Free Alyssa's Choice by Alicia White Page A

Justin climbed into bed and lay next to her. He reached out and traced his fingers along her jawline, feeling her soft skin. She turned toward him, moving her face into her palm. He moved closer, grabbed her right leg, and pulled it over his hip, wanting to feel her warmth.
    He felt the bed dip and knew that Grant had joined them. He could hear him moving around, trying to get comfortable lying against her back. He held her tighter, closing his eyes, feeling more relaxed than he had felt in years. He closed his eyes and concentrated on her breathing. He let the quiet sound of her snoring lull him to sleep. This was the only place he wanted to be, holding her in his arms as he fell asleep.
     

Chapter 6
    The sound of rushing water had Alyssa slowly opening her eyes. She looked around the room and knew instantly that she wasn’t at the guesthouse. She could hear low voices talking and slid out of the huge bed. She stood there for a minute, unsure if she should go into the bathroom or if she should get dressed and head home. The whole morning-after thing never worked out well for her. She had some pretty awful memories, and the stupid brush-offs ran through her mind in vivid clarity.
    She remembered them all in detail. “I’m sorry to wake you, but I have an appointment. You need to leave. I’ll call you.” She never received a call, never heard from that jerk again.
    “I hope you don’t think you’re my girlfriend.” That smacked her across her face. She’d thought that maybe she had met a nice guy.
    “I don’t have anything to make for breakfast or even coffee. You can grab something, though, on your way home, right?” That brush-off had at least been slightly nice.
    “You know where the door is?” Yeah, she knew. She had walked in with him, after all.
    Her favorite morning had been waking up next to a model-perfect body. “I’d love to fuck you again, but this can’t be any more than that. You’re not the type of girl I can take home to meet Mom.” Even though she had been with some hot guys in her time, none of them had been more than a rush to the bedroom with a harsh morning after.
    She ran around the room on silent feet, grabbing her clothes and quickly getting dressed. Nope, she wasn’t going to hang around to hear what awful thing Justin and Grant might say. It had been fun. Actually, it had been the best experience of her life. They were kind, gentle, and sweet. They had bathed her and cuddled.
    Alyssa walked to the front door and slid out, her heart hammering frantically in her chest. She needed to get back to the house. She ran down the stairs and through the pub, hoping that Justin and Grant didn’t notice she was gone yet. She went out the front door of the pub, and the morning air felt good against her hot skin. She looked around, trying to judge what time it was, but she had no idea. Alyssa headed toward the store first, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to walk back to the ranch.
    She looked down at the street, trying to move quickly so that people wouldn’t notice her. She knew she looked horrible. She wasn’t able to brush her hair, and she was wearing the same clothes from the day before. She felt a little sick to her stomach, wondering what they would’ve said to her this morning. She stopped that train of thought, knowing that it would end badly for her. Nobody seemed to want her, especially when she was all too willing to have sex. That’s what it was, just sex. She had to grow up and stop romanticizing things.
    She walked up the stairs to the store and walked in. Bella, Hannah, and Jessica were working already, and she really didn’t want to have the talk she knew was coming, but she didn’t have a choice. She didn’t have a car or her own place, so she couldn’t hide out and pretend that last night didn’t happen.
    “Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Hannah giggled.
    “Walk of shame, bad girl, Alyssa.” Bella tsk-tsked at her, wearing a broad smile.
    “Did you