Page 35 of Betting Blind
Heavy silence stretches between us, and when I’ve had enough, I turn to move away from him.
“Ben and I worked at Royals when we were younger.” His words are strained, as if it’s truly painful to speak, and a nervous buzz rushes all over my body with his confession. I stop, turning back to him.That must be how he knew the place so well.
“I cut ties with it all when I got my own place. It’s in the past,” he finishes dismissively.
“Do you know those men? Did you work with them?” He guides me back into his body, hissing from the pain, and I relent, lightly running my hands over his sore back.
He shakes his head lightly. “No, I don’t know them.” It feels like there’s more to that than he’s letting on, but I continue my strokes in hopes that he’ll continue.
“The owner of Royals is a real dick, and he’s not someone I had planned to cross. Some people around town call him Diablo. He has no problem hurting people to get what he wants, which is why I didn’t want to get you involved.
“Ben keeps dragging me back, and it’s easy for everyone else to tell me to quit enabling him, but that’s not what I’m trying to do. I don’t know how to get him to stop.”
I still my movements to grasp his face in my hands, gently running my thumbs across his swollen skin.
“You’re too stubborn for your own good, you know?” he tells me.
I smile lightly and gesture to the clean T-shirt sitting beside us. “May I continue?”
At his nod, I reach for the bottom of the shirt he’s still wearing and slowly guide it up over his head. Inch after inch of his skin is bared to me, and I gasp at the mouthwatering sight. I’ve dreamed of undressing Jack many times, and those dreams feel silly in comparison.
He’s built like a fighter and marked like one, too. My eyes are drawn to the ink that travels down both of his sides, continuing its way around to his equally covered back. I greedily slide my gaze over the markings. Big, bold designs zig-zag their way past hard abs and down toward his pelvis. It feels horribly inappropriate to gawk at him in this moment, yet here I am, drooling like Gordy.
There are two black swallows under each collarbone holding a ribbon that spans across his sternum with words written in a beautiful script. Under that is an anatomical heart with thick lines pulling away from it, giving the piece movement.
I trace the words with my fingers.Find light in darkness. My body flushes under the predatory heat of his gaze as he watches me explore him. The intimacy of my fingertips teasing his skin makes my breathing uneven, but it’s doused completely when I move to his right side to find big purple bruises forming angry red centers. I trail my hand over them lightly, and he sucks in a breath. “I’m sorry,” I say, pulling away.
Awkwardly, I help him don the clean shirt and when I’m finished, I find his blues fixated on me. The tenderness of his stare makes me weak, but I can see him fading fast. “Would you like to stay with me?” he asks as his eyes begin to droop.
“I told Derrick I wouldn’t leave you,” I admit. “I can sleep on the floor, I don’t mind.”
His thumb grazes my hip lightly as he hesitates to speak. “I’d prefer you sleep up here… with me.”
My body thrums with excited energy. He’s in no condition to repeat the night we had when he took me to see the stars, but to my surprise, he appears to only want my company.
“Okay.” I nod, and he rewards me with a soft smile before situating himself fully onto the bed. I bustle around the room, texting my mom that I won’t be home tonight, and then I grab my charger from my purse, plugging both of our phones in to charge. I flick off the light, and with my heart hammering, I crawl into bed with Jack.
I almost moan from the heat of his body radiating toward my side of the bed. “I’m not going to bite,” he says.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I admit, though I am tempted by his warmth.
“Roll your pretty ass over here.”
I smile into the darkness and gently position myself so I’m on my side, snuggled up to his strong body. The hand I’ve placed on the center of his chest rises with each inhale he takes, and sleep threatens to pull me under.
“Thank you for being honest with me,” I tell him quietly.
Jack doesn’t answer for a few breaths. He’s probably already fallen asleep, but eventually, I hear him whisper, “You’re welcome.”
Chapter 16
Jack
Euphoria overtakes me as I blink my eyes open to see a completely naked Cassidy standing next to my side of the bed. The guilt of giving her partial truths last night is long gone, and damn, she’s more incredible than I ever imagined. Her long, flowing hair frames the sides of her breasts and the curve of her waist flares slightly, giving her a classic hourglass figure. Blood rushes straight to my groin at the sight of her.
I slept great with her body so close to mine, listening to her little snores and feeling her warm breath fan across my chest. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” I say, reaching for her hand and pulling her lithe body on top of me.
She smiles seductively. “I’m going to make you come,” she says and reaches down, palming me with a tight grip. I’m not sure how I ended up naked but fuck… Yes, please.If she doesn’t stop that, I’m going to finish before we even get started.
