Page 27 of Bad for You

He slid his hands into his pockets, and the muscles under all that ink shifted and bunched. My gaze moved back to his face and I sucked in a little breath.

He’d shaved off his beard and looked more like the Jesse I’d first met. His model good looks stole my breath then and they did again now. His mouth was sinful, full and perfectly shaped. And those utterly beautiful green eyes, ringed with thick black lashes despite his dark blond hair. But there was still ruggedness to all that gorgeousness.

God, when Jesse looked at you, when he focused solely on you, it was devastating.

My heart started pounding.

My thoughts rushed back to the other night, when I’d walked out of the bar after meeting up with Trix. He’d been standing in the window of the apartment above Rocktown Ink.

Shirtless. Muscles straining. There’d been a light behind him, and even from the road I could see how taut his biceps and abs were.

His gaze had been intense.

Watching me.

I hadn’t been able to hold that stare and rushed to the safety of my car.

Eves told me he was helping out at the tattoo shop for a few months while Cal looked after Cassy and the ranch. Which meant I’d be seeing a lot more of him. I couldn’t catch a break.

Was his girlfriend staying there with him as well? Of course she would be, he’d brought her home with him. He obviously couldn’t bear to be parted from her.

Mrs. Gonzales cleared her throat.

I jumped and ducked my head. “Sorry, I ah…was away with the fairies.”

Her knowing look told me she knew I was full of it and exactly why I’d been so distracted.

She gave me a wink, slid her books off the counter, and walked out.

Jesse moved in.

My face instantly heated thinking about my last confrontation with him. The things I’d said. I’d revealed too much. I’d let him see how much he’d hurt me, and I hated that more than anything. Which was why I’d told myself when I saw him again, I would play it cool. I’d ignore the racing of my heart and weak knees.

“Hey,” he said, looking at me from under those thick lashes.

I forced a small smile. “Look, about the other night. The things I said…”

“Let’s forget that, yeah?”

I wasn’t sure what that look on his face was all about, but it looked a lot like pity. I didn’t like that. No, I hated it. “I was drunk and I said some things I wouldn’t usually. There’s no reason for us to…you know, fight. There’s no hurt feelings here. I’m a big girl. You’re doing your thing…” A gorgeous blonde with a figure like a playboy bunny. “And I’m doing mine…”

Ha! Not yet you haven’t.

I’d texted Brooks over the weekend to try to remedy that. Anything to put Jesse firmly in the past, and maybe Jarod as well. A good sexual experience to wash away all the crappy ones. But Brooks had been busy working. Would be all week.

He glanced around the library before looking back at me. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”

“We really don’t have anything to talk about.” No way did I want to go somewhere private with him.

His jaw tightened, the muscle on one side jumping. “It’s not about you and me.”

I looked at him again more closely. Something was definitely wrong. “Is everything okay?”

“I’d rather talk without an audience,” he said, glancing behind him again.

Several people were lined up waiting.

“Let me clear the queue, then I’ll take my break.”