Page 20 of Forgive You

Jason’s glare is more intense than I’ve ever seen it, his eyes heated like molten lava as if he’s ready to kill someone by spitting fire.

My legs wobble, my eyelids bouncing up and down as our gazes are pulled at each other like magnets as I stare at him in the mirror. The dimmed lights make him look that much more intimidating, as the bright light of the hall illuminate his silhouette, yet only darken his features.

Contempt wrinkles around his lips, and his bright blue eyes find mine with ice. For a moment, my heart hitches, wondering if he’s just as dangerous as his older brother, but when I look closer,longer, I know Jason’s anger is fueled by the hurt and frustration he feels when he looks at me.

This is Jason,Julie. You’ll be okay.

If only I could turn back time and tell him everything I didn’t get a chance to.

“Howthe fuckcan you be with him?” His voice is gravelly, inked with incredulity, as he slowly but surely puts his feet inmotion, his raging energy filling every square foot in this small bathroom.

I breathe in all the oxygen that can fit into my lungs, then wipe my hands onto one of the towels beside the sink, throw it into the hamper in the corner, and swing around to face him.

“It’s complicated.” Think a Rubix cube with more colors than sides.

He stops until he’s right into my space, our chests only an inch apart, and our hearts almost connecting except for our rib cages keeping them separated. Tension builds between us, the outside world disappearing from my senses.

“He’s talking about you like you’re a fucking whore!” he snarls, crazed and wide-eyed. “Is that what you are, Julie? His fucking little whore?”

My rational mind knows he’s repeating Jacob’s words, but hearing them roll off his lips, aimed at me the way they are, is like a machete cutting deep and thoroughly into my chest.

With itching fingers, I force myself to hold his gaze, when really, I want to slap the filth out of his mouth.

I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of losing it, though. The way I see it? The more normal I act, the less affected I seem, the crazier he looks. And if I know Jason, he’ll regret every nasty thing he’s spitting at me the moment his head hits his pillow tonight.

There is no way in hell I’m going to give him any more reason to hate me than he already does. I’m going to be the perfect opponent. The one who will provide him no other option than to realize how much he’s acting like a maniac when I’m being polite and civil any time I can.

I cross my arms over my chest, chin high. “This is the ladies’ room. It’s becoming a habit, Jason.”

Silence.

He just keeps drilling his glare through my features, examining every inch with deep breaths releasing from his nose as if he’s mentally digging for answers. But he slips up when his gaze lowers to my lips in a teeny second, and the intensity in his eyes changes. It’s no longer built out of solid rage, it’s now mixed with a lust that shudders my spine.

Oh, boy.I remember that look all too well.

If I close my eyes, I can still taste the champagne on my lips from that night. I can still feel the strokes of his tongue against mine. I bite my lip to stop the growing tingling in my lower abdomen, then roll them together with a quasi-casual expression.

“Okay, well, you’re obviously here with a reason, Jason. Please, enlighten me.”

But his raging gaze keeps penetrating me without words.

More silence, what a surprise.

“Ignoring me. Classy. And here I thought you were more mature than that.”

I twist to give him my back and stand my ground a little easier, but he catches my upper arm, holding me firmly in place. His palm sears through my skin, and my lips part at the current that ripples through my senses because of it.

“You want mature?” he grits out, dipping his chin to bore our gazes together like magnets.

Fresh, fruity hints of lemon enter my nostrils, combined with a whiff of sandalwood. A cologne that’s the epitome of safety for me, though today it’s a sheer contrast with the feral expression it’s accompanied with.

“I’ll settle for civil.”

He chuckles, but there’s no humor to be found. “How can I be civil when all I wanna do is punish you?”

I swallow dryly, my mouth suddenly parched. My clit throbs when I detect the desire staring back at me.

“Are you jealous?” I want him to be.

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