Chapter 22

The sun was starting to peek through the slats of my blinds as I lay on my back, staring up at the rotating blades of my ceiling fan and stewing in a silent rage. I hadn't gotten more than an hour of sleep after storming away from Vaughn's house the night before. My body was primed and aching for more after the best sex I ever had, but the kindling of my temper had been smoldering since I climbed into my car and sped away, and it was taking everything I had to keep it from spreading into a blazing forest fire.

I really had to cake the concealer on to hide the circles under my eyes from lack of sleep—as well as the bite mark on my neck, but I wasn't going to think about that. I'd never in my life been so pissed off while simultaneously aroused to the point that I could feel my pulse between my legs. It was messing with my head. It also hurt a hell of a lot more than I wanted to admit to myself.

I dressed for work, putting extra effort into my appearance in the hopes that if I felt pretty, maybe my mood would improve. The summer dress fluttered around my legs as I walked, the gentle swish of the fabric against my skin bringing to mind how Vaughn's hands felt on me the night before and eliciting a riot of goosebumps across my flesh.

Smoosh sat on the kitchen counter, flicking her tail back and forth and watching me with her typical bored expression as I poured coffee into a travel mug. "What?" I clipped, slamming the cup onto the counter with a huff when the feel of her silent judgment finally became too much. "Stop looking at me like that. I know what you're thinking." Other than I was certifiable for having actual conversations with my cat. "You think I put out too soon, and he's not going to bother with the cow because he's already had the milk for free." I let out an indignant snort and rolled my eyes. "Well, joke's on you, because all I wanted was the milk too."

Well, sort of. It wasn't as if I wanted him to get down on his knees and declare his undying love and devotion to me or anything. I liked the guy, and the sex was out of this world. I would have been lying if I said I didn't want more of that. But it wasn't like I expected him to wife me up or anything because we slept together. But it would have been nice if he'd at least waited until the tremors from the orgasm he'd given me had subsided before kicking me to the curb.

Heaving out a sigh, I grabbed my favorite bottle of creamer from the fridge and doctored my coffee, doing my best to ignore Smoosh's beady little gaze. "I don't care about Vaughn at all," I grumbled. "He wants to hit it and quit it, that's totally cool with me." I cut a glare in Smoosh's direction just as she canted her head to the side. "I am not lying," I insisted sharply when she lifted her paw and began licking it lazily, like the action was her silent way of calling me on my bullshit. "Whatever. I don't need your attitude." I quickly screwed the lid on my travel mug and grabbed my purse off the counter before jabbing an accusatory finger at my cat. "You'd do well to remember who feeds you before you start criticizing."

For crying out loud, I was losing my mind.

Before I could continue arguing with an animal that most likely couldn't understand a word I was saying, I stormed out the door and headed to work. I'd been hoping for a quiet day where I could close myself in my office and work on editing photos in peace and quiet, but I knew as soon as I walked through the doors of Three's a Charm that I wasn't going to be that lucky.

"Oh my God. You had sex."

I rocked back on a heel at Ryan's declaration. My eyes flared wide, and I proceeded to choke as the sip of coffee I had just taken went into my lungs. Tarryn rushed over to pound on my back until I was able to breathe again.

"I didn't—that's not—how could you possibly know that?" I managed to sputter as I sucked in a huge lungful of air.

"You're glowing," she stated plainly before letting out a laugh and shaking her head. "Nah, I'm just kidding." She pointed at my neck and explained, "You didn't cover up that hickey nearly as well as you thought and there's beard burn on your jaw and down your neck. At the very least you got a little frisky, and considering your dry spell, I took a shot that you wouldn't be able to stop at just a bit of necking."

I slapped my hand over the spot where I'd begged Vaughn to bite me as my face turned as red as a stop light. "I don't want to talk about it," I grumbled as I hitched my purse high on my shoulder and moved through the reception area toward my office. The click of my friends' heels on the tile floor behind me told me they weren't going to settle for my brush-off.

"Uh-uh, no way," Tarryn exclaimed, wagging her finger in the air as she and Ryan moved into my office, taking the chairs across from my desk. As they made themselves comfortable, I couldn't help but recall how ridiculous Vaughn had looked sitting in the chair Ryan was currently lounged in, and at the thought of him, my mood soured like month-old expired milk. "You get laid for the first time in a year, and you think you can get away with not telling your two bestest besties all about it? I don't think so, babe. I told you guys all about that weekend in Jackson Hole with that street artist. You owe me."

I held up my index finger. "First off, he was a criminal, Tarryn, not a street artist. He went around spray painting penises on buildings and stop signs, for crying out loud." She waved me off with a scoff. "Second, all I did was ask you how your weekend had been. You're the one who went into elaborate detail. I begged you to stop."

"She has a point," Ryan commiserated, giving Tarryn a stern look. "You do tend to overshare. But it's just one of the many... unique things that makes you who you are."

Tarryn's eyes rolled dramatically as she let out a huff. "Fine, whatever. You don't have to give us the details, but at least give us something." Her expression morphed into excitement as she bounced in her chair. "Like, was it that super sex grump you're fake boyfriend-ing up?"

My blush gave me away, of course. It also didn't help matters that the two women sitting across from me knew me better than anyone else in the world. "We had a date last night—a fake date," I quickly amended. "Just so people would quit speculating. Things got... a little out of hand afterward."

Ryan's brows pinched together. "Out of hand how? He didn't do anything you didn't want, did he?" She let out a little growl. "So help me, if he did, there are far too many places in these mountains to dispose of a body. I'll make damn sure he's never found."

I appreciated Ryan's protective streak, even if it was a little psychotic at times. "No," I said with a shake of my head. "It was nothing like that. The da—fake date actually went really well. I had a lot of fun."

Tarryn's shoulders went up in a shrug. "Then what's the problem?"

I heaved out a gust of air, the tension that had been pressing deep into my temples all morning long growing more intense. "We kind of got into an argument on the way back to his place afterward. He got all quiet and monosyllabic, and I took it personally."

Ryan's head tilted to the side in confusion. "But... isn't that how he always is? He has a reputation for being kind of an asshole."

"People don't really know him," I snapped defensively, the instinct to defend him too strong to ignore. "He's not the easiest person to know, but there's a lot more to him than most people realize."

The two of them shared a look, silently communicating something they were purposely keeping me out of.

"Anyway, things got a little heated, and he ended up admitting he was attracted to me."

"And that's a good thing?" Ryan hedged, uncertain where my story was going.

"Yes. I mean, I guess." I collapsed back into my chair with a heavy sigh. "We ended up losing control and going after each other right there in his driveway. It was..." I didn't even have words to properly describe how amazing, earth-moving, skull-exploding, out-of-this-galaxy incredible the sex had been. "I'm pretty sure he's ruined me for all other men," I admitted on a grumble.

Tarryn leaned back in her chair, letting out a long, low whistle. "Right there in the driveway? Damn girl." A wicked smile stretched across her face. "When you decide to get back up on the horse, you really go all out. Do Ryan and I need to start putting together bail money for when you get arrested for indecent exposure?"

I crumpled up a bright pink Post-It and threw it at her head as she giggled. "It just happened. It's not like we planned it. You know no one lives up in that community this time of year. That's where all the snow bunnies buy their vacation homes."

She waggled her eyebrows. "So what you're telling me is he has a magic dick and he's loaded? If I were you, I'd drop the fake off the front of boyfriend quick, fast, and in a hurry."

Ryan reached over and smacked her in the arm. "Will you be serious for one second?"

"Ow! All right." Tarryn pouted as she rubbed at the sore spot on her arm. "I was trying to lighten things up."

"Go on, sweetie," Ryan said with a wave of her hand. "We're listening."

"There really isn't much more to tell. He admitted he was attracted to me and we had sex. Really good sex. Then, the second it was over, he asked if I was good to get myself home."

The affronted gasp Tarryn pulled in was so big it threatened to suck all the oxygen out of the room. "He did not!"

I nodded. "I'd barely had a chance to put my boobs back in my top and he was basically telling me to kick rocks."

Ryan held up her hands and gave her head a shake. "I'm sorry, and you claim this guy isn't an asshole?"

"It's... complicated." As hard as I tried not to, I could still remember the look on his face when I looked back in my rearview mirror. The pain that had been carved deep into his features as he stood frozen in place, watching me drive away. He looked like I'd ripped off a piece of him and taken it with me as I left. Agonized with longing. The need he'd fucked me with had still been etched into every tense line and muscle of his frame, and seeing that only made me angrier. It had been obvious he didn't want to let me go. So why had he? "I don't know how else to describe it. He's different with me. Last night wasn't..." I shook my head trying to gather my thoughts. "I don't think he'd ever hurt me, not on purpose."

I could see the understanding in my friends' eyes, but their concern for me was even greater. "I get it," Ryan started. "And you know we'll support you in whatever you decide you want, but is this really something you want?"

"It was just sex," I insisted, but the words sounded empty, even to my own ears.

"It wasn't, though," Tarryn said, calling me on my lie. "You really like this guy."

Ryan gave me a sympathetic smile. "Like I said, we'll support you no matter what. All we're saying is that it sounds like this guy comes with some serious baggage. You may want to consider that before getting any deeper."

I hadn't thought it was possible to feel any worse than I had when I first got here. I understood where Ryan and Tarryn were coming from, and I knew they only wanted the best for me, but their words sank deep down to the bottom of my stomach, leaving me feeling strangely hollow. It wasn't as though I didn't already know everything they were pointing out. Vaughn Cavanaugh was the most intense, complicated, infuriating man I'd ever met, no two ways about it. But I knew there was so much more to him than what he let people see. And I couldn't shake the niggling sense that he was someone worth getting to know, no matter how hard he fought it.

However, I would have been lying if I said the situation with Barrett hadn't left me battle-scarred and bruised, and after how Vaughn had treated me the night before, the need to protect myself was beating at my insides.

Honestly, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. But before I could try to figure it out, Becca's head popped around the edge of my opened office door, her knuckles tapping against the door frame. "Sorry to interrupt. Jolie, there's somewhere here to see you."

I tried my best to ignore the butterflies springing to life and taking flight in my belly, mentally stomping out the hope that it was Vaughn showing up to grovel for being a world-class jackass and beg my forgiveness.

Ryan twisted in her seat. "Is it a client? If so, I can handle the meeting."

Becca shook her head, her expression almost nervous. "Um, well... sort of."

Before I could ask who it was or what was wrong, my ex materialized in my doorway, smiling in my direction like we were long lost friends. "Hey, JoJo."

Son of a bitch. This was the last thing I needed.