Page 189 of Five Mountain Daddies

Istare at the gun on the bedside table and I keep seeing Jaxson as he kicks open the door. The splinters hit the carpet and I’m so afraid I can’tmove.

Without my mom, I’d be dead. She saved my life. We don’t know where she is right now, but Mitch has his boys out looking for her. Jaxson’s out there somewhere too, and they’re trying to hunt himdown.

For now though, I’m with Wyatt. He comes out of the bathroom and frowns at me, following mygaze.

“Ah,” he says. “That.” He walks over and picks up the gun. “Just a little present from our friendReggie.”

I’m not sure what he means but I’m not sure I want to know. “Oh, okay,” Isay.

He slips the gun into a drawer then sits down next to me. “You’re sure you’reokay?”

I nod and lean up against him. “I’m okay. Just afraid for mymom.”

“She’s fine. I bet she’s just holed up in some bar right now, hiding out with a good glass ofwine.”

I can’t help but smile at that. I know it’s not great to imagine my mom drinking, but at least I’m picturing her alive, instead of with Jaxson standing over her. I doubt she has a “good” glass of wine,though.

He puts his arms around me and pulls me close. We have a quiet moment, and I try to concentrate on the sound of his breathing instead of the horrible film that keeps playing through my mind. I feel like some part of me is broken, or dirty, or both, but I know that’s just in myhead.

“What happened,” he starts saying, and then stops. He takes a deep breath. “What happened should never havehappened.”

I move back slightly and look up at him. “It wasn’t yourfault.”

“It was,” he says simply. “I knew we were in danger, and I still left to see an oldfriend.”

“You couldn’t have known,” I whisper. By now I heard all about what went down withReggie.

“I should have.” I can see the anger flare up. “It was too easy, too simple. I should’ve known nothing’s simple around here. I mean, having me come pick up him and drive into thereserve?”

“Wyatt,” I say, and I pull his chin toward me. “You couldn’t haveknown.”

His expression kills me. It’s anger and sadness and desire all mixed up into one. “I left you alone, and you almost gotkilled.”

“But we didn’t. You came back intime.”

“Barely. Your mom saved your life. Now she’s missing, Jaxson’s still out there, and you had to go throughthat.”

I pull his face toward mine, and I kiss him. I don’t know why I do it, but it feels right. He kisses me back with a sharp intake of breath as I move closer to him, and my desire flares through me. I didn’t know I could feel this right now, or really I didn’t think I could feel anything at all. But my need for him suddenly trumps any of the fear, the sadness, and the pain. I don’t feel right, I feel far from right, but at least this kiss makes me feel morewhole.

He pulls me tight against him and I move over, shifting my hips and straddling him. He pulls me tight, kissing me hard, and I pull off my shirt. He kisses my chest, his lips lingering on my neck as I unhook my bra and toss itaside.

We’re moving fast now. I don’t have time to think about anything but the here and now, what I’m doing with him right in this moment. I don’t want to think about anythingelse.

Truth is, I haven’t felt good in a long time. It was even before Atticus died that I started feeling bland, like the life was slowly leaking from me. My daily grind brought nothing new or exciting or happy into my life and slowly but surely, it was all being suckedaway.

But now I have Wyatt. He’s injecting so much into my world, making me feel things I thought I had forgotten about. His touch, his kiss, it’s all I need and all I want rightnow.

His hands cup my breasts and tease my nipples as I kiss him hard. I run my fingers through this thick hair, heedless of anything else going on around me. He pulls me tight, his hands on my ass, kissing me deep. His taste floods me and I’m reeling withhim.

He turns and rolls me onto my back, pinning me down on the bed. He pulls his shirt off and presses me down, kissing me hard, tongue in my mouth. His hands slide down my hips and unbutton my jeans, tugging them down over my ass. He pushes my panties aside and, tongue in my mouth, his fingers press inside ofme.

I gasp and dig my fingers into his back. He smirks at me, kissing my neck, fingers teasing my pussy. I can feel my heat rising, hotter and hotter as his fingers do theirwork

“You know why I didn’t leave?” he asks me, deep and low in myear.

“Why?”

“Because of you.” He pulls back, meeting my eyes. “I couldn’t leaveyou.”

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