Page 69 of Those Heartless Boys

With a breath held in my chest, I work my fingers through his thick, dark hair. He lets out a breath that I swear is more like a sigh or a kitten’s purr. I skim my fingers all the way to the back of his head and then start again. After several minutes, Wyatt turns to his side, facing away from me. I lie my head against my arm, shifting into a more comfortable position while still running my hands through his hair.

On my second pass through, though, my fingers run over a bump. They still for a moment, but keep going, running over that same spot until I realize it’s more like a raised ridge that’s about four to five inches long along the crown of his head. I frown as my fingers run over it time and time again.

What happened to you Wyatt Longhorn?

This will be one of the few times I don’t make up some fantastical story in my head because I’m pretty sure the real story is beyond anything I can imagine.

31

My hand shifts on its own, making me stir from sleep. The bed depresses, and I blink awake to find Wyatt’s back to me. There are freckles sprinkled over his cut form, and I resist the urge to reach out and touch his taut skin.

He stands, pulling his pants up. I almost got a glimpse of the curve of his ass. Instead, his tapered waist is all the view I’m getting. I shift down the bed, and he stills. There’s a pinch in my neck from how I fell asleep. Making him comfortable had been my number one priority, but I hadn’t expected him to stay in my room all night.

He looks toward his hat, then grabs it up, holding it south of his belly button as he turns toward me. He shrugs with a playful grin on his face before glancing down. “I woke up next to a beautiful woman.”

My face colors as I realize what he’s saying. It’s like when I woke Lucas up. He was already hard and waiting for me. This isn’t the same scenario though. My core still heats with his words, but the last thing I need to do is to fall into bed with Wyatt, especially not with all the unsaid words between us.

“I think I had the best sleep I’ve had in a while,” he says, a yawn splitting his lips apart. He looks away, holding his free hand to his mouth and shakes his head like he’s coming out of a coma.

“It must have been the alcohol,” I tease.

“I think it had to do with something way different than that.” A hint of color hits his cheeks. “I’m gonna go now, Dakota. Thank you,” he says, rushing the words out like he’s almost embarrassed to say them. He leaves, the door clicking into place behind him. I spread out on the bed. It isn’t a tiny bed at all. Way bigger than the sofa I’d been sleeping on my whole life, but when you share it with a big cowboy, it feels smaller.

I check the time on the small alarm clock in the room. My eyes bug out of my head when I see it’s well past the time we all should’ve been at class. I drag myself from bed, take a quick shower, but not too quick as to forego my new hair routine. That would be blasphemous. Once I get it styled, I put on a new outfit and slip from the room.

The smell of bacon wafts through the air. I’m confused until I move into the kitchen to see Stone and Lucas shoulder to shoulder, trying to cook. They’re whisper arguing about something, and when I step a certain way, the floor creaks. They turn quickly and then both sag in relief. “We thought you were Wyatt.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“No,” Lucas says quickly. “We were just trying to make him breakfast.”

Stone scrolls through his cell phone. “Why does the recipe saybetweenten and fifteen minutes? Why can’t they just say it takes this long, flip once at the halfway mark, and then boom, you got yourself some good bacon?”

I chuckle to myself, and Stone gazes at me, arching a brow. “Do you think you can do better?”

“We only had bacon on Christmas or at Dickie’s, so no, I’m not the girl you want to cook for you.”

Footsteps sound behind me, and Wyatt sighs. “Nooo, what are you doing?” He pushes forward, standing in front of the stove until the boys move. “I swear you do this just so I’ll come in and save your asses.”

Stone pockets his phone. “We were trying to be nice.”

“Go be nice at the bar where Dakota’s fine ass is.”

“Hey, I thought I was Tits.”

He grins at me over his shoulder and winks. “After last night, I have a lot of different nicknames for you.”

“Magic hands?”

Stone stiffens at my words, and Wyatt cracks up. “Calm your horses. I didn’t fuck her.”

Stone takes a sobering breath. Once he’s under control again, he says, “I don’t care.”

Even I recognize the lie when it flies from his mouth, I just don’t know why he does care.

“Good because if I did fuck her, the whole house would know.” Wyatt turns to wink at me again, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. Despite the night he had, he seems to be full of it this morning.

Lucas laughs. “Even Dakota is calling BS on your bullshit.”

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