James (Resisting Love #3)(29)

“He went for a run,” I answer with reluctance, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Oh,” is all she says.

“Are you here for a work related reason?” I ask straight out.

“Not exactly-”

“Right, well then I think you should go,” I say frankly.

“James and I have unfinished business. You wouldn’t understand,” she says a little snidely.

“Unless you need to talk to him about work, you need to back the f*ck off,” I snap.

“Threatened?” she purrs.

“I’m the one here living with him, why should I be threatened about yesterday’s news?” I bite back.

“Yeah, only because you trapped him with a child,” she hisses. I’m about to assault a police officer when James comes home, just in the nick of time.

“What are you doing here, Tatiana?” he asks. I frown at him, standing there in nothing but a pair of low slung shorts, sweat dripping down his delectable toned chest. And the bitch is checking him out, too. Well, she can look, because she’s never going to touch again, that’s for damn sure.

“I came to see you,” she says sweetly.

“I thought I told you last time you came here not to do it again,” James growls, wincing when he realises what he said.

“I’m sorry, what?” I snap.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you, he was dressed a lot like he is now when I had my hands on him,” she coos.

“You f*cking b-”

“Sasha!” he rebukes.

“Tatiana, go home,” he commands, his tone deadly.

“If you’re so happy together, why hasn’t he asked you to marry him?” she sneers before walking to her car. I hate that her parting shot hurts me. I f*cking hate it. ‘Mrs Officer’ sounds as she drives off, the damage she caused left behind.

“Sasha,” James starts. I ignore him and storm into the house to check on Jye, who luckily is still fast asleep. James follows me every step of the way as I head into our bedroom.

“Sasha-”

“She had her hands on you. You didn’t think that’s something you should mention?” I say in a tone so cold, I’m surprised ice didn’t come out of my mouth.

“She walked into the house. I was on the treadmill with my earphones in, she put her arms around me. I took them off and told her to leave, end of story,” he explains.

“How did she get in?” I ask suspiciously.

“She still had her key I gave her a while ago for emergencies,” he says softly.

“How f*cking convenient!” I snap. I sit down on the bed, my fingers gripping into the bed sheet.

“I don’t want her. Okay? Yes, at one point I was with her, but she wasn’t you. I'd never commit to her because I always held out hope that I'd get you back. You don’t have anything to worry about,” he says sincerely, taking a seat next to me on the bed. He avoids her marriage comment, and I don’t bring it up. Does he even want to marry me eventually? I’m not saying right now, but in the future?

“Hey, what’s going through that head of yours, pretty girl?” he asks, pulling me so I’m sitting on his lap.

“Tell her to stop coming here, James. Or the mother of your son is going to go to jail for assaulting an officer. By the way, what kind of cop listens to ‘Mrs. Officer?’ Tell her to f*cking get over herself!” I say with vehemence infused in my voice.

When James starts laughing, I'm not amused.

***

James

You think you know a woman. I had no idea Tatiana could be such a bitch. She’d been nothing but sweet the entire time we were dating. Now her claws are out, I’m not liking this side of her. Looks like I got out in the nick of time. I almost sigh in relief.

Sasha heads off to her parents’ house with Jye. Her father wants to spend some time with him, so I decide to catch up on some paperwork. An hour or so passes when my phone rings. An unknown number.

“James?” a soft voice croons. It makes me shudder involuntarily.

“Nancy, did you get the forms?” I ask her, trying to keep the panic out of my tone.

“I did. I'll handle it, don’t worry,” she assures me.

“I need it done ASAP, okay?” I tell her sternly.

“No problem, James. You can relax.”

We both hang up and I grin. Looks like everything is going according to my plan. I pull the black velvet box out of my pocket and open it, staring at the white gold princess cut ring. I hope Sasha loves it, and I hope she says yes. I stand up and get my wallet and keys, ready to head out. Chase, Kade and I are meeting up at a bar for some brotherly bonding.

***

“What is so good about this bar again?” I ask for what must be the hundredth time over the years.

“It has a homey feeling, don’t you think?” Kade smirks. I look around at the bikers and half dressed women, still not seeing it.

“Was our childhood that bad?” I joke.

“It’s his old hunting grounds. Maybe he’s reminiscing,” Chase adds.

I take a swig of my beer and avoid eye contact with the blonde that keeps staring at me. I’m pretty sure she hasn’t even blinked once.

“The women aren’t subtle, that’s for sure,” I say as I see her walk over.