Page 14 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Fourteen

JAMES

I barely slept last night as thoughts of Raven kept spiraling in my head.

What is it about her that’s got me like this?

Not to mention the fact that I should never have touched her in the first place.

What was I thinking? I wasn’t, clearly. My dick apparently overtook my faculties and made me into even more of a jerk than I already am.

It’s like my body reacts to her without my brain engaging.

And Drew. What would he think if I were lusting after his daughter? He’d be just as disgusted with me, and I wouldn’t blame him. I’d let him beat my ass for thinking of her like this. Raven’s nothing to me. Absolutely nothing. I’m just an asshole who took advantage of a young, impressionable woman.

I need therapy.

Deciding to give up on sleep, I head downstairs for something to do. It’s still early, and everyone’s asleep. I brace my hands against the counter as I wait for the coffee to brew, sighing heavily at the situation I’ve only got myself to blame for .

I hear a noise behind me, and I turn around. Raven walks in, rubbing her eyes.

Looks like she didn’t sleep much either.

My chest tightens as I take in her sleepy form, her hair all over the place, and still in the tiny pajamas from last night. This has got to be my favorite look of hers so far— what did we just say, James? No .

“Hey,” I say. “Coffee’s nearly brewed.”

She just looks at me, her face a mask of nothing—no sadness, no anger, just… nothing. And I’m not sure what’s worse, that she can act like I don’t bother her when I’m going out of my mind with guilt, or if I should be grateful that she’s acting like this.

“Thanks.” She gives a tilt of her head before heading to the cupboard to, I presume, get the honey out.

I’ve never known someone to add honey to their coffee before, but it sounds disgusting.

“Why do you have honey in your coffee?” I gesture with my head, crossing my arms over my chest. “Surely, sugar would taste better?”

“Because I like it.” She shrugs.

I chuckle. “That’s not an answer.”

“Well, it’s the only one you’re going to get.” She shrugs again before moving to the coffee machine and pouring it into her mug.

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “We should really talk about what happened last night.”

“I’m good.”

“You’re good?” My brows furrow.

“Let’s not do this, James. I think you made yourself perfectly clear last night,” she states. “I’d rather forget it happened and move on.”

For someone who feels such self-loathing for what I’ve been doing with Raven, her words don’t sit right with me. I refuse to want her, I can’t want her .

I’m really fucked in the head, huh?

Raven walks to the kitchen door, coffee in hand. “I’m not going to tell my dad if that’s what you’re worried about. But maybe stop messing around with someone if you don’t know what you want, hmm?” With that, she walks off, leaving me with more questions than answers.

I do know what I want. I want Raven and me to go back to being friends, right?

The rest of the weekend blurred past between working with Drew in his office and subconsciously watching for Raven.

Guilt churned through me every time I thought about what happened, and I caught myself thinking of her more than once.

I didn’t see her again after bumping into her in the kitchen, though.

I don’t know if she was intentionally hiding from me or if she was genuinely busy, but I was starting to get annoyed.

I want things to go back to how they used to be. Back to the banter and easy nature between us. Back to before I had the hots for someone that doesn’t belong to me.

Sunday night comes, and I say my goodbyes, Raven still nowhere in sight. As I’m packing the last few things away, Drew knocks softly on the door before coming in.

“Do me a favor, keep an eye on Raven for me. I worry about her being miles away from home.” The concern for his only daughter clear on his face, just adds to the already sick feeling I’ve got.

I’m gonna end up with a stomach ulcer at this rate .

Grabbing my wash-bag from the bathroom, I reply, “She’s a big girl, Drew, she doesn’t need me hovering over her. She’ll be fine.” I ignore the protective side of me that hates the thought of her being in any kind of danger .

“Even so, I’d still like you to keep an eye on her,” he pleads. “I’ve given her your number in case of emergencies, but I’d like you to stop by and see her. Take her out to dinner sometime?”

Jesus fucking Christ. He’s innocently asking me to protect his daughter and giving me every opportunity to see her.

The flash of excitement that runs through me, catches me off guard, but I squash it down.

Raven doesn’t want me anywhere near her, but how the hell am I going to tell Drew without him asking questions?

“Drew—”

“Please, James. That’s my little girl. You’d be putting this old man’s mind at ease,” he says hopefully. “I know it’s not fun hanging around with a twenty-year-old, but Raven’s older than her years. Plus, you two have always gotten along.” Drew arches his eyebrow, and I know I’m fucked.

Blowing out a breath and knowing this is going to bite me in the ass, I say, “Fine. I’ll do what I can, when I can.”

“That’s all I ask.” He slaps my back before retreating from the room, calling over his shoulder, “Safe drive, I’ll call you in the morning when I’ve got the go-ahead for the merger.”

I rake a hand down my face and sigh heavily.

The universe fucking hates me .