He managed to force himself out of bed, sending Buster out the back door so he could take care of his business while Sawyer made a pot of coffee. This was one of those mornings that probably required two pots, but for now, Sawyer would settle for one. While the coffee brewed, he snagged his laptop from the living room and set it up on the kitchen table.
Ten minutes later, Buster was munching away on breakfast in the kitchen while Sawyer was glancing through his emails. He shot off a quick response to a question about the event for the animal shelter. Several months ago, Kennedy and Adrianne had entrusted him to manage every little detail that would ultimately lead up to the annual dog walk that Coyote Ridge looked forward to every year. Although his schedule was packed full with the resort, offering to assist had seemed like a good idea.
And it had been. Since the first time he’d volunteered at the shelter—a blatant attempt to get closer to Kennedy that had backfired—Sawyer had found something else he enjoyed.
Glancing through the rest of the emails, he made sure there weren’t any others waiting for an immediate response. He laughed when he found one from Travis. The guy wasn’t much on sending emails, but it seemed as though showing off his daughter was a new trend for the guy. Not a day had passed since Kate was born that Sawyer hadn’t received pictures of her. Scrolling through the images of the precious little girl, Sawyer couldn’t help but smile. They were definitely a beautiful family.
Oddly enough, that made his thoughts drift to Kennedy. The pictures became a blur as Sawyer began thinking about their chat last night—specifically her in her bathtub. When she had revealed that little news flash to him over the phone, he’d damn near swallowed his tongue. Not only had they had a civil conversation on the phone—something they’d never done before—but she’d been downright friendly at that. Honestly, after not talking to her for so long, he’d expected her to ignore his call, or at the very least, for her to hang up on him instantly.
Maybe he had been wearing her down. Maybe she was still thinking about him the same way he’d been thinking about her for weeks on end.
At least he hoped she was.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to pull out all the stops from here on out. After all, seeing Kennedy was the only thing he’d been looking forward to. Now that the holidays were over and he could commit all his time to courting her, that was what he intended to do. It also helped that he, with Gage’s help, had narrowed down their search for the leak they obviously had within the resort. It hadn’t been easy, although they’d looked at it from every angle.
Sawyer was bound and determined to find out just who the fuck was sharing information that was meant to be kept within the walls of the resort. He didn’t give a shit that Jeff was pissed. He actually didn’t blame the man. What he did care about was that someone was attempting to sabotage all of their hard work. If people thought their private lives would be exploited, they’d think twice before staying at the resort. And that was something he couldn’t live with.
Glancing at the clock, Sawyer decided it was time to take a shower. He needed to stop by AI to check on things before he headed over to see Kennedy. Maybe he’d take her lunch. Despite her frequent denial, he had gotten the sense that she actually enjoyed spending time with him. Although quite a bit of time had passed since then, based on their conversation last night, Sawyer was left feeling some of the same optimism that he had before.
But, in the same sense, he knew he had to start completely over. Kennedy had a renewed reason not to trust him, although he was hell-bent on proving that he wasn’t the one who had shared that information. Which he would definitely do. And soon.
“All right, buddy,” Sawyer said to Buster. “You’re gonna hang out in here for a few minutes. Be good.”
With that, Sawyer left Buster in the kitchen and headed to his bedroom. Shutting the door behind him, he stripped as he went. The instant he stepped into the bathroom, he looked at the bathtub and his dick immediately stiffened.
“Holy hell,” he said on a huff, twisting the knob on the oversized shower. The bathroom was about the only overindulgence he’d done to the entire house. Considering how little time he spent there, he hadn’t gone over-the-top with the overall design; however, he had put in a little effort on the bathroom.
The shower rivaled Ethan’s in that it didn’t have doors, but rather was separated by floor-to-ceiling slate-tiled walls. The Jacuzzi tub had been something he’d splurged on as well and while his mind drifted to Kennedy in her own bathtub—which truthfully, he had no idea what her bathroom looked like—it was pretty damn easy to imagine her naked in his tub.
“Damn,” he groaned as he tore his gaze away from the tub, gripping his dick as he stepped into the shower, allowing the warm spray to beat down on him from overhead.
Yeah, he needed a minute.
Leaning his back against the wall, Sawyer closed his eyes, still picturing Kennedy naked. Long, long legs, creamy skin, all that silky dark red hair hanging down to her perfect little heart-shaped ass. His hand had a mind of its own, gliding back and forth along the length of his cock. His own touch was the only sense of relief he’d found for so long and it didn’t matter if he masturbated once a week or once a day, it never seemed to settle the raging desire that tore through him when he thought of Kennedy.
He paused, reaching for the soap and lathering up his hands before returning his attention to his dick. His other hand joined in, cupping and kneading his balls as he continued to stroke himself, slowly at first, wishing like hell Kennedy was there in the shower with him. He could imagine watching her stroking his cock with one hand, while her fingers slipped down between her thighs, dipping into her warm, wet heat . . .
Fuck.
Sawyer began jacking himself faster, tightening his grip as he did. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to imagine Kennedy on her knees in front of him, her sweet, warm mouth wrapped around the head of his dick.
“Ahh, fuck,” he growled, his release barreling through him, causing his muscles to lock as his cock pulsed. If only he wasn’t coming by his own fucking hand, this would’ve been the perfect start to any day.
HALF AN HOUR later, Buster was in the passenger seat of Sawyer’s Cadillac CTS-V, his paws resting on the armrest in the door as he stared out the window. They drove down the winding road that bisected his parents’ land and then out onto the main road. Less than a minute later, they were pulling in through the security gates of the resort and Buster began barking. He knew exactly where they were going.
Once parked, Buster pounced into Sawyer’s lap, waiting anxiously for him to get out of the car. As soon as the door was opened, Buster was on the ground and heading to the main doors. Sawyer took his time, watching his dog spin in circles, ready to get inside, where he’d get even more attention than he did at home. Once they made it through the doors, Sawyer took it all in, noticing a few guests standing at the check-in desk. The resort was still only taking guests by invitation, which allowed them to control both the volume and the quality of people who attended. Considering the overall nature of the resort, it wasn’t a family getaway, and that meant no one under the age of twenty-one was allowed in. To date, they had a waiting list of people who wanted to stay, all of whom had to be researched prior to being issued an invitation. Only now they were even more conservative about who they allowed in. After the incident with Mack and Jeff, and the information that leaked out, Sawyer wasn’t taking any chances.
Sawyer was just glad he didn’t have that job.
“Good morning, Mr. Walker,” the lady at the front desk greeted as he passed by.
Sawyer rolled his eyes. He’d frequently requested them to call him by his first name, and he still had a hard time answering to that. His father was Mr. Walker. Not him. And not his brothers, either.
But no one seemed to listen to him when he tried to tell them that.
“Are any of my brothers here? You know, the other Mr. Walkers,” Sawyer asked facetiously, nodding his good morning rather than sa
ying it.
“Yes, sir. Uh . . . Zane is in his office and Kaleb is around here somewhere. Travis stopped in, but he left a few minutes ago. I think Gage might still be here, too.”
“Thanks. Come on, Buster.”
Buster trotted along beside him as he made his way through the main hotel lobby, then the main area between the two clubs—dubbed the play area—where most of the guests congregated. On any given day, there was no telling what someone would see when they walked in there, and today wasn’t any different.
In one corner was a dark-haired man in a three-piece suit. Two women were on one of the leather couches in a sixty-nine position while the guy encouraged them with soothing words. Sawyer smiled to himself.
Whatever rocked their boat.
Making his way to the administrative building, Sawyer passed a few more employees of the hotel, offering his morning greeting as they each stopped to pet Buster, one of them actually pulling a dog treat out of their pocket, which got Buster stirred up, yapping happily.
“Come on, boy,” Sawyer called when Buster seemed confused about who he wanted to follow at that point. When Sawyer opened the glass door that led to the offices, Buster came bounding past him.
“Hey, man,” Sawyer greeted Kaleb, who was standing at the copy machine, staring at it with a frown on his face.
“How’s it goin’?” Kaleb replied, not looking up.
“Good. You?”
“This stupid thing ain’t workin’ again.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s an operator error,” Sawyer told him, making his way over. He glanced at the buttons and noticed that the start button was flashing. He punched it and the thing whirred to life.
Kaleb groaned, meeting Sawyer’s gaze. “It’s too damn early.”
Sawyer chuckled. “It’s after eight. What’re you complainin’ about?”
“Mason wouldn’t go to sleep last night,” Kaleb informed him. “He’s taken to wantin’ to sleep in our bed.”
“Oh, shit,” Sawyer said with a laugh. “I’ve heard that’s not a good thing.”
“No shit,” Kaleb retorted. “Which is why we aren’t lettin’ him. But that doesn’t stop him from wantin’ to stay up all night long.”
Sawyer had no idea what to tell Kaleb. It wasn’t like he had any idea what it was like to have a kid. The closest he got to taking care of someone else was Buster. And truth be told, that was enough for him. At least at the moment.
“Well, good luck with that,” Sawyer said, smiling.
“Yeah, thanks.” Kaleb lifted the lid on the copy machine and grabbed the paper from it. “Oh, hey, Greyson came by a few minutes ago, said to have you call him.”
“Thanks,” Sawyer replied as he made his way to his office. He wasn’t sure why Greyson wouldn’t have just called him directly, but whatever. He knew his friend was probably pissed at him for having stood him up the last time Greyson had invited him for a threesome. Strangely, that had been the last time Greyson invited him. Sawyer really needed to sit down and have a talk with the guy. Make sure they were on the same page.
But not right now.
Right now, he just wanted to get some shit done so he could go have lunch with his favorite veterinarian.
KENNEDY WAS TEMPTED to kick herself.
For the last three hours, she’d continually glanced up at the clock, watching the time as though that was going to possibly make it go faster. That was something she never had to do in her line of work. Usually, the rare times she had a few minutes to spare, especially these days, she welcomed the fact that the clock was ticking by slowly. There was just too much to do in any given day. But not today.
Her appointments were spread out, which surprised her for a Saturday. Saturdays were generally the busiest day of the week and she would rarely have time for a second cup of coffee, much less time to watch the hands on the clock tick painfully by.
And to think, she’d had three cups of coffee already.
“How’re things goin’ out here, Olivia?” Kennedy asked when she made her way to the front desk after her last patient left.
“I seriously think we’re gonna have to hire someone to do this,” Olivia grumbled. “And soon.”
“I agree. I’ve got three interviews on Monday. Thank you for fillin’ in, by the way. I know it’s hard to manage that and everything else.”
For whatever reason, Kennedy couldn’t seem to keep help around the office. Not only had her second tech up and left without a word back in December, the girl Kennedy had hired to work the front desk had decided to go back to school. Granted, Kennedy hadn’t expected her to just walk out without notice, but she shouldn’t have been surprised. As it was, she had expected the receptionist to at least give her a two-week notice, but she hadn’t bothered to show up after that particular conversation. Unfortunately, the other one that Kennedy had hired to replace her hadn’t been cut out to manage even the phones.
Luckily, Kennedy had put a new ad in the paper late yesterday afternoon, but the calls regarding the position were few and far between so far. Now her only hope was that on Monday she would find someone suitable who could start immediately.
If not, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do.
Until then though, they were just going to have to work through it as they had been doing for the last few weeks.
“Who’s my next appointment?” Kennedy asked, realizing that the waiting area was empty.
“You’re good for an hour.”
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Kennedy noticed it was lunchtime. She wasn’t exactly hungry, but she knew she had better grab something while she had the chance. Maybe there was some yogurt in the refrigerator. That or some crackers stashed in one of the cabinets.
Just as she was stepping away from the counter, the bells over the front door chimed and Kennedy turned just in time to see . . . Sawyer.
She didn’t sigh.
No, that little exhale of breath wasn’t a sigh.
She refused to believe that. Even if she couldn’t help herself from taking in the sight of him. He looked the same, still just as handsome as the last time she saw him, back before Christmas.
“Hey, Buster,” Olivia greeted the dog, smiling up at Buster’s owner more than at the dog. “Hey, Sawyer.”
“Afternoon,” Sawyer replied, his eyes never leaving Kennedy’s.
Damn it. That was not supposed to make her feel good.
Olivia slipped Buster a dog treat while Sawyer came over, holding up his bag of goodies.
“Let me guess,” Kennedy said, glancing down at the brown paper sack. “Lunch?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
God, why did his voice have to be so damn sexy?
Resigning herself to eating with Sawyer, Kennedy followed him to the break room, doing her best not to ogle his incredible ass encased in dark blue Wranglers. He was wearing a white button-down shirt, a brown belt around his lean hips, and brown boots that looked relatively new. A Christmas present maybe?
When he stopped at the table, he glanced over his shoulder and she immediately looked down at the floor, trying to find Buster. She was pretty sure he’d caught her sneaking a peek at his ass, but thankfully he didn’t say anything.
He whipped out the food cartons and the cups of iced tea before pulling out her chair and waiting for her to sit down. When she did, he settled into the chair beside her while Buster flopped on the floor at his feet.
“So tell me this,” Kennedy began.
Sawyer cocked his eyebrows as he waited for her to continue.
“Why now?”
“Why now what?”
“Why are you coming to see me now?”
“As opposed to . . . ?” Sawyer said.
“As opposed to the last month when I didn’t see you at all.”
Sawyer looked down at the table and Kennedy remembered the night at Moonshiners when her father had been talking to him. When she’d looked into Sawyer’s eyes that night, she could’ve sworn she’d seen guilt
. Was that what this was?
“I’ve been busy,” he stated, looking back up at her. “That’s not an excuse, either. It’s just . . . After that incident with your father, I had some things to figure out.”
“Was it you who spread that rumor?” she asked bluntly, knowing full well that he wasn’t the one. Even if she didn’t trust him completely based on the guy she knew in high school, she knew without a doubt that Sawyer would not risk damaging the resort’s reputation by letting information leak the way it had.
“What do you think?” he retorted.
“I think you didn’t stand up to my father when he accused you.”
Sawyer seemed surprised by her statement. He nodded his head as though defeated. “I was just as thrown as they were, Kennedy.”
She heard the truth in his statement, but that didn’t explain why he had all but disappeared for the last month. “So what’s changed now?”
“I’m still workin’ on identifying where the breach is. And honest to God, I’ve been busy. The holidays have been hell. The resort was packed and the time I didn’t spend there, I spent with my family. I’m . . . sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Kennedy blurted. “It’s not like I expected anything,” she lied. It was her time to break the eye contact. “I had just gotten used to seeing you. That’s all.”
When Kennedy looked back up, she saw that Sawyer was smiling. “You missed me?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Realizing she had better change the subject before it was too late, Kennedy switched gears. “How is it that you don’t have better things to do on a Saturday afternoon? Don’t you have a sex resort to run? Wouldn’t they be busy on the weekends?”
Sawyer’s chuckle sent a chill down her spine.
She knew he was laughing at her reference to the resort. Yes, she’d taken to calling it a sex resort because . . . well, because that was what it was. It was amazing how many people showed interest in the place.
Including her father, although he’d warned her off the place.
Not her though. She had absolutely no interest.
She preferred her sex . . . not quite so public. Okay, not public at all.
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