Page 27 of Defying Ella
My eyes fluttered shut, and I let the water soothe away the tension Jared had spent a month stoking.
Figuring out my next move would help my state of mind immensely. If I were busy, I couldn’t go on tour with Mel in May when the band shipped out for The Brightside tour.
But reading a hot romance novel would give me a nice boost of endorphins until I worked the more serious things out.
I picked up my phone and settled in for my hottest read yet. The steaming, bubbling water soothed away the ache in my bones. It also had the unfortunate side effect of making me ache in other ways. Not for the first time, I wished I’d taken a vibrator on tour.
The sliding doors whooshed open, cutting through the peaceful silence like an unspoken threat.
My eyes fell shut as I tensed up.Old habits die hard.
“How can you stand to be out here? Your nose is bright red.”
To ignore him, or to test how far he would go with his nice guy routine today? Ignoring him could put an end to our truce, and then it would bemyfault.
“The water’s actually pretty nice.” Somehow, I kept my voice even, not an ounce of suspicion seeping through.
If I distrusted every word that came out of his mouth, I’d find myself on the verge of a nervous breakdown before we escaped.
Silence stretched around me, and I chanced a glance in his direction, peeking through my lashes. I half expected to find he’d snuck back inside, but no such luck. He stood at the edge of the hot tub, his jaw slack and his eyes tracing the outline of my body beneath the water.
I swallowed as his focus returned to my face. Lust burned in his eyes, but his lips pressed firm.
“What do you want, Jared?” I asked, staring hard at the darkened landscape in front of me. I could just about make out a row of conifers. Didn’t matter though, I pretended they fascinated me. Anything to dissuade him from staying.
“I’m just checking if you’re okay. You don’t need to be a bitch about it.”
Instinct wanted me to jump down his throat, to give him back as much venom as he gave me. “I’m fine, thanks.” There, I could be polite.
He ripped his t-shirt over his head.
“What are you doing?” My gaze dipped to the hard lines of his torso, drinking in the dusting of fine hair trailing beneath his jeans. I swallowed and forced my eyes back to his.
With his green eyes levelled on me, he started on his jeans with rough, jerky movements. I couldn’t help but follow his hands, my mouth going dry.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I muttered, my voice low and hard.
His jeans hit the deck.
My eyes dropped to the front of his boxers and his evident arousal. He levelled that challenging gaze on me, and I swallowed.
Jared sank into the tub, boxers in place. Seated opposite me, his lips curled in predictably smug satisfaction.
“You were right, it is nice in here,” he said, his taunting gaze fixed on me.
“Leave me alone,” I ground out between a clenched jaw.
“Can’t.” He let the word pop out of his mouth, all teasing and confident.
I’d really like to smack the smug look off his face.
“Why not?”
“It’s more fun here.”
The twinkle in his eyes told me what his lips hadn’t: it’s more fun to wind me up.
I placed my phone on the side and levelled him with a dark glare of my own. “Yes, let me grab a fork, and I’ll make it extra fun for you.”
