Page 169 of My Five Daddies

“I did say that.” She turns away from me, but I grab her arm and turn her back. Her eyes are wide as I look down into hers, and goddamn, do I want to take her right here, right now. She’s so fucking sexy, and there’s a little anger in her gaze, which only makes me want her that muchmore.

“I don’t trust you,” shewhispers.

“You don’t trust me?” I cock my head and slowly let her arm go. She crosses them over herchest.

“No,” she says. “I’ve heard rumors about you, Jackson. And you know what? We don’t know each otheranymore.”

I stare at her for a second, surprised that she listens to that sort of shit. “You’re still that girl I knew,” I say to hersoftly.

“I doubt it,” she says. “You’re not the guy Iknew.”

“Yes, I am. I’ve just been through some shit, like you have. But we haven’t changed, notfundamentally.”

“I don’t know if I agree with that. And anyway, just because we have a truce, doesn’t mean I want to get close toyou.”

“I don’t believe that,” I say, smirking at her. “I see the way you look at me, Tara. You still remember what it was like back then, and you stillwonder…”

She glares at me. “Wonderwhat?”

“What it would feel like to have me do exactly what you want me to do toyou.”

She’s quiet for a second, but she doesn’t argue. My heart is beating fast and she’s not running away, not turning away from me. She tips her chin up and stares into myeyes.

“Do you have any idea what it was like when you left?” she asks mesuddenly.

I frown at her and sigh. “No, I don’t,” Iadmit.

“You just disappeared. One day we were as close as I’ve ever been with someone, and then you joined the military without even telling me. You never wrote, you nevercalled.”

“I got your letters,” I say softly. “I still havethem.”

She hesitates but shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter now. You decided to leave me, Jackson. That wasn’t my choice. And now you’re back and what, you think it can go back to the way itwas?”

“No,” I say to her. “I don’t think that. The man I was when I was out there… you didn’t want to know that man,Tara.”

“Maybe but you didn’t give me that choice, didyou?”

I watch her quietly for a second and sigh. “Remember that guy, SilasLerain?”

She hesitates, a little thrown off balance. “Yeah, I remember Silas. Never shutup.”

“Yeah, that was Silas. Always talking shit.” I grin at her. “One day, we were walking to school and he goes, ‘Hey man, why the fuck do you hang around that Tara chick all the time? You could have any girl in the school. So why her?’ And you know what Isaid?”

She shakes her head. “I have noclue.”

“I said that she’s the only girl worth my time. He fucking made fun of me for saying that for weeks, but it was the truth. Still is thetruth.”

She smiles a little bit. “I think I remember that. He used to call you a bitchboy.”

“He was an asshole,” I say, smiling abit.

“Didn’t you end up punchinghim?”

“Yeah, well, that was because he called my little brother a faggot and tried to steal hisiPod.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that. Silas really was a piece ofshit.”

“Not as bad as Marty, remember thatkid?”

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