“You’re welcome,” he whispered, remaining outside, his hand on his cheek as she walked into the shop.
"I'm screwed."
****
There was something about Tristan that made her toes curl. I’m such a little slut. Her panties were soaked from the sexual tension that flowed between her and both men. Tristan was Jace’s opposite in looks and manner. Yet, that didn’t change the fact that she wanted to rub her body up against him like a cat in heat. It’d been way too long since she had sex. The nipples straining against her bra coupled with her sensitive clit said her body thought now was a good time to remedy the problem.
Let’s solve one problem before we make another. Devlin felt her face grow hot at the wayward path her mind had wandered down. Placing her hands over her cheeks, she took a deep breath, pausing in front of the door to steady herself. There was something about the British blonde that pressed all the right sexual buttons.
****
He looked up from his stool behind the desk as the bells chimed and Devlin walked in.
“I’ve waited a long time to tell you how much you hurt me,” she said. Her face was somber as she walked over to stand in front of him.
“I hurt you? You could’ve just told me I didn’t fit into your plans, princess. It would’ve been a lot kinder.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked. A frown marred her lush, fiery red lips.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Jace said.
He sniffed, inhaling her scent. God, she still smelled the same, roses with a hint of something that was hers alone. The scent brought back memories of a time he wished he could leave buried in his past. They say you never forgot your first love and it was true. He’d done everything he could think of to cleanse his soul of the claim she’d placed on him. Nothing had worked. After all this time a part of him rejoiced at the sight of her. The years had been kind. She was even more beautiful now. Her shoulder-length ebony tresses had been styled to perfection. The full bodied waves he’d loved to twins his fingers in were set off by the blunt-cut, Betty Paige bangs that held two streaks of red.
Given their current situation she wasn’t smiling. But he remembered the large dimple on her right cheek. It was a trademark worth its weight in gold considering how many times it had gotten them out of trouble. It made her look angelic but his girl had been all devil.
“I mean you couldn’t be bothered to write or call once you got to your new home.”
“Jace! You were the one who ignored all my letters and phone calls.”
“Wait. You wrote?
“Yes! Dozens of letters, and every time I called, your dad said you were busy or not there. I got the message pretty quick after a month or two.”
“That son of a bitch!” He stepped away from her. His hands balled into fists as he struggled to keep his temper in check.
Her icy demeanor melted as her eyes clouded with confusion and she took a cautious step towards him.
“What’s going on, Jace? I don’t understand.” She shook her head.
“My family lied to both of us, Devlin. When I didn’t hear from you, I flipped out, got into too much trouble, and they shipped me off to a boarding school in England.”
“What?” Her face twisted into a mix of horror and surprise.
“It was the old man’s idea, though I bet you figured that one out on your own," Jace said. The bitterness against the man he'd never gotten along with growing up strengthened.
“I-I don’t understand why he would do that.”
“Back then he wanted to control everything and I don’t think we fit into his plans. He wanted a clean-cut, “yes man,” and I was anything but that.”
“I was a straight-A student!” Her protest cut through the tension as their eyes met and they both burst into laughter.
“Like that ever stopped you from being a hellion," he said, his voice wry and his spirit freed from the darkness that had colored it.
He had to fight down a smirk when his eyes wandered down to her chest and he spotted the tattoo.
“You always walk that line.” Her mother had said it on so many occasions he'd gotten used to hearing it. Two swallows held a banner in their mouths that said "Walk the Line". Their red and blue wings were a nice contrast to her sienna skin.
Silence stretched between them as she shifted uncomfortably. She looked everywhere but at him.