3
Lauren cracked her eyes open to see that sunlight was barely lighting the room. She was sprawled on her stomach, and she felt a large warm hand cupping her ass.
Kade was sleeping next to her.
She raised her head and shoved her long hair out of her face. He was stretched out naked on his back next to her. He looked sexy as hell. His hair was wild, and her gaze ran down his muscled tan body.
It really wasn’t natural for a man to be that perfect.
She carefully slid out from under his hand and got up. He shifted a little on the bed but didn’t wake up. Lauren stood up quietly and winced. Her body ached all over from sore muscles, but the most noticeable was the throbbing between her legs.
She grinned and tiptoed out of the bedroom.
Kade had the libido of two men, which was awesome last night. Not so great the next morning. She eyed the coffee table, seeing the cushions were still on it. The couch had a throw pillow that was messed up.
She smiled to herself again as she put on her underwear. Kade had lifted her off that table and then taken her on the couch with her riding him. That had been amazing, feeling such a strong, beautiful, powerful man under her. After that, he’d walked to the bedroom with her wrapped around his waist, but they hadn’t made it there right off.
Her gaze went to the wall next to the bedroom door. Kade had pinned her against that wall and had taken her hard. Then he’d finally carried her to the bed.
She put on the rest of her clothes from last night, remembering the bed, lost in the memories. He’d taken her on her hands and knees in the middle of the mattress, and then they’d collapsed to their stomachs with him on top of her. He’d kissed her neck, her shoulder, and then flipped them both over. He was on his back, so she draped face up on his front. He’d played with her clit, creating a slow burn as he moved slowly inside her. The burn ignited into a raging inferno that ended with him driving into her again from behind until they were both crying out in pleasure.
At that point, they’d passed out due to exhaustion.
She put on her shoes last and walked to the kitchen. She found paper and a pen in one of the drawers. She paused, grinning, and then wrote him a short note. She walked to his boots by the door and slipped the note inside. He wouldn’t be able to miss it. She looked around the room once more and then moved his coat from the door. She laid it on the back of the couch, then quietly eased out the front door and locked it behind her.
The shed was about twenty yards from the cabin. She used the second key on the cabin ring to unlock it. She was careful to hold the door up so it didn’t creak loudly like it tended to do.
She pushed the bike away from the cabin and down the road until the cabin was out of sight, lost through the thick trees that surrounded that cabin.
She winced as she straddled the seat of the dirt bike, unfastening the helmet and popping it on her head. The last key on the ring was for the bike. The bike started right up, and she tried not to flinch from the ache the vibrations of the bike were causing between her thighs. Kade was a big guy, and she hadn’t had sex in five months.
She drove to the bar.
Not surprisingly, the Barn was closed.
Lauren parked it in the back, secured the helmet to the bike, and walked to her car. She sat down gently in the driver’s side and yanked her purse out from under the seat. Everything was still there.
A brilliant one-night stand.
She reached for her phone inside her jacket pocket and called Roni.
Her best friend answered on the second ring. “Are you alive?”
“Yes, very much so.” She chuckled. “I had a blast.”
“Oh, thank God.” Roni heaved a huge sigh. “You have no idea the shit going through my head. I should’ve never let you pick up a guy at the Barn. It could’ve gone really bad, Lauren. The guys that hang out there—they’re not your type.”
“Well, this one was definitely my type,” Lauren assured her, unable to stop herself from smiling. “Best sex I ever had in my life. Made me glad I didn’t marry Brent, not if Kade is a sample of what’s out there.”
“I guess that’s good,” Roni huffed. “But never again. My heart can’t take it.”
“Now you know how I feel when you get in one of your moods,” Lauren taunted her.
“Girl, I was born a little rough around the edges. You’re a different story. Speaking of, aren’t you running late for work? Or are you going for the walk of shame and showing up in the clothes you left in?”
“No, I need a shower. Your buddy, Desmon Nightwind, is meeting me at ten. If he wants as many houses as you said he does, I need to be in top form.”
“You’re the only real estate agent in town. Who else is he going to buy from?” Roni snorted but then added, “Do take a shower, though. You don’t want him picking up on what you did last night.”
“What?” Lauren frowned and pulled back to look at her phone when a text beeped. Seeing it was from Desmon Nightwind, she told Roni, “Hold on, he actually just sent me a text.”
“Who? Tall, dark, and studly?”
“No, Desmon Nightwind.” Lauren read the text and sighed when she held the phone back to her ear. “He said he’s going to be late. Something unexpected came up. Do you think he has cold feet?”
“No, he needs those houses. He has a bunch of new employees and nowhere to put them.”
“I mean, he could just buy tiny houses and put them on his thousands of acres. Don’t tell him I said that because I need these sales, but—”
“He has other reasons for wanting to expand his land.” Roni sounded sure. “In the world he lives in, more land is a big deal.”
“I guess.” Lauren shook her head, knowing right then that Desmon Nightwind’s world and hers were a thousand miles away. “I keep getting calls from a company wanting to buy some of his property, and I know you said—”
“He will never sell, especially now,” Roni assured her. “Just show him a bunch of houses, and you’ll make some sales. Anyway, go get ready. Call me after work.”
“Okay, but so you know, I parked the dirt bike behind the bar. I’ll bring my car back later today and return it to the cabin when tall, dark, and sexy has woken up and left. I’m on my way home.” She hung up.
Lauren drove to her house and hit the garage door opener. She was relieved when she saw the other half of the garage was empty. Dina wasn’t home. That meant she was spending the night with her latest boyfriend. Lauren silently prayed the jerk would ask her to move in with him.
Lauren wanted her mother out of her house. If the woman hadn’t given birth to her, there was absolutely no way Lauren would be putting up with her living in the guest room. Dina had been there for four months. It was four months too long, in Lauren’s opinion.
Her mother was driving her insane.
Lauren hung her jacket on a hook inside the door from the garage into the kitchen. She smelled coffee, but that wasn’t alarming. She always set the coffee pot in the mornings for the next day. She walked over to it and poured herself a cup. She kicked off her shoes, and Kade flashed through her mind. Her body instantly responded. She sighed. Even as tender as she was, she wanted him again. Never in her life had she ached for a man like this—in every way possible.