Chapter 49

Jadon wasn't stunned. No. Scratch that. That was too tame a word to describe what he felt. His brain had literally gone offline the moment Tapiwa mentioned her intention to stay under his roof.

Which was probably why they were now in his living room, and he had no idea how they had moved from the door.

An awkward silence stretched as they both just stood there, surrounded by his furniture and the heavy scent of whisky in the air as though Jadon had somehow bathed the room in it before she arrived.

Given the state he had been in when her knocking woke him up, he wasn't sure he hadn't soaked some of his furniture in alcohol. He probably should check but he couldn't bring himself to care at that very moment.

All his attention was on the woman. Jadon noticed that Tapiwa looked around the living room with mild curiosity, but mostly she just looked exhausted and ready to drop.

However, she hadn't taken a seat. Not that he had offered one. She just stood there, next to her rather large suitcase with her arms folded over her chest, her bottom lip abused between her teeth as her eyes darted around. It was like watching a cornered animal.

Several conflicting emotions raced through him. Jadon drew a deep breath and released it quietly. His brain was still a little too pickled for any serious conversation or thinking. Hell, it was hard for him to even keep his thoughts straight. For heaven's sake, a good section of his brain was kind of excited that Tapiwa was under his roof and would be sleeping in his bed.

No. Jadon mentally shook his head and quickly corrected that last part. Tapiwa would be sleeping in the spare room, not his bed. Yes, they'd had sex- more than once, and that was exactly why they were both in so much trouble. Jobless and about to be skinned alive by their own families.

Really, if they had an ounce of self-preservation left, they would stay the hell away from each other, Jadon thought even as he ignored how the rest of his body felt about Tapiwa's close proximity.

Just then, as though reading his mind, at least the inappropriate part, Tapiwa suddenly met his gaze with a narrowed glare. "Fine. I guess this will do, but I have some rules."

Jadon felt his eyebrows chase his hairline. He suddenly choked on his saliva and had to clear his throat before he attempted to ask, "This will do? Gee I'm so glad you approve of your only option of accommodation."

Tapiwa's nostrils flared in obvious anger and Jadon wasn't sure if he found that cute or irritating. He blamed his confused thoughts on the matter on the alcohol still clearly swimming in his bloodstream.

Speaking of which, Jadon shook his head and made his way toward his kitchen. His mouth still tasted as though something had crawled onto his tongue and died there. He also had a pounding headache behind his eyes and knew he needed water to hydrate his body back to normalcy.

Tapiwa's hurried footsteps were right behind him. "I said I had rules," she insisted.

"Yes, of course," Jadon deadpanned over his shoulder. "Let's hear them." He reached for a bottle of water in his fridge, twisted the top off, and swallowed a third of the bottle before he turned around and looked at the woman who had turned his life upside down again. Only then did he realize that she had been quiet instead of giving him her ten commandments. And he quickly realized why.

Tapiwa's eyes were taking in his moderate, yet modern kitchen with all the chrome and black electrical appliances he never really had the time to use with his busy work life as a CEO. Which he wasn't anymore. The thought hit him again and made his stomach churn as though he had just gulped down acid instead of plain water.

Now irritated and needing to get away for a few hours before he faced what was left of his life, Jadon waved an impatient hand at Tapiwa, snapping her attention back to him. "Your rules, your majesty?"

It seemed an intoxicated brain and anger made a terrible combination for the words that left his mouth, but unfortunately for Tapiwa, he didn't care. He just snapped his fingers in her flaring face and told her to get on with it.

Tapiwa gave a loud sigh as though resigned to her fate. She folded her arms across her chest again. "There will be no sex."

Jadon realized his mistake a second too late. He quickly lowered the bottle of water, his body already wrapped in a fit of coughs as his lungs tried to expel the water he had accidentally inhaled.

"Fuck!" Jadon leaned forward, hand braced against the island. Water dripped down his chin and nose. His eyes watered and he had to blink several times before he realized that Tapiwa had moved closer and was about to touch him.

Jadon jumped back before she made contact. "No!" he stated, before coughing some more.

"I just wanted to pat your back," Tapiwa said, sounding almost offended.

Jadon shot her a glare. He wiped at the mess on his face with the back of his hand, tossing the almost empty bottle of water into the sink. "I think you have done enough," he snapped.

A beat passed. Tapiwa narrowed her eyes. "What is that supposed to insinuate?"

"Simple." Jadon didn't miss a beat. "You are hazardous to my health. You have been in my house less than half an hour and already I am about to hack up a lung and a kidney."

"It's not my fault you don't know how to swallow."

Jadon quickly pressed his lips together to prevent the words that rushed to his tongue from tumbling out. His head was still a little fuzzy, less now that he was forced to think so much, but even at less than a hundred percent, he knew not to take the bait of her words and say what had immediately popped into his mind.

So, instead, after a handful of seconds, he asked, "No sex?" That's your rule?" Surprisingly, although Jadon had reached the same conclusion not ten minutes before, he still felt as though the rule she suggested scraped against his sensitive skin like sandpaper.

Tapiwa took a step away from him. "Yes," she stated firmly. "We are not in a relationship. I will cook and clean since I can't currently contribute financially. But that is all I am willing to do. I will not have sex with you just so I have a roof over my head."

"Damn," Jadon chuckled and shook his head. "Sounds like you gave it some real thought. Did you plan the speech on your way here? Maybe you wrote it down on a piece of paper?"

"Don't mock me."

"That's impossible. You are mocking yourself by being so naïve. You do realize that lust and passion don't just come out of a tap in the sink, right? You can't just turn it off and in case you missed it We have it in spades."

Tapiwa's jaw clenched and twitched. She lifted her chin defiantly. "Well, I can."

For some reason, those words rubbed Jadon the wrong way. "Well, you are in luck." He gave her a toothy smile. "I had no plans to touch you. Sleeping with you has brought me more than enough problems and I would like to keep the little sanity I have left."

Tapiwa's mouth fell open. She blinked at him and actually had the audacity to look offended, much to Jadon's amazement. "Are you are you?" she spluttered.

Jadon cut her off with a hand in the air. "Please, just shut up. I have had all I can handle for today." With that, he turned toward the hallway and stumbled his way out of the kitchen, glad his legs had enough strength and coordination to get him to his destination without further humiliation.

He was halfway to his room when he threw over his shoulder with all the sarcasm he could muster. "Oh, make yourself at home, darling."