Page 43 of The Pretenders of Copper County
“Or what if yourhusbandcut you off every time you tried to talk about your beloved uncle who raised you to be a hardworking person who never—or, like, hardly ever, except for a few select, forgettable incidents—caused trouble? Wouldn’t that warrant a discussion?” I demanded.
“Wow.” Watt looked a bit nonplussed, but he nodded. “Yeah. I guess I’d, ah, have a lot of communication work to do in that case.”
“You would,” I agreed. “And what if—mmmpfh.” A pair of soft, warm lips crashed into mine, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around me tightly, stealing my words, stealing my breath, stealing my thoughts.
The kiss was desperate. Bruising. Freeing. It made my knees weak and the world around me fade into blurry colors. He tasted like frustration and helpless amusement and longing all at once, and man oh man, it was a heady combination. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him as it went on and on, softening and slowing until I couldn’t help but seek just a little bit more.
When he eased back a few moments later, I pressed my fingers to my lips and realized that I might not understand his grunts, but there was one way in which Reed and I seemed to communicate just fine.
This time when he released me, he tucked me back against his side like he was proving a point, and I took a deep, gulping breath of his woodsy cologne, very much enjoying whatever point he was proving.
When I looked up, Watt was busy squinting at the sky like the clouds had become very interesting.
“Sorry about that,” Reed said, though he didn’t sound sorry. “Myhusbandis hard to resist, especially when he’s passionate about something.”
Watt’s mouth tilted up in a lopsidedgrin. “And that makes you a lucky man, doesn’t it?” He punched Reed lightly in the shoulder. “Congratulations, Reed, and welcome to Copper County.”
He turned to me. “And congratulations to you, too, Chris Sunday. I have a feeling you’re going to like it around here.” He winked again, but this time, it wasn’t knowing, just… friendly. “And I think Copper County’s definitely going to like you.”
Unfortunately for Reed’s peace of mind, it turned out Watt was right.
CHAPTER EIGHT
REED
It had happened again.
I woke in the tiny wood-paneled bedroom of the caretaker cabin with a warm, comfortable vanilla-scented weight against me, soft snores floating over my bare chest, and my cock hard enough to drill for water.
I groaned silently.
How. The. Fuck?
The first time I’d woken up in this situation—or the first timein this cabin,at least, I mentally corrected—I’d been honestly shocked. The night we arrived, I’d gone to sleep on the little pink-and-green-striped love seat in the living area after a protracted argument about sleeping arrangements with my protectee, who had a fuckton of opinions for a man who claimed he hated arguing.
Chris had pointed out that the love seat was less than half the length of my body and seemed to be upholstered in burlap, that I was still bruised up from the fight at the roadhouse, that he’d fit there better than I would if I insisted on sleeping separately. He’d also claimed that he had no problem with us sharing the bed—“You told me you’dbunked with all your brothers, Reed! You said it was no big deal!”—which was a hell of a change from his wide-eyed, stammering reluctance to get within two feet of me back at the motelandfrom the way he’d snarkily called me on my shit when Watt had showed us around the place.
I’d stood firm, though, even when he’d given me the pursed-lipped, roll-eyed glare that I was coming to think of as Chris’s “Bossiness is Unattractive, Reed” look. I was the protector, I’d reminded him. I’d sleep closer to the door, end of discussion.
What I hadn’t admitted was that given my predilection for kissing him—twice now, for fuck’s sake, and the second time had been purposeful and premeditated and achingly arousing because, apparently, IlikedChris snarky and angry every bit as much as I liked him sweet and cheerful—sleeping next to him would be averybig deal…
And a really bad idea.
Which was why it had come as such a shock when I’d woken up the next morning in Chris’s bed with the quilt I’d been using on the sofa neatly spread across the two of us, almost like I’d laid it over us intentionally.
I’d managed to sneak back to the living room with Chris none the wiser, but the slip had troubled me.A lot.Had I taken to sleepwalking? That was not only a huge lapse of control but a massive liability in my line of work.
So the next night, after we’d spent the day exploring the property and its ten ruined cabins and eaten a “quick little charcuterie dinner” Chris had thrown together that involved salami rosettes and thinly sliced fans of Watt’s homegrown cantaloupe like something out of a magazine, I’d taken precautions.
“Make sure you close your bedroom door tonight,” I’d told Chris fake-casually. “It might be chilly in the morning,and you’ll be better insulated that way. If it stays cold, I’ll need to chop some kindling and figure out how to get this little woodstove working.”
Chris had been surprisingly agreeable, calling it a “great plan” and even gifting me a sweet smile and a “Sleep well, Reed!” before going to bed. I’d watched him close the door, for heaven’s sake.
And yesterday morning when I’d woken, the door had remained closed…
But somehow, I’d been on the other side of it, with Chris’s face buried in my neck and one small hand tangled in my hair.
That time, I hadn’t been quite as lucky when I’d tried to slither out from under the quilt—my freaking sofa quilt,again—because Chris had woken up. To my relief, he hadn’t seemed freaked-out to find me there, though. Hadn’t been angry. Hadn’t even made a snarky comment. He’d just given me a little kiss on the cheek and a teasing “Good morning, husband!” before heading for the kitchen, chatting cheerfully about how “You probably won’t need to worry about the stove since Henry at the hardware store says it’s supposed to be sunny and summer-hot this weekend!” and “Oh, hey, can we drive back to town again today and get more fruit?” like me being in his bed was totally normal.
