He leaned in and whispered, “Believe me, sweetheart, that’s no secret to me.” He pulled back, a deviant smirk tempting his lips. “Either I cosign, or I’ll inform Mr. Jefferson’s superiors that if they proceed with your loan, I’ll be forced to end all business with this bank.”

“You’re kidding!” My jaw fell open, completely appalled at the length he’d go to.

“I never joke about finances. Now what will it be?” He knew he left me with no choice, and the twinkle in his eye rubbed it in.

I wanted nothing more than to escape that room and find another bank for help, but it wasn’t worth all the trouble. “Fine, cosign the damn loan.”

“Fantastic. Now go home, and I’ll have Mr. Jefferson draw up the papers for me to bring by later for you to sign.” His hand landed on the small of my back to lead me to the door.

“What? No, I’m staying. I haven’t told him how much money I need.”

“How much?”

“I was hoping for five or ten.”

“That’s all, ten thousand dollars?” He let out an arrogant snort, and I wanted to reach out and slap the smug grin off his face.

“Yes, to most people who aren’t egotistical asses, that’s a lot of money.” I planted my hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes.

“Forgive me. It’s just frustrating that most women I’ve met would be asking for that amount for a new handbag and would eagerly accept cash from me at their first chance. You astonish me, sweetheart.” His fingers swiped the tendril of hair that at some point had fallen over my eyes.

I flushed. He must’ve dated a lot of gold diggers. I shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Material items won’t make me happy, so your money has never mattered to me.”

“Yes, which is one of the many reasons why I love you.”

“Logan, don’t.” I whispered my plea. I couldn’t hear that, and he knew it.

He tugged my stiff arms from my hips and held them against him.

“Shhh, go home. I’ll have the loan drawn up and bring it by in the morning.”

“All right,” I relented in a ghostly whisper. There was no winning this.

He leaned in and placed a kiss to my cheek. “Don’t forget the package for Jax. Remember: in his hands. The last thing I need is for Natasha to get ahold of it. He knows you’re coming. I messaged him earlier.”

I nodded and walked out, giving Mr. Jefferson a pitiful goodbye in the process.

A text chirped my phone to life the minute I pulled into my driveway, and I couldn’t help but smile as I read it.

You are a stubborn and enigmatic woman, Miss Clarke!

I smiled to myself again, rereading Logan’s words.

Not as stubborn as you, Mr. West!

I dumped the phone in my bag and stepped out of my car to find Jax’s flashy convertible parked in Logan’s driveway. The envelope was hidden at the bottom of my purse. I didn’t know what was in it, but felt it was safer to keep it on me.

Buttoning my coat, I trudged across my yard through the melting snow and cut through the bushes to Logan’s yard. When I reached the front door, I rang the doorbell.

“Come in!”

It sounded like Jax, and Logan had said he was expecting me, so I opened the unlocked door and strolled right in. I didn’t see Oliver anywhere, so I assumed he was still out with Julia and Natasha. I figured Jax was probably playing video games, or whatever else nineteen-year-old boys did.

“Hey, Logan asked me to give this to you,” I called out, following the muffled voices to the kitchen.

“Harder! Damn it, Jax, Harder!”

“Like that, baby?” a needy growl answered, its voice forceful, freezing me in place as my gaze hit upon Jax pistoning his hips into the lean body of a redhead bent over Logan’s granite countertop.

“Oh my God!” I jumped back, whirling around, and slapped my hand over my eyes.

“Hey, Cassie!” he panted. “Logan said you had the instructions for me.”

He was not serious! Time to leave.

I threw the envelope down on the counter, and caught it slide to the floor from the corner of my eye.

Crap. Logan said it was important.

Assuming Jax had the decency to cover himself, or at least cease and desist, I ran forward and snatched it up from the floor, holding my hands over the side of my face, blocking my eyes when I heard the mystery girl cry out.

“Yes! Like that! Don’t stop!”

Oh, for the love of God.

“Here, take it!” I demanded, holding my hand out in front of me, my mouth pursed, with my other hand still shielding my closed eyes as backup.

I heard Jax chuckle, and then felt the envelope being removed from my grasp.

“You’re a pig, Jax. And you, miss, should have a little more respect for yourself!” I yelled as I stomped out of the room.

“I thought you said she was coming to watch,” the hussy said.

“Guess not.” Jax chuckled louder.

The woman must not have minded my judging, based on the breathless moan that followed.

I slammed the front door shut behind me as I heard Jax yell, “Come on, Cassie! Don’t be mad! It was just a joke!”

Mad did not even begin to describe my emotions. I was furious and embarrassed for the girl who, from the glance I had of her, looked no older than eighteen.

My phone fumbled through my fingers as I pulled it out and hit Logan’s number.

“Cassandra, what a surprise. Are you calling about the loan? Because it’s—”

“No, I’m calling to let you know the next time you need a favor, ask someone else!”

“What happened? Did Jax say something to you?” His voice was ice.

“No, but that was because he was too busy screwing some bimbo! And by the way, don’t ever expect me to eat anything served off your kitchen countertop!” I hung up and tore open my front door, storming inside.

It was past five so I called Hilary, hoping she was home from school and not out with Caleb already. I needed someone to vent to about what I’d just witnessed. I shouldn’t have been surprised when the girl couldn’t stop laughing about Jax’s little rendezvous. Other than asking if I’d seen anything noteworthy, which I hadn’t, she thought I was overreacting.

The more time I had to cool down and think about it, maybe I was, but Jax could’ve at least stopped his thrusts for a moment. The girl, whoever she was, had no shame. I had no idea where the West men found their sluts, but I hated to think they all came from Harmony.

“He’s young and just trying to get a rise out of you,” Hilary said through her laughter.

“Well, it worked.”

“So, enough about the younger neighbor. I’m still waiting to hear how the date went with the older one—you know, the guy you spent all yesterday getting ready to blow away with the night of his life. Was it as good as you hoped?”

“Things didn’t exactly go as planned,” I answered, sinking further into my couch.

“What? Why?”

“Because he figured out my vagina was waxed raw. Not really the night I had planned.”

“Didn’t she give you some balm? Shit, I totally forgot about that.”

“Yes, I had the damn balm. It doesn’t matter, I’m over it and don’t really want to talk about it at the moment.”