Bourbon Lullaby (Bourbon Canyon)

by Walker Rose

You gotta be better. Otherwise you’re not the best.

Home is where you land. Fly until you want to go home.

“Myles, is that how you spell your name?” “No, mine is spelled with a y.”

The woman next to me was also jumbling my thoughts. I’d seen her yesterday in the parking lot, gazing at the building with rapt appreciation. She’d been stunning by her car, four stories down. Up close, she’d been…disconcerting.

He pushed back and crossed his arms. Time for bicep porn. The thin fabric of his shirt clung to the bulges like I wanted to.

hadn’t had time to respond. The nap I’d taken—under orders—had been three hours long and included dreams of a muscled man with flat abs, a morning scowl that was the sexiest thing ever, and sweatpants that didn’t hide size.

“You’re staring, Ms. Kerrigan.” “You’re smiling. Pajama day and comedy night?” I shook my head. “I wasn’t prepared.”

“Would you like to do more sampling in my office, Ms. Kerrigan?” Myles asked. “Give me your best and your worst, Mr. Foster.”

“Mmm.” She kept her eyes closed. “So good.” Christ. I was going to hear that in my dreams and wake up harder than ever.

There it was. The slow fall of the eyelids. The slight chin lift. The upward tilt of her lips. I couldn’t see her roll the fluid on her tongue, but I knew she was doing it. The same flavor she was tasting played over my tongue. She opened her eyes and sighed.

The car parked in front of us, and he half turned, lowering his head to speak closer to my ear. “I’ve had my own fantasies. Tell me, Ms. Kerrigan, would you like to know what they are?”

“That depends, Mr. Foster. If your head’s between my legs, are you going to call me Wynn?”

Energy crackled between us. My body was a live wire. He hadn’t touched me—yet—but the promise was in his eyes, written over the tension in his body. Need vibrated through me, and the way his body had felt plastered against mine when we’d kissed was first and foremost in my mind.

He flicked open my seat belt and carefully laid the straps aside. “You’re going to have to be quiet, Ms. Kerrigan. The crew is on the other side of that flimsy door.” I nodded, my legs quivering. “Are you saying you’re going to make me want to be loud?”

“I’m going to make a mess out of you.”

“I knew you’d be responsive when I first saw you,” he growled. “It’s why I fired you.”

“Then you gave me attitude, and I wanted to shove my dick between those smart lips and learn if you were as good at sucking me off as you were at cocking off.”

“I know now I was right. Put that pillow over your face and get ready to scream, Wynn.”

“Montana made. Montana proud. But!”

“I crave the way you come, Wynn.” The force of his thrusts grew. “I fucking love the way you taste. I could have you every night.”

“What do you fucking do to me?” he growled and planted his hands beside me, swinging his hips.

She swung her attention back to me. “He read to you?” I groaned. “He read so hard, Summer.” A small tremble ran through me, head to toe.

“You make me want things I shouldn’t have.”

“The way you keep leaving. The way you don’t talk to me. The way you hold yourself away from everyone who cares about you. It’s more than I’m willing to take.”

“I deserve to be wooed. I deserve flowers and nice dinners and real conversation.”

“I deserve to be trusted. I deserve to be treasured. I deserve so much more than the scraps you gave me. The scraps you tossed my way because you knew I’d follow the scent like a mouse heading toward a trap. Only there was no trap, just an empty cage and a selfish man.”

You think you’re hurting yourself to spare others, but you’re wrong. Everyone loses, but not all of us are as good at walling off our emotions.

A smile played along her lips. “I’ve heard about those.” She grew serious. “You said win me back. So…were we a thing?” I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “We were definitely a thing. The best thing.”

“I want forever with you. I love you, Wynter Kerrigan. Frosty. I want the marriage. The house—your house, right here in Bourbon Canyon. The kids. I’ve let horrible people chase me away from the good parts of life. You’re the best thing to happen to me, and I’m going nowhere without you.”

“But I don’t need time. I need you. Today, tomorrow, whenever you want. I. Love. You.”

beginning of forever. “I knew from the moment I saw you in the parking lot of Foster House, you’d be the end of me.” I brushed a hand down her cheek. “I didn’t know it’d be in the best way possible.”