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Sloane gasped and burst out cackling. “Oh my God, no! Please, no.”
“See. Now you’re laughing,” Jake grinned as he carried her up the stairs into the chopper.
By the time I got in, Sloane was out cold in her seat, her aviators sliding down the bridge of her nose. I chewed my lip as I turned to Jake, knowing that I’d find him already looking at me. He’d taken every opportunity to since I stepped into the kitchen that morning, wearing an off-the-shoulder T-shirt and ripped shorts.
“Daisy Duke,” he murmured as I took a seat, shaking his head at my newly tanned legs. The crooked grin that spread his lips had me desperate to just climb into his lap, kiss his lips and run my hands all over his sculpted torso. But with Sloane across from us, I resisted, breathless and silent as I took the seat next to him, ignoring his continued gaze as we lifted smoothly into the air.
Amusement tinged his sexy voice when he finally broke the silence.
“Look at me,” he murmured.
I laughed. “I’d rather not look if I can’t touch.”
“Who says you can’t touch?”
Staring ahead at Sloane, I held my breath as I felt Jake’s closing in on the curve of my neck. I closed my eyes, breathing hard when I felt his lips press into my hot skin. With a flick of his tongue came an instant thrill pulsing deep between my thighs. “Jake,” I exhaled.
“Let me for a second.” Mischief curled in his voice as he pulled my face toward him. My heart pounded as he held me barely an inch away, gazing wolfishly down at my lips, so visibly turned on that I could feel my self-control being sucked out like a vacuum. I could almost hear the sound of it going – along with any other thought in my brain besides touch me kiss me please do anything to me.
The second he crushed his mouth against mine, it was gone.
My arm snaked around his neck as his hand slid between my thighs, his fingers immediately teasing my pussy, every stroke longer than the last. I hung onto him desperately, swiveling my hips against his touch, kissing him harder with every stroke to keep my mouth quiet.
But when Sloane stirred, I ripped away from him. “Oh God,” I breathed, my wild eyes looking toward my best friend – who was still asleep, just slumped to the side now. Jesus, Lara, I caught my breath, my chest heaving as I turned to Jake. His head tilted back against his seat. With a crooked little grimace, he let out a groan. Only then did I look down to see his bulging hard-on. Of course. It wasn’t only Jackson I was torturing these days. Touching a hand to my hot cheeks, I peered up with apology. “Jake… I’m sorry – ”
“Stop,” he laughed gently. I frowned as I gazed at him, watching him wince but try to play down the fact that he was in pain. “It’ll pass. Just… sit tight for a second,” he grinned, all for my sake.
“Okay.” Bouncing my feet, I waited, looking away in silence as I could feel my curiosity getting the better of me. “Jake, last night… did you and Piper…?” I tried to make my question sound casual but I was obviously curious. I’d been thinking about it all of last night and now, I couldn’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t have happened. I wasn’t Jake’s girlfriend and he was a man with needs. Obviously. It also didn’t hurt that Piper was five-foot-nine and in high demand during Fashion Week. Chewing my lip, I waited for Jake’s answer, telling myself I had no right to be angry when he confessed “yes.”
But to my surprise, he laughed and said, “No.” Reaching for my hand, he squeezed it, his head still leaned back as he gazed at me, the sexiest little smile twisting his lips. “I didn’t. She passed out.”
“I see.” Try not to look delighted.
“But I wouldn’t have slept with her even if she hadn’t.”
Try not to look fucking elated, I told myself. But I could tell I was failing my mission as Jake grinned knowingly at me. “What?” I breathed sheepishly. He rubbed my palm with his thumb gently but it lit every inch of my skin on fire. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I demanded. Is it because I expect the loyalty of a boyfriend from you despite the fact that we’re not dating? It dawned on me suddenly that I did and I felt at once embarrassed but validated. He had every right to have sex with Piper but he hadn’t. It couldn’t be totally presumptuous to assume that it was out of some sort of respect for me.
“I’m looking at you because you’re cute,” Jake laughed as he leaned in, cupped my cheek and kissed me so sweetly I barely wanted to tell him what I was going to say next.
But it had to come up eventually because I had spent the weekend acting sweet and affectionate with Jackson but had gotten no useful information from him. I wanted to find the guts to bring up Gabrielle, to pretend that I wanted to talk it out about her for the last time and officially move on. But there was still a gap between us because of my refusal to be intimate. He kept trying for sex, I kept coming up with excuses. I knew it was hurting my chances of getting close enough to him to glean any sort of useful information but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I simply couldn’t.
“So listen,” I started, a smile touching the corner of my lips when Jake immediately looked at me with a wary expression. He frowned so handsomely I had to kiss him before I spoke again. “I know you’re not going to want to hear this because of how much you hate him, but – ”
“Are you about to tell me something about Dane?”
As far as I knew, there was no one Jake hated more than Dane McNulty. I wasn’t completely sure why – I knew from Sawyer that Dane ran some kind of shady side business. I knew that several of the other boys agreed he was the scum of the Earth because he had no morals or code of ethics and spoke to every pretty girl he saw as if he owned her. There was certainly no arguing that Dane was a complete and utter piece of shit.
But it had dawned on me last night that I needed him.
I needed him on my side. He was the one who had referred our hired home intruder to Jackson. He had seen Jackson with Gabrielle years ago and when they were still friends, had probably spoken to him about the affair. Whatever information he had, I wanted it. Needed it.
And now, I had an excuse for going to him to get it.
He knew my engagement was on the rocks. He had been the one to put it there by telling me about how he’d seen Jackson and Gabrielle together two years ago. I could easily go to him pretending to be angry at my fiancé, and in desperate need of answers. And comfort.
I knew Dane. Like the rest of the boys in Jackson’s circle, he was prideful and easily swayed by a damsel in distress. Plus, he and Jackson were no longer on speaking terms. It would be logical for me to go to him secretly and gripe about my fiancé whose guts we both hated. It was the perfect plan. But when I finished telling Jake, he shook his head.
“No.”
