Kaleidoscope (Colorado Mountain #6)(40)

Between Jerry and Dane, a long dry spell that was okay by me.

Jacob, too, was a cuddler, but with his long frame, it being so big, and his innate bossiness, it was different than Dane. Dane spooned but if I moved, he let me go my own way. Jacob slept and I slept with him however that came about. I moved, he moved me back or moved into me (mostly moved me back). If he moved, he took me with him.

It was weird and it didn’t sound like it would be good.

But since he was Jacob, all he was and all he was to me, it was fantastic.

Thinking these thoughts led me to thinking that switching creepy, the-only-thing-good-about-him-was-cuddling-and-he-could-be-sweet, felonious Dane right away with everything-was-good-about-him-except-he-was-sometimes-bossy Jacob didn’t suck.

This thought was so funny that me, me, Emmanuelle Holmes, thirty-four years old and only having two short-term boyfriends moved right from one guy, felonious or not, to another, and traded up to one who was hotter, nicer, funnier, smarter, richer and had the capacity to give orgasms every time (sometimes two!) made me start giggling.

“What?” Jacob asked.

“Nothing,” I choked out through giggles.

Jacob’s hand came to my chin and gently forced it up so he could catch my eyes.

His were smiling.

“What?” he repeated.

“I’m a slut,” I announced, still giggling but harder now. It was full-blown laughter. “In the blink of an eye I go from a felon to a mysterious crimefighter or whatever you are.” I started laughing so hard I hiccoughed and pushed out, “Trading up.”

My laughter only started to die down when I noticed Jacob’s eyes were no longer smiling.

“What?” I asked when I got control of my hilarity.

“Been cool about that Emme, but heads up, that cool ends now. I may have found you again when you were with him but I didn’t like him from the start. Ten minutes later I found out there was a lot not to like. And now the only good part about you bein’ with him is that you were smart enough not to get too deep and he’s gone. But I don’t find it funny.”

I sobered immediately and whispered, “Sorry.”

“And you’re not a slut,” he stated. “A woman who’s never had a man make her come, except one, the one she’s currently in bed with, is, by definition, not a slut.”

“Okay,” I agreed quickly, mostly because of the look on his face and his tone.

Normally, I would have begged to differ, seeing as I had a nonexclusive boyfriend I had yet to officially break up with and I was currently na**d in bed with Jacob which I thought, by definition, nonexclusive or not, was pretty slutty. But I was sensing (accurately) that now was not the time to debate that point.

Then again, the look on his face, it was more likely never would there be time to debate that point.

“We might have to talk about him seein’ as you’re a witness, him givin’ you that ring. So, they don’t confess, that shit goes to trial, this isn’t done for you. But, if we’re not talkin’ about the case—not him, the case—he doesn’t come up at all. You with me?”

I was with him. This annoyed him. So Jacob could be seriously bossy and bossily serious, the second one when discussing my criminal, very-soon-to-be official ex-boyfriend.

So I should likely avoid that.

“I can do that,” I told him.

“Good,” he muttered.

“You heat your pool,” I blurted to change the subject, and his brows drew together.

“What?”

“You say I heat my mountain. You heat yours too,” I informed him.

“Yeah. Difference is, I got the money to afford it.”

Him having his big mostly mansion that had nothing to fix and was all perfect, I figured he was not wrong.

“It’s environmentally unconscious,” I pointed out.

He stared at me then pressed his head back into the pillows and looked at the headboard, muttering, “Here we go.”

“It is,” I pushed.

He looked back at me. “Babe, I don’t give a f**k.”

“Well, I do. You should turn off the heat when you’re not using it.”

“I turn off the heat, I want to use it, it takes hours to heat it, by that time I’m over wantin’ to use it.”

“Then you should put a cover on it,” I went on.

“It doesn’t look as good with a cover on it,” he replied, and I felt my brows go up even as I pushed up and glared down at him.

“You’re destroying the environment for cosmetic purposes?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he answered indifferently.

“That’s irresponsible.”

“It’s my money.”

“You’re a citizen of this earth just like me, Jacob Decker. It isn’t about money. You’re accountable to future generations.”

He grinned. “That’s a lot of folks, Emmanuelle. I hope I die before they incarcerate me for my pool heating irresponsibility and I have to stand trial in front of an angry environmental mob.”

I hated it about as much as I loved it (the second part after it was over, of course), when Jacob started teasing when we were debating.

But while we were doing, it was all about hating it.

“Don’t be flippant,” I snapped.