I stood there for a long time. Letting it all sink in. Tomorrow I would move on. Tomorrow I would find a way to forget Dewayne Falco. But right now I wasn’t ready.

DEWAYNE

By Thursday I had stayed away from Sienna’s for a week. I had texted Sienna and told her to take Micah to my parents’ Saturday morning, that I would pick him up there. I had spent the day with him, then left him with my parents minutes before Sienna got back, using my job as an excuse for running off.

I was trying to give myself time to forget how much I wanted her. She had been so accepting of my reasons for not being able to be with her that it had been painful. I wasn’t sure what I had wanted her to do. Argue with me? Maybe. Maybe I wanted a reason to kiss her lips again. Touch her in places I’d dreamed about. Fuck. Who was I kidding? I loved being near her. Watching her move. She had this way about her. Even when she was doing something simple, I was completely fascinated by her.

She had listened to my reasons and then nodded. That was it. Nothing else. So I’d run out of there and hadn’t been back. I couldn’t face her. Because I was pretty damn sure I’d grab her and kiss her until we both forgot what a bad idea that all was.

I took a drink of my Coke and fought the urge to light up a cigarette. Not drinking or smoking was f**king kicking my ass. When I had turned down a beer and ordered a Coke, Rock had looked at me like I’d lost my mind. He didn’t understand. He had never laid a hand on Trisha that wasn’t a hand she wanted there.

“Preston’s alone. That’s odd,” Rock said as he took a drink of his cold, foamy beer. I was lusting over his drink. Shit.

The pretty boy in our group pulled out a stool and sat down with a grin. He was engaged and happy about it. Real happy. He was always smiling. Asshole.

“Where’s Manda?” Rock asked.

“She finally shake you loose?” I asked.

Preston shot me an annoyed glare. “No. She’s coming. She’s bringing a friend,” he said, then grinned again.

“Stop smiling so damn much. Hurts my eyes,” I grumbled, and took another drink of my Coke.

“Ignore him. That Coke he is drinking is straight-up Coke. Nothing added. He’s sober and surly,” Rock explained.

Preston’s eyebrows shot up about the same time Rose Mann walked up beside me, wrapped her arm around my shoulders, and gave me a good view down her shirt. I’d known Rose since high school. We all had. She’d moved into town when we were sophomores, and she immediately made the cheerleading squad. I’d f**ked her back then, but only once. Hadn’t touched her since.

Still, she had aged well. Still had perky tits and a head of brown curls. “Hello, Rose,” I said, sliding my arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

“Hello to you, Falco,” she purred, and pressed against me. She then moved her gaze over to Preston. “You leave the fiancée behind tonight?”

Preston shook his head. “Don’t let her too far out of my sight. She’s headed this way soon.”

Rose rolled her eyes, then glanced over at Rock. “And where’s your little missus?”

“Be careful, Rose. We both know his little missus will take your ass out if you attempt to flirt with her man. You know better than to get near what belongs to Trisha.”

The whole table laughed but Rose. Back in high school Rose had made a play for Rock after Preston had f**ked her and tossed her aside. Trisha had slammed her against the lockers, broken several of her nails, and taken out a handful of her hair. No one messed with Rock after that.

“Whatever,” Rose said, then laid her hand on my chest. “I’m here for you, anyway,” she informed me. I was trying to decide if I wanted to give this a go tonight or not. I needed to do something to get Sienna out of my head. Rose was hot, but she was also a little crazy. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to mess with crazy.

“There’s my girl,” Preston said. I swung my eyes over to see Amanda, and they collided with Sienna. Who was looking at Rose. Shit.

“Hey, Sienna. Glad you could make it,” Preston said, getting up to pull out a stool for Sienna right beside me. “We won’t make you sit on Dewayne’s lap, seeing as it’s already full of Rose. You can have a stool. It’s more comfortable anyway.” I watched as Sienna tore her gaze from Rose and forced a smile for Preston. Then she looked at me. She was on the verge of bolting. I could see it. Preston had known who Amanda was bringing and he hadn’t told me. I was going to kick his ass.

“It’s okay. If they start doing gross shit at the table, Rock will make them take it outside,” Preston told her, then smirked at me. Dipshit.

Sienna walked over to the stool beside me like she was walking the plank. Slow and unsure.

“Who’s this?” Rose asked, leaning over me and wrapping her arm around me possessively, which pissed me off. She was trying to mark her territory, like she had any. I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend the evening with her or not. I hadn’t made up my mind yet.

“Sienna, this is Rose Mann,” Amanda piped up in a sweet tone that she didn’t mean. “She was older than us in school. She would have been . . . a senior your freshman year, I think.” The comment about Rose being older had been a jab, but coming from sweet Amanda, who was in the safety of Preston Drake’s arms, she was untouchable, and she knew it.

Sienna smiled at Rose. “I didn’t know many people in school. I kind of blended in to the crowd.” That was Sienna’s way of saying she didn’t know who Rose was. But it was also bullshit. Sienna had never blended into anything.

“Sienna Roy? You were Dustin’s girlfriend,” Rose said, recognizing the name.

Sienna nodded and forced a smile, then turned away from me and looked at the band onstage. Jackdown wasn’t up there yet. They didn’t take the stage for another hour. A new band from Mississippi was playing right now.

“I thought you lost your mind and they shipped you off to a loony house.”

Sienna flinched, and her shoulders went stiff. That was it. She’d come in here with Amanda, and I was pretty damn sure this was something she hadn’t done in a long time. Rose wasn’t going to ruin it for her. Even if having Rose in my lap kept my hands off Sienna.

I dropped the leg Rose was leaning on and moved my hand from her waist. She stumbled and had to grab the table to keep from falling on her face. “That’ll be all. You can go now,” I told her.

Amanda covered her giggle, and Rose glared at me. “What’s your problem?”

“Obnoxious females who don’t have shit for brains. So please be on your way,” I replied with a bored drawl.

Preston cleared his throat to cover up his laugh. “Probably said the wrong thing, Rose. Best get going before he gets mad. He isn’t drinking tonight, so he’s a loose cannon.”

Rose called me a jackass, then spun around and stalked off.

I waited until she was far enough away before I looked down at Sienna. She was studying me. The tension in her shoulders was gone. That was good.

“Sorry about that,” I said, and she nodded.

Then she looked away again, back toward the stage.

I had to make some small talk because right now Preston and Rock were both trying to figure out what the hell was going on. But even I wasn’t sure what was going on at the moment.

I opened my mouth to say something just as the band started up, and Sienna began swaying in her seat slightly. She liked to dance. I didn’t dance. I hated dancing. I had to be drunk off my ass to dance, and only if we were going from dancing to f**king.

But seeing Sienna sway in her seat with that smile on her face while she watched the people on the dance floor made me stand up and hold out my hand.

“Come on. Let’s dance,” I said. I knew I had just surprised the entire table, but I kept my focus on Sienna.

She beamed at me and slipped her hand in mine. The little black dress she was wearing with her cowboy boots made me want to pull her close so every man in here knew she was with me. Even if she wasn’t.

“I didn’t know you danced,” she said.

“He don’t,” Preston said.

I didn’t acknowledge this comment. I led her out onto the dance floor and pulled her into my arms, and it felt right.

So f**king right.

SIENNA

Dewayne’s big body holding me close was better than the dancing. And I loved dancing. I had never been held close like this and danced with the right way. I kept inhaling Dewayne’s masculine scent. He had a woodsy smell with a hint of peppermint.

He had glared so fiercely at the few people who had bumped into me on the crowded dance floor that no one was getting near us now. He also had me so close to him that I felt like we were one person. The music went from slow to more of a sexy beat, and I slipped my hands up to his shoulders and moved my h*ps to the music, letting my head fall back and closing my eyes. This was nice. Or more like fantastic. Dewayne’s hands tightened on my hips, and I loved how possessed it made me feel. Even if we were just dancing. For this one moment I was his. And I loved it.

His leg moved between mine and I rubbed against him, only to freeze from the contact and inhale sharply. He was so much taller than me that the friction hit me in just the right place. I gripped the front of his shirt tightly in my fists. We were on a dance floor and I could not hump his leg. But all I had to do was move my h*ps a little and I’d feel that heavenly pressure again.

His hand was in mine, and he was pulling me from the dance floor before I could decide what to do next. I thought he was mad at me and we were going back to the table, but when I looked around, we were headed the opposite way. It looked like we were headed to a back door. Was that a bathroom? What was he doing?

Dewayne shoved people out of his way who didn’t move on their own, and then he was slamming open the door and we were outside in the dark. There were no parking lot lights, only woods.

“Spread your legs, Sienna,” he ordered as he pressed me up against the wall. “Pull up your skirt and open your legs,” he said again, this time with a growl.

I was too startled to argue. He looked like he wanted what I wanted, so I did exactly like he said. I tugged up my dress and opened my legs.

Then his hand was there, cupping me as he breathed heavily. “This . . . we shouldn’t do this. I’m not that guy. You remember I told you I’m not that guy. But I don’t f**king dance, Sienna. Do you understand me? I don’t f**king dance.”

I was confused. He had danced with me. He slid his finger inside my panties and I didn’t care anymore. I grabbed his arms and cried out in relief and pleasure. He was actually touching me. This was real. And if I was asleep, I really didn’t want to wake up.

“So wet,” he said, pressing his lips to my neck. “Slick little hot pu**y is gonna kill me. You are too much. I want a taste of you, and I can’t keep my hands off you even though I know this will hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He wasn’t hurting me now. I could hardly form words as he slid his finger inside my entrance. I squeezed his arms and panted.

“I want to f**k this. I want you. I want inside you. Right motherfucking now I want inside you so damn bad my dick is about to bust out of these jeans. But that will be all it is. We won’t do it again. I don’t do relationships. I don’t want you hurt.”

He wanted to f**k me. Just this once and then he’d be done with me. We would be friends again. Or he’d just be my son’s uncle. Could I live with that? Could I give myself to him knowing it was just this once?

No.

I wanted more.

I’d loved Dustin when I had slept with him. Maybe I hadn’t been in love with him, but a part of me did love Dustin. I hadn’t been ready for sex then, but I had loved him and he had wanted to. He had loved me, and that had been enough. But this wasn’t love with Dewayne. He didn’t love me. He never would.

His finger slid back out of me, then circled my clit, and it felt so very good. Being with him would be the most epic moment of my life. I knew that. But then what? I would find a way to move on? Love someone else? Could I ever love someone else? If I tied myself to Dewayne this way, I wouldn’t be able to let him go. Not in my heart. And didn’t I deserve to be loved? To know what it felt like to be held like Preston held Amanda? To know that the man beside me wanted only me?

He was right. I deserved more.

I pushed him away, and he went without a fight. Closing my eyes, I caught my breath. “I want more. I can’t. I can’t do this with you and have it mean nothing to you. If you’re going to walk away from me, then I can’t do it. I’ll want more. I don’t want a taste of something I can never have.”

I opened my eyes. Dewayne’s hands were tucked in his pockets, and he hung his head as he took deep breaths. He looked defeated. I felt defeated. The young girl inside me who thought Dewayne Falco was my own prince charming was realizing he wasn’t. He was a man. Just like any other.

“I’m sorry, so f**king sorry,” he said, still not looking at me.

This was it. I couldn’t go back inside. Not after he had hauled me out of there like that. I would call Amanda and apologize later. Right now I just wanted to go home.

I didn’t tell him good-bye. I’d see him again soon enough. He would come see Micah. I would pretend like I didn’t feel something for him. I would act as if he hadn’t hurt me. I would deal. I was good at surviving. I could survive this.

Luckily, Amanda had driven to Live Bay with me, so I had my car here. Preston had dropped her off at my house earlier, and she’d helped me get dressed. She wouldn’t need me to give her a ride home. I climbed in my car and turned it toward home. To put on my pajamas and cuddle on the couch with the little boy there who loved me. The one man in my life who I would be enough for. I always had my son.