“Then let me prove you wrong.” Silence stretched like a tight wire between us. I was so close. I saw the flicker of want in her eyes she was trying to bury. “I want to take you out. Dinner. Noalcohol, maybe we can keep our clothes on this time,” I said with a teasing wink, hoping to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.
Looking up at me confused, she drew her brows together. Fuck, she was breathtakingly beautiful. “You’re serious?” She asked, unsure of my motives.
I was aware of the reputation I had. Even before my relationship with Indy, I wasn't known to keep a girl around for more than a few dates. That’s if they got a second. And after Indy, well, let's just say that, contrary to what others believed, I didn't enjoy sleeping my way through the southern border of the country.
“As a heart attack.”
She bit her lip, eyes glassy. “Why?”
My eyes dropped to her lips, and I licked mine in response, the memory of her taste so present in my mind as my arms held her close.
“Because I don’t want that night to be the only one,” I admitted something I had never said out loud to myself. “Because you matter more than that. You’re worth more, Moonshine, and you make me feel like maybe there’s something better than just drifting through life with no purpose.”
Her eyes grew wide in surprise, and fuck, I’d surprised myself with that one. Since when have I felt this way? I could see it in her eyes. She wanted this as much as I did, but there was something stopping her from saying yes. Instead, she pulled away, and this time I couldn’t get myself to stop her. Not when she looked at me with so much pain in her eyes.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” she whispered, and the way her voice cracked nearly broke me.
“Try me.” I tried to reach for her, but my hand fell as she turned and got back into her car.
“Goodnight, Jase,” she said as she turned the engine on, rolled up the window and drove away. I didn’t follow her, butI didn’t drive away either. I just stood there in the dark and watched her disappear into the night, like a dream I wasn’t ready to let go. Even though she was trying so hard to push me away.
Chapter Ten
Monroe
Past
He deserved to know. I knew that, but as I stared at him from across the bar, watching him interact with my brothers, slowly rebuilding the friendship he once had with Nash, I couldn’t bring myself to be the reason it all fell apart again.
The dating mixer was winding down. Drinks were half-empty, lights flickered overhead while someone sang off-key into the mic for the karaoke contest Billie had started after the band left for the night.
Despite the slow start, it was a great night, more fun than I’d had in a while. I was sitting at a table at the far end of the bar, ankles crossed, arms folded, looking as tired as I felt. Not only of the physical kind, but of the soul kind too. I was emotionally drained.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Jase scowling toward the hallway Bailey and my brother had walked off to earlier tonight. We all knew there was something going on between the two of them, though it didn’t look like Jase approved. Hypocritical ifyou ask me, since just last week, he’d offered to take me out on a date and explore whatever sexual tension that crackled between us.
As if he could sense me watching him, Jase looked my way, but I was quick to pretend I hadn’t been watching him like a creep. My phone buzzed, and I reached for it, nearly dropping it when I saw Jase’s name appear on the screen.
Jase: You look fucking breathtaking, Moonshine.
My skin prickled with goosebumps as I felt his eyes on me, though I was too chicken-shit to turn his way. This back and forth between us was exhausting. Neither of us wanted to admit how much we were craving each other, desperately needing to have another night like the one we did in Miami. However, the risk was too high.
When I didn’t respond, another message came in, followed by two more.
Jase: You have no idea how badly I wanted to carry you off that stage and hide you away to make sure no other asshole in this bar got to see what’s mine.
Jase: Because you’re mine, Monroe. Or will be soon enough.
Jase: All I have to do now is get you to believe it.
My fingers trembled as I read through his messages, desire coursing through me from how possessive his statements sounded. He’d never been this bold, not the previous times he texted me with no avail. I had no idea what to say or how torespond. So I didn’t and instead tucked my phone back into the back pocket of my skirt.
Another few minutes went by, and I could still feel the heat of his gaze on me, suddenly too hot for me to ignore. When my eyes yet again met his and saw him walking toward me, I stood and quickly snuck out the side door.
The fresh night air hit me like a splash of cold water as I exited the bar, cooling the heat radiating off me from just one glance at Jase in tight jeans and a cowboy hat. He wasn’t supposed to make me feel this way yet. Just like he’d admitted to me, I couldn't stop thinking about our night together. About the prospect of another and what that would entail. Unlike him, I had an excellent reason to stay away.
I’d found him glaring at me all night, suspicion etched into the creases of his blue eyes. Or at least my guilty conscience imagined he was. I’d been careful to ensure he suspected nothing. No one outside my immediate circle of friends, or in my case triangle, knew about my pregnancy.
When he’d made a joke about my being pregnant when I ordered a Diet Coke from him last week, I all but lost it. He spent the entire week texting me, telling me we needed to talk, but I couldn’t face him, and then he suddenly stopped, and I figured maybe he let it go.
