‘We always fight.’
I glare at him and push some of my curls behind my ear. ‘It’s not my fault you’re always such an ass.’
He snorts. ‘Fine. We fought because I’m an ass. Then you grabbed my crotch and kissed me—’
‘Hey, mister! I did not grab your crotch!’
‘Didn’t you know you’re a horny drunk? I could barely pry your fingers off me.’
‘I seem to remember you were the one who did the kissing and my hand just happened to get stuck between us.’
He presses up a little with his hips. ‘What, did you think it was some magic lamp that would grant a wish and set your hand free?’
My hips roll with his in an instinctual reaction. Too bad his smug expression ruins the moment. I arch my back, lifting myself off him. ‘Argh! This is what I mean about you being an ass!’
‘You called me something else last night. Remember?’
Bastard. Mostly because he’s right. Parts of the night are hazy, but the things I remember all too well are the orgasms that rocked through me. His hoarse grunts melded with my cries of pleasure. The salt of sweat on his skin. And the stupid, stupid, insane thought which crossed my mind sometime around two in the morning when we were on condom number four: I really wish we could do this again.
He’s watching too intently for me to lie. I hedge the truth. ‘I remember that last night was … good.’
‘Good?’ His voice is flat, but his arched eyebrow challenges my assessment.
‘Enjoyable,’ I compromise. A strange fluttering sensation works itself up through my stomach. Afraid I’ll give in to the impulse to finish sliding down onto him, I crawl off completely and wrap myself in the sheet. Forcing conviction I don’t really feel into my voice, I tell him, ‘It can never happen again.’
‘Agreed.’
His acquiescence is surprising. ‘Really?’
He stretches, a movement that lifts his muscular chest first, then the impressive tent of sheet around his hips. ‘Look, we had a good time, but I think we both know we could really screw this up if we aren’t careful.’
The mental image of Catherine’s face when I tell her I’m fooling around with her brother makes me wince. ‘Definitely.’
‘So we part ways and agree to act like it never happened.’ He gets up out of bed, giving me a spectacular view of his ass as he bends down to pick up his pants.
‘Okay. Never happened.’
‘Won’t happen again.’
‘Nope.’
His zipper rasps as it’s raised. ‘I’ve gotta get to work. See if I can somehow bribe Nelson to keep his fat mouth shut.’
‘Jake?’
He glances back at me. The dark, inked wings of a phoenix shift on his shoulder blades as he starts to shrug into his shirt.
‘Do you promise we can keep this from getting awkward? I mean, we see each other all the time …’
‘Maya, I promise I won’t make this awkward if you don’t.’
I know from talking to Catherine that Jake’s promises are law. The grim set of his jaw and squaring of his shoulders before he finishes covering himself add more weight to his words.
‘Have a good day at work,’ I say, adding a fake, cheery smile.
He nods and grabs his phone off the ground, leaving me dishevelled and disconcerted in the mess of a bed that smells like sex. Still, there could be worse ways to start the day.
***