43. Weston
The woman is insatiable. I’ve kissed and licked every inch of her body and we’ve had enough sex that I’m all set on cardio for a week.
I smile as I look over at her. She’s flat on her back, staring blank-eyed at the ceiling, hair still wet from the shower we took an hour or so ago. There’s a hint of a smile on her face when she turns to me and curls her arm under her cheek.
“Can I ask you a question?” Her voice is low and thick with fatigue, a sexy rasp that has me wanting to go for another round already. “Why do you hate Jackson?”
I don’t know how much to tell her, especially since it doesn’t matter anymore. She’s mine now and I’m going to make sure Jackass knows she’s off-limits if he wants to keep his pretty face intact.
But there’s that urge to share, though fuck knows where it came from. Just that there’s a voice in me that says, Show her your scars.
So I turn on my side to face her, lay an arm over her hip, and tug her closer. It isn’t a story I tell a lot of people. Molly is entitled to her privacy, but Renee needs to know what a monster he is.
“Jackson dated my sister, Molly.”
“So it’s just a jealousy thing? Alpha males marking their turf type deal?”
“I wish.” I shake my head. “They were hot and heavy and he seemed like a nice enough guy at the time. It was all fine. Then… she got pregnant.” I can still see the fear on my sister’s face as she told me about it. What do I do, West? “And from there… I had to watch that son of a bitch cheat on her, treat her like she was nothing while he was out fucking everything with a pussy and a pulse, even though he lived with Molly.”
None of this is easy to say. My throat gets thick because the hardest part is yet to come.
Renee stiffens in my arms. “It’s okay, Weston. You don’t have to… I get the idea.”
But she doesn’t. Not yet.
“Molly was devastated. Jackson stopped coming home, but when she told him she was moving out, he begged her to stay with him. Said he would be better. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. So she was home alone, all by herself, when she started bleeding.”
My voice wobbles and breaks. It takes me a second to pull myself back together. Renee’s breath is caught in her chest. The room is silent as the grave.
“She called me, frantic, but I was in Toronto for a game. I couldn’t do anything. I flew home that night, but it was too late.”
“Oh, God, Weston. I’m so sorry.” She scoots closer to lay her ear over my heart. My arms wrap around her and it feels right, which means…
Which means it has to stop.
I shift away, stop hugging her. “It’s fine. She’s fine now. Physically, she was fine then. She lost the baby, but she can have others. It’s all good.”
I’m still pulling away. Every inch between us is worth a mile. I have no fucking idea what made me tell her that story. It should be enough that I don’t want her around Jackson. She doesn’t need the play-by-play of their relationship gone wrong.
But it’s out there now. Can’t take it back.
“Look, my point is, he’s a prick and you should stay away from him.”
She nods. “Okay.”
“I mean it. You can nod in the hallway, but no friendship. He’s slimy and he’ll weasel his way in. I don’t want you around him.”
She opens her mouth in that telltale I’m about to argue with you expression, but then all she says is, “Okay.”
“Renee…” I slide away, sit up and look at her. She lifts herself so that her head is resting on her palm. Her smile is still a distraction I don’t need, so I force my gaze to her bare shoulder. “I need to make something clear. I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to offer you a relationship. I’ve been there and done it and it didn’t work out. I was the one who walked away with a broken heart and that isn’t happening again.”
She bites her lip and pulls the blanket over her. “I just got out of a relationship, too. It’s part of the reason I’m here at all.” Her eyes go wide. “I mean, not here as in bed with you. Here as in Sutton’s place.”
I want to ask more, but I refrain. There’s been enough sharing for today. Retreating back to neutral territory is for the best. “I just need to make sure you aren’t expecting anything from me. That you aren’t seeing wedding bells in your future.”
She holds up both hands. “Trust me. I’m not.”
I nod. “Good.”
“But there isn’t a reason we can’t… do this… like, when the urge hits… right?” She chews her lower lip again.
“You mean like a friends-with-benefits situation?” I don’t mean to get my hopes up, but up they go anyway. Another part of my anatomy is getting up, too.
She purses her lips. “Yeah. Friends with benefits.”
That’s good. That’s better. That’s safer. I just need to make sure we’re?—
“Exclusive,” I blurt.
She frowns, ready to pounce. “I’m not the kind of woman who sleeps around, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I know. Just clarifying.”
“Why would you even…?” She shakes her head. “Whatever. So, to recap: this is just sex. No one else involved, but definitely no feelings involved, either. When you call, I’ll come. Otherwise… business as usual.”
“Should we practice?” I grin goofily. I shape my hand like a phone and hold it up to my ear. “Hi, Renee?”
Biting back a smile, she pretends to answer. “Yes?”
“I want you. Now.”
She rolls so she’s on top of me, looking down, her lips less than an inch or so from mine. “Your wish is my command.” And she kisses me.
We don’t talk again for a while.