Page 37 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

He grinned, wicked and unbothered. “Little bit.”

Then he stood, tugging on his jeans like he hadn’t just been naked two minutes ago, like this was normal. As if my dignity wasn’t currently in pieces on the floor between his boots and my bra.

At the door, he paused, turned, and sent me a wink.

“Ash…” I started, not even sure what I was about to say.

But he just shot me a lopsided smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll deal with the growly one.”

And then he was gone.

Door closed. Silence.

The moment he left, the weight of everything crashed down like a cold wave.

I sagged forward, pulling the sheets tighter around me. The glow that had buzzed in my blood only minutes ago was gone, replaced by a suffocating sharpness.

What had I done?

This wasn’t just a hookup anymore. It wasn’t even just about Asher and me. This was Lucy’s brother.

Lucy, the one friend who was there for me when the rest of the world turned their back.

I was supposed to be rebuilding. Rebranding. Getting my life together after it imploded in real time for millions to see.

And here I was, flustered and entirely undone in her brother’s cabin.

Damn the burst pipes.

None of this would have happened if Lucy’s cabin had been available.

It had been bad enough the first time. At the Medford Inn, when I hadn’t known who he was and we’d gotten swept up in heat and vodka and late-night loneliness.

But now?

Now I knew.

And I’d still come back.

My fingers hovered over my phone on the nightstand.

I could text Lucy. Maybe spin it as a joke, a“haha, you’ll never believe what just happened”kind of thing. But my stomach turned at the thought.

She wouldn’t laugh. She’d be hurt.

Worse, she’d bedisappointed.

She’d stuck her neck out for me. Let me into her life out here when mine was falling apart, made space for me when the world decided I wasn’t worth believing in anymore.

And this was how I repaid her?

I sank down onto the mattress, wrapping my arms around my knees, trying to steady my breathing.

My body was still warm from Asher’s hands, his mouth, the way he looked at me. Like I was something he wanted, not just a plaything to touch and forget.

But even that couldn’t quiet the voice in the back of my mind. The one that whispered:

You don’t deserve any of this.

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