Page 12 of Forget

‘Don’t forget demeaned and idolised for your body.’ She let out a long wolf whistle. ‘Come on, Sexy, show me what you’ve got.’

Surprise widened his eyes. ‘I like your new confidence. It’s a major turn-on.’

She pointedly stared at his groin and the sizeable bulge there. ‘Like you needed a reason.’

He chuckled and shrugged out of his shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Jayda loved trading quips with him. They hadn’t had this ease between them six years ago and it was fun to spar as foreplay.

Her gaze roved over his bare chest in blatant appreciation, surprised when she spied a tattoo emblazoned across one side.

‘That’s new,’ she said, staring at the flock of seagulls in flight beneath his left breastbone, intricate and incredibly artistic. She wondered if the unusual tattoo meant something to him.

‘Who would’ve thought, a geek with tats, huh?’

She heard the vulnerability in his lowered voice and quashed the surge of protectiveness. She knew that feeling well, that soul-sapping uncertainty of being judged by appearance. It ate away at confidence and made you second-guess everything. She didn’t let the doubts creep in much these days but when they did, she hammered them into submission quicksmart.

‘I love it.’

And she meant it. The contrast between the nerdy, dedicated student she remembered and his sexy counterpart now made her want him all the more.

‘Well, if you love this, wait until you see what else I have for you.’

His crooked grin made her chuckle and her heart leapt in anticipation as he unsnapped the button on his chinos.

‘Don’t tell me you tattooed that.’

He winced and pointed to his chest. ‘This hurt like the devil so that would be a resounding no.’

‘So you were boasting in general, huh?’

One eyebrow quirked in provocation. ‘You’ve seen it. Don’t you think I have a right to boast?’

‘Absolutely,’ she said, nodding so vigorously her neck cramped, enjoying that they’d reverted to sparring when he laughed again.

‘This is…I mean…you and me…’ He waved his hand between them and muttered, ‘Fuck. What I’m trying to say is, is sex usually this playful for you?’

A flush swept into her cheeks. She should lie. It wouldn’t bode well for him to discover he’d been her last six years ago. He’d know that she’d been a tad hung up over that night. Or, worse, think she was some kind of frigid freak.

But Jayda hated lies. Ever since she’d discovered the truth about her father and why he’d misappropriated funds from the charity she’d helped run, she abhorred untruths. If her dad had trusted her she could’ve seen he’d got the help he needed. Instead, her mother had joined him in the cover-up, not telling her anything until she’d discovered their treachery.

She understood the lengths to which her father had gone to deal with his unhappiness, stemming way back from Sasha’s death, but she’d been a teen at the time and she’d dealt with the mind-numbing grief of losing her sister, why couldn’t he as an adult? Why did he have to screw up so badly and affect everybody in the process?

‘Forget it, I shouldn’t have asked.’ He eyeballed her. ‘That look on your face says it all.’

Mortified that she’d let thoughts of her family problems intrude at a time like this, she shook her head. ‘Sorry, I was mulling whether to lie to you or tell the truth, and I’ve decided on the latter.’

She sighed. ‘No, sex isn’t playful for me, because I’ve only ever slept with two guys.’

She didn’t have to wait long for Brock to understand. The guy had topped their graduation class with a quick-fire intelligence that had once annoyed her when she had to study hard for every single grade.

‘You mean…’ Incredulity made him stare at her in wide-eyed shock.

She nodded. ‘Yep. That dickhead Deon who took my virginity on a bet, and you.’

He gaped, a deep groove burrowing between his brows. ‘But that means…I was the last…six years ago…fuck.’

This time he shook his head as if trying to clear it but she didn’t want to give him too much time to assimilate what the information she’d revealed actually meant.

‘I’ve been with other guys since, fooled around a bit, but not everyone gets to see this.’ She swept her hands over her body with a flourish. ‘This is too good to reveal to justanybody.’

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