Page 5 of Rocky Mountain Home

He moved slower the second time, opening his eyes carefully as he looked around at the trashed motel room. The bed sheets and quilt were on the floor, towels draped over the tattered furniture, and for some reason his boots were on the shelf. One toe pointed east, the other was upside down entirely with the sole to the ceiling and the boot tip pointing west.

Whatever the hell happened last night, it appeared his boots had a good time.

“Dare?”

No answer.

He didn’t really expect one, but there was that small part of him that wished their one-night stand was more. She’d been so sad, yet so full of life. Lush and sweet under his hands—

God, he was getting hard again.

He made it to a sitting position, gazing around at the chaos in amusement until it registered that his jeans and wallet were nowhere to be found.

“Jeez—where the hell…?”

Dare’s room. They’d gone there first after they’d finished their drinks. Naked had happened fast, and sex even faster, and he smiled as he teetered to vertical and headed to the shower to soak his head.

The sex had not sucked. Not one bit. Not in her room, or in his, although he couldn’t remember why they’d switched rooms. He did remember walking buck-ass naked through the billowing snow, with nothing but their room card keys in hand and boots on their feet.

Dare looked good naked. So fucking good he’d had her tossed on the mattress within seconds of entering the room.

Condoms. That’s right. They’d come to his room and proceeded to dip into his stash because she’d only had one, to her shock. Her digging frantically through her purse looking for more had sent them both off into laughter before doing the naked shuffle through the snowy outdoors.

Jesse stuck his face under the water in the hopes it would sober him up as he drifted back over the awesome memories of the night before. She’d been wild in bed, and his body tightened all over just thinking of it. The alcohol he was feeling hard this morning hadn’t put a damper on either of them.

He closed his eyes, pressing a hand to the wall to hold himself steady so he wouldn’t fall over.

Something clicked against the shower tile, and he paused in confusion, pulling his hand back and wondering what the hell was on his pinkie finger.

A…ring?

He turned off the water and still dripping walked into the room to find the driest towel.

Jesse peered at his hand closer. Not a class ring, but something Dare had worn. He’d…

Okay, he remembered the sex, most of it. He remembered laughing a lot, but there seemed to be gaps in the rest of his night, including what the hell he was wearing her ring for.

A keycard lay on the floor just inside his door, and he picked it up, standing slowly to stop his head from spinning as he opened the note he found next to it.

You might need this to grab your stuff. Thanks for the night—be happy and safe travels.

Dare.

He wrapped the towel around his waist and slipped his own key into his fist before poking his head outside. An icy blast of wind set Morgan whimpering, and Jesse hushed him before hurrying into the storm and swiping the card to get into Dare’s room.

She was long gone, but his jeans and T-shirt lay on the bed, and he grabbed them up in one hand and…

There was blood on the sheets.

Not a lot, as in something-had-been-killed-in-a-midnight-ritual kind of blood, but enough to make him stare and wonder…

You take my cherry, you gotta marry me.

He shook his head to get rid of the cobwebs. But she hadn’t been a virgin. He could’ve sworn to that.

Jesse stared at the ring on his finger in horror.

What had they done?