“I need some time,” I said, as my voice grew shaky.

Rex nodded and kissed my hand again. “I completely understand, kitten. Please take all the time you need, but please know, if you do choose me, I will be waiting for you, waiting to spoil you, pamper you, and make sure you never have to worry about another thing in your life.”

I just nodded my head as I got up from my chair.

“Can I drive you home?” he asked, while leaving some large bills on the table and guiding me out of the café.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea, but thank you.”

Rex silently agreed and pulled me so close to his body that I had no choice but to look up at him.

“Can I ask you one thing?” I nodded, even though I was pretty sure I didn’t want to hear his question. “Do you love him?”

His question was not what I was expecting, but it still sucked all the air from my lungs. Did I love Jett? As I thought about the affection I had for the man that apparently only wanted me for revenge, I knew I could say that I didn’t love him…yet…I was awfully fucking close, which only drove me to have a slight panic attack right in front of Rex. Before he could see me lose my mind completely, I took a deep breath and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling away.

Once separated, I shook my head no. “No, I don’t love him.”

The relief on Rex’s face was something I would never forget, as if I just told him some of the greatest news of his life. Did the man really care that much about me? It was kind of crazy to think that I was able to capture him, to captivate him, and make him head-over-heels crazy about me. Still, there was something in the pit of my stomach that was telling me not to commit, that I couldn’t commit until I talked to Jett.

“I’ll be in touch,” I said, while parting ways.

“Think of me, kitten.” I just nodded as I walked away.

I needed to see Jett. I needed to find out the truth and if Jett was only using me to get back at Rex. Anxiety over the situation made my stomach turn in knots as I hopped onto the trolley to head over to the Garden District. The last thing I wanted to do was confront Jett again, especially after my outburst in the cemetery, but I needed to know. I needed to know if he was a complete fake, or if he actually cared about me…if he actually wanted to save me, protect me, and make me whole again.

Chapter Forty One

“Say Something”

Goldie/Lo

I stood at the landing of the third floor, unsure of what to do. I knew I wasn’t allowed up into Jett’s personal space unless I was invited and I sure as hell wasn’t invited tonight. Cold dread crept up my spine as I lent an ear to the Bourbon Room. If Jett was in the room with another girl, I would lose my shit; I knew I would. It was one thing to know that he invited the other Jett Girls up to the Bourbon Room, but to hear him pleasure someone else wouldn’t sit well with me.

The incredibly infuriating man drove me to jealousy, a jealousy that I wished I didn’t possess. In the past couple of months, Jett had plucked me from hell, sheltered me, fed me, dressed me and provided me with a protective shield that eased my nine-year-old aching heart. As much as I hated to admit it, he changed me; he helped me grow up and for that, I wanted him for myself, or at least I thought I did.

I was at a crossroads in my life. What man in my crazy, fucked-up life did I want to believe? Rex seemed so sincere, so honest, that I had a hard time not believing him. Jett had been nothing but honest to me, but then again, he would also drop me faster than I could drop my panties for a good tongue flicking, so how was I to know that he was actually sincere?

Fucking men. Why did they have to be so damn confusing?

I was staring down at my Ked-covered feet when the door in front of me flew open, nearly making me fall backwards down the stairs from being startled.

Light shined through the doorway as the shadow of Jett Colby stood in the door frame. The door was not to the Bourbon Room, it almost looked like an office, but that’s not what my eyes were focused on. They were focused on the decadent man standing in front of me with his business shirt completely undone, showing off his impeccably defined chest and a mouthwatering trail of hair that reached the waistband of his unbuckled belt and dress pants. He was spectacular.

When I was able to pry my eyes off his body, I looked in his eyes and noticed how tired they looked and how his usually-polished hair was pushed up and to the side, as if he was running his hands through it over the last two hours.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, not angry but more deflated.

“I, uh, I needed to talk to you.”

He looked me up and down then ran his hand through his hair once again, while walking back into the room he was about to leave.

“Come,” he ordered, in that tone that made me drop to my knees and fuck anything that came near my mouth.

I followed him and was pleasantly surprised by what I now knew was his office. It was refined with deep grey walls, crisp black shelves that flanked the walls and a charcoal colored desk in the middle of the room, sending a message that Jett was not one to be fucked with. There were pops of color here and there, but for the most part, the room spoke masculine, rich and fucking sultry. Damn him, even his decorating sense turned me on.

Jett waved toward the leather-upholstered seat for me to sit in and I did as I was told. The ball of nerves that started to tie together on the trolley ride to the Garden District only intensified now that I was in Jett’s element and he was showing a great deal of skin, staring at me while his chin rested on his fingers, eyeing me like I was a piece of meat he was debating on tearing apart.

“You wanted to talk, so talk.” There was something about the way he spoke to me that set my brain on high alert. His voice wasn’t the normal molasses dripping sex on a damn barbeque skewer but, instead, his words were laced with hostility.

“Why did you want me to come here?”

Instead of answering, Jett just leaned on the armrest of his chair with his chin still captured in his hand, observing me, making me feel completely and thoroughly exposed. I knew I shouldn’t be intimidated, that I should stick up for myself and put my sassy mouth out there, but the intense glare driving from his eyes put me in my place, clammed me right up.

I felt myself unconsciously twist my hands in my lap as I waited for him to say something, anything. He shifted in his seat and then grabbed a glass of amber liquid from his desk that I didn’t notice was there.

Once he took a sip, he rested his arms on the armrest while still holding the glass and looked up at me with those deep blue eyes. “I thought we went over this earlier today. Was my answer not good enough for you?”

Shit, why did I feel like cowering under his deep glare? I was stronger than this.

Mustering all the bravado I had and trying to not turn into a pile of lube from his intense stare, I said, “I wanted some more clarification, because I have been privileged to some new information that contradicts your little afternoon story in the cemetery.”

Ha, take that you ornery fuck!

The man was a stagnant tycoon, showing no tells and waiting to pounce when he was ready. His jaw ticked as he decided how to respond and, I swear to God, he’d made a rule that he counted to thirty before answering because the silence in the room was draining me, an effect he knew he held over me.

“Please, enlighten me.”

Trying not to act like a teenager or an overdramatic boob, I took a note from Jett’s scare tactics and counted to ten before I answered.

I just needed to get this over with, I hated this little standoff we were having. “Did you invite me to be a Jett Girl to seek revenge on someone else? Did you lie to me?”