Next Song I Sing (NEXT TIME AROUND) (8 page)

Taylor chuckled but made no comment.

“I told you two not to let me go off with a strange man after I drank so much. I can’t believe I made Jasper Wade go somewhere private with me. God, what the man must think,” Chloe said, moaning.

“I would say that depends on what happened between you and him
in private
,” Emma teased.

“Nothing I’m sharing,” Chloe told them firmly. “Mostly Jasper was a perfect gentleman. I will say that the man can certainly kiss. That much is crystal clear in my memory, despite the rest of the conversation being a bit fuzzy.”

“A perfect gentleman? That’s too bad. I thought he looked a little uptight. It probably comes from wearing suits all the time. I bet Jasper doesn’t even own casual clothes. Now Max—Max would have gotten you totally naked and had his way with you in the length of time the two of you were gone,” Taylor said on a laugh. “He asked me out, by the way.”

“Really? Are you going?” Emma asked, excited for her. Max had good vibes. “Taylor, you should. Max looks like a lot of fun.”

“And a lot of trouble,” Taylor said on a laugh. “He’s too young. With a body like his, he’s probably a player. Plus he has more practiced lines than one of those dating reality shows on TV. I don’t need that kind of drama in my life. I can date that type anytime.”

“Wow. Look who’s being cynical now,” Chloe said. “I’m with Emma on this one. You should at least give him a chance. Max plays a mean piano and he sings. He can’t be all bad.”

“You didn’t kiss him on the mouth. I did,” Taylor said wisely. “He was more than amazing. Trust me. That man has kissed a lot of women. Max is a player.”

“That’s too bad you feel that way,” Emma said sadly. “But I kissed him too, and I’d have to agree with the practiced part. I kept it as brief as possible, but he made me vibrate.”

“Thanks Em,” Taylor said with some good-natured venom. “I at least liked the illusion that Max was so taken with me that he would lose his effect on other women.”

Emma laid her hand on Taylor’s chair. “I’m sorry. I should have asked before I shared.”

Taylor looked at Emma’s unrepentant smile. “Cut it out. I’m not competing with you for Max.”

“Well, I intend to date Jasper,” Chloe said seriously, “if he’s still interested after he sees me sober. I’m not nearly so nice in this condition. And the kissing talent must run in the family. If Jasper had tried to get me naked last night, it probably would have worked. He had his hands under my breasts and I thought I was going to hyperventilate waiting for him to slide them up and squeeze.”

Emma and Taylor both laughed, but it was Emma who spoke. “Wonder if there are any more brothers? I’d even settle for a cousin.”

Taylor reached over and patted Emma’s hand in sympathy just before their spa associates came back.

***

Rayonna heard Jasper sneak in the suite and slink off to the bathroom. When he emerged fully dressed, she spoke to him to keep him from just leaving. After making inane conversation with him for five minutes, Rayonna shed her robe and tossed it across the end of Jasper’s bed. Then she slipped out of her gown and walked around naked while he watched.

Sadly, there wasn’t even a flicker of interest in his gaze. The knowledge almost destroyed her, but Rayonna kept her chin up. It had been almost two-thirty in the morning before she’d finally fallen asleep. She wasn’t used to waiting for a lover to come to bed. She was used to them ushering her into it with some speed and enthusiasm.

Jasper Wade had always been the only exception.

She was still quite fond of the man she had married and looked forward to seeing him once a month. He made her feel cared for in a way the other men in her life did not, though she couldn’t remember the last time Jasper seemed very interested in being intimate.

Jasper sighed as he watched Rayonna use the body she was so proud of to try and get a literal rise out of him. It was simply not going to work this morning. He had dreamed of making love to Chloe all night. The memory of Chloe’s lush breasts above his hands made Rayonna’s lean build seem like a child’s to him.

He’d snuck a change of clothes from his closet and locked himself in the bathroom to change, hoping to sneak back out before she woke completely. To his chagrin, Rayonna had been awake, unhappy, and pacing when he’d exited the bathroom.

Whatever he’d originally seen in the woman when they married, it eluded him now as he studied Rayonna’s nude form in all its perfection. Her body looked like a cool marble statue, still as flawless as ever. It just wasn’t as alluring to him as Chloe’s.

If this total lack of interest in Rayonna’s nudity had happened without Chloe’s memory haunting him, Jasper would have been headed to the doctor to have his libido checked. Maybe after a certain age it took more than a naked woman to rouse a man, though he doubted the same was true for Sam, who was his age.

One thing was for certain, the time for tolerating a empty relationship was over. Now he had no choice but to stand his ground and tell Rayonna how it was, how his attitude had changed. He owed that much honesty to both of them.

“So who is the woman, Jasper?” Rayonna asked finally, very unhappy with his guilty expression because it meant there really was a woman. She had only been trying to goad him into a denial.

Her question drew Jasper out of his thoughts of Chloe, only to have to deal with the reality of it.

“There’s no woman yet, Rayonna. I just decided there was never going to be one until I treated this like a real divorce, specifically one where we no longer share a bed. You have the rest of your collection of lovers. I’m sure you won’t miss me,” Jasper told her, believing every word.

Rayonna walked over and pressed her completely naked body against his fully clothed one. “Of course I will miss you, Jasper. There’s no other man like you. Can’t I please have a chance to change your mind? Perhaps once more to celebrate the love we once shared.”

“Sorry—no,” Jasper said firmly, regretting only that he let himself linger too long in an unhealthy situation with his ex-wife. He wasn’t even tempted to take her to bed when there was a woman in this very hotel who kissed him in a way that made him feel like a genuinely sexual person again.

“You’re welcome to come back and visit anytime, but in the future, I’ll be putting you in a separate room,” Jasper said.

Rayonna sighed in frustration. She could hear the resolution in Jasper’s voice. After eight years of marriage and two more of remaining lovers, she well knew Jasper wouldn’t be changing his mind.

She shouldn’t let herself get so bothered by it, Rayonna thought. It was never that difficult to find an attentive man. Jasper wasn’t even her best lover. It was just that he was the most kind, unselfish one. She didn’t really want to lose him completely.

“You are the only real home and family that I’ve ever had,” Rayonna said sadly, walking away from him. “Without you, I have no one who genuinely loves me. I miss belonging to you and find it deeply sad that you no longer want me.”

She pulled on underwear, white shorts, and a pink midriff baring tank top while Jasper watched. Her work as a model suited her and she had a body people appreciated. Part of her initial attraction to Jasper was that he had seemed less affected by her physical appeal than most. But that same reserve was also what had sent her into the arms of a very intense and much more passionate lover several years ago.

Granted, there had been the occasional man over the years even before that, but her complete pleasure in Gregory and a total lack of regret about breaking her marriage vows with him had shocked her. Being caught with her amazing lover in London by the English paparazzi had prompted her to file for divorce. Discretion became impossible once her name had been linked so publicly to her new lover, who had not minded the media’s revelation. For the sake of her world-wide career, Rayonna had known it was not good to be thought of as an awful woman, especially towards one’s own legal husband.

Divorcing Jasper had been the only logical option. She just hadn’t thought of it needing to end her relationship completely.

Though Jasper had continued to sleep with her occasionally, Rayonna knew he had ceased to genuinely care about doing so. Her betrayal had wounded his pride and it had worsened things further between them in bed.

Still, she wasn’t ready to lose all connection. Jasper satisfied her in ways other men did not. Sex with him was her conduit to knowing that no matter where she went in the world, there was always someone she could come home to now and again.

“I’ll have Edgar discreetly move your things to the executive suite. It’s empty this weekend,” Jasper said softly, smiling a little now that he thought the worst of the confrontation was over. He really would like to think he and Rayonna could still have an amicable permanent parting of ways.

“Why must I move? Can’t I just stay in your suite two more days?” she asked. “I really don’t want to have to pack everything up.

Jasper sighed. “I guess that would be okay. I can share Max’s room for that long.”

“If you intend to keep your distance from me and not share my bed, I suppose you’d be okay then if I called and found some other male company?” she asked, hoping to see some sort of regret, some indication that they were not yet done.

Jasper shrugged. “Yes, that would fine, but I would definitely expect you to change rooms if you do. This is my home, such as it is. I have to draw a line on your lovers sleeping in this suite. I gave up on not sharing you two years ago, but I’m not that open-minded about sharing my actual bed. It’s crass of you to even ask.”

Rayonna looked at Jasper, a bit startled by his totally unemotional, matter-of-fact reply. “So you don’t care about who I sleep with now that you don’t want to? You really mean that, don’t you?”

Jasper nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry. I really do. It’s been like that for a long time. I don’t think you’re genuinely surprised, just shocked that I intend to follow though on it.”

Despite his belief he was right, Jasper could tell Rayonna was distressed. And for a moment, one brief moment, Jasper felt a bit sorry for his part in the failure of their relationship. “Look—I’m going to be very busy this weekend, but maybe we can have dinner together before you leave Sunday. I’m hoping we can still be friends going forward.”

Rayonna nodded, swallowing hard. “Okay. Given your resolve, that sounds reasonable. Thank you, Jasper.”

When Jasper walked out of the suite, Rayonna sat on the edge of the bed they had frequently shared. For the first time since their divorce, she actually cried for what she had lost.

***

“I hope you don’t mind having a roommate for a couple of days. Rayonna talked me into letting her stay in my suite until she checks out,” Jasper said.

“Did you tell her it was over?” Max asked.

“Yes. I did. Planning to gloat now?” Jasper asked in return.

“Depends—are you happy about it?” Max queried, seriously interested in the answer.

He and Jasper had reconnected in the last few months that he’d been at the hotel recuperating. It had reminded Max of how much he loved his brother. Regardless of his distaste for his former sister-in-law, he would have always tolerated Rayonna for Jasper’s sake.

Jasper nodded out the window to the pool. “Well, I was fairly happy about it until I saw Chloe by the pool today. Three guys have given her business cards since we sat down to lunch. I seriously doubt they’re trying to hire an accountant though she swears that’s what she does for a real job.”

Max couldn’t help the snicker that escaped. “Did she let any of them stay and talk?”

“No,” Jasper said, frowning. “She dispatched them fairly quickly and went back to talking with Taylor and Emma. Did you see the bathing suit she’s wearing? She’s not even covering it up.”

“Would that be the one-shoulder black shiny number with all the holes that makes a man’s fingers want to go exploring?” Max asked, laughing at the distress on Jasper’s face. “No. I didn’t notice.”

“Like hell,” Jasper swore softly, snarling his lip at Max’s grin. “Everyone with eyes has noticed. Even the women are giving her dirty looks.”

“That’s because of what every male is thinking about Chloe because of that suit,” Max said wisely. “Women are very smart that way, Jasper. Seems like at your age you should know more about that stuff.”

“You are not being helpful,” Jasper stated, glaring at his brother’s widening grin.

“Better stake your claim soon,” Max warned, his voice full of sincerity.

“
Stake my claim?
What do you mean stake my claim?” Jasper demanded, fighting a laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. He wasn’t in high school and hitting on the new girl.

“Honestly. How did you ever get a woman? You have to show up where she is. Be around. Glare at the other guys. You should be out there now by the pool instead of eating lunch with your celibate brother,” Max said, laughing. “I know you’re used to supermodels falling all over you, Jasper. But I don’t think this woman is going to do that. Look, if you’re too busy to pay attention to Chloe today, at least make sure she has your business card too. If she puts them all into a drawing later, you’ll at least have a chance of being the one she picks out to date when she gets tired of waiting for you to make a real move on her.”