Standby (Open Skies Book 4) by Becca Jameson (popular e readers .TXT) 📕

people like him are not reliable. Eventually, he’s going to snap. I don’t want any of you in his path when that happens.”

“Come on.” Shayla nodded toward the hallway. “I’ll lend you something to sleep in. All my stuff is in the guest room anyway.”

“Why?” Raeann asked, glancing from Jake to Shayla. “Shit. Never mind. Don’t answer that. It’s none of my business.”

Shayla waved her off. “No big deal. I just dropped it all there the first night and never moved it. I kept thinking eventually I’d go back to the condo.”

“Ah.”

Shayla led Raeann to the guest room and rummaged through her bag to find something for Raeann to sleep in. After that, she showed her where the bathroom was and pointed out the towels and toiletries.

Before Shayla could leave, Raeann grabbed her arm, tugged her fully into the bathroom, and shut the door. She nailed her with a look, eyes narrowed, and then whispered, “You’re not sleeping with him, are you?”

Shayla started to speak, but Raeann cut her off. “I’m not judging you. It’s just that I can see all your things are in the guest room.” She pointed at the sink. “The rest of your stuff is in this bathroom. Not the master bathroom. So, I’m confused.”

Shayla giggled softly, covering her mouth in case Jake happened to be walking by. “I’m totally fucking with him.”

“Pardon?”

“Okay, that was a bad choice of words. It’s a long story, but Jake got on this chivalrous rant when I came here, and we have a bet that we can keep our hands off each other for an entire week. That bet ends tomorrow. I’ve done everything I can to get him to lose the bet. You just made my last-ditch effort so easy. I owe you one.”

Raeann chuckled. “I have no idea what the hell you’re plotting, but I’m glad I could help. Do you have earplugs? Sounds like I might need them in about fifteen minutes.”

Shayla groaned and rolled her eyes. “Don’t count on it. The man has tremendous willpower, but it’s so damn fun tormenting him.”

Raeann laughed again. “Okay then. Enjoy yourself. Thanks for letting me stay here tonight.”

“No problem.” Shayla gave Raeann a hug and left her in the bathroom to pad down the hallway to the master bedroom.

Jake was coming out of the bathroom. He had on flannel pants and nothing else. His bare chest made her drool. But this was her game right now. She needed to keep her head.

He narrowed his gaze at her. “What was that all about, imp?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “I didn’t want to tell my roommate that the guy I’ve been staying with for a week doesn’t want to have sex with me. That would be embarrassing.”

He smirked at her and rounded to the far side of the bed. “I’m not buying your story for a moment. Don’t even try to add on to that crappy lie. I hope you’re not a poker player.”

She gasped dramatically. “Why would I lie about something like this?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s not going to work, Shayla. You can sleep in my bed but stay on your side. If you so much as accidentally touch me with your pinky toe, I win.”

She humphed as she approached the bed. It was king-sized, so it would be entirely possible to avoid touching in the night, but she didn’t intend to make it easy. As if it were no big deal in the world, she unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them over her hips in a sensual striptease.

Kicking off the denim, she pulled her shirt over her head and then unclasped her bra and added it to the pile. In nothing but her panties, she climbed under the covers and rolled onto her side, facing away from him.

She was fighting the urge to grin wickedly.

Jake flipped off the light and then climbed into the opposite side. As soon as he was situated, he spoke. “I hope you don’t mind a little impact play with your bondage, sweetheart, because when I get my hands on you, not only am I going to tie you to my bed, but I’m also going to spank your ass for all the times you tried to get me to fall for your antics. And then I’m going to make you come so many times, you’ll beg me to let you rest.”

Shayla gasped, probably loud enough for Raeann to hear from down the hall. She had to bite into her bottom lip to keep from moaning. Dominance in the bedroom wasn’t something she’d ever personally experienced, but Jake had mentioned it several times now, so she had to believe he was going to carry through on all his threats—or promises.

And she was looking forward to it.

Now, all she had to do was somehow manage to fall asleep in Jake’s bed. She was surrounded by his scent, and she really wished she was wrapped in his arms instead of a mile away on the other side of the mattress. It felt kind of lonely in this zip code.

She couldn’t imagine why she thought he might succumb to her wiles tonight. He had managed to keep his hands to himself two nights ago when she’d fingered herself naked on his couch. Sleeping was not that big of a challenge, even if she did strip down to her panties.

All she could do was hope it took him an hour to go to sleep thinking about her body so nearly naked and so close to him.

Who was she kidding? It was going to take her just as long to sleep, knowing he was just a few feet away and wearing nothing but flannel pants. Hell, she hadn’t seen him climb into bed, so for all she knew, he’d removed them and was now naked.

She stifled a groan at the thought, but apparently not completely because Jake chuckled. “Backfiring on you, sweetheart?”

“Nope. I’m fine. You?”

“Perfect. Goodnight.” He moved around just enough to make her think he’d rolled onto his side.

Great.