Free Jayded by Shevaun Delucia Page B

somewhere warm, ” I say, “ but if I do decide to move here, maybe we can do this more often. It sure does pass the time. ”
    He grins ear to ear. He is unbelievably adorable. I reach for his face. I can ’ t seem to stop myself this time. I slowly caress my fingers down his cheek to his jawline. His eyes don ’ t leave mine. The stubble from his five o ’ clock shadow tickles in a hot, rough sort of way.
    “ Thanks for today. I really had a good time, ” I admit.
    His voice is scratchy. “ You ’ re welcome. ”
    I remove my fingers from his skin. The rest of the ride back to the hotel is quiet and full of sexual tension. I ’ ve never felt anything of this magnitude before. It ’ s the ultimate foreplay without the play.
    Kyle pulls up to the front of the hotel and parks. “ Thank you for allowing me to be the one to show you around a little. I know we didn ’ t go too far, but I ’ d like to take you out on the town again sometime. Maybe next weekend if you ’ re up for it? ” he asks.
    I thought he would never ask. “ I would love that. ” I open the car door and step out halfway. “ I ’ ll see you Monday. ” I shut the door and watch him pull off.
    Today was an exhilarating day filled with surprises. In the last couple of hours, I have experienced a multitude of emotions I never knew were in me. I ’ ve also realized that while my self-control can be my downfall, it was my savior tonight for stopping me from doing something that I could possibly regret in the long run.
    I change into my night clothes and check my phone to remove it off of vibrate. I have missed six calls and have four unopened text messages, all from Cody. The last one fills me with guilt.
    “ Why did you leave me? ”
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    Kyle
    I lay in bed for hours last night, just thinking about Max. I couldn ’ t get her out of my head: her smile, gorgeous blue eyes, the way she smelled, the sound of her laugh, but most importantly — she made me feel alive. Not the kind of feeling a guy gets when he scores. She made me for once consider my future, wanting something more than just a career and the bachelor life. And to be honest, this scares the shit out of me.
    I never wanted to be the guy that gets swooped up in a fairy tale. It just isn ’ t me. And for a while, I just thought it wasn ’ t in my DNA. Some people are just wired differently; I thought I was one of them, and I was okay with that. But something has changed. The earth has shifted somehow, and it is Max that has bumped it off track. Now I just need to figure out how to get it back into alignment.
    “ What ’ s up, bro? You look like you just got ran over by a Mack truck, ” Jeff says.
    I feel like it too. “ Thanks, man. Nice to see you too. ”
    Every Sunday, Jeff and I meet at the gym for an early morning workout. We work all the demons out from the weekend so we can start fresh on Monday mornings. It ’ s a regiment we ’ ve had since we were teenagers.
    We stretch and then start out with cardio to get our juices pumping. “ I didn ’ t sleep much last night. ”
    Jeff smiles proudly. “ Nice! Who ’ d you hook up with? Tell me it isn ’ t that girl Trish from accounting — I see the way she looks at you. You ’ re like a God to her, ” he says, rolling his eyes.
    Man, is he freaking serious right now? He thinks I ’ m going to hook up with one of Beth ’ s friends?
    “ Dude! She ’ s Beth ’ s friend. Come on; I ’ m not that desperate. I ’ m trying to get Beth out of my life, and that sure wouldn ’ t help, ” I argue, half out of breath.
    “ Yeah, but she ’ s hot! ”
    “ Then you do her. The last thing I need is any more drama at work. My mom would kill me, ” I tell him, out of breath.
    “ Yeah, the whole office was talking about what happened in Junior ’ s office. They said you two were going at it. What was that all about? ” he asks.
    Damn, I knew everyone would be gossiping about it, but I was being optimistic