"When did you take these?" he wanted to know, still not letting up on his stiff posture.
I exhaled a frustrated breath. "It was a long time ago, Cole," I mumbled, finally jerking off my shoe. I hated being cornered. Especially over something that meant nothing to me.
"How long?" he grated out while I untied my other shoe lace with short, angry movements.
"It was...a few days before you met her."
Cole was silent, most probably shocked at my answer before he started pacing the floor.
"So you knew who she was the day I brought her home for the first time?" he hissed, careful not to raise his voice because I got the feeling he did not want Skye to hear this conversation.
"No," I argued with a scowl. "I didn't know who she was. I was working at the hotel during that weekend I went away and I saw her there."
He stopped pacing to narrow his green eyes at me, his glasses shining in the bright bedroom light. "And you just decided to take her pictures?" he demanded incredulously. "Without her knowledge? While she was barely dressed."
I huffed out another breath. "Cole, I'm sorry. I looked okay. She was...there was something about her and...I felt like capturing the moment."
He shook his head at me. "Then why did you keep it a secret from me? I don't mind that you looked, Jasper. Hell, I know what must have drawn your attention better than anybody else. But why did you never mention it?"
"Because it wasn't a big deal, okay," I snapped. "It was a random thing. I forgot all about it until I saw her again and then it just didn't matter anymore."
His gaze went to the offensive pictures then. Damn it. I regretted keeping those. I loved how they had turned out, how they represented so much beauty and mystery. But that was before I knew what a pain in the ass she was. And now Cole believed I was hiding something.
"Baby-"
"What do you want me to do about this, Wells?" he asked me quietly.
I sighed. "Just ignore it. Throw it away. Burn it. I don't care."
He studied me, drawing his own conclusions. I could sense his brain working overtime.
"I'm not sharing her," he finally stated determinedly. "I already made that clear in the beginning. And you agreed to it. She isn't like all the other girls. The only reason I brought her here to live with us was because I trusted you to stay away."
"Jesus, Cole, I get it," I hissed at him angrily.
"Are you sure?" he shot back. "Because I get the feeling you're not being honest with me. Or yourself for that matter. I promised her she had nothing to worry about from you. If she knew what your thoughts were-"
"You're being completely ridiculous," I countered, snapping off my socks and then starting on my shirt buttons.
Sex was not going to fix this but he was being so damn stupid right now and I was so angry that fucking it all out of our systems was probably the best way to go right now. I could not keep explaining myself to him.
"Maybe I am being ridiculous. But it's just hard for me to digest the fact that you kept these in your personal collection for so long. And you never labelled the file or used it for any of your portfolios so can you blame me for being suspicious?"
I did not want to talk about this anymore so I refused to respond. Saying nothing, I removed my shirt and then my trousers draping them over the chair before sitting back down on the bed, too angry to approach him for sex now. Just what did he think of me? I would never betray him. Never hurt him like that. Not like he did to me.
After a minute, Cole walked over and stood in front of me, making my heart leap with crazy hope despite the situation. I thought he wanted to embrace me, kiss me hard in a punishing manner. Show me how he could not bear the thought of my attention going towards somebody else. But what he said next made everything go cold inside.
"I'm spending the night with Skye, okay. She's upset. She needs me."
I sucked in a painful breath and slowly lifted my face to his, unable to believe this was my lover. My partner of six years. The guy who once told me he was crazy about me even though I acted like an asshole most of the time.
"Okay," I managed to choke out quietly because words failed me then.
He started to leave but then paused and returned to open the bedside drawer and retrieve a pair of headphones from inside.
My mouth went dry as he placed them firmly next to me on the bed before flicking me a meaningful glance. Silence fell between us then. The emotional kind where nothing could penetrate it or break it. I felt numb as I watched him leave the room closing the door softly behind him.
~~~
Chapter 14
Skye
Cole walked into my room that evening wearing nothing but a towel, his skin slick with moisture due to the shower he had just taken and many of his well-defined muscles on display. Sitting on the edge of the bed, my gorgeous boyfriend looked me over with an assessing gaze. I did the same to him.
"Is everything okay with you and Jas-?"
"Please don't say his name," Cole interrupted me softly. "Tonight isn't about him."
I took a deep breath and dared to hope. "Okay."
Taking one
