Page 58 of The Scarab's Game
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Jenn flung one hand in the air as though dismissing her words. “Fear makes us act… differently.”
Guilt twisted in my gut. I was lying to her, pretending I didn’t want her when she wasallI wanted. But she deserved better than what I had to offer, which was nothing more than a lifetime of lies, danger, and a man incapable of a real relationship.
“Why don’t I leave so you can get dressed?” I shifted to the side of the bed, keeping the sheets over me.
She hesitated, finally glancing over her shoulder at me. Those blue eyes held a flicker of uncertainty, almost like she wanted to protest.
I forced a reassuring smile. “I should put more clothes on, anyway.”
After a moment, she gave a slight nod.
I slid out of the bed, very aware I was only in my underwear. Grabbing my phone, I headed for the door, pausing to look back at her. Committing her tousled hair and makeup-free face to memory. Filing the image next to that of her robe falling away last night, revealing her long leg while I was trying to focus on the job. Her hot sex pressed against me in the wee hours this morning. My hand on her curves when we woke.
She dropped the bra into her open suitcase, turned to face me, and her gaze raked down my torso.
If Jenn didn’t have a boyfriend anymore, Scarlett lost her reason to tell me to keep my hands to myself. Jenn was a grown woman. I was a grown man. We could make our own decisions.
She moistened her lips.
Breakfast, the gallery, and the scarab mission be damned. My whole body screamed at me to lunge across the room and grab her. My boxer briefs didn’t hide how my dick reacted to her, and I didn’t care.Let her see it.
“Em…” Her fingers curled around the edge of her robe, her knuckles grazing her chest. “It wasn’t fear.”
I jolted as my phone buzzed in my hand, yanking my attention to another phone call from Rav. Fucking bad timing.No, it wasn’t bad timing. I wasn’t thinking straight. Maybe the call was the best timing. “It’s work. I need to take this.”
Jenn let go of her robe and spun back to her suitcase, the moment vanishing as quickly as it had started.
“I’ll let you know when breakfast arrives.” Without waiting for a response, I slipped out of her room and closed the door, giving her privacy. Or giving it to myself? I leaned against her door, staring up at the decorative ceiling, poker scenarios running through my brain so I wasn’t talking to Rav with a raging hard-on.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
What isn’t wrong with you? If you flop a three-of-a-kind, the odds of making a full house or better by the river go up thirty-four percent.
Letting out a rush of air in frustration, I headed for my room while answering the phone. “What?”
“Will’s on the plane. He’ll be here in three hours.”
That could have been a text. An email. Could have waited until Jenn and I were done.I clenched my back teeth rather than curse at him. “That it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
I clicked off without another word. Why was I being an ass to him? Was I angry he’d interrupted us?
Or grateful he’d saved me from myself?
Chapter 20
Jenn
“Damn,”I muttered to myself. A section above the trees in the background glowed green under the ultraviolet light. “How’d I not see that?”
Probably because you were so tired when you worked on that section yesterday.
Not like I’d had any better sleep last night. Four blissful hours in Emmett’s arms couldn’t fix staying up too late and nearly being shot at three in the morning.
It was only nine, and the De Rosa Gallery was eerily quiet. Emmett had walked me over after breakfast, and the security guard opened the door for me early, before any other staff had arrived. Emmett had lingered, telling me to be careful, like I was a child.
Did I really try to invite him to touch me again this morning?