Page 42 of Broken Player

“Smart man, I’d do the same thing,” she smiled before she sobered. “Have you heard from your mom?”

I shook my head. “I hired a PI a few years ago because I was curious about what happened, and I found out some shit, but I haven’t done anything with it.”

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes locked on me. “What’d you find? I always wondered what happened to your mom after she left.”

I stared off into the distance over the top of her head, thinking. “She got remarried a couple of years after she left. She’s still married to the dude. She…” I paused, taking a deep breath. This part shouldn’t hurt as much as it did but fuck it stung. “She had another son. One she stayed around to raise this time.”

Ryan’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “You have a brother?”

I nodded. “A half brother, yeah. He’s twenty-two.”

“And you haven’t met him?” she questioned.

Shaking my head, I ran a hand down my sweaty face. “I don’t think he knows I exist.”

“Are you going to?” she stepped closer, taking my hand and squeezing.

“I don’t know. Maybe someday. Depends, I guess.”

“Depends on what?” She wasn’t going to let this go.

“Forget I said that.” I wasn’t about to tell her that wanting to meet my brother was something I’d only feel brave enough to do with her by my side. That if she went through with the wedding, I’d be too wrecked to do much other than drink myself into oblivion for the rest of forever.

She studied me before shaking her head and letting go of my hand, but I wasn’t ready for the closeness to end.

Instead, I stepped a little closer, unable to keep my distance being this close. We were sweaty from a couple of hours of hard physical work, and she had little pieces of dry brush caught in her hair. I reached out, plucking a small stick out of the strands. She looked up at me with big eyes that I found myself lost in. They were deep and captivating, inviting me to sink into the depths of her mind.

Fuck, I wanted to kiss her, and I didn’t think I could stop myself. Talking to her was too easy. Even sweaty, she smelled delicious, and I wanted to lick every inch of her skin until she was writhing beneath me. Instead, I ran my hand along her neck, feeling her pulse under my palm until I finally gave in and pulled her toward me.

Our lips connected, and I was lost, falling into an abyss I never wanted to crawl out of. My body sparked, and every nerve ending was on fire. I needed her touch, needed to be closer to her, needed to feel her in every inch of my existence. As I deepened the kiss, she opened to me, twining her arm around my back, and her other hand found my neck, stroking my stubbled jaw with her thumb as her tongue explored my mouth.

I knew this was a mistake, but I couldn’t get myself to stop. I ran my hand down her back until I grabbed her ass, pulling her tighter against my hard as fuck erection. I couldn’t seem to get her close enough, and the whimpers she was making told me she felt the same way. She jumped, and I caught her, gripping her thighs as she wrapped her legs around my waist. She ground herself against me as a growl tore from my throat. “Fuck, we have to stop,” I groaned, pulling her closer instead of putting her down like I should have.

Her lips found mine again, and I forgot every reason we shouldn’t be doing this. The sound of approaching hooves pulled me out of my lust-filled haze as I placed one last soft kiss to her swollen lips. “Someone’s coming, Freckles,” I said, gently sliding her down my body and groaning at the feel of her body against mine.

She glared over my shoulder. “Fucking Quinn,” she hissed, and I chuckled, watching him ride up to us. Based on the looks he was shooting my way, I knew he’d seen plenty. I smirked, daring him to say shit to me.

I looked back at Ryan, where she still held onto me to steady herself. I brushed my finger down the side of her cheek before dropping my hand. “Hey, Quinn,” I greeted.

“You two look like you’ve been busy,” he teased, still shooting knowing glances Ryan’s way. I stepped in front of her, interrupting his silent interrogation. She didn’t need to deal with that bullshit, even if he was her best friend.

“Yep. Ready to help?” I asked, making it clear that it was time to get back to work, and there would be no questions about what he just witnessed. The last thing I needed was Ryan analyzing everything and regretting what happened. I was finally starting to making progress, and no one would fuck it up for me.

He stayed quiet as he grabbed the tools from his horse and made his way over to where we were working. We all resumed working in silence, clearing the brush going a lot faster with three of us now. As the sun started to set, we had a massive pile of dead sticks to burn tomorrow and were all in need of a shower and dinner.

Quinn spoke up first. “I don’t know about you two, but I think we earned a night out.”

“I’m in,” I said, tucking my tools back into the bag on the saddle.

I swear Quinn blushed. “So, Maddox. Any of your hot as fuck friends gonna be at the bar with us tonight?”

I laughed. “Subtle. No, Zen and True flew home a couple days ago and Connor’s in Dallas visiting an old Marine buddy.”

Quinn deflated. “Damn. Well, it should still be fun. Meet at the bar in an hour?”

We all agreed, and I made my way home to shower and call a car. I probably needed to get a rental if I was going to stay here much longer.

An hour later, I strolled into the local dive bar, finding Quinn and Ryan in a quiet corner booth. “First round’s on me,” I announced.

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