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Without looking back at her, he marched down the hallway to the living room. He wrapped himself in the blanket and curled up on the couch so he would fit. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and wished for sleep.
The universe was definitely testing him. And it could kiss his ass.
Five
That kiss was a recipe for insomnia.
Jade was a fool for letting it happen, a fool for wanting it. But she did. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have started that ridiculous conversation. She would’ve closed her eyes and gone to sleep, keeping her hands to herself the way she’d promised. No, instead she’d pushed him until he broke, and it was everything she’d imagined a kiss with him could be. The reward was short-lived, though, as moments later she was alone in bed with a pounding heart and a liquid center.
Once Harley left for the couch, Jade had lain there staring up at the ceiling fan and trying to figure out what the hell she was doing. She was the one who’d broken it off back then. Teasing Harley with the goods she’d once deprived him of was cruel to them both. They had no business kissing, much less doing anything else. They’d both moved on from their high school days. A physical relationship between them would be nothing more than a complication she couldn’t afford, with him around 24/7 trying to protect her.
But at that moment, none of that had mattered. All she’d wanted was a kiss. A touch. To feel desired again after years of thinking she wasn’t enough for a man. Lance had stopped touching her after his car accident. It had been pretty serious, resulting in back surgery that would never really fix the problem or get rid of the pain. Months later, when she’d hoped perhaps they could get back to the way things were, he’d decided the rush of popping a roxy was better. He hadn’t told her that, though. He’d said he hurt, or just plain avoided the subject. He’d stayed up late, knowing she went to bed early. He’d pulled away whenever she came too close.
It might’ve been a stupid thing to do, but last night had felt damn good. It had made her feel like a desirable woman for the first time in a long while.
This morning, she was a sleepy desirable woman.
Normally she went straight to the shower, but she needed some caffeine first. Jade pulled on her chenille robe and nearly crawled from the bed to the living room, where she found Harley on the couch, already awake. He actually looked as though he was well into his day. He was fully dressed, in a pair of pressed khaki pants and a dark blue shirt, and surrounded by paperwork he was reading through. There was an empty coffee mug in front of him on the table and his blanket was folded neatly over the back of the couch. Apparently he hadn’t slept much, either.
“Good morning,” she said, as she moved past him into the kitchen.
“Good morning.”
Jade poured herself a cup of coffee. When she turned around, Harley was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She eyed the fully dressed man who dominated the room with his presence. “Did you not sleep at all? That couch is miserable, I told you.”
“I slept enough for me. I’m usually awake by four, anyway. If I can get four or five hours a night, I’m good. I’ve survived on less.”
Jade shook her head. “I’m jealous. If I don’t get eight, I’m a zombie
.”
“You didn’t get eight last night,” he noted. “That’s my fault.”
“It’s the sofa bed’s fault.” She took a sip of her coffee and tilted her head back. “You’ll notice these dark circles under my eyes. That’s a sure sign of my undead state.”
He studied her face for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t see anything. You look beautiful, as always.”
“You must still be half-asleep,” Jade argued. “I just stumbled out of bed, I’ve got crazy hair and I’m wearing a bathrobe. Nothing about that is beautiful.”
“Nope. I’ve gone on a four-mile run, taken a shower, had coffee, read through some paperwork and cleaned my gun. I’m very much awake. You’re just stubborn.”
“Stubborn?” She set down her coffee in surprise.
“Yes. I’m not sure what happened between you and Lance. I only know how it ended. But what I do know is that he didn’t take the opportunity he had. If he had appreciated the gift you’d given him by being in his life, he would’ve cherished it. He would’ve told you how beautiful and smart and amazing you are. Then you would believe someone when they gave you a compliment instead of arguing with them about it. It’s a shame, really.”
Jade was stunned by his words. She hadn’t really thought about it that way, but he was onto something. She shouldn’t let Lance’s influence take over her new life, too. “You’re right. Let’s start over. Tell me I’m beautiful again.”
Harley smiled. “Now you’re just fishing for compliments, but okay. You look beautiful this morning.”
Jade did her best to return his smile with a genuine one of her own. “Thank you.”
“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Me accepting a compliment is like you following the rules. We can do it when we’re put on the spot, but it’s not instinctual.”
“I can follow rules,” he said, with a frown lining his forehead.
That made Jade laugh out loud. “Sure you can. That’s why you were always in detention.”
