“Next time?” Jade crossed her arms, wishing she’d at least put on underwear to have this conversation. “What do you mean, next time? We ‘hooked up,’ as you so eloquently put this, and now we’re done.”
Cash shrugged into his shirt and stalked across the room in two long strides. “Done? Because you don’t want anyone to know, or because you’re already tired of me? Because I’m pretty sure that was you moaning into my ear only a few hours ago.”
Jade’s body heated all over again. They hadn’t actually slept much, but that didn’t mean continuing was a good idea. How could she keep lying to her friends? She’d never been sneaky or devious a day in her life.
“I just don’t think that—”
Cash snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest as he covered her mouth. Before she could catch her balance or grab his shoulders, he released her.
“As much as I’d love to stay and chat, I have to go.” He turned toward the door, but before he hit the hall, he glanced over his shoulder. “And Jade . . . We are going to keep this up. If you want to be secretive about it, fine, but I’m still not done with you.”
He left her standing there confused, frustrated, and completely aroused at his parting promise . . . or threat, depending on how she wanted to look at it.
Jade glanced at the clock and realized she had just enough time to get dressed and make her favorite green smoothie full of antioxidants before she had to leave to teach her hot yoga class.
When she spun around, her eyes locked onto her messed-up bed. The sheets were all askew, the comforter half-hung off one side of the mattress. Her delicate throw pillows were all over the floor and Cash’s pillow still held the indention from his head.
She never left her bed a total disaster. Even when she’d taken a lover in the past, there hadn’t been this reckless abandonment and thrilling rush of arousal.
As if her sore body wasn’t reminder enough of her night, now Jade had a clear visual. She also had her torn panties and bra still on her shower floor, just in case she’d forgotten about what had transpired in there.
She had no idea what to think about sneaking around with Cash. Could they actually pull it off? At what point did they call it quits?
Questions laced with concern swirled through her mind. If she agreed to this ongoing affair—and that was a big if—there would be rules. There was no way in hell she’d be sharing him with anyone else. No dates whatsoever, and she knew Cash liked to date. She’d extend the same courtesy if he was set on seeing her again.
Jade raked a hand through her hair, wincing when she hit a massive nest of tangles. A hot mess was the downfall of tumbling into bed with wet hair, but hair maintenance had been the last thing on her mind last night.
Was she seriously considering a secret fling with the one man who drove her out of her ever-loving mind? What had gotten into her lately? In the span of a few days, she’d gone from loathing the man to craving his touch and actually aching for him.
As she went to gather her workout clothes, Jade couldn’t help but wonder how many other women had gone down the fling path with Cash. The thought was absurd and immature because they were both adults and neither came into this as innocents. Still, was any part about their intimacy special, or did he legit just want her body until he decided they were done?
The more she thought about the idea, the angrier she became. First of all, he’d brushed aside her concern over his call, then he’d dropped that bomb just before waltzing out the door, like he had all the say-so here.
Jade jerked on her sports bra and yoga pants. If he wanted to do this fling in private, that was fine by her, but they would be playing by her rules—starting right now.
Chapter Eight
“You’re not leaving, Dad.”
Part of Cash wanted to let his father do just that. To just walk out of this rehab facility and wash his hands of the mess he’d put them in. But at the end of the day, his father was a broken man, and Cash couldn’t just ignore his cries for help.
“I hate this damn place,” Al Miller grumbled as he stared out the window of his room at New Hope Rehab Center. “I’m clean. There’s no reason I can’t leave.”
Clean. How many times had his father proclaimed sobriety over the past . . . hell, too many years? He’d been clean this time for a month. But this was the fifth facility Cash had put his father in, and he wanted more than a month of sobriety before he called his dad “clean.”
“You know exactly why you can’t leave,” Cash retorted. He crossed his arms and stared at the back of his dad’s head. “You’re staying here because you not only owe me, you owe yourself. You owe Mom.”
His father spun around and pointed his finger like Cash was still five. “Don’t you dare bring your mother in to this.”
“Considering your self-destruction started after her death, I’d say she’s part of everything in our lives.”
Cash blew out a sigh and wished like hell he had a sibling to help with this. Tanner and Jax were cousins, but Cash wouldn’t dare ask them to assist. They’d offered many times over the years, but unless Al was passed out cold and Cash needed help getting him from some bar or, one time, a park bench, Cash tried not to call on them. This was embarrassing enough without having other witnesses.
“You promised you would stay here until I decided you could leave,” Cash went on. “Maybe you’ll recall the day you busted up my house in a fit of rage? Well, this is your penance.”
More like Cash had been scared shitless at the new level of hell his father had slithered in to. There was no more rehab where Al called the shots. This time Cash was in charge, and he would be damned if he lost his father. He needed that man back and would do anything to rediscover him.
“I said I’d pay for the damage,” his father muttered as he moved toward his rocking chair in the corner. “You don’t have to keep bringing it up.”