For just a second, I panicked, having assumed that they all knew what was going on between us, but now, it was very muchlooking like Zach had been left in the dark. I widened my eyes at Jesse, who opened his mouth to respond, but Nate stepped in first.
“It’s for Jesse’s image, that’s all. You know the drill.”
Zach arched an eyebrow at Nate, then sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “Oh. Right. Of course.”
Jesse didn’t correct him, simply gritting his teeth as he rose. He didn’t even look at me, but there was suddenly an awkward tension in the air, his posture unnecessarily tight and his eyes narrowing when they met Nate’s.
It took me a beat to discern the obvious reason for the change in him, but honestly, he shouldn’t have been worried. I wasn’t offended. I could probably take it personally that he hadn’t stood up for me, but it wasn’t like we’d talked about what last night had meant.
“Why did you need to see me right now?” he asked his brothers, already striding back toward me. “It’s a Saturday and this doesn’t seem important.”
Nate held his gaze for just one more extended moment before waved his brothers toward his desk. “We need to talk about the Baker and Sons meeting.”
Baker and Sons? Who the heck is that?Somehow, I doubted it had anything to do with me. In fact, I was suddenly wondering why I was even here.
“That’s only on Wednesday,” Jesse said, his eyes rolling as he reached for my hand. “If you want to spend all weekend preparing for something we’re already ready for, have it at, but we have plans.”
He wound his fingers around mine and walked out, pulling me with him without even saying goodbye. Leading me down a different, tighter hallway around the back, he didn’t stop moving until we’d reached another bank of elevators.
“I’m sorry about that,” he muttered, letting go of my hand to jam the call button.
“Why? I’m not.” I took a breath and turned to face him, looking up into those blue eyes that suddenly seemed so stormy. “Should we talk about last night?”
“Now?” He considered it for a moment, looking me up and down before taking a small step closer. “Okay. Sure.”
As he leaned in closer, the hallway suddenly seemed even smaller, the air charged and the mere presence of him making me think about doing something wildly inappropriate against the wall of a corporate building. The elevator doors slid open, but neither of us even glanced at them, let alone actually turning away from one another to enter.
“We may have rushed into it, but I don’t have any regrets.” Those eyes were locked on mine, the scent of him on every inhale making it difficult to think straight. “Do you?”
“No,” I said honestly, so drawn to him that my feet shuffled me another step closer of their own accord. I moved closer until there was barely any space left between us, tipping my head back to drink in the messy dark hair and the shadow of stubble on his jaw. “Do you have anything left to do here, or are you about ready to take me home?”
CHAPTER 27
JESSE
Iwoke up slower than usual on Sunday morning, not to the shrill ringing of my phone or the dull ache of a hangover but to warmth. For a second, I didn’t move or even open my eyes. I just let myself be suspended in the quiet moment when nothing and no one demanded anything from me andshewas the only person I had to pay attention to.
The only sound in the room was Jacque’s soft, steady breathing beside me, the heat of her skin radiating into me under the covers. I cracked open an eye to see a curtain of dark hair spread across my pillow, and suddenly, my chest felt weirdly full.
She was sound asleep in my bed. Just like she had been for the last few mornings. I shifted onto my side, propping my head up on my hand to look at her properly. Her face was relaxed, her lashes brushing her cheeks and her lips parted in a way that almost made me groan.
I could stay here forever.The thought hit out of the blue, but I didn’t hate it.Maybe Ishouldstay here forever. Maybe this relationship really doesn’t have to be fake. Maybe I’m capable of falling for someone after all.
For the past several nights, it sure as hell hadn’t been fake for me. I slid an arm carefully around her waist, pulling her into me. She made a soft sound in her sleep but didn’t wake, just curling closer and fitting herself against me like she’d been made to slot into this exact space.
Holy fuck.
I pressed my face into her hair for a second, breathing her in and wondering if I should wake her up in a happy way. She did seem to love a good orgasm first thing, but for once in my life, I decided not to ruin a good thing and let her sleep instead.
As it was, I’d kept her up until well after midnight and I had an early meeting with Alex, but she didn’t have any reason to rush. On that note, I turned my head toward the nightstand and checked the time, the digital clock there telling me that I had to get a move on, but I couldn’t bring myself to get up immediately.
Instead, I cuddled into her and let my lids slide shut again, willing my body to stop thinking about all the ways in which I could wake her up and trying not to think about how much I just liked waking up to her either.
By the time I made it to Alex’s place, I was running on about three hours of sleep, strong coffee, and a decision I hadn’t fully processed yet but was entirely locked into. The door barely opened before a small blur launched itself at my legs.
“Uncle Jesse!”
I looked down in time to catch Cameron before he took me out at the knees.