Free Unraveled (Holding On Book 3) by Meg Jolie Page A

anytime her friend was.
    She had just taken her place when a hard body slid up behind her. Then an arm like steel slid around her, as the other one braced against the bar, caging her in. Fingers skimmed up her shirt just far enough to not violate a modicum of decency. In that first split instant she was about to retaliate by blasting her elbow into the man’s kidneys. Then a receptor in her brain stopped her before she even knew why. The familiar body pulled her close.
    Without looking back, her body began to realize what her mind knew instantly. It was Jesse. She would know him anywhere. Her body would respond to his anywhere .
    Throw me into a crowded, dark alley blindfolded and my body would pick his out in a heartbeat, she unhappily admitted to herself.
    “Carly,” he whispered in her ear.
    Possibly she should’ve been offended by his hardness so presumptuously pressed into her backside. She wasn’t offended. The traitorous heat between her legs let her know she was already responding to it, though it was the last thing she wanted to do.
    “Jesse,” she returned. She didn’t look back. She stood, elbows on the counter, waiting for the bartender as if her body were not already beginning to smolder.
    His lips skimmed her earlobe. “A little birdie told me someone might be in need of a little revenge sex. Is that what you were looking for last night? Is that why you came home with me? Because you have to know, all you had to do was ask.”
    Her body stiffened in his grip and then she twisted a round in his arms to face him. The little birdie with a big mouth was named Jemma, no doubt.
    Last night, he’d kept his distance. Both physically and emotionally. Seeing him up close, like this, took her breath away. She couldn’t even conjure something snarky to say.
    No , she told herself, it’s not being this close to Jesse that has me feeling this way. It’s the alcohol. It has to be the alcohol.
    She tossed her head to the side and let out a sharp laugh. “I am not going to ask you for anything.” Her voice was cold. Her voice was cold, but her body was already blazing. That was before she even turned around to look Jesse in the eye. His blue eyes were already devouring her. It had been so long. She didn’t want to think about that. But since Nolan, of course, she hadn’t been with Jesse at all. She didn’t want to be with him at all. That’s what she tried telling herself. It was a lie and every single cell in her body knew it.
    Even if she didn’t want to admit it.
    Revenge sex for her? Translated to an easy lay for him. She crossed her arms and glared at him.
    He ignored the hostility. Instead, he smirked as he plucked her left hand up to inspect it. She immediately yanked her hand out of his grip but she knew he’d seen what he wanted to see. His eyebrows twitched upward and emotions she couldn’t identify washed over his face. His lips finally twitched up a bit in a smile while hers twitched in the opposite direction. She blinked hard because tears of humiliation were edging a little too close.
    She tried to back away, forgetting the bar was right behind her.
    “Hey,” he said, returning his grip to her waist as his eyes scoured her face. “So it’s true?”
    There was no trace of a smile now. She searched his face for signs of gloating. Or amusement. Instead, Carly realized, he actually looked…What was that look? Concerned ?
    Despite herself, she felt some of her fury dissipating.
    She glanced through the crowd and was able to find Jemma. Carly shot her a venomous look. Jemma arched an eyebrow, as if to say, What are you going to do about it ?
    Jesse’s hand slid lower, cupping Carly’s backside and pulling her in tight. It felt comforting and familiar and possessive and—
    “I’ve missed you, ” he said softly.
    Without warning, the heat faded and her body felt as though it had turned to ice. “You mean you’ve missed an easy lay?” Her tone was angry and bitter. After what N olan had