Chapter Ten
Rue
Kendrick had offered to drop them at the ranch, but Rue had refused, feeling it was a more obvious ‘walk of shame’ after the ease with which he let himself get persuaded to stay last night and this morning! It spelled trouble in so many ways, he couldn’t fathom where to unpick this fucking disaster.
His phone buzzed repeatedly as he stood at the curbside waiting for whoever showed up to collect them from outside the bar. Ethan was pissed at them, and Rue got why. He was in denial; he could admit it. Last night—this morning—he’d lost his mind. Allowed lust and sensual paradise to…
What?
“Are we going to talk about this?” Monty asked quietly.
Talk about how spending his time in Kendrick’s bed with Monty was a much better idea than team building with his brothers?
We were team building.The snark from his animal was unwelcome when he didn’t know how to answer Monty. Moretalking would bring questions. Because in Kendrick’s home, talking had not been on the agenda.
Like you wanted that!
He visibly cringed at the truth when he was damn sure it should have been top of the list before he’d stuck his…
“Are you seriously gonna pretend like I don’t exist?”
The snapped-out comment reluctantly brought his gaze to the man seething next to him. Sexily mussed up, hair all over the place, skin flushed, eyes sparking with temper, Rue wanted him so bad he fucking ached.
“How can I pretend you don’t exist when… when…”
Fuck, he couldn’t say it.
“When what? You had your cock in some interesting places, directed by another man?” Dark brows rose as he tilted his head. “That?” he hissed, visibly upset with how he clenched and unclenched the hands hanging at his sides like he was resisting thumping Rue. “I’m not going back to playing pretend, I’m not.” He stamped his booted foot as a truck slid to a halt in front of them.
The hum of an electric window lowering brought Rue’s stormy gaze from Monty to Ethan’s unamused stare. “Get in.”
Monty climbed in the back without saying a word, looking in the opposite direction as Rue climbed in the cab's front. Using the seatbelt as a reason not to look at Ethan, he noticed just how unsteady his hands were.
They took off and a heavy silence fell in the cab. One that Rue was grateful for when his mind was a fucking mess.
Ethan navigated his way through town, and only after they left the outskirts, heading up the hill towards the ranch, did he speak. “Care to explain why you two couldn’t get your asses back to the ranch last night?”
“That is none of your business,” Rue muttered angrily, in no mood to answer questions or explain his actions. He was certainseven other men at the ranch would be equally interested. He hadn’t bothered to open their group chat and discover exactly what he was going to have to face.
It could all wait fifteen more fucking minutes until he’d showered and washed off Monty and Kendrick’s scents so he could get his thoughts out of the gutter.
“If you read the damn paperwork I sent y’all, then you’ll find it is. You’re my responsibility when staying on the ranch.”
“We weren’t on the fucking ranch,” he spat back.
The truck came to a shuddering halt, and Rue glared as the seatbelt dug into his chest. “What the fuck, man,” he exclaimed, glancing over his shoulder to check on Monty, who yelped.
“I’ve had enough of the Starling brothers' attitude, so fucking can it. If you wanna sleep elsewhere, I don’t give a flying fuck. But when you don’t rock up at the designated time you’re supposed to, and I must come collect your asses when I’ve got a truckload of other shit I gotta be getting on with, you make it my fucking business. Stick to the damn rules of the ranch experience,”—Ethan jabbed a thumb between them—“then you and I won’t have a fucking issue. Got it?”
Rue gave a stilted nod and clamped his lips together to keep in the need to release the anger—that really had fuck all to do with Ethan and was more at himself for the situation he’d gotten himself into.
Ethan dropped them by the bunkhouse with a warning, “Get your acts together! Now grab something to eat, it’s gonna be a busy day.”
Rue was too wound up to consider eating when Monty’s eyes glistened with what looked suspiciously like tears as he remained tight-lipped and strode off in the direction of the cabins before Rue could consider how to broach whatever this was between them.
Sex.
He groaned aloud, taking out his cell phone to check what kind of shit his brothers had been talking because of his absence. His eyes skimmed the thread with a sinking feeling when he saw Dad’s comment.
