She places her hand on top of mine. Her fingers are still trembling, but her grip is steady.
“And what if I don’t want to be yours? Or anyone’s? Ever thought of that option?”
I nod, as if I’m genuinely contemplating it. “If that were the case, you wouldn’ta got in the truck. Your panties wouldn’t be soaking. And you wouldn’t be blushing the second I called you good girl, now would you?”
“Asshole,” she mutters under her breath.
I shrug and turn the engine back on. “Now, do you fancy some cardio, or am I good to continue with the drive?” I ask politely.
I can feel her scowl burning into the side of my head. “Okay. I’ll take your silence as please continue, Sir.”
That earns me a giggle. A real one. And it makes my cock twitch for her all over again. This is going to become a problem. Because Reese has his sights set on her. Now isn’t the time for me to overstep. I can’t just swoop in and steal her, even if she was never his in the first place.
And that guts me.
Lola is perfect for me. I know that the way I know how to break a horse or read the weather before it turns. Bone-deep certainty. But the universe has a funny way of letting you know when the time is right.
And our stars haven’t aligned yet.
I pull up outside her apartment complex, one of Reese’s buildings, and leave the engine running.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LOLA
“So what now?”I ask, refusing to look at him.
He blows out a breath that fills the space between us. “Now, you go home.” A pause that lasts a beat too long. “And then forget I exist.”
That makes me look at him. Really look at him.
His jaw is tight. His hands are still wrapped around the steering wheel like it’s the only thing keeping him anchored. And his eyes—those dark, devastating eyes—are full of something I’ve never seen in them before.
Resignation.
“Is that what you want, Hunter?” I ask, and I don’t bother hiding the hurt in my voice. I’m done pretending.
“No. It’s not.” He swallows. “But I can’t do messy. I can’t do complicated. I can’t hurt you or Reese. So this is where I step out of the triangle.”
The words land like a bucket of ice water over everything warm he’s ever made me feel. “There is no triangle,” I say, andmy voice comes out harder than I intend. “There never was. Whatever Reese thinks about me, it’s a fantasy in his head.”
He sighs.
“Fantasy or not. He needs time to get over it.”
I nod. And something inside me—something small and foolish that had dared to hope—folds in on itself. “I don’t give second chances, Hunter. I don’t wait for someone else’s timeline to suit me. I know my worth. Or at least, I’m trying to.” I hold his gaze and don’t blink. “But I agree. This would have been a mistake.”
His eyes go wide. He flinches back like I’ve slapped him across the face. “A mistake,” he repeats.
“Yep. And this conversation confirms it. Real men don’t mind a fight if it really means something.” I unbuckle my seatbelt and shove open the door.
The cool night air rushes in, and I let it hit me. Let it sharpen me back into the version of myself that doesn’t melt for cowboys in pickup trucks.
But before I go, I turn back. Because if this is the last thing I ever say to Hunter Sterling, I want him to carry it. “And for the record, because this town seems to care so much about reputation, I didn’t fuck Reese. I haven’t kissed him. And every time he’s touched me, it’s never been anything I’ve wanted.” My voice cracks, and I let it. “The only man I’ve had sex with in months is you, cowboy. And it was the best fuck of my life. So thank you for ruining me for everyone else. Thank you for proving to me why I should stay away from men.”
He mutters something under his breath, something I don’t catch because his hand is already reaching for me, cupping my cheek, his thumb brushing across my jaw. And I melt against his touch. Every wall I’ve rebuilt in the last thirty seconds crumbles.
“You were it for me, too, firefly,” he whispers.