Page 34 of Whiskey Run Heroes

I bite my lip to stop the tears that I know are coming. This man... this big, rough, tattoo-covered man is going to be my undoing. I nod, step around him, and hustle to the bathroom.

As soon as I shut the door, I lean back against it. Surely I can do this. I can make it one night in the same room as John without making a fool of myself or throwing myself at him. I look at myself in the mirror and have a private talk with myself.He’s your best friend’s brother. He’s doing this because his sister, your best friend, asked him to do it. There’s no other reason besides the fact he’s a good guy. That’s it.

I nod. An intense sadness overcomes me, and I pull my eyes away from the mirror. No more tears. I have tomorrow to get ready for, and I can’t be weak now.

8

JOHN

I should have gotten connecting rooms. I didn’t because I wanted her close and to be able to protect her. I can do that best if we share a room, but I never thought about what all that was going to entail.

For the last twenty minutes, I’ve listened to the water in the shower and tried to talk to Bear and Knox to get everything planned for tomorrow. We have a plan, but unfortunately, I know that Madison’s not going to be happy about. None of that matters to me, though. She can be mad at me... as long as she’s safe doing it.

The water finally shuts off, and I think I’ll get a reprieve but instead, I’m sitting here with my cock hard imaging her rubbing a towel down her body. I bang the back of my head on the headboard. Fuck!

The door opens, and I try to still my expression, not wanting her to know that I’ve imagined her naked ever since she went in there. When she comes into view, she’s in a T-shirt that hangs mid-thigh and nothing else. She grabs the hem. “Sorry, but I thought I’d be here alone.”

I swallow past a big lump in my throat and shake my head to clear my thoughts. What was I thinking? I can barely resist herout in public, surrounded by our friends. Now I’m supposed to stay away from her in a hotel room with just the two of us?

I get off the bed and am bent over, trying to hide my erect manhood from her. The last thing I need is for her to demand I leave or something. “I’m going to go shower,” I tell her gruffly.

I grab my bag on the way and don’t look back. I take a five-minute cold shower, enough to calm my senses and get myself together.

I put on a pair of shorts and a sleeveless white shirt before going back out into the room.

She’s flipping through the channels, sitting cross-legged on the bed. Thank goodness she has her long T-shirt pulled down over her knees. “What do you want to...”

She stops midsentence, her mouth hanging open. She’s watching me walk across the room, and I drop my bag and get on the other bed. I can feel her gaze on me, and it takes everything I have to stay on my side of the room.

She clears her throat. “So what do you want to watch?”

I lean my head back. Fuck, even her voice is seductive. “I don’t care. You pick.”

She’s quiet then, and the only sound is a replay of the Andy Griffith show. I open my eyes and look over at her. She’s not watching television, she’s watching me. “What is it?”

She sits up and swings her legs over until her feet hit the floor. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed and her shirt has ridden up, showing her thighs. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes,” I answer immediately. There’s nothing I have to hide from her.

She hesitates, and then I see her physically pull her shoulders back and jut her chin in the air. “So you liked me? Back when I was in high school.”

Shocked, I look anywhere but at her. Fuck, she’s a temptation that I’m not ready for. There’s no way I can talk about how Ifeel about her. I reach for the lamp between the two beds and lie back. “We should probably get some rest... tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”

I hold my breath, wondering if she’s going to insist I answer. When her bed creaks as she moves, letting me know she’s lying down, I start to breathe easier.

She turns the television down, but the light is still flickering across the screen.

“Uh, I was just wondering... I mean you said you did. I’m just wondering why you didn’t go for it? Why didn’t you ask me out? I would have said yes.”

I forget to breathe. So many thoughts cross my mind... me taking her to prom instead of some asshole, her moving to Whiskey Run to be with me instead of to be close to my sister. How would my life have been different if I’d acted on my feelings for her?

“You were too young.”

“Bullshit, John. I was eighteen my senior year. I was old enough.”

“You are my sister’s best friend. You deserve more than a one-night stand.” I grunt my answer at her. I’m mad at the world. Mad at what and who I am, things I’ve done, nightmares I have because I can’t forget the past.

I can hear the hurt in her voice. “Right... because that’s all you want. You don’t want anything more than a fling.”

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