Page 3 of Long Hard Fall

“Yeah, sorry. I’ve gotta go…stuff to do.” She hefted her bag and gave the room a once-over before she, reluctantly, met his gaze.

He sat up, the blankets slipping off his torso. Her bright gaze dipped to his chest. Pink lips parted and heat flared in her lovely eyes. He couldn’t help his smug grin.

Three orgasms and she was still primed for him.

She noticed his smile. Her back went ramrod straight. False bravado?

“Thanks for the, uh…thanks for the good time.” She winced and scurried for the door.

He wanted to chuckle at her awkwardness. As she was leaving, he called, “Nice to meet you, Abbi.”

Her shoulders stiffened. She glanced back with a flash of regret in her eyes. “Same here.”

The door closed over her fine ass. He stared at the scuffed metal.

So it was like that, huh?

He scratched his head. He must look as rumpled as he felt.

He blew out a breath and studied the room. Had he been in this one before? Sometimes he brought his hookups to one of the motels in town. Anywhere but home was his rule. Can’t sneak out of his own house because they’d still be there when he came back in from chores. And some girls would never leave. Sometimes, if he hooked up with a girl more than once, she’d start thinking along the lines of a relationship. But they hadn’t grown up in his house, with his parents’ shining example.

Cash shuddered. No thanks.

Relationships weren’t for him, but he had to admit, getting ditched by his fling stung.

He rubbed his chest. That didn’t bother him, did it? It couldn’t. He’d only met her—he glanced at the time—twelve hours ago.

Dang, he had to get home. He and his cousins would be pulling the cattle off the pastures soon and he had some fencing to reinforce before that happened.

Groaning, he pushed himself up. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he scrubbed his face. Had he fallen asleep? With a stranger?

Maybe it made sense. He’d always slept fine in the barracks in the army. After that last deployment, well, nightmares could be worse than what had gone on over there.

No. He yanked himself out of the self-pity sinkhole. His few nights of disrupted sleep were better than the family that’d lost their son and brother.

Still, it’d be worth a second round with Abbi just to get another night of uninterrupted sleep. He started getting dressed.

There was a knock on the door. A feminine voice called “housekeeping” a millisecond before the door opened. A young girl’s eyes went wide at the sight of him buttoning his pants. Thank goodness he’d gotten that far.

“I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I thought no one was in here.”

“Give a guy a few minutes before busting the door open,” he drawled with a good-natured smile.

Her stare was stuck on his naked abdomen and it changed from shocked to interested. Lord, she was barely old enough to vote.

“Kiddo,” he said, “I’ll clear on out of here in a few minutes, then the room is all yours.”

She pushed the door open a little farther and attempted to strike a provocative pose. His heart sank at the sight. All he saw was his sister standing there before all the bad decisions she’d made, especially the ones following in his footsteps.

“Do me a favor?” he asked and her face lit up. “Don’t ever date a guy a like me.”

She frowned and her gaze landed back on his abs. “Why?”

“I don’t treat women right, and you should never put up with someone like me.” Aside from him being a good ten years older than her.

“Is that why your girlfriend left?”

“Yes, because I’m a waste of time.” The words rang too true. But he’d rather be honest than make a woman as miserable as his dad made his mom.

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