Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“Are you free on Sunday morning?” I asked. “I was wondering if you could take Zara for a couple hours?”
“Yeah, I’m free.”
“Good. I’ll walk her over to your parents’ house around ten.”
I thought he might make a move to leave but instead he asked, “What’s happening on Sunday? Got a hot date?”
I knew he was only teasing, but my cheeks chose that exact moment to turn bright red, giving me away entirely. Jace’s expression flattened while he studied me, and I decided to be honest, “Yes, actually. A first date. We’re meeting for coffee.”
“I see,” he continued staring at me, and the tension became almost unbearable before he went on, “Who’s the lucky guy?”
I swallowed thickly. “His name is Rufus, and he’s a web developer, same as me, so I’m hoping we’ll have a bit in common.”
His flat expression morphed into something harder. “Right, well, that’s great. I hope the two of you hit it off.” I almost laughed because his tone said the opposite. It said, I hope the two of you have zero chemistry and hate each other’s guts.
“Jace, I haven’t dated since the divorce. This is my first attempt at putting myself out there, and I’d really like it if you could be happy for me. It’s lonely being single.”
“So that’s the reason you’re going on a date? Because of loneliness?”
“Well, sure, and I am a woman. I have needs.” Did I really just say that? I must’ve been more exhausted than usual.
He stared at me for a long, long moment. “You have needs.” A statement, not a question. He tapped his fingers against his arm, eyes lasering into me.
“Yes, Jace, needs just like every other human being on the planet. I don’t want to be alone forever and—”
“Let me take care of them for you,” he blurted, and I stared at him in open-mouthed shock.
“Pardon?” I whispered.
He closed the distance between us, and I hitched a sharp breath when he reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind my ear. Shivers skittered across the back of my neck.
“I said, let me take care of you. If you have needs, use me to satisfy them. I’ll happily volunteer.”
The gravel in his voice had my insides in a tailspin. I honestly couldn’t believe what he was suggesting. It was completely outrageous. I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out. I didn’t know what to say.
“We’re divorced, Jace,” I finally managed.
He gave a flat chuckle. “And no divorced couple has ever had sex again once the papers were signed?” He moved even closer, so close I could feel the heat of him. He was so sexy, everything I’d ever found attractive in a man right there in front of me offering himself up. But he’d also hurt me like no one else, and I refused to put myself at his mercy ever again.
“I know you still want me, Shannon. You think I didn’t see you undressing me with your eyes earlier tonight?”
“I was not …” My words trailed off because I might not have been undressing him, but I was certainly lusting after him. Damn him for being so perceptive. He knew all my tells.
He chuckled again, this time with more warmth. “It’s okay to admit it. I still think you’re the sexiest woman in the entire fucking universe, so there’s that.”
A lump formed in my throat, an unexpected rush of arousal flooding me. Did he really think that, or was he just saying it as some cheap ploy to get me into bed? I needed to put a stop to this right now.
“No,” I managed, stepping out of his reach and folding my arms. “Please go.”
There was a flash of disappointment before he quickly masked it. “All right. I’ll go, but the offer stands. If you need me, all you have to do is ask.”
He turned and left, leaving me standing in my kitchen, a jumbled mess of emotions I didn’t have the first clue how to unpack. Why would he offer something like that? Why jeopardise the tentative friendship we’d only started to develop? I was so mad at him and at the same time infuriatingly needy. A part of me wished I had said yes and let him take me upstairs to bed. No one could compare to Jace, especially now that he was clean from drugs and also in the best shape of his life.
But that would be taking a step backward when I was determined to move forward. Jace thought he was offering some kind of easy, no strings sexual release. Well, maybe he could keep his emotions out of it, but I certainly couldn’t. Not with him.
I spent most of Saturday deep cleaning my house. Call it sexual frustration or merely ordinary frustration, but I needed to focus my energy somewhere. So that energy went into scrubbing my toilet bowls until they gleamed. I was so mad that Jace had the audacity to suggest I sleep with him instead of going on a date and potentially meeting someone I might want a relationship with. It wasn’t fair of him, but he also wasn’t being fair to himself. His recovery was important, and a messy sexual entanglement with his ex-wife could put his two-year clean streak in jeopardy.