Man Crush Monday Read online

  “I’m okay. Let’s go.”

  A rush of affection warms my blood as I think about him being nervous. It’s endearing, and it shows he cares. I like that their opinions matter to him. He can do it though; I am sure of it. Jared Stone is not one to back down from a strong, feisty woman. Trouble is, three of them in one go … I feel a little sorry for him.

  As we step through the gate, Puzzle bounds out of the plants, barking so loud that it hurts my ears as he runs for us, his legs moving so fast that his body can barely keep up.

  Jared stops, obviously thinking he’s about to get mauled by the fat, greying, half-blind pug. “Er …”

  “He’s friendly,” I insist, quickly closing the gate behind us.

  As he nears, Puzzle’s bark turns into an excited yap as he starts dancing around our feet. He sniffs and snuffles at Jared’s leg. My eyes widen, as I know what’s coming but I’m too slow to stop it. He immediately wraps his front paws around Jared’s leg, proceeding to hump it.

  Jared looks down at the dog and then at me, his face set in stony resignation. “Well, this is awkward,” he deadpans.

  I chuckle wickedly and bend, shooing Puzzle down before scooping him into my arms. I shoot Jared a grin. “To be fair, I get that excited around you too.”

  He laughs and reaches over to stroke the dog, who is going loopy in my arms, trying to lick the gorgeous stranger to death.

  My mum and nanna are both chuckling by the time we cross the garden to where they’re sitting. Nanna waves, and I see her eyes assessing every move Jared makes.

  Mum stands and beams over at us. “Excuse the dog. He has no manners.”

  “He could have at least bought me a drink first,” Jared replies, shrugging.

  There’s silence for a few beats, and then we all burst into laughter. I see the tension leave Jared’s shoulders as a smile blooms on his mouth.

  I grip his hand, proudly looking up at him, my free hand wrapping around his forearm as I snuggle against his side. “Guys, this is Jared. This is Mum, Anne. And Nanna, Peggy.” I point to each lady in turn and give his hand a little reassuring squeeze.

  He shoots them a charming, self-assured smile. “Ladies, it’s lovely to meet you. Amy’s told me a lot about you both.” His tone is the professional, polite one he uses whenever I call him at work.

  Nanna’s eyes light up, and she sends him a mischievous smile. “You’re even better-looking than I pictured. And I have a very vivid imagination.” Her tone is flirty, and I roll my eyes.

  “And so it begins,” I groan.

  Jared laughs awkwardly. “Uh, thanks.”

  I chuckle and shoot him an I told you so look. “Just so you remember, this was your idea to come …”

  sixteen

  We’ve been here four hours already, and surprisingly, both Mum and Nanna are actually staying on their best behaviour.

  Jared is doing amazing. He’s holding his own and managing to keep up with the fast stream of conversation, he doesn’t flinch or mention it when Puzzle passes gas, he politely has his palm read by my nanna even though I can see he doesn’t believe a word of what she said. He drinks all the tea they’ve plied him with, and he even has a tour of the garden. He’s just generally being the all-round super-cute, polite, adorable guy I’ve gotten to know over the last five weeks. He’s charmed them completely, and I couldn’t be prouder. He makes my heart melt.

  “We should probably make a move, miss the traffic?” I suggest, looking over at him now.

  He’s currently in the middle of a game of gin rummy with my nanna and losing badly because he has no idea that she’s cheating whenever he looks away.

  “Hmm?” he grunts, chewing on his lip and frowning in concentration at his cards.

  “Leave? We should probably go once you’ve finished that hand,” I reason.

  Mum leans forward. “Oh, can’t you stay the night? I have some burgers in the freezer. I’m sure Jared could drag the barbeque from the shed and get it going?”

  I scrunch my nose in apology. “We can’t, Mum.”

  “Ha! Rummy!” Nanna shouts, slapping her cards down on the table and smugly pointing at Jared. “Loser!”

  He laughs and shakes his head. “How did you beat me five times in a row?” He looks at her cards and frowns, moving them around to see what she had. “And how did you get four aces again? Did you shuffle them properly from last time?” His forehead creases with a frown, and I can tell the suspicion is starting to dawn on him now.

  Nanna’s eyes sparkle with mischief as she shrugs in answer, puckering her wrinkled lips and reaching down to stroke the dog who’s fast asleep on her bony lap.

  Mum cocks her head to the side. “Jared, what do you think?”

  He drags his gaze away from the cards and looks from Mum to me and back again, his expression blank. “Sorry, Anne, what did I miss?”

  Mum smiles. “Amy said you have to leave now. But I’ve just suggested you two should stay the night. I’ll make us some dinner. You could just go home tomorrow. Saves you from rushing off tonight in the dark.”

  “Mum, we can’t.” I butt in. “Jared has stuff he needs to do tomorrow morning for work. That’s why we said we would just come for the day,” I lie quickly. It is something I prepared for this exact occasion. We planned on a short visit, and I knew she would ask us to stay, but I don’t want to push my luck too far.

  “Oh”—Jared looks at me—“I don’t mind.”

  I raise one eyebrow incredulously because he’s going off-script. “But what about your work stuff?”

  A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. “I can just do it in the afternoon.”

  “Well, we didn’t bring a change of clothes or anything.” I try a different tactic.

  I would be okay. I have spare stuff here for emergencies, but Jared literally only has what he is wearing. Surely, he doesn’t really want to spend the night?

  “I’ll just wear this stuff again tomorrow,” he replies casually.

  I glance back at my mum, seeing her joyful smile, and decide to try and give him one last opportunity to say so if he doesn’t want to stay. “I only have a single bed here.”

  His eyes glimmer with amusement at my list of excuses. “Then, I guess we’ll be sleeping pretty close.”

  He raises one eyebrow, and I feel the smug twitch of his lips like a jolt between my thighs.

  Mum claps her hands and stands with a triumphant smile. “That settles it then! Jared, can you be a dear and go into the shed and pull out the barbeque?”

  A confused frown creases his forehead. “Barbeque? It’s the end of October,” he says incredulously, as if the time of year makes any difference.

  Like I said before, we’re outdoor garden people. Even in the rain, my mum and nanna will sit out, just under their gazebo.

  Mum scoffs, “What difference does that make?”

  Jared doesn’t answer, just stands up and nods. “Shed is that way?” he asks, pointing at the end of the garden as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  “I’ll go sort the burgers,” Mum says, heading off towards the house, calling Puzzle to go with her.

  Nanna gathers up the playing cards, her beady eyes flicking to me. “Is he a Gemini?”

  I shake my head. “Nope, Libra,” I confirm.

  She purses her lips in thought and then shrugs. “A Libra, really? Hmm, interesting.” Then, she leans in and grins at me. “He looks at you like you’re his dinner. It gives me chills.”

  “I know, right?” Laughing, I sit back and watch across the garden as he struggles to haul the large gas barbeque through the small shed door. I love the way Jared looks at me; it gives me chills too. “I’d better go help him.” I push myself up from the table and walk to his side, pulling open the door wider and helping him line up the machine so it has millimetres of space to clear the door.

  When we finally get it outside, he smiles over at me and then nods back towards the table as he takes my hand and pulls me flush agains
t his body. “How am I doing with them?” he whispers, his eyes tight with worry.

  I smile reassuringly. “You’re killing it.”

  A wide grin spreads across his face as he steps closer to me and plants a noisy kiss on my lips before proceeding to drag the barbeque a safe distance from the shed, so he can light it.

  While he’s busy connecting the gas bottle up, I head inside to help Mum. She’s slicing burger buns in half on a chopping board, a couple of boxes of supermarket burgers ready on the counter.

  Mum smiles at me as I walk to her side. “He’s wonderful.”

  A dreamy sigh drops from my lips as I lean a hip against the counter. “Isn’t he?”

  She clears her throat. “But …”

  I flinch, looking over at her, shocked. “There’s seriously a but?”

  There are no buts where Jared is concerned.

  Mum nods, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she holds her finger and thumb a sliver apart. “Just a really little one. It’s just … he’s so different to your usual guys. He’s lovely and polite and extremely good-looking. But you usually go for the life and soul of the party, the one you have to compete with for attention. You’re an extrovert through and through; he’s more of an introvert. I’m not saying you’re not suited because I can see you get on like a house on fire, and you clearly adore each other. But from what you’ve always told us about him, I was expecting someone distinctly quirkier.”

  I nod in understanding and shrug. Jared isn’t the waste of space, idiotic man-child I’d normally bring home; she’s right. “I suppose he’s a little different to my usual picks, yes.”

  She purses her lips and looks at me. I can tell she’s reading my mood to gauge my feelings. She always does this. She doesn’t even really need to ask how I’m feeling; it’s probably written clear as day on my face for her.

  “But you’re happy. He makes you happy.” It’s a statement, not a question.

  A content sigh leaves my lips. “He makes me really happy. I’m so in love with him.” It’s all I can think of to say, and it’s the truth. I fell in love with him on that train, and it’s only grown stronger as time has passed.

  Her eyes shine with emotion as she steps forward and cups my cheek. “And that is all a mother ever wants to hear. Like I said, he’s wonderful. Forget I even said a but.” She picks up the boxes and motions to the door. “Come on then. Let’s go eat.”

  A couple of hours later, Nanna excuses herself off to bed, and Mum stands and starts stacking up the empty plates and glasses we didn’t bother to clear away from dinner earlier in the evening.

  “It’s getting a bit chilly and damp in the air now. I’m going to go to bed. You two should move inside,” Mum says.

  I nod. I’m ready for bed now too. I’m always up for that when Jared is around. “I think we’ll probably just go to bed too.”

  I pick up the two empty wine bottles we managed to polish off tonight. Well, I say we, but it was mostly my mum and nanna. Jared and I only had a glass and a half each.

  Jared reaches out, closing his hand over my mother’s wrist when she goes to lift the stack of plates. “I’ll take that, Anne. You get yourself off to bed. Amy and I will wash up.”

  I raise one eyebrow at him. “That’s a bit of an assumption to make about me.”

  He grins. “Sorry. Correction: I’ll wash up, and Amy will supervise while watching my butt, like she usually does.”

  I nod, giggling because I didn’t know I’d ever been caught looking at his bum when he washed up. “Better.”

  Mum yawns. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” Jared stands and picks up the dirty dishes, striding confidently to the house without another word.

  “He’s a keeper, that one,” Mum says when we’re alone, winking at me before leaning in and planting a kiss on my cheek.

  I glow with warmth despite the chilly air and follow her inside. In the kitchen, I watch as she goes on tiptoes and grips Jared’s shoulders, pulling him down so she can kiss his cheek too.

  He’s got soapsuds up to his elbows, and he is in the middle of scrubbing a plate, but I see him swell with pride as he grins at her.

  I pick up a tea towel and dry the stuff as he passes it to me, putting it away in a bid to get to bed quicker. When we’re finally finished, I smile seductively, and we make an escape for my bedroom.

  His warm, soft hands are on my waist, under my jumper, and his mouth is nuzzling at my neck, making my tummy flutter in anticipation of some naked snuggling with him as we stumble across the lounge towards the back hallway where the bedrooms are located. As we round the corner, Mum is just stepping out of the only bathroom down the hall. She’s already in her silk pyjamas. One of her eyebrows rises, and she holds up a hand to halt us.

  “I obviously don’t mind you two staying the night together, and what you do in the privacy of your own homes is none of my business. But under my roof, I don’t want to hear any sex,” she states. She turns to Jared and points at his crotch. “If I do, I’ll put a curse on your penis, and it’ll shrivel and drop off. And don’t think I can’t do it.”

  Jared laughs, his hand gently stroking my back. “Understood.”

  “G’night, Mum.” I roll my eyes and tug on his hand, pulling him into my small box room. There’s barely any space for furniture in here, just a bed, wardrobe, and a shelf that I use as a dressing table.

  His eyes roam around, settling on my single bed, and a small smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “You weren’t kidding about the bed.”

  Reaching for the bottom of my jumper, I tug it off over my head and drop it on the floor. His eyes darken immediately and drop to my breasts covered only in a pink lacy bra. My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I reach for him, but surprisingly, he steps back, accidentally bumping against the door because the space is so tight.

  He shakes his head. “Oh no, I’m not risking a shrivelled dick.”

  Ignoring his protest, I begin to open the fly on my jeans, my fingers lingering teasingly across my tummy and hips. I can see the pained, wanting expression on his face. “She only said she didn’t want to hear it. We’ll be quiet.”

  He scoffs, shooting me a smug smile, “Baby, you can’t be quiet.” Before I can push my jeans down over my hips, he steps forward, wrapping his arms around me. “Don’t. For Christ’s sake, don’t. I can’t handle it.” He closes his eyes and holds me against him.

  I chuckle at the needy quiver in his voice. “Seriously? She was only joking around.”

  He nods, kissing the top of my head. “Yes, seriously. Not tonight. Come on; I’m doing so well. Let me at least respect her rules. If you take off those jeans, I’m going to fuck you, and she’ll hear it—believe me. The whole damn street will hear it and know my name.”

  The promise and sexy growl in his voice, coupled with his thickening arousal I can feel against my tummy, forces a needy whimper from my lips. I groan, looking up at him to check that he’s serious. Unfortunately, he is.

  I pull back and sigh heavily, my disappointment crushing. “Fine, but you’re making it up to me tomorrow.”

  “Without a doubt.” He swats my behind, and I flush with pleasure.

  I awkwardly step around him in the tight space and pull open a drawer in my wardrobe, finding the spare pyjamas I keep here. “I’ll go get changed in the bathroom. I need to take my make-up off anyway.”

  I don’t wait for an answer as I slip from the room, pulling my top on over my head as I go. In the bathroom, I change and do my business. By the time I get back to my bedroom, Jared is in bed and has turned off the light. I stop in the doorway, looking through the gloom at this huge beast of a man stretched out on my childhood bed. His feet protrude from the end, and he takes up three-quarters of the space. It’s surprisingly sexy.

  Sighing, I close the door and traipse over to the bed. “I take it, I’m against the wall?” I guess, reaching out in the dark to feel he’s lying at the edge of the bed.

  “You want me to?
I don’t mind; it’s just that you usually sleep on my left side,” he replies, shifting to the side.

  I put my hand on his bare chest and halt his movements, secretly loving that I have a usual side. “It’s fine.”

  I lift a leg, accidentally kicking him as I manoeuvre over the top of him, both of us laughing and me pretending not to notice how turned on he is still. As I settle down at his side, trapped between his hot, hard body and the wall, his arms wrap around me, pulling me against him as his leg tangles with mine.

  When he kisses me, I smile against his lips. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

  He chuckles and pulls back.

  Light creeps in from under the door and through the crack in the curtains, so I can just about make out his face in the murky darkness as he strokes a hand through my hair.

  I close my eyes, sleep calling me already as I snuggle against him, loving the feel of his body against mine. He smells divine. I want to crawl inside his skin and live there.

  Suddenly, he lets out a heavy sigh.

  I blink up at him. “Are you okay?”

  He dips his head, pressing a soft kiss against my forehead. “Yeah. I was just lying here, thinking.”

  “Did you hurt yourself?” I joke, running my hands down his back, stopping just before I get to the waistband of his boxer shorts, trying to respect his boundaries tonight.

  He huffs a laugh, his hold on me tightening. “Amy, I know we’ve only been together for five weeks, and that’s not very long really. But I just gotta tell you … being with you is like falling down a rabbit hole. It’s disorientating and scary but exhilarating. I have no idea how deep that hole is—maybe I’ll just keep falling forever—but I really can’t wait to find out.”

  I gulp at his sweet words, emotion hitting me and making my eyes prickle with tears. “Jared …” I breathe.

  “I love you,” he adds.

  The three words from his mouth hit me like a punch directly to the heart. He loves me. My mouth pops open in shock, and my fingers dig into his back. I wasn’t prepared. I had no idea how incredible those three simple words could sound until that moment.