To Love Jason Thorn (Page 48)

Following Megan’s instructions, I stood back a little and did my best to keep a genuine smile on my face.

I couldn’t even fool myself into thinking he just didn’t like PDA; the guy had been pictured in way worse situations. I couldn’t even count how many photos I’d seen throughout the years where his tongue was down the throat of some actress or model.

Evidently, he really did see me as nothing more than a friend. Hell, even I could’ve done a much better job at kissing my friend.

“You’re not smiling. Smile,” Megan warned me from her spot next to me.

I showed her my teeth and she sighed, shaking her head.

When Jason was done with all the interviews, the time came for him to join his costars for the group shots.

Close to the finish line, right? After the most disappointing kiss in history, what else could happen that would ruin a beautiful night even more than it already had been?

Jennifer Widner could happen, folks. And she actually did happen. She appeared out of nowhere and took her place next to Jason and their other costars. She could’ve stood next to any of the others, but, nope, she chose Jason, and she put her hand on his chest just like I had done minutes before.

Imagine my surprise when she caught my eye and winked at me.

I was standing way off to the side so I couldn’t see Jason’s face to tell if he had seen her wink. They posed for a ton of pictures and when Jason came back to my side, he still had his dimpled smile on his face.

Me? Not so much.

***

At the end of the night, after all the craziness had ended, we made it to our hotel room in one piece. I bid Megan a good night and thanked her for all her help. Without her firm instructions, I would’ve looked like a fish out of water, at least more than I already had.

After Jason and I entered our suite and he made sure to lock the door, I put a few paces between us and looked at him with a tired smile on my face. “It was a beautiful night, Jason. Thank you for everything.” Not exactly sure what I should do, I put my hand on his arm, hesitated for a moment, and then leaned up to give him a soft kiss on his cheek.

When I backed away, his dimple was out to play, but I was done for the night. I didn’t even have enough strength to appreciate the way he was looking at me, his eyes traveling my body from head to toe, or how good he looked with his shirtsleeves all rolled up, or how…the list went on. Reaching down, I pulled my heels off my feet and winced in pain.

My feet were gone. Dead.

“You never said what you thought about the movie.”

“Oh, I didn’t? Sorry. It was amazing. You were great. Thank you for bringing me here.”

His smile brightened his face.

Lifting the shoes up in a wave as I backed up, I said, “I’m heading to bed, so goodnight. And again, thank you Jason.” He’d had the security check every inch of the suite so I knew we were fan-free that night, which meant I had no reason not to sleep in my very own room.

His brows drew together. “You’re going to bed, now?”

“Megan said our flight changed and we’re leaving early tomorrow.” I shrugged. “Also my feet are killing me, so yes, I’m ending the night.” I gave him another small wave and turned around, but his voice stopped me before I could escape.

“You’re sleeping in there?” His voice wasn’t exactly harsh, but it wasn’t as soft as it had been seconds before either.

I looked over my shoulder. “Yeah. Goodnight Jason.”

Striding directly to the bathroom, I filled the magnificent clawfoot tub with hot water, took off my equally magnificent dress, and sighed with relief as soon as my toes sunk into the water.

***

In the middle of the night, I woke up when I felt something moving in my bed. For a second, I was confused, but then I realized it wasn’t a dream. I screamed and tossed the covers at whoever was in my bed—as if that would be enough to scare away the intruder—and rolled away to jump down and somehow get to Jason.

When a strong hand landed on my stomach and dragged me back against a hard chest, I lost my breath.

“Stop yelling,” Jason grumbled behind me.

“Jason?” I whispered. “Jason!”

My heart still beating against my throat, I slapped at his hand where it still laid on my stomach and yelled a bit more just for good measure.

“Are you crazy? I almost had a heart attack.”

“How would I know you would wake up?”

“What do you mean how would I know you would wake up?” I tried to roll over to face him, but his arm tightened around my waist and drew me closer against him.

This time I lost my breath for an entirely different reason.

“Don’t move. I’m trying to sleep.”

“Oh, and what did it look like I was doing? Cartwheels?”

When he just grumbled under his breath and otherwise kept silent, I asked, “What are you doing here, Jason? Couldn’t you have knocked and woken me up before you crawled into my bed? I thought one of your crazy fans was in bed with me, thinking I was you!”

“Well, it wasn’t. It’s just me. What the hell is that noise?”

“What? Oh, crackling fire and wind in the trees.”

“Crackling fire and…wind…in the trees,” he repeated.

“Yes.” I turned my head to look at him over my shoulder. He was giving me a ‘you’re out of your goddamned mind’ look. “What? It relaxes me before I fall asleep,” I said, taking offense.

“Can you sleep without it?”

“Of course. I just like listening to it.”

My body was all stiff, but his hand caressing my arm slowly helped me relax and settle back into him.

He put his chin on my shoulder and eyed my phone where it sat next to my pillow. His hot breath was tickling my neck, but for the most part I managed to stay still.

“The wind is kinda creepy, Olive.”

“I can change it to rain.”

Pressing his face deeper into my neck, he chuckled.

“Let’s hear that one.”

Quickly, I stopped the wind and changed it to ‘rain on roof’.

He hummed to himself for a few seconds then approved. “I like this combo much better.”

“There is waterfall or ocean, too.”

“No, keep the rain and your crackling fire. Do you remember how you used to sit by your window and listen to the rain with your eyes closed?”

“Of course I do.” But how did he?

“You always had a smile on your face when you did that, your mind miles away. Your mom used to get so frustrated with you when you walked out in the rain without an umbrella. You got sick every single time, but nothing could stop you.”

“Yeah,” I agreed in a thick voice. “And I remember you trying to stall her whenever you saw me trying to sneak out without her noticing.”

“Well, it’s hard to trick your mom. It’s a two-man job.”

We were silent for a while after that.

“I think the AC in my room is broken. I didn’t see the need to call someone up just to check out what’s wrong when we have another perfectly warm room.”

“So…?”

“So, we have to share the bed for another night. You can go back to sleep now.”

“I can still hear my heartbeat, Jason. I’m pretty sure I won’t be going back to sleep any time soon.”

“Let me see,” he whispered, and suddenly his hand was moving upward from my stomach toward my heart.