LOGINI pushed him away, struggling to stand on my feet and ignoring the smirk on his face.
"What are you doing here?" His smirk widened and he stepped closer while I staggered backwards. "I think what you mean to say is," he trailed a finger down my hair, "thank you." I slapped his hand away, giving him a stern look. "I mean it, Jason. What are you doing here." He shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing." From the look on his face, I could tell immediately that he wouldn't answer my question and it bugged me. This was exactly why I didn't do one-night stands, they never ended well. And I never had the best of luck. Of course, it made sense why he suddenly showed up here after our rendezvous. "Regretting it already?" His voice snapped the rest of my thoughts away. "Don't tell me you really think we shouldn't have fucked that night?" I narrowed my eyes at him, "What are you, a psychiatrist?" "Close enough," he lifted a shoulder casually, and leaned to press a kiss on my cheek. "I'm a dentist, honey." I rolled my eyes and pushed him away, giving him a dirty look. "Stay away from me, Jason." "Ouch! That wasn't what you said the last time I was inside you." My eyes grew wide and I looked around frantically, hoping no one heard him. "Keep your voice down, will you?" "Why? You remember how loud you were the other night?" "Jason!" "Different intonation last night." I scoffed, glaring at the stupid smirk on his face. "It was around three in the morning, idiot." He stepped forward, closing the distance between us. "So you remember what happened then?" A tingle shot down my spine at his callous expression and I sucked in a sharp breath. "Of course, I do." He reached for my hair, playing with the strands. "Tell me, do you still think about it?" I shut my eyes as his minty breath fanned my face, a sizzling electricity sparking between us. "Jason," I moaned despite myself. He chuckled, the sound dark and wicked, "there it is. I love the way you breathe out my name, Tara. Makes me really hard." I didn't know if we'd both lost our minds or we just didn't care anymore. But we were in the middle of the road, where people were actively passing by and yet, Jason was still flirting with me. Making me aroused and telling me about his hardness that I could literally feel with my thighs. "You think you should be walking around with a boner?" I asked, looking up to meet his seductive gaze. As if he knew what I was thinking, his lips curled up and I caught sight of pearly white teeth. "Not if you helped me ease it up," he tipped my chin up so I could get a better look. "What do you say, darling?" I opened my mouth to respond but Tracy's voice stopped me in my tracks. "Tara, goodness!" She hurried towards us and I quickly tore myself away from Jason. "I was looking everywhere for you, where did you-" She stopped, eyeing Jason who had tucked his hands into his pockets in an effort to conceal his arousal. I tried hard not to snicker at that but there was a small smile on my lips. "Jason?" She called and I straightened but she turned to look at me. "Do you know him, Tara?" "No!" "Yes." I glared at Jason, giving him a warning look which he ignored. Tracy, on the other hand, didn't know who to believe between the two of us. "We met at the Rivers motel just outside of town," Jason provided even though no one asked, "she kept me company for a long time-" "By talking," I interjected before he could say more, throwing him a look. "We barely know each other, just our first names." Tracy cocked a brow and I realized how untruthful I sounded but I didn't want to drag the conversation any longer. "Were you able to get everything?" I asked cheerily, slipping my arm through hers. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you practically left me to do the entire haul myself. I knew I said I would do the work but you should've watched to see how we do things around here." "I know. I'm sorry," I batted my lashes at her, squeezing gently. "I just got distracted." Jason mumbled something under his breath and we both shot him a look. "What was that?" Tracy quipped and he shook his head. "Nothing, I was just wondering why Tara here is pretending not to know me," he placed a hand on his chest, feigning hurt. "I'm deeply insulted." I rolled my eyes, pulling Tracy's arm. "Come on, Tracy. Ignore him and let's go." "And you're sure you don't know him?" "Yes!" I groaned, exasperated. "But, I do," Jason cut in with a smile. "Tara Henry from Chicago. My mouth dropped open and Tracy turned to me. Now, I looked like the liar. "I must have said a lot that night," I sputtered, throwing my arms around but she didn't buy it. I threw Jason another 'what the hell' glare but he winked, looking too proud of himself. Of course, I told him my full name. I was incredibly loose mouthed when I was stimulated. At least, I didn't tell him my real name. "It was nice to see you, Jason," Tracy mumbled, tugging me gently. "Come on." "Hold on," Jason stepped forward, crossing his arms across his chest. "If I'm not mistaken, you girls are moving quite a few things to an apartment." "It's none of your-" "Yes," Tara cut in, giving me the side eye. "Tara will be staying with us at Suzie's." Jason clapped, grinning brightly. "I was heading in that direction anyways, let me give you girls a ride." "No, we'll be fine on our own. Thanks," I said through gritted teeth and was about to walk away but Tracy was staring at me. "What?" She shrugged. "We can't carry all of that by ourselves, Tara. Let him help." Oh, come on! I groaned under my breath, turning to look at Jason who still had a smug grin plastered on his face. "Fine," I sighed, tucking my hands into my jeans pockets. "I suppose Jason could give us a ride."TARA’S POVI opened my mouth, but no words came out. My brain had completely short-circuited.He removed his hand, and I could finally breathe again, although part of me mourned the loss of that warmth."You've been jumpy since we got in the truck," he observed, his tone maddeningly casual. "Won't look at me. Keep fidgeting with your purse strap. That's three tells already."A nervous laugh escaped me. "I'm not nervous.""Liar." But there was no heat in it.I finally risked a glance at him. He was focused on the road, but there was the hint of a smile playing at his lips.He shifted gears into work mode. "The mayor's office called yesterday. The town hall renovation is going over budget. We want to renegotiate our bid, see if we can bring the costs down without compromising quality."I blinked, turning his words over in my head. "How much over?""Fifteen percent. Which is actually reasonable given the foundation issues we discovered.” He said and clicked his tongue against the roof of
TARA’S POVI was walking through a garden bathed in golden afternoon light, flowers bloomed in different bright colors, and the air smelled like honeysuckle and freshly cut grass. I felt... happy. Genuinely, deeply happy in a way I couldn't remember feeling in years."Mummy!"I turned to see a little girl running toward me, pigtails bouncing, her face split wide with joy. She couldn't have been more than five or six, wearing a yellow sundress covered in butterflies.My heart swelled with a love so fierce it nearly brought me to my knees. I knelt down and swept her into my arms, covering her face with kisses as she giggled."Mummy, guess what! Guess what me and Daddy caught!"I smiled, leaning back to stare at her. "What did you catch, sweetheart?""A butterfly! A real one!” She was bouncing excitedly on her toes now. “It was blue and so pretty and Daddy said we had to let it go but first we got to look at it really close and-""That sounds amazing," I said, smoothing her hair back fr
TARA'S POV No. No, it couldn't be him, right?I pressed closer to the crack in the door, trying to see, but they were positioned just out of my line of sight in the living room."You have responsibilities to this family too," the brother continued. "I’ve always been there for her while you were off trying to revive the construction company. Why can I have this break?”There was a loud thud that made me flinch, followed by Jeremiah’s growl. "You know why I had to fucking do that! And we had a deal but you broke it, why?”"I had things to do. A life, remember? You're not the only one who-""Things to do?” Jeremiah snapped. “Or someone to do?"There was a sharp intake of breath. "That's not fair."Jeremiah scoffed. "Isn't it? How many months has it been since you actually showed up for a family dinner? Since you spent more than five minutes with Nana?"There was a heavy silence that pressed against my ears then angry footsteps heading toward the door."You know what? Forget it. I came h
TARA’S POV"Jesus Christ!"Jeremiah's voice cut through my panic, followed by a pained grunt.My fist had connected with his face, I realized with horror as the panic started to recede and my other senses kicked back in.My hand went up to my mouth. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I didn't… I couldn't see and the lights suddenly went off.""It's fine," he said, his voice strained. "Stay right there. Don't move."I heard him moving through the darkness with, followed by the scratch of a match, then a small flame bloomed to life. He lit a candle on a nearby table, then another, and another, until soft golden light filled the space.When he turned to face me, I gasped becauae blood was trickling from his nose.I shifted closer. "Oh God, Jeremiah, I'm so sorry.""Power goes out sometimes," he said calmly, tilting his head back slightly. "Old wiring. I've been meaning to fix it.""Let me help." I rushed forward, all my earlier awkwardness forgotten in the face of actual crisis. "Do you have tis
TARA'S POVJeremiah ignored them and looked at me. "Come on."I followed him out into the cool night air, the relief of escape mixing with a new kind of nervousness.His truck was parked in the back lot, and he unlocked it without a word, and I climbed in, the physical discomfort making me squirm slightly in my seat.The engine rumbled to life, and we pulled out onto the empty street.The silence was immediate and oppressive. I tried to find something to say, anything to break the tension that seemed to fill every inch of space between us."That was fun," I offered weakly.He bobbed his head. "Mm."I smiled tightly and added. "The guys are really great. I'm glad I came.""Good." Was his clipped response. His jaw was set and his eyes were fixed firmly on the road. Whatever openness had existed between us at the bar had vanished, replaced by this cool distance.I fidgeted with my purse, trying to distract myself from both the awkward silence and the increasingly urgent pressure in my b
TARA’S POVI stared at Daniel, my mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. My heart was hammering so hard I was certain everyone could hear it. The silence stretched impossibly long, heavy with expectation.Jeremiah's gaze burned into the side of my face. I could feel it like a physical touch, whatever he was waiting for me to say.Say something! My mind screamed at me. Say anything at all! "Jensen," I blurted out and and the table erupted."Jensen?!" Daniel practically shrieked. "Our Jensen? My dad Jensen?""He has a certain... charm," I stammered, my face burning so hot I probably looked like a tomato. "Despite being, you know, older. There's something refined about him.""Oh my God, she has daddy issues!" Joshua crowed, slapping the table."I do NOT have daddy issues!" I protested, but my voice came out too defensive.Eren was cackling. "Tara likes older men! This is amazing!""I didn't say I liked him, I said he was attractive!” I countered. “There's a difference!"
"What do you think you're doing, Anderson?" Anders huffed, jamming his hands into his pockets. "Nothing, officer. Just giving the lady a nice Elko welcome." His friends seemed terrified of Kennedy as well, they kept their faces fixed to the table, avoiding his glare. I wondered if his demeanour
My phone buzzed, interrupting the moment and I looked down to see a text from Jason, indicating that he was here. It was eight on the dot and I had to give him credit for his punctuality. "Is that him? Tracy asked and I nodded. "So, what are you waiting for then? Go get him."I chuckled, grabbing
My room was a disaster. It looked like a tornado swept through and left nothing but destruction in its wake. I groaned for the umpteenth time and landed on the bed with a thud. A quick look at time on my wristwatch told me it was already past four. I had less than four hours to prepare for my da
We could barely stop touching ourselves in the car. My hands roamed all over his sturdy back and I gasped in satisfaction when he sunk his teeth into my neck, sucking gently. I had no idea how long it took to arrive at his place but he parked in front of a modest looking condo, linking our fingers







