I sat outside the country club, waiting for the right moment to confront Mandy.

I was done with this passive aggressive bullshit.

Mandy refused to answer my calls, texts, or emails? Fine. Then I’d talk to her face-to-face. Explain myself.

Except I had no idea why I felt the need to justify my actions—especially since I fucked the other bridesmaids before I slept with her.

And I didn’t know why it pissed me off so much to be ignored. Or why it panicked me.

Or why it…hurt.

I wasn’t in the wrong. I did exactly what she wanted. She asked me to stay at the cabin. She walked with me to the dock. She was the one whispering don’t stop.

So why was I being punished? Hell, why did I even care?

Easy. Because Mandy was keeping something from me.

She had no reason not to trust me and every reason to answer my calls and give me an honest explanation of what really bothered her.

I’d never hidden the truth from her, so why was she so damn secretive with me?

Bryce gave me the info on the family tour of the venue. The Prescotts and Washingtons were doing a walkthrough of the reception hall for last-minute measurements and pictures. It was the only place I could pin Mandy down.

I shouldn’t have gone to find her, but if I didn’t untangle myself from her now, I’d be knotted up forever.

And if we were being real honest? I’d make sure those ropes bound us together tight.

Lindsey decided to get married in my family’s church, humble and quiet, but she demanded the party be held in a ritzy country club, the type that demanded their security deposit in gold. I stalked inside, prepared to grab Mandy and get my answers.

I was used to pissing women off, but they never cried in my presence. Never wasted a tear on me.

Mandy did, and I wasn’t going to be the man who caused any woman pain.

Especially her.

Mandy sat on the edge of an indoor fountain, tickling her fingers through the water. She smiled at the patient assistant who volunteered to lead her family on a tour.

How the hell did this woman get more beautiful every time I saw her?

If she was a magnet, I was the rusted lump of metal dragging along the ground to avoid smashing into her.

Soft. That’s what she was. A vision of softness, gentleness, and peace. Her curves accentuated a distinct femininity, something no other woman I’d slept with had ever possessed. Even her eyes looked brighter. They widened, the golden honey burning amber the instant she saw me.

She wasn’t happy to see me, but I was the lucky son of a bitch fortunate enough to see her.

She stood, crossing her arms. I memorized her mouth, the angle of her cheeks, the way her ebony waves cradled over her shoulders. Her hair fell over the swell of her chest.

I shouldn’t have gotten hard while Mandy coiled for a strike, but damn, I couldn’t keep myself away from her. Something drew us together, and if I couldn’t satisfy my lust, I could at least satisfy my curiosity.

Mandy frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“We have to talk.”

She excused herself from her family, flinching as her steps on the marble echoed in the grand hall where Lindsey and Bryce’s mothers envisioned arches and fine silks and flowers—all ivory.

“I’m busy,” she said. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“This won’t take long.”

She crossed her arms. “No. It won’t. I have nothing to say to you.”

“Good, cause I wanted you to listen. Can we go somewhere?”

“No.”

I hated to do it, but I let my gaze wander to Lindsey. “That’s fine. I’m sure there’s plenty of people who’d like to hear me.”

Her jaw tightened before she surrendered. Mandy grabbed my arm, but she said nothing when I flexed my bicep.

I missed playful Mandy. I’d get her back.

She dragged me through the hall under the pretense of surveying the ballroom. We didn’t make it there. She shoved me down the isolated corridor leading to the bathrooms.

“What do you want?” Her voice strained. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble?”

Trouble? I had been a fucking gentleman. “I did everything you wanted. I stayed when you asked me. I left when you threw me out. Don’t punish me for what happened.”

“I’m not. I’m punishing myself.”

“Why?”

“Because I was an idiot to trust you.”

“Why don’t you now?”

“What’s there to trust? I knew you fucked anything on two legs. I can’t believe I let myself think that you were…”

“What?”

Mandy shook her head. “Nothing.”

“No.” I didn’t let her walk away. I thrust an arm to the wall, blocking her escape. “Tell me. What did you think I was? What did you think happened between us?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Obviously it matters.”

“Yeah, to me. But you’re not the type of man who cares about others. You don’t care about how I feel or what I want or why this is so hard for me.”

The anger heated me, but it wasn’t directed at her. The insult hurt. “How the hell would you know what I care about? Fucking ask me sometime. You might be surprised.”

“I’ve had enough surprises lately. I can’t handle any more.”

Cryptic again. I was getting real tired of that shit. “What do you want from me?”

“I don’t know.” It was the first honest answer she gave, and the possibilities surged through me with a newfound strength. “I need space. I need time to think. It’s too hard with you and the wedding and my family and…everything else.”

“Maybe you’d feel better if someone helped you out.”

“Who? You?”

“Yeah.”

The answer shocked her as much as it surprised me.

I doubted she’d believe me. Doubted even more she’d understand why I asked for the chance. Was it too much to hope that she’d just drop her guard? Maybe smile?

I didn’t speak. I tugged on her hand, pulling her close. I had no idea what I was doing, but if I didn’t touch her, everything inside me might have scrambled, drunk on her, but suffering the hangover of her withdrawal.

I threaded my fingers through her hair. She gasped. I loved that sound almost as much as a touch of her fingers or the grip of her tightness.

She could lie to me, hide secrets from me, but her breath was honest. She sighed with pleasure, huffed with impatience, and revealed everything in the quiver that was her exhale.

I never read a woman as easily as I could Mandy, but she kept so much tucked inside her.

What did I have to do to be the man she trusted with those secrets?

I kissed her. At least she couldn’t keep her desire from me. She could lie, but even she couldn’t bluff through that coiling heat.

“Nate—” Her fingers curled in my shirt. “This is wrong.”

“Why?”

She kissed me with a groan. “I can’t let myself do this.”

“Then blame me.”

“Believe me, I do.”

I flicked my tongue over hers. “Don’t push me away.”

“Stop pulling me so close.”

“Impossible.”

Her back struck the wall. I didn’t let her go, didn’t have to release her. I was bigger, stronger than her. She was pinned, and she knew it.

But a single mew between her kisses would have dropped me to my knees.

Instead, her fingers tightened over me. She tried to search the hallway. We were alone. She had nothing to worry about but me.

“This is wrong.” Her words trembled. My cock turned to stone. “You aren’t good for me.”

“Isn’t it more fun to be bad?”

“It’s not safe.”

“I’m not dangerous…” Only a little. “I can keep you safe.”

“From you?”

“From yourself. From overthinking this. From any guilt or shame or…” I nipped her neck. “Denying yourself everything I can give.”

“I’m not the type of girl who does this.”

“I won’t tell anyone if you won’t.”

I searched the hallway. If I didn’t find a quiet place, I’d fuck her right there in the corridor.

The bathroom would work. I kissed her, long and deep, preventing her from changing her mind and destroying us both in horrible indecision.

She followed me, step after trembling step, unwilling to part from my kiss.

That was good. As soon as I had her in the bathroom, I’d drive into her against the wall. She could kiss me all she wanted while I fucked her, her legs wrapped around me, buried deep inside that slick pussy—

The doors crashed open. We tumbled inside.

But we weren’t alone.

Mandy pushed from me, her mouth dropping open.

Nothing we had done prepared her for this vulgarity. Hell, I had to find special places on the internet to see this sort of shit.

A couple occupied the space, rutting with a series of animalistic grunts. Their noises, motions, and slamming thrusts slapped their sweaty flesh in a sticky cadence.

A black, middle-aged woman rode a helpless man, cracking her hips over his in an aggressive reverse cowgirl that slammed her girth down so hard it hurt my balls.

She slapped his dark thigh and growled from deep in her throat.

“That’s right…give it to Momma!”

Oh.

Sweet.

Jesus.

I froze, unable to grab Mandy or hide her eyes. Her choked cry echoed through the entirety of the country club.

“Mom?”