She loops her arms around my neck, pressing her body to mine. “Okay.”

  I lift her into my arms, and she giggles. Right here and now, I know that I want to spend the rest of my life listening to her laugh.

  CHAPTER 12

  SKYLER

  The morning after.

  I’ve read about these and seen it talked about in television shows. I lie plastered to Zach’s chest with his arms and legs wrapped around me. I don’t want this to be awkward and know I should play it cool, but I’m not sure how to do that exactly.

  Zach’s voice is husky and sleep-laden. “What are you thinking about, Sky?”

  I tense for just a second and then go limp in his arms. “The morning after. I’m not sure how this works. Do I act like last night was no big deal and just go about my day? Am I supposed to put my guard back up and try to get some distance between us?”

  Instantly, his arms tighten around me. “Fuck that,” he grunts.

  I press my cheek against his bare chest. “Okay, fine. Then tell me how I’m supposed to act after last night.”

  He kisses the top of my head. “I don’t want you to act any way. I want you to just be yourself.”

  I blink. “Okay, but I want you to know that just because it was my first time, I’m not going to turn into some clingy psychopath or anything. I know what last night was and⁠—”

  I’m flipped to my back, and Zach hovers over me. “Oh yeah, what was it?” He glares at me. “And if you say it was a one-night stand or some crazy shit like that, then I’m going to have to show you different.”

  My eyebrows shoot up. A part of me wants to mess with him just to see what he’ll do, but another part of me doesn’t want to play any games. I bury my face into his chest. “Well, I know what last night meant to me, but⁠—”

  He leans back, lifts my face, and gazes into my eyes. “What did it mean to you?”

  I’m taken aback just looking at him. He’s so handsome it’s a little overwhelming. He was nicknamed Hollywood, Fabio, Handsome, and Hottie when he was younger, and none of them do him justice. He’s just breathtaking to look at and way out of my league. I start to ramble. “Do you know how handsome you are?” Before he can answer, I shrug. “I mean, I’m sure you know, and honestly, it’s a little overwhelming how beautiful you are.”

  “Sky—” He starts, but I don’t let him interrupt me.

  “Let me finish. So yeah, you’re handsome and all the things, but to me, you’ve always been more than that. You probably don’t remember this, but when I was ten, my parents made Logan take me to the park. I was playing by myself most of the time. You had met up with him there, and a bunch of you guys were playing basketball. Anyway, some kids were making fun of me. You stood in front of me, shielding me, and told them to back off. From that point on, I’ve always felt a connection with you.”

  I giggle awkwardly. “Gah, I’m telling myself to keep this light and then admitting to you that I’ve had a crush on you since I was a child.” I try to pull from his arms. “Obviously, I’m not good at the morning after stuff.”

  I try to get up, but he rolls me over and uses his body to hold me to the bed. “My turn,” he announces. “Do you know how beautiful you are, Sky?”

  I roll my eyes, but he leans down, looking at me with so much intensity that I can’t do anything but listen. “You’re beautiful, smart, sexy, sweet. You’re all the things. And when I look at you, I want things that I’ve never wanted before. I want to protect you… I want to be the one you turn to when you need something… Fuck, Sky, there are so many things I want when I’m with you that I don’t know where to start.”

  There’s a faint catch in my breath. “Me too.”

  He leans his head down to mine. “And there are things I want to say to you, but when I do, I don’t want there to be anything holding us back. No stalker, no family uprising, nothing. So when this is over, we’re going to talk, and we’re going to make plans.”

  Hope flares in my chest. I smile widely at him. “I like the sound of that.” I put my hands on his neck. “So now can I do something? Something I’ve been wanting to do?”

  He nods. “Anything.”

  I smirk at him. “All right, remember that you said that.”

  I push him to his back, and he goes easily. I kiss his chest, right over his heart, and then I start to make my way down his taut stomach.

  He sucks in a breath. “Sky… you don’t⁠—”

  I cut him off. “I don’t have to? Oh, I know that. I want to.”

  He trembles. Zach Campbell, who’s a fierce protector and incredibly handsome, who can have any girl he wants, just trembled under my touch. When he says he wants me, I can’t help but believe him.

  I scoot down the length of him, and his manhood is already hard and proud, standing straight up. I sit between his legs and tentatively wrap a hand around it. I feather my finger along his length, and when I get to the tip, there’s a glistening drop of precum. I run the pad of my finger around it and then lift it to my mouth, tasting his desire.

  He groans, watching me through hooded eyes.

  I pull my finger from my mouth. “I don’t want to do this wrong.”

  He shakes his head. “You can’t do anything wrong, Sky. Not with me.”

  I lean forward, kissing the tip of his cock. He moans, and that’s all I need to bring me in further. I open my mouth and lick him from root to tip. His hands come up to cup my shoulders, and his whole body goes taut. I open my mouth, take him in, and don’t stop until he hits the back of my throat. I swallow, trying to take him deeper, and the guttural groan that comes from his chest fills the room.

  Slowly, I start to bob up and down.

  “Look at me, Sky. I want your eyes on me.”

  I lift my gaze to his, and I’m surprised to see that his eyes are molten. Watching him, knowing that it’s because of me that he’s feeling pleasure is a good feeling. I take him deeper, moan around his girth, and get lost in the act of making him feel good.

  But just as I feel him expanding in my mouth, he pulls me by the arms until I’m seated on his abdomen and his hard manhood is straight up, pressed against my ass. I try to catch my breath as he reaches between my thighs, coating his finger with my arousal. “Are you hurting?”

  I shake my head, confused, trying to catch up.

  He nods. “Ride me.”

  I bite my lip and look behind me then at his face again. Unsure, I ask him, “You want me to ride you?”

  He nods, smiling ear to ear. “Fuck yeah, I do.”

  He helps me up, aligning his cock to my entrance. His hands grip my hips, holding me over him. I suck in a breath as I start to sink down.

  Pleasure fills his face. I go slowly, committing it all to memory. The sensations, the sounds he makes, the way he makes me feel. It’s only when I’m fully seated and can catch my breath that I start to move. I rotate my hips, front to back, side to side, and then up and down. It's when I’m riding him, grinding my clit into his pelvis that I start to move faster. We fall into a rhythm, and I feel him everywhere. He leans up, sucking a nipple into his mouth, coaching me on, telling me how beautiful I am and how he’s never going to let me go.

  The orgasm hits me, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. He cups my face, forcing me to look at him, and as we both go over the cliff, staring into each other’s eyes, I’ve never felt as connected to someone as I do in this moment.

  I ride out the climax, grunting and groaning, and when I’m thoroughly exhausted, I lean over Zach, trying to catch my breath.

  He pulls my hair off my face and holds me to him. “We’re going to be late, and I’m not going to let you miss it.”

  I snuggle into him. “I could stay like this all day.”

  He groans. “Fuck, that sounds good, but it’s not happening. Your favorite baker is doing a show today. We can do more of this afterward.”

  I lean up to look at him. “You’re not bored with all this?”

  He shakes his head, and I see the sincerity in his eyes. “Nope. Fuck, baby, just watching you is exciting for me.”

  I laugh and roll off of him and then look at the clock. “Oh… we have twenty minutes.”

  I’m about to get up, but he follows closely behind me, pulling me back against his chest. “We’ll shower together so it will be faster.”

  I giggle. “You want to shower together to save time?”

  He squeezes me to him as we walk to the bathroom. “I promise. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  I turn in his arms. “What if I don’t want you on your best behavior?”

  He turns on the water. “I won’t let you miss it, Sky. But after… after… We can pick up where we left off.”

  As I stand under the spray of the shower, I let flashbacks from last night and this morning fill my head. There’s so much I need to process, but for now, I’m just going to live in the moment.

  CHAPTER 13

  ZACH

  Tense, I sit at Skyler’s kitchen table. She’s taping a segment for her ClipClap channel, and I would probably get more done if I worked from the other room, but I don’t want to let her out of my sight.

  This weekend was amazing. Being with Skyler, seeing her in her element, and getting to know her just affirms what I knew when I first saw her. She’s going to be mine. Hell, she already is. I should probably have some regrets, but I don’t have one. I look over at Skyler, watching her in her element as she glows talking about chocolate lava cakes and their gooey molten center. Fuck, nothing she says is sexual, but here I sit with a hard-on. Just being in the same room as her does that to me.

  I force my eyes back to Skyler’s laptop. Bakersking has been pretty quiet, and that should make me happy, but it actually puts me on edge. He’s up to something. I can feel it in my gut, and my gut is never wrong.

  I close Skyler’s laptop and open mine to check my emails. My to-do list is ever growing. I have an interview for a receptionist. And I am supposed to meet with a prospective new client tonight. I send an email to Alex and tell him I need him at Skyler’s house. Even though bakersking is being quiet, there’s no way I’m leaving her unprotected.

  After going through a few other emails, I close my laptop and then focus on Skyler as she finishes making her chocolate lava cake.

  She’s smiling ear to ear when she turns off her camera. There’s dishes in the sink and on the counter. I bypass them and stop in front of Skyler, who is holding up a chocolate lava cupcake to me.

  She tilts her head to the side. “I saw you looking. Want one?”

  I’m staring into her bright blue eyes. “I was looking at you.”

  I lift my finger and point at her lip. “You have a little something… right here.”

  I’m about to wipe it off with my finger, but at the last second, I lower my hand and use my mouth instead, nibbling at the chocolate on her lips.

  She melts into me, and I pick her up, setting her on the counter. Her legs widen, letting me lean between her thighs as I consume her lips in a kiss.

  I’m about to suggest we go upstairs when the doorbell rings. Skyler pulls back, and it pains me to see that there is fear on her face. I brush her hair off her brow. “I hope it’s okay. I need to interview a receptionist, and I had her come here.”

  Her eyebrows lift, and she laughs. “Sure, sure, nothing like inviting another woman to your girl… I mean… You know what I mean.”

  “My girlfriend’s house,” I finish for her, and she lights up. “Yes, I invited a woman here for an interview, but you should know by now that I’m not going to be looking at any woman other than you.” I lean in and kiss her forehead. “And if you don’t know that, then I’m fucking this up royally, and I’m going to fix it as soon as my interview is over.”

  The doorbell rings again. Skyler pushes against my chest, and as I step back, she jumps down. “Go, let’s go meet her, and then I’ll let you get on with it.”

  I laugh as I put an arm around her shoulder. “You want to meet her?”

  She rolls her eyes. “This is Whiskey Run. I most likely know her.”

  Whiskey Run has been my home base forever, but I haven’t spent a lot of time here, and that’s something that I forgot. Everyone knows everyone—and everything—in this small town.

  When we get to the door, I peek through the peephole, and when I see the woman on the other side, I realize I probably should have warned Skyler.

  I disable the alarm, open the door, and stand back.

  There’s no hiding the surprise on Skyler’s face. She’s stunned and instantly opens her arms. “Bree! You’re here! Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you… well, uh, in a long time.”

  I watch the two women hug, and it isn’t the first time that I wonder if I’m doing the right thing.

  As soon as Skyler releases Bree, she looks at me questioningly and then back to Bree. “Uh, are you applying for the receptionist job at Stronghold?”

  Bree bites her lip. “Yes.”

  She pauses, waiting to see Skyler’s reaction.

  Skyler turns to me. “Uh, does Logan know about this?”

  I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head. “No. I haven’t mentioned it.”

  Sky inhales deeply and nods her head. “Okay. Okay.”

  She doesn’t know what to say, and it makes me wonder what she knows about Bree and Logan. Sky hugs Bree again. “Well, I’m going to clean up the kitchen and let you all get to it.”

  I point to the living room. “Have a seat, Bree. I’ll be right there.”

  She walks into the living room, and I put my hand at Skyler’s lower back and lead her back into the kitchen. “Leave the dishes. I’ll do them after I’m done with the interview.”

  She leans against the counter and smiles up at me. “What if I have other plans for you after the interview?”

  I groan and readjust myself. “Fuck, Sky, you’re killing me here.”

  She just smirks at me.

  I nod my head to the other room. “You think I’m fucking up by hiring her?”

  Sky crosses her arms over her chest, tilts her head, and gives me a measured look. “Well, you’ve been friends with Logan for most of his life, so I think you know about his history with Bree.”

  It’s not really a question, but I nod. “I do.”

  She lifts her chin. “So you know he needs to get his head out of his ass.”

  I smirk and point at her. “I know he deserves to be happy.”

  Her eyebrows lift. “And you think Bree will do that?”

  For the first time, I’m questioning this. I ran into Bree when I first retired from Walker’s Ghost Team. This idea has bloomed in my head until I can’t get it out. I know Logan is going to be mad at me, but hopefully he can come to terms with it and see I’m doing it for his own good. “I hope that’s the case. If nothing else, he needs closure.”

  Smiling, she taps a finger against my chest. “You’re a good man, Zach Campbell.”

  I lean down and press a quick kiss to her lips. “I’ll be back.”

  I’m almost to the door of the kitchen when I remember the other thing. “Oh yeah, I have a meeting with a prospective client tonight. I’m going to get Alex to come over while I’m gone.”

  She nods. “Okay. I’m going to The Whistler with Aria tonight.”

  “Skyler.”

  “Zach.” She matches my tone. “What? It was on my calendar. My sister-in-law and I get together twice a month, and tonight is one of those nights.”

  I take a step toward her. “You have a stalker⁠—”

  She shakes her head. “And I’m not going to stop living my life because of him. I’m going tonight, Zach. Alex can go with me.”

  I growl. I don’t know why. I trust Alex, and I know he would keep her safe, but it’s not his job. I want to be the one to keep her safe. I want to be the one to go out with her.

  I shift my weight side to side as I rethink the night. “Fine. I’ll meet the client at The Whistler, and Alex and I will both be there.”

  She puts her hand at my waist. “Whatever you wanna do, Zach.”

  I quirk an eyebrow at her. “That was too easy.”

  She starts walking backward away from me. “What? You think I’m going to complain that you want to be with me? Because I’m not.”

  I put a hand to my chest, right over my heart and rub. She makes my heart race. I want nothing more than to take her upstairs to her bedroom and spend the rest of the afternoon there, but I have responsibilities and things I need to do.

  One being the interviewee waiting for me in the other room. “I’ll be back,” I tell Skyler, and with one last longing look, I point to the back door. “Keep that locked.”

  She salutes me. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  I smirk and shake my head. “Please keep that locked.”

  She practically preens, smiling at me. “You got it.”

  I force myself to walk away. As soon as I get to the living room and apologize to Bree for making her wait, she asks, “So Logan doesn’t know I’m applying for the job?”

  I shake my head. “No. Is that a problem?”

  She nods. “Yeah, because he’s most likely not going to like it, and we’re probably just wasting each other’s time.” She shakes her head. “This is a bad idea.”

  I ignore her and pick up the resume and application that I printed out earlier. “You have the experience. Your background checks are clean, your job references are impeccable, and⁠—”

  She shakes her head with a look of defeat on her face. “None of that matters if Logan is going to come back into town and fire me on the spot.”

  I nod. “You’re right. Which is why I would sign a contract that you will have a job for six months and then there will be an evaluation.” Fuck, I hope I’m doing the right thing. “So you would have six months to prove yourself.”

  She tilts her head and seems to think about it. “And Logan couldn’t fire me in those six months?”

  “The contract would guarantee a job for six months.” I hold my hands up. “Now, I don’t pretend to know everything about you and Logan’s situation but I would imagine when Logan gets back… well, he’s not going to make it easy for you.”

 

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