Chapter 19

Morning afters were always awkward.

Usually, you just had that weird stretch of time where you weren't sure if you were supposed to sneak out or stick around and make small talk. But I'd never dealt with a morning after in my own house. Especially since he'd snuck out instead of sleeping with me. What was I supposed to say to Rix?

Morning!

Would you like pancakes or more sex?

It wasn't as if there were that many other options. Hendrix Evers was not the settling down type. He was blunt and grumpy and definitely not Mr. Right. Yet somehow, despite being everything I thought I didn't want, I'd been happier living with him than I ever was with Aaron.

I opened the door and peered into the hallway. Rix's door was still closed so I tiptoed past to the stairs. Downstairs, everything looked the same as when I left it last night except the wall in the living room was bright white and there was a can of paint sitting on the floor.

He'd had time to paint?

When I turned around and bumped into a firm chest, I let out a screech.

"Whoa! It's just me!"

I clamped my lips shut to stop the noise and put a hand over my pounding heart. Rix was wearing a pair of black track pants but no shirt and his hair was slightly damp like he'd just showered.

"You were gone so … I thought you were in your room," I said when my heart had finally climbed out of my throat.

He shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. I figured I'd get some painting done today."

Heat rose to my face. So basically, he'd given me the best orgasm of my life and still had energy to get up and do home improvement projects. Meanwhile I'd slept in like a lazybones.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to. It's no big deal, Charlie."

Unsure what to do with my hands, I crossed my arms. Maybe that looked a little defensive? I uncrossed my arms and then put my hands on my hips.

Rix watched my fidgeting with amusement. "What's going on with you this morning?"

"Nothing."

He suddenly grinned and grabbed me around the waist. "Are you nervous? It's just me."

I shoved him slightly so I wouldn't have to look him in the face. "I know it's just you."

"Do you? Because you're already acting weird. Is this about last night?"

Why was this so hard to talk about? I hadn't been expecting him to actually bring it up directly. Not when dancing around it was so much easier. Maybe it was because my interactions with Rix were usually a combination of annoyance and teasing but I wasn't sure how to have an earnest conversation with him.

Things had to be different now though, right?

After the bonfire something vital had changed between us. I'd never been a jealous person but seeing his ex-girlfriend running her hands all over him had awakened a green-eyed beast that I wasn't sure I could control. He seemed to have that same feeling whenever Carter was anywhere near me. It shouldn't give me such satisfaction, but I definitely loved that he didn't want another man near me.

What did that mean exactly? I wasn't sure and I doubted Rix really knew either. Last night we'd admitted our intense attraction but what did that mean beyond one night?

I wasn't sure I was ready to have that conversation yet.

Or ever.

He winked. "I usually didn't stick around for morning afters, so you'll have to tell me the protocol."

As usual he could make me laugh. "Suddenly I'm the expert on the walk of shame?"

"I'm definitely no relationship expert," he said. "Otherwise, my girlfriend wouldn't have decided we were getting married without telling me."

"Neither am I. Otherwise my boyfriend wouldn't have bailed with no explanation."

His expression darkened and he opened his mouth like he was about to say something. I put a finger over his lips. I didn't really want to talk about Aaron at all. So I walked to the kitchen and turned the coffee pot on.

"I'm not sure about the usual walk of shame protocol but I vote for no walking and no shame," I said.

There were no more coffee mugs in the cabinet so I leaned over to get a clean one from the dishwasher. When I stood up, Rix was right behind me. He groaned as my hips brushed against his.

"Can I help you, sir?"

His arm snaked around my waist. Whatever else I was about to say stalled in my throat as he kissed behind my ear. He was hard already and I rubbed my ass against him, loving the soft grumbling sound he made.

"I vote we establish our own rituals. Number one, coffee comes first." My voice was shaky as he continued to explore the skin on my neck.

He reached over and took the mug from my hands, tossing it none too gently on the counter.

"Number one, you come first."

* * *

It was almost lunchtime before we came up for air. My head was resting on Rix's shoulder as he trailed his finger down my arm, sending tingles of sensation all over my body.

"We can't just stay in bed all day," I moaned.

He raised an eyebrow. "Can't we?"

"I'm pretty sure there's a rule against it somewhere. The too-much-fun rule."

"Since I've never paid much attention to rules, I'll have to take your word for it. But what happens if we break it? Are you going to spank me?"

He laughed when I rolled on top of him, raising his hips suggestively. His smile changed to a frown when I kept rolling and landed on the floor.

"You're actually getting up?"

I thought about it for a second. "Maybe. I feel like we need to schedule in a food break, at least."

The sound of my phone ringing interrupted his reply. Hendrix leaned over to retrieve it from the nightstand and smiled before turning it to face me. The screen displayed a picture of my sister from two Halloweens ago wearing a ladybug costume and a huge gap-toothed smile.

He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "I'll take a shower while you talk to your sister."

I watched his naked ass disappear out the door as I answered. "Hey, Billie Bug. How are things going?"

"Charlie, what's going on? Someone at camp said that Dad was arrested?"

I closed my eyes. This was exactly what I feared would happen. If Mom had just told her the truth it would have been a million times better than hearing it unexpectedly.

"I'm sorry, Billie. Mom thought it would be better not to tell you until the end of camp."

"She probably just didn't want to deal with me. She knows I would have asked to come home."

I couldn't dispute that. Billie had never been shy about calling our Mom out when she was being self-centered. She might be the little sister, but she was also a little badass.

"Right now, I'm in Violet Ridge getting the house ready so we have a place to stay. I know it's not ideal but it's all going to work out."

Billie was quiet. "We're going to live in Grandma Grace's house?"

"That's the plan. I'm fixing it up and it should be ready soon. Try not to worry too much, okay?"

"Okay. I wish I could come home now."

My shoulders slumped. Billie sounded miserable but there wasn't much I could do since I didn't have the authority to withdraw her from camp. It had to be terrible to know that the adults in her life were keeping secrets from her while surrounded by a bunch of kids she didn't even like that much.

"I know things are hard right now but just remember that you'll be here in August."

"Okay. Love you, sis."

"Love you too, bug."

After hanging up, I immediately called my mother. She answered on the first ring sounding stressed.

"Hi, honey. I can't talk now. I have a meeting?—"

"Billie just called me. Someone at camp told her what happened."

"Fantastic. This is just what we need. You can say I told you so."

I wasn't even going to respond to that bait. My mother had a tendency toward the dramatic and we didn't have time for that right now.

"What are we going to do about Billie? She sounded really upset. Can you take her out of camp early? I really think she just wants to come home."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Every day there are people in and out of here and I have all these meetings with the lawyers."

Even though I knew it was an excuse, I couldn't pretend being at home would really be much better. With everything going on, Billie would probably spend most of her time in the penthouse alone. I closed my eyes. Maybe I should have waited before coming back to Violet Ridge. If I had, I could have been there with her.

"I wish the house was in better shape. I could have taken her for the summer. Let's just hope the kids there get bored with this news quickly and move on to the next scandal."

"That's what I'm hoping. I have a meeting with Alan today so we can discuss options. Let's just hope all of this is over soon."

She didn't ask any questions about the renovations, but I assured her that things were still on track. I figured it would be good for her to hear that at least something was going according to plan but I don't think it helped. By the time we hung up I felt as stressed as she sounded.

I sighed. Every time I thought the dust had settled, the rug was pulled out from under us again. It was exhausting.

Meanwhile, instead of working on the house I'd been rolling around naked with Rix. He loved to flirt and have a good time but that was all it was. I couldn't get used to his help or attention. The repairs on the house had to be my first priority. I was still on my own and all those promises I'd made to Billie weren't going to come true unless I stopped playing around and got focused.

Fast.