Michael (Wild Men #8)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Emery

I fall asleep with my head on Michael’s bare chest.

The last thing I remember is the feel of his lips on my hair.

I sleep soundly until the birds cheeping outside wake me.

I open my eyes and look over at the large picture window we never drew the blinds on.

Still dark out. But the birds are letting me know that daylight isn’t too far away. And I’m not about to go back to sleep. Last night was incredible, but the reality of my life is coming back in bits and pieces, and once my brain gets moving, I can’t slow it down.

Besides, I’m an early riser by nature. My ex did not share my love of the morning, so I’m used to watching the sun come up by my lonesome. Well, me and a cup of coffee in my hand.

I don’t want to wake up Michael, so I shift slowly until my body is no longer curled up around his warm heat. I go to throw my legs out of the bed when a strong arm wraps itself around my torso and gently drags me back to the middle of the mattress.

“Where are you going without me?” a low voice grumbles in my ear.

I turn, and my gaze meets a pair of amused dark eyes.

“Good morning.” I feel awkward, but I don’t want to tell him that.

I haven’t been with a guy since Henry, and being in bed with someone feels vulnerable. I want to talk to Michael and learn more about him and go out to breakfast with him. But I don’t know that he’s on the same page.

“I can see the wheels turning.”

I blink.

Michael’s mouth turns up in a grin.

I exhale. “I tend to overthink everything.”

“What are you thinking about now?”

Michael’s warm hand grazes my ass, and I shiver.

“I thought we could watch the sunrise together.”

“I love seeing the sun come up,” he says.

“Really?”

“You sound surprised.”

“I don’t know many people who like to get up early,” I admit.

“I’m up long before dawn every day when I work,” he says. “And the sunrise…well, let’s just say it holds a special meaning for me and my family.”

He doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t ask for details. Of course, I want to know more—much more—but what I’m enjoying so much about being with Michael is that nothing between us feels rushed.

Like right now.

“We’ve got a little time before the sun shows itself.” Michael trails his hand up my spine. “And I haven’t given you a proper good morning yet. ”

I moan as he flips me onto my back and slides his tongue along the shell of my ear.

“What’s proper?” I murmur.

“An orgasm.”

I laugh. “Really?”

“At least one.” He moves down my body until his head is between my legs.

Turns out he was right. One orgasm happens so fast that we have time for me to ride him until I go over the edge into my second orgasm, and he follows after me.

I can’t erase the smile from my face as we throw on our clothes and hurry outside his cabin just in time to see the brilliant sun rise over the ranch.

Orange and yellow hues. So bright it could burn. So gorgeous I can’t look away.

I swallow.

Something tells me my life is about to change completely.

Michael

Emery and I take a long shower together before we go get breakfast at the local diner up the road. I could have brought her to the main house for food, but I wouldn’t subject her to all the questions my brother and cousins would no doubt ask. If this is going anywhere, there will be plenty of time for them to get to know her.

I nearly kick my own ass that I’m even thinking of bringing a woman I’ve known for less than twenty-four hours to a family meal. A Wild get-together is not for the faint of heart, although I’ve no doubt Emery can more than hold her own. It’s me I’m worried about; if I want someone to know something, I’ll tell them. When I get asked a whole bunch of questions, it just pisses me off .

“So.” Emery cuts up her pancakes with a fork and adds a generous helping of maple syrup. “What are you up to today?”

“Luke wants me to exercise one of his older horses. Just walk him around the ring.”

I regret saying it the moment it comes out of my mouth.

Emery’s face lights up, and her blue eyes brighten. “That’s so fun!”

I scowl. “He’s annoyed the crap out of me for days. I don’t like horseback riding. I avoid it for the most part. And I know I won’t be much help to him.”

Emery covers her mouth with her hand, but I don’t miss her gleeful smile.

“What’s so funny?”

She takes her hand away, and I can’t help but grin as she breaks into a giggle.

“Nothing. It’s just…you really have a grumpy side, don’t you?”

“I told you I did. Though I suspect you’ve got enough sunshine for the both of us.”

“Well, I’m going on one of the ranch’s organized trail rides, and I’m so excited. You’re lucky you have family who own such a beautiful ranch.”

Of course she’s right. I don’t let her in on my secret—that I tend to be grumpy whenever I’m afraid. I’ve fallen off a horse practically more than I’ve stayed on, and being called a grouchy asshole is a lot better than a coward.

We don’t talk about anything related to our pasts at breakfast.

I’m definitely curious to know more about her.

But if I ask her questions, she’ll ask me questions too.

And I came to Montana to get away from the boat, not to delve into the fucked-up complexities of my love affair with an inanimate object that takes me out on the water but can’t love me back .

So, I deflect by letting her take the conversational lead.

She willingly shares about the promotion she wanted so badly but didn’t get.

“You clearly deserved it,” I say with certainty.

“You have no idea if I was even qualified or not,” she says, but I catch the smile she tries to hide.

“I do know because I know you wouldn’t be this upset about something you weren’t fully prepared for. And if you didn’t think you deserved it, you would tell me that.”

She blushes. “Thank you for the kind words, Wild.”

That’s the first time she’s called me by my last name, and it hits me right in the chest. Wild was what Ma called Dad when she was feeling extra affectionate.

There’s that funny feeling of familiarity again.

Emery and I lock eyes.

“I still feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before,” I confess.

“Same.” She turns up her hands. “But I have no clue where.”

“Me neither.” I gesture to her plate. “I’m keeping you from your breakfast. Eat up.”

We dive into our plates, and I devour the eggs and hash browns on my plate while Emery finishes most of her pancakes.

“When have you last ridden a horse?” she asks me.

Before I can answer her, our server drops off the bill, and Emery offers to split the tab.

“I’ve got it,” I assure her, but she reaches for her purse anyway.

She ends up knocking over her glass of water, and as she reaches for the tipped glass, her purse falls onto the floor.

Contents spill everywhere.

Like all women’s purses that I’ve seen, this one is filled with enough crap to fill a small room .

“Oh, shit.” Emery scrambles off her chair and dives to the ground. “I’m such a klutz.”

I follow suit and kneel down next to her. “Let me help.”

I pick up a travel pouch of tissues and hand it to her, followed by a couple of pens. Then, I reach for something silver that’s glinting on the floor.

When my fingers close around it, I give it a passing glance.

The familiarity of it makes me look more closely.

No way. It can’t be. It can’t. And yet…

I jerk backward as I realize what I’m holding.

A silver pin in the shape of a ship. With two words unmistakably stamped across the front.

Lucky Queen.