“I think I should go,” I told Emme, already rising to my feet. “Thank you for everything.”
“Just stay. I’ll shoo him away. What are you doing here?” Emme leveled her remark at Jaxon, who appeared surprised at what he’d walked into.
Her demand was met with a smile from the man I didn’t know. But he only had eyes for Josette.
He cleared his throat before heading toward Josette. “Can’t we have coffee at my wife’s little bistro?”
“Little bistro?” Josette snapped. “Don’t be an egotistical bastard, Sinclair. I have a new customer. This is Anna. Be nice since from what I heard, Jaxon has been a bear.”
“Ah, that’s right,” Sinclair said. “I’ve already heard a lot about you. Don’t mind my younger brother. He’s everyone’s pain in the ass.”
“It’s been lovely to meet all of you, but I have a rehearsal.” Which was a lie that I could live with.
Emme cocked her head. “You don’t need to leave.”
“No, I think I do. Thank you for the shopping trip.” I skirted around the group toward the door, thankful for the humid air and being able to walk away without being bothered.
The last thing I wanted was to find myself embroiled in a situation that would draw attention to my past and my family.
Something neither Emmeline nor her brother could ever forgive.
CHAPTER 16
Anna
When a full two minutes had passed, I was certain I was about to make a clean getaway.
Then I’d felt his electrified presence only a few inches away.
“You’re not getting away from me,” Jaxon growled from behind me. “We need to talk. Now.”
I should have known the bastard would follow me, eager to continue where we’d left off. When his hand touched my arm, the shot of electricity was startling, even more so than the night before.
“What do you want, Jaxon? An apology?” I kept walking, my strides getting longer. For a couple of minutes he said nothing, merely keeping the same pace, which was annoying as hell. “I’m not going to talk to you. You know everything you need to know about me.”
“That’s not entirely true. Is it?” Oh, the man was so damn arrogant, so certain of himself. Did he honestly think I was going to fall for his bullshit?
Turning the corner onto a side street, he was right on my heel and my nerves were already on edge, my pulse racing. Sadly, it was not because I feared repercussions, but because of the wetness he caused between my legs.
Finally, unable to tolerate his presence any longer, I spun around to face him, yanking my arm free. “What? Are you just one of those guys who won’t take no for an answer?” Damn the man. He didn’t answer right away. But he smiled. Dear God, he smiled while slowly lowering his heated gaze then closing the distance, so I was forced to take purposeful backward steps toward the building.
“An apology would be an excellent ice breaker.” He touched his head and winced, although I sensed he wasn’t in any kind of anguish. What Emme had suggested about how he could take the pain easily filtered into my mind. Being so close to him was annoying for several reasons including my body’s betrayal.
In learning the truth about Emmeline’s family, I was torn on how to handle finding myself in the middle of the very thing I’d never wanted to deal with again. The way he was looking at me was entirely too possessive, as if what had occurred the night before allowed him to think that way.
The heat of the afternoon did nothing to keep my nipples from hardening, aching from the way my thin shirt was shifting back and forth. Just like the ache in my bottom was more pronounced just by being so close to him.
“I’m sorry.” Maybe that would be enough to convince him to leave me alone. “I heard you had a concussion. I hope you went to a doctor. What am I saying? Men like you don’t go to a doctor.”
“Sorry you hit me or sorry that you didn’t succeed in killing me?” He was amused while I was moving from annoyed straight toward being pissed.
“Maybe a little of both.”
“What do you mean men like me?” His challenge was matched with a stern look and a clenched jaw, which only proved to make him even sexier.
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“No,” he growled. “I don’t. What did my sister tell you?”
