Page 29 of Montana's Bravest

If there’s ever a sliver of doubt in me, I should simply look out the window to seal my decision. There’s a real storm raging outside. I would be tempting fate if I tried to get home tonight by myself, and I don’t want Sam to risk an accident just for me. I weigh up my options. Grace is safe with Mom, and I’m safe with Sam here.

I’m safe with a man.

Not just for a fleeting moment. I’ve been feeling safe since our first contact today, and I’ll be safe with him tonight—in his arms, in his home.

Three years is a long time to be without a partner, not even a date, and I’ve gotten used to it. For Sam to be able to turn it around in just one night, it’s extraordinary.

I called him Mr. Gray Diamond for something. There may be truth in the saying that diamonds never lie. The more light you shine into them, the more you see their true colors. Whatever I do—kissing him, caressing him, or looking into his eyes, he is constant.

I’m not ready to tear down the dam wall that I built around me, but I’m willing to climb over it to be with Sam. I will test the water which so far has been welcoming me with gentle waves. As long as I don’t drown, if things go astray with Sam, I’ll always be able to turn around and climb that wall again, and return to the safety that I’m used to before I met this man.

As logic is eaten away by desire fast, I conclude that my reasoning is good enough to prove that I haven’t gone completely mad.

“I’ll call my mom,” I say, and he welcomes my decision with a relieved smile.

9

SAM

She’s not that kind of woman, she said. Not the kind who would kiss a man while loving another. I’ve refused to be a fool again, but with her,cheat on mehas been erased off my face. Cass doesn’t sugarcoat anything, she doesn’t talk in superlatives—her vibe is raw and unpretentious. And I believe her.

I smile to myself, watching her talking to her mother on the phone.

So she isn’t married as I’d thought before—or what I hadtoldmyself before. In a way, maybe it was an attempt to trick my brain into believing she was, so I didn’t fall in love.

That hurdle is behind me now, and the more I know her, the surer I am that she isn’t just another woman. Not even my dad could say anything upon seeing her. And somehow I didn’t want him to have another glance at her—as if she was too holy for that old man.

What she did to dissolve the clash with my father resonated to my core.A seed of forgiveness. You only have one father.Those words wrenched my heart. Since Jack was gone, I haven’t felt that I had a father—until she reminded me.

I never want to talk about Jack to anyone, yet I’m yearning to tell a soul how much it hurts inside.

“Is Grace okay?” I ask when she comes back to me.

“Yes. She’s asleep, so she should be,” she says, glancing at her watch. “I’ll leave in the morning so I’m there before she wakes up.”

Cass escapes my gaze, seemingly fighting with herself. Unable to decide what she’s going to do to me, she switches her attention to the messes around us.

“I’ll help you clean up.” Her bar manager efficiency puts me to shame. Before I can get anywhere she’s already collecting the scattered glasses around my house.

“No, you leave that to me,” I pull her by the waist while stacks of glasses tower in her grip.

“Not funny, Sam!” she says, trying to keep her balance. “It’s your loss if I drop them.”

I laugh and then comment, “You’ve got unbelievable control.”

“You’re testing me!” she grumbles playfully, getting away from me.

“We’ve got more important things to do.” I catch her from behind as she sets the stacks inside the sink. I wrap my hands around hers, unfurling her fingers so she lets go of the glassware. My cock has woken up again, and this time, without shame I rub it against her ass.

She turns around, releasing a deep sigh as if something is boiling inside her. Her lips travel to my ear as she whispers, “I drove myself here expecting to drop off the kegs and leave.”

I round my arm to pull her closer. “Hmm… am I sensing a hint of regret?”

It’s not a question. I just want to let her know there’s no turning back.

“Maybe,” she teases me. “I didn’t expect to stay, let alone kiss the host.”

My crotch throbs as the word ‘kiss’ vibrates against my lobe. “And I didn’t expect to ever hold you like this, yet I am, and more. I’ve opened up a big part of me to you, Cass.”

---