Page 54 of Second Chances with my Billionaire Bosses

“Hungover. No yelling. Need pain relievers.”

Shep was the only one of them to respond. He jumped into action while Arlo and Rhett just stared back at me. Through the hangover pain I was hit with a large amount of doubt. I’d wanted to be different and not as tolerable as the normal Maxie but what if they hated the way I looked? My stomach clenched as I waited.

Arlo’s mouth was hanging open. He blinked slowly as he looked at me, his eyes wide. Finally, he moved closer.

“You have no goddamn right to look this fucking sexy when I’m trying to keep my hands to myself.”

I flushed at the compliment.

“Shep didn’t keep his hands to himself.”

Rhett knelt in front of me and brushed my hair out of my face. His eyes searched my body, finally landing on the sliver of plastic sticking out from the lowered blanket. His mouth tightened as he pushed the material lower and saw my tattoos.

“Who touched you?”

Even feeling like crap, I wanted to push him.

“Lots of people.”

His jaw clenched.

“You need to clean it.”

Shep came back with a glass of water and pills I immediately gulped down. He saw Rhett looking at my tattoo and huffed.

“Apparently a bunch of the women in town got shitfaced and went to a guy named Big John last night. Nellie was there, too.”

“Big John?” Rhett’s scowl turned deadly.

Seeing his hair-thin trigger I reached out and rested my hand on his shoulder.

“He was professional. And maybe a saint. He was happy to welcome all of us into his place last night and he didn’t even mind that we were drunk and loud.”

I felt my face burn even hotter when I thought of how much the man had heard the night before. Including all about my relationship with the three of them. I was pretty sure I’d even talked about my plan to be their surrogate. Humiliation struck hard and hot but I tipped my chin higher, refusing to wallow in it.

Rhett caught my lip and tugged it free from my teeth.

“No more of that. Come on. I’ll help you clean your new tattoo. I’m hoping to find my name after I pull that plastic off.”

He carried me to the bathroom counter and put me down next to the sink. I watched him move as he gently peeled the plastic off and shook his head when he saw the tattoo of Bob.

“Fucking horse. It’s a good picture of the jerk.”

I hissed at the sting from the warm water he used to clean both tattoos.

“Are you over me now?”

Rhett’s head snapped back like I’d punched him. His reaction made me feel like an idiot for voicing my thoughts. He looked at me like I’d grown a second, and third, head.

“Are you serious? You think dying your hair and getting a tattoo would make me want you less?”

I bit at a piece of skin on my inner lip and winced when it tore away.

“I thought maybe you were interested in the meek version of me. Mom barely thought I could attract a man when I followed all of her rules. So…”

He patted my thigh and hip dry before straightened to his full height and looking down at me.

“Your mom was a bitch. A bitch who knew nothing about men, I’m willing to bet, because you’ve been a temptation since the first time I laid eyes on you. When you were tiptoeing around everyone and their needs, when you decided to stop that and speak up for yourself, and now that you’re this bad girl version of yourself…You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen and my dick is perpetually hard for you. For your looks and for your attitude, Maxine. You couldn’t make yourself unattractive to me if you grew a beard and stopped showering.”

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