Hell yeah, he felt that.
He felt his eyes flare with desire as his body hummed with need to have her.
“Now you don’t have to watch.” Char stepped away. “You and your perverted little mind can imagine. Now, out.” She pointed to the door and crossed her arms.
Was she serious?
She wanted him to stand? Right now? And actually walk to the door? And close it behind him? Without…
“I’m waiting.” She winked.
Well played, damn it.
With difficulty he rose to his feet and slowly shuffled out of the room. It wasn’t until the door clicked shut behind him that he managed to exhale, and even then he had to lean against the wall so he didn’t collapse in a pool of his own unsatiated lust.
“Things go well?” a voice called from down the hall.
Travis walked slowly toward him and smirked. “Ah, so you’ve finally lost it.”
“Huh?” Was he sweating? What the hell! When had a woman ever affected him like this!
“Your game, skills, wooing magic, ability to charm a nun out of her skirts—”
“Point made,” Jake interrupted.
“So…” Travis crossed his arms. “You and Char, huh?”
Jake was silent.
“Don’t do it.”
“Clearly, I’m not doing anything. That’s the damn problem,” Jake muttered.
Travis swore. “Just… don’t do anything rash before the wedding, okay? I can’t even imagine how pissed Kacey would be if she found out you were trying to dally with her best friend and maid of honor.”
“There was no dallying, believe me.” Was that bitterness seeping out of his every word?
“Good.” Travis slapped him on the back. “Because I’ve already got someone lined up for her. Someone stable who doesn’t date chicks with names like Jak-Jak or Honey.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Jake pushed away from the wall.
“It means,” Travis stepped closer to him, “stay the hell away from her. You just want her because she’s playing hard to get. The minute she makes it easy, you’ll be gone, and I’m going to have to deal with two hysterical women, not to mention Grandma, on the happiest day of my life. Just… Jake, for once in your life, leave it alone, okay?”
What the hell? A pain hit him sharp in the gut. Was it disappointment? Guilt? Shame? He wasn’t really sure, but the last thing he wanted was to continue to let everyone down in his life. He backed away and sighed.
“She’s not my type anyway.”
Travis rolled his eyes. Yeah, he wouldn’t believe himself either, mainly because he was lying his ass off.
“And,” he shrugged. “We’re too good as friends. I wouldn’t want to ruin that. Never actually had a friend that was a girl; I mean we can only count Kacey for so long. I just wanted to do something nice for her birthday. That’s all, I swear.”
“Really?” Travis’s eyes narrowed.
“Of course.” Jake forced a smile. “Besides, you know I love blondes.”
“Travis!” Grandma yelled from the other room. “Couch! Now!”
“No sleeping anywhere near Kacey until after the wedding. Grandma’s orders,” Travis mumbled. “If you hear a man weeping in the middle of the night, ignore it.”
Jake winced. “At least you only have less than two weeks left of torture.”
“Right. Tell that to my—”
“Travis!” Grandma yelled again.
Mumbling an oath, Travis made his way down the stairs and toward the couch. Jake turned back toward the door and knocked.
Char was already in the bed with the lights off. Disappointed, Jake took off his shirt and pants. Clad only in his boxers, he lay down on the bed and pulled the throw blanket over his body.
She had fallen asleep. How could she sleep at a time like this? Wasn’t her body still humming with desire? Did she have no feelings for him whatsoever? And why the hell did he care? With a yawn he attempted to close his eyes and sleep.
Chapter Twenty
Char wiped a warm tear from her eye and tried to keep herself from making too much noise as she sniffled under the blanket.
It was pathetic, really.
She was crying over Jake Titus—again.
Only this time, he hadn’t been rude, just honest. It still hurt like hell. It still made her want to drown her sorrows in ice cream and have a good cry, not that any of that would fix anything.
Friend.
A good friend.
And he liked blondes.
She wasn’t sure why it hurt so much to get rejected again. Maybe it was because of the way he’d kissed her or how sweet he’d been to her today. Then again, it had been her birthday. He was just trying to be nice because it was quite possible, that underneath all that vanity and whorishness, Jake was actually a decent guy.