The Bluff (Calamity Montana)

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?” Lucy asked, following my gaze out the White Oak Café’s front window.

The gallery. I’d been staring at the gallery for a damn week.

“Nothing,” I lied. “Just people watching.”

Kerrigan leaned forward, staring past Lucy on their side of our booth to gaze outside. “What people?”

The sidewalks were desolate. “Uh . . . there was a guy walking by.”

Lucy studied my face. “You’re acting strange.”

“No, I’m not.”

She gave me that look. The one that reminded me we’d been friends since pigtails, and she knew me well enough to know when I was full of shit.

The remains of our breakfast had been cleared away, but we lingered, visiting and refilling coffees from our carafe.

“Fine,” I muttered. “I’m just . . . distracted.”

“Is it your parents?”

I gave her a noncommittal shrug. No, it wasn’t my parents, but that was a good enough excuse for why I’d been a space cadet at breakfast. I was most definitely not telling them about Hux.

“Have they talked to you since last week?” Lucy asked.

“Does email count?”

The scheduled meeting with my parents had gone as well as expected, meaning awful. I’d received a stern lecture from my mother and complete silence from my father. They’d called me from their firm and he’d probably been in his office while Mom had been in hers, each on their own headsets. Either he was so disappointed that I’d stunned him speechless, or he’d had the call on mute and only chimed in at the beginning—to remind me that most successful adults had a five-year plan—before going back to work.

“They want to know what I’m doing with my life.”

“What are you doing with your life?” Lucy asked.

I groaned. “Ugh. Not you too.”

She held up her hands. “Sorry. I’m just worried about you.”

“I’m fine.”

Kerrigan gave me a small smile. We didn’t know each other well enough for her to lecture. Lucy on the other hand . . .

“At some point, I need a job,” I said. “But I’ve got my savings, and I’m not out spending a bunch of money every day.”

“Once the gym opens, you’re welcome to work there,” Kerrigan said, tucking a lock of her chestnut hair behind an ear before picking up her coffee mug. “If the gym ever opens. The permits are on hold because the city is worried my design will be too modern for the downtown aesthetic. If big windows are considered modern.”

“Uh-oh.”

“They’ll approve it.” She waved it off. “Eventually. It just delays the remodel and costs me more money to heat an empty space. Anyway, think about a job. I’d love to have someone there who I trust.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”

Did I want to work at the gym? It wouldn’t be the worst job in the world. But I also liked having Kerrigan as a friend, not employer. She’d become a fast friend to both Lucy and me since we’d moved to Calamity. Kerrigan had these pretty brown eyes that were so kind and compassionate. She was smart as hell and as hardworking as they came.

Dad would drool over Kerrigan’s five-year plan.

Lucy opened her mouth—from the look in her eyes, it was to bring up singing again—but I cut her off. “Your hair looks great.”

She narrowed her gaze, knowing exactly what I’d done. But she let it go, glancing at the long strands of her hair and threading a lock between her fingers. “One more treatment and I’ll be back to natural.”

“It’s going to take me some time to get used to the blond,” Kerrigan said, making us laugh.

When she’d run away from Nashville, Lucy had dyed her hair black. But black wasn’t Lucy, and I was glad to look at her and see golden strands kissed with sunshine. Even if the color had come from the salon.

The bustle of the restaurant filled the silence as we each sipped coffee. The Saturday-morning rush was beginning to slow. I rarely ate breakfast here, but the White Oak had become my favorite spot for a late lunch.

From the outside, the café looked like a rustic greasy spoon. But according to Kerrigan, the owners had remodeled about five years ago, giving the interior a trendy vibe.

The white tile floors sparkled. Chalkboard paint coated one wall, the daily specials written out in blocked letters. Three coveted booths hugged the front glass window, and we’d been lucky to snag one this morning. The back wall had a long counter where I’d sit for my solo meals. Otherwise, the space was filled with white oak tables and chairs.

“Does this place remind you of Hunt’s?” I asked Lucy.

She smiled. “I thought that the first time I came here. All it’s missing is the patio and corner street musician.”

The two of us had spent a lot of Nashville mornings at Hunt’s—before the stalker bitch had ruined the restaurant. After enough pictures of one or both of us sitting on the patio had found their way into our mailbox, we’d started sitting inside. Until the inside pictures came, and eventually, venturing to Hunt’s just hadn’t been worth it. Not when we could eat takeout in our pajamas and not be photographed.

As Lucy had risen to stardom, she’d caught the attention of a stalker. A sick bitch who’d put us both through hell. Lucy had escaped Nashville, coming to Calamity to hide out. The stalker hadn’t liked that much so in Lucy’s absence, I’d become her next target.

After threats and bullet holes and protective custody, I’d fled Nashville too. Hiding in Montana with my best friend had seemed like a much better idea than waiting for another creepy letter or text or photo.

Except when I’d come to Montana, I’d led the stalker straight to Lucy’s front door.

If not for Duke, the stalker would have killed us. He’d taken the bullet intended for Lucy while firing one of his own, ending the stalker’s life and her tirade of fear.

Five months had passed but there were days when I could still hear the boom of the gun’s blast. When I could still smell the blood and death. When the hairs on the nape of my neck tickled, like I was being watched.

I turned to the window again, but this time, my gaze didn’t snap to the gallery down the street. This time, I scanned the sidewalks. “Will we ever stop looking over our shoulders?” I whispered.

“I hope so.” Lucy stretched a hand across the table, covering mine. When I glanced at her, she was looking out the window too.

The stalker had ruined too many restaurants and I wasn’t letting her take this one too. I forced my eyes away from the window. “Any word on a renter for the farmhouse?” I asked Kerrigan.

She groaned. “No.”

“It’s winter. I can’t imagine the rental market is hopping during the winter.”

“It’s not. I’ve got three vacancies at the moment. If I could fill one before spring, that would be huge.”

Kerrigan owned quite a few properties in town, positioning herself to become Calamity’s real estate mogul. When Lucy had moved to Calamity, Kerrigan had rented her a farmhouse on the outskirts of town.

The same farmhouse the stalker had followed me to.

It was no surprise that a local hadn’t rented the farmhouse from Kerrigan. The news of the farmhouse shooting had consumed Calamity for weeks. No one wanted to live in the house where a woman had been shot and killed by the sheriff.

All because I’d been a fool.

The guilt gnawed, and an I’m sorry formed on the tip of my tongue. I’d lost track of the number of times I’d apologized to Lucy for putting her life at risk, and to Kerrigan for ruining her rental house. Neither of them blamed me but that didn’t erase the shame.

“What are you guys doing tonight?” Kerrigan asked before I could speak. “Want to go out for a drink?”

“I can’t.” Lucy smiled that dreamy smile that meant she was thinking of Duke. “We’re having a date night.”

“Where are you going? Need me to watch Cheddar?” Babysitting her puppy was a blast.

“No, but thanks. We’re having an at-home date.”

“I think maybe I need to talk to Duke about what date means.”

She laughed. “It was my idea. We’re getting takeout, renting a movie and cuddling on the couch.”

“Aww,” Kerrigan crooned.

I smiled through my prickle of envy. Though I was happy my friend had found love, I missed her too. Once, I’d been Lucy’s at-home date. I’d been the one who ordered takeout while she picked the movie. I’d been her person.

Limbo and lonely were becoming synonymous. Even at a breakfast with friends, the loneliness chased me down. The only time I’d had a reprieve had been my night with Hux.

Reese Huxley.

I shivered. The moment he’d enveloped my hand with his and told me his name in that rugged voice, I’d been doomed. Call me Hux.

Oh, I’d called him Hux. Moaning. Gasping. Screaming. I’d tested all variations of Hux as he’d pounded inside me.

I ducked my chin, hiding the blush in my cheeks. Damn, what a night. Sex with Hux might have ruined me for other men. In the past week, that man had rarely left my mind. I ached for more of his touch. His hands. His lips. The weight of his strong body on top of mine. We’d agreed to one night, not in so many words, but it had been implied. But what if—

“Ev?”

“Yeah?” I answered Kerrigan absently.

“Do you want to go to Jane’s later?”

“Sure. Sounds like fun.”

And maybe I’d see Hux again. Maybe our one-night stand could be a two-night fling. I wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship, but my body had come alive under that man’s skilled fingers.

If he wanted a repeat, he’d get no protests from me.

“I HAVE TO GO HOME.” Kerrigan covered a yawn with her hand as she stood from our table at Jane’s. “I’m dead. Want me to drop you?”

“No.” I stood too, giving her a quick hug. “I’ll just walk.”

Or run.

It was pitch black outside and the second I stepped onto the sidewalk, I’d likely break into a dead sprint home. Part of me wanted Kerrigan to drive me the two blocks home. But the other part of me—the stubborn part determined not to let fear rule my life—was going to see that I made it home alone.

And the moment Kerrigan wasn’t looking, I’d dig the can of bear spray out of my purse.

“Coffee tomorrow morning?” she asked. “I am going to come and sneak in some work on the gym, with or without my permits.”

“As long as you don’t make me wield a sledgehammer or paintbrush, you’re on.” She might love doing renovation projects, but I’d never been into DIY.

“Let’s shoot for ten.” She yawned again. “I’m sleeping in tomorrow.”

“Me too.” And unfortunately, I’d be sleeping in alone.

There’d been no sign of Hux at the bar. Every time the door had opened, I’d masked my hopeful glances with bored curiosity, not wanting Kerrigan to know just how much I wished to see him again.

“Ready?” Kerrigan asked, shrugging on her coat.

“Since I’m not driving, I might stay for one more drink.”

“Want me to stay?”

“No. Go home and sleep.”

“Tomorrow.” She smiled, raised a hand to Jane behind the bar, then made her way out the door.

A blast of cold air whipped inside during the brief moment the door was open. I tugged the sleeves of my sweater over my knuckles and sat down, shifting in my seat so my back was to the door. Then I stared at the empty stage.

The band had been playing when Kerrigan and I had arrived around eight. But as the crowd had dwindled, the cold chasing most people away before midnight, the band had called it quits.

Kerrigan and I had stayed late, content to visit for a while. She told me story after story about growing up in Calamity. Every time another patron left the bar, he or she would stop by to say hello to my friend. The same happened when someone entered because Kerrigan seemed to know every person in this town. The Hales had been here since the town’s inception, back in the days when Calamity had been called Panner City.

A string of disasters was responsible for the town’s new name. Panner City had been a gold mining settlement, but after a stampede, a fire and a mine collapse, the town had garnered a new nickname: Calamity. It had been so widely used that eventually it had been easier to rename the place than change habits.

Part of the reason we’d stayed out so late was because I’d soaked up every word of the local culture.

That, and because I wasn’t ready to leave. Not yet. Not when there might be a chance to see Hux.

Last Saturday, it had been one in the morning when I’d found him here. Maybe he preferred these late hours, when the bar was mostly empty and Jane was washing glasses instead of filling them.

As the next thirty minutes passed and I nursed one more gin and tonic, my time at the bar felt more like desperation than hope. He wasn’t coming. And I didn’t want to be the woman waiting around for a man who’d already gotten everything he intended to get from her.

Been there, done that.

My freshman year in college, I’d reveled in my newfound freedom. Lucy had taken a gap year after our senior year. It had been her arrangement with her parents. They’d let her pursue music for a year before she’d agreed to go to college. My parents hadn’t allowed anything other than school, so I’d attended a small private school a few hours from home.

My studies had suffered greatly once I’d been introduced to parties. I’d lost my virginity. I’d discovered alcohol. I’d thought the boys who’d shown interest were out for more than an easy score. I’d been so desperate for any kind of affection that I’d mistaken sex for emotion.

That, and most guys had promised a second date.

Assholes. Sometimes it felt like I’d been on an asshole streak for the past ten years. Even after I’d learned that sex didn’t mean love and a few hookups could be good for a girl’s stress levels, there were still some assholes who snuck through my defenses.

Hell, maybe Hux was an asshole too.

Except, he didn’t seem like an asshole. My heart was as guarded as his, and the sex was, well . . .

I squirmed in my seat as my core pulsed. That man was wild in bed. Absolutely wild. He was just as quiet as he’d been in his clothes and on a barstool, but damn, he hadn’t needed to say much.

Hushed orders. A firm grip. When he wanted me in a certain position, he put me in it. Never had I been with a man so dominant and delicious.

I wanted more. I craved more.

But apparently, I was the only one.

With a long sigh, I stood from my chair and pulled on my coat. Dropping some cash on the table for my last drink, I smiled at Jane, then headed outside.

I was three feet down the sidewalk, cold from the dark air and ready to make a run for it, when I felt him.

His presence was a crackle in the air. A blast of warmth and lust and that magnetic pull.

I stopped, turning slowly.

Our eyes locked and the air vanished from my lungs. Sweet lord.

Hux stood on the sidewalk, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He wasn’t wearing a coat, and his Henley stretched tight across his broad chest. The sleeves were rolled up, not quite to his elbows, revealing the colorful tattoo on his left forearm. A tattoo I wanted to trace with my tongue.

We stood staring, unmoving. The yellow light from the streetlamps highlighted the chiseled line of his jaw. His frame seemed stronger, taller, backlit from the dim glow. But even in the faint light, there was no missing the gleam in his blue eyes.

I cleared the lump from my throat and took two steps forward, dizzy from his proximity. “How about a repeat?”

Desire flashed across his gaze, dark and dangerous like the night and the heat between us.

“No strings.” My voice was breathless, my heart pounding inside my chest.

Say yes.

Hux gave nothing away. Had I read that look wrong? Was he here for me? Or someone else? My stomach knotted as I waited, doubt creeping in like poison.

Say yes.

He didn’t say a word.

I swallowed hard, ready to turn and run and pretend I hadn’t all but begged this man to fuck me again, but then Hux was moving. He closed the distance between us with giant strides.

My heart flipped as he invaded my space.

“This is just a fuck. Nothing more. Got it?”

The brutal honesty stung, but at least he’d given me the truth. That was more than any of the assholes had in the past. I gulped. “Just a fuck.”

He jerked his chin toward my building.

I spun on my boots, leading the way to the side door. Hux didn’t fall in step beside me. He stayed one back the entire time.

Step after step, his footsteps were an echo of my own. My breath puffed in white clouds and my legs felt unsteady. Eager.

He hovered, close but not touching. His gaze cascaded down my hair. It burned into my shoulders and my ass. Every step was heady, every breath, simply because he was there.

It was the most erotic walk of my life.

My head was fuzzy, my body throbbing, by the time we reached the side entrance.

A whisper of a fingertip skidded across my coat, the scratch of callouses on fabric as he swept my hair to the side, baring the skin at my neck. I leaned into him, my back sagging against his chest.

The caress of his breath skated across my flesh. His scent, spice and soap and paint, filled my nose. The winter cold did nothing to cool the fire blazing under my skin.

Hux gave me a gentle nudge for the door and I blinked, forcing myself out of his haze. I fumbled for the keypad, punching in the numbers to unlock the door.

Last week, he’d carried me up the stairs. He’d spun me around at this very door, sealing his lips over mine. We’d kissed outside in the cold, under the stars. But tonight, he didn’t touch. Even with the skin of my neck begging for his full lips, all he’d done was get close enough to drive me mad.

I looked up, over my shoulder, into his blue gaze. One flick and he ordered me inside and up the stairs. Though my legs wobbled, I managed not to stumble in my hurried climb.

And like he had outside, he stayed one step behind me.

Hux’s gaze was his only touch, torturing me with burning strokes. The walk was foreplay I hadn’t needed. I’d been wet for Hux the minute I’d felt him on that sidewalk.

Before I reached the landing, I dug my keys from my purse. I didn’t hesitate at the lock, flipping it quickly as I burst inside my apartment and stripped off my coat.

Then he was there, spinning me into his arms.

His lips crushed mine as his hands dove into my hair. He stole my breath as he shuffled us deeper into my apartment, kicking the door closed behind him.

“Hux,” I moaned, frantically grabbing for the hem of his shirt, shoving it up his chest to reveal the washboard abs beneath.

His tongue swept into my mouth, silencing any other words as he took control. With my hair locked in his grip, his tongue plundering, I was at his mercy.

Not a bad place to be.

His arousal pressed into my belly as he steered me to the bed. When the backs of my knees hit the mattress, he tore his lips away. Then with one hand planted in the center of my chest, I was falling, bouncing on the bed with a yelp.

Hux reached behind his neck and yanked the shirt from his body.

My mouth watered at the sight of his bare chest. His jeans sat low on his hips, revealing the deep-cut V at his hip bones. Veins snaked under his skin and ropes of muscle coiled around each other. The tattoo on his forearm was a swirl of abstract, bold colors that didn’t seem to have a pattern or a shape.

Hux was a work of sinful art.

And it was intoxicating, knowing he was mine tonight. All mine.

I sat and stripped off my sweater. The white lace bra beneath it caught Hux’s attention, his jaw flexing as I unclasped the band.

The moment my breasts were free, his hands were there, palming my curves, his knuckles pinching my nipples. The sting from his rough touch sent a shot of heat straight to my core. I arched into him, wanting more, but he tore his hands away and unzipped his jeans.

There was just enough light from the windows to cast Hux’s body in muted tones. Shadows floated across his skin, defining muscle and showcasing strength, as he kicked off his boots. Every movement was graceful but rushed. Then his jeans and the black boxer briefs underneath were gone, leaving me panting as I took in his arousal.

Damn, he had a beautiful cock. Thick and long with a pearl bead at the tip.

I shoved off my elbows, acting before he had a chance to stop me, and flattened my tongue to capture the drop.

Hux’s salty taste exploded on my tongue and as I lifted my lashes, I found him staring down with an intensity that made me tremble. I eased away, but he took my chin in his hand and pulled me back to his erection. “Repeat.”

The corner of my mouth turned up before I did it again, this time dragging my tongue across his velvet and steel shaft. The lick earned me a rumbled groan.

With lightning speed, he released my face and shoved me into the mattress. I’d worn black leggings to the bar with Kerrigan tonight. He ripped the tall boots from my calves, then stripped me down, taking my lace panties away in a fluid whoosh.

Hux bent for his jeans, taking a condom out of the pocket. As he put the packet between his teeth and ripped, a grin spread across my face. Front pocket. Not buried in his wallet. Maybe he’d come to the bar for me after all.

Or another woman.

I shoved that thought away and waited for his next command.

He stood above me, his gaze trailing down my neck to my breasts, to the glistening folds below as he rolled the condom onto his cock. With the latex in place, he reached for my leg, raising it up. He pinned my foot against his shoulder, then knelt onto the bed.

Slowly, he pushed closer, bending my leg until my thigh was pressed against my side. My knee was nearly at my ear. The stretch in my hips was tight, but I reveled in the burn.

When I went to bend the other leg, to spread myself wide for him, he shook his head.

“Fuck me, Hux,” I whispered. “Please.”

Without any pretense, he drove into me, stretching me wide as he buried himself to the hilt.

I cried out, my body quaking as I adjusted to his size.

“Goddamn,” he groaned, turning his mouth to my leg pinned to his shoulder. He grazed his stubbled cheek along the thin skin of my ankle. Then he withdrew, leaving me empty for a second too long before he slammed inside again.

Just like I’d wanted, he fucked me with hard and fast strokes. His thrusts were so powerful I felt them in my very soul.

I gasped, breathless, as he hammered us together. The orgasm came on me fast in a blinding light, stealing my vision until I writhed and shook, begging for release.

All it took was Hux’s thumb, drumming on my clit, and I broke into a thousand pieces.

I screamed his name, not caring if the entire town of Calamity heard. Stars broke in my vision and I pulsed, my body convulsing until I was out of my mind.

“Fuck, that’s good,” Hux gritted out as my inner walls clenched around him, squeezing until he shoved my leg off his shoulder, buried himself deep and succumbed to his own release.

He collapsed on top of me, panting. The thunder of his heart slammed against my skin, the rhythm as quick as my own.

We twisted apart, him sinking into the mattress at my side as we both regained our breath and I stretched my leg.

A laugh bubbled free from my chest. The smile on my face was wider than it had been all week. This wasn’t just sex, this was fun. The best time I’d had with a man in my bed.

I pushed myself up to a seat, shoving the hair out of my face. Then I bent over the edge of the bed, stretching for Hux’s jeans.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his eyes closed.

I rifled around his pockets. My smile widened as I grabbed the other three condoms he’d brought.

With a toss, they all landed on his stomach.

“Repeat.”