Page 13 of Played by Him

I made a soft sound, flexing my fingers against his stomach until my nails bit into his skin, and he growled. “I’m always thinking about you too,” I confessed. “It’s never…I’ve never…”

I didn’t know the words to explain what I was feeling because I’d never felt anything like it before. Not with anyone, not even Clay. It should have terrified me, and it probably would when I thought about it later, but right now, I had this nearly overwhelming need for him to know that whatever this was between us was different.

A door slammed, jerking us both out of the intimate bubble we’d had around us.

“Jalen!”

I started to move off his lap, my gut telling me that I didn’t want whoever that was to find the two of us like this. Jalen wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me on his lap. His expression was blank, almost relaxed. If I hadn’t felt the tension radiating off him, I wouldn’t have suspected anything was wrong.

“Jalen!”

She stepped into the living room a split second before I realized her identity.

A couple inches shorter than my own five feet, ten inches, Elise Marx was on the shorter end for a model, but that hadn’t kept her from having a great career for the last ten years. I didn’t have anything against models. Most of them were as responsible for their thin bodies and fine features as I was for my own athletic build. Still, there was something about the way she carried herself that just rubbed me the wrong way.

“Who the fuck are you?” She glared down at me. Her dark eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. I’ve seen you before. You said you were here to talk to him about some other bitch he was fucking.”

I was aware that my mouth was hanging open, but I couldn’t seem to do anything to stop it. This woman was caustic.

“Elise, you’re not supposed to be here.” His hand tightened on my hip. “This isn’t your home anymore.”

“Of course not,” she said, stalking over to us. “How can it be my home if you’ve already replaced me with this slut?”

He had me off his lap and onto the couch before I’d even realized he was moving me. He stood, towering over her even as he stepped between the two of us. “That’s enough, Elise.”

“I haven’t said nearly enough.” She put her hands on her hips and glowered up at him. “I put up with you wanting to live here when it hurt my career. I held my tongue when you wanted a separation, and again when you filed for divorce. But this, this is too far. I won’t be made a fool of.”

She made as if to move around him, but he sidestepped, getting between us again. Her expression twisted into something ugly, and one hand flashed out. Before it could land on his cheek, he caught her around the wrist. Nothing about his appearance changed, but I could feel a shift in the air.

“I think you should go.” Jalen didn’t raise his voice, but then again, he rarely needed to.

I couldn’t stop a smug smile. Maybe it was rude of me, but I was beginning to think she was one of those people who didn’t respond to subtlety.

She began, “Jalen–”

“Rona, you should go.”

Time froze for a moment as a rush of humiliation washed over me. He wanted me to go. She showed up uninvited, interrupting a date, and he wanted me to go.

I didn’t look at Elise as I got up, but I could feel her watching me. I didn’t look at Jalen either, but a part of me didn’t truly believe that he was going to let me walk out without a word until I was actually standing next to my car.

As I drove home, I kept telling myself that neither Jalen nor I had talked about whether or not we were exclusive. I had no right to be upset. We hadn’t established what we were to each other. Neither of us had any claim on the other.

The problem was, it didn’t do anything to make me hurt less.

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