Reason by Allyson Young Read Free Book Online

and found her in John’s arms at the front door. Well, John actually had one arm around her, supportive-like, but a wave of anger swept over him. John was more than an employee, he was a friend, and his friend was cuddling Jamison’s woman.
    John’s eyes met his, and Jamison stopped dead in his tracks. Holy shit, John was looking at him with disappointment and a touch of anger. Ivone was already turning his household on its head. He knew she was bad news, standing there in his shirt, looking like a little girl immersed in her mother’s wedding gown. He must have had a brain aneurysm in the night. A wedding gown. He was delusional. This had to stop.
    “What is going on here?” he heard himself ask, in a melodramatic tone he remembered from some B movie.
    John spoke over Ivone’s head, for she refused to look at him.
    “I found Ms. Mendes-Rodrigues in the front closet, sir, searching for her coat. If you recall, you brought her home last night, uh, uncovered, and she can hardly leave without it. I called her a cab, and when I tried to help her on with her coat, I noticed blood on her, uh, your shirt.”
    Jamison winced and knew John saw it. That, then, was the reason for his disappointment and anger. It looked as though Jamison had abused Ivone and then kicked her out. John knew that his employer wouldn’t do such a thing and couldn’t imagine this scene taking place, so John was taking care of Ivone and stalling for an explanation.
    John continued, “I have been imploring Ms. Mendes-Rodrigues to stay and allow you to tend to her and then take her home as any gentleman would, but she became upset.”
    So Ivone had brought out John’s protective side. No surprise, for she looked so fragile. He needed to get her out of his house before she did any more damage to his well-ordered life, except he couldn’t get his head around her walking out the door forever.
    “I’ll see to things, thank you, John,” he managed, in a calm, uninflected tone. “Please have Joyce serve breakfast in fifteen minutes.”
    When John nodded gravely and hung Ivone’s coat back up before making his way toward the kitchen, Jamison moved to take her arm. She was rigid in his grasp, and when she looked up at him, he nearly backed away from the strong emotion he saw there. She was angry, but behind that Jamison saw hurt, something that made his heart cringe.
    “Let go of me,” she said coldly. “Call me a cab and give me my coat.”
    “You will come back to my bedroom so that I can look at those stripes, Ivone. Then you will shower, and I’ll find something for you to wear to breakfast. I’ll take you wherever you need to go afterwards. But you won’t cause John any more concern, do you understand?”
    Ivone stood tall, and dragged her arm from his grasp.
    “You stay away from me. I’ll have breakfast for your man’s sake. He is a gentleman and very kind. But you keep your distance or I won’t be responsible for what happens. Do you understand me , you jerk?”
    She was gaining her equilibrium back and hiding her pain from him. Jamison was both relieved and bothered. He didn’t want to cause this woman that kind of pain, never wanted to see it stand in her eyes again. He was distracted from his musing by a huff and a stamp of Ivone’s foot. He then wanted to laugh. He rarely laughed. He felt like a big dog being nipped at by a tiny puppy. He should be tanning her ass for the way she had just spoken to him, but found himself understanding that he had hurt her, offended her in some manner, broken the rules. So therefore the rules no longer bound her, and she could speak to him as she saw fit. He inclined his head and stepped aside for her to pass him and followed her back to the master bath. She pulled his shirt over her head, but not before he saw the tiny spots of blood on it. He reached out to position her in a manner to allow him to check her ribs, but she eluded him and fixed him with a look that actually made his balls draw