Page 20 of Stuck with my Mechanic Daddies

But something about last night felt different.

Maybe it was because Medford wasn’t the kind of place where you could pretend someone didn’t exist the next day. Maybe it was because Mason wasn’t just some random guy. I’d been here less than a week, and he’d already wormed his way under my skin.

Or maybe it was because, for a few hours, I’d let myself forget.

Forget the bookstore. Forget the mess my uncle left me. Forget the fact that my life was unraveling one loose thread at a time.

I groaned and threw the blanket over my face.It was just sex. Stop overthinking it.

I dragged myself out of bed, my body sore in places I hadn't felt in a long time. The good kind of sore. The kind that came from being thoroughly and deliciously wrecked.

Heat flared low in my stomach, but I shoved it down and forced myself to move. Dwelling on last night wouldn’t change anything.

It was just sex.

A damn good mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.

I shuffled into the tiny bathroom, flipping on the light and catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Jesus.

My hair was a mess, my lips looked a little too swollen, and there were faint marks along my collarbone where Mason had kissed—no, devoured—me.

I swallowed hard and turned on the shower, letting the hot water drown out my thoughts as I stepped in.

It was supposed to be simple. A small-town one-night stand. Something to take the edge off while I figured out what the hell I was doing here.

But Mason wasn’t simple. And neither were his brothers.

I exhaled sharply, pressing my forehead against the cool tile. It wasn’t just Mason who’d gotten under my skin. I was drawn to all of them.

Ethan, with his quiet strength and intense, brooding presence. There was something in his eyes when he looked at me, something unreadable but impossible to ignore.

Owen, with his easy charm and quick wit. He could make anyone laugh, but beneath that, I could tell he kept something hidden. I wasn’t sure what, but I wanted to find out.

And Mason.

Mason, who was all trouble and temptation, who didn’t take anything seriously until, suddenly, he did.

Who had kissed me like he wanted to consume me.

I tipped my head back, letting the water stream over my face.

This was insane.

I hadn't been this attracted to anyone in years, let alone three men.

My love life in the city had been lackluster, to say the least.

Safe. Predictable. A string of relationships that never quite sparked, never made me feel like I was burning from the inside out.

But this?

This was something else entirely. A slow, simmering heat curling in my veins, twisting in my chest, making it impossible to ignore.

And that terrified me.

I didn’t have time for this.

---