“Big party tonight.” Wayne sipped his beer. “I might have to break my one-beer rule and stick around for a little bit longer.”
“You should.” Sofia adjusted a spray of stars and foil strings she’d put on one table. “It’s going to be fun.”
Her excitement was palpable, her anticipation contagious. Fuck the drinks. Screw the customers. All that mattered tonight was that Sofia had a good time.
I wanted her to leave here tonight feeling like she’d made a difference. That I couldn’t have done it without her help.
I wanted her to feel like she mattered, at least for one night.
To make that happen, I’d need to be as methodical as possible. I’d need to make sure I didn’t get too busy and shove her out of the way. So I spent the next hour doing added prep while Sofia talked to Wayne. I made us all a pizza so we could eat early, and then I closed up the kitchen.
Thankfully, Thea had learned from her mistakes the previous year. She’d tried to run both the bar and kitchen last year, and it had been chaos. This year, she’d advertised the kitchen would be closed, giving me one less thing to worry about for the night.
By seven o’clock, we were prepped and waiting. Wayne had decided to stay and was in the bathroom. Which left me and Sofia standing behind the bar as the first customers came in the door.
“Ready for this?” I asked her.
She blew out a shaking breath but smiled. “So ready.”
“What a rush!” Sofia did her twirly thing around one of the tables. “I don’t think eight hours has ever gone by so fast before. That was crazy!”
I grinned as I locked up the front door. I’d announced last call an hour ago, but it had taken people a while to filter out. The clock behind the bar, which was always twenty minutes fast, read three in the morning.
“You did good tonight.”
Sofia had been more of a help than I could have ever imagined. I hadn’t needed to make sure she’d contributed. She just had.
I’d set up the champagne for her to pour, which she had, but at one point when we’d been slammed, she’d been mixing drinks nearly as fast as I could.
The two of us had kept up with the drink orders all night, and as much as I hated to admit I couldn’t run this place alone, I’d needed her. Sofia had mostly mixed drinks all night while I’d run the register and managed the other orders. But just having her fill some orders had been huge.
The entire time, she’d done it with a smile on the lips I’d kissed.
She’d been nervous at first and hesitant as people came in. For the first few hours, she’d hung out on the far end of the bar, hovering near Piper and Kaine. I think she’d just been trying to stay out of my way.
But finally, I’d whistled for her to come and mix a couple of drinks, hoping she’d loosen up.
From then on out, she’d relaxed and come into her own.
She had the same charisma as her brother. It didn’t shine through as quickly, but she’d charmed everyone in the bar tonight with her laughter and quick wit.
“Want some more champagne?” I asked as I went behind the bar. There was still half a bottle left. I’d made sure she had a glass in her hand as the crowd counted down to midnight. Since then, we’d both been sipping it on and off.
“Yes, please.” She came behind the bar, depositing the last few dirty glasses in the sink.
I filled her glass then poured myself a bit more. As much as I wanted to kiss her again, I resisted the urge, just like I’d done at midnight too. “Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year.” We clinked glasses and I downed mine. Champagne wasn’t really my thing but the occasion called for it.
When I looked back up, she was guzzling her glass dry. She laughed as she set it down empty. “I was thirsty.”
I smiled, noticing a drop hanging on the corner of her lip.
She wiped it away, looked at me, then froze.
“What?”
“You’re smiling. You don’t smile that much. But when you do . . . it’s crazy hot.”
I chuckled. “Maybe that’s enough champagne.”
“Maybe you’re right.” She giggled. “I’ll get to work on cleaning up the confetti.”
We spent the next hour cleaning and putting things away. Busy nights like this were a high, and it was always hard to wind down. It would take hours for the exhaustion to sink in.
Sofia was riding the excitement too, cleaning as I took out the trash. When I came back from dumping six bags, I found her on the bar, ripping down the foil spirals.
“What the fuck?” I jogged down the hallway. “Careful.”
“I’m fine. See?” She rose up on her toes and did the same twirl she’d done on the floor earlier. Except this time, her footing wasn’t quite as steady or her movements as tight.
“Sofia, get down. You’re going to fall and hurt yourself.”
She ignored me as she ripped down another spiral. “It was so fun tonight.”
“Down,” I ordered only to be ignored again. So like I had earlier tonight, I followed along with her, my arms extended to make sure I’d catch her if she fell.
“I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun.” She rose up on her toes then lifted one leg in the air as her arms floated up toward the ceiling. “My feet feel great too, even if these shoes look silly.”
“Sofia,” I barked. “Both feet on the bar or get the fuck down.”
“Okay,” she drawled, putting her feet back on the bar and walking to the final spiral. “What’s your passion?”
“My passion?” What did that have to do with her getting off the bar?
“Yes, your passion. What do you love? What gets you excited?”
“Right now? Keeping you from breaking your damn neck.”
She pulled the last foil spiral from the ceiling, but instead of getting down, she paused and smirked at me. Then she rose up on her toes, kicked out a leg and spun in two fast circles. When she landed, a hand covered her laughing mouth.
“Do that shit on the floor.” I put my hands on my hips. “Get down. Now.”
She crouched. “I took ballet lessons my entire childhood, all through high school. I’m not going to fall.”
“You might.”
“And you’ll catch me if I do.”
“This is dangerous.” We both knew I wasn’t talking about her standing on the bar.
With one fast move, Sofia fell forward, her arms extended.
I caught her at the waist, helping her down to the floor.
She didn’t step away, and I didn’t let her go.
“You kissed me,” she whispered.
I nodded.
“But you didn’t kiss me at midnight.”
“We were busy.”
“We’re not busy now.”
I dropped my forehead to hers. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Me neither,” she admitted. “But I don’t know if I can stop.”
She leaned in, pressing her lips to mine in a soft kiss. Her tongue darted out and traced my lower lip.
Without any hesitation, I hoisted her up into my arms, only remembering to hit the lights as I carried her out of the bar. We forgot everything else that needed to be cleaned or cared for in the race to get her into my truck.
The need to drive was the only reason we broke apart. But our separation only lasted the short drive to my house. Where I parked, lifted her back into my arms.
And carried her into my bed.
A smile stretched across my face as I buried my face in Dakota’s pillow, inhaling his woodsy scent. My arms extended to the headboard, and my toes pointed toward the base of the bed. I still hadn’t opened my eyes, wanting just a few more seconds to savor the stiffness kinking my muscles.
Dakota had worked some parts of my body last night that I hadn’t used in a while. A long while.
My triceps were stiff from bracing against his wooden headboard as he pounded into me from behind. My quads were tired from riding him li
ke my own personal stallion. My ankle had a tender spot from where he’d bitten me as he’d come.
Aches aside, this was the best I’d felt in months. Years even.
Piper’s advice to just go for it with Dakota had been spot on.
Last night had reminded me that sex could be fun. Dakota and I had gone at it hot and heavy the moment he’d pulled me into his home. His mouth had latched on to mine, never taking it away as he’d stripped me bare on our journey to his bedroom.
My clothes were still littered all over the house.
I took one last breath of his pillow and rolled onto my back, my naked breasts covered loosely by the sheets. My nipples had never felt better than when he’d had them in his hot mouth, his tongue dragging over the hardened buds until I’d begun shaking. Just thinking about how his cock had filled me so completely had me squirming for more.
Damn, that man knew how to treat a woman’s body.
The sheets were warm on my side of the bed. I slid a foot to his side, finding the cotton cold. When had he gotten up? How long had I been sleeping?
I cracked my eyes open, clutching the sheet to my chest as I sat up. The window blinds were closed, but sunshine streamed through the gaps in the wooden slats. I squinted, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the light.
Then I inspected Dakota’s bedroom.
The bed sat right in the middle of the room across from a door that led to a bathroom. The closet was to my left. One of the bypass doors was open, revealing Dakota’s shirts on wire hangers and his jeans folded and stacked on the top shelves.
That closet wouldn’t hold a tenth of my clothes, let alone my shoes. In fact, this room was about the size of my entire walk-in closet in my penthouse.
But it was a nice room. The floors were wooden, stained a warm, light brown. The walls were a simple off-white offset by white trim. Clearly, these weren’t the original finishes, meaning either Dakota or Xavier had made some upgrades. I was guessing Dakota.
His bed sheets were a stark white, his quilt a thick and heavy charcoal cotton. This room had only the basics—a bed, one nightstand and a reading lamp. There wasn’t even a television. It was masculine and simple, much like the man himself.
Honestly, the decor didn’t matter much. I was just glad he’d had the essentials for a night of debauchery. His condoms were stashed in the nightstand. The mattress was soft and he’d used a down pillow to prop up my hips as he knelt above me, sliding into my deepest places with long, languid strokes.
A rush of desire settled in my core. Where was he?
Swinging my feet over the edge of the bed, I dropped the sheet and let the cool air rush over my bare skin as I tiptoed to the bathroom. I did a little spin before the doorway. The floor was smooth and my bare feet skimmed across its surface like ice.
On the vanity next to the sink sat a tube of toothpaste and an unopened toothbrush. I smiled as I ripped it open and used it to brush my teeth with Dakota’s minty toothpaste.
Did he do this a lot? Did he bring women home from the bar often? Was that why he kept extra toothbrushes on hand? Curiosity got the best of me and I opened the three drawers on each side of the vanity.
They were filled with extra hand towels, some shaving cream, a box of Q-Tips and some other bathroom necessities. But there wasn’t a stash of new toothbrushes anywhere to be found.
Smiling that this one must have just been an extra, I went back to the mirror with my toothbrush. When I was finished, I dropped it in the container next to his.
Maybe I’d use it again this week.
I hoped so. Because now that I’d had him, I was addicted to Dakota. More so than I’d ever been to a man, including both of my ex-husbands.
He’d given me the best sex of my entire life, and I had to have more. I needed something to satisfy me for a while, because when I went back to the city, I was taking a long break from men.
Memories of Dakota were going to keep me company for the foreseeable future.
After my divorce from Bryson, Logan had encouraged me to lay off men for a while. His advice had fallen on deaf ears because I’d already met Jay and was completely infatuated in my new relationship.
And look how that one had ended.
So it was time to try a new tactic, and since my brother was one of the smartest people I knew, I was giving his advice a try. Once I left Montana, I was going to be single for a change.
Dakota wasn’t the right man, but he was a good man. He was refreshing. If I found a good man once, maybe I’d find another someday.
Or he could find me.
I walked back to Dakota’s room, smiling at the rumpled bedsheets. They were definitely going to need washing. But I didn’t know how to use a washing machine or a dryer, so I’d have to ask him for help.
Or, better yet, we could just get them even dirtier. Then he could teach me how to do laundry.
I walked over to the column of drawers inside his closet and opened the top one, searching for something to wear. I found a pair of thick, brown wool socks. I took them, along with a long-sleeved flannel, and pulled them both on.
Then I grabbed one last thing from the nightstand before going in search of my new lover.
At the door, I looked both ways down the hallway, reorienting myself with the house. One direction led to another bedroom and bathroom. The other led down a long hallway that opened up into a living room.
I skimmed my hands over the cool leather sofa as I passed through the living room. All of the furniture was angled at the large television mounted on the wall. Surround sound speakers were flush mounted on the walls and ceiling. The two lounge chairs facing the TV made me cringe.
They weren’t exactly ugly—but they weren’t pretty either. Their brown leather matched the couch, clearly part of a set. But they were lounge chairs, complete with handles to kick up the footrests and built-in cup holders.
They were probably comfortable and obviously practical for watching Monday Night Football. None of those qualities had ever ranked high on my interior design checklists.
With no sign of Dakota, I kept exploring.
I walked toward the kitchen located at the front of the house. It was a galley style with clean white cabinets and quartz countertops. At the far end, there were two doors. I assumed one led to a basement and the other to the garage.
We’d come through the exterior back door last night and through the living room. He’d parked his truck in a detached shop behind his house. I doubted he’d left me here alone, and since going to check to see if his truck was where we’d left it meant walking outside in the snow, I opted for the basement first.
The temperature dropped as I opened the door and took the first few stairs. Through the darkness, I could make out a landing at the bottom in the faint light. A chill ran over my arms, and I wrapped them around my middle.
“Dakota? Are you down there?”
When I didn’t get an answer, I turned and scurried back upstairs, closing the door behind me quickly. Basements had scared me ever since I was nine and I’d snuck into our theater room at home where Logan and some of his friends had been watching a horror movie.
I’d hidden behind a couch, watching the movie even though I was supposed to have been in bed. Logan had found me when I’d screamed at the woman getting hacked to pieces on the screen.
My brother had whisked me away to my room, then stayed with me all night simply because I’d asked him to. He’d missed his sleepover with his friends to care for me.
I wasn’t sure where I’d left my phone last night, but as soon as I found it, I was going to send Logan a text. I’d never said thank you for that night.
Thank you had been missing a lot from my vocabulary.
With no sign of Dakota in the basement, I walked to the other door. The moment I got close, I heard music blaring from the other side.
Carefully, I pulled it open and peeked through the crack.
Dakota was in the center of his garage, lying on a workout bench. He’d con
verted the garage to a gym.
Free weights were all lined up on racks against one wall. He’d put in mirrors on a few walls and mats all across the floors. An elliptical machine squatted in one corner, a treadmill by its side.
I opened the door farther, leaning against the frame as Dakota bench-pressed a bar with two black weights on each end.
He wore only a pair of shorts, leaving his sweaty chest bare. The muscles of his arms bunched and shook as he brought the bar to his pecks, then pushed it up on an exhale. I swallowed hard, my pulse racing at the sight of his washboard abs.
Last night, we’d had sex with the lights off. Today, I wouldn’t be making the same mistake. I wanted the visuals to go along with the feelings.
Rep after rep Dakota pushed himself. Finally, he set the bar on the rest behind his head and sat up. He dragged his fingers through his sweaty hair, separating the black streaks with his fingers.
He reached for the floor, swiping a towel to dry his face. Then he swapped it for the water bottle by his feet, squirting a long stream of water into his mouth.
His tennis shoes were on, but he hadn’t done up the laces. The white strings draped loosely down to the black rubber mats.
“Morning.” His greeting carried over the loud music. He didn’t turn, but he must have caught me in the mirror.
“Hi.” I pushed off the doorway and went down the three steps to the garage floor. I walked to the speaker in the corner, pausing the angry rock music.
The silence in the room was instant and startling. I could hear Dakota’s chest heave as he took another drink of water and regained his breath.
“This is nice.” I swung a hand out to indicate the gym.
“There aren’t any gyms in town. Had to make my own.” He turned away from me, watching me from the mirror. “Nice shirt.”
“It’s a little big.” The sleeves hung past my fingertips and the hem hit me midthigh.
“Your clothes are in the laundry room.”
“Okay.” Was that a hint for me to go put them on? If it was, I pretended to miss it.
I went right to the bench and put a knee on the seat between Dakota’s legs. It forced his gaze away from the mirror.
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