Chapter 4 #2
Lex looked back and forth between them. “I’m sure Jay will bring you around. And even though Brand complains, he lets us drink for free. Most of the time, anyway.” The smile he sent her way should’ve been in a toothpaste commercial. The man had the charisma and looks of a movie star.
And she had a feeling Jayson felt somehow…
second best, standing in the glow that was Alexander Battle.
But he shouldn’t. Jayson was just as attractive, if not more so in her eyes, and he possessed a genuine sweetness and sincerity that the flirty pilot was missing.
She was fairly certain Lex would flirt with any woman who had a pulse.
An awkward silence fell over the room. Jayson had gone strangely quiet, and Lex cleared his throat and stood up.
“Okay then. I should get going. Sabrina, it was an absolute pleasure.” He sent her a charming smile, grabbed another cookie and looked at Jayson. “Walk me out, old man.”
A muscle flexed in Jayson’s cheek as he stood up. “Be right back,” he grumbled, seemingly reverting to the grump he’d been last night.
She watched them walk over to the front door and exchange a few words. Lex threw his head back and laughed then slapped Jayson on the back before slipping out the front door. When Jayson returned, he sent her an apologetic look. “Sorry. He can be…”
“Exhausting?” she supplied.
His lips twitched. “Don’t get me wrong. I love him like a brother, but sometimes the stuff that comes out of his mouth… Well, as predictable as it is, he also enjoys embarrassing the hell out of his friends.”
“He seemed nice.” Jayson’s face fell. Oops. “But not my type,” she quickly added.
When his shoulders slumped in relief, she couldn’t help but smile. Had he seriously doubted himself? Aww, he was freaking adorable. Like no one else she’d ever met.
“And what is your type?” he asked, sitting back down beside her. Relaxing once again, she noticed.
“Hmmm.” She pretended to think for a moment.
“I like a man who’s humble and doesn’t brag about his achievements to the whole world.
” She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, chewing it thoughtfully.
His attention zeroed in on the movement, and she made a small show of licking her bottom lip before continuing.
“A man who is quietly confident. Kind and thoughtful.” She blinked, slow and sexy, tilting her head and softening her voice as she added, “A man who isn’t scared to make the first move. ”
Her invite didn’t go unnoticed, and Jayson didn’t hesitate.
He closed the distance between them, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss.
A kiss she wouldn’t soon forget. It was firm, yet tender, and his lips felt soft, yet commanding as they moved against hers.
His scent surrounded her, clean and fresh like a bar of newly-unwrapped soap.
With a soft moan, she opened her mouth, welcoming the slide of his tongue against hers, and his large hand cupped her face.
It was all too good. Lusty emotion pummeled through her, stronger than she’d expected, as he molded his mouth to hers, drinking deeply. Oh, God, it had been forever since a man had kissed her like this. With so much passion, she felt like she was melting. Utterly boneless.
Need spiked within her, arrowing straight down and making her clit buzz. Jayson Knight knew how to kiss a girl senseless, and she happily let him.
Until guilt rose up, sharp and loud, pointing its finger at her. Reminding her why she was there and how she planned on finding evidence to bring him down. To take him away from his friends, from his daughter.
Sabrina yanked her mouth away, breathing hard. She really liked Jayson, and in another lifetime she could see him being much more than her neighbor. But she had a job to do. And he wasn’t just some random man she’d moved in next door to and could possibly pursue.
The visit, the cookies, the slow, sexy, come-hither looks were all subterfuge. A way to grease her way in, so to speak.
God, she felt like the world’s biggest asshole for deceiving him.
His amazing hazel eyes searched hers. “Should I not have done that?” he asked. “Fair warning, if you say yes, you might see a grown man cry.”
She smiled in spite of her inner turmoil, and he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
“The last thing I want to do is move too fast and send you running. I really like you, Sabrina,” he said, voice low and smooth, once again reminding her of expensive whiskey.
She felt slightly drunk on him, too. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve wanted to let a woman in, but I’d like to let you in. If that’s okay?”
Oh, God. He sounded so hopeful. She’d targeted him because she thought he’d be an easy mark.
A lonely, single dad without many, if any, options.
But he’d surprised her. Jayson Knight was single because he chose to be.
The man was a damn catch and a half. And the chemistry between them?
It made her feel like she had bottle rockets going off in her hoo-ha.
“Okay,” she finally whispered, hating herself for lying.
“C’mon. I’ll show you where the guestroom is.”
“Thanks,” she murmured, following him up the stairs. Her gaze dipped to his firm ass, lovingly encased in worn denim, and she forced herself to look away.
It’s just lust, she tried to convince herself, and nothing more. She hadn’t slept with a man in two years and, clearly, it was taking its toll on her neglected libido.
Dammit, she should’ve had a one-night stand before coming to Cielo Springs.
A hard, fast fuck to take the edge off and prepare herself for the former Ranger turned silver fox.
Because Jayson Knight was a temptation she hadn’t planned on.
And one she feared would be extremely hard to resist when the time came to fulfill her mission.