But she was smart enough to know, no matter how much fun their bed sport was, it didn’t always mean they could be together.
“So what happens to the ones who shouldn’t be there?” Jason asked.
“It depends on the case. Some are moved to different areas. Others are, shall we say, released, with benefits or without.”
“So you get paid for this?” Jason asked.
“Yes and no. It’s magic. I can get whatever I need. Like my friend Christy? She’s due for retirement, and so’s her husband. So when she finishes with her case, she’ll be able to retire. Her record is spotless, so she’ll get the highest possible benefits.”
“Like what?”
“She’ll get her pick of a home, money, job, those kinds of things.”
“So they do place you when you retire.”
“If you’re Christy, yes. Me? With all this stuff? I don’t know. I would count myself lucky if I were handed a twenty-dollar bill and told to figure it out.”
“Well,” he said, “if you are, come to me. I will help you any way I can.”
Ava felt her cheeks warm.
Jason’s attention darted to the door. A glint of light flashed across their table.
“Thank you. I appreciate that,” she said.
“No problem,” he said, staring at the new arrivals.
Ava turned.
Well, look who walked in. “Interesting,” Ava whispered. Through the door came Tessa and Lucas, and not looking very broken up, either.
“Can you, uh, cloak me or something, so she doesn’t see me here?”
Ava smirked. “Sure, I can do that.” Ava materialized her wand and with a quick flick of her wrist, a shimmer swelled around Jason, making him look a bit different. Darker hair, deeper complexion. Just enough that he didn’t look like himself, but not enough that anyone else would notice the change.
Jason glanced at his hands. “Am I invisible?”
She shook her head. “No.” She pushed the chrome napkin holder to him.
“Oh wow,” Jason said, touching his face. “Now that’s a cool trick.” He kept staring at himself. “I’m different, but I’m not.”
“Put the napkins down,” Ava whispered. “People are going to start staring at you.”
Jason set them down and looked just past Ava’s shoulder.
She turned.
Lucas and Tessa had sat at the booth just behind them.
Jason raised his eyebrow. “Did you?”
She shook her head. “Not this time.” Yet she couldn’t help smiling at the twist.
At least, maybe, we could figure out what was really going on between them, Ava mused. She hadn’t been playing both sides of this, like usual. Of course, part of that had to do with not being able to stand Tessa.
Ava and Jason’s conversation came to a standstill as Tessa and Lucas started speaking.
“I don’t know why we had to come out and discuss this,” Lucas said to Tessa. “We could have done this at home.”
Ava glanced at Jason and mouthed, “At home?”
Jason shrugged.
“Because at home, you and I would have been yelling at each other. In public, neither of us will cause a scene.”
“We went over this last night,” Lucas said. “What else is there to say?”
Silence.
“What were they doing last night?” Ava whispered to Jason.
Jason leaned closer. “They had talked at one point, but I don’t know what about.” He very quickly, and quietly, explained about his date last night.
“Jason wants to start dating me again,” Tessa said, jarring their attention.
“What?” Lucas burst. “You tell him no!”
“Why should I? Jason is a nice guy, Lucas. He doesn’t fight with me all the time. He doesn’t tell me what to do. And he always did what I said.”
“That’s because he was a damn wimp. And that’s why you left him.”
“Possibly. But he’s not anymore.”
“Are you sleeping with him?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and you’re not sleeping with all the floozies I’ve seen you with over the last few months.”
“We broke up. You didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
“Is it wrong that I don’t want to constantly fight?” Tessa said, her voice cracking. She coughed, and her voice dropped. “You don’t listen to me.”
“Because you’re not always right, Tessa,” Lucas said. “You are smart, beautiful, witty, amazing in so many ways, but not everything is yours to control! I have a brain. I can use it. And as much as I love you, and have always loved you, I will not let you turn me into your whipping boy, like you did Gregorian.”
Jason’s eyebrows went up.
Ava put her hand over her mouth. “Is that true?” she whispered to Jason.
“I d-d-didn’t think it was that bad, but she was bossy.” Jason—or rather, facsimile Jason—didn’t look very proud admitting that.
Ava reached across the table and patted his hand. He squeezed her fingers. She took a sip of her soda, sucking the drink down as she focused on Tessa and Lucas. She wanted to hug Jason, but didn’t want anyone to notice her, or him, if at all possible.
“At least he would do what I said. Unlike some people.” Tessa’s voice had gotten a touch loud as the waitress delivered Jason and Ava’s food.
“Because I don’t take the route you think is best to go someplace? Or I use a different virus software on my laptop? Or I don’t put the dishes away exactly like you would? Tessa, nobody can be you. You are you. I am me. If you want a clone of yourself, fine. I hear they’re doing that in Austria. Go. Have fun. I’m a person. And I will do things my way. You have to understand that.”
Ava didn’t turn, but she heard a sniffle come from behind them, and Jason’s hands tensed as he held his fork, hovering in midair over his plate.
“Put your fork down,” Ava whispered.
Jason didn’t move.
She reached across the table and touched his hand, which made Jason jerk his attention to her. Gently, she guided his hand down.
His gaze turned to the tabletop, and an embarrassed smile passed over his face.
“Quit obsessing about his life, and focus on mine,” Tessa said very softly.
“Exactly,” Lucas said.
Ava sat up straighter and glanced at Jason, who beamed at Tessa’s words.
“You said that,” she mouthed at him.
He grinned.
And the booth jostled. Ava turned and saw Lucas climbing into the booth next to Tessa, where they embraced and started to kiss.
“Looks like they’re getting back together,” Ava said.
Jason fiddled with his meal. “Yeah. Looks that way. So what does that do to you?”
Ava reached across the table and touched his hand. “I don’t know.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tuesday
Ava was stressed.
Jason could see it in her eyes, though she pretended to be just fine.
She got this little crinkle in her brow every time she wasn’t looking at him, and he couldn’t help wondering what had happened.
Jason had gone in Monday and done some work—bookkeeping and the like—at the office he shared with his father, and Ava had gone off to wherever it was she went.
At least, he thought she’d left. He hadn’t been able to sense her around, but that didn’t mean she was keeping her distance.
Jason stood at the grill, hoping that Ava would pop in soon, as he’d cooked two steaks.
One topic they hadn’t discussed yet was the file. If she’d consulted it after their actions, she hadn’t said.
Surely it would have changed, considering their actions e
very night—and day—since Saturday night. Not to mention what they’d heard at the diner, between Tessa and Lucas.
Isn’t that what Ava had said? That it adjusted itself according to the charge’s actions?
Was Ava afraid to look at the file? Jason mused as he laid down his spatula and took a tug on his beer.
Something screwy was going on, that much he could feel. After all, Ava had told him that other guy, Duncan, was supposed to be around to chaperone, but Jason hadn’t seen him in days.
Maybe that’s what—
“Hey.” Ava appeared next to him on the patio. Jason’s breath caught. She wore a white lacy dress, cowboy boots, and her red hair hung in super sexy waves that just begged to be touched.
“Hey yourself,” he said, leaning into her. She wrapped her arm around his neck, and as they kissed, he yanked her against him. That little lacy dress felt like nothing between them, and he ran his hands over her ass. Holy shit, she was practically bare underneath it.
“You’re going to burn the meat,” Ava said, pulling away.
Jason picked up his water bottle. “You know, girls really shouldn’t wear thin white dresses with nothing on underneath when guys have access to water.”
And Jason squirted her.
Right on the boob. Revealing that—yep—she didn’t have a darn thing on under that dress.
Hell-to-the-yeah!
Ava screeched and took off. Jason ran, spraying her as they ran around the backyard.
“That’s so not fair!” Ava said, materializing her wand. He squirted another shot, right on her butt.
“No magic!” Jason yelled as he unscrewed the top of the bottle, coming to a stop.
Ava waved and Jason’s pants were in her hand. “Missing something?”
“Hey!” He darted after her, and this time, when he caught her, he dumped water right on the front of her dress, practically making the white fabric disappear as it stuck to her skin. They both tumbled into the grass, laughing.
The worry that had been marring her brow for the last couple of days disappeared, and she grinned like an idiot.
“I’m all wet,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He rolled his hips into hers. “Well, I’m missing my pants.”
She let out a low moan. “I can put them back.”
“Not quite yet,” he said, and buried his face in her chest, biting at the pebbled nipples under the white sheath of a dress. She shuddered underneath him and groaned.
His hands ran down her hips, bunching the fabric in his hands as he pulled it up. She bent her knees, cradling him between her legs, and he slid down her body. He nibbled at the joint between her hip and her thigh.
“Oh, Jason.”
He moved to her center, tasting her core. Her hips rocked into him, and he licked up and down. She quivered under his moves and cried out as she got closer to climax.
Just a few more…
A minute longer…
Ava’s body tensed as she hit her peak.
Jason smirked as she shivered through her release, and he climbed back up her.
“Hi. I’m Jason.”
“Oh my stars,” she moaned, laughing. “Yes. Yes you are.” She stretched her arms over her head.
He rocked his hips into hers again, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Did you need something?” Ava asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“What would that be?” Ava asked, batting her eyes.
“This,” he said, and plunged inside her. All joking left as he started pumping in and out. She wrapped her legs around his hips and arched her back. He slid in deeper, which only made the feel of her that much better.
His orgasm came hard and fast, and he cried out as he finished.
He collapsed on her, and they lay there a few moments, just holding one another.
A guy could get used to this.
Ava ran her hands down his back, stroking his spine. “Working hard today, I take it?”
He snorted. “Routine stuff. Bookkeeping. Glad to be home.” He raised his head so he could look in her eyes. A lock of her hair lay over her brow and he brushed it away. “My dad did ask me why I had such a ‘damn glow’ today.”
“Did you tell him you got laid?” Ava asked.
He snorted. “Basically.” He rolled off her and saw his pants in the grass a few feet away. “He actually said that he hoped it wasn’t Tessa that put that look on my face.” He stood and retrieved his pants.
Ava shook her head. “Yeah. We need to talk about that.”
“What about it?”
She sat up and waved her wand over her dress, instantly drying it. “The file hasn’t changed.”
Jason spun around. “What? How’s that possible?”
“It hasn’t changed. At all. I don’t understand it. All roads point to a different path, but the file’s still the same.”
“Well, it can’t be.” He crossed and took her hands. “Ava, we heard it. Tessa’s getting back together with Lucas.”
“I know.”
“So if she’s with him, then that leaves me without a Happily Ever After.”
“I know,” she said.
He threw his hands in the air. “So what about Tessa’s file? Can’t you go check that?”
“No, she doesn’t have one. Only the charges do.” She materialized the file and held it out. “See?” She opened it up to the HEA page and tapped Tessa’s name.
Jason scanned the page—it had basic background information on her, including notes about their previous relationship, but nothing else.
“That’s about as much help as a holy umbrella.”
“I know…” She pulled away and tipped her head to the side like a puppy. “Jason, I have to go. My fairies need me.”
“Wait. We need to talk about this!”
“I have to go. I’ll be back,” she said, and disappeared with a puff of red sparkles.
“Shit,” he muttered.
And then he smelled it. The grill was bubbling over with smoke.
Shit. He’d ruined two good steaks too.
Burned steaks were not a good way to end an evening.
Ava had been gone awhile, and Jason wondered if she’d be back tonight. He’d tried to get his head back into work, but that wasn’t happening, so he surfed television to find something to watch.
Found himself watching Mythbusters, and laughing every time they blew up something.
It wasn’t his ideal way to spend the evening, but his focus was obviously gone. He figured Ava would be back soon enough, and they could…hell, even just hanging out and talking would be great.
He’d tried to call Bruce, find out about the photos, because he’d wondered if his friend had ever opened them, but Bruce didn’t answer. Which was odd—Bruce practically had his phone attached to his hand.
He picked up his beer and was taking a swig when the doorbell rang.
Maybe that was Bruce, returning the photos. He hoped, anyway, that his friend had taken the high road and not opened that envelope.
Jason opened the door, and, outside, it wasn’t Bruce.
Instead, it was Tessa. And Lucas.
“Hi, can we come in?” Tessa asked.
Jason blinked, not sure he was excited to see them. Or hear this. He figured Tessa would call him, eventually, to tell him his services were no longer required. But that would be all of it—a call. Not showing up on his doorstep.
“Sure,” Jason said.
Lucas nodded as he walked past Jason, and Tessa went straight into the living room and sat on the love seat. Lucas sat with her and took her hand.
“Let me guess,” Jason said, sitting in his favorite chair. He flipped off the television. “You two are back together?”
Tessa nodded. “I
wanted to come by and tell you personally.”
“Okay.”
“I appreciated what you did for me, Jason. I did. I do.”
“Yeah.”
“Considering everything that we discussed,” she said, “I didn’t want to upset you about this. I really do feel guilty.”
“Okay.” Jason knew a part of him should have felt some kind of irritation or sadness over this news, but, frankly, he was relieved.
“You’re not going to say anything?” Tessa asked.
“Nope.”
“Why not?” Lucas asked.
He couldn’t tell them he’d heard their entire conversation at the diner the other day. He’d already come to terms with what it meant, so this barely registered. “I suspected it.”
“Then why did you ask me to date you again?” Tessa asked.
“At the time, it was a good idea.” How else could he answer that? He’d asked because his Fairy Godmother had told him he should be with Tessa? Yeah, Tessa would be calling the psych ward faster than he could blink.
It had seemed like a good idea. A logical, clinical one. But not one he actually wanted.
Lucas cleared his throat. “Listen, I know this is unexpected, but I really do love her. We just, well, needed to reevaluate things.”
Jason nodded.
“And I want to apologize too,” Lucas said. “I’ve been a dick to you lately.”
Jason held his hand in the air. “Forgotten, man.” He rose from his chair and glanced at the clock. Not that he had anything to do. Just didn’t really want to stay here and continue this very awkward conversation.
They stood as well. “We should be going,” Tessa said. She stepped closer to him, tipping her head slightly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“I feel like I’ve used you horribly,” Tessa said.
“You have,” he said.
Tessa’s eyes went wide.
“I’m kidding. It’s all good,” Jason said. He leaned in and gave her a friendly hug. “I’m sorry if I confused you.”
“You did,” she replied. “But I think I needed it.”
He smirked as she pulled away. “Maybe someday I’ll be calling you for a favor.”
“If I can help you—legally, of course—you know I will,” she replied.
Just His Taste Page 14