And in the middle of the night, after I’d wrenched every last drop from him and left him panting and limp in my arms, I pulled him close, tucking my hips against his and pressing my nose to the back of his neck. He’d hummed softly at the feel of me, snuggling closer even as he drifted to sleep.
The last thing I thought before I followed him into sleep was that come morning he was supposed to leave. But I wasn’t sure I’d be willing to let him go.
17
James
The next morning I woke in Sawyer’s arms. I was surprised by how easy it felt, how solid and warm and… normal. I rolled onto my side as carefully as possible so as not to disturb him, and allowed myself to watch him sleep. His eyelashes fell thick across his cheeks, cheeks that bore stubble from several days without shaving. His lips were slightly parted, and I couldn’t resist leaning forward to brush my own lips across them.
He responded instantly, his hand coming up to cup the back of my neck as he rolled me onto my back, pinning me beneath him. He devoured my mouth, leaving me panting and senseless. “I wish I could wake up to that every morning,” I murmured before I realized what I was saying.
I held my breath, hoping that maybe he hadn’t heard. He stilled as well, making it obvious he had. His eyes met mine. Before he could say anything, though, his phone buzzed on the bedside table. He looked at me a beat longer, hesitating before rolling to see who was calling.
“My uncle Greg,” he said dismissively as he glanced at the screen. He tossed his phone back onto the table and turned to me.
“What did you say before?” he asked.
I busied myself pulling at a loose thread in the hem of the top sheet. “Nothing. Just good morning.”
He pushed to his hands and knees, crawling closer. “That’s not what you said.”
My heart thudded hard in my chest. Here was a chance for me to broach the idea of exploring whether there could be something more between us—something deeper than just sex. But what if I was reading the situation wrong? After all, it might be clear to me that I wanted him, but he was young and had given me no indication he had any interest in settling down anytime soon.
I wished I was in the boardroom, dressed in one of my designer suits, or in one of my costumes at a convention instead of sitting here naked in a bed that still smelled like sex. I felt too exposed. Too raw.
I forced a smile and wondered if it appeared as strained as it felt. “Close enough.”
“James—” he started to say. But then it was my phone that interrupted us.
I glanced at the screen. It was Sawyer’s uncle Greg, the lawyer in the family who’d been doing all the communicating after I’d made the offer. It hit me then, why he was calling. The proposal. I’d completely forgotten about it. I’d been so distracted by Sawyer and sex and the possibility of a relationship that I’d let the deal completely slip my mind.
It was obvious from Sawyer’s expression that he expected me to ignore the call the way he had so that we could continue the conversation. But I couldn’t. This was my job. This was the reason I was even in McBride in the first place. I reached for the phone, answering with a curt “This is James Allen.”
“Mr. Allen, this is Greg Gilley,” he said, in a voice loud enough that it made me cringe.
It was obvious from Sawyer’s frown that he’d heard. “Why is my uncle calling you?”
I opened my mouth to explain, but before I could Greg continued. “My brothers and I have discussed your revised offer and we plan to accept, but we did have a few things we wanted to discuss first.”
Sawyer’s frown deepened. “Revised offer?” he mouthed.
I froze. Sawyer appeared genuinely confused, but how was that possible? I’d emailed the revised offer to all four of them, and I’d watched as he’d checked his phone and frowned. I thought that was why he’d made the comment about me crushing dreams and why he’d proposed not talking about the deal, because it would ruin our last night together. I thought that was the real reason he’d gone to the bar—not just to help Karlie out, but also to discuss the proposal with his uncles.
Fuck, had I entirely misread the entire situation? “You mean the revised offer I sent to the four of you via email last evening?” I asked the question of Greg, but it was Sawyer I was talking to.
“That’s the one,” Greg said.
Sawyer dove for his phone, his eyes going wide as he pulled up the email and started to read it.
My heart thundered in my chest. “And all four of you are in agreement to sell?”
Sawyer shook his head. “They can’t,” he said under his breath. “They can’t,” he added even louder. He switched over to his voicemail and started listening.
“Well, the three of us are,” Greg said. “We tried to reach Sawyer, but he’s not picking up his phone. No matter, majority rules on this one, and we’ve decided to take the money.”
Sawyer’s eyes hit mine. The look in them was impossible to describe and cut straight through me. It was absolute betrayal. Total shock. Pain. And on top of that, rage. In an instant, he was out of the bed and tugging on his shorts.
Fuck. This couldn’t be happening. “Mr. Gilley, if I could just put you on hold for one second—”
“Well, I’m on my way to court for a few hearings that are scheduled to last the day. So if you want this finalized and signed today—”
“It will only be a second,” I said, cutting him off and hitting the mute button.
Sawyer was already dressed and halfway toward the door. I struggled out of the bed, my legs tangling in the sheets. “Sawyer, wait,” I called after him. He didn’t even hesitate. “Sawyer!” I shouted louder.
He paused, his hand on the doorknob, his back to me.
“I can explain.” I winced. The words sounded pathetic even to me.
“What’s there to explain?” He bit out. “You came into town to make a deal and you did. Congratulations.”
“But that’s not…” I shoved a fist into my hair. I didn’t know what to say, how to word the desperation I suddenly felt. “But what about us?”
He turned just enough that I could see his profile. His jaw was rigid, the color in his cheeks high and his eyes bright. “There is no us, James.”
The words were a physical blow, punching against my sternum.
“Sawyer!” I called after him, but he was already through the door, leaving it swinging open behind him.
Fuck! I couldn’t let him leave. I started after him, only belatedly remembering I was naked. Frantic, I scrambled around the room for clothes, grabbing a pair of shorts and nearly tripping in my haste to drag them on. I was almost through the door when I heard Greg’s voice through the phone. “Mr. Allen? If you can hear me, I’m about to step into the courthouse so if you want to wrap this up today before one of my brothers changes his mind…”
I froze on the threshold.
“Mr. Allen?” Echoed Greg’s voice.
I hesitated a second longer. If I went after Sawyer, it meant not closing the deal.
But closing the deal meant losing Sawyer.
I squeezed my eyes closed. I had to make a decision. Now.