Page 36 of Pawn

“Thought so.” She rises to her feet, pulling on her pants.

“You don’t call the shots, Jo.” When she pushes around me, opening the door, my hand reaches for her before it’s too late. “I do. Remember?” I’m asserting my dominance because it’s the last thing I know how to do to get her by my side tonight. There’s nowhere else I want her.

Pulling her to me, she slams against my chest before we stumble back onto the bed. It’s easy for me to pin her arms above her head. “Sleep with me,” I whisper.

I can feel her warmth against my cock and it’s taking everything for me not to plunge into her. With a glance at Allie, I make sure she’s sleeping before I set my gaze on those Medusa eyes.

“You can’t fuck me if you can’t even say how you feel,” she whispers back, her breath heavy. But I don’t miss the lift of her hip when she rubs against my hardon.

“Shut up, Rowland.” Laying beside her, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her back onto my chest. Now we’re spooned like some idiots but I just want her close, her words reminding me of the only thing that really matters. Her. “You’re staying right here tonight.” Then I give her an inch. “I want you by my side, Jo.”

It takes a minute but her body relaxes. So does mine. It’s not long before she’s fallen asleep.

And I’m at peace.

* * *

A pillow hits my head, launching me awake like a fucking vampire, the bed rocking beneath me.

Blinking at the window, the world going by, it takes a second to get my bearings.

“Wake up,” Allie’s voice is next. “We’re almost there and I swear if you guys fucked while my head was just feet away, I’m getting my own ride back to Eden.”

Right, we should be in Montreal any minute. The sun’s rising, a head of hair to my side, just the way I like to wake up.

A pillow hits her head. “Wake up!” Allie yells again.

“The fuck.” Jo stirs, her ass backed up against me giving me the mother of all boners.

After a few seconds, she rises off the mattress, squinting her eyes. Swooping her hair out of her face, she looks over at me, her eyes widening before she looks down at her clothes. Then she’s up before I can hold onto her, cold taking over my body.

How she looks this good after a night on a train is beyond me, her curls squished against her head as she scratches at it, looking around. The red on her cheeks tells me there’s more going on in that head than she wants us to believe, but I know her better than that. Heading over to the sofa, she fixes her clothes, pulling her jacket over her arms. No eye-contact at all.

Like my boner, I don’t let her see it, but this shit fucking kills me.

Will she ever be able to trust me? Will she ever be able to trust us? At least we both got some sleep. I haven’t slept all week. I can only let go of this world when I have her in my arms.

“What time is it?” Jo mumbles.

“Six-thirty,” Allie says, tapping at her phone. “We still have about three hours before Lea’s in the Port.”

“The Port?” Jo asks, settling into the sofa and like me, she’s not gonna talk about what happened last night. For now.

“The Old Port,” I explain. That pain in my head is dull but it’s still there, so I head to the bar, reaching for another refill of scotch. On second thought, gin’s better to fill an empty water bottle.

“They’re going on a field trip and we thought that she could just come with us.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” I ask, an eyebrow raised her way. I don’t go through with a plan without knowing every step. There’s no such thing as luck. It’s all about being prepared. No magic. No folklore. Taking the bottle to my mouth, Jo twists her lips and I give her a smirk. “Want some?”

Rolling her eyes, she avoids my bare chest, focusing on Allie.

“I mean, that’s it. That’s the plan,” she says with a shrug.

“What’s the plan?” I ask again.

“We meet her in the Port.”

“That’s not a plan.” I shake my head. Should’ve known better than to leave any planning to Allie. Walking over to the bed, I reach in my leather pocket for my phone, the sheets still warm from her body. Texting Lea, I ask her where she’s headed. She doesn’t question it when she answers back, telling me about the Science Centre along the harbour. “Jo and I will man the mission from a rooftop along St. Paul.”

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