Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)

I rolled her onto her back and levered my body over hers. Not in a pushup position, but my weight on her, my passion-dampened flesh sliding on hers. Exchanging breath with openmouthed kisses.

She reached between us and guided me to her entrance.

I pushed inside her warmth, her heat, her wetness until I couldn’t go any deeper.

I watched her face lost in pleasure, and part of the pleasure came from seeing her recognize the look on my face mirrored hers.

Our bodies arched and moved together almost of their own accord. I didn’t lead. Neither did she.

We were in perfect sync.

The rising storm, the waves crashing and then hitting that crest, followed by the ebb and flow of passion, all clichéd, but true.

In that moment she’d reminded me exactly what it meant to belong to her, body, heart and soul. And I reminded her that her heart, her body and her soul were safe with me.





With the help of Red Bull, I survived my mid-afternoon Monday slump.

Which turned out to be a lucky thing because Phyllis Mackerley showed up.

Even when it was probably stupid, I remained behind my desk and had her sit across from me. I needed every confidence boost no matter how small. The tug of war between take the job and decline the job had started to feel like a stalling tactic to increase the perks.

That wasn’t it at all—and I told Phyllis as much.

“You don’t even need to clarify that for me, Sierra.”

“Thank goodness.”

“But what I am about to tell you will sweeten the pot.” She grinned. “Or more accurately, will make the pot runneth over.”

I squinted at her. “Did you and tequila have a reunion and a little afternoon delight?”

Phyllis giggled. Giggled. “I’ll admit I do feel almost high right now.”

Okay.

“Ask me why.” She fairly bounced in her chair. “Go on.”

“Why are you so giddy?”

“I had a phone call from Pashma Wickersham this morning.”

“Get out. Seriously?”

“Seriously. And she called me.”

“Tell me, dammit. Was she headhunting you or what?” That wouldn’t surprise me. Phyllis was brilliant and generous and exactly the type of leader that an organization like Women Entrepreneurs International—WEI—wanted on their roster. Pashma Wickersham, the president of WEI, had outstanding accomplishments in the decade she’d been at the helm of the organization. The founding members of PCE had used the WEI business model and we’d embraced Pashma’s philosophies for business and life.

“No, dear, she wasn’t headhunting me.” Phyllis grinned. “She’s headhunting you.”

“What?” I must have misunderstood.

“Or more specifically, WEI has been watching PCE for the last year.”

“They have?”

“Yes. And they would like to bring PCE in as a charter.”

“No way.”

“I absolutely would not joke about this.”

“Omigod, omigod, omigod!” I pushed my chair back and jumped up and down a couple of times. I might’ve screamed.

Phyllis was laughing at me. “I knew you’d react this way! Isn’t it just unbelievable?”

“Yes! This is huge. WEI doesn’t have any charters in Arizona. And the cities that do have a WEI charter? The members have access to the WEI database, their speaker’s bureau, their conferences, not to mention the whole financial side and the worldwide networking.”

“I know. I’m in shock. This is beyond anything I could’ve ever hoped for, Sierra.”

“Me too.” I lowered into my chair. “But why us? Isn’t the vetting process done by the CIA or something?”

She laughed. “No. But it is very thorough and like I said, they’ve tested PCE a few times.”

“Tested. Like how?”

“From what Pashma told me, WEI sends a new potential member to PCE for guidance with a marketable product. How things are handled at each stage earns a rating. If the first test is failed, there are no others. If the first test is passed, then two more tests are conducted, a product with limited marketability and one that isn’t viable at all. Evidently honesty earns the highest value points. PCE passed all three tests. We passed the requirements for a well-run, well-organized meeting that is welcoming to new members yet continues to be relevant to existing members. We show continued membership growth. We have a variety of mentors across age, race, cultural and educational backgrounds. In fact, PCE had the highest test values of any charter in the past four years.”

I could scarcely wrap my head around all of this.

“And that is what brings me here, Sierra. If you accept the directorship of PCE, you will in effect also be the chair of the WEI charter.”

“Holy fuck.”

“Not a bad thing to have on your resume at age twenty-three.”

All of a sudden I felt like I was suffocating. This was too much. This was the big leagues. The big, big leagues.

“Sierra,” Phyllis said sharply, “look at me.”

I raised my gaze to hers.

“You can do this. I never would’ve agreed to mentor you or offered you the directorship if I didn’t believe that you’re more than capable.”

“Can I be brutally honest?”