Damn sex and it’s post-orgasmic complications. Why did something so good in the moment feel so confusing the next?
Time to move to her own bed. Spending any length of time stretched out next to him, naked, wouldn’t foster the “This is the only time” vibe she was looking for.
And oh God. Peyton shifted to sit up and let her face fall into her hands. She’d just slept with her trainer. A man in her employ. Who in the name of Hades would respect someone after that? She’d turned into exactly what every male who avoided doing business with her thought she was.
An emotional, illogical female.
Oh shit. She was her mother.
The very thought had chills running down her spine. She rubbed her arms to ward off the goose bumps, but it didn’t help. So she tried reason.
Red wouldn’t say anything. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Wasn’t a big talker to begin with, but he just didn’t seem the type to need to brag about any conquests.
Was she a conquest? Another sobering idea.
Cowboys still talked though. Everyone thought women were the worst with gossip, but men could be just as bad. To them, it was “shootin’ the shit” and it was conducted around the tack room or in a pool hall. Which made it all seem more manly. But stick them under a pair of hair dryers and a spade was a spade. Gossip was gossip.
And she’d just done something gossip-worthy. Marshall residents could chew on this for a year. Her mother sleeping with the trainer? Old news. Expected, even. But Peyton Muldoon?
“You gave up the reins.”
She jumped, losing her grip on the sheet. Grabbing the bedspread to cover her breasts again, she looked at him. “What?”
Confident, at home in his own nakedness, Red lounged against the wall leading to the bathroom. “You’re thinking loudly over there. It’s amusing, but you’re spinning out.”
“You can’t know that.” Could he? “And anyway, not your problem.”
“It is, actually.” As she started to step out of the bed, he strode over and nudged her back in with his knee. “You agreed to let me take care of you.”
“I did agree, and you did take care of me. And it was . . . nice,” she finished lamely. Nice?
He snorted, clearly as unimpressed with her word choice as she was. “It was more than nice. But we’ll let that go for a minute.” He hovered over her, caging her in with long arms and legs. “I’m not done with you yet.”
“Maybe I say you are.”
“I’m taking the reins. So you need to get over it. For tonight,” he clarified, when her eyes narrowed at him. “One night, not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.”
She pushed at his shoulder, budging him exactly zero inches. “It is to me. I already made the mistake once.”
Something crossed his face—was it hurt?—before he smirked. “I wouldn’t call that a mistake. What are you so worried about?” He studied her face a minute. “Are you afraid I’ll look at you differently?”
Her silence was easily interpreted.
“Because I won’t.” He nuzzled into her neck, over her cheek, kissing her nose. “Peyton, I tried my damndest to stay away from you. But you chased me—”
She gasped and pushed at him again.
He grinned, knowing his joke hit a nerve. “And I gave in. So that’s the end of it. I figure we earned this one night to let things ride. And in the morning, when we get back to the ranch, nothing happened.”
She watched his face, looking for a twitch, a smirk, anything that might hint he was lying. But it seemed he was telling the truth, at least about the morning after.
And really, she’d already given in to temptation once, right? It was like a diet cheat day. If you’re going to go, go big.
Cupping his face with her hands, she let the bedspread slither down her body. “Fine. But tomorrow, I’m taking the reins back.”
“Gotcha.”
Hours later, Red’s warm body was wrapped around hers from behind and his arm was draped over her stomach. One of his knees had settled between hers, and his chin was resting over the top of the crown of her head. He had, in effect, completely enveloped her. And it felt so secure, so safe, that for just a moment, she let herself picture coming home every night after a long day, climbing in bed and feeling this secure and safe.
Then, she realized her cheat day posed one massive problem.
Fire begets fire. All this night had done was fan the flame of her need for him. And she couldn’t afford the time to put it out.
Chapter Thirteen
Red pulled the rental up to the dirt patch in front of the main house, thankful they were finally home. The silence on the way back to the ranch had been deafening. And scariest of all, she hadn’t even put up a fight when he’d said he would drive the rest of the way. A woman like Peyton didn’t give up control like that unless there was a reason.