Force of Temptation

Bracken sighed. “She’s just intent on having everything Ashley has, and Kim just will not believe that there was never anything between him and Ashley. And she’s never been good at letting things go. She was one of those high-demand kids that wanted everything ‘now’ and constantly moaned ‘it’s not fair.’ You could tell her no, but she would hound you, cry, complain, and do her best to wear you down. Mom would stay firm, but Dad found it hard to say no to her. Now she’s someone who believes she should always have what she wants, someone who’s never deterred by the word ‘no’ because, in the past, she always got what she wanted in the end.”

Done talking about that pain in the ass, Jesse turned to his mate. “Let’s go home.” He leaned into her, speaking low. “I want time alone with you. We can have a lazy day. Eat, binge watch TV, and have sex. Lots and lots of sex.”

She smiled. “Only if I can choose what we watch.”

Since he planned on making out while they watched TV . . . “Done.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Carrying his mate on his back, Jesse trudged up the stairs. “Just think about it. There’s no harm in that.”

“I just don’t think there’s any point,” said Harley.

In the bathroom, he let her slide off his back and then turned to face her. “And why not?”

Squirting toothpaste onto her toothbrush, she pointed out the obvious. “Because it wouldn’t work.” Punctuating that, she shoved her toothbrush in her mouth and went to work on her teeth.

“Now you’re talking stupid.” He brushed his own teeth, enjoying the spark of irritation in her eyes.

Spitting out the toothpaste, she said, “Are you honestly telling me that if I stripped naked, you wouldn’t touch me?”

Once finished with his own teeth, he replied, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t touch you, but I’d hold back from fucking you until we’d finished the game. The loser would have to do whatever the winner wanted,” he added as he followed her into the bedroom.

She snorted. “You’re only saying that because you’re good at pool and think you’ll win.”

He slid in the bed next to her and yanked her close. “I’d win for sure if you were dressed. But if you were all naked and distracting me, you’d have the upper hand.”

Her lips pursed. “That is true.”

“So you’ll think about it.”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ll think about us playing pool together while naked.”

“That’s my girl.”

“I should warn you that I’m actually not too bad at pool.”

“Yeah? Who taught you?” Her face fell, and he instantly knew . . . “Michael.”

Her nod was jerky. “Yep.”

“Tell me about Michael.” Jesse watched as she bit down hard on her lower lip. He didn’t think she would answer, but then she flashed him a sad smile.

“He was my arch nemesis.”

Taken aback, Jesse laughed.

“That’s how it feels when you’re a kid, doesn’t it? That the point of your sibling’s existence is to make your life hell? He was only around for the first seven years of my life. He dedicated that entire time into driving me crazy. Not in a malicious sense. It was playful torture.”

“I know what you mean.” Jesse skimmed his hand up and down her arm. “What kind of stuff did he do?”

“He’d wake me up by breathing in my face—teenage boy morning breath is foul. He’d hide my favorite toys. Eat my candy. Sometimes we’d sit on the little sofa with a blanket over us . . . he’d drag that blanket over my head, trap me there, and then fart.” Watching Jesse grin, she gasped. “You did that to Mia, didn’t you?”

“It’s a brother’s right.”

Whatever. “Wherever we went, he’d find good hiding spots and show them to me. At the time, I didn’t understand why. I think he was worried that Clive would one day start hitting me. Michael wanted me to have somewhere to hide, somewhere he’d know where to look.” She swallowed hard. “He didn’t deserve what happened to him.”

“No, baby, he didn’t.” Jesse kissed her, hating the pain in her eyes.

“He would have liked you.”

Jesse snorted. “He would have hated me for the simple reason that I was his sister’s mate and he believed it was his job to protect you. He would have tried to chase me away.” Probably would have told him that he had no right to claim her when she had a true mate out there waiting for her. Maybe he would have been right, but it wouldn’t have stopped Jesse from claiming her.

He licked over his claiming bite—it had become a sort of talisman to him. “I’ve wanted to put that there for a long time.” He splayed his hand possessively over her stomach. “I want to wear your mark. I want to see it every morning when I look in the mirror. I want others to see it and know I’m yours.”

She tensed. “I know.” But Harley just couldn’t return the claim yet. She’d told Tess it was because she needed to know he could open up, but it was more than that. The little girl inside her who had never been indelible to anyone, who had never really belonged anywhere, worried that she would only ever be second best to Jesse.

He’d told Harley that wasn’t the case, and she was sure he even believed that. She just wasn’t sure that it was true. How could it be? How could she possibly have the same significance to him that his true mate—his other half—did? She didn’t think it could be possible, even if he wanted it to be.