Read Online Relentless by Cheryl Douglas - Free Book Online Page A

friend well enough to know he wasn’t going to let this go until he’d uncovered every juicy detail.
    “And?”
    “He started dictating ground rules.” She threw the decorative pillow against the wall, wishing she could take some of her frustration out on the heavy bag in Jake’s studio. “The arrogant jerk.”
    Brad smirked at her show of temper. “What kind of ground rules?”
    “He said if I were sharing his bed, I wasn’t allowed to be with anyone else.” She growled. “Can you believe that? Who the hell does he think he is, telling me who I can and can’t sleep with?”
    He laughed. “Honey, I’ve known you a long time. You’ve never been the kind of woman who could sleep with more than one guy at a time. You’re too loyal, too trustworthy.”
    She rolled her eyes. “You make me sound like a golden retriever.”
    He smiled. “You know I’m right.” He reached over to tug a lock of her hair. “I don’t see the problem. Agree to his terms, have a hot fling, and get it out of your system already. You’ve been in love with this guy forever…”
    She glared at him. “I have not been in love; I’ve been in lust. There’s a big difference. You can’t love someone you had one brief conversation with five years ago.”
    “Whatever you want to call it, you’ve been hot for him for a long time. This is your chance to get it out of your system so you can get on with your life already.”
    She fisted the blanket in her hand. “Believe me; I’ve got him out of my system.”
    He pouted, looking utterly adorable. “What’s wrong? The sex was disappointing?”
    “No question, the man is hot.”
    “So you had sex and…”
    “And he bailed on me.”
    His eyebrows shot up, hiding beneath the lock of hair falling over his forehead. “What do you mean he bailed on you?”
    “He pulled out, rolled off, and hit the shower.” She could feel the heat infusing her cheeks. “He barely said a word to me.”
    “Yikes,” Brad said, grimacing. “That must have been awkward.”
    “You have no idea. Now you see why I had to get the hell out of there?”
    “I understand.” He shrugged. “Okay, so you got him out of your system. What’s done is done. No using crying over spilled semen.”
    She fired her pillow as his head, glaring at him.
    He held his hands up, trying to suppress a laugh. “Okay, sorry. That was in poor taste. My point is, just forget about him. You’ve got too much going on in your life right now to waste time worrying about that jerk.”
    “You’re right.” She sighed, propping another pillow under her head. “I’m gonna forget I ever met J.T. McCall.” If only.
     
     
    J.T. spent fifteen minutes in the shower, rehearsing his speech. He’d never had to apologize to a woman for his poor performance in bed before. Figures the one woman he was desperate to impress would be the first one he would disappoint with his lackluster performance. There was so much he wanted to do with her, to her, and yet he hadn’t been able to keep his raging hormones in check long enough to give her more than one forgettable orgasm. Damn. That was so not the way their first time had played out in his fantasies.
    He took a deep breath before opening the bathroom door. “Listen, baby, I’m sor…” The bed was empty. He checked the small sitting room adjacent the bedroom. If she thought he was going to let her get away from him that easily, she was delusional.
    He quickly pulled his jeans on, stuck his feet in his cowboy boots, and pulled a hooded sweatshirt over his head before grabbing his key card and shoving it in his pocket. He pounded on her door, oblivious to the curious stares of the people stepping off the elevator. “Damn it, girl, you need to open this goddamn door right now.” Seething, he continued pounding on the door until a uniformed security guard stepped off the elevator moments later.
    “Is there a problem, sir?” the man asked, approaching him cautiously.
    “Just a little