Thank God that was over. Jesse thought to herself as she stepped out of Louise’s after two hours of talking.
Or rather, of being interrogated.
Lou and Sasha had grilled her for every piece of information, every tidbit of what had happened between her and the twins in the last few days. She had told them hesitatingly at first, but as soon as she got started the words started flowing out easier.
And as embarrassing as it was, it also took a load off of her chest. Especially since her friends had passed no judgment on her for having feelings for two men.
The only thing they had been upset about was that Jesse hadn’t told them sooner what had been happening. Though they had agreed that probably also would’ve forgotten if they had two men as sexy as Devon and Jax plying them with attention.
So she was forgiven, but not after promising that she would keep them more up-to-date with what was happening.
Soon, their talk had gotten more serious than any other. They had spoken about the men and how they were with Jesse. What they each did when they were with her and what they said. They spoke of her reactions to them and how she felt about them, as well as how she felt about them.
After her discussion with them, she had a clearer view of her relationship with them, thanks to her friends.
Who really was the best, once they put their perverted thoughts on pause.
So now she stood outside Louise’s waiting for Devon and Jax to pick her up like they said they would when she had told her of her plans for meeting with Sasha and Lou.
Thinking of ‘phoning them, just to make sure they got her message, Jesse reached inside her handbag which she had strapped tightly to her shoulder. Freezing with her hand around her ‘phone when a hauntingly familiar voice spoke behind her.
“Jesse?” Luke asked, sounding shocked, and Jesse turned slowly around to face him.
He still looked the same as the last time Jesse had seen him. He still had the same shaggy haircut that framed his and gave him a boyish look. Dimple out in full force with a few extra lines around his lips and green eyes. He was still slender and proudly tall as ever.
“Luke.” She said coolly in greeting, feeling proud of herself for not revealing how surprised she was to see him.
“It really is you!” He said with a wide friendly smile as he stepped closer to her, his arms spread wide to hug her. Jesse gracefully sidestepped him, ignoring his look of surprise as she did so.
The arrogant asshole had probably thought that she was going to fall right into his arms in the joy of seeing him now.
She straightened her back and tilted her head to the side in curiosity as she kept her face carefully blank.
“What are you doing here?”
“Why are you suddenly so cold, doll?” He asked, ignoring her question altogether. She once again moved away from him when he tried to touch her arm, which was now crossed under her chest.
“I’m not your doll. What are you doing here?” She asked, putting a bit more force into her voice to show him she wasn’t in the mood to play one of his stupid little games.
Luke’s eyes darkened dangerously and Jesse cringed inwardly. She always hated it when his eyes did that because things always turned ugly afterward.
“I’ve been looking for you. One of the old gang mentioned to me that they constantly see you here. So I decided to take a chance.” He answered with a smile that she could see was forced, his tone light and friendly, which surprised her even more.
“Oh?”
“I’ve missed you, doll.” He told her, stepping closer to her, pushing the boundaries of her personal space.
“Somehow I find that hard to believe since I haven’t heard from you in years. No to mention that you said you found someone better than me when you took off.” She told him, still keeping her cool even as the old bitterness she had felt back then threatened to spill over once again.
Luke chuckled softly as he stepped even closer to her, his chest brushing against her arms, which were crossed under her chest.
“That was just me running away scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“Us and how serious we were. I knew you were looking for marriage and I thought I wasn’t ready, so I left.” He explained, setting his hands on her shoulders but she quickly shrugged them off and shifted her feet so that she moved a bit away from him.
His closeness was starting to make her feel uncomfortable.
His eyes darkened even more until they were almost pitch black and Jesse prepared herself for the explosion that was bound to happen but, once again, he smiled at her forcefully.
That’s when it clicked.
He wanted something from her.
It was just like when they were dating. He would only be nice to her once he wanted something. He was in for a big surprise, however.
She wasn’t going to let him use her like that again.
“I’ve come to beg your forgiveness and ask you to take me back.” He said when Jesse just stared at him without saying a word, giving her the smile that he knew always worked to soften her up.
He ground his teeth even more as she just looked at him with this blank look that revealed nothing of what she was thinking; unlike in the past when he had been able to read her every thought like it was written on her face.
“You actually expect me to believe that?” She finally asked.
“It’s the truth, doll.” He answered and lifted his hand to touch her cheek, only to clench it in a fist of frustration and drop it to his side when she jerked her face away from him.
“Piss off Luke, I don’t have time for you’re bullshit. Besides, I’ve found someone better than you.” She told him tauntingly him and turned on her heel to walk away. She’ll just wait inside by Lou for Devon and Jax to show up.
Finally, Luke snapped and he grabbed her shoulder to roughly turn her back to him before shoving her hard against the wall behind her. Ignoring the way she struggled against him.
“You stupid bitch! No one will ever be better for you than me. Me! I spent years of my life dragging your dead weight around. You owe m-“His words were cut off as he was suddenly lifted away from Jesse and pushed so high against the wall by his throat that his toes barely even touched the ground.
Jax grabbed Jesse and pulled her into his arms protectively as Devon pushed his face close to the bastard who had dared touch Jesse, who had dared speak to her in such a manner to make her feel less than what she really was.
“Care to repeat to me what you just said to our woman?” Devon asked Luke in a low, dangerous voice that had chills crawling up Jesse’s spine.
She shivered and Jax pulled her even closer to him, crooning softly into her ear even as he kept an eye on Devon, who didn’t seem to register the fact that the man he was holding was clutching at his hand, his face turning a dangerous shade of red.
Luke gurgled something incoherent and Devon loosened his grip enough so that he drag in a breath.
“Our?” Luke managed to get out, his eyes flickering to where Jax held Jesse.
“Yes, ours. So if either my brother or I ever catch you around Jesse again, we will rip you apart. Do you understand?” Devon asked harshly and shook Luke roughly to get his attention away from Jesse, who he had been eyeing in a way neither brother liked. “Do you understand?” He asked again, this time adding a bit more of a threatening growl in his tone that had Luke’s eyes widening and nodding.
“Good, now get out of my sight before I do something I won’t regret.” He said and threw Luke a few meters away from him.
Luke landed in an inelegant heap on the floor and as he straightened himself up, he shot Jesse a look that said that she hadn’t seen the last of him. Jesse suppressed a shudder and turned her face into Jax’s chest; breathing in his scent as Devon stepped up behind her and also wrapped his arms around her.
And as she stood in their warm gentle embrace, listening to the words they softly whispered to her, Jesse knew without a doubt that she was hopelessly and deeply in love with both men.