Page 43 of Trashy Conquest

17. Pillow Talk

Cash

My heartbeat takes forever to return to normal. At some point, I roll to my back and nestle her against my side. She throws one leg over mine, and her fingers dance across my abs. Her cheek is warm on my chest, the gentle rise and fall of her lungs a sleep-inducing song to my ears. After the stress of the day, I’m ready to surrender to the heaviness of my lids, if only for a few minutes.

“How did you meet Monica?” Her voice startles me back to the here and now, and though Monica is the last person I want to talk about, I understand why Jules is curious.

“I can’t remember the exact moment we met. Our families have been close for decades, so I think we always just knew each other.”

“Were you close growing up?”

“For the most part, yeah. Monica was like an annoying little sister to Kade and me. We used to play in the mud together.” I laugh at the memory. “Roni would get so pissed at us for corrupting her daughter.”

“When did friendship change to more?”

I walk two fingers down Jules’ arm, thinking back to my youth. “In high school. One day I woke up and noticed she wasn’t a kid anymore. But nothing happened until years after college.” The clouds thicken beyond the bedroom window, obscuring the sun, and I find the weather a perfect match for where this conversation is headed. “At some point, she fell for my brother.”

Jules widens her eyes. “That must have been awkward.”

I shift until we’re lying face-to-face. “I found out the day she went missing. He was screwing her before we got married, and I had no idea anything was going on between them.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, palming my cheek, and I hate the pity I spy in her expression.

I press a finger to her lips. “Don’t apologize. I know I’m an idiot for not seeing it sooner, but I don’t want your pity.” The pad of my finger drops from her soft lips, and she darts her tongue out to wet them.

“You’re not an idiot, Cash. You gave them your trust, and they broke it.”

“Even so, I feel like a fool. Monica has always been harder to read, but Kaden is my twin. I should’ve known.”

“What if you had known? Would it have changed anything?”

I think back to all the hellish months, to Monica’s mood swings and frigid stares. To the way she shut me out without explanation or recourse, and a heavy sense of saddened rage ignites in my gut. Her honesty could have saved us both so much heartache.

“Yeah, it would’ve changed things. I wouldn’t have gone down this road with her if I’d known she had a history with my brother.” I push Jules to her back, pressing her into the mattress. “But then I might not have met you, so I wouldn’t change a thing.”

A small smile graces her lips. “I’m glad we met.”

“Me too,” I murmur, touching my mouth to hers in a brief kiss. “What about you? You were running from something the day we met. You never did tell me all the details.”

The light in her eyes dims a little as she nibbles on her lower lip. “I got into a huge fight with Chris over money and his drinking. It was getting bad.” She pauses, and I’d do anything to take away the dark shadow of pain rolling over her face. “We broke up for the thousandth time, and I went to the club and got wasted.”

“And slept with your married boss,” I finish for her. I don’t know much about what happened back in Oklahoma, but I remember her telling me that much. It’s not every day a potential employee is so direct in an interview.

“I don’t even remember it. I woke up the next morning and realized what I’d done, and I…” A breath shudders off her lips, and the rapid flutter of her lids tells me she’s fighting tears.

“Did you love him?”

She shakes her head. “He was just a distraction from the problems I didn’t want to face. My relationship with Chris had deteriorated to the point of no return. We were volatile together.”

“Some would call that passion.”

“We had it in the beginning.”

“But not in the end?”

“No,” she whispers, reaching between us to wrap her fingers around my cock. Instantly, I go hard and thick in the tight glove of her hand. “And never like this.”

I drop my head, groaning into her shoulder. “I’ll never get enough of your touch, Jules.”

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