The Scale (Martha's Way) (31 page)

He felt torn over this enigma. Opposing emotions swirled
through him. The rational part of his brain told him to flee from this erratic
ride called Minka. She had blindsided him and captured his heart. Pride told him
to continue to take as much from her physically and then walk away. Their
relationship had been based on sex anyway. Hadn’t it? He needed to stick to a
simple physical relationship.

Relationship.
The word struck a
chord in Jason’s chest.

It scared the hell out of him. Probably more so than knowing
he had fallen in love with this woman he knew so little about. Love, he could
mask or control. But the relationship he wanted more of, even if just the
physical side of it. Jason wanted to continue to enjoy all the sweetness Minka
Greene possessed.

He inhaled deeply.

He even started to think about after next week. He had
caught himself throwing suggestions at her on different dates she should return
to the island. For instance, his mother’s photography display he had been
working on, or even the winter. He wanted to see how she fared on the island
during that time when it was pitch black at five in the afternoon, the streets
sparse and quiet with no sign of tourism. Only the locals stayed around for the
winter. Occasionally, a few guests came for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or
homeowners returned for holidays. But, for the most part, the island was
isolated.

He wanted more than she had to give, wanted to give. He
wanted a relationship with Minka. Even knowing she possessed feelings for his
friend didn’t curtail his desire.

Shit!
Whatever
happened to being indifferent?

He was a man. She was a woman. They had sex and would
continue to have sex till next week. That should be the end of the story.

Jason ran a hand through his hair and, for the first time in
his adult life, he was unsure of what to do.

Whenever she was in his arms, thoughts of Blake left his
brain. His desire for Minka took over and clouded his judgment. He caught
himself saying things he would not normally say.
Such as his
plea for her to give all of herself to him.
It almost made him laugh.
Who the fuck was that guy? He wasn’t sure he liked him.

“Hey, Jay.”
Adam called out to him.
“Want to catch some waves?”

Happy for the distraction, he placed his beer on the table.
“Yeah, sure.
Let me change. You know where the surf and
paddleboards are. Get them out. I’ll be right there.”

He stopped in front of her by the door. Her hazel eyes met
his. For a moment, Jason thought he saw a silent plea in them. A plea for what,
he wasn’t sure.

“You’re coming to join us?” he asked dryly.

She shook her head. “I think I’ll stay here and read.”

He hesitated for a moment. She was inches away from him. It
would be so easy to reach for her and convince her otherwise. God knew he could
think of many ways he could keep her mind occupied. But he followed her gaze to
where Keely was still lounging with Lily.

“There’s a library upstairs as well as downstairs by the
game room. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

He stepped inside the house and disappeared. Once in his
room, he stripped out of his jeans to his boxer briefs. Jason let out a deep
breath and walked over to his luggage to retrieve his wetsuit. As he did so,
the bedroom door opened. Raising his head, he met Minka’s stare.

Her eyes penetrated through him, as if she had him figured
out. In silence, he watched her close the door and walk over to where he stood.
Surprised to find
himself
unable to breathe, Jason
took a step back.

“What’s going on, Jason?”

Her voice trembled in the air. The pleading in her words cut
through him, forcing him to look at her.

“Minka…”

But she was shaking her head. “One minute you’re all over
me, the next you’re so distant.” She paused and chewed her lower lip, a sign of
uncertainty Jason had come to know too well. “It started on the boat. What’s
going on?”

Her words struck him for many reasons. But, most of all, he
knew how difficult it had to be for her to come and confront him. He extended a
hand and she walked into his arms.

He didn’t kiss her; instead, he wrapped his arms around her
and held her. He wasn’t ready to admit his feelings, but Jason never felt too
macho to apologize. It wasn’t her fault he fell in love with the one woman he
couldn’t have. So he offered the only words that felt comfortable and were
fitting for the situation. “I’m sorry.” Her body relaxed in his arms. At that
point, he tightened his hold and brushed his lips against her bare shoulder.
“Do you want me to stay here? I can go in the water with Adam tomorrow.”

“No, it’s all right. I’ll hang with the others.”

He released her to go back to putting on his wetsuit. She
walked over to sit on the large bed, her gaze on him the whole time, making it
hard for him to concentrate. He almost caught himself as he zipped the suit. He
heard her chuckle, a soft but rich, infectious sound, and he couldn’t help but
smile.

 
“You will pay
for that later,” he threatened with a grin.

“What did I do?”

Her voice sounded innocent enough. And in some ways, she
was. Although he was sure she was aware she affected him in ways no one had
ever done before. Coming to lean against her, her back fell onto the bed. Her
hazel eyes instantly took on a greener shade. He pressed himself against her,
the evidence of what she did to him hard and evident.

“Still want to know what you did?” he muttered.

She seemed amused by his words and wrapped her arms around
his neck. Adjusting his weight to his elbows, he brought one hand to her face,
caressing her cheek.

“If I don’t leave now, I’m going to lock us in this bedroom
for the rest of the afternoon, probably till tomorrow.”

She raised her head and brought her lips to the corner of
his mouth. “That sounds tempting.”

His blood was pounding and the words only intensified the
rush. He looked into her eyes, seeking every trace of emotion. “I’m going to
make love to all of you tonight, Minka. So be sure to be ready.”

She smiled at him, a slow delicious smile. She reached up
and looped his hair through her fingers. “You promise?”

He smiled back, loving the euphoric look on her face. “Do
you like to live on the edge sometimes, Minka?”

“I’ve been doing that for a week now.”

“And how does it feel?”

“Wonderful.”

She barely said the word before his mouth was over hers. The
kiss was reckless, rapacious. The soft, animal-like sounds that came from her
throat went straight to his head.

“Yo, Jay, You got a better offer in there?”

Adam’s voice forced Jason to become aware of his previous
plan with his friend. It would be so easy to tell him to get lost. He would
understand. He glanced down at Minka’s face. Her hazel eyes were dark and
glazed. He felt himself drowning in them. Her hair a tangled mass of thick
curls sprawled against the tan sheet on the bed. She was intoxicating, a
provocative invitation.

Take me; she seemed to say to him.

“I have to go,” he murmured, but made no attempt to move.
Instead, he crushed his mouth to hers once more before pulling away and coming
to his feet. “We’ll finish this later.”

He walked away without looking back with fear that if he
did, he would tell Adam to go away and ravage that sweet body of hers. Instead,
he closed the door quickly behind him and growled at his friend. “Let’s go.”

“Um.”
Adam cleared his throat
uncomfortably.

“This is not for you. So deal with my hard-on.”

“Dude, you are so gone.”

“Except I’m getting laid and you’re not.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“The scale cannot
measure beauty, talent, purpose, life force, possibility, strength, or love.”

Steve Maraboli

The atmosphere was relaxing. Minka stepped onto the patio
with the tray of sliced vegetables. The sun had settled, turning the sky into a
pink flamingo color. She spotted Jason instantly. He stood with a towel wrapped
around his waist, otherwise naked. She stood back and took him in, his handsome
features leaving her breathless as always.

He grabbed a beer and handed it to Keely. As he did so, he
glanced over in her direction. Squaring her shoulders, she stepped into full
view and made her way to Adam with the platter, all along aware of Jason’s
strides toward her, closing the space between them.

“Hungry?” Jason asked, leaning into her for a kiss.

With her friend’s words fresh in her memory, Minka kissed
him back, and didn’t stop until she ran out of air.
“A
little.”

“What would you like?” Adam asked with his easy-going
attitude.

“We are your
chef du jour
,”
Blake said.

Jason placed his hand leisurely on her back, immersing her
into the group. It was him she wanted and ached for, not Blake. She smiled at
the three men, allowed her body to relax in his arms and gave herself
completely to Jason.

Well into the night, after dinner and one too many bottles
of wine, Minka settled between Jason’s thighs. He was sitting on the paved
stones with his back leaning against one of the lounge chairs. Lily started the
outside fireplace and they all sat, laughing and talking.

As Lily made her way back to her chair, Adam reached for her
arm. “Sit with me.”

“No.” Hesitation sounded in the word.

“Are you always this hostile, or is it only to men you are
attracted to?”

She chuckled and seemed to find amusement in his question.
“Let me guess. You’ve always had a big ego, slick.”

He shrugged, not at all perturbed by her observation.
“Pretty much.”

Adam leaned into her friend and ran a long finger over her
arm. Without missing a beat, Lily swiped his hand away and walked past him.
Minka shook her head, amused by the cat and mouse game.

“I’ll talk to Adam,” Jason whispered in her ear.

“No need. Lily can handle him.” She had to give her friend
credit; so far, she appeared unfazed by Adam.

Keely stretched her long, lean body, indicating fatigue. As
she did so, Blake leaned over to place a light kiss on her lips. The sign of
intimacy failed to strike the painful chord Minka carried for so long.

Instead, she rested her head against Jason’s chest. His lips
brushed the side of her neck and her eyes closed at the natural erotic feeling.
She loved when he kissed her like that. It was fast becoming her weak spot.

“Let’s go to bed,” he whispered against her skin before
coming to his feet. He held her hands and helped her to her feet as he did so.

“Calling it a night, bro?” Blake called out to Jason.

Minka heard Blake’s voice, but she chose not to look in his
direction. There was no need.

Jason rubbed a hand over his flat stomach. Sometime during
the night, he had changed into cargo shorts and a cotton T-shirt. “Too much
drinking today,” he said, patting his muscles.
“Up for a game
of hoops tomorrow?”

Blake nodded.

“I heard you played in college, but I bet I can still kick
your ass.”

That brought laughter from Blake. “Bring your best game forward,
man. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your girl.”

* * * *

Jason closed the bedroom door behind him. Minka turned to
face him as he removed his shirt. His deep blue eyes focused on her warm, hazel
ones. The room filled with a tension so deep Jason just wanted to bury himself
inside her. Yet, he stood still and watched her as she moved silently and
closed the space between them.

When she was barely an inch away, Jason’s breath caught in
his throat as she ran a delicate hand over the Roman letters inked on his left
upper shoulder to his forearm. “What does this mean?”

“
Alis
volat propiis
,” he said in perfect
Latin pronunciation. “It means ‘she flies with her own wings’. I got it after
my mother died.”

To his surprise, Minka placed her lips on his shoulder. His
body tensed.

“And this one.”
She touched his
right chest.

“
Filius est pars
patris
,” he said in a dark voice, “
‘A
son is part
of the father’.” A permanent reminder he and his father were one and the same.

Minka lowered her head and placed a slow kiss on his chest.
“What about this one? That’s my favorite.” She ran long fingers on his ribs.

Jason sucked in his breath. “That’s calligraphy.”

“I know,” Minka said with a throaty laugh.

“It means ‘Body of law’ or
Corpus Iuris
in Latin.” A tattoo he got right after graduating law
school.

She pulled away from him and placed her lips on the
calligraphy writing on his ribcage. Jason let out a deep breath. “Minka, you
should stop.”

She stopped kissing him briefly to look at him with a
perplexed look. “Why?”

“Because I’m losing control and I want…”

She caught him off-guard with another lingering kiss. “What
about what I want?”

He met her questioning hazel eyes. She looked enticing
standing in front of him, kissing his naked chest and asking him to take her.
Jason cupped her face in his hands.

“What do you want, Minka? Tell me.” He watched her look
dance slightly with uncertainty. Just as quickly, sureness replaced it. A slow
sensuous smile curved her sexy lips.

“I want to have you Jason, all that you have to give. I
want,” she answered in a deep husky voice.

“I don’t want sex tonight, Minka.”

A puzzled look crossed her face. It dawned on Jason she
thought he was rejecting her. He reached and pulled her against his chest.