Page 6

CHAPTER 6

They had resorted to walking the neighborhood in hopes that would lead them to Michael sooner when Shaun's phone pinged with a text.

It was clear that whatever news her brother received was of the good variety, based on the sudden relief that appeared to consume him.

"Well . . ." Patience was never one of her strong suits.

"Jayce found him. He's going to talk to Michael and then bring him home," Shaun answered as he turned around to head back in the direction of his house.

“That's it? He didn't tell you where he found him or if he was okay?"

What the hell was wrong with her normally overprotective brother? This new calm behavior was starting to freak her the fuck out.

"Jayce is a man of few words, but I can promise you, if Michael was hurt, he would've let me know. He deserves this time to talk to the son he didn't know existed."

Well, shit, when he put it like that. But it didn't stop her from playing devil's advocate. What kind of sister would she be if she didn't challenge him? "You haven't see the man in fifteen years. How do you know he hasn't changed?"

Shaun stopped and let out an annoyed sigh. "Men like Jayce and me don't change. Not when it comes to how protective we are of those we care about. He might've just learned he had a son, but there’s nothing that will stop Jayce from protecting Michael. It's in his DNA. Like I said before, Jasmine already took too much away from him. I won't take any more."

It was hard to continue arguing with a statement like that.

"Fine, but I want to talk to Jayce when he and Michael get back. You might trust him, but I still need to form an opinion."

It was over an hour before Michael finally came home, and surprise, surprise, her brother didn't let her speak to Jayce.

In fact, he banished her once again to the kitchen. It was no surprise considering she was acting like a mean girl in one of the books she wrote. This wasn’t normally like her. She was the first person to usually give someone the benefit of the doubt, but the thought of losing Michael scared the crap out of her.

* * *

Eavesdropping to discover Jayce's location? Easy peasy.

Schmoozing the young desk clerk to give her Jayce's room number? Surprisingly easy.

Everyone wanted to take part in a love story and convincing the college woman that she was there to surprise her boyfriend on a work trip didn't take more than batting her eyelashes and a promise that she wasn't here to cause trouble.

That last part would depend on how Jayce reacted to her just showing up at his hotel.

She rapped her knuckles on the hotel room door and waited for him to answer. And waited. And waited some more until the thought that he might not be in his room crossed her mind.

Kennedy was about to turn around and walk away when she heard grumbling on the other side of the door. Seconds later, it opened to a half-naked Jayce.

And by half-naked, she meant he only wore a towel around his waist.

“You!” he snapped.

It took her a moment, or maybe ten, to answer and she had to admit her answer wasn’t very intelligent.

“Me,” she replied.

“What are you doing here?”

If she wanted to make up for the bitch she was earlier today, she needed to start being a hell of a lot nicer. A feat that would’ve been easier if she wasn’t tongue-tied staring at Jayce’s extremely chiseled chest.

Clearing her throat, she met his angry eyes. “I wanted to talk to you. Can I come in?”

“Sure, since hanging out in the hallway in just a towel is probably highly frowned upon.” Jayce took a step back and waved her in.

Hesitantly she stepped through the doorway and into the room. She jumped at the sound of the door slamming behind her.

“Start talking so I can get back to what I was doing,” he said from behind her.

She spun around and confronted him head-on with her hands on her hips. “And what exactly were you doing that was so important you can’t take five minutes to talk to me?”

“You don’t want to challenge me right now, Kennedy. I’m frustrated and it’s either fucking or fighting that’s going to help me, so how about you get on with it so I can get back to fucking my hand already.”

She didn’t know what possessed her to say her next words, or to step in his space and challenge him. “I can think of better things to fuck than your hand.”