Page 19 of Kept By The Mountain Man

“Let’s take a nap,” I whisper, and she nods against me.

My eyes drift shut, and as I fall asleep, I make a promise to myself to tell her how I feel when I wake up.

Then we can finally start being a couple. A real couple.

NINE

Evie

What the hellwas I thinking?

That thought keeps running on a loop in my head as I stare wide-eyed at Hendrix’s face, peaceful and completely unaware, fast asleep on the pillow next to me. Lucky for me. If he were awake to see me freaking out like this, it would only make everything so much worse. I can barely deal with my own feelings, let alone having to explain them to him right now.

What the hell was I thinking? And more importantly, what the hell do I do now?

I have no answers. My brain is a jumbled mess of thoughts, emotions, and panic. All I know is that I need to get out of here—get home, clear my head, and figure out how to face him after…this. After everything that happened last night.

I take one last look at Hendrix, his face softened in sleep, his chest rising and falling in slow, steady breaths. Then, as quietly as I can, I pull the sheets back and slip out of his bed, every muscle in my body protesting. My legs feel shaky, my entire body sore from the night we spent together. I ignore the well-used ache between my legs and the sting of beard burn on my breasts and inner thighs as I tiptoe around the room, collecting my clothes.

I dress quickly, trying to keep my mind from spiraling back to the memory of what happened. I can’t—won’t—let myself go there right now. Thinking about how my fake boyfriend just made very real love to me last night is only going to mess with my head even more.

Shit.

I push the thought aside as I head for the front door. I blink in surprise when I see the sun is high in the sky. I was thinking it was early morning, but apparently, I lost track of time. No doubt, we spent most of the night?—

Nope. Not going there. Not thinking about that.

My hands shake slightly as I dig in my purse for my keys, only to come up empty. My car isn’t here. I’m sort of…trapped.

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath, trying to think of a solution.

I open the Uber app on my phone, grateful when I see there’s a driver nearby. Five minutes later, I’m slipping into the backseat of a black sedan, and we’re heading to my apartment.

The ride feels longer than usual, every second stretching out as my mind whirls with thoughts of Hendrix.

What happens now? Was it a mistake? Do we pretend it never happened?

My heart pounds in my chest as I replay the night over and over in my head.

“Thanks,” I mutter as the driver drops me off in front of my building.

I close the door and look up, my eyes locking with Claire and her friends. They’re openly grinning at me, and my stomach sinks.

Do they suspect that something happened between Hendrix and I? Does it look like I’m doing a walk of shame? Or like we had a fight, and he kicked me out?

I force a smile to my lips, straightening my shoulders as I spin on my heel and strut over to my apartment door. I don’t look back as the door closes behind me.

I’ll deal with Claire and her minions later.

I take the stairs two at a time, fingers fumbling with my phone as I dial the only person who can make sense of this mess.

“Hey! I was just thinking about you,” Olive’s voice chirps through the line as soon as the call connects.

“I slept with Hendrix,” I blurt out, my words rushed and panicked.

There’s a beat of silence, and then, “Your boss?”

“Yeah.”

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