Jennifer Armentrout - Trust in Me

I was up close and personal with the most perfect chest I’d ever seen and I watched a bead of sweat trickle down the center of it and then over the cut abs, disappearing among the fine hairs trailing up from the center of his stomach, forming a line that continued under the band of his jeans.

Cam hurried around the front of the truck. “Did you hurt your leg, Teresa?”

No. I was fine. More than fine. I hadn’t been this close to Jase for a year and he smelled wonderful—like man and a faint trace of cologne. I lifted my gaze, realizing that my sunglasses had fallen off.

Thick lashes framed eyes that were a startling shade of gray. The first time I’d seen them, I had asked if they were real. Jase had laughed and offered to let me poke around in his eyes to find out.

He wasn’t laughing right now.

I swallowed, willing my brain to start working. “I have your sweet tea.”

Jase’s brows rose.

“Did you hit your head?” Cam asked, stopping beside us.

Heat flooded my cheeks. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.” Holding out the tea, I forced a smile, hoping it didn’t come across as creepy. “Here.”

Jase let go of my arms and took the tea, and I wished I hadn’t been so eager to shove it in his face, because maybe then he’d still be holding me. “Thanks. You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” I muttered, glancing down. My sunglasses were by the tire. Sighing, I picked them up and cleaned them off before slipping them back on. “Thanks for . . . um, catching me.”

He stared at me a moment and then turned as Jack ran up to him, holding out a shirt. “I got it!” the little boy said, waving the shirt like a flag.

“Thanks.” Jase took the shirt and handed over the tea. He ruffled the boy’s hair and then, much to my disappointment, pulled the shirt on over his head, covering up that body of his. “I didn’t know Teresa was with you.”

A chill skated over my skin in spite of the heat.

“I was out showing her the town so she knows her way around,” Cam explained, grinning at the little tyke, who was slowly creeping toward me. “She’s never been down here before.”

Jase nodded and then took back the tea. There was a good chance that Jack had drunk half of it in that short amount of time. Jase started to walk toward the barn. I was dismissed. Just like that. The back of my throat started to burn, but I ignored it, wishing I had kept the tea.

“You and Avery are coming to the party tonight, right?” Jase asked Cam, taking a sip of the tea.

“It’s the luau. We’re not missing that.” Cam grinned, revealing the dimple in his left cheek. “You guys need help setting it up?”

Jase shook his head. “The newbies are in charge of that.” He glanced over at me, and I thought for a second that he’d ask if I was coming. “I’ve got a few things to take care of here first and then I’m heading back home.”

A small hand tugged on the hem of my shorts, causing me to look down and into gray eyes that were both young and soulful.

“Hi,” Jack said.

I grinned. “Hi to you.”

“You’re pretty,” he said, blinking.

“Thank you.” It was official. I liked this kid. “You’re very cute.”

Jack beamed. “I know.”

I laughed. This boy was definitely Jase’s little brother.

“Alright, that’s enough, Casanova.” Jase finished off the tea and tossed the cup into a nearby garbage can. “Stop hitting on the girl.”

He ignored Jase, sticking out his hand. “I’m Jack.”

I took the little hand in mine. “I’m Teresa. Cam’s my brother.”

Jack motioned me down with his little finger and whispered, “Cam doesn’t know how to saddle a horse.”

I glanced over at the boys. They were talking about the party, but Jase was watching us. Our gazes collided, and like he’d been doing since I’d started at Shepherd University this past week, he broke eye contact with distressing speed.

A pang of disappointment lit up my chest as I returned my attention to Jack. “Want to know a secret?”

“Yeah!” His smile grew big and broad.

“I don’t know how to saddle a horse either. And I’ve never even ridden one before.”

His eyes grew as wide as the moon. “Jase!” he bellowed, spinning toward his brother. “She’s never ridden a horse before!”

Well, there went my secret.

Jase glanced at me, and I shrugged. “It’s true. They scare the crap out of me.”

“They shouldn’t. They’re pretty chill animals. You’d probably like it.”

“You should show her!” Jack rushed up to Jase, practically latching himself to his brother’s legs. “You could teach her like you teached me!”

My heart lurched in my chest, partially at the proposition of Jase teaching me anything and partially due to my fear of those dinosaurs.

“It’s ‘taught,’ not ‘teached,’ and I’m sure Tess has got better things to do than ride around on a horse.”

Tess. I sucked in a breath. It was his nickname—he was the only person who ever called me that. I don’t even know why he called me that, but I didn’t mind it. Not at all. While Jack demanded to know why I had told him my name was Teresa and Jase explained that Tess was a nickname, I was sucked back into the memory of the last time he’d called me by it.

“You have no idea what you make me want,” he said, his lips brushing my cheek, sending shivers down my spine. “You have no fucking clue, Tess.”

“Mind if I use the john before we get out of here? I’ve gotta get back,” Cam said, drawing my attention. “I promised Avery dinner before the party.”

“I’ll show you,” announced Jack, grabbing Cam’s hand.

Jase arched a dark brow. “I’m sure he knows where the bathroom is.”

“It’s okay.” Cam waved him off. “Come on, little bud, lead the way.”

The two of them headed off toward the farmhouse, and we were officially alone. A hummingbird took flight in my stomach, bouncing around like it was going to peck its way out of me as a warm breeze picked up, stirring the hairs that had escaped my ponytail.

Jase watched Cam and Jack jog over the patchy green grass like a man watching the last life preserver being occupied as the Titanic started to sink. Well, that was sort of offensive, as if being alone with me was equivalent to drowning while being nom-nommed by cookie-cutter sharks.

I folded my arms across my chest, pursing my lips. Irritation pricked at my skin, but his obvious discomfort stung like a bitch. It hadn’t always been like this. And it definitely had been better between us, at least up until the night he’d kissed me.

“How’s the leg?”

The fact that he’d spoken startled me and I stuttered. “Uh, it’s not too bad. Barely hurts anymore.”

“Cam told me about it when it happened. Sorry to hear that.” He paused. “When can you get back to dancing?”

I shifted my weight. “I don’t think I will.” The real answer was that I didn’t know. Neither did the doctors or the physical therapist or my dance instructor, but I’d rather prepare myself for never than believe that I could dance once again. I didn’t think I’d survive that heartbreak a second time. “So, yeah, that’s that.”

Jase’s brows knitted. “God, that sucks. I’m really sorry, Tess. I know how much dancing means to you.”

“Meant,” I murmured, affected more than I should’ve been by the genuine sympathy in his voice.

His gray eyes finally made their way back to mine, and I sucked in a breath. His eyes . . . they never failed to stun me into stupidity or make me want to do crazy-insane things. Right now his eyes were a deep gray, like thunderclouds.

Jase wasn’t happy.

Thrusting a hand through his damp hair, he exhaled deeply and a muscle in his jaw ticked. The irritation inside me turned into something messy, causing the burn in the back of my throat to move up to my eyes. I had to keep telling myself that he didn’t know—that there was no way he could’ve known, and that the way I was feeling, the hurt and the brutal wound of rejection, wasn’t his fault. I was just Cam’s little sister; the reason why Cam had gotten into so much trouble almost four years ago and why Jase had started making the trip to our home every weekend. I was just a stolen kiss. That was all.

I started to turn, to go wait in the truck for Cam before I did something embarrassing, like crying all over myself. My emotions had been all over the place since I injured my leg, and seeing Jase wasn’t helping.

“Tess. Wait,” Jase said, crossing the distance between us in one step with his long legs. Stopping close enough that his worn sneakers almost brushed my toes, he reached out toward me, his hand lingering by my cheek. He didn’t touch me, but the heat of his hand branded my skin. “We need to talk.”

#1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. LYNN lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell terrier, Loki.

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