I shouldn’t be surprised. I usually end up at Santiago’s house when I sober up enough to drive myself somewhere. Sometimes Wes will call Santiago or Levi to come get me, but I haven’t let it get that far since Amelia left me.
Finding my coat on the floor at my feet, I search my pockets for my keys but come up empty. Seems I didn’t drive last night. Both a relief and an annoyance.
In front of me on the weathered wood coffee table is my phone, an unopened water bottle, and my gun. My keys are on the far end of the table.
Santiago usually leaves them here so I can go to work or my own house as soon as I wake up.
I’m reaching for my phone to call Santiago, who no doubt is somewhere on the ranch at this time in the morning, when a loud crash and a scream come from upstairs.
That wasn’t Santiago. That was someone else.
A woman.
Acting on instinct, I grab my gun and take the steps two at a time. I’m barefoot and shirtless, but that’s the least of my worries right now.
I poke my head around the corner at the top of the stairs, hunting for the threat. When I come up empty, I continue forward with my eyes peeled. As I near Santiago’s room, I hear a woman’s voice. She’s shouting, but I can’t make out what she’s saying.
There’s another crash, and I rush ahead through Santiago’s room and into the bathroom.
What I find is the last thing I expected to see—the lastpersonI wanted to see.
Naked.
A blatant lie.
Blake stands in the shower, under the spray of scorching water, as steam billows out from the open glass door. She has one arm across her breasts, covering her nipples. Her other hand is between her legs, hiding her core. Water sleuths off her skin, and her hair is plastered to her head. A bit of black ink on her hip catches my attention as well.
The things I would do to get my mouth on her perfect body are downright immoral.
My cock swells in my jeans, and I’m ready to explode right here like I’m a boy seeing a naked woman for the first time.
We make eye contact, and the pulse in Blake’s neck races. She swallows, then bites her lip.
I shouldn’t look. Blake is too young for me. That doesn’t stop me from looking my fill. I memorize every line—every curve of her body.
Finally, I notice the other person in the bathroom with us. Levi stands in front of the bathtub, slack-jawed and unblinking.
“Levi?”
“Walk? Why is your gun drawn?” Levi eyes the Glock 45 in my hands.
Relaxing my stance, I move my finger away from the trigger. “Why don’t you have a shirt on?” I’m sure to make my question sound more like a threat, but he doesn’t so much as try to look remorseful. I turn to Blake. “Why are you here?”
She glances to the side. “Um.”
“Santiago,” Levi answers for her, and it clicks in my mind.
My free hand tightens into a fist as my teeth grind together. “I’m going to kill him.”
I’m not sure if my rage comes from Santiago sleeping with Landon’s daughter or the fact that Santiago slept with her and I didn’t. It has to be the former because the latter can never happen. If the other choices in my life haven’t earned me a permanent seat around the fire of hell, then just thinking about Blake and sex in the same thought would seal my fate.
Blake bites her lower lip as she peers at the tent in my pants. The situation tempts me for a tenth of a second.
“This isn’t happening,” I snap, my statement is just as much for myself as it is for Blake and Levi. Damn this woman and her ability to slip past my self-control.
If I hadn’t been here, would they have…
Shoving my feelings down, I bark out orders. “Levi, get out. Blake, get some clothes on.”
