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JESSIE
Ispent the entire night with Conor and this morning I avoided the kitchen and the living area because I didn’t want to bump into Shane. I can still hardly believe what he did last night. Conor has done his best to try to convince me that Shane testing me means that he’s finally ready to accept that I’m staying. And I suppose I can kind of understand his twisted logic - pushing a person away before you’re willing to let them in, to see how far they’re willing to go. But I can’t forget the things he said about him and his brothers passing me around until someone better comes along. It stung like hell. It still does.
As the day goes on, I keep replaying his words over and over in my head, and each time I do, I find myself becoming angrier by the minute. How dare he speak to me like that. As though I’m some gold-digger who manipulated my way into their lives. As much as I wanted each of them, I never made a move. I didn’t cross that line first. Not with any of them. They pursued me.
I would have been content to spend a few months here working for them, and then moving on. They changed the rules of the game. Not me. And now I’m in too deep to walk away. Now, they’ve given me a taste of something that I never want to lose.
I walk along the hallway from my bedroom toward Shane’s office. His door is open, and I storm inside. He looks up at me as I enter the room. Sitting behind his desk in suit pants and a white shirt open at the collar, he also has a light dusting of stubble. He looks so damn good. I remind my treacherous body that we're not speaking to him.
“What can I do for you, Hacker?” he asks smoothly.
I scowl at him. So, he’s just going to sit there and pretend everything is fine, and that he didn’t insult me on almost every level last night.
I stalk toward his desk and plant both of my hands on it as I steady myself. My thighs are trembling, but thankfully his desk hides them from view. I glare at him and he simply leans back and looks at me with a mild look of amusement on his face, which only infuriates me more.
“I’ve decided that I do want my freedom after all,” I snap.
He frowns at me. “You do?”
“Yes. But on my terms.”
He leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the desk, his hands steepled under his chin. “Go on?”
“You can keep your money, and your fake ID. I’ll borrow the car occasionally. But, I want my fingerprint added to the security for this apartment.”
“Really?” he arches one eyebrow at me.
“Yes. I want to come and go from this place whenever I please. Just like you and your brothers do.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “I’ll think about it.”
“You’ll think about it?”
“I believe that’s what I just said, Hacker.”
“Well, while you’re thinking about that, you can also think about the fact that if you ever make me feel like a cheap whore again, I will slap that arrogant grin off your face, Shane Ryan. I don’t care how tough you believe you are.”
He doesn’t answer me. He just sits there, staring at me.
“And if you think you’re going to pass me around with your brothers any longer, you’re sadly mistaken. So, now might be a good time to go find yourself one of those women with bigger tits and a smaller ass that you’re so fond of. I hear Erin is unattached.”
He still doesn’t speak. Instead, he glares at me, and I wonder if any woman has ever spoken to him like that in his life.
I smile triumphantly, and then I turn on my heel and walk out of his office with my heart pounding in my ears. I’m pretty sure I’ll pay for that, but right now I don’t give a damn, because it felt so good to put Shane Ryan in his place.
Chapter
Forty-Five
JESSIE
Iwalk out of the bathroom to find Shane standing in my room with his hands stuffed in his trouser pockets. He looks as fierce as ever and I wonder if he’s still mad at me for what I said in his office earlier. But I don’t even care anymore. The things he said to me last night cut me deeply and I’m not sure I will be able to look at him the same way again.
“What do you want, Shane?” I ask with a sigh as I cross the room and stand in front of him. As usual, he smells incredible.
He holds out his hand to me, and I look down at it hesitantly. “Come with me,” he orders.
“Again? And just what are you planning on doing tonight? Driving me to the state line and kicking me out of the car?” I arch an eyebrow at him.
