“That wasn’t planned,” she said cautiously, glancing at Nico.
Stone looked, too, and saw Nico nod as though giving her permission to reveal their secret.
“We … uh … we found ourselves alone last Valentine’s Day. We might’ve sucked down a little too much rum and Coke and ended up horizontal.”
“I’m pretty sure we were vertical that first time,” Nico supplied.
Her eyes lit with amusement. “Maybe.”
“And since then?” Stone probed, wanting desperately for these two to finally admit that what was happening between them was far more than mere sex.
***
“Since then, what?” Stevie asked, playing dumb.
She knew exactly what Stone was getting at, but she wasn’t ready to go there yet. It was one thing to agree to this orgasm-producing triangle thing they had going on, but something else entirely to start putting names to the feelings that came with it.
“How often do you sleep in your own beds?”
“Every night.” That much was true.
Although they’d had sex a few times over the past year, Stevie made a point to walk away after. She knew what would happen if she stuck around, and she refused to make things awkward for Nico.
“What about you?” she asked Stone. “Give us the CliffsNotes of your life in the past fifteen years.”
His eyes glittered. He obviously knew a redirect when he heard one. Question was, would he fall for it?
Finally, Stone nodded his head slowly, his hands once again moving leisurely over her thighs. His gaze lowered as though he was interested in where his fingers were, but Stevie got the feeling he couldn’t look her in the eye when he shared his story. Regardless of whether they were moving forward, there was still a lot of residual pain there.
“I hopped around from a few ranches after I left here. Worked as a temporary hand where I was needed. About a year in, I landed a more permanent gig. Stuck around for a while, worked my way up to foreman.” His gaze lifted slowly. “Got fired, moved on.”
Stevie probably didn’t want to know, but she asked anyway. “Why’d you get fired?”
“I was … uh … fuckin’ the owner’s wife.”
She did her best not to react, but since she was sitting on his lap, she knew he felt the tension that took up residence in her muscles.
“It was stupid,” he said, his hands resting more firmly on her thighs as though he feared she would move. “But I was reckless back then. I didn’t give a shit about anything but makin’ a name for myself. I did what I needed to do to numb myself.”
“And sex with a married woman was your drug of choice?”
“I didn’t want strings,” he said, his gaze lifting. “And I knew she’d married him for the money—something I didn’t have—so I wasn’t worried she’d get attached.”
“That’s one way to do it,” Nico said flippantly.
“Yeah.” Stone cleared his throat. “After that, I went to work at another ranch. Started from the bottom again. Worked my way up as far as the owner was willin’ to let me go. Ended up gettin’ a job offer from the owner of the Double J. Didn’t have to work my way up that time. That’s where I was before I came back here.”
“Why?”
Stone met her gaze. “Why what?”
“Why’d you leave to come back here?”
He held her stare for what felt like years before he finally said, “Boss found out I was screwin’ his daughter.”
If it weren’t for the shame she saw on his face, Stevie would’ve hurried off of him. Instead, she forced herself to remain still, wanting him to elaborate.
“Was it serious?” Nico asked.
