Page 12 of One More Song

Damn, if I don’t want to take her. And something in the way she looks at me now, lets me know that she wants it too. But I also know what will happen if I do. Me and the guys will be out on our asses tomorrow. Sure, we could find another B & B in another godforsaken town. But I don’t want to.

I like it here.

It feels...right. Whatever the fuck that means.

All I know is that somehow I need to get through the next three months without touching her. But even as I think it, my damn hand is reaching out and stroking back a wisp of hair from her cheek and tucking it behind her ear.

She trembles and a small whimper escapes her lips. “Ash...”

Fuck, she’s like a damn drug. And I’ve never been good at denying temptation. But I know if I have one taste, I won’t be able to stop.

“Goodnight, Ember.”

She lets out a shaky breath, and steps back, blinking a few times like she’s trying to regain a sense of where she is.

“Goodnight,” she mumbles before turning and walking out of the room, leaving me with only a trace of the warmth she’d been emitting, her scent lingering in the air.

I stand there for a moment, my balls aching, my cock hard as fucking steel, until I hear her bedroom door softly close.

But then I sit down, pick up my pen and start to write. And for the first time in years, lyrics flow through me.

My agent sent me here, the middle of nowhere, as a punishment. Turns out this home holds my muse. I don’t know what the hell that means, but I’m going to use it.

I write until my fingers are numb. By the time dawn hits, the sky is a watercolor painting, pinks and purples, and my eyes are heavy. It takes all my effort to climb the stairs and roll into bed. The guys will be pissed that I’m sleeping half the day away, but I don’t care.

I wrote a song. A damn good one.

Ember lit the fire and it’s not going out anytime soon.

Chapter Five

Ember

“Okay,time to spill all the details,” Millie says, nudging my shoulder as we watch Cadence and Tabitha race around the playground from our spot on the bench. “And don’t even bother trying to tell me there’s nothing going on.”

“There isn’t.”

She snorts. “You’re a terrible liar. You forget I know you better than anyone.”

I let out an uneven sigh. I told her about the guys moving in yesterday. But I haven’t told her that they’re a band, or about Ash. Not that there’s really anything to tell. Other than that, the man is gorgeous and has clearly gotten under my skin.

“Do you know how lucky you are?” she continues. “Four hot guys sleeping in your house. That’s like the start of every woman’s most wicked fantasy.”

“I never said they’re hot.”

She laughs. “You didn’t have to. The way you’re blushing now tells me everything I need to know.”

I groan. “I shouldn’t have told you.”

She chuckles. “This is Stanton. You know everything is eventually everyone’s business.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” All day I avoided the guys as best I could, which was easy because I worked at the supermarket this morning. When I came home, they were in the living room setting up their equipment, so I spent my time digging in the flower beds outside.

It wasn’t hard to avoid Ash. I’m pretty sure he didn’t leave his bedroom until Cadence got off the school bus. He made a pot of coffee as Cadence told me about her day and I did my very best to get her through her snack faster than usual. After our near kiss last night, I don’t exactly trust myself with him.

“So what’s going on?” Millie presses. “It’s not like you to miss the Moms and Muffins meeting.”

I groan. “That was today?”

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