Steal My Heart

2. Mack

Chapter Two

Mack

Ash Stone stared at me from across the table. She was pissed. Her cheeks were pink, and her blue eyes were flashing. Damn, she was gorgeous when she was mad.

“Ash, I’m not joking. It’s not safe for you.”

“And why’s that? Because I’m a woman?” she retorted, lifting a napkin from the table and spinning it between her fingers until she twisted it into a knot. “I can take care of myself.”

“Ash, please be sensible. Ride with me. Consider that your adventure if that’s what you’re after.”

Ash’s eyes looked like the sky on a stormy day just before thunder rumbled and lightning split the sky wide open. After a moment, her gaze fell from mine, and I didn’t miss the way her shoulders curled inward. I’d known Ash for as long as I could remember. I knew she was tired, and worry was emanating from her in waves. I didn’t know exactly what the hell happened for her to be without a car and hitchhiking home on her own, but I wasn’t leaving her here.

When her gorgeous eyes lifted again and her gaze met mine, a prickle of awareness sizzled down my spine. Okay, that was strange. If you’d asked me before how I felt about Ash, I’d have said she was like a sister. Except nothing about the way my body was reacting to her felt sisterly now. Not even a little. Her brother was one of my closest friends. Growing up, my younger sisters hung out with Ash all the time. On any given week, we were bouncing between houses, close enough that she felt like family.

When I’d looked up and seen her on that stage earlier, she’d taken my breath away as she belted out song after country song. Once the initial shock of seeing her passed, I expected my body’s hyper-awareness to fade, but it wasn’t fading. Not at all.

“Do you want to tell me what the hell happened, Ash?” I pressed.

She dropped the twisted napkin on the table and picked up another one to t*****e. “You know I was kind of seeing Kyle, right?”

“I’m not up on the gossip, Ash. I haven’t been back to Stolen Hearts Valley since last Christmas. I didn’t hear much other than you were traveling, playing gigs, and doing veterinarian work for the rodeo circuit. If I recall, you met some guy who brought you along to start with.”

Ash nodded. “That’s basically it. Anyway…” Ash licked her lips, and her lashes swept against her cheeks when she closed her eyes. Opening them again, she brushed her long brown hair off her shoulders and shrugged before her cheeks went a little pink again. “It’s kind of embarrassing. It’s not like I ever thought Kyle took me seriously, and I didn’t want anything serious. But I got sick of him making me look like a fool. I woke up one day, and he was gone. Again. I just decided I was done with it. I sold my car about six months ago to front him a little cash. We were traveling together, so it didn’t seem like a big deal. Anyway, I’m done with that, and I’m going home.”

“Why didn’t you call Jackson for help? You know he’d do anything for you.”

“I know,” she began slowly, lifting a shoulder in a small shrug, “but Jackson told me more than once that he thought Kyle was taking advantage of me. It’s not like I pinned my hopes on Kyle. I didn’t. After my wedding blew up with Brian, well, I was done with romance. And now I’m also done with looking like a fool.”

I watched Ash for a moment as she kept fiddling with the napkin before finally dropping it and draining her coffee. At that moment, the waitress paused at our table with a pot of coffee and a bright smile. “How are you two doing?”

“I could use some more coffee,” Ash replied.

“Same,” I added.

The waitress filled our drinks and continued on to check on another table.

Ash lifted her head, weariness in her features. “I’ll hitch a ride with you. No sense in arguing about it. The thing is, I don’t have much to put toward hotels. The money I earned tonight is all I have. There’s one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Since I needed some cash, I booked some gigs to float me on the trip. It’s not exactly a straight line back to Stolen Hearts.”

I had so many questions, but I held every single one of them inside. I could see in the set of Ash’s shoulders and the subtle shadows in her eyes that she was embarrassed and most definitely didn’t want to explain further.

“Okay. I’m not on a tight timeframe. I was already taking care of my hotels, so that’s no biggie,” I said, keeping my tone light. “Where do we need to go on the way back?”

Ash stared at me for a long moment. “If we take I-90 up north and then head south after we get to Niagara Falls, that’ll take me everywhere I need to go.”

“That’ll work. Heard that’s a pretty drive.”

Ash nodded, and I could practically see the wheels spinning in her brain. Finally, she said, “I’ll pay you back. I just need to get back to Stolen Hearts Valley and get back to work at the vet clinic.”

She and her brother were veterinarians. They’d started a clinic together on their family’s old farm, which had been renovated into an outdoor adventure place for tourists looking to escape to the wilderness in comfort. In addition to that, they ran a rescue program for animals, so the vet clinic was a good fit.

Ash closed her eyes before leaning back in the booth, her brown hair a contrast to the bright red vinyl seats. Opening her eyes again, she looked over at me. “How did you end up in Wyoming?”

“Just passing through on my way home. You know I’ve been working with hotshot crews out in Colorado, right?”

Ash nodded. “Yeah, you stayed out West after college in Colorado. Have you been there the whole time?”

“Nah. I was there for a bit and also did a stint in Montana. Most recently, I was in Idaho. First responder work for those crews tends to be seasonal, so I followed the jobs. When Jackson let me know a position opened up in Stolen Hearts, I decided it was time to go home. How did you end up out here?” I asked, putting the focus back on her. I didn’t really like thinking about why I’d stayed away from home for so long.

“You know, all this started because I was doing that vet work for the horses for that rodeo program. Remind me what an i***t I am next time you see me even thinking about dating.”

I wasn’t touching that comment with a ten-foot pole, so I took a long swallow of my coffee. As if conjured by my need for a distraction, so I didn’t have to look too rude for ignoring Ash’s comment, our waitress magically appeared with her ever-ready coffeepot to fill my almost empty cup again.

“Anything else?” she asked, her tone almost too chipper, considering it was going on midnight.

“Nah. Can you bring the bill when you get a chance?” I asked.

“Of course, hon.”

“Do you already have a hotel for tonight?” I asked after the waitress departed.

Ash shook her head. “Nope. You?”

At my nod, Ash’s lips twisted sideways, but she didn’t say anything else.

* * *

Roughly a half hour later, Ash stood at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips. “I’ll take the floor,” she announced.

Oh, for f**k’s sake. I tossed my bag on a chair by the window before reaching up to pull the heavy drapes closed. Turning, I shook my head. “Nobody’s taking the floor. It’s a king-sized bed. We can keep practically three feet between us.”

I was teetering on the edge of exhaustion. I’d driven for eight hours before I even ended up in this Wyoming town whose name I’d already forgotten. I was in no mood to sleep on the floor and wasn’t going to put up with Ash trying to argue the point.

She met my gaze as I turned around and rolled her eyes before snorting a soft laugh. “True.”

After a minor argument over who was going to shower first, I won that one and insisted Ash went first by pointing out that I had manners and Jackson would give me hell if I didn’t use them.

After I’d finished showering, because I needed one to wash off a day of travel, I discovered Ash curled up in bed on the far side of the mattress, and she was already sound asleep. I’d gotten under the covers, acutely aware of her presence, but thinking it would be no big thing.

A few hours later, I came awake and rolled my head to the side to see the clock read 4:00 a.m. I’d fallen asleep quickly despite the unexpected turn of my evening and the surprising and unsettling reaction my body was having to Ash. Until now. I’d woken in the darkness to find myself curled up behind her with her sweet bottom nestled against my achingly hard arousal.

This was awkward and inconvenient, to say the least. I had no idea who migrated toward the other first, but we were smack in the center of the bed. The scent of her curled around me. She smelled like fresh soap with a hint of her sweet musky scent underneath. I had an arm wrapped around her with my palm splayed on her belly. Under her T-shirt.

I silently thanked God she wasn’t in just her T-shirt and underwear. Of course, the thin cotton of her leggings wasn’t much of an added barrier because my c**k was nestled right between the cheeks of her bottom.

I debated if it would be more likely to wake her if I moved, or if I should just pray my arousal away. It didn’t help matters that she felt so f*****g good, all warm and soft. She moved slightly in her sleep, shifting her bottom against me and nearly making me groan out loud.

I had a serious problem, and I needed to solve it. Fast. I decided moving was my only option. If I woke her, perhaps she wouldn’t even realize we’d been curled up together.

With every cell in my body protesting, I moved away swiftly, rolling onto my back and clenching my jaw to stay silent. I held my breath, hoping and praying Ash didn’t awaken. When her breathing carried on with its steady rise and fall, I finally let mine out in a slow sigh and willed my arousal to die a quick death.

Just when I thought I was out of the danger zone, Ash rolled over, curling up against me and hooking her knee over one of my thighs.

Dear God. What sin had I committed to be forced through this penance?