I needed to givethemeverything.
And yet, as I stare into the flames dancing in her irises, my chest swells. Although I’m determined to keep her here, I’m starting to learn that Taryn Meyers is the one person I can’t be selfish with.
FORTY | COLTEN
Dropping the barbell, I swipe the sweat off my brow with my forearm, the cords in my arms pulled tight. My tendons are ablaze, the fire spreading up my biceps, shoulders, and neck. Reaching for the towel on the bench, I wander over to the fan propped in the corner of the room. The movement of air washes over my skin, cooling the moisture seeping through my pores.
I heave a breath of exhaustion, dragging the towel down my face.
I’m overworking myself.
I’m painfully aware of how my body craves to sink into my soft mattress at the end of each day. But not before having my little ghost under me with my cock buried inside of her, where she can fully haul me to the depths where sleep is the next to consume me.
It’s dangerous.
I’m getting used to falling asleep beside her and waking up to kiss her forehead before I pet Rossco at the foot of the bed and sneak out of the room to begin my early days. Even though the demons in my mind shake my sanity and scream at me thatgetting comfortable will inevitably destroy me in the long run, it feels natural.
She seems to be the most normal thing in the world.
I made the call—contacted my old principal and asked if he had any positions open at the elementary school. He did.
I was relieved and pissed off simultaneously when he informed me that their fifth-grade teacher is pregnant and due in a month. They are looking to hire someone for the position temporarily. When I told him Taryn might be interested in full-time teaching, he said there’s a possibility—if she fits with the students and staff—that they could hire her permanently, depending on what happens at the end of the school year. So, I sent him everything she had sent me when she applied for our faux job listing.
I’m still on edge about the idea. But after hearing her talk about how much she loved teaching the night of her birthday, I didn’t want to be the one to stand in the way of something she’s so passionate about. I would be taking her away from kids who could use her radiance. Her warmth. And after seeing her with Elena and Tristan, I can’t keep her contained on the hill. I’m just not sure when I’ll tell her.
I peer out the gym windows. The sun sits on top of the trees on the horizon outside the shop, and the dark blue sky is painted with wisps of white clouds. I turn, and something gray in the corner of the windowsill catches my eye.
Tossing the towel over my shoulder, I walk over, grinning at the painted rock. A smile that quickly turns into a smirk. Taryn painted rocks with Elena and Tristan weeks ago, and yet every time I find one in a random spot, it brightens my day in the simplest way.
Picking it up, I rotate the smooth oval rock in my hand. But this specific one is unlike the others I’ve found because this is a masterpiece with a painting of perky breasts and rosy nipples.
Yeah. That was Taryn.
I laugh to myself, pulling my fingers through my damp hair matted from the sweat on my forehead, trying to ignore the ache in my cock.
Damn, I want to get home.
I place the rock back, deciding that whenever I’m working out, it will bring a smile to my face, knowing she put it in here. But I also pray to God, for her sake, that Elena and Tristan didn’t observe her paint that one.
Jesus. I don’t need Elena’s artwork turning into little erotic pictures at the age of five.
Snatching my water bottle off the bench, I turn off the fan and hit the lights before shutting the double barn doors and hopping in my truck. I round the major bend in the road that scales the cliffside, picking up speed when I hit the straight part leading to the hill.
When I get into the house, the sound of joyful laughter vibrates my bones.
“Can we make it bigger?” Tristan shouts from somewhere in the living room.
I freeze, my brain trying to process the mess in front of me that will be hell to clean up. Random dining room table chairs are propping up blankets, and the entire living room and part of the foyer are now a sea of covers, pillows, and sheets.
Even though I can’t see her, I hear Taryn shout, “I don’t think we can make this any bigger!” They must be in separate parts of this giant fortification.
“Bigger,” Elena seconds, taking Tristan’s side.
“I don’t think your brothers will be thrilled if we take the sheets off their beds,” Taryn replies.
A corner of my lips curls up, and I twirl my keys around my finger, the metal clanking and silencing their voices. “Thebrothers probably won’t be too happy anyway if we’re the ones that have to help clean up this mess.”
“Colten!” Elena shrieks. “Come find us!”
