Which made zero fucking sense. He’d never wanted what his friends had. He’d done everything in his power to avoid being settled down. So why did he suddenly feel like he was missing out on something?
Why did he feel jealous?
Cam lifted his glass. “To Amber and Seth, and their child, who is sure to come out with perfect bone structure!”
The three men laughed, reminisced a little, and caught up for over an hour before they called it a night. It struck him as they all walked to the parking lot that the conversation had kept leading back to their significant others, or their friends’ and families’ other halves and kids.
He didn’t have any stories like that. All he had was his work.
As he said goodbye to his buddies and watched them drive away toward their respective homes and waiting families, he felt the now-familiar stab of envy in his chest again.
And he knew there was only one person that he wanted to see. Jasmine.
Minutes later, when Leo pulled up into his driveway, he saw headlights hitting the garage across the street. He watched through the rearview mirror as Jasmine parked and got out of her car. They hadn’t had a chance to talk in private this week. Things had been crazy busy at the clinic, and she wasn’t actually home all that much.
He’d been trying to come up with reasons to pop by, but all of them just made him feel like a creeper. He was ten years older than her, and she was in a vulnerable situation. As much as he wished that all he wanted was to offer her friendship, he knew he was lying to himself.
He wanted more. And that meant he needed to keep his distance from her.
Which he fully planned on doing until he saw her start to lift something out of her trunk. It was one of the bins that she’d had when she’d moved.
Without giving it a second thought he was out of his truck and across the street.
“Let me get that,” he said.
She jumped about an inch off the ground and spun around clutching her hands at her chest. “Oh, shit! You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.” He held out his hand. “I was just going to help you in with this stuff.”
She looked past him to his house. “Were you waiting for me to get home?”
“No.” Not tonight. Other nights he had been, but thankfully, tonight he was able to answer her honestly and not come off looking like a creep. “I just got home. I was out having a drink with Cam and Seth.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “Right, Meg mentioned something about Cam’s last night of freedom.”
“Can I get this for you?”
She smiled as she let out a soft sigh and her shoulders dropped. “Sure, that would be great. Thanks.”
He lifted the container out and was surprised at just how heavy it was.
“Did you carry this thing out to the car?”
“No, my assistant did,” she said, glancing over her shoulder as he followed behind her up the steps of the porch.
“You have an assistant?”
“Oh, yeah. And a cook, and a housekeeper, and a stylist, too.” Her eyes twinkled as she opened the front door. The look she gave him reminded him of that look his grandma gave his grandpa.
His chest constricted at the sight and he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her silly. He wondered if that was the feeling his grandpa felt, too, when he was on the receiving end of that look from his wife.
“Funny. Really funny.” He grinned as he walked past her into the front room.
“Thanks, I’ll be here all week. Tip your waiters and waitresses.”
He chuckled. She was so different than any woman he’d ever met before, and he was having a really difficult time convincing himself otherwise.
“Where do you want this?”
“You can put it there.” She motioned to the end table.
He set it down and turned back to her. Even though she was still standing at the door, which was the universal signal that she wanted him to leave, he heard himself asking, “How was your night?”
“Mmm,” she hummed as her eyes narrowed slightly and she cocked her head to the side. “Interesting.”
“Interesting how?”
“Well, for one thing, Jessica showed up wearing my old engagement ring. So that caused quite a stir,” she chuckled.
He could see that she was making light of the situation but his blood boiled thinking about her having to act as if it didn’t bother her, which he was sure it did. Every single thing her ex did just made Leo want to kick his ass even more. Since he couldn’t do that, he figured that he’d do the next best thing.
“How about I make you a cup of tea and you can tell me all about it.”
She pointed at him. “Make that a bowl of mint chocolate chip and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
* * *
“You. Sit.” Leo ordered when Jasmine attempted to follow him into the kitchen to get the ice cream.
“I can help.”
“I think I can handle scooping some ice cream. Go sit down.”
The commanding tone sent a shiver racing down her spine that landed right between her legs. When she felt her cheeks heating from her body’s reaction to his order, she figured it was probably best not to embarrass herself by blushing in front of him.
“So how was your night?” she asked as she slipped off her shoes and curled up on the corner of her couch.
“Good. It was good seeing the guys again.”
“Did you guys reminisce about the glory days?”
“A little bit. Cam mostly talked about his kids. Seth talked about Amber, and his brothers and cousins all getting married and starting their own families.” Leo came around the corner carrying two bowls of ice cream.
“Thank you!” she enthused as he handed her a heaping bowl of ice cream. “For this, and for not making me eat ice cream alone.”
“No one eats ice cream alone in my presence.”
Maybe other people wouldn’t swoon at that promise, but it was one of the most romantic things she’d ever heard. She wasn’t sure if that meant she liked ice cream a little bit too much, or if it meant she’d spent over a decade in a relationship that set a very low bar.
Probably both.
Corbin never ate ice cream when it was cold outside, which oddly was when she wanted it the most. It always made her feel alone. Actually, now that she thought about it, she’d felt alone a lot of the time in that relationship.
Not wanting to dwell on the past, she lifted the spoon to her mouth and closed her eyes, enjoying the first bite. A moan vibrated from deep within her as the cool, minty treat slid down her throat.
“Another foodgasm?”
Opening her eyes, she nodded. “The first bite’s always the best.”
“Is it?” He took a bite of his own.
“Yes, it’s a scientific fact. The law of diminishing returns.”
“Diminishing returns?”
“Yep. No bite will ever live up to the first. Once your taste buds are used to it, it’s not as good.”
One corner of his mouth lifted and it made Jasmine’s stomach roll in a way that had nothing to do with the nausea she’d been experiencing.
“And that’s a scientific fact?”
She nodded, doing her best to ignore the way his half-grin made her feel. Changing the subject she asked, “Were you bored out of your mind?”
“When?”
“When the guys were talking about kids and families.”
“No.” He moved the ice cream in his bowl around with his spoon. “Honestly, I was a little jealous.”
That was a shock. She never would’ve guessed that he was the sort of man who was jealous of anyone, over anything. And especially not over people settling down, since he was someone who didn’t want that kind of life.
It was just one more piece of the confusing puzzle that was Leo Taylor. Jasmine couldn’t get a read on him. As much as she appreciated him checking up on her and spending time with her, she wondered why he wasn’t with someone. Women obviousl
y fell all over themselves when he was around. It wasn’t like he didn’t have options.
“You want a family and kids?”
“I didn’t think I did.” The way he was looking at her made her feel that his response had something to do with her.
She quickly dismissed that thought, though. She couldn’t afford to indulge in her delusional-crush daydreams. She had to be practical. “Are you dating someone?”
“No.” He shook his head.
“When was your last serious relationship?” Maybe he was still carrying a torch for an ex. Kitty talked about Leo all the time, but she’d never mentioned a girlfriend, so Jasmine had no clue what his romantic past entailed.
“I’ve only had one serious relationship and we broke up four years ago.”
“How long were you together?”
“Off and on for about five years.”
“Off and on.”
“She broke up with me.” He took another bite. “A few times.”
“Really?” Jasmine could not fathom what would possess someone to end a relationship with Leo. “Why?”
“The first time it was because she gave me an ultimatum about a trip that I was taking for the non-profit. I went, and she stopped talking to me, but when I got back, she said she missed me and we got back together.
“The next time, I think it was because she said I loved my work more than her. That time lasted a few months before she said that she understood I had a passion for my work and could handle it.
“Then we tried one more time, which lasted a year before she told me she couldn’t be with me because I was emotionally unavailable.”
“Wow.” She took another bite of ice cream as she digested what he’d said. That was a lot deeper answer than she’d been prepared for. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she held her spoon out and said, “I expected you to say because you cheated.”
His tone turned serious. “Not all men cheat.”
Crap. Now she’d offended him. She had a tendency to stick her foot in her mouth and she definitely tasted toe. “No, I know. I was just kidding, you know…because you get so much female attention.”
“Do I?” He asked, with what she had to assume was faux ignorance.
“Oh come on. Every woman in town is making bogus appointments just so they can flirt with you. You could have anyone you want.”
“Anyone?” he rasped, his eyes locked on her.
Her heart picked up speed like a snowball in an avalanche.
“What about you?” he asked.
Yes. You can definitely have me. “Me?”
“Now that you’re single I’m sure the guys are lining up for you.”
“Oh…” Her stomach dropped in disappointment. She’d thought the conversation was going in a totally different direction. One that started with him asking if he could have her and ended with him pulling her into his arms and kissing her. It took her a moment to recalibrate her thinking to what was actually being said. “Um, no. No one is lining up for me.”
“What if they were?”
“What do you mean?” Her heart started to jump to the same conclusion that he was asking for a more personal reason, but she snatched that sucker back and kept it firmly in the cold, hard fist of reality. He was asking in a purely hypothetical sense.
“I mean, you’re not with Corbin anymore. I’m sure once word gets out, every single guy in town is going to put his name in the hat.”
“Ha,” she let out a bark of laughter. “No. I don’t think so. And even if that were the case, which it’s not going to be, I’m really not in any condition to start dating someone.” Using her spoon she pointed at her belly.
“What about after you have the baby?” his tone turned serious, and once again she felt like the question held a personal value to Leo. Which made zero sense.
She took in a shaky breath as the energy between them shifted. “After I have the baby I’m going to be busy being a mom, finishing school, and working. I know a lot of women can juggle all that and a personal life, but honestly, I don’t think I want to have men coming in and out of my child’s life.”
“So you’re not going to date at all?” His stare pinned her in place, making her stomach do those flippy things again.
Her shoulders lifted in a shrug as she took the last bite of ice cream. “Not until this little nugget is older and can understand. Or maybe not even then, because if they can understand then it might affect them more.” She sighed. “I guess I’ll think about it after the nugget is in college.”
Leo’s eyes widened. “You’re going to be single for eighteen years.”
“Give or take.” Jasmine stood, suddenly feeling the melancholy cloud hovering above her. It wasn’t that she felt sorry for herself, it was just not the future that she’d planned on and she needed a little time to grieve that.
Taking her cue, Leo stood as well and started to take her bowl from her. “I’ve got it.” She kept a firm hold on the ceramic container, needing to feel every ounce of independence that she possessed.
She reached out to take his bowl but he wasn’t letting it go, either. He asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Her answer was clipped. “I’m just tired.”
Had she been playing the tired card a lot? Yes. But it wasn’t like she was lying.
His chocolate brown gaze searched hers in what she could only assume was an attempt to see what was actually wrong. Even though she knew it was impossible for him to read her mind, she couldn’t deny how unnerving it was that somehow it felt like he could.
She let his bowl go, wanting to end the standoff for fear that she would reveal more than she wanted to.
They both started toward the kitchen at the same time and when they did, Jasmine’s hip hit the corner of the bin full of her Naughty Nights products, knocking it off the end table onto the floor. It fell on its side, the lid popped off, and all of the contents came crashing out.
On top of the pile sat an array of vibrators in different sizes and colors.
“Whoa. I think I see why you don’t need a man.”
Chapter 15
Leo stood in stunned silence, not sure what he’d just stumbled upon.
“They’re not mine!” Jasmine blurted, face flushing. “I mean, yes, they are mine but not mine, mine. I sell them. These are the feminine products I was talking about. I’m a Naughty Nights distributor. That’s why I was at Tempting for Ladies’ Night. I was there to sell these.” She explained in a rush, not meeting his gaze as she dropped her bowl on the coffee table and started throwing the items back in the bin.
Leo bent and helped Jasmine turn the bin right side up and put all the items back into the box. When he got to the last one, which was a dark bottle with raspberries on it, he held it up. “What is this?”
His heart pounded in his chest, pumping blood down to his southern regions. Seeing all of these sexy items, he couldn’t help but envision Jasmine using them. And images of him using them on her were now populating his brain.
“It’s, um,” Jasmine cleared her throat, “flavored massage oil. And it heats up on the skin.”
“Does it taste good?”
“It’s new. I haven’t actually tasted that one.” She took it out of his hand and squirted some on her wrist. She rubbed both of them together and then lifted her arm to her mouth. He watched as her tongue ran along her pulse point before it slid between the seam of her lips. “Yeah. It’s good.”
Mentally, he knew that her actions weren’t intentionally seductive, but physically, they struck him as incredibly erotically enticing.
“Can I taste it?” he practically growled.
Their eyes were locked and he watched as Jasmine’s chest rose and fell in increasingly shallow breaths. A flush bloomed on her cheeks as she held the bottle out to him and breathed, “Sure.”
Instead of taking it from her, Leo gently wrapped his fingers around her forearm, turned her arm so that her wrist was facing him, and lifted it to his mouth. His move
ments were slow and deliberate; his touch reverent and feather light, more of a guide than a grasp, giving her ample opportunity to pull away.
But she didn’t. Her hazel eyes held his and widened as his mouth hovered above her wrist. He could feel the heat of his own breath fanning back over him as it reflected off her soft skin.
His body roared with desire as he gently pressed his lips onto the area that she’d just tasted in an open-mouthed kiss. She gasped as he licked her sweetened skin. Her pulse raced beneath his tongue.
When a soft moan escaped her, his head finally caught up with his actions and he lowered her arm back to her side.
What the hell are you doing?
The only excuse he had for his behavior was that he’d been fighting his feelings for Jasmine since the first time he laid eyes on her, and the fight was just too much to keep up any longer.
It didn’t help that, up until that moment, he hadn’t been one hundred percent sure she was feeling the same way he did. Now, after feeling her heartbeat speed up at the touch of his tongue, though, his percentage of certainty was fucking skyrocketing.
That gasp, too. That unbelievably sexy damn gasp.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“You shouldn’t be. I liked it.”
His nostrils flared at her response. He felt like a bull pawing the ground before charging. If it were any other woman standing in front of him, Leo wouldn’t have hesitated to pull her into a kiss. But then again, if it were any other woman standing in front of him, he wouldn’t feel this way.
This situation was the definition of complicated. There was so much more to take into consideration than just how they were both feeling at the moment.
“I liked it, too. A little too much.” Leo took a step back from her, hoping the distance would help him think straight. When it did nothing to tamper his overwhelming urges he shook his head. “I think I should go before I do something that I shouldn’t.”
He started to walk past her to the door when he felt her slender fingers slide around his forearm. She gripped his arm and he stilled, unsure of what his next move was going to be.
Just One Touch - Leo & Jasmine (Crossroads Book 16) Page 14
