Page 39 of Jared's Redemption

“When are you going to accept that you can’t protect me by pushing me away?” I ask, propping myself up on my elbow to look him in the eyes. His cheeks flush as he looks away, running a hand through his tousled hair. Finally looking at me, Jared reaches a hand up, cupping my cheek and brushing into my hair while I preen under his attention, my eyes closed.

He curls his fingers against my scalp, gripping the hair and wrenching my head back and drawing a sharp gasp from my lips as my eyes fly open. My back is pressed to the mattress as Jared looms over me, but my excitement doesn’t last for long. His face is red and I can see the emotions warring on his face as he stares down at me, anger and desire battling for control. Anger wins out as he throws the covers off, pulling away from me as he leaps from the bed and storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

I sit up, watching the closed door as if I had the power to will him back. I turn, throwing my face into the pillows to muffle my scream of frustration. He would give in, or I would die trying.

Once we are both dressed, still not speaking, we head into the main house. Jared is wearing his usual black dress pants and gray button up, while I wore a dark blue dress with long flowing sleeves. It hugged my curves just right; the neckline showing enough cleavage that I caught Jared staring more than once. He opens his mouth but snaps it shut as Markus swings the door open before we can knock.

“There’s one happy couple.” Markus says, grinning as he stirs the pot. As we step into their beautifully decorated home, my heart clenches at the sight. Amelia is jumping up and down excitedly, her little hands outstretched for me as she rushes past everyone else.

“Lulu up!” She squeals as I scoop her up, spinning her in my arms as I blow on her cheek. She giggles excitedly, reaching for Jared. He leans in, and she dives for him out of my arms.

“Traitor.” I say, grinning at the expression of adoration on Jared’s face.

“Luna, help me set the table.” Isabelle says, taking my hand and dragging me out of the room. Once we are in the kitchen, the sound of the men laughing in the other room, Isabelle smirks at me with her hands on her hips.

“You sneaky bitch.” She snickers.

“What?” I ask, confusion obvious on my face. She rolls her eyes, pulling a set of keys out of her pocket and shoving them into my hand.

“You snuck through his window! Next time, just call me. I’ll let you in.” She hisses, rolling her eyes at my dumbfounded expression.

“Luna, we have security cameras and guards everywhere.” She says. I groan, rubbing a hand over my forehead.

“So everyone knows Jared dumped me and I’m back to where we started, stalking him?” I ask, taking a stack of plates and setting the dining table with my back to the living room doorway. Isabelle bites her lip, leaning to look around me as she lays out the silverware beside the plates.

“You don’t really believe that, do you? With what he’s been working on and the things he’s said to Alec.” She says softly, waving her hand dismissively.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, leaning forward and desperate to hear more.

“Just don’t give up, okay?” She says under her breath, as Jared walks in and looks between us suspiciously.

“Care to share what you ladies are talking about?” Jared asks, pinning Isabelle with a look. She sticks her tongue out, not in the least bit intimidated.

“We are talking about how hairy your ass is.” She says, laughing to herself as she walks away. I slap a hand over my mouth, trying to hold back the laughter as he whips his head to stare at me with a startled look on his face.

“I have one word for you, brother. Manscaping.” Markus says as he walks past us to help Isabelle carry the huge trays of food to the table.

“There is a child present.” Alec says as Amelia skips ahead of him to run to Isabelle.

“Can we just eat, please?” Jared says, pulling a chair out and holding his hand out to help me sit. My cheeks burn as he slides my chair in behind me and I clear my throat when I notice everyone else has claimed a seat, leaving only the one next to me open.

“I lost my appetite thinking about your hairy ass.” Markus says, squinting at Jared and pretending to shiver with disgust. Isabelle slides Amelia’s high chair up next to me and sighs, shaking her head at their bickering.

“If they start throwing food, the best advice I have is just duck.” She says in a loud whisper.

Chapter 29- Jared

Waking up with Luna in my arms was a feeling I could only describe as ecstasy. Her face was slack. Peacefulness erased the pinched look I expected. I kept remembering it, digging the knife deeper into my heart as she sat next to me with a smile on her lips. She fit into this family more than I would like to admit, and each day was harder to turn her away. Throughout dinner I had to keep reminding myself not to touch her. The urge to grab her thigh under the table, or tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear was overwhelming.

The tension wasn’t just affecting me. When Isabelle cleared the table, Alec nearly knocked his chair over, jumping up to help her. Markus sat across from me with a cheshire grin as he looked between us and I wanted to knock the expression off his smug face.

“Anything new in life? Been getting laid?” He asks, tilting his head.

“Markus, take Amelia to wash up.” Isabelle snaps, her eyes piercing. He throws his hands up defensively, doing as she says. I blow out a breath, standing and rubbing the back of my neck as if I could erase the weight I had placed there.

“Presents!” Amelia shouts. Markus’ laughter follows her from the other room.

“We better hurry, or she’s going to tear into everything before we can stop her.” Alec says, smiling at Isabelle as he plants a kiss on her forehead. Luna drops her eyes, standing and smoothing the skirt of her dress as she tries to turn and leave. Her foot catches on the leg of the chair, causing her to lose balance.

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