Page 88 of The Originals

Jack took a swig of his beer, eyeing her. “Wanna beer?”

Colleen licked her lips, noticing his gaze drop to her mouth. For all her interactions with him, tonight’s felt so different.

“Yeah.”

He pushed off the wall and disappeared into the kitchen. Colleen walked over to the large doorway. Jack was at the counter, popping off the tab to the beer. It was surreal being in his house and doing something so normal as sharing a beer.

Jack walked over and handed it to her. She immediately took a large gulp and stared back at him.

Jack sighed. “Not gonna get in the middle of what you and Dunn got.”

Colleen tried to hold her smile at bay but completely failed. “I think it’s a little too late for that, Jack.”

His eyes hardened. “Meant, this is just so he can cool off. What you got with him you work out. Or don’t. Not gettinginvolved other than giving you a few nights away.” Jack paused, and his stare sent a shiver up her spine. “Nothing else.”

His message was loud and clear. If she had any ideas that this gesture meant anything more than helping her out, she’d be disappointed. And she was. She hadn’t given it more thought, but now looking at the situation and given some time to reflect, she probably would’ve conjured up some romantic fantasy. Her being the damsel in distress, and Jack being some type of knight in black leather.

Colleen nodded. “I appreciate this, Jack. And I promise not to involve you in anything else. I already caused enough trouble. I won’t make any more for you.”

Jack smirked. “Too damn fucking sweet, Coll. Some days you need to tuck that away and give people exactly what they deserve.”

It was good advice.

Colleen finished her beer in silence while Jack had a second. It was three in the morning, and after a long and stressful day, she looked forward to crashing. She discreetly covered her mouth, trying to conceal a yawn. But Jack saw. He grabbed her empty bottle, tossed it in the trash and led her to the stairs.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

Your bed?

Colleen had heard everything Jack said, but she was getting a different vibe from him since they’d left the clubhouse. Maybe she was reading into it. Or maybe he just needed a little push.

Chapter Twenty-Three

This probably wasn’t one of his best ideas. The Lodge wasn’t that bad, and it put the much needed distance between Colleen and Dunn. Jack had known the brother for years. He was good to the club, but he wasn’t always a good guy, especially with women. The shiner on Colleen’s cheekbone was proof in itself.

Jack walked up the stairs with her following. Once at the landing, he pointed to a door at the end of the narrow hallway. “Bathroom. Only got one.”

Colleen was in for a rude awakening the first time she’d have to use it. To say they weren’t the tidiest of guys was an understatement. Every so often Caden would half-ass clean, and on occasion Jack had had one of the girls from the club come in. It had been a while for either of those to happen. He walked past his own room and stopped between the two doors on either side. With both boys away, he had options. Or did he?

Jack glanced over at Kase’s door. God only knows what she’d find in his room. Used condoms and cum stains were a given. He turned to Caden’s door and grabbed the handle. It probably wasn’t much cleaner than Kase’s, but it was the better of the two, he assumed.

Jack opened the door and flicked on the light. Surprisingly, it wasn’t nearly as bad as expected. There was a certain odor that anyone with a teenage son could understand, but it was faint. He walked over to the window and cracked it. There were a few things on the floor and an overflowing laundry basket. Overall, his bed was made, and there weren’t used condoms on the nightstand.

“Cade’s the cleaner of the two.” Jack glanced around the room. Cleanliness had never played a huge part in his child rearing. Truth be known, Jack didn’t know what the fuck he was doing half the time. He’d spent the majority of their childhood winging it.

Colleen chuckled, peering around the room. She didn’t seem the least bit bothered with the state of his son’s room. “It’s been a long time since I’ve slept in a teenager’s bed. Sure he won’t mind?”

Jack smirked, looking over his youngest’s bedroom. Caden was the responsible one of the two. The kid was going places. There was already interest in him playing football in college. His grades were decent, high enough to get the scouts looking at him. In a town like Turnersville, it was rare to get out, but his kid was something special.

“He won’t mind.”

Colleen grabbed the hem of her shirt, revealing her toned belly. She had a small butterfly tattoo on her hip, peeking from the waist of her cutoff shorts. “You sure? I know sometimes kids are territorial of their space. I could always sleep with you in your room if it might be a problem.”

Fuck.Up until now, keeping his distance from Colleen had been an easy task. She’d made it easy. Aside from offering him company a few times when she’d first started coming around, she’d backed off immediately. It wasn’t a move he saw often with the club whores. Maybe they’d step back for a day or two, but they’d come on strong again eventually. Not her.

While Colleen had gone through quite a few brothers in the club, done more orgies than he could count, she’d always seemed too sweet, too kind, and too soft for the lifestyle. She could hold her own with most of the women, but she backed down with all the men.

It was strange to see her shoot her shot after all this time. Taking into consideration her current position, Jack wanted to make sure there wasn’t any confusion.