Page 26 of Sold to the Single Daddies (Southern Heat Reverse Harems #4)

Reagan

The drive to the ranch was quiet. West played an old country station on the radio at a low volume and he quietly hummed along while tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

I had to shove my hands under my thighs to keep from fiddling.

I was nervous. I didn’t know what West expected or didn’t expect. I didn’t understand where we’d landed.

When we got to the ranch, West helped me get Lucky out of the truck and then carried him to the bottom of the stairs before handing him to me.

“Go ahead and get him sorted. I’m going to grab something and then I’ll be up.”

My feet carried me up the stairs but my brain stayed with West. My mind was racing, wondering why Mills hadn’t told me the truth, what West wanted to talk about, and how I’d gone from crying to hovering on the edge of an inappropriate amount of arousal in so little time.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and then startled slightly at the rocking chair that had been added to my room since the last time I’d been in it.

I stood up and walked around it, wondering where it’d come from.

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I settled in the chair and gently rocked Lucky while feeding him.

After a few minutes, his little body went slack as he fell asleep and I decided I was going to kiss whoever moved the rocking chair.

It faced the window so I could look out at the back of the ranch and appreciate the land that stretched on for miles and miles.

“Hey.” West stepped inside my room with a tray filled with fresh fruit and a pitcher of ice water.

“I know this isn’t exactly dinner but I’m not a cook.

How do you like the chair? Our grandma used to rock our dad in it when he was a baby.

Our mom rocked us in it. At least she did until she had the girls.

That’s a story for another day, though.”

“I love the chair. So does Lucky. Thank you. And thank you for the fruit. I probably don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables so this is good.” I eased Lucky away from my chest and rested him in his bassinet. “I bet growing up on a ranch you got all the vegetables you could handle.”

“And then some.” He sat on the bed with the tray and smiled when I sat beside him.

“If there were ever a fresh vegetable in a home I stayed in when I was growing up, it would’ve been because someone stole it thinking they could smoke something out of it.

I found several apples turned into pipes over the years.

I took Mason in and knew I needed to pretend to be an adult so I tried to make us eat a balanced diet.

Between the cost of the fresh stuff and the fact that both of us have the palette of a couple of toddlers, I gave up the balanced diet dream pretty quickly. ”

West popped a grape into his mouth and studied me.

“You did a good job with him. I’m assuming all the good parts of him came from you, anyway.

He’s a hard worker and a quick learner. Mills already told him he has a job waiting for him after vet school if he wants it.

We’d go in half with Maxie’s guys to pay his salary.

As you saw, having a vet this close would be an asset. ”

I froze with a strawberry halfway to my mouth.

“You’re serious? That would be amazing for him!”

“I’m serious. He’s Lucky’s uncle. No matter what, he’ll always have a place here if he wants it.” Grabbing my hand and pushing it the rest of the way to my lips, West watched as I bit into the berry. “Same goes for you.”

I sat and ate a few more bites while thinking about his words. He let me.

“I’m not trying to steal your family. You guys are always going to come first with your sisters. I hope you know that.”

He let out a bitter laugh and shook his head.

“Don’t worry about that right now, kitten.”

I tried to lighten the mood and smiled.

“You’re right. I have plenty of other things to worry about instead.”

West seemed contemplative for a few minutes as we ate in silence. Finally, he lifted his eyes to mine and the look he gave me was intensely curious.

“Was there anyone after us?”

My back stiffened.

“Are you doubting that Lucky is—”

“No! No, Reagan. That’s not why I’m asking.” He cleared his throat. “I told you mine so I was hoping you’d tell me yours.”

I took a huge gulp of water and faked a laugh.

“You want to exchange sex secrets now?”

“No.” He took the tray and put it on the floor so there was nothing between us. “I want to know if you were able to let another man touch you after that night with us.”

I crossed my arms and stared at the wall over his shoulder.

“That’s invasive.”

He let out a soft laugh. “ You’re invasive.”

Scoffing, I stood up and planted my hands on my hips in front of him.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you snuck into my head and spread yourself around.” He stood up so we were toe-to-toe and I was tipping my head back to look up at him. “You’re not answering my question, though. Has there been someone else since us?”

I wanted to lie. I wanted to pretend I hadn’t been at all bothered by our night together and I’d moved on to many more men after. I wasn’t a liar, though.

“No.”

He gripped my waist and let out a shuddering breath.

“The idea of touching anyone else after that night never crossed my mind, kitten. It would’ve been wrong to feel another woman under me when all I would’ve been thinking was about how you felt.”

I scowled at the image his words painted.

It wasn’t hard to see Melanie as the woman under him.

Whether it was the hormones or maybe I’d just lost my mind, I grabbed his shirt and tugged his face down so we were eye-to-eye.

I didn’t even know what to say. I was angry over nothing but I wanted to shake him for the thought of him and Melanie existing in my head.

West ran his hands down to my ass and jerked me up his body until he had my thighs wrapped around his waist. Spinning, he kicked the tray and stopped to see if it woke Lucky up.

When it didn’t, he grabbed the ancient baby monitor and strode into the bathroom with me.

He set the monitor on the bathroom counter and silently shut the door before spinning me around so I had no choice but to stare at our reflections in the mirror.

“I’ve spent a fucking year stroking myself off to the thought of you, kitten.

Then you show up here and we fuck everything up so bad that you don’t want to come near us and I thought I was going to have to have someone tie me up in the barn to stop me from climbing through your window at night.

Do you feel that?” He made sure I felt his thick erection pressing into my ass through our jeans. “That only works for you now, kitten.”

The woman in his arms didn’t look like me.

She looked wanton, with blown out pupils and her lips parted as she breathed like she’d just run a marathon.

I watched as she gripped the countertop and arched her back, rolling her ass against West’s hardness.

When my eyes caught on West’s hungry face, I couldn’t look away.

“Reach back and touch me, kitten.” He braced his hands next to mine on the counter, his body surrounding me.

My hand shook when I reached back, excitement and nerves clashing together. I had to wedge my hand between our bodies but then I was cupping him through his jeans and we were both moaning together.

“Get on your knees. Show me you want this as much as I do.”