Page 45 of Moose

Heading up to my room, I changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. I climbed into the bed and pulled the blankets over me.

Rolling around, I couldn’t get comfortable. I tried to close my eyes, but my mind was running around in circles.

I sat up and tore the blankets off of me in frustration. I threw on a pair of socks and quietly opened my door.

The hallway was dark as I tiptoed down the steps to the kitchen. I knew Moose kept wine around, so I dug through the cabinets until I found his stash.

Forgoing the glass, I took the entire bottle and opened the glass doors. I stepped outside and walked toward the swinging bench under the big oak tree.

The yard was filled with all the lights Moose had done, and I sat back and closed my eyes. It was so quiet and peaceful that I started to fall asleep.

“What are you doing out here?”

I jumped and sat up to see Moose walking toward me. His black long-sleeved shirt stretched across his muscular chest. He smiled at me as he came and sat down on the bench. Moose grabbed the bottle of wine from me.

“Hey!”

He laughed as he took a sip, then passed it back to me.

“It’s my wine.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He stretched his arms across the bench, one going behind me. I could feel my body heating up at the slight touch and cursed myself for being attracted to him.

I couldn’t go down that path…

“Do you think your shitty ex would do some shady shit like this?”

I shook my head. “No. Dexter keeps his hands clean. I know he wants to get back together, but I don’t think he would go as far as this.”

Moose ran his hand over his face. “What about your other one?”

I sighed and looked out across the yard.

“No. Javier is a good man. He may be in a gang, but he would never hurt me.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Yes. I can one hundred percent tell you he would never hurt me. I broke his heart when I ended things. We had this huge fight, and he destroyed our bedroom, but never touched me. I pushed him further into the gang life... fuck, I should have done more to save him too, Moose…”

A lone tear fell down my face, and Moose quickly turned and pulled my face to him. He wiped the tears away and gazed down at me.

“Don’t do that to yourself. You had to choose the best path for yourself, princess. You can’t help every single person.”

Goosebumps spread across my arms as Moose leaned in closer. I gazed up at him as his lips came closer to mine.

Suddenly, his lips were on mine. My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck as he pulled me closer to him. A slight moan slipped from my lips as his hands wrapped in my hair and tugged.

“Fuck, princess. You taste so sweet.”

I pulled back and scrambled to the other end of the swing.

“Fuck. Fuck! We can’t do this. Jesus christ.” I grabbed the wine bottle and shoved it into Moose’s hands. “You’re my client. This is wrong. I’m so sorry.”

I jumped off the swing and ran inside before Moose could say anything. Locking my bedroom door behind me, I climbed into bed and carefully touched my lips.

Moose had sparked something deep inside of me I hadn’t felt in a long time, and it scared the shit out of me.

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