Page 76 of Hard Evidence
“Shiro, shh,” Jessie tried, but the dog just padded across to them and sat down two feet away.
“I don’t think he’s on board with the teeth thing.”
“I’ll take him to the kitchen.Ridge made him sleep in a kennel in the mudroom, so he’s not used to, uh…”
“Watching you get devoured by a man?”
“I mean, that never happened anyway, but…”
Ridge Packer was such a fuckin’ loser.And now he’d lost his wife, which suited Justin just fine.He gave Jessie one last kiss, carried her over to the bed, and then took Shiro by the collar.
“Wait, where are you going with him?Don’t put him outside.Please don’t put him outside.It’s cold.”
Did Ridge do that as well?Asshole.
“I’m going to bribe Dawson into taking him for a walk.”
A long walk.And maybe they could watch a movie together afterward.Beethoven?101 Dalmatians?He paused to kiss Jessie again, then headed out for an awkward conversation with his former and seemingly current roommate.
The timing was wrong, but this felt right.
She felt right.
Even with everything stacked against them, Justin knew he’d found The One.
CHAPTER29
JESSALYN
Oh heck, oh heck, oh heck.
Justin wanted totear off my freaking underwear with his teeth?Was that even possible?I mean, I was wearing bikini briefs, so what if he broke an incisor?Or cracked his jaw?I had a vision of him gnawing desperately at spandex as I died an agonisingly slow death from mortification.Should I find a pair of scissors as a backup?
Yes.
Yes, I should.
I knocked back the rest of the wine and, after careful consideration, poured another glass and drank that too.Then I hauled open the bedroom door, but Justin had palmed Shiro off on Dawson quicker than I thought, and he was standing right there.
“Planning your escape?”he asked, and although his tone was light, there was a hint of worry.
“No?”
“You okay?”
Also no.“Uh…”
“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”He kissed my forehead so sweetly, so tenderly that I melted against him.“We can just eat chocolate and watch a movie.”
“It’s not that.I…”
Justin waited for my answer, but the words stuck in my throat.How did I explain that I’d slept with two men in my entire life?The first had been a cringeworthy experience at a college party, memorable for its pain and its briefness.Then Ridge had wined me and dined me, and when he made it clear he was interested, I’d wanted to please him.So I’d steeled myself, smiled even as I felt sick, and it hadn’t turned out as awful as I thought.Wham, bam, he didn’t give a damn.I could just lie there for a couple of minutes making the right noises, and it would all be over.Sex with Ridge hadn’t been a big problem.Just a nightly chore, like brushing my teeth or combing my hair.No, it was everything else about him that I’d grown to hate.
“My underwear is…uh, a little substantial for ripping.I was going to get scissors.”
He chuckled softly.“Don’t worry; we can improvise.Slide them to the side.Peel them down your legs.Have fun with frottage.”
I didn’t have a clue what that was, but his smile made my knees weaken.My core was a puddle of liquid lust.I allowed him to guide me back to the bed, knowing that I’d let him do anything as long as his hands were all over me.
