“Do you plan to spend the rest of this trip acting stuck up?” he asked.
“Huh? Who said I’m stuck up?”
“Your actions say it. At least, you should tell me what I have done to you that makes you treat me so cold,” he said, and our eyes locked in this bewildered stare.
“You got into my head and got me in your bed,” I admitted.
“That was consensual, baby. If you didn’t want it, I had no idea with the way you were giving yourself to me.”
“In all fairness, you are stalking me now. Don’t you think?”
“No, I wanted to see you again, but I wouldn’t take it as far as stalking,” he said with an innocent look on his face, but he’d shown up at my house and now in Aruba.
“Following a woman to another country is stalking,” I mumbled.
I scanned the room to avoid Jeb’s heated stare. Another romantic song started, and Kemara and Channing were still glued together as if they were the only two people in the room.
“Your eyes light up when you watch them dance. We could have that too, baby.”
“You don’t know what I want,” I said defiantly.
“I know you’d rather ignore the fact that we’re in a beautiful country, and the mood is perfect for us to explore the way we feel,” he said with a smile that could melt butter. “Did I tell you that you look amazing tonight?”
All night long, his baritone voice had filled the space with seduction. My body was betraying me as my mouth started watering, my nipples hardened, and wetness pooled in my panties. I wanted to get on that dance floor and dance chest to chest…with him.
“Let’s dance, but remember we have boundaries,” I said and reached for his hand.
Jeb guided me to the dance floor and wrapped his arms around my waist. I caressed his neck as he held me securely in his arms. An irrevocable current charged through us as we swayed to the melody. He pulled me closer, and I came alive. This was exactly what I’d fought so hard not to feel again.
“This isn’t so bad, is it?” Jeb asked.
“I need to get some fresh air,” I said.
“Tameka—” I heard him call out, but I didn’t turn around as I sped-walked to the door.
“Hey, where are you going?” Kemara asked, catching up to me before I left out.
“I’m not feeling well. Can we leave?” I asked her.
“Huh? Well, yeah. Let me go get Channing and Jeb.”
I walked to the car, and minutes later, the rest of the crew were inside. It was a quiet ride home. Channing held Kemara’s hand, and Jeb and I looked out of our windows in silence. When we finally pulled up to the mansion, I went upstairs to my room.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Jeb asked once we were at the top of the stairwell.
“I just need to lay down,” I said.
“Tameka?”
“Talk to you tomorrow.” I closed the door to my room, leaned against it, and sighed heavily.
Chapter 12
Jeb
Once again, Tameka ended our dance prematurely. I tried not to take it personally, but I was starting to get a complex about dancing with her. Either I couldn’t dance, or she didn’t like to be near me. I was going with the latter.
The ride back to the house had been quieter than the drive to the restaurant. Tameka didn’t say a word. She stared out the window apparently preoccupied with her own thoughts. Then, she rushed out of the car and ran up the steps to her room as soon as we made it back here. I caught up to her at the top of the stairs and asked her if she was alright, but she shot me down.