Page 67 of Legacy of Lies
Shingle-peeling, brain-chemistry-altering monkey sex?
“You have regrets?” Too sharp of a tone, damn it. Like he was waiting for her to unman him, just like his ex had done.
Her head whipped around. “Last night was amazing, Garrison. But a mistake for our, uh, future. I know you were stressed out from all that’s happened with Hank and the ranch.” Without meeting his eyes, she said, “I am glad if ... what we did ... relieved your stress.”
“What the—?” He bit back the curse. “A mistake? Relieved my stress?” Okay. He knew they shouldn’t have slept together for his own personal messed-up reasons, but if she thought it was wrong, too, then they were doubly screwed up.
“Look, Garrison, it shouldn’t have happened, okay?”
“Why? I thought we had something good going on here.”
Wait. Now he argued in favor of the relationship? He really needed to make up his mind, for both their sakes.
“You’re a nice guy, Garrison.”
“You’re going to try the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ bullshit again?”
She flinched. “Well yeah, actually, I am. That explanation makes the most sense, doesn’t it?”
“No.”
“Can we talk about something else, please? Like how you’ll take me back home so I can get ready for work?”
“Fine.”
He flipped on the overhead light. Screw her issues with the lights being off. Since this would be the last time he ever saw her naked, he wanted a good view.
Which also made him a different kind of asshole. So he clamped his jaw shut like it had wires running through it and turned his back to her while he shoved his legs into his jeans.
The light rustle of her clothes sliding against her skin nearly made him crawl out of his own. But he gave her what privacy he could.
Damn it. She regretted what they did last night. He didn’t blame her one bit, but the rejection stung.
Hurt again by a woman. At least Zach hadn’t become invested in Sara being part of their lives.
Garrison would not feel sorry for the woman whose shoulders slumped as she sat on the side of the bed. And he would not watch how she slipped her silky smooth arms into the bra and reached back to clasp it.
Damn. All he wanted to do was unhook that garment and run his fingers over her body until she screamed for him.
Clearly, he’d lost his mind.
Standing at the door, he crossed his arms. “Ready?”
“Almost.” Her voice was strained.
He didn’t care. Wouldn’t care.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
He sensed her following close behind him down the hall; his shoulders twitched, but he wouldn’t look back. She hadn’t touched him, but he felt her disappointed presence, nevertheless, as they exited the house.
In the calm stillness of very early morning, the cold air clung to him with the undertones of damp smoke and impending snow. The scent of failure.
Out of the darkness, a shadow with an irregular gait signaled Kerr’s approach.
If his brother thought anything odd about Garrison and Sara’s early morning travels, he kept his opinion to himself. Thank God Kerr didn’t have the ability to read emotion like Shelby did, or his brother’s head would explode.
