Steal My Heart

4. Mack

Chapter Four

Mack

It was only five thirty a.m., but I hoped Ash had fallen back asleep after she threw herself away from me. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I slipped out of bed to shower. I didn’t even bother with a cold one and literally took matters into my own hands, picturing Ash until my release spurted against the wall in the shower.

Not much later when I came out of the bathroom, I found Ash leaning against the headboard with the bedside table lamp on. Her breath was coming in sharp pants, and her skin was flushed. I knew without a doubt what she’d been doing. And I was so f****d.

* * *

“Back off,” I warned.

The guy who just groped Ash’s a*s as she walked by after coming off the stage gave me a drunken glare. “Who the f**k are you?” he slurred.

I shouldered him out of the way without bothering to answer his question.

Ash startled me when she replied, “He’s my boyfriend. Now, back off.”

Okay, whatever. I walked next to Ash, keeping her close with an arm around her shoulders until we pushed through a door into the hallway.

Ash looked up at me, blowing a loose lock of hair out of her eyes when she leaned against the wall in the narrow hallway. “Thanks.”

“Boyfriend?” I asked.

“Easiest answer,” she replied with a light shrug although her cheeks tinged pink. “I probably shouldn’t—”

Her words stopped abruptly when I shook my head. “I don’t care. You want me to play your boyfriend for the rest of the shows you have booked? It’s probably the easiest way to keep the assholes off your back.”

Ash pressed a palm flat against the wall and pushed away as she dipped her chin in acknowledgment. I followed her into yet another small room crowded with odds and ends. She gathered her things while I put her beloved guitar in its case. After she checked with the bar owner and tucked her paycheck away, we stepped out into the night.

It was summer in Montana, and the sky spread like black velvet above us with stars sprinkled like glitter across the surface, a distant sparkle in the darkness.

Ash stopped, leaning her head back to look up. “It’s beautiful here,” she said softly. With the muted sounds of the bar behind us, her voice was clear in the crisp summer air.

“It is.” My eyes scanned the sky, lingering on the moon hanging in a crescent over the mountain ranges surrounding us.

Moments later, we were inside my truck, and I glanced over at Ash. “How many more gigs do you have booked?”

Ash angled her head to the side. “Eight. Is that gonna be a problem?”

“Absolutely not. Just helps to know.” The engine rumbled to life when I pressed the start button.

When I’d pointed out I thought her original plan to hitchhike home with the money she earned from gigs was insane—because it was—Ash had gotten defensive. I’d left it alone since then because now she was riding with me. Her not-so-sensible plan wasn’t happening, so there was no point in arguing about it.

The information had come in fits and starts over the past few days, but I’d pieced together her life for the past couple of years. In short, some guy she had something like a friends-with-benefits relationship with had persuaded her it would be fun to travel as a veterinarian on the rodeo circuit. She worked sporadically while he rode the circuit and left her high and dry periodically. Apparently, he left her behind in a hotel in Colorado for another fling a few weeks before our paths collided in Wyoming.

I still wasn’t sure why the hell she’d left Stolen Hearts to begin with, but I wasn’t one to judge. Lots of people, myself included, made choices that didn’t always make sense for reasons no one else understood.

“Did you have a specific date you needed to be back in Stolen Hearts?” Ash asked as I drove toward the hotel. I’d stopped and reserved a room earlier this evening after dropping her off at the bar to get ready for her gig.

“I finished my last job in Idaho and decided it was time to head home. They’ve got an opening on the first responder crew in Stolen Hearts Valley. I’m sure Jackson mentioned that,” I commented, referring to the fact her brother worked on the same first responder crew I’d be joining.

“How come you stayed away so long?” Ash asked.

I didn’t mind her question. She knew my life just as I knew hers. She was running from something. Meanwhile, I had my own ghosts and needed a change of pace. It was hard for years after my younger sister Krista died. Getting away from the memories helped for a while, but I was finally starting to realize that maybe I just needed to face them.

I could feel Ash’s eyes on me, but I resisted the urge to look. I knew I needed to come to terms with what happened to Krista, but it still sucked, and it still hurt.

“I bet you still miss her. I know I do,” Ash said softly, somehow reading my thoughts.

Ash was usually guarded emotionally. So for her to say that aloud, I knew she meant it deeply.

“Of course I miss her. But I’m ready to go home. Jackson said it’s fine whenever I get there, so there’s no timetable.”

“Of course he did,” Ash said with a small sigh. “You’re escorting me home.”

I slid my eyes sideways to see her wrinkling her nose. “Maybe so, but it’s just because he loves you, Ash.”

“I know. Thank you again.”

“No need to thank me.”

“It wasn’t a good plan for me to try to hitchhike. It’s not safe, and I pride myself on not doing stupid things.”

“Well, your friend there didn’t leave you in the best situation as far as money and transportation.”

Ash’s laugh was bitter. “No, he didn’t. It’s all good, though. I needed to shake him loose.”

Hours later, I lay in bed, staring at the dark ceiling. Unfortunately, sleep was hard to come by. I was confident I wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep until I wasn’t trapped in hotel rooms with Ash night after night.

After the first night, I made sure to get rooms with two beds. We had an argument about getting two separate rooms, but I knew Ash was short on cash. She was too proud and stubborn to let me foot the bill for an extra room, so I was stuck with being tortured.

I’d gotten accustomed to the sound of her breathing. Rolling my head to the side, I saw the outline of her shoulder and the rise of her breasts with every breath from the parking lot lights that filtered through the curtains. I didn’t need to notice that she’d shoved the covers down around her waist and her tank top was showing a strip of skin across her belly.

Fuck me. I forcibly rolled over and stared at the wall. Although we were tiptoeing around each other, there was no mistaking the electricity between us once we were alone. We distracted ourselves with stupid television shows and takeout at night, but even hotel rooms with two beds felt crowded with the sparks bouncing around in the air.

I was wrestling with my desire for Ash. She was Jackson’s little sister, and I couldn’t forget that. I imagined Jackson wouldn’t appreciate me giving her a ride if he knew my c**k was hard every night when I was alone with her.

The next morning, I woke after a shitty night’s sleep and got in the shower first. Once again, I took care of business. The only way to stay halfway sane with Ash was to j******f every morning in the shower. I was toweling dry when the door opened, and Ash squeaked.

I was frozen for a beat when my eyes landed on her. She was wearing a tank top and a fitted pair of shorts. Unfortunately, on Ash, everything turned me on. Her taut n*****s pressed against the thin fabric. I belatedly realized I was completely n***d as I stood in the shower with a towel frozen on my head where I’d been rubbing it through my hair.