“Just because we fucked doesn’t mean you get everything you want from me right away. I mean, it was great and all.” He crossed the room slowly. “But I’m still in charge. You still have to listen to me, and I’ll let you go when I’m ready.”
She stiffened. “I didn’t swear to obey you in everything—only in bed.”
He headed across the room. “In case you didn’t notice, you’re still naked in my bed.”
She jerked on the cuffs again. “Then let me out of it so I can tell you what a jerk you’re being right now.”
He sat down at her hip, staring at the piece of hair that had settled over her lips. Reaching out, he smoothed the strand off her face, not letting go of it once he had it out of the way. Everything about her was so soft. So pretty.
Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have a woman like her in his life…permanently. As if she’d burned him, he dropped the strand of hair, his stomach hollowing out. Damn it, he couldn’t think like that. It was dangerous.
“I’ll let you out once you tell me the fix for the code. Don’t worry.”
She paled. “W-What? Jake, no.”
He stood and grabbed his shorts off the floor, slipping the key to the cuffs out of his pocket. He undid one of her hands, then the other, forcing himself to grin the whole damn time. To act as if he wasn’t having scary thoughts about them in the back of his mind.
“Come on now, sweetheart. Did you really think I’d leave you cuffed up like that? Seriously?”
She glowered at him, rubbing her wrists once he freed them. “Now you remember you like to play tricks on me?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I was fucking with you for old times’ sake. Getting a little bit of payback for the rearranging of my guest bedroom.”
“Nice time to gain a sense of humor again,” she muttered. But despite her apparent anger, her blue eyes sparkled. “Jerkface.”
He laughed. “Your insults haven’t changed much, either.”
“Why mess with perfection?” she asked, smiling at him.
It wasn’t until he sat down next to her, grinning like a fucking fool for real, that he realized the mistake he’d committed. He’d stayed by her side after sex. Bad, bad, bad idea. He didn’t do that. Didn’t grow close to other people. Didn’t trust other people, or have fun. Didn’t laugh. Tara was just fucking with his head, trying to gain her freedom. That was her end goal. They both knew it. Once again, he’d let her get too close.
Already, he wanted nothing more than to curl up with her and spoon throughout the night. Fucking spoon. He didn’t do that shit. He gave her his back, knowing he’d fucked up. Time to remind her—and himself—exactly where their relationship stood.
As in, it didn’t exist.
“Don’t forget: this doesn’t change a thing. You still need to help me figure out that code, and then you go back to your life,” he said, keeping his tone flat and hard. Unyielding. Like him. “Away from me.”
She flinched, pulling back from him both mentally and physically. Scooting a little to the left, she turned her face away. “Yes, sir.”
“Don’t be like that.” He bent down, picked up her panties, and tossed them on the bed. “We both knew what this was.”
“I never said I didn’t. What’s your deal?”
He wanted to apologize. Hug her close and assure her that he was the fucked-up one—not her. So he did the opposite. He lashed out at her even more.
“You can go back to your own bed, but don’t steal anything when I’m sleeping. If you do, I’ll keep you cuffed next time,” he said, keeping his back to her.
> Forced himself to act as if she meant nothing at all to him. He had to do that, or maybe she would mean something. And he didn’t need that in his life. Neither did she.
She could do better than a man like him.
Sheets ruffled, and her feet hit the floor. “Only you could take a perfectly enjoyable experience and then ruin it by talking.”
With that, she slammed the door shut behind her. Perched on the edge of the bed, he listened to her retreating footsteps until the guest bedroom door shut behind her. Then he fell back on the mattress, flung his elbow over his eyes, and wondered exactly what he’d just started with Tara…
And what it would mean in the light of day.
Chapter Eight