“Where the fuck are you going?” He was closer now, his voice in my ear, and I had to resist the urge to run like hell with everything I had. I stopped short as his hand closed on my arm. Then his other arm went around my waist. He held me from behind, his grip like steel, so I couldn’t run if I tried. “Jessa,” he said, his voice dropping, low and soft. “Just stop, okay? Tell me what’swrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I said, but my breathing was all choked up and I was sniffling a bit. The feel of him, warm and strong and unyielding, wrapped around me, had jolted me out of flight mode and intosomethingelse.
Fall-the-fuck-apartmode.
“I’m taking you to my place,” he said, his voice still soft, but firm. “You’re stayingwithme.”
I didn’t answer, but I also didn’targue.
I let him guide me back to the truck as tears slid down my face. I didn’t even breathe as he picked up my purse. He opened the door and I got inside. Then he did up my seatbelt and put my purse inmylap.
“Thank you,” I managed towhisper.
Brody’s eyes met mine. He nodded and shut the door, but I’d seen it clearly on his face—how much my falling apartbotheredhim.
No; it didn’t bother him. Ithurthim. It pained him and itworriedhim.
It scared the shit outofhim.
It scared the shit out ofme,too.
ChapterTwenty-Five
Brody
Jessa got backfrom her shoot late. Really late. I’d told her she didn’t even have to come back to my place that night if she didn’t want to, if she was too tired, but that was just bullshit to see what she’d say. At least she’d texted to tell me she was going for drinks with the client afterward; a good-looking dude, as itturnedout.
Yeah. I’d done a Google search on him. Because I was jealous like that. According to the web he was also gay, but somehow thatdidn’thelp.
I’d never felt so insecure with a woman as I did with Jessa. Like I had no fucking clue where I stood with her—unless we were fused together, my dick deep inside her as she purredmyname.
When she got back to my place, smelling of booze, she showered and went straight to bed before me, even though I’d waited up for her. She barely paused long enough to give me a kiss. It wasn’t like she’d had time to fall in love with someone else in the hours she’d been away from me, butstill.
It was pretty clear to me by now what she’d been up to, in terms of men, all those years we’d been apart. I’d done my best to keep tabs on her in any way I could; I wasn’t gonna put Jude up to spying on her—whether he’d even do it for me or not was debatable—so that meant piecing together scraps of info gleaned from other people talking about her, mainly her brother or Maggie, and no one had ever mentioned any kind of serious relationship in her life. You only had to look at Jessa once to know she must’ve had a hell of a lot of offers, though, and obviously, she’d had lovers. She’d told me herself, more or less, about the guys she’d slept with… and what itwaslike.
When she was with me, she came like a fucking rocket. Over and over… But she’d never come before, ever, with a man?Notonce?
So maybe, just maybe this was a woman who’d become accustomed to using sex, and men, when it suited her—and not to get off. And when she was done with those men, with taking whatever it was she got from that kind of sex, no doubt she tossed them aside justasfast.
No fucking way I was gonna be one of those guys. If I had to keep making her come until she got that through her head, I’ddoit.
When I slipped into bed with her she was still awake, but she didn’t say anything. I reached out to her. She wasn’t naked under the sheet; she had on my Zeppelin T, which she liked to sleep in, and her panties. I got close, spooning her, gently kissing her neck, and she stirred, breathing softly. I slid my hand down the curve of her waist. I slipped my fingers inside the edge of her panties, pulling them down overherhip.
Her hand found mine andstoppedme.
“I’m so tired,” she said sleepily. Then she rolled slightly away, so we weren’t eventouching.
So fucking much forspooning.
I let it go. But I wasn’t gonna kid myself this was just about beingtired.
After the Dirty show, we’d fucked all night and pretty much all the next day. Since her little freak-out on our date? She’d barely touched me. Ever since that phone call. Ever since she’d found out Seth had gotten together with the band to jam… she’d barely looked me intheeye.
Obviously, something wasbotheringher.
Seth coming back on the scene,apparently.
I flopped back on my pillow and tried to relax, but what the fuck? Was she upset he was playing withtheband?
