Page 18 of Rockstar Retreat

“We can't do anything here, Jerrik,” I told him firmly. “We shouldn’t have done anything at all. I’m serious. I could lose my job, and I don’t have anywhere to go if that happens.”

He frowned, but he still wasn’t moving away. “Are you in some money trouble or something?”

I rolled my eyes, darkly amused. “We don’t all get to catch big breaks, Jerrik. I have to work to earn everything I get, remember? If I’m out of a job, I don’t get a roof over my head or food to eat every day. Now please, just back off.”

But he just shrugged, looking unconcerned. “Whatever. I have more than enough money if that’s what you need. Or I could find you a job.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Could you really, Jerrik?”

“Yeah, but it’s not even necessary. I’m seriously loaded, Sharon, you’ll get more money than you could ever dream of. Just come back to my room with me.”

I wrinkled my nose and wondered if he even realized what he’d just implied about me. I wondered if I should be offended. And I wondered how he didn’t seem to understand that it wasn’t just the risk of losing my income. I loved my job at the retreat. Yeah, there was occasional dealing with impossible clients, but never so bad that I would wish to quit. I couldn’t afford to stay at the retreat as a guest but working there had its perks.

“Look, Jerrik,” I said carefully, my hands on his chest pushing him back, so he wasn’t crowding me. “What happened at the beach was great. But we can’t do it here, and I am not budging on this. I know you’re loaded, you don’t need to tell me, but I’ve been looking after myself just fine.”

I ignored the slight frown on his face as I reached inside and quickly grabbed my stuff, then closed the door and locked the car.

“When can I see you again then?”

I sighed. “I work from tomorrow, so I don’t know. But if I get time, I’ll stop by. You should head back to your room now, and don’t forget to get something to eat.”

I turned my back to him and walked away, biting my lip. I felt a little guilty for blowing him off after what we did not that long ago.

But it wasn’t just me having second thoughts. At the beach, we had both been away from our problems. It was liberating for both of us, and I let that go to my head. I let Jerrik, the atmosphere, and the freedom to do as we pleased seduce me, and I would have to face the consequences.

Only, I didn’t want to. I’d had my job at the retreat long before Jerrik arrived, and I wanted to be there long after he left in a few weeks. So, of course, the logical thing would be to forget about Jerrik but, even knowing I needed to, I didn’t want that either.

So what was I going to do?