A knock sounded on the front door. Jade jerked her attention to the foyer and wondered who would be stopping by this late. She slid the laptop onto the seat, set her empty wine bottle on the floor, and came to her feet . . . which didn’t seem as steady as they had earlier. How long had she been in that chair working and drinking? She really should’ve had more snacks earlier with the girls.
The warm, tingly sensation spiraled through her, and she wondered just how high the alcohol percentage was in that bottle of . . . she honestly couldn’t remember if she’d grabbed the Pinot Grigio or the Riesling.
Jade glanced through the sidelight, and suddenly her warm, tingly feeling had nothing at all to do with the wine and everything to do with the man peering back at her.
Why was he here? Couldn’t he just text?
With a flick of the dead bolt, Jade pulled the door open and rested her arm on it, trying to look casual, but really, she needed the support.
“Hey, Red.”
Why did that voice sound so sexy, and why did she instantly think of sex when he spoke?
Stupid alcohol. She should’ve known better than to drink that much. She had only been drunk twice in her life. She wasn’t drunk now, but she would be well on her way if she had any more. She was actually at the dangerous state where she spoke her mind, her truth, without filter.
“What do you want?”
“Nice to see you, too.”
Without asking permission, Cash waltzed right in, brushing by her as he went. She didn’t just shiver at his touch. She didn’t.
“Won’t you come in?” she muttered as she shut the door.
She didn’t miss the way Cash instantly zeroed in on the empty bottle next to the chair, then back to her. “Partying without me, Red? And here I thought we’d gotten close.”
Jade propped her hand on the newel post and glared across the room. “Why are you here? To judge my crazy Monday night?”
“I’m here because you said we needed to talk.”
Oh, he was so infuriating, considering she’d texted him hours ago. Infuriating and too damn sexy. She hadn’t been alone with him since he’d ripped her clothes off—which she would absolutely not think about right now.
“I texted you quite a while ago,” she reminded him.
Cash lifted one shoulder in that frustrating way that set her nerves on edge. Everything about him set her on edge lately . . . even more so than usual.
“Been busy with training earlier, then helping Jax work on the plane.”
She took in his full appearance. His hands were filthy, a small streak of grease over his left brow right beneath the cut, and his hair was a complete mess. The black eye was healing into a purple bruise and his jaw had already started that thick stubble of regrowth. His light gray T-shirt with his gym logo over his pec was all stained as well. Even covered in grime, Cash exuded sex and confidence.
Apparently, their brief time apart had done nothing to squelch her desire.
“You could’ve just texted me back,” she retorted, still holding on to the banister.
If she inched any closer, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to prevent herself from reaching up and swiping that streak off his face; then that would lead to trailing her hand down his cheek to feel that day-old stubble beneath her palm, toward his chest to appreciate those taut muscles, then his abs . . .
Also because she needed to cling to something right now. Clearly, she couldn’t hold her liquor like she used to, because she’d been doing juice cleanses for far too long and now her body thought she was betraying their healthy pact. Wine was grapes, though, so she was totally counting this as her fruits for the day.
“Maybe I wanted to come by instead of text.”
Oh, that low, almost menacing tone of his did things to her that she couldn’t even describe. Her body should only respond in such a way when being touched, yet Cash was still across the room.
She had to get to the point and get him out of here. All she needed was a nice, hot bubble bath and a good book. In the morning, she’d get up and go for her run to clear her mind and decompress.
“Did you tell anyone about Nashville?”
“Nashville?” he repeated, then shook his head and laughed. “Is that our code word for sex?”
“It’s not a code word for anything,” she countered. “Did you tell anyone?”