Free Hard Money (Bad Money #3) by Ali Parker

bound together, which was a comfort, but the thrill of holding tight to Jon was something she couldn't deny herself.
    After not being in a relationship for the last four years, having a chance at one was the one thing that kept her playing the fool. She stopped herself from reaching out to touch him, and instead decided to remain a little more guarded this time around.
    She had very little doubt that Jon could follow up on his promises. It was whether or not he would. She would have to dig into his past and better understand where his extreme indecision was coming from. Surely after losing Adam, he would have a bend toward being straightforward and following through on his words, but it was as if his reaction was the opposite of that.
    The one thing she couldn't handle in her ever-shifting world was someone giving hope only to snatch it away time and time again. Jon had done just that.
    Pressing her cheek to her shoulder, she studied him. Dark hair covered his chin and cheeks, the goatee framing his beautiful lips perfectly. His eyelashes were long and rested against his high cheekbones, fluttering every so often as he slept. The thick muscles of his arm took up most of the room between them, and his strong chest lifted subtly as he took deep breaths one after another.
    A sigh left her, and she had to promise herself that she wouldn't let the Adonis next to her steal her heart again simply because of his looks. He had made one promise during their flight together - to work on being the man she needed him to be.
    She was ready to hold him to that promise fully.
     
     
    Jon was rather tight-lipped on the ride over to the hotel, but she was as well. With the promise of picking up a new client, she should have been excited or perhaps a little nervous, but in all actuality, she felt very little. Selling drugs wasn't her future, but she could bide her time until they unhooked themselves from the drama that Victor, and now Billy, brought with them.
    "Do you think Marcus will want to stay involved in this when we're done?" Kate glanced toward Jon as they pulled up to the hotel. Her assumption was that Jon was staying for the long haul, which might be short lived, but time would soon tell.
    "In selling?" Jon parked the car and got out, meeting her at the trunk and pulling out their bags.
    "Yeah. I assume we're going to take out Billy and then Victor. I just can't help but wonder if Marcus plans on taking their spot." Kate reached for her bag, but Jon pushed her hand away softly.
    "I got this. Just open the door." He moved in behind her as she smiled at the bellman who opened the door for them.
    Walking toward the check-in counter, Jon caught up with her. "I would assume he would."
    "And how do you feel about that?" She glanced over at him as they moved up to the line of people who were waiting their turn to check in.
    "I'm good with it. If that's what makes Marcus happy... I'd support it." He shrugged.
    Her eyes widened a little as surprise raced through her. "You'd support that? Are you and Marcus lovers and no one told me?"
    He chuckled. "No. I'm interested in you and no one else."
    "Ahhh..." Kate turned and moved up to the counter, giving her name and turning back to Jon as the woman typed in the information. She narrowed her eyes a little, trying to figure out who'd taken Jon Peterson and replaced him with this new doppelgänger.
    "Marcus and I had a few long talks over the last couple of weeks. Where we don't see eye to eye on most things, I think we've come to the conclusion that we're going to be in each other’s lives in one way or the other. So... I support him. He's starting to take Adam's place for me. Weird. I know." Jon nodded toward the lobby. "I'll wait over there."
    "Okay." Kate turned back to finish up her business with the clerk as her thoughts moved around the possibility of sharing the future with both of them. She'd never been with more than one man at once, and now due to situation and circumstance, she was with