Tame This (The McCallans, Book Two) (33 page)

Tyse sighed and shook his head. “
I disagree with your approach, man.”

“Hey Kyle,” Jay called across the room.

“Fine, let’s go,” Tyse said. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Something woke Melanie abruptly. It had already been a restless night of sleep mixed with anxiety about her move and her feelings for Jay. Now she was wide-awake and she didn’t know why. Did she have another nightmare? The only thing she was sure of was that Jay had called her name.

But that was impossible. She was at Camryn and Teague’s, not Jay’s.
But after a few seconds of trying to see across the room, a familiar figure in the doorway made her jump.

“Jesus Christ!” she hissed as quietly as she could.

What the hell was he doing in her room? And was he actually there? He had to be. She was fully awake right now, shivering from the covers coming off when she sat up. His presence hit her with a ton of emotions; fear from being woken up, excitement from hearing his voice, and a strange desire to start bawling for some reason.

“Wrong bedroom, Jay,
” she finally forced herself to say.

He’d taken a few steps across the room but s
he heard him pause. “Doesn’t sound like it if you’re in here,” he said. She could even hear the smile on his lips, but not only that, his speech was a little slower than usual.

Great, he was
drunk
. All of her hopes and dreams flushed down the toilet once again.

“Nice try, but I’m serious,” she told him.
“Go to your own room. Err, I mean the couch since you’re in the wrong damn house.”

By then she could tell he was at the foot of her bed, and
after the mattress shifted from the weight of his knees on it, he crawled forward and dropped to his stomach.

“I don’t think I can make it,” his muffled voice said into the sheets.

Melanie lay there in silence for several seconds, unsure if she should be furious with him or concerned. When his head turned to face her, his hand also came over her belly and stayed put.

“I’ve had
the worst fucking night, Mel. Please don’t make me leave. Wow, you’re stomach is so big.”

The comment caught her off guard but she replied,
“Still not as big as your ego.”

He lightly laughed. “You’re probably right,” he mumbled.

She sighed to herself, torn between yanking his hand off her stomach and pulling him over to keep him close. But the fact that he’d been out drinking again totally stifled her need for his affection.

Until he came closer to her on his own. His head was now sharing her pillow and his lips pressed against her shoulder. Melanie’s entire body
pulsed with the need for his lips to be all over her; for his hands to hold her close again and some sweet words to come out of his mouth.

His hand slid across her
bare thigh. “Can I finger you?” his drunk murmur spoke against her shoulder.

And just like that, reality slapped her in the face.
“No,” she brushed his hand away.

“
I’m only kidding,” he smiled against her skin. “But…why not?”

“Because you’re drunk.”

“Not much anymore. But even if I wasn’t I’d want to touch you, Melanie.”

Her heart started thudding even harder in her chest. The heat
from his hand still lingered on her skin… Oh, because it was there again, comfortably blanketing her thigh. But as much as she wanted to punch him in the nuts, she needed him here with her. She liked knowing where he was and that he was okay. Her burdens felt lighter when Jay was around, even with all the crap he put her through. Just his presence in the same room was assuring.

She felt tears prick her eyes as she lay on her back. Then she blinked and they rolled down her face, across her temples and into her ears. She used her arm to blot them away but another set replaced them just as quickly.
The conflicting emotions of having him against her were overwhelming.

“You shouldn’t be here, Jay,” she barely got out. “I can’t handle this with you. I really can’t.”

There was silence for so long she thought he’d drifted to sleep, but finally he said, “I’m so sorry, Melanie.” It was hardly a whisper, but she heard it. And there was emotion in his throat, whether it was from the alcohol or not, she could hear it easily. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” he added just as quietly. “I’m so sorry…”

This was so unexpected and she didn’t know what to say. If she remained quiet long enough, he would probably go to sleep. Coming into her room drunk like this to apologize was not good enough, but on the other hand, she knew he was being completely
sincere.

Why was it such a challenge to be with Jay…?

“Please say something,” he finally sai
d. “I know I don’t deserve you but…I want you to stay, baby doll. I don’t want you to move. Please stay here and…I shouldn’t even be asking, but please give me another chance. Please.”

His hand returned to her stomach, just as the baby kicked. Hard. She winced and turned
away from him onto her side to ease the discomfort.

“
He’s agreeing with me,” Jay said. “Yeah, I said
he
‘cause I think it’s a boy.”

“I’m sure it’s a girl because she
disagreeing
with you, and telling you to get the hell away.”

“Nooo,” Jay answered. “He’s on my side. I guarantee it. Us guys stick together.”

His lips came against her shoulder again as he scooted closer to her. He pulled her against him, and even though it felt amazing to have him holding her like that—and to have the back support—his affection was absolutely killing her inside.

“You need to go, Jay. Take the blanket from the chair and go sleep on the couch.”

He sighed as he rested his forehead against the back of her head. “Please, Melanie. I don’t want to leave you.”

“Well now you know how I felt every time you pushed me away,
” she answered, choking back a sob. “I’m not trying to punish you, but I just can’t do this, Jay. I’m leaving tomorrow—”

“All you have to say is that you want me, Mel,” Jay said meekly. “That’s all.
Just tell me you still want me and I swear I will do what it takes to keep you here.”

With all the pleading that she had, Melanie
tried not to cry anymore when she answered, “I need you, Jay.” In a whisper she repeated, “I
need
you.”

He held her against him even tighter and said, “I’m here, babe. I’m here.”

She waited. And waited. And she waited for more words to come from his mouth, words that would keep her in town in a heartbeat, but they never came.

Twenty minutes later it was apparent he’d fallen asleep, and even though she felt comfortable and safe that he was here with her, the disappointment kept her up for another hour before she finally drifted to sleep.

Her mind was already made up by then.

***

“Hey, you hear me sleeping beauty?” a voice said, shaking Jay out of a deep sleep. “Get the fuck out of Melanie’s bed so we can load it in the truck.”

Jay jolted upright. “What? She’s not moving, she’s staying.”

Teague tilted his head with confusion. “Uh, sorry man, but she’s outside about to get in her car to go.
I need to load her bed and I’m heading out right after her.”

“No,” Jay said, jumping off the bed. “She’s staying. I was…right there and…”

When Jay pointed to the bed, Teague shrugged. “Yeah, she said you were drunk and helped yourself to her room last night. But she’s still leaving, pal. Go see for yourself.”

Jay was already looking for his shoes that he’d kicked off in the middle of the night. He put them on even as he was moving out the door for the hallway, and he could see Melanie out the front window when he came across the living room. She was hugging Camryn next to her car and Jay was trying to remind himself of the conversation they’d had the night before.

She said she was staying, right?

“Damn it, my fucking head hurts,” he muttered to himself.

He came across the lawn, not even caring that Teague preferred people to use the sidewalk, and that’s when Melanie saw him. She was just about to get in her car.

“Hey, what the hell is going on?” Jay asked.
She narrowed her eyes at him. Okay, wrong thing to say. He took a deep breath as he approached the car and said, “Melanie, what are you doing? You’re staying, right? You said you were staying.”

She slowly shook her head at him. “No, I never said I was staying.”

Jay paused and ran his hands over his face. “Okay, but what the hell did you say to
imply
that you would stay?”

“I don’t know, Jay,” she answered coolly. “What
did
I say last night?” She folded her arms across her chest and they practically rested on her stomach.

“When did your boobs get so big, too?” he asked.

“Oh my God,” she exhaled, and she reached for the car door.

“I’m just kidding!” he pa
rtially laughed. He practically threw himself at the car to prevent her from opening the door. “I’m just saying…I remember everything that I said last night. I commented on your stomach, and yeah I’m sure it was rude, but it’s like a nervous tick.”

“Telling people they’re big?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, saying things like that when I’m… God, can we just… Melanie, I honestly thought you were staying. I mean…I swear that’s what was concluded last night. What the hell did I miss?”

She stared at him for a dozen seconds before she finally shook her head. “You miss a lot, apparently. Jay,
unless you have something else to say to me, I need to get going. I’m supposed to meet the landlord for my apartment in three hours and I don’t want to be late.”

“You’re not going,” Jay told her. He leaned against the door so she couldn’t get into her car.

“Really mature,” she stated dryly. “Move your butt, I need to go.”

“Not until you tell me why I thought you were staying and now you’re not. What the hell happened between then and now?”

“Absolutely nothing. That’s the point.”

She tried to shove him out of the way but he wouldn’t budge.

“Absolutely nothing?” he repeated. “Uh, I was trying to be respectful. And you didn’t exactly like my joke about fingering you—”

“Oh my God, that’s not what I meant!” she laughed and groaned at the same time. “Move. Now.”

“No fucking way,” he chuckled, but he was so damn confused. “Would you stop being such a woman and tell me what the hell I’m supposed to be mind-reading right now?”

“Stop being a woman? Well here’s some news for
you
, asshole. I
am
a woman. I’m a
pregnant
woman. And I don’t expect you to read my mind, but I do expect you to have some common sense. Now get out of my damn way!”

“Melanie, Jesus Christ,” he groaned. He buried his face in his hands, just to give himself a moment to think, but when he looked at her again, she was running around the car for the passenger’s side. “What the
hell?”

“Ha-ha I’m not stronger than you but I’m smarter!” she laughed as she shut the door and locked it behind her.

Jay watched her move her body from the passenger’s seat to the driver’s seat, but it was so damn funny, he couldn’t help how hard he laughed. She could barely climb over the center console, and then when she maneuvered behind the steering wheel, she had to move the seat back.

“You shut up!” he heard her yell from inside
the car.

It only made him laugh harder, especially when she paused
as she most likely realized what was missing.

“Need something?” Jay asked, grabbing her purse from the roof of the car.

She couldn’t roll the window down without the key in the ignition and just sat there staring ahead through the windshield.

“Melanie,” he said to the window, shaking his head. “Can you please talk to me, sweetheart? Obviously I am a fucking idiot and have no clue why you’re so mad. You need to tell me.”

It seemed like she was going to continue to sit there, but she opened the door suddenly and he had to jump out of the way so he didn’t get nailed with it.

“I can’t tell you, Jay. You know why?” Her green eyes were full of tears and they bore right through him. It did a fucking number on his chest but paralyzed him at the same time. “Because if I have to
tell
you, then this,” she motioned between the two of them, “isn’t meant to be.”

She climbed into her car again—with her purse that she’d somehow managed to take from him without his awareness—and stuck the key in the ignition as she shut the door.

He watched her drive away. He just stood there and watched her car disappear down the street because all he could see was green. Shimmery green. Sad eyes that he had somehow disappointed over and over again. And to see her that way—emotional and unwilling to talk to him—was just…rare.