“Oops.” She looked up at him with a shaky smile, eyes glassy with unshed tears. “My legs aren’t working.”
“Fuck, Lily.” His gut twisted. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, laughing as she wiped her cheeks. “Better than okay. I just… need a minute.”
Rush tucked himself back in his pants, guilt roaring in his head. Christ, what the hell had he just done? He’d had plenty of rough sex before but not with someone like Lily. She was too sweet for that depravity. He was horrified at himself.
“Wait here,” he said. He ducked into her office and came back with a water bottle, a towel, and a long cardigan he’d found draped over her chair. She was still sitting against the mirror with her knees against her chest.
He dropped down beside her and tugged her gently into his lap. Carefully, he untangled her tights, pulled them off, then held up the towel with a silent question.
She let her legs fall open, and he used the towel on her tenderly before wrapping her in the sweater and pressing the bottle in her hands. “I’m sorry—” He started to apologize for whatever the fuck that was. “That was—fuck, Lily. I shouldn’t have?—”
“That was a first,” she cut him off with a shaky laugh.
His brow furrowed. “First?”
She smiled shyly. “I’ve never had sex at work before.”
He searched her face. “You liked it, then?”
“Loved it.” Her smile widened. “I told you I wanted new.Real. That was both.” She laid her head against his chest and sighed, a happy sound that made his arms tighten around her. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply.
“Still up for lunch?” he asked after a beat.
“Starved. You have to feed me after that,” she said, her lips swollen and as flushed as her nipples, both still damp from his mouth.
He grinned, unable to resist dipping his head to press a quick, hard kiss there. “Let’s go eat,” he said, his equilibrium back in place—for now, anyway.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Great.Just what this place needed—more romance.”
Eden didn’t bother hiding the disgust in her voice as she appeared at their booth with her notepad. Her sleek raven-black ponytail showed off the elegant line of her jaw, and the tiny silver stud in her nose glinted under the lights.
The Maple and Main uniform was supposed to be kitschy—white blouse, a little red apron over a black skirt and stockings, but Eden had somehow stamped it with her own brand of attitude. The blouse was tight, the skirt short enough to earn a second look, but the Doc Martens on her feet screameddon’t even fucking think about it.
Lily had always thought Eden’s vibe was far too cool for the old-fashioned diner. Today, Lily was especially grateful for Eden’s blunt indifference.
If only everyone felt that way.
She risked a glance around. Three of her yoga grannies were parked in a booth across from them, pretending to look over their menus but peeking like they were at a show. At the counter, a cluster of off-duty firefighters and deputies nursing coffees, not even trying to hide their stares. Rush hadnodded at their greetings when they came in, but the fishbowl effect of a small town was real.
Lily lowered her gaze to her menu. The words blurred. No one here had a clue she’d just let Sheriff Callahan pin her hands to a barre and fuck her against a mirror until she cried. Her lips still tingled. Her thighs pressed together beneath the table, every shift reminding her how hard he’d taken her… and how desperately she needed it. Outwardly, she was just a shy redhead blushing at a diner, when in truth, she’d never felt more undone in her life.
Another woman—a girl, really—a lovely brunette, stood at the hostess desk, shooting Rush soulful looks.
Lily recognized her vaguely. “Is that a friend of yours?” she asked, tilting her head discreetly.
“Sarah’s friend,” he said somewhat darkly. “That’s Monica.”
The girl sighed deeply, twirling her long hair around a pencil. Lily caught herself wondering about Rush’s love life, and a sharp prickle she didn’t want to name surfaced. “Did you break her heart or something?” Lily murmured.
“Doubtful.” His lip curved. “More like her ego.”
Before she could dig a little deeper, Gertie Marshall stage whispered loud enough to carry, “Such a shame she and my grandson didn’t work out. He’s a dentist, you know. Good with his hands.”
Connie Hightower snorted. “My Jeffery’s a CPA. He’s got a steady job and good benefits. Lily would have been set for life.”
