My Only Regret (Twisted Fate Book 1) by Rhonda James

he saw that I hadn ’ t taken him up on his challenge he slowed down and waited for me to catch up. Even after sweating he still smelled amazing. The musky smell of his sweat, mixed with his cologne, did something to set off my hormones. I had to get out of here. After we'd gone two miles I’d had enough.

    “ This is where I turn around. ” I said, stopping abruptly.

    “You’re quitting already?” he teased.

    “Yeah well, if you hadn’t already noticed I am not in the best physical shape. I don’t enjoy exercise but I make myself do it because I enjoy food.” I replied smartly before bending over and wrapping my arms around my thighs. The stretch felt great, and when I stood up I noticed Jesse watching me intently before he began to stretch. I chewed on my bottom lip and cocked my head to the side.  

    “Can I ask you something personal?” I asked, while in mid-lunge.

    “Sure, ask me anything.” He shrugged nonchalantly before continuing to stretch out his hamstring. He was wearing a tank top and shorts. The tank cut low under his arms and showed off the toned skin of his chest and ribcage. In that shirt I was able to see the tattoos that had been ingrained on my memory. On the right side of his body was a fire-breathing dragon, which was an incredible shade of green dotted with red and gold flecks. The head reached over his right shoulder, flames from its mouth spilled down his back, the body covered most of the right side of his chest and the tail wrapped around his ribcage with the point of it ending at the waist of his gym shorts. It was so beautifully created that I couldn’t help but want to reach out and trace all of the dark lines within it. There were symbols on the back of his left bicep that appeared to be Hebrew, although I wasn’t sure what they said. Then on his right bicep he had the band’s logo from their first album cover, a ribbon of letters that spilled from a broken heart and twisted around the neck of a guitar, all in glorious shades of red, black, blue, and white, and every time he flexed his arm the heart appeared to be pulsing. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. He caught me staring and broke the spell.

    “Rhyann? You wanted to ask me something?”

    “Oh yeah, right. Sorry. What is the purpose of having so many women in your bed? Are you keeping a private tally or something?”

    A strangled sound erupted from his throat as a pained expression clouded his beautiful face. “What the hell kind of question is that? I thought you were going to ask me about running or something. Damn Rhyann.” he shook his head, obviously annoyed by my bluntness.

    “What? I think it's an appropriate question. I work for you. We are friends. You asked me to help you detox. I’m just trying to figure out why they are there in the first place."

    He chuckled and placed his hands on his hips. “Yeah, surprisingly enough given our history, I would consider us friends.” We stared at each other for a moment, both of us holding our breath. He turned his head and kicked at a clump of grass with the toe of his shoe before speaking again. “I guess I have a lot of women in my bed because I like variety. It’s a form of release. I get bored easily.”

    I raised my eyebrows in shock, not expecting that kind of honesty. “You get bored easily? Wow. Don’t you ever think about their feelings?”

    “I think plenty about their feelings when we’re having sex, and I'm very attentive." His eyes challenged me to argue that point, but I didn't because it would have been a lie. "After that, I don’t think about them at all.” He stated, flatly, then walked to a nearby bench and sat down.  

    Not gonna lie, that hurt a little.

    “Oh, and am I to assume that they are satisfied with that arrangement?” I plopped down next to him, not deterred by his hurtful response.

    “I haven’t had any complaints.” His brow rose to an alarming height and he feigned a scowl.

    “That you know of,” I