James (Resisting Love #3)(25)
***
James
I walk to my fridge and pull out an ice cold beer, slamming the door with extra force. I down half the bottle in one huge gulp, wishing I had something a little stronger. I hardly ever get drunk, I can’t afford the luxury in case I get called into the safe house.
My own son doesn’t even carry my name. My parents are going to love this. Jye Crawford. Fucking Hell. This is a mess, just when I think we're moving forward and not living in the past. I palm my face, willing myself to calm down. I need to get some sleep. Things always look better in the morning. I have a quick, cold shower and throw on a pair of worn sweat pants. Tumbling into my bed, I find myself tossing and turning. Great, I can’t even sleep without her now. I hate it when we fight. I always did.
I grab the remote off the nightstand and put the TV on, to the music video channel. I groan when Sasha’s new favourite song is playing, ‘Everything has changed’ by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. She's been playing it on repeat for the last few days, overplaying the song until I never want to hear it again. She always does it too, with whatever song has her mesmerized at the time. I switch the TV off, and close my eyes, willing myself to sleep.
I dream of my family.
***
I do a hundred sit-ups before moving onto the treadmill. I have my plan set out for the day, and I'm going to stick to it. Work out for two hours, then shower and go to Sasha’s and talk. Then I have to go and see my accountant over some financial business.
I put my ear phones in, blasting out the world with ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails. I really need to f*ck Sasha to this song. I say f*ck, because this is not a song you make love to. The thought gets me semi-hard. I stop jogging and put the treadmill off, when I feel a pair of arms wrap around me from behind, touching my bare stomach.
When I glance down and see pale hands instead of olive fingers with bright polish I freeze for a second, before pulling out my earphones and spinning around. She instantly pulls her hands away, and rubs the dampness from my sweat on her uniform.
“What the f*ck are you doing here?” I snap at her. She always comes here in her uniform, because she knows I think it’s sexy as hell. She admitted it to me once, and I thought it was hot back then. Now - not so much.
“I came to chat,” she purrs, staring down at my basketball shorts. My hard on is still there, visible for her to see.
“Is that for me?” she asks boldly.
“No, it isn’t. If you aren’t here for work, Tatiana, you need to leave,” I tell her frankly.
She’s about to speak when her phone rings. Her ring tone is ‘Mrs. Officer’ by Lil Wayne. I never realised how annoying that was.
“Shit, I gotta go,” she says, sounding disappointed.
“Give me back the emergency key, Tatiana,” I demand softly.
“What? Why?” she huffs.
I hold my hand out and wait as she reluctantly hands it over.
“You’ve changed, James,” she says before walking out and slamming the front door behind her.
***
Sasha
When I hear the door open I stand up, looking forward to talking to James. I couldn’t sleep last night. I missed him that much.
“James...” I start, but am cut off when he takes my face in his palms and pulls me in for a hungry kiss. His tongue flickers against mine, and I hum my pleasure. He retreats too soon.
“We'll change his name, okay. I don’t want to fight, and I don’t like sleeping without you. I want you and Jye to move into my house. It makes way more sense. My house is bigger, there's more room for Jye to play, and you both belong with me,” he says.
I blink. “How long did you practice that speech for?”
“The whole way over here. Did it work? Or do I have to go all caveman on you?”
“It worked. But maybe you could go caveman on me tonight in bed?” I whisper huskily.
James inhales sharply, before running his hands down over my ass, cupping and squeezing me.
“Where’s Jye?” he asks.
“He’s at Layla’s having a play-date with Cole,” I say.
“Fucking perfect,” he rumbles, slapping my ass once.
“Strip and wait for me in the bedroom. I want you laid out and ready for me,” he demands, taking a step back towards the front door.
“Where are you going?” I ask him.
“To get my iPod,” he says. I shrug and run to the room, stripping down and waiting for my man.
***
Chapter Thirteen
Two weeks later
James
“So, I guess the honeymoon stage is already over then?” I drawl, purposely annoying her.
She ignores me, but shoots an evil look my way, before continuing to fold the clothes. Whenever Sasha is mad or upset, she cleans.
“Sasha-”
“Why does she call you so much?” she asks, the hurt visible in the tremor of her lips.
“Sasha, it’s just about her cases, things like that,” I lie. Tatiana had indeed called last night asking questions about how solid Sasha and I are. I didn’t feel comfortable with the conversation at all. Apparently the woman still thinks she has a chance with me. I need to take care of this before it escalates. I already have enough on my plate without having to deal with Tatiana.