Page 3

CHAPTER 2

CLAY

FRU FRU SHIT

What is a woman like her doing in a place like this ? She smells so fucking good. Like all that fru fru shit that girls are into. Maybe coconut and citrus? All I know is that this close, I can smell her shampoo over the stale bar and I just want to breathe her in.

She was sitting at a bar drinking bourbon, not some girly cocktail. Where the hell does a woman like this even come from? Sure, she might be some annoying little tourist. But she’s such a firecracker and so sassy.

And why is she looking at me like that now? The sexy, hungry look in her eyes is completely gone. It’s replaced by something I can’t quite place.

Maybe a hint of panic?

This sudden look of shock on her face is killing me.

Fuck. Maybe I read this wrong asking her to leave so quick.

“Everything ok?” I pull my wrist out of her hand, tilting her chin up with a curled finger towards me to look into those beautiful sapphire blue eyes. I playfully flick an eyebrow at her, trying to lighten the sudden change in her expression. “Cat got your tongue?”

Her worried look doesn’t change. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” I look into her eyes, frantically searching for what could have gone so wrong so fast. I rest my hands on her shoulders. “Shit. I’m sorry”

“We can’t do this.” Her words are a muted whisper, lacking any of that early sassiness and conviction that was so sexy. She brushes my hands off her shoulders, rubbing hers down her front and smoothing out the hem of her dress .

“Hey. Did I do something?” I don’t know what went wrong so fast.

“I just… I have to leave. I’m sorry.” I stand there, dumfounded as she walks past me, heading towards the front of the bar. She snags Mandy’s attention and gets her card, grabbing her jacket from the stool and turns to head towards the exit.

As she reaches the door, she looks over her shoulder, back at me. She bites her lip before her eyes flit away.

And like that, she’s gone.

My heart is pounding. Who the fuck was she? This little spitfire that has my skin burning.

I guess this tracks though.

This is the kind of shit that always happens to me.

I hang my keys on their hook just inside the door to my kitchen from the garage.

Fucking hell. What a rollercoaster. This is not how I thought my night would go.

No. Not at all. I was going to go and just grab a beer. My usual Wednesday after work routine. Nothing special.

Then I ran into the insane little blonde that got under my skin in all the right ways and clearly wanted to have some fun . Or at least I thought so until she ran off and I have no idea what I did. She just stared at me in shock before she dashed out of the bar leaving with zero explanation.

I hear a familiar rumbling coming from across the living room into the kitchen, instantly brightening my mood a bit .

“Oh hey, bud.” I kneel down as Ani runs up to me, tail wagging. “Have you been a good boy while Daddy was gone?” I say in a deep, playful voice. “Or were you my bad little shit starter?”

I smile when he rests his head on my shoulder and licks my ear. I’m 6’3”, but he’s big for a Belgian Malinois and I love how he can still jump up on me like this when I’m kneeling down.

“Thanks for the kisses. It’s been a rough night.” That’s an understatement. I left the bar without even finishing my beer. I figured I might as well get home and get a good night’s sleep after that cold shower at the bar.

Fuck. I need a real cold shower now. I’m still so wound up after that.

I stand up, patting Ani and head over to the coat rack, putting my jacket on its hook and my work boots neatly in their tray. Ani follows me in his perfect heeling position, the one I spent months perfecting and still work on every day with him.

Walking through the hall along the polished concrete floors to my room, my mind is racing. I still can’t get over this.

Who was that and why did she leave like that?

Was it something I did?

I know I can be a domineering, cocky asshole. But I’m still respectful. I pride myself on being respectful. That’s how we were raised to be. That’s what Dad expects from me, what Mom would have expected from me. I thought I was reading her signs right and we were going to have a good time.

She followed me and seemed to be calling the shots. She was touching my chest. She kissed me. She pulled me into her with her leg. Fuck. Just thinking about it is sending a rush of blood below my waist.

She was so gorgeous too. I wanted to do unspeakable things to that snarky little mouth of hers. She was clearly down for it. Or at least she was until something changed .

I don’t know why I’m surprised though. That’s what these tourists chicks do. Come into town, have some fun with the locals, then disappear until their next trip. But they usually aren’t hanging out, alone, at Roxy’s on a Wednesday night.

When I get to my bedroom, I toss my clothes in the hamper and head to the en suite bathroom to start a cold shower. I really need it. Work has been hell lately.

The project at the Aspen Grove Club has been going smooth, but remodeling an entire floor of a giant condo building in the Utah winter is less than ideal. I’ve been there night and day trying to stay on top of it. We’ve been doing demo for weeks and finally have the place stripped down to the studs, but the job site is cold even with our portable heaters and wrapped windows. At least the project at the Grand Lodge is almost done. I remind myself that this is why I just got promoted, because I can handle these things and not get distracted.

When I finally get in the shower, the cold water feels amazing. Between beating myself up at work, my constantly sore and stiff knees, and the raging hard on I still have from thinking about my mystery woman, it’s exactly what I need.

I rest my head against the glass, finally feeling like I can exhale and let the tension fade away.

This is just how my life is.

This is nothing new.

Every time something good seems like it’s finally about to happen, life comes in and snatches it away.

Even the sting of a one night stand running off before it even got started is brutal, but also just feels normal at this point in my life.

This is why I don’t let myself get attached to anything. This is why I don’t let myself think about the future.

Focus on the now.

Focus on what I can control.