Page 73 of Trick
I slapped at his soapy shoulder and told him to be serious.
“It’ll be fine,” he sighed. “There aren’t any rooms that share a wall with this one. In fact the closest rooms are around the corner, and they belong to the prospects.”
Somewhat mollified, I reached for my shampoo, but Jase stopped me, then cradled my face in his hands. “Lauren, I can’t do this anymore.”
My heart sank and I closed my eyes, not wanting him to see the pain I was sure would be reflected there. He was ending this…now…just minutes after cuddling, and having sex, and teasing me, and making me fall for him even more.
I was so busy trying not to let my emotions spiral that it took me a moment for his next words to register.
“I don’t give a fuck who knows about us. In fact, Iwantthem to know. I don’t want to hide this anymore…I never did. I only agreed to it because you seemed to want it that way.”
I gaped at him as he dipped his head and kissed the tip of my nose. We were so close that I could see tiny droplets of water clinging to his eyelashes. I was so stunned that I was momentarily incapable of speech.
His grip on my chin tightened ever so slightly. “I know you might not believe me, or be ready to hear it, but – ”
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him, and it took him a second to react before he gathered me close and kissed me back. Warm water streamed over us as we shared slow, deep kisses, before I pulled back to take a breath.
“I don’t want to hide it anymore, either.”
We stared into each other’s eyes as our smiles grew, and before long, we were both laughing.
“I’ve spent the last two days trying to figure out how to tell you that. I can’t believe I did it in the fuckin’ shower,” he muttered before kissing me again. He shifted and bumped his elbow on the tiled wall, then cursed under his breath.
“I’m gonna step out and give you room to finish up. I definitely prefer the bigger shower at your place,” he said, giving me a pat on the butt.
I quickly ran through the rest of my shower routine, then partially dried my hair and wrapped myself in a towel. Stepping out into the bedroom, I caught Jase’s eye, and he let out a whistle.
“Those legs of yours are sexy as hell, darlin’.”
I did a little curtsy, then grabbed for the towel as it started to slip. I walked over to the dresser and pulled out a bra and pair of panties. They didn’t match, but I didn’t figure Jase would mind too much, since he was more interested in what was under them.
“I fed Elvis, but he’s been giving me major side-eye. We’ll need to shut him in the bathroom the next time,” he grinned.
Jase watched with interest as I got dressed, then told me that he ordered breakfast for us from the diner while I was in the shower.
“It should be here in about ten minutes.”
We walked into the common room to find Uncle Bill slowly hobbling out the front door, with Sinner right behind him and King telling them to let him know what they find out.
“Where are they going, Prez?”
King glanced toward the door and grimaced. “Viking could barely get out of bed this morning because his back is sojacked up. Lucky had to help him down the stairs and Sinner’s draggin’ him to see a doctor whether the old fart likes it or not.”
“I should go with them, Jase,” I said, but King shook his head.
“No, sweetheart. Viking wants you to stay here at the compound.”
I sighed, hating that my uncle was more worried about me than about himself.
“He’ll be OK,” Jase whispered in my ear, then rubbed my back soothingly. King arched his brow as he studied us closely, then his lips tilted up in a slight grin before he turned and went back to his office.
“I think he’s on to us,” I whispered back. Jase just snorted under his breath and led me to a table.
Our breakfast arrived a few minutes later, and as soon as we finished eating, I went back to the room to prepare my notes for the chapters that I wanted to get recorded. Jase decided to work out in the small gym in the basement of the clubhouse, and returned to the room three hours later, hot, sweaty, and shirtless.
“The guys ordered pizza for lunch. I’m gonna grab a quick shower.” I nodded, still distracted by the sight of the veins popped out on his arms, and all those delicious muscles on display.
We sat down to eat with Bull and Irish in the common room. King came in as we were piling pizza onto our plates to let me know that the doctor said that Uncle Bill had pulled a muscle in his back.
