She might’ve kissed him, but she hadn’t let go of her jealousy.
“No, but”—he skimmed his hand over her lower back and inched his fingertips past the waistband of her shorts—“you’ll accept me when I come to you. Won’t you?”
“You play dirty. I don’t like it.”
“Yes, you do.” He gave her a knowing look. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have let me seduce you earlier.”
Half-lidded eyes met his. A small smile graced her face, but it was the wry kind, not one of pleasure. He tensed and waited for her words, knowing they wouldn’t be ones he wanted to hear. The satisfaction in her eyes was bittersweet. “Okay, you have a point, but I think we need to clear some things up. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes. I suppose you have a question for me?” It could’ve been any number of things but the scene with Mira had likely spurred this moment.
She nodded. “So I shouldn’t be jealous of Mira because she’s from your past?” She waited until he agreed. “And when I see the two of you together I shouldn’t imagine what you looked like naked and tangled in passion. Is that what you’re telling me? Because it’s over. The past.”
“Yes. Mira and I are over.”
“And you realize I have a past too, right?”
He didn’t want to think of her with other men, but he nodded, knowing she had a point to make.
“And you believe me when I say I’m no longer sexually involved with my old lovers?”
“Yes.”
“And if you see me with one, you’re not going to flip out and tell me I can’t talk to him or remain friends with him, right?” Wide-eyed, she blinked at him. “Because that wouldn’t be fair.”
She’d led him exactly where she wanted him. No way could he refuse her and not come off as an jerk. He cleared his throat. “I won’t stop you from remaining friends with other men, if that’s what this is about.”
“It is, but only partially.”
“What’s your other reason?”
“Punishment, I suppose.” She pursed her lips. “Every time I see Mira, I’m going to think about the two of you. I’m a big girl, and I’ll get over it, but it’s not fair that you won’t suffer with the same problem.”
Rafe’s cats stirred. They wanted to study Jasmine through his eyes. Something about her words, or maybe her scent, had made them wary. He didn’t think she lied, not exactly, but she wasn’t being completely honest either.
Rafe thought back to her reaction when she’d entered the room. She’d been nervous, slightly afraid even, and she hadn’t even known about Mira then. Something else about him had upset her.
He studied her for some clue. She watched him just as carefully. Trying to read his expression? Yes, that was it. She was testing him.
“I’m assuming you’re still friends with an ex-lover?” Rafe finally asked.
“Yes.” She covered Rafe’s crotch with one hand, then slid the other over his bottom, down the center, between his butt cheeks. With a single finger, she pushed against his jeans.
“Jasmine.”
“Yes, Rafe?” she purred.
“What are you doing?”
“Just giving you a visual of what I used to do with my very good male friend, the one I refuse to lose.” She moved her hands to his waist and tipped her head back. A challenge shone in her steady gaze. “And just so you know, I only have one male friend.”
Josh.
She slipped from Rafe’s embrace and washed her hands at the sink. Rafe focused on her motions and ignored the angry snarls from his cats echoing in his head.
A door creaked open. Josh’s scent drifted to Rafe, and Rafe’s tiger slammed into his chest, demanding to be released. He fought the animal. No way did he want to do anything to encourage Jasmine to seek out Josh.
Jasmine draped the towel over a shoulder and faced Josh. “Hey, I forgot to tell you. I dug out the old photo albums you asked me for a couple of weeks ago. Found some great pictures of when we went to the prom and all those dances. I thought maybe we could sit out on the swing after dinner and look at them.” She licked her upper lip and dropped her gaze to skim the length of Josh’s body. “You know, remember old times.”
It was too much. Rafe reached for her, but she ducked and scrambled to the other side of the counter. She had the audacity to waggle her finger at him.
“Now, now, I don’t have time for any of that. Dinner is almost ready, then Josh and I are going to reconnect. I’ve had to keep all my friends at arm’s length over the past few years.” She flashed another grin. “That is okay with you, isn’t it?”
Rafe leaned against the counter at his back and crossed his arms. “Sure. It’ll give me time to talk to Seth and Levi about us.”
The color drained from her face. “About us?”
He nodded. “I want to make sure it’s okay with them that we’re involved. You know, get their permission. I don’t want them to be upset when they realize I’m sleeping in their mom’s bed.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. What if this doesn’t work out?”
He cracked his jaw. “Then we part ways gracefully. We’re grownups. We’ve both already proven we can remain friends with an ex-lover, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
“You’re pretty confident in yourself, aren’t you?”
He closed the distance between them, but didn’t pull her into his arms. He pressed his lips to hers and just…breathed. A few seconds, that was all, and he eased back, but it was long enough to remind them both they were connected. The hint of awareness in her eyes proved she felt their growing bond too.
“No, I’m confident in us. I’ve waited a very long time to find a woman like you. I’ll do what I must to win your heart, and if that means welcoming Josh to our dinner table every night, I will.”
It sure didn’t mean
