AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They had shared a few intimate encounters over the past few months, but this last time she had shown an interest in more than just sharing a couple of hours of pleasure. He had vowed to cut off his sexual relationship then.
Even if Jessa hadn’t come into the picture, Deacon didn’t do long term. But now that he had Jessa, the very idea of having any kind of sexual relationship with another female felt abhorrent.
Tightening his hand on Jessa’s, he took a step forward. He didn’t miss the way Rosie’s eyes dropped down. A frown marred her overly made-up face at the sight of their entwined hands.
“Large coffee, black, and…” he turned toward Jessa and saw her watching Rosie. She looked at him and then back at Rosie again, and he swore he could see the wheels in her mind working.
“Can I have a large cappuccino with nutmeg and cinnamon, please?” She smiled, and Deacon could tell it was genuine.
“Give us two cinnamon rolls, too.” He handed Rosie the money. She watched him for far longer than what he thought was polite.
They stepped to the side, and Deacon placed his body slightly in front of Jessa’s. It wasn’t that he saw Rosie as a threat to Jessa, but a spurned lover might not take kindly to the new girl in town.
His intention had been to find a quiet spot in the coffee shop to talk to her, but with it being overly crowded and Rosie working there, Deacon didn’t want to stay.
How bad was it that he hadn’t even known an ex-lover worked there?
They climbed in the truck, and he threw the newspaper he had grabbed on the seat between them. He cranked the engine but didn’t pull out. The car was still relatively warm, but he idled there and drank his coffee.
“I take it that’s an old flame?” She teased him, and he turned to look at her. He didn’t want to lie, but he really didn’t want to talk about Rosie. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”
She turned away and brought the cup to her mouth. He watched her lips form around the lid, and his heart hammered hard.
The sight was so innocent, but to him it felt like a hot poker in his groin.
“That’s Rosie. She’s—” He hated this, hated confessing the things he did with other females even if nothing between him and Jessa had happened yet. It just felt wrong to him, to his animal. “Yeah, she’s an old flame.” Jessa didn’t say anything after that, but her expression didn’t show anything either.
He went to shift his truck into gear when her hand landed on his arm. “Hey, I’m not sure why you feel so uncomfortable telling me about that. We have all done things in our past we might not be proud of.” She laughed lightly. “Hell, I should be the poster child for what your life can end up like if you make bad decisions.”
She dropped her hand from him and started fidgeting with her jacket.
“Listen, I’m not sure what’s happening between the three of us.” She looked at him through her lashes. “But what I do know is that I’ve never felt such a connection with any other person that I have with you and Thayer. It steals my breath.”
The way she showed him her heart so openly stole his breath.
“If my life has taught me anything, it’s that you have to trust your gut. I should have believed my instincts when they were shouting at me to leave Paul, but my fear of the unknown kept me with him.”
“I believe in fate, and I know that it was no accident that you found me where you did. If I hadn’t left Paul, I wouldn’t have crashed into that tree. You wouldn’t have saved my life, and I wouldn’t have met two of the most caring, compassionate, and wonderful men in the world. It’s only been days and hours since meeting you two, but you’ve stolen my heart.” His words had him pulling her toward him and latching his mouth onto hers.
She hadn’t said she would stay, but the way she bared herself to him had hope springing in his chest that maybe she would stay with them.
Their mouths crushed together, their tongues dueling. Arousal spiked his blood, causing the feeling of intoxication to sweep through him. The fog of desire started to overtake him, and he found his hands sliding to her chest.
Her bulky coat was in his way, but when he went to unzip it her hands landed on his, stopping him.
“I really don’t want to give the coffee shop patrons a show.” She smiled against his mouth, and he chuckled.
He had never laughed so much, had never felt so much happiness.
And it was all because of this sweet, tiny female sitting beside him.
He kissed her once more and put the truck in reverse. Even though he would love to sit here and continue to talk about how she felt, he needed to reveal some of his own dark secrets.
Chapter
Nineteen
They sat in silence, their view that of the Steal South lake. Snow steadily fell around them as they sat in the warm confines of the truck.
