Page 27 of That One Night (The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation #4)

Chapter

Twenty-Two

“Damn.” Hendrix widened his eyes, his vision focusing on the clock beside his bed. It was almost eight o’clock. “Emery, you awake?”

“Five minutes,” she muttered, rolling over onto her side. She looked so damn comfortable in his bed, her hair a hot mess, her cheeks pink, her skin soft. He hated having to wake her.

But she’d hate the consequences of sleeping in even more.

“It’s almost eight o’clock,” he told her, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

That did it. A second later her eyes opened wide. “Wait, what?”

“We slept through the alarm.” It was Saturday morning. He was supposed to work until midday like he did every Saturday. And he swore he’d set the alarm for six.

He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t been woken up by the blast of his clock radio. But then again, he couldn’t remember the last time he had sex three times in one night, either.

His appetite for this woman was insatiable.

“Oh my God!” She sat up straight, her soft body coming clear of the sheets. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I just did,” he pointed out, trying not to smile at the bird's nest her hair had turned into. A mixture of too much sex and sleeping, he guessed. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

The next ten minutes were a frenzy of showers and putting clothes on.

It was funny, watching her get ready so quickly; jumping in his shower, pulling her clothes onto her still-damp body, tying her hair into a messy bun that exposed the arch of her neck.

She ran out of the bathroom and came up short, because he was standing there, a mug of coffee in hand.

He held it out to her. “I figured you might need this,” he said to her. Emery grabbed the cup gratefully, swallowing half the hot liquid in one gulp. Good thing he’d added extra cream to cool it down.

She looked out of his window, her eyes wide, as she saw her mom opening up the chicken coop, no doubt searching for eggs.

“Ugh, I’m going to have to wait until she’s back in the house,” Emery murmured. “I can sneak around the back and hang out in the fields for a bit to get an alibi.” Her eyes caught his. “If she asks you, you haven’t seen me, okay?”

“Your mom won’t ask. I don’t think she likes me.”

Emery let out a soft breath. “Well I like you,” she told him.

And wasn’t that like an injection of adrenaline straight to his heart? “I like you, too.” He grinned at her. Damn, he could get used to this, sleeping with her in his arms, watching her get dressed.

“You’re coming back over tonight, right?” he asked, as she shoved her feet into her shoes.

She looked up, her warm eyes meeting his. “That’s the plan, yeah. I need to pick up my clothes. I figure it’ll blow my cover if I carry them home now.”

He put his mug down and kissed her softly, her mouth tasting of mint and coffee. He could get used to having her in his bed. To waking up next to her every morning.

Stupid how much more enjoyable it was making coffee for two than for just him.

Emery looked at him, shifting her feet. “Last night. I was planning for us to talk…”

His stomach tightened.

“And then I got carried away.” Two discs of pink appeared on her cheeks. “That seems to happen a lot.”

“What did you want to talk about?” he asked, checking his watch again because every minute really did count right now. He cared about her. He didn’t want her to panic about her mom. And he knew she would.

He already knew a lot about this woman.

“About after.” Her eyes caught his. A smile pulled at his lips, remembering the way he’d said it to her.

After.

After she’d gotten the lien removed from her mom’s farm. After she stopped pretending to still be in a relationship with a jerk.

Fuck, he couldn’t wait.

“Then we’ll talk tonight.”

She bit her lip. “We’re going to need to sit on opposite sides of the room and not touch each other or something. Every time you kiss me I seem to forget how to form a sentence.”

He looked over at her house. Her mom was walking back up the steps to the porch, carrying some eggs. “Your mom’s going back inside. You should make a run for it.”

“Maybe you can distract her while I head around the back. Just walk around naked on the porch or something,” Emery suggested. It made him grin. Mostly because he’d have no qualms about doing it.

Especially for her.

If his brothers could hear his thoughts, they’d be teasing him the way he’d teased them over their wives. He hadn’t known you could feel like this. So damn protective yet vulnerable at the same time.

Like you had to take care of the only thing your heart beats for.

“I should go. Wish me luck.” She walked over to him, rolling onto the toes of her sneakers as she tipped her head up, her lips slightly parted. He put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer, loving how warm and soft her skin was.

Then his mouth brushed hers and everything inside of him felt like he was on fire. She curled her arms around his neck, her body arching into his as he deepened their kiss, his body hardening with need at the way this woman felt.

“Good luck,” he murmured against her lips. “I’ll open the door, make sure the coast is clear.” Because her mom wasn’t the only one who could catch her sneaking out. There was Jed and the farmhands.

It would be just their luck for one of them to catch them after they’d been so careful. Until now, at least.

“My hero.”

He winked at her, then yanked the door handle, still distracted by the soft way she was staring at him. Maybe that’s why he let the door swing wide open before looking out.

And when he saw the dark-haired woman in a pair of slim-fitting jeans and a checkered shirt standing there, his stomach dropped.

“Mom.”

“I didn’t even knock,” she said, smiling at him from the stoop.

“Do you have a sixth sense or something?” The sun was behind her, illuminating her hair.

In her late fifties, Maddie Hartson was still a beautiful woman, her face untouched by any of the fillers or surgeries so many of his friends' parents had gotten. Sure, there was a little gray streaking in her hair nowadays, but she still looked like the mom who’d adored him when he was a kid.

Fuck. The word lingered on his tongue. He barely managed to bite it away. His mom looked over his shoulder, the smile on her face wavering when she saw who was behind him.

He could have played it off if he’d thought about putting some damn clothes on. But he was standing here in his underwear and nothing else, his hair mussed from a night with Emery, his fingers curled around a coffee mug.

His mom blinked. “Oh, I’ve interrupted.” Her cheeks flushed as she tried to pull her gaze away from him and Emery, pressing her lips together like she was trying to figure out how to get out of this.

He heard Emery’s breath catch.

“Emery was just leaving,” he muttered, because he had no idea what else to say. And if this was bad, Emery’s mom seeing the three of them would be a thousand times worse. He turned to look at the woman he’d just spent the night with. Her face was pale.

“Oh, hi Emery,” his mom said, her voice sounding so falsely light that at any other time he would have teased her.

“Hi, Mrs. Hartson.” Emery sounded just as awkward.

Okay, so now it was almost funny.

He stepped aside so Emery could pass by. She had her hands curled into fists, like she couldn’t quite believe this. He had to stop himself from grabbing her, kissing her again.

She gave his mom a tight smile, and his mom nodded back as Emery passed her, standing stock still as Emery walked down his steps, turning to look at him over his mom’s shoulder.

“Oh. My. God!” Emery mouthed.

His lips twitched. If he laughed, she’d probably kill him. So instead he just widened his eyes at her. She shook her head and walked toward the side of her house.

Letting out a low breath, he brought his gaze back to his mom, who still hadn’t moved.

“Coffee?” he asked her. “I just put some on.”

She blinked. “Oh. Um…”

“Come in,” he said. “I promise I don’t have anybody else in here.”

She looked supremely awkward as she walked inside. The place was still a mess, from last night and this morning. He picked up the towel Emery had placed on the couch and threw it into the laundry room, before walking into the kitchen and pouring his mom a coffee.

“Do you want cream?” he asked her.

Finally, his mom let her gaze land on his face. “Hendrix…”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it.

” Because he knew his mom didn’t like what she just saw.

Right now he didn’t like it either. Not the fact that Emery stayed the night – hell, he loved that.

It was the fact he could feel his mom’s judgment, even if she was trying so hard not to let it out.

And she could judge him all she wanted. But not Emery.

“I know you don’t,” his mom said softly. “And believe me, I don’t want to be here saying it either. I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d called before I stopped by. Or at least been a few minutes later.” She sighed. “But I didn’t. And here we are…”

He leaned against the counter, his jaw tense. “It’s not what you think.”

“So I didn’t just see an engaged woman leave your house while you’re half naked?”

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a minute, trying to think of the best way to proceed. He’d promised Emery to keep her secret, and there was no way he’d betray that promise.

Opening his eyes, he could see his mom had moved from the kitchen. She was standing by the window, looking out at the farm on the other side of the road. Emery must have made it to the fields, because there was no sign of her. As soon as his mom left he’d check that she was okay.

“Yes, you saw her leave. But…” he shook his head. “It’s not her fault. I’d prefer if you didn’t go spreading it around.”

His mom’s eyes widened. “Of course I wouldn’t spread it around. I can’t believe you said that.”

“I didn’t…” Christ, he was only making this worse. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.