Free In Bed With The Devil by Susan Mallery Page B

would have said yes, she was pretty sure she was almost in love with him. Today she was less sure.
    “I haven’t missed him enough,” she said softly. “I’ve seen him only a couple of times in the past six months. Shouldn’t I be destroyed without him?”
    “Nothing about you is normal. Andrew seems like a good guy. You’ll hook up again when you go back to D.C. You can figure out your feelings then. Assuming you’re not in love with Jack.”
    What? “No way. I don’t love him. I want to hurt him. I want to make him crawl and beg and then I want to walk away.”
    “That’s sure the story,” Betina said calmly. “The one you’ve been telling yourself for years. But is it the truth?” She shrugged. “I have my doubts. I think you’ve never gotten over Jack. I don’t think any of this is about revenge. You can’t accept you still love him so this is the story you tell yourself. But be careful. You’re not into casual relationships. What happens if you sleep with him and then can’t walk away? You want him to break your heart twice?”
    In love with Jack? “Never. He can’t hurt me. I won’t let him. He’s little more than a symbol of the issues in my childhood. Once I prove I’ve outgrown him, I can let my past go.”
    “An excellent theory. You’ll have to tell me how that works out for you.”
    Meri hated her friend’s doubts. Betina was her oracle, the keeper of social and romantic knowledge. They’d never disagreed on anything significant before.
    “I have to do this,” Meri said. “I’ve waited too long to walk away now. I have to go for it. You should, too. Tonight.”
    Betina laughed. “You’re a brave woman. Braver than me.”
    “That’s not true.”
    “It is when it comes to matters of the heart. You’re willing to risk it all to get what you want, and I’m not.”

    Jack walked into his room that night weary from too many hours at the computer. He pulled the hem of his shirt out of his jeans and started unbuttoning it, only to stop when he heard something in the bathroom.
    He turned and saw the door was closed but light shone from underneath. What the hell?
    But as quickly as the question formed, it was answered. There was only one person who would be hanging out in his bathroom. Meri.
    He hesitated as he tried to figure out the best way to handle the situation. With his luck, she was probably naked. Maybe in the tub. Waiting for him. She’d been doing her best to seduce him, and he hated to admit that she’d done a damn fine job. He was primed and ready. It wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge.
    The question was, did he want to fall?
    He owed Hunter his loyalty. He’d given his word and he hadn’t done much of a job of seeing it through. All his friend had asked was for him to protect his sister. Instead Jack had cut and run. Sure, he’d kept tabs on Meri from a distance, but that was taking the easy way out.
    Which meant now was the time to make good on his promise. He would walk into the bathroom, tell Meredith to get the hell out of there, explain nothing was ever going to happen between them and grit his teeth for the rest of the time he was stuck up here in the lodge.
    A least it was a plan.
    He sucked in a breath and walked into the bathroom.
    It was as he’d expected. Candles glowing, rose petals scattered, the fire flickering and a very naked Meri in the tub.
    She’d piled her hair on top of her head, exposing the sexy line of her neck. Bubbles in the bath floated across the water, giving him a quick view of her nakedness before moving to cover the scene. Her perfect breasts floated, a siren’s lure calling to him.
    He was hard in a heartbeat. Hard and ready to take her every way he knew how.
    It wasn’t her pale skin or the music playing in the background that got to him. It wasn’t the way she’d set the scene or the fact that he knew she wasn’t just willing, she was determined. He could have resisted all of that, even her slightly pouting