Longing for Kayla by Lauren Fraser Page A

winked. “What can I say? I’m a guy—we’re pretty simple.” He tightened his arm around her. The warmth from his bare body radiated through her. Yep, Jesse was definitely all man. She pulled away from him to put a little distance between them. Jesse’s eyebrows scrunched up as he looked at her. “You okay?”
    “Yeah sure.” She laughed nervously and cringed. God, she was pathetic. She knew better than to come anywhere near Chris and Jesse when she was feeling vulnerable. All she needed was to make a complete ass of herself in front of her two best friends and let them see how much she wanted them. She looked at Jesse. Her gaze landed on his muscular chest and swept down his stomach. Wow! She couldn’t take her eyes off the treasure trail that teasingly poked over the top of his jeans.
    “Clearly, I interrupted you getting dressed.” Her voiced hitched when she spoke. Yeah, great job not letting him see how he affects you. “You can go grab a shirt or something if you want, and I can just get started on dinner.”
    “I’m fine,” he replied, still looking at her.
    Kayla glanced around anxiously and was afraid to meet his eyes for fear he would see how much she wanted him. How much she had always wanted him. What had she been thinking coming here? Matt had planted way too many ideas in her head with his ménage suggestions and anger about her relationship with Chris and Jesse. For years she had been able to bury her feelings, but today they bubbled way too close to the surface.
    “Kay.” His tone urged her to look at him.
    Shit.
    “Put a shirt on, man. We get it, you look good, but it’s the middle of freakin’ winter.” Chris’ mocking voice chimed in from behind Kayla. The familiar byplay between the two friends immediately eased some of her tension. Her two best friends, this was exactly what she needed.
    Jesse glared over her shoulder. “Ha ha, you’re so funny.” He stepped toward Kayla and bent down so they were on eye level. “I’m going to finish getting dressed then we’re talking about what happened.” He waited until she nodded. Jesse placed a kiss on her forehead before disappearing down the hallway. With Jesse out of sight, she turned to face Chris. His wide shoulders spanned the hallway. His wet, dark hair gave her an unobstructed view of his green eyes. Oh he was beautiful.
    “So, Kay, what are you doing here? I thought Matt had some big plans this evening for you two?” Chris asked.
    “Hmmpf.” She rolled her eyes. “He had big plans. I just didn’t happen to agree with them. Jesse said something about grabbing a beer?”
    “Sure, of course. Follow me.” Chris led the way into the kitchen. He grabbed two beers out of the fridge, popped the cap and handed one to Kayla. He hoisted himself up onto the counter. “So Matt’s birthday celebration plans for you were a bit of a dud?”
    “Something like that. Let’s just say we broke up and move on, okay?”
    Chris hopped off the counter and came toward her. Anger radiated off his body in waves. “What did that asshole do?” His eyes burned into her. Sheesh, she could see why he was such a good cop, suspects didn’t stand a chance against him in interrogation.
    “Nothing, Chris, I’m fine. Don’t worry. I just realized he is definitely not the guy for me.”
    “Well, he must have done something if it had you running here to us, instead of sticking it out. I know how excited you were about this weekend.”
    Jesse walked into the room before she had a chance to reply. “Why do you always go out with such losers, Kay?”
    Chris glared at him. “Yeah, that’s helpful, Jes.”
    “What? It’s true. You need to date guys who know how to treat a woman properly.”
    “Right, like you guys do? Thanks but I’ve given up on finding that unicorn.”
    Jesse flashed her his devil-may-care-smile and waggled his eyebrows. “I’ve never had any complaints.”
    “I’m sure you haven’t,” she mumbled. This was so not the