I’d cut off the rest with a sharp look. I know not every woman is Gemma Kershaw. The rational part of my brain understands that statistical fact.
If I’d been the one who had gotten hurt, if it had just been me—and not someone I loved, an innocent in my sin—I might have processedThat Nightdifferently. But I wasn’t only guilty of cheating. I was guilty of irrevocably changing Lilah’s life. I was guilty of poor judgment and not seeing that Gemma wasn’t stable.
Now, I’m warring with indecision and second-guessing what the hell I’m doing here. But Jordyn opens the door, and one look at her loses me the battle—bare feet, frayed jean shorts that sit high on her tanned thighs, and a tank top with spaghetti straps. The color matches her eyes, which are sultry green at the moment, like a tropical forest.
But it’s more than her appearance; it’s her. This kinetic energy she exudes seems to have awakened me after years of dead-walking through life.
“You showed,” she says. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I wasn’t sure either.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good start, Jasper.”
“I’m here.”
“I guess that’s something.”
I take a deep breath and enter. “Did you see Hunt again?” I ask.
“No. When I went back to the office for my car, he wasn’t there.”
“Watch out for that guy.”
“He doesn’t worry me.”
“You are cool under pressure, I’ll give you that. But we don’t know what Hunt is capable of.”
“Like slashing my tires?” She rolls her eyes. “I thought you were pinning that on Freddy.”
“I’m keeping all the options open. You shouldn’t underestimate either of them. Or anyone, for that matter.”
“I can’t live my life constantly on guard and being mistrustful, Jasper. That’s not me. Besides, I think you scared the curl straight out of Talon’s hair.” She laughs. “Did you see the sheer terror on his face? That was priceless.”
“I wanted to break him in two.”
“I was tempted to let you. But it’s my bad for being dumb enough to trust Talon. I invited him so he’d feel included…it backfired.”
“That’s not dumb. He took advantage of your generosity. Now you know.”
“Yep. Now I know. Anyway, enough about Talon. Tell me why you’re here.” She goes to the fridge and hands me a stout. Then she pours herself a glass of wine and leans against the counter.
I crack open the beer and take up a similar position across from her, my hip propped against the island. “What do you want from me?”
She looks up over the top of her glass. “I thought I made that pretty clear.”
“Sex, no strings attached?”
“Precisely.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you just want sex?”
“I doubt you’d ask a man that.”
“You’re probably right; I wouldn’t.”
