From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10) - Lexi Blake Page 0,55

straightening out his clothes. “I suppose you would call it a coping mechanism.”

“Yes, but it’s not one that’s going to make you happy.” From a therapist’s perspective, he knew no one really changed who they were at the core of their being. The choices a person made, those could be changed. Thoughtful decisions could change a path. Jared was trying. “Is this a decision you’re making between what you think is best for your career and what you truly want on a personal level?”

Jared didn’t turn. “Yes.”

Then the solution was simple. Careful inner awareness would bring about the proper conclusion, one Jared would be able to live with. He’d interned with a therapist in high school as part of a work program for inner city kids. It had set him on his path. Even back then, he tried to make careful decisions. “All right. We need to sit down and make a pros and cons list.”

When Jared’s head turned up, there was a little smirk on his face. “And then we’ll assign each item a variable weight.”

Had he really sounded so pretentious? He did believe in the practice, but over the last fifteen years he’d perfected a less technical explanation. “Not everything is even. You can’t look at five cons and two pros and decide to nix an idea if those two pros are deeply important. We can sit down and discuss it if you would like.”

“I would like.” Jared reached into his locker and grabbed his jacket. “Maybe we can talk about it tonight at the club.”

“I’m not going to the club.” He had something else he needed to do. He needed to get out of here and catch Kori. They had some serious talking to do. “It’s almost one in the morning. Why would you go to a club now?”

“We’re not all early risers, brother. Lots of fun things happen after midnight. I’m surprised you decided to hang it up so early. The rest of the club is still hopping.”

He’d overheard Kori telling Sarah she was ready to go home. He meant to stop her in the lobby. It would take her some time to get dressed and Sarah had been in full fet wear. That worked in his favor. “I need to talk to Kori.”

He’d taken his time untying the ropes that had bound her. He’d played with her along the way, pulling the rope taut and then smacking her with it. He’d loved the squeals and the way she’d squirmed. He’d loved running his hands over her pink flesh. But when it was over, he’d gone to get her a robe and she’d disappeared. He’d tracked her down to the bar where he’d heard her talking to Sarah and Mia and made the decision to talk to her outside the club.

They would sit down and discuss what had happened rationally and honestly. He would rationally and honestly explain to her that there was no fucking way he was going to let her go.

Hell no.

“Are you going to talk to her? Or are you going to kiss her?”

“Are you five years old?”

Jared shrugged. “I can’t tease my big brother? Because from where I was sitting you were totally into that girl. Literally, at one point of the evening. I was surprised. I thought you were going to fuck her. I would have.”

“Don’t even talk about it.”

“Sorry, she’s lovely. That Sarah is pretty, too. She’s got a mouth on her. Little brat.”

“Getting into character?” He grabbed his kit.

“Uhm, yeah. Definitely. So why haven’t you and Kori hooked up before?”

He’d thought about this question incessantly since the moment he touched her. “Because I don’t hook up with anyone. I have relationships. Some are shorter than others. My relationship with Kori has been platonic.”

“That didn’t look platonic.”

It hadn’t felt that way either. “It’s something we need to talk about.”

“You’ve liked her before tonight though, right?”

Why was he asking about this? “Like I said, we were friends.”

“Because you didn’t seem happy to find me talking to her,” Jared pointed out.

“Well, I have my reasons for that.” He wasn’t going to bring up his insane curiosity about how they knew one another. Thinking about it made his gut roll with jealousy, and he hated that feeling. There was no logic to it. Even if she’d slept with Jared, it had been long before she’d met him, worked for him, become his friend. It had been another lifetime, but the thought made him want to punch his brother in his perfectly symmetrical face.