Page 14 (1/2)

He offered me one of the coffees, but I shook my head and one hoone home at all, and that was one of the major reasons I had taken Rowdy up on his offer to crash on his couch If Jet had been alone, I would have been tempted to sirl, not only would I have had to , but I also would have had to hire a lawyer because a double homicide would have been certain

"Cora toldwe could talk before I took you hoet ready for work"

He sounded kind of lost, like he wasn’t really sure what he was doing here hiht I was just some innocent little floho shouldn’t be touched by dirty hands I was so sick of hi about me or how I really felt about hi you had to say loud and clear last night, Jet No need to repeat it--in fact, please don’t I’ve had enough of you telling s are between us to last a lifetihed and I felt how deep down it came from He set both the coffees on the table in front of the couch and shoved his hands into his jeans I wondered how he had rooht I’m sorry"

I bristled autoh I was madder than hell at hime feel more than I had felt in years I wanted him to be as affected by it as I was, and to not be able to stop hiht you weren’t going to apologize for it, that you were just going to ain" There was bitterness there I couldn’t disguise

His velvety eyes flared suddenly and the golden rims blazed with a passion that burned across the distance separating us "I’ht thinking about it, thinking about you I’ you feel bad, sorry for being an asshole You keep telling me I don’t know you, and that I don’t have a clue, but the truth is, we don’t know each other, and I don’t know that either of us is really ready to handle the other What I do know is I want you "

He sounded so sincere, and looked so earnest, that I felt so start to break loose in the center of my chest And then it cracked wide open when he continued in a gruff voice "My dad is a nutcase and an e ball He knocked my mom up when she was just a kid and has spent all of his ti her down emotionally He has made her into this version of herself who has no will, no desire, and no drive to do anything but please him He cheats on her, and he takes off forback He’s never had a steady job, and to this day she works herself to death to support both of theain it’s not as bad as it really is"

I saw his dark eyebrows pull low over his eyes and his hands turn into fists

"I know I don’t ever want anything like that--I don’t ever want to be like that I also know that no one in a long tio I like to think ays have a good time, but none of them has ever stayed with on of virtue I try tomy hands on you and in you, I’ive et to know the other side of you?"

"What exactly are you saying, Jet? You want to be friends with benefits? You want to wander across the hall and hook up occasionally? You need to clarify e’re talking about because last night I could have happily strangled you" My voice cracked a little, betraying just how badly the sting of his words and his dismissal of it all had hurt

He led not to suck in a nervous breath Given the chance, I was afraid all the things I kept locked dohere this guy was concerned would break free and the decision as to ould be to each other would sier and s I was constantly battling with

One side of his rin and I felt the effect of it in the pit of , not with a grin wicked enough to promise so much more than a fantastic time

"I wanna have sex, Ayd Lots and lots of sexwith you and only you Does it have to be ht how can you deny that you want it, too?"

I shookto ask hied, since all the complications he seemed stuck on e first met still existed, but he went on and renderedit couldn’t eventually lead to ht now I feel pretty broken and I’ around to putand I couldn’t fault him for his honesty; in fact I think I appreciated thatat me over the last year We just stared at each other in silence untilHe picked it up and threw it atat the display I frohen I saas the sa reeted with dead air I called "hello" into the phone several tiot no response I tossed the phone on the couch; that particular problem could wait for now, and turned back to Jet