She shook her head. “You talk to Judge. She’s your daughter and your responsibility and I told you to prepare for when I leave, Chris.” Her voice rose higher as she talked. “I haven’t seen you doing that. You act like I’m going to stay. I’m not. I told you I wasn’t and that hasn’t changed.”
“Jesus fuck, Jemma,” he muttered, his blood pressure surging.
“Yeah. Jesus fuck, Chris. You knew this was only temporary until I got a decent job offer. I’ve been clear about that from the beginning. If I get this offer, I’m taking it. If another good offer comes in beforehand, I’m taking that. The sooner, the better. I need to work, pay my bills and get out of this town.”
Get away from you, he heard in his head.
She flapped a hand in the direction of the shed. “What happened out there hasn’t changed anything and won’t.”
“Jem, about that...”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Fucking goddamn it. “Don’t gotta except for that one thing. Don’t need to fuck up again, Jem. Can’t afford it.”
Her face became unreadable. “While we fucked up, we didn’t fuck up.”
His eyebrows fused together. “What does that fuckin’ mean?”
She sucked in a breath through her nostrils, raised her chin and her eyes held his. “I’ve been on birth control since I was a teen, Chris. Unlike an Amish woman, I’ve been sexually active for a long time now.”
He grimaced and swiped a hand down his bearded cheek.
“Pregnancy isn’t my worry.”
Maybe it wasn’t hers, but it was his main one. If she worried about catching something from him... “Always wear a wrap.”
“Yeah, well, you see how that worked out for you.”
He ground his teeth. “Jem, haven’t had sex with anyone since...”
“Since?”
Did she hold her breath after asking that? Would it bother her if he had sex with someone else since Jemma had come into his life? That gave him a sliver of hope. “Dyna showed up.”
“No one?” Her mask slipped in her surprise.
Fuck yeah.
Her response fueled his fire to get her to admit the connection they had. He needed to prove to her he only had one woman in his sights, one woman he wanted, and it was her. And it had nothing to do with Dyna. “No one, Jem. Just you, just now. That’s it.”
“Still doesn’t mean...”
“Yeah. Got that. Never had an STD.”
“Me neither and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Jem...”
She lifted a hand. “It was my fault, not yours. I take full responsibility. I lost my head—”
He grinned which abruptly halted her spiel. Unfortunately, he couldn’t help it. She admitted he’d made her lose her head.
Just like she made him do.
She needed to stop fighting what was between them and see they fit. More than just with sex. She knew the lifestyle, even though she hated it. But she only needed to open her eyes, and her mind, and see the current Blood Fury was nothing like the Originals.
Trip, and everyone else, was working hard to keep it that way.
If she let him, Cage would do what he could to help her get past what happened to her when she was a young child. He understood it because he lived it, too.
Any offspring from the Originals had to get over their rough beginnings and see the current Blood Fury for what it was.
Their future and their family.
She needed to see it was a good thing Trip had rebuilt. He had learned from Buzz’s mistakes and was doing everything he could to not repeat them. The prez wanted a solid brotherhood and not one with so many fucking holes punched through it, it looked like Swiss cheese.
But time would show her that, not his words. Right now he needed to concentrate on convincing her to accept him first. Then he could work on her accepting the Fury. Because the fuck if he was giving up his brotherhood. Not unless he was forced to by being stripped of his colors and he would do everything in his power not to have that happen.
He took two steps toward her, close enough to detect the scent of her shampoo but not enough to cause her to step back. Though, her spine straightened just slightly.
Right now he needed to lay shit out and be crystal fucking clear about what he wanted.
Which was her.
“You do shit to me, Jem, no other woman has ever done before. And it’s got nothin’ to do with sex. Tonight proved it. I fuckin’ waited. Six fuckin’ weeks I’ve been with no one but you. I knew you wanted me as much as I wanted you. Could see it. But I waited anyway. Wasn’t gonna push it. Didn’t wanna be blamed for pushin’ you. You took the first step tonight. It was hot as fuck. Being inside you was like nothin’ else I’ve ever experienced. Waited for you to be ready. Never been so fuckin’ patient in my whole goddamn life.”