Page 35 of Night Shift

“Atticus,” I moaned, the pressure inside me building. He gripped my hips and set a steady pace, guiding my body up and down his shaft, the water swirling and sloshing around us. With each stroke, the tension within me grew more and more unbearable until, finally, we both reached our peak, and our cries of rapture intertwined in the cool night air.

“God, Atticus!” I gasped, my body still trembling from the intensity of our lovemaking. “That was…incredible.”

“Damn right it was.” He grinned, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.

The sound of laughter and footsteps approaching pierced our haze of pleasure. My eyes snapped open. Atticus’s brothers, Braxton and Conan, appeared on the porch. Their jaws dropped, and they stared at us with wide eyes.

“Holy fuck!” Braxton exclaimed. “I didn’t know we were walking up on a porn set!”

“Get it, brother,” Conan said, grinning like a madman. “Those tits look mighty fine! Maybe we should join?”

Mortification surged through my veins like a tidal wave, drowning any remnants of happiness I had just experienced.

“Get the hell out!” Atticus shouted at them, shielding me protectively.

I couldn’t bear their gazes any longer. Unsheathing Atticus’s cock in one fell swoop, I leaped up from the water. With my hands, I covered myself as best I could and quickly snatched a nearby towel. Holding it tightly against my body, I sprinted for the bedroom. My heart pounded in my chest as I slammed the door shut, trying to catch my breath. But it wasn’t enough; I needed more distance between myself and the humiliating scene outside. So I darted into the bathroom, locked the door behind me, and turned on the shower.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered under my breath, berating myself for letting my guard down, for allowing this disastrous situation to unfold. The warm water cascaded over my body, and I tried to wash away the embarrassment. What would Braxton and Conan think of me now? Would they tell everyone at work about what they’d seen?

“Pull it together, Sam,” I whispered to myself, forcing the tears back. This was not the time for self-pity or regret. I couldn’t change what had happened, but I could control how I reacted to it.

My insecurity threatened to overwhelm me as I stood there beneath the hot spray of water. Steamy tendrils filled the shower stall, clouding my vision and making it difficult to see anything beyond my own body. As I watched droplets of water run down my trembling form, all I could think was that I had made a colossal mistake.

“God, what was I thinking?” I asked myself, my voice barely audible amidst the relentless torrent of water. My thoughts raced back to Atticus, his brothers, and the horror of being caught in such a compromising situation. Would they keep their mouths shut? Or would my one night of reckless abandon become fodder for gossip and ridicule at work?

Anger bubbled up inside me, directed at both myself and Atticus for getting me into this mess. I had been so curious about sex, so desperate to experience the sensuality I’d heard others speak of. But now, all I felt was shame and regret.

With my body still trembling from the emotional turmoil, I stepped out of the shower. As I wrapped a towel around myself and began to dry my hair, my thoughts drifted to Bethany. She had raved about Atticus’s sexual prowess, practically swooning while recounting their encounters. If she found out about us… I didn’t even want to think about the fallout. A pang of guilt hit me when I realized she might be hurt if she found out what had transpired today. She had harbored hopes for a relationship with Atticus, even though he’d made it clear that he wasn’t interested in anything serious.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I said, chastising myself and gripping my hair tightly in frustration. While what had happened was undeniably life-altering—an experience unlike any I had ever known—I still wished that things could have been different. That maybe, just maybe, fate would have dealt me a different hand and I could end up with someone who truly cared for me, rather than a man whose only interest lay in sexual pleasure.

“Life would be so much easier if we could just be with the people who liked us back,” I whispered to myself, staring at my reflection in the foggy mirror. “Why did it have to be him? Get it together, Sam,” I ordered myself as I finished drying my hair. “You knew what you were getting into. You can’t let this…whatever it was…change things.”

I slipped into a pair of big gray sweatpants and an extra-large T-shirt, the soft fabric caressing my skin as I desperately tried to gather some semblance of dignity. The events that had unfolded between Atticus and me would remain locked away in my mind, never to be spoken of again. After all, what choice did I have but to suck it up and pretend that it meant nothing to me?

“Time to move on,” I murmured, steeling myself for the challenges that surely awaited me outside that door.

Taking a deep breath, I returned to the bedroom.

There he was, lying on the bed in all his naked glory, a hard-on standing proudly between his legs. My heart stuttered in my chest, and I couldn’t help but stare for a moment before snapping back to reality.

“Atticus,” I said, trying to sound calm, “do you ever get enough sex?”

He chuckled, and the sound was somehow both inappropriate and endearing at the same time. “No, Sam, I don’t think I ever do.”

“Good for you,” I snapped, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “But our little experiment is over, and I want to leave.”

His laughter faded, and his face shifted into a serious expression. “Sam, about Braxton and Conan—”

“God, I can’t believe they saw me like that,” I said, my voice shaking. “I’m so humiliated.”

“Sam, I’m so sorry about—”

“Save it. What’s done is done. Let’s just…move on.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.

“I will be.” I forced a half-hearted smile onto my face. “Let’s just make sure this stays between us, okay?”

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