner. He was wearing a brown cowboy hat, snug black T-shirt that had the Shephard Ranch emblem in the top-left corner, a pair of faded jeans, and boots. Just the sight of him made me slightly lightheaded, and I wanted to climb him like a damn tree. God, did he have to be dressed like that when I needed to talk to him about something important?
“Hey,” he said with a deep drawl that made my nipples harden.
He sure didn’t have to work hard to get my body interested. My head needed to fight harder for control because my body was always winning and we couldn’t fuck all the time. Especially right now with Dovie upstairs, enjoying her entire floor.
“I didn’t expect you back so early,” I said as he pulled me into his arms.
He smelled like leather and cigarettes. I wanted to bury my head in his neck and inhale, but I didn’t. We had to talk. Ignoring the future was something I could not keep putting off.
“I finished up sooner than I’d expected,” he replied, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I need a shower. Come take one with me.”
I shivered. That was tempting. No! I had to focus. Sexy shower time would have to wait.
“Can we talk first?” I asked, hating the words as I said them. I knew this was going to cause an argument.
Him looking like a cowgirl’s wet dream and asking me to get naked with him made it difficult for me to bring up something he wasn’t going to like.
His brows drew together as he studied me. “Sure,” he said. “What do I need to fix for you?”
I sighed heavily. There he went with that fixing things for me. It was hard to ignore it. The thought of handing over all my problems and letting him deal with them sounded like heaven, but I wasn’t that woman. I didn’t set myself up to be that vulnerable. I had to control my life. Even if he controlled my orgasms and owned my heart.
He ran his knuckles down the side of my face. “You look upset.”
I licked my lips, then shook my head. “Not upset. I just … I’m just not sure how to start this. I don’t want you to get angry.”
He tensed. “Angry?”
I nodded.
“Do you want to leave me?” he asked with a serious expression.
