Property Of The Mountain Man (Montana Mountain Men Book 1)

Brushing my teeth, I slide my feet into my sneakers, grab the hoodie Beau loaned me the other day, and head back into the living room. The sight of him and his brothers makes me smile. I’ve only just started to get to know them all, but what’s obvious is how close they all are. Having always had a somewhat unsettled relationship with my brother, I’m both envious and shocked that the Barnett boys seem to genuinely enjoy one another’s company.

Every time I’ve been here, they’ve almost all been here too, hanging out, taking turns doing the chores and generally just being a family. I do that with my dad, but just the thought of living in the same house as my brother makes me feel claustrophobic and stifled.

The guys all look similar enough that it’s obvious that they’re brothers, they all share the same dark hair, dark eyes, and rugged stature, although Granger and Teddy are more leanly muscled than Beau and Penn who are the biggest of them all.

Beau glances up and sees me leaning against the doorjamb just watching them. Crooking his finger at me he motions me over, and I go, my body drawn to him like a magnet. His warm palm slides up the back of my thigh and under the hem of his hoodie to settle on the skin at the base of my spine.

“You look adorable in my sweater,” he laughs against my neck, soothing his teasing words with his lips against my pulse.

“It’s warm.”

“Want me to take you to work today? I’m going there anyway,” he suggests.

“No, I need my car just in case Owen decides to show up, plus you’re supposed to be working.”

“I want to check that junker over,” Bay calls from the kitchen. “Leave your keys in the glove box, and I’ll pick it up and give it a once over while you’re at work.”

“It’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with it,” I say, and suddenly find seven stern faces all glaring back at me with the exact same expression.

“Let me know what needs doing to it,” Beau says to Bay, ignoring my protests as he scoops me off the floor and kisses me.

“I don’t get a say in this, huh?” I ask, batting at his chest in an attempt to get him to put me down.

“Nope,” he tells me popping the letter P on the word, swinging me around to each of his brothers in turn, who all press a kiss to my cheek and wish me a nice day.

“Don’t forget your lunch,” Granger says, holding out two brown bags, one with my name and one with Beau’s written on them.

“You don’t have to make me lunch,” I tell him, letting go of Beau’s neck with one hand to take it.

“You’re one of us now, everyone gets a lunch, let me know if there’s anything in there you don’t like” he says with a small smile.

“Thank you,” I tell him, feeling a little choked up with all the acceptance Beau’s family is offering me so effortlessly.

“Come on, baby girl, or you’re gonna be late,” Beau says, smacking my ass playfully as he strides to the door, depositing me on the floor at my car. “Keys?”

Rolling my eyes, I drop my keys into his hand and he opens the door, inserting them into the ignition.

“I’ll follow you down,” he says, pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger and pressing his lips to mine.

My day flies by, and before I know it the sun has dipped below the ground and Beau is pushing through the door to the shop, his gruff expression gentling when it lands on me. He closes the distance between us in an instant, ignoring the customers who are eating and chatting, his attention solely on me.

The moment he’s close enough, he snatches me forward engulfing me in a tight hug, his face pressing into my neck as he holds me. “Fuck, I missed you,” he rasps against me, his hot breath warming my skin.

“Bad day?” I ask, rubbing soft circles across the back of his head.

“Just long,” he sighs.

“Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll bring you a coffee over.”

“Can you sit with me?”

“I have to start cleaning up, the sooner I get done, the sooner we can go home.” The word home slips out of my mouth without thought, but the moment I say it I realize that I’m starting to think of him as home. As much as his bull-headed behavior drives me a little crazy, I enjoy the time I spend with him. I never thought I’d want a guy who was so overwhelming, but I’m finding that I actually like the fact that I can rely on him to be overbearingly present. In the four days since he started pursuing me, I’ve come to expect him to monopolize my routine, and I don’t think I hate it.

“I don’t want to share you with your dad and my brothers tonight,” he groans.

“It’s only dinner, then you can have me all to yourself,” I whisper. “Is there a tub anywhere in that big ole house of yours?”

“Yeah, there’s a tub in the bathroom off our parents’ room, why, you want to have a soak?”

“So much,” I groan. “Food, bath, then bed.”

“I like that plan, no space, no distance tonight.”

The last customer leaves quickly, and Beau helps me tidy and clean and get the shop set back up for the morning when Marnie is opening. I don’t notice until we step outside that my car is missing. “Beau, my car’s not here,” I exclaim.

“It’s at the shop with Bay. One of the joints on your front suspension was worn almost through, he said you’re lucky it hasn’t sheared off. He’s ordered one in for you, but he says it’s not safe for you to drive till it’s fixed. He’s bringing one of the loaners home for you to use till yours is ready.”

“Oh, well how expensive is the part?”

“Nothing.”

“Car parts aren’t free, Beau,” I snap.

“They are to you,” he replies easily, opening the passenger door and holding it while he waits for me to climb in.

“Fine, I’ll talk to him about it later,” I say archly, sliding into the truck.

“You do that, baby girl,” he laughs, leaning over me to clip in my seatbelt, pushing my hands away as I try to do it myself.

I must fall asleep on the way home, because the next thing I know, Beau is gently lifting me from the truck outside his house.

“I can walk,” I croak sleepily.

“I can carry you,” he says simply, and I don’t argue, resting my head against his chest and letting my eyes fall closed again.

I wake up some time later, naked in Beau’s huge bed. The lights are dimmed and his comforter is covering me, cocooning me in warmth. I can hear the sounds of voices from outside, and my stomach growls as the scent of food fills my nose.

Stretching, I reluctantly push the covers away and climb off the stupidly high bed, padding over to the dresser and pulling out one of Beau’s huge t-shirts. I don’t have any pajama’s here, but his shirt comes to my knees and I put one of his hoodies over the top, pull on some panties, and call it good.

Pushing the door open I take in the scene before me. My dad is sat at the huge dining table with Beau and his brothers, all of them are laughing, the food spread over the table family style, huge bowls being passed from person to person. They all look happy and relaxed, and it’s nice. My mama always made our house a home, she completed our family and made everyone’s flaws just that much easier to tolerate because she was just such a warm, wonderful person. Since she died, my dad and I have lived quieter lives, we’re so similar that we rarely argue, but I’ve missed the big family meals where we all got together and were loud and happy.

Smiling, I pad further into the room. Penn spots me first. “Hey sleeping beauty,” he teases.

“Hey,” I say, moving towards the table, the wooden floor cool beneath my bare feet.

There’s an empty seat between Beau and my dad and I slide into it, looking at Beau first, then to my dad. “Hey Daddy,” I smile.

“Hey honey, you sick? You don’t normally take naps?” he asks.

“Just tired I guess, I’m fine,” I assure him.

“You work too hard. I don’t want you on the ranch these next two days. I know you want to help out, but if you’re getting sick you need to take care of yourself,” he says sternly, using his ‘dad’ voice.

“I’m not getting sick,” I insist, spinning to glare at Beau. “Did you put him up to this?”

Beau’s eyes harden in warning before he shakes his head.

“Beau hasn’t said anything to me. I can see with my own eyes how tired you look,” Dad interrupts.

Inhaling slowly, I rub at my temples, noticing how exhausted I really am. “Maybe you’re right, a couple of days off might be good. I actually don’t remember the last time I had one.”

“Good, and I don’t want you worrying about cooking for me or the ranch hands either,” he insists.

“You’ll eat with us here,” Beau tells him, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I would enjoy that, thank you, Beau,” my dad says.

Huck offers my dad a platter of pork chops, and I rest my head against Beau’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Kiss me,” he whispers back.

Tipping my head up, I lift my lips to his, but wait for him to close the distance between us. The kiss is sweet and soft and ends too soon, but by the time I blink my eyes open, all of the hardness has disappeared from his expression and a soft smile has replaced it. “Forgiven,” he whispers.

We eat delicious pork chops, homemade slaw, rice, and green beans, then a rich buttery apple pie that my dad bought round for dessert. It’s loud and messy and fun. My body is tired, but my soul is happy as I watch my family merge so easily with his. After dinner, we all slob down on the sofa and Huck convinces my dad to play video games with them. We play bowling and tennis and hula hooping on their Wii console, laughing and being silly until it’s after midnight and my dad insists he has to go.

“Thank you all for a wonderful evening,” my dad says, the grin on his face bigger than I’ve seen since my mom was alive.

“Night Hal, see you tomorrow,” Penn calls out as I jump up from Beau’s lap to walk my dad to the door.

“I actually have plans with Caleb and his family tomorrow night,” Dad says.

“Wednesday then,” Penn tells him.

“Well okay then,” Dad agrees easily.

“Night Dad,” I whisper, curling my arm through his as he makes his way to the door.

“Make sure she relaxes tomorrow,” Dad tells Beau.

“I will,” Beau replies easily. “See you for Wednesday for dinner.”

“Night Honey, night all,” my dad says, pressing a kiss against my cheek as he heads for his truck and leaves.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Beau yawns, scooping me up from the floor and into his arms.

“Night guys,” I call to everyone.

There’s a chorus of nights from them all, but we’re already in Beau’s room with the door shut behind us.

“Thank you for tonight.”

“What did I do?” he asks, stripping out of his clothes and kicking them to the side as he reaches for his hoodie and pulls it up and over my head.

“For inviting my dad for dinner again and making him feel so welcome.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that, we all like your dad.”

“Well it means a lot to me,” I admit, climbing up into bed and pulling the covers over me. “So, is it always like this, or are you guys being like this because I’m here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you’re seven adult guys, you’re all here, all the time, and you seem to spend all your time together. You said that you don’t bring women here, although the fact that I’m here shows that sometimes you break that rule. I mean you have labelled mugs, take a bagged lunch every day, and take it in turns to cook, surely you’re not like this all the time?”

“We’re close, we always have been. We go out, we have friends and do things independently. But we like to hang out together, I guess our family has always been tight. Cody started the labels; he likes order and precision, and we have a rota so all the chores are split up equally. I already told you that this is our home and we won’t disrespect that by using it as a hook up place. You’re the first exception to that rule because you couldn’t be any further from a hook up. You’re forever, baby girl, you’re permanent.”

I don’t really know what to say, so instead I wrap myself around his body and nestle into the nook in his shoulder, resting my cheek against his warm skin. His arm curls around me, and before I even realize it, I’m fast asleep.

Beau must have turned my alarm off because when I wake up, sunlight is streaming through the sides of the drapes. I’m no longer on his chest, instead I’m the little spoon to his big, his huge body pressed against my back as he breathes softly in my ear.

I’m warm and comfortable and I can’t think of a single good reason to move from this spot, so I close my eyes and let myself fall back asleep. The next time I wake up, it’s from the feel of fingers stroking my hair. The pillow beneath me is Beau’s stomach and my arm is resting on top of his hard dick.

Twisting a little, I look up to find Beau sitting up in bed, his chest bare, his muscles looking even bigger than ever as he watches the tv, his fingers moving absentmindedly through my hair.

“Morning,” I say a little groggily.

“Morning baby,” he says, smiling down at me, his gaze soft and indulgent.

“What time is it?”

“Not sure, late, you needed the sleep,” he smiles, his voice still rough with sleep.

“Your bed is so comfy, I don’t remember the last time I slept for so long,” I say on a yawn, stretching my arms up above my head.

Beau catches one of my hands and presses a kiss to the palm. Rolling over I crawl up his body until my chest is flush against his and press my lips to his mouth. His hand slides around my back, his palm warm and comforting. I can feel the hardness of his dick against my stomach, and I push my hand between us and take hold of his length.

He hisses softly against my mouth as I slowly start to jack him, gently working my hand up and down his dick while he kisses me deeply.

“This is my favourite way to wake up,” he groans, pulling away from our kiss.

“Mine too.”

Before I have time to realize what he’s doing, his hands move to my waist and he lifts me up, spins me around and settles me back down again, my hands braced on either side of his legs, his dick pointing upwards towards my mouth.

Warm breath blows against my sex, a moment before his tongue finds my slit, licking and sucking voraciously. His dick twitches and I lean forward and take him in my mouth. I’ve never given a blow job before, but I’ve read about them and I understand the basics. Sucking him in as far as I can, I swirl my tongue around him, feeling his movements pause as a long groan vibrates against my pussy.

Feeling emboldened, I wrap my hand around the base of his cock and start to slide my lips up and down his dick, sucking and licking as I do. His dick is too big for me to take that much of him, but I try moving in sync with his fingers as he fucks me while he flicks my clit with his tongue.

Allowing his dick to pop free of my mouth, I drag the flat of my tongue to run from the base to the tip, lapping the bead of precum from the head as he moans.

“Too good,” he rasps, lifting me away from his cock and spinning me around again, repositioning me with his dick at my entrance as he guides me down until I’m sitting in his lap, my pussy full to bursting in this position.

“Oh,” I cry, my sex feeling almost painfully stretched.

“Ride me,” he growls, “I want to watch you come.”

Strong hands grab my waist, holding me so tightly I think he may leave a mark as he lifts me up then slides me back down his dick again.

“Oh god,” I cry as his dick hits the spot inside of me that makes shockwaves of heat burst to life in my core.

Slowly to start, he helps me ride him, pulling me down hard each time and hitting that spot over and over with each thrust.

“Plant your feet on the mattress,” he pants.

Bringing my legs forward I plant my feet down, and this time when he lifts me up his dick almost slides free, only for him to slam me back down, making me shout out as sparklers of mini orgasms blink into life, only to disappear just as quickly.

“Come for me, Bonnie, show me how good it feels,” he rasps, the sound of his voice making my skin pebble with anticipation.

Once, twice he lifts me then fucks me down onto his dick, on the third time my orgasm explodes, splintering into a thousand orgasms that light up every one of my nerve endings and freeze the air in my lungs, making the pleasure the only thing that sustains me. Sensation blinds me and tears fill my eyes as waves and waves of incandescent ecstasy consumes me.

I’m vaguely aware of him coming, his body tensing, the heat of his orgasm filling me, but it’s minutes later before I become completely aware of my body and surroundings.

“Jesus, baby girl, it just keeps getting better,” Beau rasps against my ear. Our chests are pressed together, our skin damp, our breaths panting in unison.

“I…” I trail off, not even sure what I planned to say.

“It’s never been like that, never,” he says as if he’s trying to answer the question I hadn’t even thought about asking, but needed to know the answer to all the same.

“Never?”

“Never.”

Sighing, I rest my head on his shoulder, loving the way I can feel his heart racing against me.

“Can we stay in bed all day?” I ask.

“I wasn’t planning on letting you get out,” he laughs.

So we do, we shower together, then get back into bed, only getting out again to get food and use the bathroom. It’s the best day ever. We have sex three more times, until I’m sticky and rung out from the sheer quantity of orgasms he’s given me.

By the time we hear his brothers start to get home, I’m slumped against him, my body wonderfully sore. “Your brothers are back,” I say, my arm flung across his waist.

“That’s okay, it’s not my turn to cook.”

“We should get up.”

“Why?” he asks, rolling us so I’m pinned beneath him, his dick nestled against my pussy.

“Because I can’t take any more sex,” I laugh.

“You too sore?”

“Yes, you wore my pussy out, I can’t take any more orgasms.”

His chuckle is pure sin and I can’t help but smile up at him.

“I’ve had the best day.”

“Me too,” he says, leaning down to kiss me softly.

A knock on the door has us both looking towards it as if we can see who it is without it even opening.

“Hey love birds, get dressed and get out here, we’re going out tonight,” someone shouts.

“Out?” I question.

Beau shrugs. “You want to?”

“Where we going?” I ask.

“Where you going?” Beau shouts.

“Mo’s,” they shout back.

“What’s Mo’s?”

“Oh, baby girl, you are going to love it.”

It turns out that Mo’s is a warehouse in the next town over. The moment we all walk through the door, everyone in the place cheers their greeting like the Barnett brothers are heroes returning from war. Almost everyone we pass on the way to the small bar set up in the corner stops us to say hello, the guys slapping hands and patting backs, the women strutting over, shoving their tits out and preening.

A few give me confused side long glances, no one questions me being there, but I suppose seeing Beau with a woman wouldn’t be a shock to anyone.

“Good to see you boys,” the woman behind the bar says in greeting. She’s probably late thirties, tattoos covering her shoulders and running down both arms, her boobs are pushed together and peaking enthusiastically out of her very tight tank top. Her hair is a mass of blonde curls, piling into a ponytail on the top of her head, and she has gold rings on every one of her fingers and several bangles on each wrist. She’s an odd mix of bohemian and rock chick, but it works on her.

“Well you’re new,” she says, when her eyes fall on me.

“Hi I’m Bonnie,” I say, offering her a little wave.

“Hey Bonnie, I’m Linda,” she says. “What you doing with this bunch of reprobates?”

“This is my girlfriend,” Beau says, dropping his arm over my shoulder and pulling me into his side.

“Is that right?” Linda asks, eyeing me a little more critically, her gaze swinging around the bar as she smirks and scoffs. “You want the usual to drink? What about you honey, you got ID? You barely look eighteen.”

Offering her a stiff smile, I pull my ID from my cell and flash it to her. “I’ll have a beer please.”

“Well twenty-one, I’ll be damned,” she mocks.

“Linda,” Beau says, not bothering to hide the warning in his tone.

Ignoring him, she pulls eight beers and slides them across the bar towards us. The guys all take a drink and Penn hands one to me as he drops some bills onto the bar and turns, putting his back to Linda who scowls.

“Let’s go find a booth, I’ll sign us up,” Huck says, leading the way to the other side of the warehouse where large booths are situated along the wall.

“Sign us up for what?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” Beau smirks.

We manage to claim a large booth in the back corner, and Beau ushers me in first so I end up in the middle with Beau on one side of me and Cody on the other. It doesn’t take long for the first person to swing by our table to say hello, and for the next hour there’s a circulating queue of people coming to visit with us. Almost every other one is a woman, or group of women, who all flick their hair and push out their tits vying for one of the brother’s attentions.

A familiar face stalks up to the table and immediately sets herself down in Penn’s lap. “Hey sexy,” she purrs against his lips, a moment before she kisses him.

I straighten in my seat, shocked. Penn never mentioned he had a girlfriend to me, although it’s not like we’ve spent a lot of time together. I Just assumed he would have said something, or Beau would of when I’d asked about women being at their house.

“What you doing, Roxy?” Penn asks, his voice conveying annoyance, not affection, which shocks me.

“I wanted to see my man, I’ve barely seen you all week,” she whines.

“I’m not your man. You agreed this was just fun, but it’s over, I told you that,” Penn says, his one arm stretched across the back of the booth, his other holding his beer. She’s draped over him, her boobs pressed up against him, her one hand curled around his neck, the other tangled in his hair, but he’s noticeably not touching her.

“I know you’re mad about that thing with the condom, but we’re meant to be together, I was just helping nature along,” she coos, pressing kisses to his mouth and jaw as she speaks.

“Roxanne, stabbing holes in condoms is fucked up. I knew you were nuts when we started screwing, but even for you that’s taking things to a whole new level of crazy. I’m done, so why don’t you go try your luck with Cole Smith, he’s always had a thing for you, I bet he’d even let you ride him bareback if you gave him the chance. You could be married and pregnant by Christmas if you wanted,” Penn says coldly.

“Come on now, baby, don’t be like that. Don’t be mad. Come on out to the parking lot and I’ll make it all up to you,” she says breathily, leaning in and pressing her lips against his ear. “I’ll let you fuck my ass; I know how much you like it.”

“Jesus, Roxanne, get some self-respect. He’s not interested, you were a fuck, nothing more,” Granger snaps coldly.

“Fuck you, Granger, Penn loves me,” she screeches.

“Hold the fuck up. I am not in love with you,” Penn laughs.

“I know you love me, stop pretending just because your brothers are here,” she cries.

“Roxanne, you came onto me in a bar, you begged me to fuck you. You suggested a friends with benefits arrangement, told me you didn’t want a man, said you liked your independence. I’ve never even stayed the night. I come over, we fuck, then I get dressed and leave. What about that set up makes you think I’m in love with you?” Penn asks derisively.

“It’s been six weeks, you’ve never stayed with anyone for that long, we’re committed,” she says, standing from his lap and turning to face him, her hands planted on her hips.

“I’m committed to a quick fuck on a Thursday night. On Tuesday’s I see Franny, and weekends when Liz is in town I sometimes head over to her place. Six Thursday’s honey, that’s all I’ve given you,” he says with a shrug that makes me cringe and feel bad for Roxanne, even though she’s obviously crazy.

The sound of her palm hitting his cheek echoes around the room, but Penn barely blinks. Slowly he turns back to look at her. “Get the fuck away from my table and my family, Roxanne, I don’t hit women, but I’ll sure as shit get you thrown out on your ass.”

“Fuck you, you asshole,” she cries as she stomps across the bar on her spiked heels.

“Wow,” I say.

All eyes turn to me and I realize I probably said that a little louder than I meant to.

Beau laughs, his palm resting on the back of my neck, rubbing soft circles against my skin. “Thank fuck for that,” he says, lifting his beer to Penn, who taps his glass against Beau’s

“I’ll drink to that harpy not being the mother of my nieces and nephews,” Teddy laughs.

“Amen,” Huck adds, tapping his glass to Teddy’s.

“Are you okay, Penn?” I ask.

“I’m fine. Good riddance to crazy fuck buddies,” he chuckles.

The guys all raise their glasses, so I do too, toasting as they all praise Penn for getting rid of her.

As I sit and watch, a thought crosses my mind. Will that be me someday? Will I go from having Beau’s undivided attention, to suddenly being the girl who won’t go away? Just imagining it makes my chest hurt. Roxanne was hurt, maybe a little insulted by Penn’s dismissal, but I’d be broken if Beau treated me like that. That’s what he’s done to me already and it’s only been a couple of days, imagine how destroyed I’ll be in a month’s time.

“You okay?” Beau asks, his fingers tracing a line along my jaw.

“Yeah, fine,” I tell him, bringing my beer to my lips and drinking so I don’t have to speak.

The brothers all chat and I stay quiet, lost in my own thoughts. I like Beau, probably a little too much, and I know he likes me, at least enough to pursue me the way he’s been doing. But is the reward of enjoying being his right now worth all the heartache I’ll feel when he finds someone new to obsess over? I know that Beau’s not a monk, he sleeps with women, lots of women I’d guess, given how amazing he is at sex. But is this his MO? Does he find a woman he’s attracted to, then chase her until she allows him to consume her? Am I the first girl he’s behaved like this with or am I just the most recent in a long line of previous obsessions?

Lost in my own doubts, I don’t notice the man with the clipboard approach the table until Beau is squeezing my nape to get my attention. “Penny for your thoughts?” he asks, smiling softly at me.

“Sorry I was in a world of my own,” I reply, forcing a brittle smile to my lips.

“Come on, it’s our turn.”

“Our turn?” I ask.

“Come on, Bonnie, you’re gonna love it,” Huck laughs.

All the others are already out of the booth standing and waiting for us, so I shuffle after Beau, taking his hand when he reaches for me. He leads me through the warehouse and into what looks more like a barn than an industrial unit. The floor is covered in straw, and bales form walls that create a barrier between the people and what look like targets.

The noise of metal on concrete startles me and my eyes follow the sound. That’s when I realize what the targets are for. “Axes,” I say.

“Axe throwing, baby girl,” Beau says, grinning mischievously as he follows his brothers. He leads me to a sectioned off booth where a range of targets are set out, some closer, some much further away than the standard distance most people are throwing.

“You’re a lumberjack, surely that gives you an unfair advantage,” I comment, noticing that most people are only just about hitting the target, and none seem to be getting the center circle.

“That’s why we’re in this booth, where the targets are a bit more challenging,” Beau tells me.

The guy with the clipboard gives us a brief safety talk, but he’s mainly talking to me as it’s obvious that the Barnett brothers are regulars.

Cody steps up first, picking an axe, then stands with his legs shoulder width apart, pausing, then flinging the axe with so much force it rocks the closest target as it lands perfectly in the center circle. One by one the guys all throw, Teddy, Huck, and Beau all hitting dead center on the furthest targets, while the others all use the closer ones. When it’s my turn I stretch my neck from one side to the other, pick out an axe and step forward. I can feel Beau behind me, but he doesn’t do that typical guy thing where he shows me what to do, instead he just waits.

Shuffling my feet apart a little, I try to copy the stance the guys all took. Eyeing the closest target, I inhale, exhale, and throw. “Woo-hoo,” I shout, throwing my fists into the air when the axe hits the target and sticks in the circle just outside of the center.

“Hell yeah.”

“Woo.”

“Yeah, baby girl,” the guys holler at once, as Beau scoops me off the floor and into his arms, his lips descending to mine as he kisses me excitedly. “That was awesome,” he praises.

By the time I’ve thrown the axe ten more times, my arms ache from throwing, and my cheeks ache from smiling so much. Not once did the guys treat me like a girl, they didn’t baby me, or talk down to me. They treated me like I was one of them. Bay was shit talking me, Huck threw me over his shoulder and spun me around, just like he did Teddy when he hit the furthest target away, and Beau… Well Beau kept his hands on me, touching me in some way the entire night, like he wants to make sure that everyone knows I’m his.

I don’t really know anything about how he behaved with the other women he’s had relationships with, but somehow, I don’t think it was like this. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe this is all just wishful thinking, but I think that maybe I mean more to him than they did.

Excusing myself, I head for the bathroom, desperate to pee after four beers and an awful lot of jumping around. The ladies’ room is basic, but I use the toilet, and head for the sink to wash my hands. The door opens and in walks Amber Hammond, the last women Beau was apparently dating.

“Bonnie,” she says coolly.

“Hello Amber,” I reply, washing my hands quickly, then reaching for a paper towel to dry them.

“Did I hear right? Are you here with the Barnetts?” she asks, a smirk etched across her lips.

Amber’s closer to Beau’s age than mine, I’m not sure exactly how old she is, but definitely past thirty. She’s tall and curvy, with large breasts that I heard a rumor were fake, and enough makeup that she might well have applied it with a trowel instead of a brush. She’s still very pretty, but it’s a hard beauty.

“Yeah that’s right, the guys are teaching me to throw axes,” I say, throwing my paper towel in the bin and heading for the door.

“Oh, now I did hear a rumor about you being Beau’s girl of the moment. He’s a bit old for you isn’t he, sweetie?” she sneers. “I had my turn a few weeks back, but I wouldn’t mind taking another ride on the pony if you know what I mean,” she laughs.

Smiling politely, I step forward, waiting for her to step aside.

“A word of warning, don’t let him convince you it’s something more than it is. Beau’s a great catch, but he isn’t looking to be caught. He’s a fantastic fuck, Jesus the things that man can do with his dick,” she pauses, smiling to herself. “But he’s not for keeps, especially not for a sweet young thing like you.”

She pats my cheek, then smiles down at me like I’m just the cutest, most pathetic thing she’s ever seen, and steps out of my way, crossing to one of the cubicles and going inside. A part of me wants to shout at her, to tell her that she’s wrong, that he does want to be caught. By me. But the problem is that I don’t know how true that would be. Because wasn’t I thinking the exact same thing earlier that she just obnoxiously warned me about? Wasn’t I thinking about how I was just the most recent conquest in a line of women that Beau’s slept with?

Dazed and more confused than ever, I step back into the room. The guys are still throwing, laughing as they try to out-do each other. Suddenly I really need a drink, so instead of going back to the group I head into the bar. Linda is serving a customer, so I wait, stepping forward when it’s my turn.

“Well hello again, you lost your boyfriend?” she chuckles derisively.

“He’s happily throwing axes,” I tell her. “Can I get a Vodka cranberry and a shot of tequila please.”

Her eyebrows raise, but she pours the drinks, filling a second shot glass and holding it toward me. I lift my own shot glass and tap it against hers, pausing when she starts to speak.

“To big dicks and the men who know exactly what to do with them.”

Blinking, I lift my gaze to hers and see her smirking knowingly at me as she throws back the shot, then slams the glass down onto the bar. Without saying a word, I drink my shot too, managing not to grimace when the tequila hits the back of my throat.

Dropping a twenty to the bar top, I pick up my vodka cranberry and walk away. Two women who’ve had sex with the guy I’m dating, gleefully informing me that we’ve all played with the same equipment, in one night. Fun fucking times. Crossing through the warehouse I glance at all the women, and wonder how many others here have become a notch on Beau’s bed post. The thought makes me feel a little sick. It’s one thing to know your current sexual partner has a past, it’s an entirely different thing to be surrounded by the other women he’s fucked, especially ones he was fucking just a week before he started fucking me.

Vomit rises in my throat as all the warnings they give you in health class come back to me. When you have sex with someone, you’re sleeping with every one of your partner’s ex-partners, every time you have sex, and Beau and I have been having sex A LOT. I was a virgin and tonight suggests that he was, or should I say is, a man whore. We haven’t even been careful. He’s been coming inside of me. I could have an STD by now.

“Oh god,” I say aloud, covering my mouth with my hand.

“What’s going on, Bonnie, are you okay?” Beau asks, suddenly at my side, his expression full of concern.

“Are you clean?” I blurt out. Thank god my volume is set to low, because the words tumble from my mouth with zero preamble.

“Excuse me?” he asks, blinking, shocked.

“I just had a run in with two separate women who commented on the size of your dick and your expertise in using it. I know you weren’t some kind of forty-year-old virgin before we started dating, but it’s just dawned on me that we’re not exactly being super careful, and you were fucking another woman a few days before you first fucked me,” I blurt, cringing as each word rolls from my tongue.

“Who?” he demands.

“What?”

“Who talked to you?” he snaps.

“Amber and Linda,” I tell him, my brows furrowed. “But that’s really not the important bit here. The important bit here is you assuring me that you’re clean and disease free, because I’m an idiot who didn’t listen in health class, and now I’m freaking out.”

“Of course I’m clean. I double wrap every fucking time,” he growls.

“Well that’s not exactly true is it, because you’ve never used anything with me,” I point out, lifting my glass to my lips and downing the contents.

Taking my hand, he steers me from the middle of the room to a darkened alcove, turning me so my back is pressed against the wall. “Listen to me, baby girl. The first time I have ever had unprotected sex is with you. I never forget, I never risk it, I never get my dick near a pussy without two fucking condoms on. But I refuse to have anything between us. I should have told you that, but I thought you understood that none of my usual rules apply with you.” He stops talking and runs his knuckles gently over my cheek. “Are you… Are you on the pill?”

I nod, and I swear he looks almost disappointed.

“I haven’t seen you take it.”

“I get the jab.”

He sighs, his lips clenched tightly. “I can’t change the past. I’ve fucked other women,” he shrugs. “But I’m sorry you got ambushed tonight, we can leave if you want?”

“I don’t want to ruin everyone’s night, maybe I should just go,” I suggest, not wanting to sound like a whiney nagging girl.

“No,” he snarls. “You go, I go. No space, no distance. Even if I’ve fucked up or pissed you off.”

“You haven’t done anything, this is all on me,” I hurry to say.

“I’d be losing my fucking shit if two guys you fucked wanted to compare notes.” His eyes fall closed and his jaw tenses, like he’s imaging the scenario actually happening.

“Well, it’s probably good that I have zero conquests then, isn’t it?” I don’t mean the words to sound snarky, but they do.

Jaw still tight, his eyes fly open and he dips his chin. “We’re finished anyway, let’s just get the guys and go.”

“No, I’m not gonna be that girl. Let’s just get a shit ton of shots and get drunk, might as well give myself a reason to feel sick,” I tell him, pushing past him and heading back for the bar. “Can I get a bottle of tequila and eight shot glasses, please?” I ask Linda when I reach the bar.

“Honey, I don’t think—” she starts.

“Well then it’s probably a good job that I’m not asking you to think then, isn’t it,” I retort. “Now, can I have a bottle of Patron and eight shot glasses.”

Scowling at me, she glances behind me at where I’m assuming Beau is standing, then grabs a new bottle of tequila from the shelf behind the bar and places it on a tray, adding eight shot glasses and sliding it forward. “He’s paying,” I nod my head back to Beau, lift the tray, and walk away.

The rest of the night is lost at the bottom of a bottle of tequila.