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“I heard that you want us in bed” Cole stared at her like a lion about to pounce on soether”

Yep They just stared in silence, those blue eyes hot, dissecting E about thement?

Burke’s eyes narrowed “You want a e, sweetheart? Have you ever had one?”

She shook her head Oh, she didn’t want to admit more than that Surely she could fake some experience She’d seen e services had once had a party where soone to the back and watched porn fil peek

“Do you understand what you’re asking for?” Cole asked He’d completely closed his expression off Burke had relaxed, his sensual expression al to shut down

Jessa fought the tears that threatened She’d thought they both wanted her Cole, it appeared, was just being nice If she couldn’t have them both, she wondered if she shouldn’t just walk away It would be like accepting half of soht, she’d viewed theht sotten herself in this et herself out

“Just kidding” She forced a laugh “Sorry, guys I’ll stop telling bad jokes, I promise Let’s just have a nice dinner, then I’ll head back to the hotel since I have to work tonight”

“No, you don’t Eric is working I saw the schedule” Burke raised a dark brow

She was a horrible liar She couldn’t hold the sunny pretense any every corner of her body “Why don’t I just go?”

Grabbing her coat, she stood

“No,” Burke barked with a ferocious frown “Jessa, sit back in your seat We need to talk about this”

Slowly, she set her coat aside and eased back into her chair “There’s nothing to say If you don’t want—”

Cole snorted, his gaze looking as if it had heated up ten thousand degrees in the last h the rest of his body remained frozen

But Burke spoke “Sweetheart, we’re not shocked by the idea Trust me We’ve done this a ti”

“And very inexperienced” A fact that obviously rit his teeth

“Hoould you know that?” Jessa challenged It was true, but his assuet up and walk away—end this whole e “You don’t know my history I could have had a bunch of lovers”

Both ant

“Sweetheart, if you’ve had more than a couple, I’ll eat my socks” Burke watched her closely, then paled “You have had a couple, right?”

She took another long sringing her hands They could see right through her No sense in lying now “Fine All right No”

Cole clenched his jaw and sent Burke an accusing stare “I told you the in Goddamn it”

Jessa suddenly felt alone The tere looking at each other, their eyes speaking while their mouths stayed closed Sometimes they retreated into a private world where she couldn’t follow

Mo the jacket of his suit coat “It’s time for me to leave She’s too innocent for what I need I can’t put that on a virgin Besides, she’s o back to the hotel We do have work to do, remember?”

Burke’s face fell “Can’t we talk about this?”

“What the fuck is there to say?”

She sat there watching the she hadn’t ever spoken up They could still be sitting here having a nice dinner and planning to go to a e her own path She always did She could hear her hter she was for turning aside all their plans for her and , not international business Two men, not one

Jessa listened to theue She was on the outside now, but then she’d felt that way all of her life Even at the lavish parties her parents had thrown, she’d been on the outside When she’d tried to fit in, going to a school she didn’t want to go to, studying what she didn’t love, it had been terrible Always on the outside

The best thing she’d ever done had been defying her parents She’d stood up and gotten kicked out, but it had been for the best She would have suffocated if she’d stayed She’d been happier since leaving all that behind and didn’t regret her choice for afor what she wanted? Wasn’t she si Cole’s point that she was too inexperienced to handle him?

She wasn’t a child She ht not have slept around, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t deal She looked at him, really looked at him She tried to look past her insecurity and see hinawed at her lip Hoould she draw Cole in this les, but under the pain she saw gentleness lurking Yearning even She would love to draw hie to canvas, the colors of her palate bringing everything to life Time slowed for Jessa She studied hi deep Bold colors He required them He wasn’t as black and white as he tried to portray He was a million shades, just like his brother

He turned to her, and she realized his carefully blank stare wasn’t about her He was scared of so

Maybe she was fooling herself or seeing what she wanted to see, but his sudden refusal didn’t ht beside her, eating her up with his stare again and again, silently seducing her with the desire in his reined Cole’s attraction to her What was he afraid of?

“Goodbye, Jessa” His voice sounded ragged “You have a good time with Burke He’ll take care of you, baby”

“No” The word slipped out Now that she’d truly seen him, she knew deep down that if he let his fear win, it would haunt them all

Burke smiled, but Cole scowled, suddenly on the offense

“No?” Cole challenged, leaning in “What is that supposed to mean?”

Stopping hi through her veins, settling her face inches froot what they wanted by giving up And she just knew she was doing the right thing