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He curses, grabs my arm—and then stumbles sideways, releasing me. “The hell?”
“Damn you, Travis, move away from her,” a familiar male voice snaps, and Jesse is there, pushing the guy away. He bends over and puts a hand on my cheek. “You okay, Embers?”
His touch should freak me out even more—Jesse’s just as tall as this other guy, Travis, and even more muscled—but I find myself leaning into his hand.
“Let’s get you inside,” he says, and I let him pull me to my feet, let him slip his arm around me. It feels so good, being with him.
“Go to hell, asshole,” Travis mutters behind us. “That’s what I was trying to do anyway, get her inside, bring her over to you. What crawled up your ass and died, huh?”
“I don’t know, Jesse says as he tugs me through the hallway, “but I hope it’s not the same thing that died in yours. It stinks.”
I stifle laughter as he leads me through an open door, and then turns and closes it behind us. “You didn’t just say that to him.”
“Wanna bet?” That infectious grin is back, and I hadn’t realized until now how much I’d missed it. How afraid I was I wouldn’t see it again.
“You often fight like that?”
At the muffled sound of soft plastic hitting the door, he grins without turning and yells, “Fuck off!”
“JJ…”
He sets me down on a bed—his bed, my mind belatedly realizes—and crouches in front of me. “Ignore the idiot. Sorry about that.”
“Not his fault. I’m jumpy.”
“Don’t you dare worry about him. He keeps me up every night. I swear, I’ve never known a guy to be so damn noisy during sex.”
My mouth opens and closes. “You and him…?”
It’s his turn to gape at me.
Then he laughs. I love the sound, deep and resonant, and the way he throws back his head. “God, no, he brings chicks here and bangs them in his room next door. Plus, I’m into women.” He wipes the back of his hand over his mouth and quietens, gazing at me. “I’m definitely into women.”
Caught in the blue-green of his eyes, so intense now, I couldn’t move if the world ended. “Good to know,” I hear myself whisper, as if from a distance.
My reply seems to amuse him. A corner of his mouth curls up.
Then he takes my face in his hands. “Embers, I have a question of my own to ask you. I need you to tell me why Travis frightened you so much.”
“I was bullied at school by this guy and his friends.” Still caught in his eyes, in his spell. “He was tall and strong, and he liked overpowering me.”
His mouth twists. “What was his name?”
“Nick.”
“Nick.” His hold on my face is so hard it’s bruising. “Nick what?”
“Nick Harris.”
“Is he still around? Is he bothering you?”
“No, I…” I pull back and his hands fall away. “Haven’t seen him in years.”
I think. If the guy I saw across the street the other day wasn’t him, and thinking it might be him sends icy shivers down my spine.
“Good. He’s lucky. I’d feed him his fucking balls.” Jesse rises on his knees until his face is right in front of mine. “He’s gone, but he’s left scars. Invisible, unlike mine, but real. Are you scared of me?”
“No,” I whisper and lift a hand to stroke his face. “No, I’m not.” I trail it over his soft lips, and he draws it into his mouth. I gasp, fire spilling down my arm to my chest and straight to my belly.
