And no bra.
My face heats up, even though he has already seen me naked. And then it fires up even more as the memory wiggles in of what we were doing the last time he saw me that way.
His gaze flicks to my face. “Movie night?”
“How did you know?” That’s when I notice the sound of popping kernels behind me.
I open the door wider and let him in. Without waiting for a reply, I head for the kitchen. The front door clicks shut, and I sense him following me.
“What movie?”
“Die Hard.” Like I said, I’m in the mood for a movie with lots of ass-kicking, and you can’t do better thanDie Hardfor that.
There’s a smile in Jayden’s voice when he says, “I don’t suppose you’re making enough popcorn for me, too?”
“Is that your way of saying you want to watch the movie?”
“It’s my way of saying we need to talk, and I’m hoping you’ll let me watch the movie with you afterward.” He attempts to steal a handful of popcorn from the bowl.
I bat his hand away. “It depends on what you want to talk about.”
“I want to talk about us. You and me.”
The popcorn continues popping merrily away, oblivious to the tension between us. I don’t mean the sexual tension that has sizzled at the edges for as long as I can remember. It’s the tension of the unknown, not knowing what he wants to talk about, not knowing if I’m going to be happy with what he has to say.
“What about you and me?”
The words echo in my head, accompanied by my pulse pounding loudly in my ears.
Jayden turns off the popper. “I’m in love with you, Isabelle.”
“As you’ve already mentioned,” I say, bracing for the worst.
“And the thought of not being with you, of us just being friends and colleagues, isn’t working well for me.”
I know what he means. The idea of never being in his arms again is about as appealing as eating a handful of slimy, squirmy bugs.
Maybe even less so.
But he knows my stance when it comes to working with the team, and that won’t change. I trust Jayden—trust him with my life. Trust him not to turn his back on me like his ex-fiancée did to him. Like my father did to my mother. But it’s not enough.
I don’t say anything. There’s no point.
I know where this is headed. We’re on a Ferris wheel, traveling around and around and around, but never really going anywhere.
He strokes his thumb against my cheek as if to memorize my features. “I don’t like the idea of you risking your life.” I stiffen under his touch. “But I’m also not interested in dictating what you can or cannot do. I just want to be the man you come home to. The man who plans to spend every moment of his life loving you—if you’ll let me.”
For a moment, all I’m capable of is blinking as his words replay in my head, searching for a hidden meaning. “You won’t stand in my way when it comes to the job?”
“No, I won’t. I’ll be the one watching your back—like I would for any of the guys. The only difference is at the end of the day, I’ll get to make love to you.”
The corners of my mouth twitch. “Not interested in making love to them, huh?”
“Definitely not. I’m not saying that watching you risk your life will be easy. I’ll make mistakes. I’ll probably say stupid things from time to time. And I give you permission to kick me in the ass for doing that. But give me a chance to prove I’m a man of my word.”
This time my mouth does more than twitch at the corners. It breaks into a soft smile. “I know you’re a man of your word.” That sentence has so many meanings, but I leave it at that. “Which is why I’ll give you a chance, a trial period.”
“And if I fail, you’ll return me for a full refund?”
