Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy #3)(9)

Ginger came back with two identical red mixed drinks and set one in front of her sister. They made a silent toast and both drank. I allowed myself a few seconds of envy before looking away.

Fifteen minutes later Jay was handing over the reigns to another guy and joining us. Marna didn’t try to hold back her beautiful smile. She stood, bouncing on her toes, and ran to hug him.

“Way to play hard to get,” Ginger mumbled.

Jay held her with his eyes closed. He was a good bit taller than her now. They pulled back enough to look at each other, and my heart gave a squeeze at the way they gazed with open adoration.

“This kid is not good for her,” Ginger said under her breath.

I didn’t respond. What Ginger meant was that Jay was good for Marna, but in our world, good was bad. Marna couldn’t afford to fall in love when she was expected to work as an adulteress. Kaidan and I posed a huge danger to each other, but we’d chosen to be together anyway. Jay knew nothing about angels, demons, or Nephilim. Starting something with him would only end up in heartache for Marna and him both.

I should have probably thought this through better.

“What are y’all doing here?” Jay asked. He looked down at Marna’s uniform. “Layover?”

“Just a quick one. We leave at five a.m.”

Jay whistled. “Well, this is a nice surprise. It’s great to see you.” He smiled, but the edges of his eyes drooped from the day’s emotion.

Marna patted his cheek. “Come on, gorgeous. Let’s get out of here.”

The four of us left together, Marna never letting go of Jay’s hand. Ginger glared down at their joined hands from behind them. I understood her worry about Marna, and I had my own worries about Jay’s vulnerable, human heart, but I also knew it would do no good to try and come between them.

We exited into the hot, muggy night, and Ginger wrinkled her nose.

“It’s bloody stifling here in the summer.”

“Yep,” I agreed, though I was used to it.

“What do you guys wanna do?” Jay asked. “There’s a diner on the corner that makes awesome milkshakes.”

“Ooh!” Marna clapped her hands.

“I’m beat,” Ginger said.

“You can go back to the room,” Marna told her.

Ginger narrowed her eyes. “Not without you.”

I expected Marna to cave to her sister’s forceful wishes, as usual, but she held her ground. “You can stay or leave, but I’m not ready to go.” Marna lifted her chin.

Ginger’s little nose flared in annoyance as they battled in a silent stare-down. Then she snapped, “Don’t stay out late.”

“Bye, Ginger,” I called as she sashayed away.

“See ya,” she answered, not looking back.

“You seem tired, too,” Marna said to me with a sympathetic tilt of her head.

Dude. I was pretty sure Marna had just told me to get lost. I was beyond exhausted, now that she mentioned it.

“Yeah, I am.” I looked at Jay. “You okay?”

His mouth went up on one side in a half grin. “Sure.” He threw an arm around me and pulled me in, then the three of us walked to the diner, which was a few blocks from my hotel.

“I’m gonna head out,” I told them. “Please be careful.”

“We will,” they answered together.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said to Jay, then I walked to the hotel with a dainty switchblade in my closed fist, eyeing every shadow until I was safe in my room. I checked the bathroom, closet, and under the bed before flopping down on it.

I texted Patti to let her know I was safe, and she texted right back. We kept the messages brief and generic, but I still deleted them.

Without bothering to stand, I stripped off my jeans and tossed them to the floor. As I was about to climb under the covers and call Kaidan, I got a devious thought.

I turned on the camera feature of my phone, struck a pose, and took a picture of the bottom half of my body. It was so silly looking that I started laughing at myself. How in the world had I landed Mr. Sexy?

Determined, I struck different poses, shaking my head, laughing, or groaning at each picture, and deleting them immediately. And then I took one that made my whole body go still.

Wow.

That one was kind of . . . nice. I was lying on my side, one leg hitched up with my feet tangled in the covers, and it was a great shot all the way from my lower back down. I was wearing panties with black lace trim, nothing crazy, but the whole angle really worked.

I stared at the picture for a long while. My thumb hovered over the Send button, then over the Delete button. I chewed my lip. Kaidan loved me. He’d be shocked if I sent this pic, but he wouldn’t think less of me. Still, each time I envisioned him opening it, I felt a hot wave of embarrassment. I hit Save and dropped the phone next to me, falling back on the pillows. Maybe I’d send it someday. Maybe.

CHAPTER FOUR

HELLOS AND GOOD-BYES

A light, persistent knocking woke me at four in the morning. I saw Ginger through the peephole, and let her in. My eyes darted down the hall, but there was no sign of Marna. It was the first time Ginger had ever looked less than perfect. Small purple bags rested under her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Where’s Marna?”

“She went home with your friend last night,” Ginger spat. “We had a row about it over the phone, but she wouldn’t listen. You have to reign in that bloke of yours, Anna.”