Page 16 of His for the Taking

“Thank you. I’ll have your money on the counter. Did you walk here?” he asks. No way is he going to walk me home to have to come back for his truck.

“You’re welcome, and yeah, I did. I’m going to walk around a little before heading back to Shaun’s.” I’ll stroll around for a bit, burn off some of the caffeine, and then see what my mom is up to. Maybe she’ll be up for helping me work on a few pieces.

“Alright. I’ll call or text you later.” Jameson grabs my cup from my hand and walks to the trash can, giving me an unobstructed view of him in his work clothes, and my oh my, is it hot—worn boots, rugged jeans, and a shirt that molds to his upper body perfectly.

“Okay.” The look he tosses over his shoulder is pure mischief, and now I know where Josephine gets it from. I’m going to need to call Kari back quickly because I am sinking faster than quicksand when it comes to this man. Especially when he heads back to where I’m standing, cups my cheek, and drops a kiss to my lips. There’s nothing fast about it either. My heart beats rapidly, and my hands fist in the edges of his shirt.

“I should have known one taste wasn’t going to be enough,” he says in between kisses before he pulls back one final time. “See you soon, babe, real fucking soon.” His statement has me left in a stupor, one I’m not sure I’ll ever come out of.

19

JAMESON

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Matthew greets me when I show up to the jobsite. He and Shaun loaded up the machines and brought them over to the land we’re currently clearing, giving me the time I needed to get my head out of my ass. Now that I’ve got a solid game plan on winning my woman over, I know it’s going to be a work in progress, and after last night, I’m pretty sure I’ll never fuck up again. There is nothing like wanting to climb in your truck and drive after her, but I couldn’t do that unless I woke up Josephine. Plus, it was too late at night to call someone to come sit at my house to go after Kody. Instead, I paced the damn floors, waiting for her to respond. She never did, and for good reason.

“Fuck off.” Matthew knew firsthand what I was doing. He covered for me with Shaun for the time being. Which I’ll be telling him straight up what’s happening between Kody and me.

“You’ve got it bad.” He lets out a low whistle. Matthew is poking the bear in order to get more information. Good luck, Chuck. What happens between Kody and me is ours, not anyone else’s. Matthew was the same exact way when he brought Lacey around, locked that shit up so tight that no one knew how serious they were until he was ready.

“And?” Matthew grins.

“Happy for ya. You gonna need help breaking the news to Shaun?” Ain’t no way I need help. We’re not kids, and I’m not a wimp. I can handle whatever Shaun throws my way. Even if it means he knocks me on my ass for being a grade-A dick.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though,” I tell him.

“No problem,” he responds as I head toward Shaun. He’s got the tailgate down in the back of his truck, studying the plans, and didn’t hear a word of what my brother had to say. A damn miracle with as loud as he can be. I’m not sure if Kody let her brother know what happened last night, whether it’s the watered-down version or the truth.

“Hey, Shaun, you got a minute?” I ask once I’m closer to where he’s currently camped out. Probably waiting on me so he and Matthew can get in the woods. We have a system. The more eyes, the better. Especially when there’s new hires on the job.

“Hey, and yep. Everything okay?” He drops the pen on the plans. We’ve covered a lot of area on this job and should wrap it up in the next week or so, which is good since we’re going to have to deal with traveling next.

“Depends. You got a problem with me going after Kody?” Shaun stands up to his full height, crossing his arms over his chest. At least he’s not throwing a punch at my face.

“Fuck, you gonna treat her right? She dealt with that douchebag Richie long enough. She’s finally back home. I don’t want her running off if shit gets bad.” Shaun doesn’t have to say anything more. The message is received loud and clear.

“We haven’t talked about her past yet. I’m sure we will. Mom is taking JoJo Friday night. I didn’t want it to be weird when I show up on your doorstep and it’s not for poker. That being said, I see where you’re coming from. I’m not looking to fuck her over or make her run away. Especially because Kody hasn’t just left a lasting impression on me but also Josephine.”

“Damn. Well, alright. Kody’s a grown woman. It’s all good with me, but one question.” Shaun can ask all the damn questions in the world. It’s not like I can easily walk away when we work together and he and Matthew are still thick as thieves. Hell, we all play poker at someone’s house once a month.

“What’s that?”

“You the reason she was holed up in her room all night and when I left this morning?” I don’t get a chance to say anything before he goes on. “I swear to God if it was fucking Richie, I’ll drive my ass to Chicago and shove my boot so far up his ass he won’t be able to sit down without thinking about hurting another woman.”

“It wasn’t her ex. It would be me who was a dick. Kody’s also the reason I was late getting in this morning. I had to drop Josephine off at my parents’, then she caught wind I was meeting up with your sister and let me know Kody was her friend, not mine.” Shaun shakes his head. JoJo has everyone wrapped around her finger. “Anyways, I met Kody for coffee, apologized, we talked. She’s going to watch Josephine, and I’m going to do my damnedest to earn your sister even if I don’t deserve her. That being said, if you’ve got a problem, too fucking bad.”

“Glad to see she’ll be with a real man this time around. You hurt my sister, I’ll hurt you harder. Matthew’s brother, boss, or Josephine’s dad, I’ll knock you off your ass,” Shaun states.

“Got it. Loud and clear. I hope it never comes to that, but I understand all the same.”

“Woohoo, did I join the party at the right time?” Matthew breaks up our conversation. Probably a good thing, too. Shaun and I can both be a bit of a hot head.

“Yep.”

“Seems so,” Shaun tells Matthew.

“It’s about damn time. You could slice the sexual tension between those two with a knife.” Matthew is inserting his foot into his mouth. Where the hell is his damn filter when he needs it? Lacey needs to rein her husband in or at least stay stocked on duct tape.

“Dude, shut the fuck up. That’s my sister, and you’re putting thoughts in my head no brother should have. Jesus, I’m getting to work.” Shaun rolls up the plans until they’re secured tightly with a rubber band, slams the tailgate of his truck up, and then storms off.

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