Read Online Crazy Ever After by Kelly Jamieson - Free Book Online Page B

years, and I can look after myself.”
    Oh, yeah, he knew she was a grown woman. He was disturbingly aware of that particular fact.
    “Fine. I won’t look after you. But we still have to get along for the next couple of days.” When she continued to hold his gaze, he sighed. “I’ll go stay at a hotel,” he said gruffly. “You stay here with your mother. She’s your mother, flesh and blood. She loves you, and she’s hurt by the way you’ve treated her.”
    “The way I’ve treated her?” Samara’s voice rose again, her fingers curling into her palms. “After what she did...oh for the love of Gilbert Godfrey.” She paused and visibly drew in a deep breath. The way she was trying to control her temper and her silly curse made his lips twitch. “Oh never mind. It’s all history.”
    Travis’s head started to hurt. He rubbed away the tension between his eyes. “What did she do to you?” he asked, bewildered.
    She stared at him. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her gaze dropped to the stone patio. “Never mind,” she muttered.
    What the hell could Dayna have possibly done? Fuck, he didn’t have it in him to press her right now. “You need your mother, Sam,” he said. “Whether you want to or not. I know you’re all grown up now—”
    “No, apparently you don’t,” she interrupted.
    “At a time like this, family needs to come together. If nothing else, with Parker dying, you should be thinking about how you’d feel if your mother was gone. Samara...you really need to reconcile with her.”
    She was silent, nibbling her bottom lip.
    “Hell. I’m sorry. I sound like an old man preaching at you.” He shook his head. He stood and brushed his hands off. “I guess it’s none of my business. Just think about it, okay, Sam?”
    She glared back at him mutinously. Shit. He should know better than to tell her what to do. She’d just do the opposite. Her defiance and the strength of her convictions had always driven him crazy but also added to her appeal, making him crazy for her, crazy to get his hands on her, his hands and his mouth and... That hadn’t changed. The breeze teased tendrils of her long hair back from her face, a pale oval in the deepening gloom, her big eyes dark shadows.
    Her took her silence for refusal, and his patience evaporated with his rising urges to grab hold of her and kiss her senseless. “Okay, don’t think about it.” He clenched his jaw. “Don’t ever think that someone else might know something you don’t. Don’t think about anyone’s feelings but your own. I know you were spoiled rotten. Hell, teenagers are supposed to be self-centered. But, by your age, you’d think you’d have a bit more empathy, that you’d know that life isn’t all black and white.”
    “Oh for the love of Gilbert Godfrey.” She stood too, stalked over to him and jabbed him in the chest. “Spoiled rotten? I have never been spoiled rotten! Do you think it was easy starting a new life all on my own? Do you think I’ve ever taken a penny from my parents after I finished college? That I’ve ever had any special treatment because of who I am? And I am sick of you lecturing me!” He was horrified to see her lower lip quivering. “I’m not self-centered. I do have empathy!” She moved as if to hit him again, and he instinctively grabbed her hand and held it away from him. He grabbed her other one for good measure, in case she decided to swing at him with her left.
    Her words pierced his heart with a sharp stab. Dammit! Once again, she’d pushed his buttons, and once again, he’d let her get to him. He’d gone too far and now—once again— he’d hurt her feelings.
    She tried to wrestle away from him, and he tugged her closer. Ah, sweet Jesus. She felt so good in his arms, soft breasts flattened against him, the scent of warm vanilla and woman filling his nostrils. Her long hair trailed over his arms, tickling him. His body hardened, and he resisted the urge to push his hips