Page 18 of Never You

“The girl must really be serious this time. Good for her.” She sounds more appreciative than angry. “So what the fuck do you want me to do?”

“I need you to release a statement and tell Emily that there is nothing between you and me.Face-to-face.”

Biting her lips, she stares at me, and I can see the wheels turning in her head, thinking about the situation. Standing in front of her, looking at her perfectly plump lips, makes me itchy to move into old habits and make a flirty comment, but I keep my mouth shut.

For a second, I wonder why I’ve never kissed the girl, just to find out how those luscious lips would feel on mine.

“Fine.” She snaps my focus back to her eyes as she glances at the watch on her wrist. “I need to hit the road in an hour; that way I’ll still be in my hotel before dark. I’ll send an email to TMZ and then I’ll talk to Emily for ten minutes, but after that, you are on your own. Where is she?”

Here’s the tricky part.

Blinking, I give her my smoldering look, figuring it can’t hurt to give it another shot or at least do my best to not get slapped by this blonde force of nature.

“Yeah, about that,” I tell her again, carefully. “She’s in New York.”

Hopeful, I wait for her response, anxiously staring at her blank expression, even though we all know she will lose her shit soon enough. After a few seconds, Rae widens her eyes and drops her jaw incredulously, and I swear I can see the steam come out of her ears like it does in one of those cartoons.

“Jared James Jensen,” she rumbles, her tone ominous and sexy at the same time, as if she’s speaking to my dick directly.

Oh, damn.

No one calls me by my full name other than my parents, and I rarely respond to my first two names. At times, I kinda forget my name is actually Jared James.

But hearing them roll off her lips in such a dominant way?

I want more.

“You better be talking about some nice hipster café uptown or something. You know, where they serve all those different kinds of herbal teas and vegan pies, because there is no way in hell am I going to New York right now, Jensen. Are you crazy?” Her face is hard and tense, her voice full of frustration, already knowing I’m not talking about whatever fucking café that is.

“Specific, really. Do you go there often?” I can’t help a laugh breaking from my chest, but when she gives me a death stare, the curling of my mouth goes back to a firm line.

“Come on, Rae, please.” I fold my hands together, begging. “I have a jet waiting. We can go right now and have you back here by midnight. You can drive home tomorrow.”

Something I can’t detect flashes in her eyes, and I see her muscles go rigid for a brief moment.

“I don’t fly,” she deadpans.

I scrunch my nose, not following. “What do you mean, you don’t fly?”

“I don’t fly.” She shrugs, a serious look on her face.

“Don’t bullshit me. Come on, Rae. We can have this sorted before dinner.”

“I have to be in Jacksonville by Friday. I’m leaving today.”

“I’ll fly you to Jacksonville.” I push further.

“I don’t fly,Jensen,” she repeats, seething this time, her glare returning to its full glory.

There is a familiarity to it that I enjoy, but there is something else that is situating in my bones the longer I look at her.

Is that…Fear?

“What the fuck? Why?” I blurt. “Are you afraid of flying?”

“No!” she snaps, as her expression turns darker with rage.

“Then, what?!”

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