Page 25 of Reckless

The audacity of this one.

And then he was in front of me, and I had to physically shut my jaw to keep it from hanging open.

Sculpted jawline.

Sloppy smile.

Cheekbones carved from the gods. It didn't take much to put the pieces together.

“Jayson?” I sputtered in disbelief, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Sorry, no time to talk princess. Bosses orders and all that.” He muttered before grabbing me by the waist and lifting me over his shoulder, unintentionally giving me a full view of his sculpted ass in those hideous flamingo shorts.

“What the hell! Put me down right now!” I screamed.

Yes, I was aware I was throwing a tantrum in the middle of the street, but I was also aware that I’m being kidnapped by a Greek god wearing shorts from the Target clearance section. So, I think my reaction was a bit appropriate given the circumstances.

“JAYSON!” I yelled as he threw me (headfirst I might add) into the backseat of his cherry sports car.

“Sorry princess, no time to waste. You know Kal can’t stand to wait more than five seconds for anything. Patience of a toddler in Disneyland that one.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” A deep masculine voice joined in, and I froze as goosebumps covered my body. Looking up, I realize with a jolt that the gravelly voice belonged to none other than the masked stranger from the Black Mansion.

What, Kaleb couldn’t come pick it up himself? I gotta go through his PA or something?

Asshole.

Crossing my arms, I risked another glance at my kidnapper. His eyes snapped back at me, and suddenly, I was painfully aware of why I was tossed into the back seat and not the passenger side. Turns out, the passenger seat was very much ocupado, and unlike Jayson, the guy wasn’t wearing a nylon plastic catastrophe but rather what looked to be a painfully expensive black suit.

Risking another glance at him, I noticed the first few buttons have popped off on his black satin shirt, most likely due to all those bulging tattooed muscles. The guy probably had a frequent membership card at his local twenty-four-hour and was one punch away from a free smoothie. I mean the guy looked like the poster boy for losing your v-card at the Four Seasons with a bottle of bubbly for crying out loud.

I instantly hated him.

“Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Jayson piped up while giving me a crooked smile in the rearview mirror,

“Rose, meet Tristan,” he said, pointing his thumb towards the tattooed, brooding, before pointing his finger back towards the backseat.

“Tristan, meet Rose. Although I’m pretty sure the two of you have met before?” Jayson finished before throwing a cheeky wink back in my direction,

“Perhaps at a little place that rhymes with slack panshion?”

Gosh did he ever stop talking? The guy thinks everyones a literal slot machine in which he can throw his two cents in.

“Don’t you ever shut up?” Tristan mumbled between an unlit joint he was currently balancing between his teeth.

Hm, maybe I liked this Tristan boy.

“Where are you guys taking me? And what does Kaleb want?” I don’t know about anyone else, but I was tired of being led by who knows where with no idea where I’m going. Even if it was on account of a certain dark-eyed journal owner.

“So many questions, princess,” Jayson mocked, running his hands through his professionally balayage playboy hair.

“Just sit there and be quiet. You’ll find out soon enough,” Tristan grumbled, not even bothering to glance at me while barking orders.

I rolled my eyes.

The conversation died off after that, and I watched in silence as Jayson pulled into an underground parking garage, parking illegally between two open spots before tossing his keys to some sort of valet.

“Follow us,” Tristan demanded, his tone a surly black as he opens the car door open for me. At least the black heart had some manners, I thought bitterly before hopping out of the obnoxious vehicle.

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