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  Ready For Love

  Book Nineteen of The Forever and Ever Series

  E. L. Todd

  Chapter One

  Reid

  Jasmine was one cool chick. She was fun and easy-going, and she was exceptionally beautiful. Never in my life had I seen someone so gorgeous. It only happened on TV. But she was real. And she laughed like a real person. She smiled and lit up the room. And she made me feel real when we were together in bed.

  Roland’s last words came back to me, telling me to leave if I wasn’t genuinely interested. It was an odd request to make. Why would I not be interested? He may be gay but there was no way he was blind to her obvious perfection. The fact she’d had bad experiences with men confounded me. Why wouldn’t any guy want forever with her? Was I missing something?

  She told me men never stuck around. When the sex was done, they usually left. That was hard to believe. Wouldn’t they come back for more? She was such a cool person that I didn’t understand that at all. She was so playful and full of life. Nothing ever seemed to get her down. She was nothing but a joy to be around.

  I was having her over for dinner at my apartment, and I had everything ready for her. She’d never been over here so I cleaned so she wouldn’t know I was a little messy. I wanted her to be impressed with me, not see me as ordinary.

  Right at seven she knocked on the door.

  “Hey,” I said as I answered it.

  She wore a dark green tube top that showed some of her flat stomach, and tight dark jeans. Heels were on her feet so she was a little taller than normal. Every time I saw her, she looked like a supermodel. “Hi.” She leaned in and kissed me.

  Like always, fireworks erupted behind my eyes. My lips burned like I was on fire, and my body immediately tensed in pleasure. I grabbed her waist with more aggression than usual and I pulled her close to me.

  She pulled away and looked at me. “Geez, someone is horny.”

  “I wasn’t until I opened the door.” I shut the door then pressed her against it. My hands dug into her hair and I gripped the strands as I kissed her. She unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them to my knees along with my boxers. Then I removed her bottoms but kept the heels on. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I lifted her and pressed her against the door. Like a magnet, my cock found her entrance and I slipped inside with no resistance because she was so wet.

  “Reid…” Her fingers gripped my strands of hair.

  I held her up while I pounded into her. She felt so good every time I moved inside her, and my muscles spasmed and recoiled with every passing second. Whenever I was inside her, it felt right—too right. “Jasmine…” I wrapped one arm around her waist so the other was free. Then I rubbed her clitoris. I needed to get her off quickly because I definitely wasn’t going to last.

  My plan worked and she dug her nails into me and released a quiet scream. She breathed hard into my mouth while she spiraled down. Thankfully she reached her orgasm because I couldn’t hold on much longer. I released inside her, giving my final thrusts as I filled her.

  When I was finished, I held her against the door and rested my face in the crook of her neck. I caught my breath while I held her, breathing in her scent. Then I placed a kiss on her neck before I lowered her to the ground. “You get me going and I can’t stop.” I stepped back and dressed myself.

  She stared at her jeans and underwear before she slipped her panties on. But she left her jeans in a pile on the floor. “They’re uncomfortable anyway.” She drifted to the kitchen and sniffed the air. “Smells good.”

  I watched her, my eyes honed in on her ass in her thong. Dinner would be very distracting tonight. “I hope you like Italian.”

  “I like anything,” she said. “You saw me scarf down that greasy pizza from the rundown bowling alley.”

  I smiled at the memory. “You definitely aren’t high maintenance.”

  She walked to the pot then lifted the lid. “Smells good.”

  “Special sauce.” I came beside her and eyed her long legs in her heels. I just had her but I wanted her again.

  “Oh…” She gave me a playful look. “Special sauce, huh?”

  I smirked. “It’s my mom’s recipe.”

  Her playful look evaporated. “Not the good special sauce then.”

  “But I can add something if you want.” I leaned close to her.

  “Now that would be a sight I wouldn’t forget.” She returned the lid to the pot. “When is it going to be ready? I get grouchy when I’m hungry.”

  “I’ve never seen you grouchy.”

  “Oh, wait for it.” She opened the oven and eyed the garlic bread. “I’m going to eat that whole thing by myself.”

  “I’d be impressed.” I put on my mitts then removed the pots and pans. I finished preparing everything while Jasmine watched me.

  “Can I help?”

  “I don’t want you to spill anything hot on those gorgeous legs.”

  She looked down at herself. “Eh, the skin will heal.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. I carried the plates to the table.

  We both sat down and began to eat.

  “Damn, this is good,” she said.

  “You sound surprised.”

  “Because it’s really good. You can do more than count money.”

  “A lot more.” I shot her a dirty look.

  “Reid Beaumont has many talents…”

  “I’m like Batman.”

  She laughed. “I wouldn’t say that…” She kept eating then wiped her plate clean. She looked around at my apartment. “Your place is really nice.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I wonder what your room looks like.”

  “You’ll see,” I said. I finished my food then left the empty plates on the table.

  “I should clean since you cooked.”

  “No,” I said. “The maid will be here in the morning. She’ll take care of it.”

  “You have a maid?” she asked incredulously.

  I shrugged. “I can get really busy with work so it’s nice to have help around the house.”

  “You know what I would have if I were rich?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “A chef,” she said. “And they would cook for me all day, every day.”

  I laughed. “If I had one, I’d be fat.”

  “Fat?” she asked. “You look like you work out all the time.”

  I blushed at the compliment. “Thanks…”

  She smiled. “You’re so cute.”

  Two compliments in a row. “I am?”

  “Yeah, you’re so good-looking and rich but you aren’t a douchebag about it.”

  Her bluntness was always entertaining. “A douchebag?”

  “Yeah. Most rich guys I know are so into themselves that they don’t even want to have sex with other people. They get off to themselves.”

  I knew a few people like that. “I guess I don’t believe anyone is better or worse than anyone else.”

  “I know very few people like that,” she said. “Cayson and his group are those type of people. That’s why I liked them so much. Even though Skye hates me, she’s down-to-earth too.”

  “I doubt she hates you,” I said. “She’s probably just intimidated by you because you’re way hotter than she is.”

  “Way hotter?” she asked with a laugh. “Uh, are we talking about the same person?”

  “She’s a beautiful girl but I don’t think there’s any comparison,” I said seriously. “If you ask me, Cayson doesn’t have good taste.”

  Her mood suddenly changed and she seemed particularly interested in her glass of wine. “I didn’t have any plans for the holidays one year and Cayson invited me to spend it with his family. Everyone was so nice. I don’t like saying anything mean about Cayson despite what he did to me. He gave me the best Thanksgiving I ever had. I’ll never forget his kindness.”

  He took her to meet his family and he stilled ditched her? That was even more fucked up. “Did you introduce him to your parents?”

  “No,” she said. “I don’t have parents.”

  I froze at her words. She didn’t have parents? I felt like an insensitive jerk. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know.”

  “It’s okay,” she said immediately. “It’s really not a big a deal.”

  Not a big deal? “How did they pass away, if you don’t mind me asking.”

  “They didn’t pass away,” she said. “Both of my parents were losers who cared more about drugs than me. My dad took off a long time ago, and then my mom followed shortly afterward. I’ve been on my own for most of my life. I never had a traditional Christmas or Thanksgiving, so it was nice to have that with Cayson. His family treated me like I belonged there. It was a nice change.”

  I sat there, frozen and still. That was the last thing I expected her to say, and she said it so casually, like she was telling me a pleasant childhood memory. Pain rushed through me in waves, and I felt terrible for her. No one should be without a family. “I’m sorry…”

  “It’s okay.” She ate the last piece of garlic bread. “Honestly, it doesn’t bother me anymore. This is my situation in life and there’s no point in feeling sorry for myself. It won’t change anything. And I don’t want you to feel sorry for me either.”

  Too late.

  “The only regret I have is my brother. He ran away a long time ago. I haven’t seen or heard from him in…so many years I can’t even count. I tried tracking him down once but I couldn’t find him. And he obviously hasn’t tried to find me otherwise he would have done it al
ready. I haven’t changed my name and I lived in Boston until a year ago. I’m not difficult to track down.”

  “Why did he run away?” I asked quietly.

  “He’s older than me, and he got the bad stick in terms of abuse. He was bigger and older so he got the hits in a way I never did. He just snapped one day and took off. I don’t blame him.”

  Anger flushed through me. I wanted to kill her parents for treating her that way. What the hell was wrong with them? Sometimes my father and I didn’t get along, but he never treated me like that. My parents always showered me with love and never made me feel afraid. I wish every person could have parents like that. “I’m so sorry…” I wish I had something better to say.

  “It’s fine, Reid. Honestly, I’m over it. I may not be a Harvard graduate or making a salary of six figures but I think I did all right.”

  “You did more than all right,” I said quietly.

  She ate another piece of bread then stared at her glass of wine. “Let’s talk about something else. You keep looking at me like that and I hate it.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you feel sorry for me. I hate that.”

  I averted my gaze and didn’t know how to give her what she wanted. I did feel sorry for her. How could I not? “It’s only because I care about you.”

  “Well, don’t.” She finished her glass of wine and stood up. “I’m going to look at your room.”

  I watched her walk away, her heels echoing on the floor. Her ass was tempting and she was beautiful but I didn’t feel any arousal. All I felt was sadness. How could a person go through that and come out alive?

  ***

  Slade texted me. How’s it going with Jasmine?

  Great. Really great.

  Sweet. I knew you guys would hit it off.

  You should open a dating service.

  Nah. I do it out of the goodness of my heart.

  It was weird that Slade and I were friends, in a way. After I bowed out so Trinity would be with Slade, he seemed to respect me. He even liked me.

  Want to go on a double date?

  Seriously? Jasmine and I with you and Trinity?

  Yeah, it’ll be fun.

  Or just awkward. It didn’t seem like Trinity had other friends the last time we spent time together so I guess it might be okay. And I certainly didn’t feel anything for her anymore. Okay, let’s do it.

  Sweet. Saturday?

  Saturday it is.

  When I told Jasmine about it, she didn’t seem as enthused. “Slade and Trinity?”

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “But didn’t you date her?”

  “Not really,” I said. “Actually, I think we went on two dates two years ago.”

  She shrugged. “If you want to go. I don’t care.”

  The nice thing about Jasmine was the fact she was willing to do anything. She wasn’t complicated and said exactly what was on her mind. If she didn’t want to go, she would just say it. “I think it could be fun. Slade and I are friends—in a way.”

  “Well, as long as it won’t be weird I don’t care. Just as long as Skye isn’t there.”

  “I don’t think she’ll be. Why?”

  “She hates me with a passion,” she said. “Like, she’d scratch my eyes out in a heartbeat.”

  “I can’t picture Skye doing that.”

  “Well, she’s a little crazy when it comes to Cayson,” she said. “I wish she would realize that I don’t want her man and I never will again. She can keep him all to herself. Besides, you’re way hotter than he is.”

  I beamed with pride. “Why, thank you.”

  ***

  Jasmine and I walked hand-in-hand into the bar then found the booth where Slade and Trinity were sitting. Actually, she was sitting on his lap with her face pressed close to his. They were whispering something to one another.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” I said.

  Trinity left his lap and stood. “Hey, how are you?” She hugged me tightly.

  “Well. You?”

  “Great,” she said. She turned to Jasmine and acknowledged her with a fake smile then turned back to me. “Glad to see you’re in the dating game…” Her words didn’t sound sincere at all. But I had a feeling it had nothing to do with me.

  “Yeah, Jasmine and I have really hit it off.”

  “Yo.” Slade fist-bumped me then hugged me. “How goes it?”

  “It goes well,” I answered.

  Slade turned to Jasmine and extended an arm to hug her.

  Trinity immediately put her hand on his chest and threatened him silently.

  Slade raised an eyebrow then lowered his hand. “Nice to see you, Jasmine.”

  “You too,” she said politely.

  Okay, what was going on? Why would Slade invite us to a double date if neither one of them liked Jasmine?

  We sat in the booth and I ordered drinks for both Jasmine and I. My arm moved around her shoulders and I held her close. She smiled up at me, not seeming to care about the obvious hostility from Trinity.

  “So, how long has this been going on?” Slade asked.

  “For a while,” I answered. “We’ve been on quite a few dates.”

  “Reid can cook,” Jasmine said. “And really well.”

  “And I do other things really well.” I gave her a knowing look.

  “A gentleman never brags,” Jasmine said.

  “Then I’m definitely not a gentleman,” Slade said. “I’m damn good in bed. Right, baby?”

  Trinity rolled her eyes. “Why else would I put up with you?”

  “Because you love me. “ He pulled her close and rubbed his nose against hers.

  “So, how’s the fashion world?” Jasmine asked Trinity.

  Her tone was flat. “Fine.” She didn’t even look at Jasmine as she spoke.

  Girls…

  Slade picked up on the hostility. “Baby, could you not be a bitch?”

  With wide eyes, Trinity turned to him like she might call off the wedding then and there. “What did you call me?”

  “Why are you being so mean to Jasmine?” Slade asked.

  “I told you I didn’t want to go on this stupid double-date. What did you think would happen?”

  “Last time I checked, you didn’t have a problem with Jasmine,” Slade said. “Unless you’re jealous…”

  “No,” Trinity said immediately. “I don’t have feelings for Reid. I already said that.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have a problem being nice to Jasmine,” he said. He turned back to his glass and drank out of it.

  Trinity crossed her arms over her chest and removed herself from the conversation entirely.

  “Jasmine and I watched the Yankee game last night,” I said. “Did you?”

  “Totally,” Slade said. “Can you believe the score? Why did the Mets even show up?”

  “Right?” I said. “I should have put money on that game.”

  “I gamble here and there but not as much as I used to,” Slade said. He nodded toward Trinity. “The wife doesn’t like it.”

  “When is the wedding, by the way?” I asked.

  “Not sure,” Slade said. “Trinity wants to get married at this winery in Connecticut but they have a small availability. But it probably won’t be for at least a year. But we’re having white tigers.” His eyes widened at the last sentence.

  “Tigers?” I asked.

  “We’re not having tigers.” Trinity put her hand to Slade’s face. “Ignore him.”

  “Tigers would be cool,” Jasmine said.

  Trinity gave her the look of death.

  Jasmine smiled back then downed her beer, like Trinity’s dislike didn’t bother her in the least.

  Slade, Jasmine, and I carried a conversation about the upcoming football season. Jasmine was very knowledgeable about sports. She claimed it was because she once worked in a sports bar but she still followed the games even though she was a hairdresser. She was one of the few women I knew who genuinely liked sports and understood them. Other girls just wore jerseys to look cute and fit in.

  Slade’s phone rang and he answered it. “Wad up, playa?”

  Trinity rolled her eyes.

  “We’re at Rogers. You want to come down?” Slade said into the phone.

  “Who is that?” Trinity demanded, almost panicked.

  “Alright,” Slade said. “See you soon.” He hung up.

  “Who the hell was that?” Trinity demanded.

  “Geez, when did you become so controlling?” Slade asked.