Page 55 of Untamed

But doesn’t it?

She slowly sits on the bed, pulling her bare feet up under herself. “It means, I’ve never had sex before. I’ve never done anything close to it.”

I can’t stand here and look at her without touching her, so I start pacing again.

She’s a virgin. Inexperienced. Too good and pure for me.

“So, you and Duke dated for over a year and he never fucked you?”

She shakes her head. “I was still sixteen when it started. My father had made threats about charging him for it. He said we had to wait until I was eighteen. Once I was, I just … didn’t want to yet, I guess. I wasn’t ready.”

I stop, facing the wall away from her. “What about after, while I was locked up? There was no one else?”

I find that impossible to believe. She’s a walking, talking temptation. Every man in her vicinity leers at her like they’ve never seen a woman before.

“I haven’t been in a serious relationship since Duke,” she says simply. “I fail to see how this is any of your business.”

I flip around, seeing that she’s lying back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Even when I thought she was off-limits because Redford blood is thicker than water, I nearly succumbed to all my carnal urges and twisted desires when I was sleeping next to her. I could never be with a woman who was with one of my brothers. But if what she says is true and she and Duke were never together like that … I have no earthly idea how I’ll do it now.

If I’m being honest with myself, Rosie Dixon has been my obsession for three and a half years, since the night she walked in on me with Madi in the barn.

And it just got ten times worse.

21

ROSIE

Inever had time to go home and get my pajamas for tonight. I had planned to stop at my apartment after the concert, but after Cash got arrested, Holden drove us home at breakneck speed, cursing at all the other drivers.

He’s staring at the wall in his bedroom like it’s going to speak to him. My eyelids are drooping from exhaustion and overstimulation.

Screw this. I’m going to bed. He can pace all night if he wants.

I slide off his bed, walk over to his dresser, and pull open the top drawer to see the neatly folded underwear that I washed and put away this morning. I select a blue pair of checkered boxers that look comfortable before moving two drawers down to where his T-shirts are. I find the one that feels the softest—a plain white one with a faded Coors Light emblem on the front.

I spin around and head to the bathroom. After washing my face free of makeup and scrubbing my teeth with toothpaste on my finger, I change and walk back into the bedroom, wearing his shirt and boxers.

The weight of his gaze is on me as I tuck myself into his big bed, settling deep down into the mattress. I don’t bother with the pillow boundary. It feels like we’re past that now, and I’m too exhausted to care if that’s wise.

“Cash will be fine tonight. We’ll have him back tomorrow morning,” I murmur, closing my eyes.

A few minutes later, I feel the other side of the bed shift, and the lamp goes out. Now that he’s next to me, I’m wide awake. I can hear his breathing, and I know he’s still awake too. He’s worried about his brother. Whatever demon it is that makes it hard for him to sleep alone, he’s battling it tonight.

I turn over on my side, reaching out in the darkness. My fingers collide with the warm skin of his arm. His shoulder muscle is tense under my touch, and I lightly squeeze. I don’t know why I’m trying to comfort him, but it feels like the right thing to do in the moment after causing him extra stress tonight.

“If I touch you now, I won’t stop until morning.” His voice is a deep growl in the darkness.

My breath catches at his words. I have no idea how to respond, so I don’t. I close my eyes, hoping that if I can fall asleep, he will too.

I slowly wake with my arms fully wrapped around Holden’s neck. His hand is curled up under me, cupping my ass. I’m basically half straddling him, my face pressed against his neck. His other hand is wrapped around my neck, loosely holding me in place on top of him.

How do we keep ending up here?

It’s like our subconscious bodies can’t stay away from each other.

His deep breathing tells me that he’s still asleep. The sun is beginning to peek through the curtains.

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