Page 28 of Hot & Bothered

“I am nervous about this Tiberius guy, though.”

Jace exhaled. “Me, too. But right now, we need to leave it up to the cops. No vigilante shit.”

“After Rayma and I were nearly drugged and raped a few years ago, I took some self-defense—”

“Wait, what? When the fuck did this happen?” he interrupted.

“A few years ago. She and Jordan had split up for three years, then he came back to town but was seeing someone else. We ran into him at the bar. Rayma was devastated, so we met these two guys who said they could get us into a hot new club that just opened up. We left with them, but they said we should go grab some drinks at their office. They were Realtors. They said the booze at the club was double what it was everywhere else, so why not just get our buzz on elsewhere? We thought nothing of it, went with them, then they tried to drug us. They beat me up, but Rayma had already taken self-defense classes after what happened to her a few years earlier. Jordan and the cops ended up showing up. The guys were arrested and sentenced to eighteen months.”

“Holy fuck.”

She nodded. “Yeah, turns out they’d pulled that stunt—and been successful—with other women. Those women came forward. But their sentence was still pretty lenient, all things considered. My mum was one of our lawyers, and she was livid at the verdict. She’s made it her mission to tackle these kinds of predators. She does a lot of pro-bono work now for sexual assault victims in the city, works with counselors to give talks to women and all kinds of stuff. Joy—Heath’s mum, is one of those counselors.”

“I had no idea.”

Shrugging, she set her half-eaten spring roll on the napkin, then placed it on the coffee table. “It’s not something I go around blabbing about to just anyone for any reason. It was a pretty traumatic time in my life. I still see a counselor from time to time to check in. But I took some great self-defense classes thathave helped with my confidence. It’s part of the reason why it took me so long to move out. I was afraid to be alone anywhere that might remotely be unsafe.”

“Understandable.”

“I also carry pepper spray in my purse, and my keychain has a small switchblade on it. It’s made for women to easily conceal. It looks like a tube of lipstick.”

Leaning forward, he set his almost finished curry on the table, then spun around to face her, lifting his leg closest to her and bending it on the couch. She mimicked his movement and faced him. Cupping her jaw and rubbing his thumb over her cheek, he closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry. For what happened to you, and that it took you so long to feel safe again. And for what’s going on now.”

She angled her face into his touch and shut her eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth and safety of his palm.

“If you want to take a step back from … us until this is resolved, I understand. I don’t want you feeling unsafe. With me. Or anyone. Anywhere.”

Blinking open her eyes, she took in his now open eyes, and resigned resolution. He didn’t want to end this anymore than she did, but he was willing to hit pause to keep her safe.

If he was willing to do that, then she was willing to suck it up, put on a fresh pair of big girl panties and hang in there. She already knew Jace was worth it.

Smiling, she shook her head. “No. But thank you for offering. I don’t want to hit pause on what we’re building. Not for anything or anybody. I’ve had an endless stream of shitty boyfriends, so now that I’ve found a good one, I’m not letting you go.”

His grin was reassuring.

The fact that hitting pause might also throw him back into Bronwyn’s orbit was not lost on her, either. She trusted him, but Jace and Bronwyn had history. They also had a common enemy for lack of a better word. Trauma bonding was a real thing, and she wasn’t willing to risk her relationship with Jace because his ex picked a dangerous guy to date after him.

Still smiling, he slanted forward, taking her lips with his. He tasted like coconut and curry. She didn’t hate the flavor. Their kiss deepened and his tongue found its way into her mouth.

Growling, he nipped her bottom lip and pulled away. “Bedroom?”

She sighed. “The communists are in the funhouse.”

That was the tension break they sorely needed. His expression did not disappoint. “Huh?”

She giggled. “I have my period. It’s day two. So, Freddie Kruger would blanch at the bloodshed.”

He shrugged and snorted, snaking his hand to her inner thigh and giving it a suggestive squeeze. “I don’t care if you don’t care.”

“Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Today, I do. It’s a literal murder scene. I’m also crampy, bloated, and between waxes.”

“Isn’t sex supposed to help with cramps, though?”

“It can. But honestly, I just feel like a big bag of hot garbage. I use one of those period discs that allow you to have mess-free sex while on your period. But that’s more of a day three or four kind of thing. Today is just—”

“Full of communists?”

“So many communists. Like Castro and Putin would be losing their damn minds with glee, there are so many communists.”

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