Page 34 of Illicit

“Since when am I emotionally unattached?” he demands.

“Since you’re weirded out by my panties and Sammie’s vagina. Which, by the way, it’s not her vagina, it’s her cervix. It’s a good thing you’re moving back to Miami. Landyn, Evie, and Goldie have their work cut out for them. It’s no wonder you’re still single,” I state firmly. “I can’t believe we’re talking about this. I’m done.”

“We are not done.”

“I am.” The torture is killing me. I yank my leg from his hold and shift off the sofa.

He juts to his feet just as quickly to grab my arm. “Who the hell are you seeing? You’re moving to New York.”

This is a new kind of panic—one that can only stem from a Jenga tower made of lies. “Jed.”

“Jed?” His brow furrows. “That guy you dated in high school?”

I force a satisfied expression on my face and hope it doesn’t look as anxiety ridden as it feels. “Yes. We reconnected a few months ago when I was in Miami for a visit. We rekindled our old flame. Jed is…” I struggle for words and am forced to settle on being pathetic, which is nothing new. “Great.”

“Jed is great,” Rocco echoes and finally lets me go, but he doesn’t let me off the hook. “I don’t believe it. You’re full of shit.”

I wave my hand around. “And you’re still full of yourself. Nothing has changed.”

He shakes his head and keeps at me. “You didn’t kiss me like you’re seeing someone else.”

My eyes go wide. “You kissed me. And right in front of Robichaux. If I reciprocated, it was out of shock. What was I supposed to do?”

“That kiss was just as intense as the first one. Nothing has changed in two years. If you want, I’ll prove it to you.”

I gasp. “How on earth are you going to do that?”

The eight inches that separate us on bare feet makes me feel small. He towers over me when we’re like this. Wide and powerful. The veins in his arms are more distinct than ever.

He shifts closer. “Maybe I’ll kiss you again. We’ll see how great Jed really is.”

My mouth waters.

Damn him.

I want that, even though he has nothing to prove. Jed and I are friends and have been since he broke up with me right after our junior prom. But if I took him up on a kiss, that would make me a cheater. A fictional one, but still a cheater.

“Don’t you dare,” I warn.

He studies me before shaking his head. “Everything has changed … yet every fucking thing is the same. If our lips ever meet again, it’ll be because you beg me to kiss you.”

I huff an exasperated breath. “That will never happen.”

“Never say never, Teagan. Just when you think you’re on a path, life fucking obliterates the road in front of you. You’re forced to offroad until you can get that shit back on track.”

I know he’s talking about his younger self when he was a motorcycle club prospect and met Brax and Landyn, but his metaphor means something else to me. I feel like I’ve been wandering offroad for the last two years. I need to get back on the highway and fast track myself to a new normal.

My apology was supposed to do that, but instead, I’ve found myself in the middle of an ugly lie and a game of Truth or Dare.

I’m about to push him out of my way and lock myself in his bathroom for longer than necessary, but there’s a vibration on the coffee table.

A text.

On the prepaid cell.

My gaze jumps to Rocco. “Is it Jules?”

He bends to pick up the phone and mutters, “Since no one else has this number but him, I’d say the chances are good.”

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