Throughout the rest of the film, he makes a few flirty comments, giving me heated looks that make my skin tingle. But he keeps his hands to himself. At one point, he stretches his arm along the back of the couch behind me, but never quite touches my shoulder. It’s maddening.
When the credits finally roll, I’m a bundle of sexually frustrated nerves. I stand up, stretching my arms above my head, letting my shirt ride up a little, grinning inside when his gaze locks in on my skin.
“This was fun,” I say, trying my best to sound casual, but only manage to sound breathless instead. “Thanks for having me over.”
“Anytime.” He walks me to the door, hands in his pockets. “We should do it again sometime.”
“We should.” I hesitate, wondering if he’s finally going to make a move.
He doesn’t. He just flashes his fucking dimple at me and says, “Goodnight, Sasha.”
Feeling oddly disappointed as I step outside. “Goodnight.”
The walk home takes all of thirty seconds, but feels longer as I mentally kick myself. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m the one who suggested the no-sex-when-hanging-out rule. I’m the one who wanted to establish boundaries. So why am I so irritated that he respected them?
The truth is, I wanted him to give in. Wanted him to pull me close and kiss me senseless. Pick me up and carry me to his bedroom. Make me forget about how my world could come crashing down on me at any second.
As I get ready for bed, my phone buzzes with a text. My heart jumps, hoping it might be Jax changing his mind and requesting a booty call, but it’s just Noia asking how my night went.
He didn’t touch me. Not once. Didn’t even give me a kiss goodnight.
She volleys back with a quick response.
NOIA
Isn’t that what you asked for?
I stare at her text for a long moment before I reply.
I hate it when you’re right.
NOIA
Frustrated, I set my phone down and crawl into bed.
Tomorrow, I promise myself. Tomorrow I’m going to just focus on work and the studio’s grand opening and forget all about Jax Riley and my stupid no-sex during hang out time rule.
But all I can think about are his eyes, and how dark they got when he talked about the tie scene. How much I not only wanted him to tell me exactly what other things he could do with that tie, but show me too.
thirty-four
It’s beentwo days since Sasha came over to hang out, and I’ve been going out of my mind trying to keep my distance.
Not touching her the other night had been pure torture. Every time she stretched or laughed, I wanted to pull her into my lap and kiss her senseless. But I’d respected our stupid rule, and now I’m questioning why I even bothered.
My phone buzzes with another text from Dylan, and I open it to find a file attachment.
Staring at my phone as if it might explode, I grip the back of my neck. “Fuck.”
The information he’s managed to kick up is worse than we thought.
Ryan has got himself mixed up with some serious players in Vegas. The blackmailers aren’t just random loan sharks—they have ties to the Triple Six Mafia, just as we suspected.
Dylan managed to wipe the video from Ryan’s phone, but he’s having a bitch of a time accessing their systems. Something along the lines of multiple layers of encryption and proxy servers or some shit.
Tension builds in my shoulders as I pace my living room.This isn’t about some low-level extortion anymore. Now that we know the Triple Six is involved, Sasha could be in some serious danger.
My first instinct is to call her, but what would I say?“Hey, turns out things are worse than we thought. Your ex got himself in deep with the mob, and now they might come after you for the money he owes.”
