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The ring of her cell phone drew her from her thoughts. Pulling it from the band of her skirt, she looked at the display, sighed again, and brought it to her ear as she connected the call.
“Yes, Courtney?” She should have known the other woman would call. Jaci was just grateful Courtney hadn’t made a trip to the hotel instead.
“Are you upset?” Courtney asked carefully.
Was she upset?
“Not with you. ” And did Ian share his wife? If he owned the club, then wouldn’t he share those same dark desires? How did Courtney handle that?
“Cam said you didn’t quit. Does that mean you’ll be back in the morning?”
“I’ll be there. ” She hadn’t known until that second that she would be. Hadn’t known how crazy she was, until those words slipped past her lips.
“We’ll take coffee in my sitting room,” Courtney said softly. “We can talk. ”
“Do we need to talk, Courtney?” Jaci asked her. At this point, she didn’t want to talk about it. If she talked about it, then she had to acknowledge it.
“Only about subjects you wish to discuss,” Courtney said, but Jaci could hear the question in her voice.
“That works for me, then,” she told her friend brightly. “I’ll see you around ten. ”
“Jaci, don’t judge things you don’t understand too harshly,” Courtney warned her softly. “Please. ”
Jaci shook her head. “I don’t judge at all, Courtney. You know better than that. Except overbearing, superior men,” she said as an afterthought. “But I’ve found I’ve not judged them harshly enough. ”
Courtney gave a light, relieved laugh. “Excellent. I’ll have coffee waiting and I’ll make certain the cook prepares us a nice little snack. ”
They disconnected the call, and Jaci rose to her feet, finished the wine, and moved to enter the bedroom. As she reached the doorway, she heard the door open.
Turning, she stepped back into the sitting room then stared in surprise at the man that closed the door behind him, his gaze leveled back at her, his expression hard, cool.
Cam.
“Why am I not surprised?” She wasn’t. Somehow, she had known he would follow her.
She stared at his scarred visage, the icy green eyes, and felt the same tightness in her chest that she had felt earlier. The thin white scar looked painful, haunting.
“We need to talk. ”
“You didn’t come here to talk, Cam. ” A bitter laugh left her lips. “I’m just surprised you didn’t bring Chase with you. ”
His lips flattened, his eyes losing their icy cast long enough to flicker with a surge of anger. Fine, let him be angry. She was angry as well. She hadn’t asked him about his damned club, she hadn’t wanted to know. And if they hadn’t intended to pull her into their dirty little games, then they could have made certain she knew no more than she had when she was first hired for the job.
“Chase is on his way. ” He shrugged, watching her closely.
“You conceited jackass,” she snarled. “You make me just want to hit you. ”
“You really shouldn’t hold back, Jaci, just say what’s on your mind,” he said mockingly as he moved farther into the room.
“Oh, just go away,” she muttered. “I’m not in the mood to spar with you today. ”
“Because I shocked you?” He stopped in front of her, staring down at her intently, as she refused to retreat. “Or because I hurt you this morning? I didn’t mean to. ”
And he even managed to say that sincerely.
“Because you pissed me off,” she told him. “And it has nothing to do with last night. Last night was just a mistake, and I don’t repeat mistakes. You talked to me as though you had pulled me off the streets and had to threaten me to gain my silence. ” She shook her head in disgust. “You should have let me walk out. It would have been easier on both of us. ”
“Seven years is a long time,” he told her as she turned and plopped back on the couch, curling her legs beneath her. “Too long to want a woman the way I’ve craved you, sweetheart. I didn’t say this would be easy. But we’ll work it out. ”
