When no one else moved, Aneisa yanked back the door and wondered if this day could crumble down any harder.
“Tell them about our deal, Jay.”
Mia’s voice cut across the room and aimed daggers at Jayson before Aneisa could slam the door in his face. This time around, he wasn’t going to get an invite into her house, not even if the sky was raining fire. Her status as his plaything was terminated – permanently.
“What deal?” Aneisa demanded.
“Yeah, what deal?” Shane’s voice parroted from somewhere behind her.
“It’s simple,” Mia’s voice was close – too close – when she answered for Jayson, “I sidetracked Shane so Jayson would have plenty of time to seduce you. Afterward, he and I would have a quick roll around the bed…you know, for old time’s sake.”
Hearing the full truth spoken out loud stabbed Aneisa directly in the heart. Jayson had purposefully set out to ruin her relationship with Shane so he could have another fuck session with her, then he would sleep with Mia, and they would both sit back and laugh about all of the misery and chaos they had caused and all of the lives they had ruined. Sick. That’s how she suddenly felt; a wave of nausea swept over her. She needed to get out of here.
“I can’t take anymore of this. If none of you are going to leave, then I guess I’m going to have to. Enjoy your shitty little lives. I don’t want to play anymore.”
Aneisa pushed past him and he didn’t stop her.
What Jayson had to say he wanted the entire world to hear, so outside was the best place to make his last stand. When she reached the bottom step of the outside stairs, he called out to her.
“Aneisa…wait.”
When she still didn’t stop and had reached the concrete curb, he yelled out his declaration, loud enough for everyone in audible range to hear.
“Aneisa, I love you!”
She halted her steps but didn’t turn around. He stepped slowly down the stairs and motioned toward her.
“Forget what Mia said…hear me out before you leave.” When she didn’t move, he continued. “Everything I told you since that night at the club is the absolute truth.”
He stopped a fraction of an inch behind her but didn’t touch her yet. He wanted to put every sordid detail out for her to inspect. She would be his judge and he would gladly accept her verdict. All he was asking was for a chance to lay it all out, to finally come clean about everything – every messy detail – and why he had pulled her along with him. Once she knew and made her choice, he would consent to whatever consequences came afterward.
He dimmed his voice so that only she heard what was bleeding from his heart.
“Yes…I made an arrangement with Mia…but only so I could be with you again. Our first time together reawakened something good inside of me. I swear I was never going to sleep with her. Yes, one of the reasons why is because I once loved her sister, Summer…I loved her like a childhood dream I didn’t want to forget about. She’ll always be my first love, I can’t change that, and I can’t change the pain that love brought with it. But, I’m not in love with her, not anymore, I don’t think I ever was. I was infatuated with her…It was like a case of beauty and a geek. She’s the past…you are my future. Seeing her again only confirmed that fact for me. Everything I said…about not caring or loving anyone…were all things I had been holding inside and wanting to say to her. I said them…she understands how much she hurt me, and now it’s over.”
He took another chance and enfolded Aneisa in his arms, pulling her back to his chest. When she didn’t try to move away, Jayson took that as a good sign. He felt like hope had returned to him. He leaned in and put his lips to her neck and kissed her softly, then caressed the spot gently.
“I want you, Aneisa. I’m in love with you. You are the one who brought me back to life. You are the one who made my heart beat again. Please believe me.”
She stirred in his arms and he was afraid her decision was to abandon him. He couldn’t argue that he didn’t deserve to have her snatch her love away from him.
Instead, she turned in his arms so that she was facing him. Misty brown eyes stared back at him. There were tears there but, unlike earlier, they weren’t tears of sadness.
“I believe you. I also believe that you and I have a very long way to go before we’re both free of the after effects of this terrible mess we put ourselves into. What Shane did was horrible but my actions with you weren’t any less excusable.” Her hands touched his cheeks. “The difference is I felt a connection with you from the very beginning – a link that I’ve never experienced with any man before – so I’m not sorry for wanting to love you but I do wish I could have changed the way we began our love story.”
He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed each of her palms, then leaned in closer to seal a kiss. It was an enchanting exchange and Jayson poured his adoration for Aneisa into every second their mouths were bonded. She pulled back to look up at him once more.
“I love you, Jayson, or else I wouldn’t have ever bothered to go through any of this with you.”
He used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the tiny tears at the corners of her eyes.
“You forgive me?”
“I do…but if you ever lie to me about anything else…I’ll know and I won’t hesitate to bust your balls.” She narrowed her eyes and offered him a sly grin. “I can read you like an open book now.”
“My life is an open book…and a pretty bad copy…but it’s turning out a lot better than when it all started.” He laughed and kissed her brow. “Especially now that I have you to put me back on the straight and narrow path.”
He bent and lifted her so that her legs dangled over the sidewalk. He wanted them to be eye level when he asked her this next question.
“Will you come home with me…and stay forever this time?”
She giggled and touched the tip of his nose with her own.
“I will but only temporarily.”
“What? Why?”
“Because once I get the trash cleaned out of this place, you can come home with me…and stay…forever.”
He grinned. She made a good point. Last year, one of his closest friends skipped town with his girl, which left him in ruins. Jayson wasn’t going to do that to another man. The cycle ended here. He eased Aneisa back onto the ground.
“You’re right. First things first.”
He locked their hands together and walked back to the house. When the united couple stepped through the door, they picked up the tale end of a personal squabble between Shane and Mia. Whether they knew it or not, they were made for each other too. He was a cuckold in the making and she was a psychotic dominatrix wannabe – perfect match.
The other pair cut their argument short and turned stunned eyes onto Jayson and Aneisa standing before them, hand in hand.
Jayson eyed Mia first.
“Mia, I don’t have any more to say to you other than one of these days you’re scheming is going to turn back on you tenfold. I hope that doesn’t happen, but it’s only a friendly warning to watch your ways.”
His eyes cut away before she could think up a snappy comeback.
“Shane,” the other man looked over at Jayson when he spoke his name, “You don’t deserve Aneisa. She’s too good for you. I love her and I’ll be the one to take care of her until we’re old and gray and toothless. You’re engagement to her is over and we want you out of this house before nightfall. You can call me later and let me know where to mail your ring to, ‘cause it’s coming off her finger so I can put mine there. If I come back and you or Ms. Mia are still here, we might have a major problem on our hands. Again…this is just a friendly warning.”
Jayson walked back out of the door with Aneisa without caring to hear what either of the other two had to say in return. He meant what he said – only honesty from here on out – and he would enforce the repercussions if either of them didn’t comply.
“Wow,” Aneisa tossed a cute grin up him. “You set them str
aight.”
“Sure did.”
“You’re such a bad ass.”
“Which is why you love me so much.” He winked a cool blue eye at her.
“Very true,” she purred in response.
“Mm, sounds like you’re about to make me an offer I don’t want to refuse.”
“Maybe,” her sexy brown eyes narrowed mischievously.
“Definitely,” his strong timbre announced the final outcome.
Aneisa ran a lazy finger along Jayson’s brawny forearm.
“I think we should go back to your apartment and play some really nasty kissing games. It’ll help pass the time until we can come back here and run naked through the house.”
“Sounds like a perfect plan, sweetheart.”
She laughed hard when he swooped her up into his arms.
With the woman he was vowing to love forever, and who pledged her devotion in return, securely bound up in his hold and her arms lovingly wrapped around him, Jayson made his way back toward his truck and onward to a new and happier life with Aneisa by his side.
El Fín
e
Character Appendix
Jayson. An all around nice guy, who fell hopelessly in love with Summer, one of his two college roommates. After having to face the harsh reality that Summer and Aidan’s betrayal left behind, the handsome blond haired, blue-eyed man returns to his hometown with a darker and more sinister personality.
First Person POV (Point-of-View): I Wonder How You Taste (Hunger #1) and Burn: A Truth & Consequences Novella.
Summer. An entrancingly beautiful young woman, who was once too humble to use her looks to her advantage. However, when she discovers that both Jayson and Aidan have fallen in love with her, she is unable to resist using her captivating hold on them for her own sensual pleasure.
POV: Aidan’s Return & Summer Frenzy (Hunger #3 and 4).
Aidan. With dark hair and steel gray eyes, he is a heartbreakingly attractive young man. A notorious womanizer, he finds a spark of real love with his best friend’s girl. Despite the agony and treachery that his love for Summer brings into his life, he is helpless to tear himself away from her.
POV: One Taste Is Never Enough (Hunger #2).
Aneisa. A naturally exquisite and lovely young woman who has her ladylike ways completely shaken up by Jayson’s return. She was once schoolmates with Jayson, Aidan, and Summer but was only casual aquatinted with them through her long-term boyfriend, Shane. Her life takes an unexpected and erotic turn when she stumbles into Jayson’s charismatic arms.
POV: Consequences Never Hurt (Truth & Consequences #1) and Burn: A Truth & Consequences Novella.
Shane. A man of uncertain ways. He was once a very close friend to Jayson and Aidan. While he is intellectual and intelligent, he is completely at the mercy of his shaky sexual desires. He discovers this fault in his character during a scorching encounter with Mia, who attends the college he has accepted a teaching and tutoring position at.
POV: Truth Be Told (Truth & Consequences #2).
Mia. A sexy siren, who completely understands how her dark beauty has the power to enthrall and control men. She is never ashamed of using anyone and any means necessary to reach her own mischievous goals.
POV: None…yet. J
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