DamionI was still shaken from the incident in the barn. Shaken was probably not the right word. I had been rocked to my very core. I had never, not ever, experienced such a strong physical need for a woman. There was something about her that set me on fire. I burned for her. Even now, when I knew it was probably a mistake, I wanted her again.I blamed it on the barn and the sweat and how fucking hot she looked with the little bits of hay sticking in her hair. She was edgy and soft and too damn irresistible. I wanted her again. I didn’t know if that was an option or smart, but my body craved hers. Yesterday had been like sampling the goods and getting hooked.I pulled my mind out of the memory, knowing it would only lead to a raging erection that would make it impossible to face her without wanting to really give her a good roll in the hay. I expected her to be back at the house when I got back from dropping Oliver off at school. I didn’t want to get out of the truck with a hard-on. S
Damion“Well, hell, come on now. You’ve got to let me feel like the tough guy. What’d you run off to the city for? Play football?”I laughed. “No. School and then work.”“What kind of work do you do? Wait, don’t tell me—stockbroker.”I frowned. “Why do you say stockbroker?”“You got that pretty-boy look about you,” he said.“I’m not a pretty boy,” I argued.“You look pretty to me.”I took a step back. “Are you hitting on me? I have to tell you, I like women. You’re, uh, cute and all, but I’m pretty straight.”He threw back his head and laughed. The sound loud and boisterous. It sounded a lot like Santa Claus. It was a big laugh for such a lanky man. “Fuck no, I’m not hitting on you. Sheesh, you have a very inflated ego. You’re definitely one of those Wall Street people.”I shook my head, relieved to know he didn’t want me. “I’m an editor for a magazine.”He scrunched up his nose. “I thought only women were editors. Like the Devil lady.”“The devil lady?” I asked, wondering what the he
AlexI felt like I was playing hooky from school. I should have gone to the farm. I knew it, but I couldn’t do it. I had dressed and changed clothes three times when I realized why I kept changing my clothes. I was trying to impress him. I didn’t need to impress him with my looks. I needed to do my job, and that was that. I was not going to have sex with him again.I had made a cup of coffee, telling myself I could face him and it would all be okay. We would both pretend it never happened and go on with our day. The longer I sat in my chair, stalling, I knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t look him in the eye and not think of him naked or him seeing me naked.I bailed on the work. I was a big coward. I could admit it. I dumped the rest of my coffee into the sink and headed out the door. I felt like getting my hair cut. Not really, but it was a good excuse. I walked into her salon and caught her working on a client.Sadie made a big show of looking at the clock, then back at me. “What are
Alex“About what? Isn’t that the last thing you do after one of these incidents?”She laughed. “It isn’t an incident. It was a tryst. In your case, you do need to have a conversation. Don’t you technically work for him?”“I work with him,” I clarified. “You’re right, I do need to talk to him. Apologize and let him know that it won’t happen again. I need to get out of there. I can’t be around him. He’s too tempting. It’s like trying to deny myself the last piece of chocolate cake with no one around to scold me.”“I need to see this man. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so worked up over a guy.”I groaned. “I know. He’s dangerous. Toxic. I don’t trust myself around him.”She laughed. “You got it bad.”“I know,” I confessed.“I have to get back. What are you going to do?”“I don’t know. I don’t think I can face him just yet.”We left the restaurant and walked back to the salon. We said our goodbyes before I got in my truck. I checked my phone to see if Damion had called. I hadn’t heard i
DamionTwo days and nothing from Alex. I thought about sending her a text, letting her know I was sorry for my behavior. I knew better than to get mixed up with someone I worked with. I had never done it in the past.“Are you sad?” Oliver asked from the backseat.I looked in the mirror. “What? No. Why?”“You look sad.”I put on a smile. “I was just deep in thought. I’m not sad.”I parked the car outside our home, unable to stop myself from looking for her truck. It wasn’t there. I knew it wouldn’t be, but I had to look anyway. Oliver saw what I was feeling. I was bummed. Not sad but bummed. I had ruined something that could have been really good. I had allowed myself to get caught up in a feeling. I had allowed passion to rule my actions. Passion and lust were dangerous emotions.“Can I go see the horses?” Oliver asked.“Let’s put your backpack away first,” I told him.“Okay,” he said, bounding up the steps.I followed behind him, leaving the door open for a little fresh air in the ho
DamionI wanted him to remember me teaching him to drive the tractor and how to ride a horse. I wanted him to remember me for the dad that spent time with him. Not the dad that worked all the time. I didn’t want him to look back on his childhood and think about the great nannies he had or the awesome teachers at the daycare center.I was going to be selfish. I wanted all the memories.“Again!” he shouted when I slowly turned the tractor to take us back to the house.I laughed. “One more time and then I need to figure out what we’re having for dinner.”I took over steering, leading us out toward the winter wheat field. I talked, probably more than he cared to hear, telling him about the wheat and what would happen when it was time to harvest the wheat. I left out the dirty details about rain and how it could make or break our crops. He didn’t need to worry about any of that. Not yet.My butt was going numb. “Time to go back,” I told him.He didn’t object, which told me he was bored wit
AlexThe tension between myself and Damion was easing. That first look had been intense. I had felt my cheeks burning and was unable to look directly at him. After a little internal pep talk, I had pulled myself together and looked him in the eye.“Should we have lasagna?” Damion asked.I looked up from the puzzle Oliver wanted me to help him with. “That’s kind of elaborate, isn’t it?”He grinned and pulled a frozen dish from the freezer. “If by elaborate you mean I have to turn on the oven, yes.”I laughed. “I think we’re having lasagna for dinner, Oliver.”Oliver looked over his shoulder. “And garlic bread,” he added.“Can’t have lasagna without garlic bread,” Damion said, reaching into the freezer and pulling out a box of sliced garlic bread.“Gee, I would hate for you to go through so much trouble for me,” I teased.“Only the best for you,” he said with a wink.The way he said it sent butterflies zooming around in my belly. Every time he looked at me or said something to me, my br
Alex“We should probably see if your dad needs help,” I said, feeling like the room was closing in on me.I got up and walked back to the kitchen. Damion was just putting the lasagna on the opposite end of the table from where the puzzle was in progress. “There you guys are. I thought I was going to have to send out a search party.”“He wanted to show me his room,” I told him.He nodded. “I see.”Oliver sat down. “You can sit there.” He gestured to the chair across the table from him.“Thank you.”I took my seat, waiting for Damion to sit down as well. I watched as he dished up a portion of the lasagna for Oliver. I could watch the two of them all day. They clicked so well. I wanted to ask about girlfriends or other women in his life but didn’t dare. It was none of my business. I just couldn’t imagine that with all the women in New York, none of them had snared Damion. Finding a good man was hard. Finding one that was sexy, kind, and devoted to his kid was even harder. He checked all