Page 44 of What Happened Last Night

“And fucking you wouldn’t have made you feel that way?” Will’s voice had risen, as if he felt the same tide of feeling I did. “Jesus, Luna, if you wanted me to fuck you, you should have asked. You didn’t. I was following your lead.”

“Stop saying fuck,” I shouted again, because now I was burning, flames licking my blood. Thunder cracked outside, but I barely noticed. “Will, I—”

“Don’t say it,” he barked. When I opened my mouth again, he repeated, his tone dark with warning, “Do not fucking say it.”

I said it anyway. “I quit.”

I wasn’t sure what I expected. I didn’t know this Will or what he would do. Shout at me? Grab me? Throw me over his shoulder like a caveman?

But he went still, and his jaw worked, and for the first time I saw hurt in his eyes. He covered it quickly by scrubbing his hands over his face, his shoulders beginning to sag. He kept his hands there for a moment, his stomach flexing beneath his shirt as he inhaled a breath, then hissed it out as if he was in pain.

“Shit,” he said, his voice thick with some kind of torment. “Shit.”

I had to get away from him, out of his crazy-hot aura. If I didn’t, I would do something even stupider than I already had tonight. Like lift the hem of that tee and hook my fingers into the waist of his sweatpants and—

“I have to pee,” I said a little too loudly, backing toward the stairs. It happened to be true. The bottle of water I’d brought for the drive was long empty, and I’d been too terrified to pull over and try to find a gas station.

I climbed the stairs, heading for the bathroom on the second floor. The worn hardwood creaked in a pleasant, familiar tone beneath my feet, and I breathed in the familiar smell of furniture polish and clean linens. The McQueen Inn was a hundred years old, a house that felt as settled and calming as a sweet, favorite grandmother. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been here when the house was empty of guests. It was even more peaceful here than usual, despite the storm raging outside.

One bedroom door was open, with the soft light of a lamp coming from inside. The bedroom Will was using. The one he’d been sleeping in when I knocked on the door.

I did my business, avoiding looking in the mirror. The nerve-wracking drive, the emotions pulsing through me, and the late hour likely weren’t kind to my appearance. My hair was probably a mess. I winced as I felt the chill of my damp jeans against my legs. Like the fool I was, I hadn’t packed an overnight bag when I left home. Luckily, I knew where we stored all of the extra toiletries we kept here.

I opened the door to find Will Hale standing outside, leaning against the opposite wall of the hallway, his arms crossed. I fought the crazy urge to lick his biceps. This night had officially gone off the rails.

His expression was calm but stern. Patient. I’d never seen him semi-dressed, semi-bearded, and all the way angry. It made my heart drop and my blood throb so hard that I couldn’t even muster a comment about him waiting outside the bathroom for me. I guessed we’d left the boss-employee boundaries in the dust.

I lifted my chin and returned his gaze, a little defiant.

“Luna, don’t quit,” he said.

I flinched, because I didn’t want to quit. I liked everything about the job, not just my sexy boss. A little voice in the back of my mind said, Don’t quit. Stay. Just let everything go on like before. It’s easier.

But what were my options? Continue fooling around with my boss while also working for him? Or stop fooling around with him and date someone else while I worked for Will and saw him every day? Watch him date someone else? Schedule his weekend getaways to see his girlfriend’s parents and make their dinner reservations? I’d be miserable. I deserved better.

Still, the fight went out of me a little bit. “It’s for the best,” I managed, my voice soft.

His gaze didn’t waver, and suddenly I could see that beneath the nice guy, the quiet nerd, was a man of fierce determination. A man who could build a multimillion-dollar business from nothing, piece by piece, all alone, and then do it again. And again.

“Just tell me why,” he said, and I heard him make an effort to soften his voice. “Please. Just tell me why.”

I didn’t lower my gaze, either. “Will. Don’t you know?”

He blinked once, and then a subtle realization crossed his features. His gaze went darker as he inhaled a slow, harsh breath. Lightning flashed once, then again, and still neither of us looked away.

The moment hung on a knife’s edge. I was throbbing between my legs, aching in a way I’d never known before. It felt like there was something heavy and deep inside me, pleasant and unbearable at the same time, and I had to—

The lights went out, and we were plunged into darkness.

TWENTY

Will

Oh yes, I was definitely losing my mind. My dignity. I’d spent three days as restless as a madman in an asylum, wishing I could crawl out of my skin. I’d berated myself a thousand different ways, then calmed down, then berated myself again. The inside of my head wasn’t a place I wished anyone else to experience usually, but now it was worse than ever. My thoughts were so toxic I was walking Chernobyl. I was either going to never touch Luna again or marry her, and I couldn’t figure out which one was more insane.

Then, while I was fruitlessly trying to sleep in my personal hell, she’d knocked on the front door because she’d driven in a fucking storm. And then she quit.

I admit, I lost it.

---