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***
“Here you go,” Kayla says, turning my laptop to face me. “Doesn’t it look awesome?”
She’s showing me my brand new website, Amber’s Gems, open on the page of the bracelets, featuring a few of the photos I took of my jewelry.
I nod, my mind elsewhere. I’ve seen the website, obsessed over every detail of it, in fact, since Tyler Devlin set it up for me, insisting he wanted no money from me. I tried telling him I’m not family—not one of the Inked Brotherhood and Co. or the Damage Boyz, but he smiled a secret smile and told me I’d soon be.
I wonder what he sees that I don’t. I mean, I thought the psychic was Kayla, certainly not the tall, dark and brooding brother of Asher.
My few friends from Chicago saw the link to the website I posted all over the social media and went nuts. They promised to order stuff, and seeing their excitement is nice.
And that’s all very well, but it’s not what’s been on my mind.
Jesse. Still processing what happened in his room, from his heated gaze on me, then his hands and mouth, his sure touch and the blinding pleasure—then my questions and his angry words. His angry, truthful words.
“Go back to your pretty world and leave me in mine.”
Those words twist in my heart like knives. I may be naïve, but I know hurt when I see it. He was angry, but underneath there was pain. A lot of pain, and now I know why. I can hardly begin to comprehend the trauma he’s been through, the helplessness, the lack of security and affection.
I wish I knew how to help him. My questions only serve to hurt him more, it seems, and his pain returns, hurting me, too.
Not good. Not good at all. Then why am I ready to chuck my jewelry box to the floor, walk out my door and go find him?
“…and here you should totally put a pic of you wearing some of your jewelry,” Ev is saying, tapping on the laptop screen with her finger. “Amber, have you heard a word I’ve said? I swear, you’re bobbing your head like that Chinese good luck cat that waves her paw at people.”
“Chinese good luck cat that waves her paw at people?” Kayla blinks.
“You know. They have them in Asian restaurants.” Ev waves a hand, her gaze glued on me, questioning. “Where did you go, Amber? Talk to us, girl.”
“I bet she’s boy-dreaming,” Kayla says, and oh God, heat works its way up my neck, a wave of fire under my skin. “Ha, she is! Would you look at that blush.”
No way to hide. Crap.
“Don’t tell me it’s Jesse again,” Ev murmurs, leaning toward me, her face a picture of concern. My blush deepens, scorching my skin, and tears burn my eyes. “Amber…”
“I know.” I put down my jewelry box, suddenly afraid I’ll drop it as a big shudder goes through me. “You warned me.”
“Shit, what did he do to you?” Ev scoots over the carpet and curls an arm around my shoulders, the flowery scent of her shampoo wrapping around me like a veil. “Bastard. He treats girls like his playthings, and I’m—”
“He didn’t.” I suck in a deep breath. “Didn’t do anything. We disagreed on something, that’s all.”
“Yeah, right.” Ev looks shocked, and Kayla unconvinced.
I should have expected that.
“Disagreed on him sleeping with you and dumping you the next day, sort of thing?” Kayla drawls.
I wince inwardly. “We haven’t slept together.”
“Technicalities.” She waves a hand back and forth. “Going down on each other, doing it on the kitchen counter, on the carpet, in the car… It counts.”
“We didn’t.” I turn and find Ev giving me an incredulous look. “What? It’s the truth.”
“Am I to believe you and Jesse have been meeting—because I know you have, his roommate Gage told me—and haven’t had hot bunny sex?”
I shrug. “Believe what you like. It’s the truth.”
“No sex, no kissing, no blowjobs, nada?”
