Chapter 8
Luke
I’m not sure how many hits it’ll take before my guilt finally abates, but so far, it isn’t three. My nose is probably broken but I can still breathe out of it so I know it isn’t displaced and I don’t need to drive to the hospital.
At least he signed the papers, so that’s done. Now I just have to get the actual box to him.
I drag myself to my feet, leaning heavily against the car door, when a shadowy figure steps out from the corner of the house.
“Luke?”
Great. I’m going to fucking die tonight.
“Ms. Hayes.” I sound like I have a cold as I speak without breathing through my nose.
“Are you alright?” she asks kindly, stepping into the beams from the security lights.
Her dark hair is piled high on her head, her face is free of makeup, and she’s wearing an oversized t-shirt with one short-sleeve hanging off her shoulder.
Certainly not the glitz, glam, and high-maintenance partner one might expect from someone as richly famous as Sloan, but that makes her all the more intimidating.
I admire her comfort in her own skin … as well as her willingness to just lay her thoughts and desires out there.
Her confidence matches Sloan’s and I can easily see why they would be drawn to each other.
“I’m fine, thank you.” I keep my voice stern not wanting to encourage her advances.
“You should return to Sloan. It would only make things worse if he found you out here with me.” I continue pinching my nose and tilting my head back, but I feel the blood running down the back of my throat.
If it doesn’t stop soon, I’m going to puke on Noah Kinkaid’s driveway in front of this breath-taking woman.
“I’m a nurse,” she says simply. “I can’t turn my back on you knowing you’re injured.”
She begins pulling her shirt over her head. What the hell?
“You’re playing with fire, Jennifer.” Alarms blare in my head. Anyone but Sloan’s girlfriend. I’m powerless to move as the fabric comes off, revealing a tight, pink tank top underneath.
“I happen to be a fan of the heat,” she says, wrapping her hand in the recently removed shirt and reaching for my face.
“No, please.” I hold up my hands to stop her. “I’ll ruin your shirt.” She disregards my words completely which is new to me. With the rank of an officer and the degree of a physician, people usually do what I say. “Someone always gets burned when fire’s involved,” I argue weakly.
Disgusted with myself, I take a step back to create space but she follows me until my back hits the side of my SUV for the second time tonight.
“I care for Sloan and provide that care in the way he needs. Similarly, he cares for me by allowing me the freedom to spread my wings whenever I see fit.”
Maybe Sloan actually caused some lasting damage with one of his hits because words keep spilling from my mouth when there should be some kind of filter catching them and preventing me from making a fool of myself.
“And have you? Spread your wings, Ms. Hayes?”
“Call me Jennifer,” she says as she dabs at the blood on my face and neck, her body so close she’s almost flush against me. “And no. Sloan is special to me and I’ve become exponentially more selective since he and I began seeing each other.”
Curiosity prevents me from being able to drive away.
“If he’s so special, why risk it?” Sloan could never make me understand, but maybe this woman can.
Finding multiple people attractive? Sure.
But trying to commit to them in an actual relationship?
How does that work when there are more than two people?
I’m selfish. I’d want her all to myself, not pass her around in some bizarre human-timeshare.
She sighs. “Not everything is so black and white,” she starts while continuing to wipe my skin, allowing me to finally right my head to look at her.
Her hands are gentle and I can tell she’s very competent.
I’m sure she’s an excellent nurse. “Dating a rockstar is complicated even on its best days. I’m not ready to have the world know every detail of my life so Sloan and I haven’t gone public with our relationship, but there are some things I miss, like going to a movie, having dinner, or grocery shopping together.
Sloan recognized there were things he couldn’t give me and offered to keep our relationship open in an effort to give me the best of both worlds.
But I’m sure you understand that I can’t invite just anyone into a relationship with Sloan Alexander. ”
“So, are you looking for someone to take you on a date or someone to have a threesome with?” Seriously. Was I roofied? Why can’t I stop fucking talking? “Actually, it doesn’t matter. I’m not the man for either.”
“There,” she says, dropping her hand a moment later. “It’s not perfect but at least your skin is mostly clean, although you’ll have some bruising.” She pauses, but quickly adds, “Which I’m sure you already know, Dr. Blackwell.”
Unsure of what to say, I just nod, like an idiot who’s forgotten the entire English language.
She leans in and I see her growing closer, but I can’t back up. Under the floodlights, I can see the flush in her cheeks from the fire.
My hand raises, without my consent, to touch her skin. “You may want to sit farther from the flames. Your skin is too hot.”
“Does that explain the heat everywhere?” she whispers, eyes zeroed in on my mouth. My cock is beginning to stir, telling me he’s very on board with Jennifer Hayes and her open relationship with Sloan.
“Probably not,” I play along against my better judgment.
“I’m going to kiss you now unless you tell me to stop,” she informs me.
“Please,” I whisper weakly, my voice lower than normal. I’m not even sure if I’m begging her to stop or telling her to hurry up. “I can’t come between you and Sloan.”
Her lips brush softly against mine as she mumbles, “But that’s exactly where I want you.”
While I’m processing her words, her tongue parts my lips and I feel her hand in my hair as she groans against my mouth, making me completely hard.
She kisses me with her lips open, her tongue teasing and wrestling mine in the space between our bodies because she’s somehow able to remember that I can’t breathe out of my nose right now.
The adrenaline coursing through me makes it so I can’t feel the pain in my face at all, actually, and I kiss her as if all of my pent up hurt and anger over Sloan is her fault.
She wants me to come between her and Sloan?
Fine.
Maybe I can make this beautiful woman fall in love with me instead, and he’ll finally know how I felt when he was taken from me. Granted, we were friends, not lovers, but nonetheless, I had expected to be in each other’s lives for the entirety of them.
I grab two handfuls of Jennifer’s ass and pull her into me, savoring this stolen moment. God, she feels good. She cups me through my thin pants and pulls her head back to look at me, her eyes wide.
“That’s one helluva service weapon, Major.”
I can’t help but laugh at the corny joke even as my dick swells more at her touch. I’m not sure I’ve ever been more conflicted in my life.
Wishing I could just take what I wanted like she does, but knowing I won’t, I let go of her ass and grip her shoulders instead.
“Thank you for checking on me, Jennifer. Obviously, I find you attractive but I’m a traditional man and whatever arrangement you and Sloan have won’t work for me and I can just about guarantee it won’t work for him either.
It’s been a pleasure meeting you and I’m happy to take your number if you ever want to discuss job opportunities. ”
She takes my offered phone and enters her contact information. I see her send herself a text from my number as well before handing the phone back to me.
“Goodnight, Luke.”
“Goodbye, Jennifer.”
I slip into my car and out of that driveway as quickly as I can with my heart thundering in my chest, knowing I’ll have to face Sloan at least one more time and he’s going to be madder than hell about it.
Of course, it’s raining today. It should be raining today. It seems cruel when the sun shines down cheerfully during a funeral.
I’m decked out in my dark green dress uniform with white gloves. Hailey loved being a military wife and it would’ve made her smile.
Things with Sloan have gone all wrong. Every time I’ve been around him, it takes about four seconds for me to get sidetracked by my emotions and forget what both Hailey and Grant asked of me.
But I can’t come right out with that conversation.
Sloan’s still too angry to accept it. Hell, even I don’t accept it, but still, he deserves some answers.
I thought about staying in the background today, hidden so as not to upset Sloan, but today isn’t about him. Today’s about Hailey. So, here I am, front row with Nina Cosgrove, greeting guests as if I’m Hailey’s spouse. It’s fitting since by the end, she and I were like family.
I feel him before I see him.
Sloan carries himself with an air of confidence and self-awareness that almost makes you cower. At the very least, it calls your own insecurities into sharp relief. He makes no apology for occupying the space that he does and it’s hard to hold your ground around that kind of aplomb.
The moment his eyes land on me, I can tell he’s fuming over my presence. Thankfully, he has too much respect for Hailey and the formality of the event to cause a scene. Next to me, Nina pulls Sloan into a hug.
“Sloan, I’m so sorry. I know Hailey meant a lot to you.”
Sloan huffs a laugh. “Meant a lot to me? I loved her, Neen. I was in love with them both.”
Nina drops her eyes and nods once. “I know.”