He was lying on the bed next to me, looking as enticing as ever with that sleepy look in his eyes, and I was suddenly overcome with the need to touch him. I pulled myself up on my knees, then lifted my leg over his waist, so I was straddling him. I rested my hands on his chest as I looked down on him. “I like having you here with me.”
“That’s good, ’cause I like being here with you.”
“Might be kind of nice to have you as a roommate.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, I leaned over and pressed my lips to his. His hands instantly reached up and grabbed me by the back of my hair, taking control of the kiss. When his tongue brushed against mine, a surge of heat soared through my body—Jared’s touch always consumed me with want. Sensing my need for more, his hands released my hair and moved down my body to my thighs. His fingers dug into my skin as he guided me over his erection, rocking me back and forth against his hard cock. “Is this what you want?”
“Mm-hmm,” I managed to mumble.
His growl of approval filled the room, and as I continued to grind into him, his hands traveled to the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head, exposing my bare breasts. He let out a deep breath as he took my breasts in his hands, holding them firmly as his thumb brushed across my nipples. I felt his erection throbbing beneath me, and I desperately wanted him inside me. A hiss escaped his lips when I reached down and slipped the tips of my fingers into his boxers. Just as I was wrapping my fingers around him, my attention was drawn to the loud, irritating tone of my phone’s alarm. I quickly removed my hand from his boxers and hopped off him as I started chanting, “Oh shit, oh shit. I’m so sorry. I forgot! Oh shit!”
“Forgot what?”
I turned off the alarm and answered him, “I promised Mazie and the girls that I’d go thrift-store shopping with them, and I haven’t even showered yet! I’m going to be so late.”
“It’s fine, babe. I’m sure they won’t care if you’re a few minutes late.”
“But it’s Mazie’s birthday! We were going to surprise her with a little party at La Casa’s.” I scurried over to the dresser and grabbed some clothes, then raced into the bathroom as I shouted, “We were going to have them do the whole sombrero and singing thing.”
“Sorry, babe. I’m not seeing the issue.”
“I’m the one who’s supposed to pick up Mazie and get her there. And before I do that, I have to pick up the cake!”
“Hasn’t she been staying over at Brandy’s? Just call her and tell her to bring Mazie over.”
“I can’t. Brandy made up some big, convoluted story about the bug man coming by her place.” I stuck my head out of the bathroom as I explained, “I don’t know what she told her. I just know Mazie’s waiting for me at her place, and if I’m not there, it’s going to mess up the entire plan.”
“Oh… Well yeah, that might be a problem.”
“You think?” I huffed as I rushed over to the shower and turned on the water. “I can’t believe I forgot.”
“It’ll be fine, babe. Stop worrying.”
I showered in record time, then threw on my clothes, braided my hair, and grabbed my makeup bag. When I came out of the bathroom, I found Jared in the bed with his laptop. He had a strange look on his face while he studied the screen, so I asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s good,” he answered without looking up at me. “I was just checking on Rossi’s case to see if there are any updates.”
“Oh?” I sat down on the edge of the bed next to him and rummaged through the bag for my travel mirror, then placed it on the nightstand. “How are you doing that?”
“I’ve got a contact in California who’s keeping an eye on things for me.”
“But what’s this contact keeping an eye on?” I started applying mascara, then paused. “The trial doesn’t start for months.”
“Rossi’s lawyer put in a request to push forward the date, and the judge granted it.”
“What?” I lowered the mascara brush as I turned to him. “When did that happen?”
“He put the request in earlier this week.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t see the point in worrying you until I knew what the judge was going to say. Looks like the jury selection will start next week.”
“That soon?” My mouth dropped open as I gasped. “Does this have something to do with the whole suicide thing?”
“I’m sure it drew new interest to the case, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Jared closed his laptop, then leaned over and slipped his arms around me, pulling me close. “I don’t want you to worry about this, Bree. Everything’s going to work out in that courtroom. Rossi will pay for what he did to your family. I give you my word on that.”