Unchain My Heart(26)

“Jade, you know that’s not the easiest thing to do,” she said, checking her teeth in the mirror.

“Becca?”

“Hmmm?” she hummed as she pulled her bra straps tighter so that her cleavage was even more impressive.

“How come you’re preening so hard if you’re really not interested in Maxwell . . . You’re not telling me everything. Spit it out.” I demanded.

She stopped what she was doing as if my words shocked her. She looked at herself in the mirror for a beat, then her eyes slid to mine. A long sigh left her body, as if she’d been holding back.

Turning to face me so that our eyes met for real, a blush crept over her neck and up her cheeks. “I know I'm not supposed to feel like this. But he . . . he turns me on something terrible. I find myself wanting his attention . . . and his touch. I dream about him every night. It's driving me fucking crazy. And I don’t know what to do about it—” She averted her gaze and looked down at her hands.

I sucked in a breath. I knew the symptoms when I saw them. I'd denied my attraction to Ryder for all I was worth, but it didn’t help me one bit. The difference was that Ryder wasn’t committed to anyone.

“Oh, honey! It doesn’t help that he’s devastatingly handsome. But he’s your boss. And there’s his wife—”

“God, I know, right? And after what happened with Julian and Alain, I swore I'd never be attracted to a married man again.” Her breath hitched. “What the fuck is wrong with me? I'm trying so hard to be professional around Maxwell.” Her voice trembled. “But when he gives me that sexy smile, oh god, my panties practically melt and I want him. It's so wrong on every level, but I can’t seem to help myself.”

She rubbed over her heart with the heel of her palm. The pinkness on her cheeks had deepened to a bright flush.

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re attracted to a sexy man. It happens. The problem is . . . that it can go nowhere while he’s married. You’re setting yourself up for heartbreak. I don’t want to see that happen to you again.”

“So tell me . . . what do I do then, Jade? Quit the job I love? I took the damn job to get away from Julian . . . now I’m back to square one. How the hell do I manage to keep doing this?”

“Fuck me, Becca. You jump from one hotter than hell fire to another. You’re going to get burned, babe.”

She shrugged. “I try to resist.” The sadness in her eyes made my heart squeeze. “I really do. I didn’t realize I was preening specially for him. But you’re right. It can’t go anywhere, so I need to guard my heart.”

“You deserve to be happy. To have a man that’s only yours.”

She nodded. “I want to be as happy as what you and Ryder are. I want my own man—hundred percent mine.” She looked at me, a wry smile on her beautiful face, “Like you have Ryder. You’re a lucky woman, Jade.”

“I know, honey. It was my lucky day when Ryder walked into my life with his big biker boots.” I grinned, but quickly wiped it off my face, feeling bad because I was so lucky and because Rebecca had such rotten luck with men.

I gave her a hug. “Just give it time. Your man will reveal himself when you least expect it. Then all of this will be behind you.”

The funny thing was, I could see how crazy Maxwell was about Rebecca. The way he acted around her was a dead giveaway and impossible to hide.

If anyone knew how futile it was to resist love, it was me. I understood better than most that the heart wants what it wants. It won’t be told who to love.

Was Maxwell in love with my cousin? He sure acted like he was, his awareness focused on her as if she was the only person in the room. And the way she glowed around him—that was a dead giveaway too.





Chapter Nineteen — Eva


I'd never met a man like Harrison Summers before. He was a contradiction in so many ways, it made my head hurt. He was sexy as sin, his brute strength apparent in every flex of his toned muscles. He moved like a cat, sensually and with stealth, stalking his unsuspecting prey. God, I was sure women threw themselves at him. He had a raw magnetism that was impossible to ignore.

Yet his eyes were hard and his heart was cold. The only time I ever saw any semblance of emotion from him was when he talked about his sister. Other than that, his handsome face was like granite, his chiseled features and square jaw set in stone—unforgiving and unyielding.

Harrison was the kind of man I knew to avoid at all costs. He was the type who would get a woman to fall hard for him, but to him she would mean nothing at all. Because Harrison was on a path of self-destruction, waiting and praying for someone to put him out of his misery. He most definitely had a death wish.