He laughed without humor. “You want her?”
“Either you have a death wish, or you’re dumb as shit. But I wouldn’t piss me off any more than you already have. You have no idea what I’m capable of. You wanna fuck around, Lila isn’t the woman you shit on. You hurt her. I hurt you. That’s a promise.”
He saw the truth in my eyes and the smug slid from his face. “We’re not exclusive. Lila and me, we’re just dating…”
“You’re not anything anymore, understood?” I’d bet Lila didn’t know they weren’t exclusive.
His jaw tightened and he dipped his chin.
I shoved away and turned my back on him, letting him know exactly what kind of a threat he was and jogged away.
She wouldn’t answer if I called, but I needed to talk to her, let her know what kind of man she was dating.
That left me only one option.
Chapter Seven
Lila
Mondays were always fairly busy in the library. I was at the counter checking out Mrs. Gonzales’s haul when the door opened. A gust of cold air rushed in, and I glanced up and stilled, freaking froze. No wonder Jesse called me Bambi. I was like some skittish, startled woodland animal whenever he was near.
And it was no different now.
He stood just inside the door, his unusual, vibrant green eyes focused on me from under the brim of his ball cap. I tried not to let him affect me, but I ate up the sight of him despite myself. He was wearing faded blue jeans that sat low, clinging to his solid thighs, and a black Ramblers MC T-shirt. Even when it was cold he only wore a T-shirt. Not surprising, his skin had always felt hot when I was close to him.
Focus.
He slid his hands into his pockets, and the muscles under all that ink shifted and bunched. My gaze moved back to his face and I sucked in a little breath.
He’d shaved off his beard and looked more like the Jesse I’d first met. His model good looks stole my breath then and they did again now. His mouth was sinful, full and perfectly shaped. And those utterly beautiful green eyes, ringed with thick black lashes despite his dark blond hair. But there was still ruggedness to all that gorgeousness.
God, when Jesse looked at you, when he focused solely on you, it was devastating.
My heart started pounding.
My thoughts rushed back to the other night, when I’d walked out of the bar after meeting up with Trix. He’d been standing in the window of the apartment above Rocktown Ink.
Shirtless. Muscles straining. There’d been a light behind him, and even from the road I could see how taut his biceps and abs were.
His gaze had been intense.
Watching me.
I hadn’t been able to hold that stare and rushed to the safety of my car.
Eves told me he was helping out at the tattoo shop for a few months while Cal looked after Cassy and the ranch. Which meant I’d be seeing a lot more of him. I couldn’t catch a break.
Was his girlfriend staying there with him as well? Of course she would be, he’d brought her home with him. He obviously couldn’t bear to be parted from her.
Mrs. Gonzales cleared her throat.
I jumped and ducked my head. “Sorry, I ah…was away with the fairies.”
Her knowing look told me she knew I was full of it and exactly why I’d been so distracted.
She gave me a wink, slid her books off the counter, and walked out.
Jesse moved in.
My face instantly heated thinking about my last confrontation with him. The things I’d said. I’d revealed too much. I’d let him see how much he’d hurt me, and I hated that more than anything. Which was why I’d told myself when I saw him again, I would play it cool. I’d ignore the racing of my heart and weak knees.
“Hey,” he said, looking at me from under those thick lashes.
I forced a small smile. “Look, about the other night. The things I said…”
“Let’s forget that, yeah?”
I wasn’t sure what that look on his face was all about, but it looked a lot like pity. I didn’t like that. No, I hated it. “I was drunk and I said some things I wouldn’t usually. There’s no reason for us to…you know, fight. There’s no hurt feelings here. I’m a big girl. You’re doing your thing…” A gorgeous blonde with a figure like a playboy bunny. “And I’m doing mine…”
Ha! Not yet you haven’t.
I’d texted Brooks over the weekend to try to remedy that. Anything to put Jesse firmly in the past, and maybe Jarod as well. A good sexual experience to wash away all the crappy ones. But Brooks had been busy working. Would be all week.
He glanced around the library before looking back at me. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
“We really don’t have anything to talk about.” No way did I want to go somewhere private with him.
His jaw tightened, the muscle on one side jumping. “It’s not about you and me.”
I looked at him again more closely. Something was definitely wrong. “Is everything okay?”
“I’d rather talk without an audience,” he said, glancing behind him again.
Several people were lined up waiting.
“Let me clear the queue, then I’ll take my break.”
He dipped his chin and stepped back, not too far though, and his gaze stayed on me the whole time I worked. Knowing he was watching my every move had me fumbling with books and stumbling over my words. What was wrong with me that he still affected me this way?
After I’d served the last person, I hustled around the counter and shut the door, turning over the back in thirty minutes sign.
This was a small town, there was no budget for a second librarian. There wasn’t enough work for two people anyway. So occasionally I shut for lunch or if I had to step out.
As soon as I closed the door I became very aware of the fact that we were alone. The walls seemed to close in and my heart raced when I turned to face him. “So, what did you need to tell me?”
He pulled off his hat, ran a hand over his cropped hair, letting out a rough breath, and put the cap back on backwards. “I need you to know the only reason I’m telling you this is because I care about you.”
I frowned. “What is this, why are you here?” There was panic in my voice.
Jesse lifted his hands like he was trying to settle a fractious mare. “Fuck…I’m just gonna tell you straight. Babe, when I was out running, I saw Brooks. He was with another chick, and they’d definitely just fucked.”
“What?”
“He’s cheating on you, Lila.”
My throat went tight, like it was closing up. “How do you know that? It could’ve been completely innocent. How do you know it wasn’t his sister?”
“It wasn’t his sister,” Jesse said, expression grim.
Humiliation washed over me. What the hell was it about me that repelled men so thoroughly? First Jarod. Then Jesse. Now Brooks. “Do you know his sister?” I asked weakly, grasping at straws in an attempt to save face.
“Lila, she was in a robe and he was kissing her. And not like a sister, like a guy kisses a woman after he’s been inside her,” he said, voice rough.
Christ, the way he said things. Jealousy pumped through me, but surprisingly not over Brooks and his mystery woman but the women Jesse kissed after he’d been inside them. Of the gorgeous blonde he’d had on the back of his bike, of the way he’d held her like she was precious.