Page 5 of Bitter Sweet Love

“Wait!” I spun toward my father. “Nothing is settled.”

“Excuse me?” Dez said, speaking two words for the first time.

I ignored him. “Nothing is settled. I have not accepted the claim.”

A hush fell over the gathering clan. Needless to say, this was about to get a whole lot more awkward.

My father’s brows furrowed, and I was acutely aware of Dez moving to stand beside me. “It didn’t look like you were going to say no a few seconds ago.”

Dez touched my arm. “Jas—”

A sick feeling bloomed in my stomach at the use of his old nickname for me. Stepping away from him, I met his stare. “No. You do not get to call me that.” I kept my voice low, but I knew we were being overheard. The clan, mostly male, was worse than old ladies when it came to gossip and drama. “You do not get to walk back into my life and—”

“Okay,” my dad said diplomatically. “I think you two need to talk.”

I tipped my chin up. “I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about.”

Dez held my stare for a moment and then looked away, a muscle thrumming along his jaw.

“Jasmine, the pair of you need to come to terms. You have seven days to make a decision. No reason to make a hasty choice.”

“My decision isn’t—”

“We’ll talk,” Dez interrupted, grabbing hold of my arm in a firm but gentle grip. “And we won’t need the full seven days.”

I glared up at him. I was tall, but Dez towered over me now. “Oh, it’s so good to see that your arrogance hasn’t changed.”

Dez’s lips tipped up in one corner. “I think you’ll find that a lot hasn’t changed.”

“I don’t think I really care.” I tried to pull away, but he held on, his grin going up a notch. “Seriously.”

His eyes glittered with challenge and something else I couldn’t put a name to. “We’ll see about that.”

Finding privacy inside a houseful of people who obviously had nothing better to do with their time than eavesdrop proved difficult. We could’ve gone upstairs to my room or the one that used to be his, but that seemed too intimate and would’ve been too much for me right then. I was already off kilter enough.

We ended up outside, in the garden along the back of the mansion. The moon glinted off the stone walls built around the peaceful patch of land. On any given night, you could find a couple sneaking off among the thorny rosebushes and juniper trees. Not that anyone needed to sneak. Wardens were almost always in the way of making babies, but perhaps it was the appeal of doing something seemingly naughty. I honestly didn’t know.

“You look beautiful.”

I stared at the roses. At night, their petals looked like black velvet. “Do you really think that’s going to get you anywhere?”

“I’m not trying to get anywhere.” His voice was closer, and a tingle of awareness skimmed down my spine. “It’s the truth. You were always something to look at, but damn, you’re beautiful, Jasmine.”

My heart jumped at his words no matter how badly I wanted to remain unaffected. A cool breeze stirred my hair and caused the hem of the stupid gown to float around my calves.

“Look at me,” he cajoled, tone gentle, even a little bit teasing.

I rolled my eyes. “I was serious inside, Dez. There’s nothing we need to talk about.”

“Are you sure about that?” His heat warmed my back, warning that he was closer still. “Because the way you kissed me tells me something totally different.”

“The way I kissed you?” I spun around and had to take a step back. He was right there. “I didn’t kiss you, you jerk. You kissed me.”

“Technicalities,” he murmured, and in a flash of a heartbeat, he was so close we were breathing the same air again. “You kissed me back.”

Although that might be true, I’d be damned before I admitted it. “I was too shocked to think clearly. Trust me, it won’t be happening again.”

“Is that so?”

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