On the Steamy Side - Louisa Edwards [75]
That actually was quite comforting. “So you admit you can’t tell for sure. Because I am jealous, Bit. Chartreuse with it. Fucking Wes.”
“Oh, I believe you don’t like Wes,” Jess said. “I also believe there’s more going on here than only that. Because I refuse to believe that after everything we’ve been through—everything I went through just to be with you—that you wouldn’t trust me.”
Direct hit. Game over, and Frankie knew it. When Jess’s voice got small and quiet like that, Frankie’s battleship was good and sunk because it meant he’d succeeded in actually hurting Jess.
Unacceptable.
Stubbing out the cig in the chipped china plate reserved for that purpose, Frankie tugged his shirt off and dove back into the nest on top of Jess. He wanted to be skin to skin, needed the connection like never before.
“I do trust you, Bit. It’s him I don’t trust.”
It’s me I don’t trust.
Generous soul that he was, Jess immediately took Frankie’s weight and melted warmly into him, arms and heart open in the way that made Frankie desperate to shield Jess from the harsh realities of the world.
But his Jess was no fragile flower in need of protection. “It’s still crap,” Jess said, crooned, really, into Frankie’s ear. Frankie shivered, not sure if it was a reaction to Jess’s heated breath on his temple or the fact that Jess knew him so well. “But it’s okay. You’re not ready to talk about it yet. I get it. But Frankie?”
“Yeah, luv?” Hoarse, damn it, he sounded like he’d smoked the whole blasted pack of cigs instead of half of one.
Jess got one hand on Frankie’s chin and turned his face so they were forehead to forehead, close enough that Frankie could only focus on one bright blue orb without going cross-eyed.
“You should know. I’m not going to let you keep me at arms’ length forever,” Jess said.
The calm promise in his voice sent another shudder through Frankie, that old, familiar mixture of dizzy elation at how much Jess loved him—and terror at the thought of how much that love could cost them both.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Anticipation warred with amusement in Lilah’s mind. Devon, it transpired, was a particularly affable drunk—cuddly without being handsy, chatty without babbling incessantly.
Although that might be because he wasn’t nearly as intoxicated as Christian had made out. Either that or the drive uptown was sobering him up, because there were moments when Lilah could clearly see lucidity in Devon’s hooded gaze.
Hence the anticipation. Because something was happening between them, building with every brush of hand on arm and every shared glance.
Lilah shifted on the smooth leather seat and caught Paolo’s eye in the rearview mirror. She’d asked him to drop her at Chapel and go on home, intending to take a cab back to Devon’s, but Paolo refused to hear of it. He’d told her in no uncertain terms that his standing orders were to drive her where she needed to go and wait for her, so wait he would. Lilah had to admit she was glad of it; when she and Devon had reeled out of the bar and up to the car, it had been nice to have help maneuvering Devon into the backseat without bashing him in the head or rolling him in the gutter.
Now, though, Paolo was a constant, silent presence in the front of the car while Devon lolled indolently across the spacious backseat, taking up a considerable amount of room. Lilah couldn’t quite pretend, even to herself, that she minded the way he listed against her, his hard, sculpted body a solid line of warm muscle sliding against her.
Devon tipped his head back to rest on the seat, his eyes closed. Lilah studied his profile in the light of the passing traffic. He looked peaceful, more serene than he ever seemed when his eyes were open and shooting bolts of energy and charisma every which way. And the lines of his face . . . sweet, fancy Moses.
One of the first things Lilah had done when she moved to Manhattan was to shell out for membership at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The place was too big, too comprehensive, to ever be truly seen and appreciated in a single visit.
With that member card in