Ride Me, Cowboys_A Reverse Harem Forbidden Romance Page 10

  I hated that I’d done that to them, but especially to Holden. I knew he was the most sensitive. He’d given me everything, and I’d said, maybe it’s enough to make me stay. It might be enough, but I’m not sure.

  I could have smacked myself in the forehead for being so blind. Why hadn’t I looked at it that way before? Now, not only would I never know, but I might never get that chance. It wasn’t like many guys were going to say, sure, I’m okay with having a threesome with another guy. Or a foursome. Most guys wouldn’t want to share, and they sure as hell wouldn’t want me having all the fun. They’d want the kind of threesome Charlie had, with all the attention going to them.

  Maybe I was an attention whore just like him, because I wanted all those men pleasuring me. I’d barely been able to contain myself with one of them at a time. I couldn’t even imagine the pleasure of having three of them at once. And now, that’s all I’d ever do. Imagine it.

  And I’d have plenty of time to do that while on house arrest, or whatever my mother decided was my punishment. I wouldn’t even have my best friend around to commiserate. Haley was moving on with her life, doing something meaningful. I was going home to grovel and let my mother keep me under her thumb for another year, or however long she deemed fit.

  I yanked my earbuds out, startled when the car pulled up to the airport. The ride had gone by in a blur while I’d been lost in thought. Now I sat looking at the tiny airport, and my butt seemed glued to the seat. My heart squeezed, and tears pooled in my eyes. I was going to miss this place so fucking bad. I was going to miss the guys.

  But Waylon had made his big, empty bed, and now he could sleep in it all alone. No more thinking of me down the hall in my room, letting the thought keep him up. He was free.

  So why wasn’t I?

  “Do you need help with your bags?” the driver asked, looking at me like I might have lost my mind. Maybe I had. What the hell was I doing, leaving the three men I loved?

  “No, I’m—I’m good,” I said. I stood up on shaking legs and pulled my suitcases from the trunk.

  Haley’s words ran through my head. She was right. I was an adult. Maybe it was time I moved on with my life. And let’s face it, I was never going to be the do-gooder type that Haley was. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t do something good for someone. That didn’t mean I couldn’t help three men I loved save their ranch.

  Before I could open my mouth to tell the Uber driver I’d made a mistake, a familiar voice said my name. For a millisecond, my heart squeezed so hard I thought it would implode. My thoughts flew to the guys—had they come after me?

  I spun around, my breath caught in my throat.

  And there, standing on the sidewalk with a bouquet of roses, stood Charlie Bontrager.

  From the Author

  Thanks for reading about Amber and her cowboys! Don’t miss Wreck Me, Cowboys, the conclusion to the Coyote Ranch saga, available on Amazon. One-click it here!

  To hear about upcoming releases, join Alexa B. James’s B-Team HERE.

  Read on for a short excerpt of book 4, Wreck Me, Cowboys.

  Excerpt: Wreck Me, Cowboys

  1

  Amber

  “Wait here,” I told the Uber driver who had brought me from Coyote Ranch to the airport. Before she could answer, I stepped onto the curb and stared at my ex. The boy I’d dated for three years—three important years. The last three years of high school, the formative years of my teenage life, from when I was only fifteen and still a kid until I was eighteen and a woman.

  “Amber,” he said, stepping forward, a little warily if you asked me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, gripping the handles of my two suitcases. The last time I’d seen Charlie—when I’d been sober enough to remember—he’d been balls deep in the mouth of a girl I’d never seen before. So if he expected me to run to him and throw myself into his arms and sob, he was in for a rude awakening.

  Though the thought did hold a certain appeal. He was familiar. He had held me while I cried before. And I’d never wanted to bawl my eyes out as much as I did right now.

  “I came to meet you,” he said, thrusting the red roses at me. “Here, these are for you.”

  “Kinda got my hands full here, Charlie.”

  “Oh, right,” he said. “Sorry.” He grabbed one of my suitcases and handed me the bouquet with an awkward smile. “Better?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here. I mean, I kinda can. I guess my mother probably sent you. And you probably agreed, because you realize your life is a giant boring parade of political dinners and homework without me around to spice things up. And to be honest, if you’re hoping to win me back, this is a good start. After what you did, flying across the country is like, the tiny tip of the iceberg towards reconciliation.”

  “There’s a chance for reconciliation, though, right?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, glancing back at the curb. Praying, aching with the hope that Sawyer’s dusty red pickup would come rolling up. But the drive past the airport doors was nearly empty. Even my Uber driver had abandoned me. The bastard.

  I swallowed past the painful knot in my throat. I’d left them behind. They were not a part of my life anymore.

  I turned back to Charlie. “My flight isn’t for another three hours. Why are you here so early?”

  “I’d stand on the sidewalk waiting all day until you showed up if that’s what it took.” He shrugged and gave me that goofy, embarrassed grin. He seemed so young after being with the Westling brothers. Charlie was only eighteen, like me. Still figuring out life, like me. Still making mistakes, like me.

  But could I ever forgive him?

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said. “I’ll go check my bags, and then we can sit and talk. There’s got to be a coffee shop even in this tiny airport, right?”

  “We can’t miss it,” Charlie said. “This isn’t exactly JFK.”

  “It’s cute,” I said, frowning.

  “Don’t get defensive.”

  “I’m not defensive,” I snapped. What was I doing? Was I really going to pick a fight because he’d slighted a dinky little Wyoming airport by comparing it to New York’s?

  I sighed and shook my head. “It’s been a shitty day. Let’s just go in.”

  As we entered the building, I hesitated and squeezed my eyes closed before turning to check.

  Please let the truck be there. Please let it be. I don’t even care if it’s Waylon…I’ll hear him out if he just comes. It will be a sign…

  When I turned, there was only a group of college students shoving ski gear into a rental SUV.

  They should have been on their way to rent a cabin at Coyote Ranch. Now that would never happen. For all I knew, the guys would have to sell the ranch altogether.

  The thought made my heart throb with sadness.

  “What are you looking for?” Charlie asked. He stood just inside the automatic doors, which stood open, waiting for me. Beckoning me, like my old life. My old life back in New York, the parties and political functions, the friends and fashion, the lights and bustle of the city. It was all there, calling out to me. Wanting me back for one reason or another. There were a hundred signs pointing east.

  And nothing pointed west. Charlie had flown across the entire country, and the guys couldn’t even be bothered to drive a couple hours from the ranch. No one here was coming for me.

  I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and followed Charlie into the airport.

 

 

 
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