Page 10 of Rope Me In

After another minute, I start to get annoyed. There are lots of different types of mixes for drinks and more pretzels, but I don’t see any limes. I move to the next row and keep looking. When I do, I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket.

I’ve been feeling it go off all night. I should’ve just turned it off, and I don’t know why I haven’t. When it vibrates again, I look around to see if anyone is back here, but I’m alone. So I pull out my phone and glance at it quickly, not wanting to be the girl who leaves her coworkers hanging for too long.

I grit my teeth when I see who it is, even though I knew it was going to be him.

DEREK: Are you going to tell me why you did this?

DEREK: Seriously, P? What the fuck were you thinking?

DEREK: You’re ruining this for us. For me. Don’t you care?

DEREK: Answer your damn phone.

DEREK: Seriously, WTF! I know you’re not dead. Answer the fucking phone.

DEREK: We’re going to replace you, then. Is that what you really want?

My eyes sting, and the bridge of my nose prickles. Of course he wouldn’t be concerned about my well-being, only his own. And the last text—my stomach turns over, and I feel sick. I put my hand over my mouth and try to take deep breaths through my nose. It doesn’t help that the smell of peanuts and stale beer is thick in here, making me feel stifled and hot as if the very air I’m breathing is closing in on me.

My anxiety spikes, tendrils of dread curling in my gut and snaking up my back, causing me to shiver. I squeeze my eyes shut and scold myself. I will not have an anxiety attack in the back room during my shift. Now is not the time to let my stupid ex get to me.

I take my inhaler pen from my jeans pocket and take a long pull of it, the peppermint soothing my frayed nerves before I turn off my phone and shove it back into my pocket. I’ve been gone too long again. While Gavin is nice, he’ll probably start to dislike me if I don’t get my shit together.

I tuck the inhaler alongside my phone then take another few deep breaths as I try to focus on the task at hand. Limes. I need to find limes.

But just as I’m about to move, I register the sound of giggles.

I freeze, looking to the side to see Kade and a woman kissing as he walks her toward the back of the room. They’re so involved in each other, they don’t see me between the shelves.

“We have to be quiet, cowgirl,” Kade croons as they disappear from my view, the boxes blocking them now.

“What if I don’t want to be quiet?” the woman answersback.

“Then I’ll have to gag you.”

She expels a high-pitched giggle, and then they start to kiss and groan into each other’s mouths.Jesus. Why did Gavin have to send me back here for limes?

I stay still, trying to determine if I can get out of here without them hearing me. But I’m screwed, because the moment I move, they’ll know I’m here. I guess it wouldn’t be that bad if they did, but I can’t bring myself to budge. My body is paralyzed by the idea of being caught, even if I’m back here for a reason. I just don’t want to embarrass myself further.

The throaty moan of the woman draws my attention to them again, and I shift so I can peek through a space between peanut boxes on the shelf. I mute my breathing, careful not to make a noise as I observe them.

Kade’s hand travels up the woman’s thigh then disappears beneath the fabric of her dress. When my gaze reaches the top of her head, I notice she’s wearing his cowboy hat. It strikes me as odd, but then I remember the saying I’ve heard while visiting bars around the South: “Wear the hat, ride the cowboy.”

The woman writhes against him, her lithe body pressing into his. From this angle, Kade’s back is to me. He’s built, the kind of built you get from working long, hard days in the sun. I get lost in watching his biceps flex and the way the veins in his tanned forearms are more prominent as he grips the girl’s ass.

I bite my bottom lip despite myself. I don’t know why I’m watching. I need to leave. I should have gotten out right away, but—

“Yes, Kade!” The woman’s head thumps against the wall. He kisses her again, his other hand coming up to grip her neck. My interest spikes as I watch. I’ve made out, and I’ve had sex, but only with Derek. And never once did he touch me like Kade is touching this woman, like he’s a starved man and he needs her like he needs oxygen. It’s…

Hot.

“I told you to be quiet.” Kade squeezes her neck, this time a little harder so his thumb indents her skin and she gasps for air. For a split second, I wonder if I should be nervous for her, but he’s not gripping her throat in malice. And by the hitch in the woman’s cry and the way she grinds into him, she likes it.

I lean forward a bit and tilt my head so I’m still hidden but now I can see more of Kade’s profile. His long hair is mussed from his hat and a bit sweaty from all the dancing. The shadow of his stubble on his square jaw is more pronounced in the harsh overhead light, and his cheeks are flushed from their kissing.

When my gaze reaches the sly smile that tugs at his swollen lips, I think about our interaction outside—how I swore he was about to kiss me, the way his hand felt so strong and warm in mine. I press my tongue against the back of my teeth at the sudden onslaught of images that crash into me.

Instead of this random woman against the wall, now it’s me. Kade is squeezing my throat and pressing his body into mine. He’s using those perfect lips to kiss up my jaw then tease my tongue with his. I can almost smell the saltiness of his skin as I imagine what it would feel like to experience those well-worked hands all over me and what sensations his stubbled jaw would cause between my thighs.

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