Page 26 of Wreck Me

“Yeah, see, lover, you don’t have a choice. You’re going to be a good boy and come with me to the house for a long weekend—I want three full days—and I’ll write the article.”

I’m going to fucking hell. The words burn on my tongue as I say them, my stomach churning acid as he pales. I hate myself in this moment. And I deserve to have Carter hate me, too. But I know how bad he wants this article, it’s the Northwest Explorer for fuck’s sake, we’ve had plenty of bribes over the years to get us to feature them. I feel like shit for blackmailing him. But I know he won’t go willingly.

“You motherfucker,” he seethes. “We don’t need you. There are plenty of writers there.Youneed to get the fuck out of my life.”

“But then who will be there to suck your cock, Carter?”

“Trust me, there have been dozens that came before you, and far, far better.” I don’t even flinch. Instead, I use my forearm to push him against the wall, holding them there, myfree hand shooting out to grab his cock roughly, making him grunt. He’s hard as steel, just as I’d hoped he’d be.

“Liar.”

He bats my hand away, eyes squinting into slits as he glares at me.

“It’s your choice, Hayes. Come spend the weekend with me, away from Aspen Ridge, and where everyone knows both of us, and I’ll convince my dad to run the article.”

Fuck.

Carter doesn’t miss a beat, his eyes flashing up to mine at the bomb I just accidently dropped. The little nugget of information that gives him more detail into what’s happening here. He doesn’t question me or press for more information, and I watch helplessly as he files it away for later. I release my hold on him and take a step back, waiting for his answer.

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

“I need your answer today.”

“Get out!”

Leaving Carter’s, I feel like a piece of shit. The exact person my father sees me as. I’ve accepted that I’ll always disappoint him, but now I’ve thoroughly disappointed myself.

I wanted to pull him to me, stuff my head in his neck and breathe in his scent, hold him the rest of the day, learn about all of his likes and dislikes, tell him that the only reason I haven’t interviewed them is because of my dad. Instead, I skip over the stores I wanted to check out, and respect Carter’s wishes, getting in my SUV and driving out of town without talking to anyone else. If he doesn’t agree to come with me to Emberleigh, I don’t know what I’ll do. There is no plan B.

CHAPTER 7

carter

After my earlymorning run-in with Finn, I’m even more lost. Seeing him walk inside Bean Haven like he belonged there was an out-of-body experience. My two worlds were suddenly crashing together, and I felt frantic panic claw its way up my chest. Once again, I found myself fighting with my desire to kiss him senseless or bury him in my backyard. Lucky for both of us, neither of the urges won out this time.

Deciding I wasn’t in the right headspace to go into the office today, I got set up on my couch with my laptop, grateful that my job can be done remotely, and put on an Avengers movie to play for noise in the background. I get caught up on emails, reviewing contracts to send to Dallas and our CFO, Lorelei. I lose track of time and spend several hours working on a new marketing campaign and checking in with my project manager for our current accounts. The ease of the work is fairly mindless, not exceptionally challenging or fulfilling, but I’m proud of it. My family has worked hard to get where we are, and I enjoy being able to push the stakes higher to bring awareness to our brand and products.

Which then brings my head right back to Finn and the power he has to bring in more distributors, more businesses to supply to, and more events here at the distillery. Late last year, we started offering tours and tastings as well as events, and it has been a big hit. Our event coordinator, Blaire, is even thinking ahead to focus more on weddings and using the beautiful distillery grounds as their venue, and our spirits being served at the bar. It’s been very successful, but it could always be better. The weight of that is on me.

My stomach rumbling reminds me that I’m human and should probably get some food in me. There’s only one thing I want right now—a double bacon cheeseburger with garlic fries—but with Ivy on maternity leave from Barrel House and knowing they’ve cut down their menu, I settle on walking over to North Pass Market and Deli for a sandwich. I slip on my shoes, grab my wallet, and I’m out the door for the quick walk around the corner to the deli. The sun has retreated behind the clouds, and I miss the warmth of it on my skin. I love summer and haven’t really enjoyed it yet, but it’s something I need to make a priority. My brothers and I usually take a few trips to Grace Beach for surfing, even if wetsuits are still needed in the summer.

The walk is five minutes tops, and the only downside of living in Aspen Ridge is that there’s no escaping anyone. Everywhere you go, you’re going to see more than a few people that you know. This trip is no different. As I walk up to the deck portion of the deli to order at the window, Wes and Lily Draven are already standing off to the side, waiting for their food. I’m really not in the mood to chat with anyone, but luckily, Wes isn’t much of a talker, unless it’s to Lily.

“Hey, man. How are ya?”

“Couldn’t be better,” he replies as he tucks Lily under his arm possessively. “That info help you guys at all?”

Yeah, just wrecked my entire world, no big deal. Would have loved to live in ignorant bliss for longer than twelve hours, but that seems to be par for the course in my life.

“Like always. You really want to stay hidden out here in middle-of-nowhere Washington State?”

“Best way to live, in my opinion. Been a part of the rat race once, and I never want to do it again.”

“I get that. Well, we’re not gonna complain. You’ve more than helped out my family over the last year.”

“It’s not a problem. The work is simple.”

I bark out a rough laugh. “For a dark web computer whiz like you, maybe. That guy was a ghost, as far as I’m concerned. They’ve got so many writers over there; I couldn’t figure out who was who and which one was messin’ with me.”

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