Free Sinfully by Leighton Riley

but still, I would have liked to have known Reece was fucking in front of me the whole time.
    I thought we were just having fun with each other, so why would she feel the need to run off?  Did I just let my prospective author slip out of my hands because she didn’t want to be around me?  Yet another confirmation that I can’t involve my dick when working with authors; it never ended well for me, or him.
    I needed a drink.  Looking over at the nearly empty bottle of tequila, I poured what was left into my mouth before realizing it was definitely more than a shot or two.  I felt like I should go for a workout to clear my head but I didn’t want to go to the same gym Payton goes to.  I know she wouldn’t be there but I just didn’t want to be around it right then.
    The beach.  I could go down there again, I think.   I know I’m going to have to tomorrow to celebrate my and Cami’s birthday, but that’s a little different.  I had avoided the beach like the plague for so long, I missed the comfort I felt when I’m there.
    I threw on some black cargo pants and a green V-neck shirt and headed out for the beach.  I had yet to surf again after Cami’s accident and sure as hell didn’t plan to start again.  The furthest I’d gotten was getting chest high in the water with Payton.  She seemed to relax me and I wasn’t consumed with thoughts of Cami when I entered the water.
    I stopped by a taco truck in the parking lot before heading down near the water.  Cami loved shrimp tacos and I hated them; I always went for the grilled fish with the special sauce on them.  I ended up getting two fish tacos and one shrimp taco.  Not quite sure why. 
    Being in San Diego had brought up so many emotions that I had hidden away.  For twenty-seven years, I had my best friend and partner in crime right by my side.  Even when we got older and weren’t always in the same place, I never felt alone because I had my sister to go to.  She was the one who cheered me on while playing soccer and helped me get my first girlfriend by playing up how awesome I was.  She was one of the guys when we were out in the water surfing and she grounded me when I was being an idiot. 
    I wished she was there with me.  I needed her advice on Payton.  They would have loved each other.  Cami was calm and down to earth while Payton was a little more feisty and mysterious.  I tried to think of what Cami would say about the situation I had gotten myself into.  She probably would have told me that only I would chase after an author who I didn’t know a damned thing about and end up falling for her and making her run within a matter of days.  She’d probably also tell me not to give up so easily and to go with my gut and find her.
    I would be lying if I said I wasn’t upset with Payton.  Granted, she didn’t know who I was and didn’t have a reason to tell me she secretly wrote about her sex adventures in her spare time.  I am pissed that she left.  From what I had read from her book, she didn’t like relationships and just wanted to have fun.  I thought we were having fun and never said anything about a relationship so I wasn’t quite sure why she would run.
     I watched the waves roll in and it instantly calmed me.  I was feeling better about going down there and felt like I had been making progress with dealing with the loss of Cami.  I just needed to figure out what to do about Payton.  Although she left me abruptly, she didn’t make it sound like it was a ‘forever goodbye’, so I took that as good news.  She would never expect me to follow her to Vegas because she hadn’t even told me where she was going.  I was, again, going off a hunch that I felt had to be correct.  So far, I hadn’t been wrong about where I would be able to find her.
     How long would she be in Las Vegas?  Was she planning on being intimate with other guys?  The thought made my stomach churn.  I hated that I was falling for the chick but felt