The Scale (Martha's Way) (20 page)

“Jason, I…” She hesitated, paralyzed with fear.

He smiled, took her hands. “Let’s talk. Let’s clear the air
before we move forward. This is new to me so I’m not very good at it.”

“I feel used,” she whispered in a shaken tone.

His eyes bore into hers, her pain reflecting in his. He
sighed but didn’t let go of her hands. “I’m sorry for making you feel that way.
After we talk, I’ll leave if you want. Although I’d much rather you go for
option B, check out and come home with me.”

“Are you two still sleeping together?”

A smile touched the corner of his lips. “I wouldn’t be here
if Rita and I were still sleeping together. For the next two weeks, it’s just
you and me. I want to give you all of me. You must believe that.”

He leaned his big body a little closer to her and kissed the
corner of her lips, sending her mind into a tailspin. Two weeks wasn’t forever,
which worked out fine because Minka didn’t believe in forever, at least not for
her and especially not with someone like Jason. He was dangerous, lethal. Women
flocked to him, beautiful women. He was too edgy, intense and too sexual. She
was walking into unfamiliar territory and risked the chance of getting her
heart wounded. Yet the desire to live and jump off the bridge outweighed any
reservation she had.

“I do believe you, Jason. I’m just not used to this.” She
signaled her hands between them. “I’m not experienced enough for you. I’ve only
been with one other man.”

“I know it’s pretty selfish and pretty hypocritical, but I
like that your experience is limited.”

“But, you’ve been with lots of women.”

His eyes glimmered and the smile tugging his lips broke into
a grin, completely enveloping his face. “Come lie down with me. No sex,” he
added.

Minka was quickly learning Jason was her kryptonite. She
allowed him to lead her to the large bed. Without letting go of her hand, he
lowered himself beside her and turned to face her and looked deeply into her
hazel eyes. His large hands ran down her curvaceous body. He wasn’t playing
fair. She had a feeling he knew that.

“I’m not a saint, if that’s what you’re wondering. If you
want a saint, then you should be in Blake’s arms, not mine. He’s the saint out
of the group,” he said with a smile. “Well, as close to a saint as one can
get.”

“He’s with Keely.” The words were spoken before they could
be processed. She noticed him studying her and she quickly smiled at him. “He’s
good for Keely because she has no manners,” she joked and hoped her voice carried
enough humor for him not to notice how uncomfortable his words had made her.

To her relief, he didn’t press the topic. Instead, he
reached for her hand. She nestled her body close to his and closed her eyes,
wishing she could take the words back. He was a lawyer, suspicious by nature,
but he didn’t probe further and for that she was grateful.

“Jason,” she whispered his name, her face tucked into his
neck.

“Hmm?”

“I’m glad you came back here.”

She felt him smile.
“How glad?”

Minka chuckled and playfully poked his rib.

“Anything else we should clear the air on?”

Let’s see. I thought I
was in love with your best friend but the last few days with you have me
thinking otherwise.

She shook her head. She was tired of playing it safe. For
once she wanted to take that leap. For now, things were fine. She hoped at the
end of next week her heart would be okay. It surprised Minka her heart was now
in question. The physical attraction she could handle, but she wasn’t sure her
heart was ready to deal with what Jason had to offer. Not wanting to dwell on
the impossible, she leaned in to kiss him as passionately as she could. No
matter what happened, she wanted to enjoy this moment.

Two weeks, she thought. Enjoy this for two weeks.

His hands came to rest on her hips. “You should take off these
shorts.” His voice was husky, wicked and filled with promises.

“I thought you said…” Her hands went to rest on the hem of
the shorts she’d slipped into when she got back to the hotel.

He nodded, confirming her words. “No sex. I don’t have any
condoms on me. And like you said, you don’t have any.” He grinned, his fingers
coming to the waist of her shorts. “One day, you’re going to tell me how and
why your sexual experience is so limited.” His large body came to lean over
hers with one hand on her side carrying his weight. He placed light butterfly
kisses on her neck, her shoulders. “I don’t understand it.” He lifted her
blouse to place kisses on her stomach, then his hands found her breasts and he
groaned. “You should never wear a bra for the next two weeks. I want easy
access to these.” On his knees, he sat before her and she lifted her hips from
the bed, as she did, he slipped the shorts off her body. His hands ran over her
legs, her thighs. “You’re beautiful.”

The words made her feel good. But she closed her eyes,
blocking away his probing look. She felt the weight of his hands gently spread
her legs open for him. Then his fingers were caressing her over the silky
material of her panties. Minka pulled her legs closed in response.

This was too intimate. Having crazy sex in a Jeep was one
thing, but being fully exposed to Jason was another. “Jason, I’m…I…ah…” She was
unable to finish her thought process. He slipped a finger inside her. Minka
automatically grabbed the closest pillow.

“Open your eyes
Minka,
look at me.”

As his fingers stroked, her eyes slid open. The intensity
she saw in his face startled her. He was slowly taking a piece of her. And
every time he touched her, she belonged more and more to him.

He removed the silky barrier and parted her legs and buried
his head at her core.

The touch of his tongue sent shocking currents through her.
Her lashes batted, struggling to stay alert but eventually she closed her eyes
and drifted as she felt everything he was doing to her.

His tongue licked, his fingers stroked her to ecstasy. Her
hands found his head and held it in an attempt to stop the sweet torture, but
he continued the punishment until she shivered with excitement, then collapsed.

Time meant nothing. He brought himself next to her and
pulled her in his arms. It could have been seconds after their last lovemaking
and she had a feeling she would still want more of him.

“You don’t play fair, Mr. Montgomery,” she said weakly. He
pulled her closer to him. She breathed in his smell and curled her fingers in
his shirt.

“On the contrary, Miss Greene, you’re too tempting.”

“I don’t think I can move.”

“We can skip dinner if you want.”

As enticing as the idea was, Minka had a feeling she needed
to eat. “I think I used all of my energy.”

“I’ll cook for you.”

“What about Adam?”

“I’ll send him a message. Tonight I want to take you home.”

“As long as you have food there.”

“I promise to feed you. I’ll even draw you a warm bath.”

She smiled, loving the smell of him.
“Sounds
too good not to say yes.
Can we just stay here for a little while
longer?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. His body conveyed the
answer she needed. Minka wrapped her arms around his tight abs. While placing
her head on his chest, she allowed her lips to touch the dark ink on his chest.

“I love your tattoos. One day you’ll tell me the story
behind them.”

“One day.”

He kissed her once more, a gentle kiss. Unaware she was
smiling,
she disregarded the flutter of her heart and
drifted to sleep. There was no need to start analyzing what was developing
between her and Jason. They had two weeks to enjoy each other. He didn’t
promise her forever. He didn’t need to. For two weeks, he was hers
unconditionally.

Chapter Fourteen

“On a scale of one to
10, I'd rate my body confidence as a good seven. Everyone has their hang-ups,
but I see my body as a training tool and I feel good about it.”

Jessica Ennis

The bedroom door opened just as Minka slipped into a red
linen, cap-sleeve dress. Jason walked into the room drenched from his daily
morning run and removed the cotton tee that clung to every bit of his lean
muscles. Her eyes ran, with appreciation, over his chest and tight abs covered
in sweat. Aside from the glistening evidence, he was barely out of breath.

“How many miles did you run?”

“Just five today, a quick workout to get my adrenaline
going,” he explained as he placed a kiss on her lips.

She smiled at his words. From spending time with Jason and
his friends, she knew how active the group was. Adam raced cars in Europe when
he wasn’t running his restaurants. And there were the things they claimed they
did for fun such as surfing, paddle boarding, hiking and beach volleyball. The
list was rather long, for Minka especially, since she couldn’t remember the
last time she did anything physically demanding. There was the five mile
walk-run she did with Lily as a part of their New Year’s resolution but while
Lily ran it, Minka had opted to walk it.

“I thought your calendar was free today.” Jason’s voice
interrupted her thoughts.

“I’m going to run some errands with Keely.”

His eyes lingered over her body, and they twinkled with
amusement. Frowning, she looked at him. “What? Am I not dressed properly?”

“You might want to wear shorts. It’s supposed to be hot
today on the island.”

Shorts for her were worn in the privacy of her home.
Yesterday, when Jason came to her hotel she didn’t have a chance to change,
otherwise she would have put on a pair of tights. Tights covered cellulite, so
did knee or floor-length dresses. Conveniently, the only pair of shorts she’d
brought with her
were
the ones she wore yesterday.
They were way too revealing.

“I’m fine with a dress on.”

“We can drive to the inn together.”

“No, it’s okay. She’s coming here.” Minka grinned with
excitement. “I also want to explore the island a bit. I found this farm
online.”

“Which farm is that?”

She shrugged and reached for her phone. She had saved the
page.
“Herring Creek.
It’s an organic farm. I figured
I’d drive there.”

He stripped out of his running shorts and stood in the room,
six-foot plus with lean, tough muscles in his birthday suit with no care in the
world. All his perfection made her feel unsure of herself and she smoothed down
her dress as a distraction.

“That’s Forrest’s parents’ farm.”

“Oh,” she replied in a bit of a daze.

And the smirk on his face told her he was enjoying torturing
her. She cleared her throat and licked her bottom lip. He chuckled. Damn it.

“It’s a great farm. We partnered up with them for food for
Vapor and Martha’s Way.”

“That’s wonderful.” The idea that Jason worked so closely
with local businesses touched her. “I’m going to make you dinner tonight.”

His lips twisted into a slight amused quirk. “You cook?”

She wasn’t going to take the inquisition in his voice to
heart. She wasn’t the best cook but the internet was filled with recipes.
“Yes,” she answered a little too fast. “Well no, not really.”

His eyes squinted, lit with humor. “Which one is it?”

She swatted at the air. “The things I cook, I do well.” But
already she was regretting her decision to make dinner.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. Her arms
automatically landed on his chest. Jason lowered his head and kissed her, slow
and deep. When he finally pulled back, her hand went to her parted lips.

He winked at her and grabbed a handful of her ass for good
measure. “Have I told you I love your ass?”

He told her the first night they slept together. She was
still having a hard time believing that.

“Well, I do,” he said as if he knew she didn’t believe him.
“Surprise me with dinner. As long as I get to have you for dessert, all will be
well in my world.”

Once alone in the room, she heard the sound of the water
from the shower and could imagine Jason naked with water dripping over him. She
wanted to join him. Only she didn’t have the guts. It was one thing to be naked
between the sheets in throes of passion but anything else required an amount of
strength she didn’t possess.

Minka heaved a dejected sigh and walked out of the room.

* * * *

Jason recognized his father’s sporty Mercedes as soon as he
pulled up to the inn. With a groan, he stepped out of the car and made his way
inside. He found his father in the sunroom with Blake and Keely. Claire was in
his arms, laughing over something he said. “Why aren’t you staying at the house
while you’re here?” Charles was asking Claire.

Jason looked at her. She loved his father. He understood
that because his father helped raise her.

“I’m going there tomorrow. I spoke to Mom. Keely needs my
help for a couple of days.”

His father bowed at Keely and came to shake Blake’s hands.
“Congratulations on your wedding. I’m sure my son will see that you have a
beautiful wedding here at the inn.”

Keely smiled, but Jason noticed she looked strained. Not
because she didn’t like his father but he guessed she felt torn between her
loyalty to him and the obvious fact that she liked his father. Most people did,
his father was charismatic and personable. He was just incapable of keeping his
goods to himself.

“I’m sure we will,” Keely said with a warm smile. “Jason has
been a great host.”

His father turned to glance at him.

“What’s brought you to my humble chateau?” he asked walking
toward the group.

“You left rather abruptly yesterday. We need to talk.”