Page 39 of Trials of a One Night Stand
I wrap my arms around Jayne and let her cry, which quickly turns into sobbing. I’m not that experienced with this kind of thing, but if Harlowe has taught me anything, it’s that hugs help most situations way better than words can.
Jayne sinks into me, and I tighten my arms around her. Standing in the bathroom with the harsh lighting isn’t comfortable, so I sweep her off her feet, carry her to the bedroom, carefully set her down on the mattress, and then lie next to her. I hold her and rub circles on her back with my one hand that isn’t under her.
Slowly, the sobs stop, but the tears still flow.
“I-I’m sorry.” She hiccups. “I don’t expect you—”
“Stop right there.” I raise her chin with my finger so I can stare directly into her red-swollen eyes. Despite their puffiness, she’s beautiful. “You might not expect anything from me, but we made that baby together. You know I’ve been calling you. It’s not like I haven’t wanted to get in touch with you.”
She nods.
“I’m not going anywhere, Jayne. I’ll be here to support you no matter what you decide to do.”
“Decide?” She stiffens as if realizing for the first time she has a choice here. “Oh.”
“You don’t have to make a decision right now.” I touch my forehead against hers. “You’re not in high school, dependent on others to survive. This isn’t the worst nightmare of your teens or early twenties. There’s time. No one, especially me, will force you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“I have choices. A well-paying career.”
I nod. “And you have me.” Which, let’s face it, is all she really needs.
Jayne finally cracks a smile. That’s much better.
“Hey,” I say. “I mean it. I have a well-paying career too. Though we’ll have to see if that’s still the case after the trial.”
Her eyes widen, matching her gaping mouth. “Oh my God. The trial. We shouldn’t be together like this. We need to—”
I press my lips against hers to stop her from spiraling, and I can taste the salt from her tears. The peck suddenly turns into a passionate kiss, her tongue in my mouth. Blood rushes to my dick. I can’t help it. This woman turns me on. But this is the wrong time for that.
I slowly back away. “We don’t need to do anything.”
“I should disclose our relationship, but if I do that, Jason will remove me from the case and there goes my promotion. I might be moved to another office.”
Everything inside me tenses. “You can’t leave Seattle.”
How can she even think about leaving me?
Not to mention the baby.
She can’t move somewhere else with our baby.
Her gaze meets mine. “I don’t want to leave, but if I’m transferred, I won’t have a choice.”
I recall what she’d said. “You said you should disclose our relationship. Is there a time limit?”
“I probably should’ve done it after the preliminary hearing, but I didn’t expect to see you outside of the case.”
“You’ll be seeing me.” I glance at her stomach, not wanting to touch it because I have no idea what she’ll decide to do.
“Oliver already snitched to Jason about you coming to my hotel room, so we have to be careful.”
“What a bastard, especially since I’ve been paying him to work out with me.” I shake my head. “Talk about a double standard, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep your job safe.”
“You’re paying him?”
I nod. “Think we could use that in some way?”
“Maybe as an ace in our pocket.”
