Even in all its' unedited glory, this is probably my favorite chapter so far. :D

Jasmine would never get used to the biting cold of hospital floors. She swear she could feel it through her boots as she rushed through the sliding doors, shaking her umbrella from the rain. Her cheeks went up in flames at the sounds of her boots against the floor, the sqeakiness annoying enough for the receptionist's head to swivel her way.

Thankfully it was Marrisa- and her smile was always kind.

" Jasmine ! It's early for you."

Jasmine's hand fiddled with her shoulder bag. "Yea I uh, have a flight to catch. Any updates ?"

Marrissa's smile fell slightly, and Jasmine's heart followed. " Not much dear. But you are more than welcome to check on her."

Marissa turned to rearranged her paperwork. Jasmine listened to her ruffle the papers before finally turning to find room 305A.

The door opened quietly, and Jasmine welcomed the familiar smell of lemon and chemicals. The room was still a little dark as the sun had not fully risen, and the only color present was the yellow dahlias Jasmine had gotten in a vase, and the rainbow quilt Jasmine had crochet two years ago.

Jasmine couldn't wait for her mother to see it.

" Hey mom," Jasmine began softly, walking towards the bed. Her fingers grazed the dahlias – she would have to replace them soon. " I hope today's going well for you."

Beeping answered her. Jasmine moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her hands found her mother's long blond tendrils, raking through a few days worth of knots. She remembered the short bob her mom sported before the accident- she would blow a case if she saw how long it was now.

" I'm sorry I missed last week. I was struggling with my new job." Jasmine rolled her eyes, leaning back. " My boss is a major headache. He thinks if he sprinkles nice actions it makes up for being a dick 90 percent of the time."

Her mother's IV dripped. Jasmine counted her blonde lashes slowly. " He pays well though. And having a new place with room is nice. I might be able to afford to start crocheting and sewing again." Jasmine's hand reached for her mom's hands, mulling over her chipped nail polish. Usually she would paint her mom's nails while she talked – it reminded her of when she was younger, and her mom would let her paint her nails and pick her favorite colors – just as long as her mom got to pick Jasmine's in return. They would talk about whatever was happening in Jasmine's elementary life – the boy that pulled her hair that day, a D in Science, Her many gold stars in Art and English. She would complain about the colors her mother would pick – but her mother never complained about Jasmine's color choices for her – even if it was something crazy, like neon green.

She hoped her mom was okay with the colors she chose even now.

Jasmine was too exhausted to paint her mom's nails that morning. Instead she curled her fingers with her mom's finding relief in the warmth that was still present in her palm. That warmth was a beacon if light in her life – a hope towards better days.

" Speaking of Freeman, I'm gonna be stuck on the plane in a few hours with him. I'm hoping he at least booked separate seats." Jasmine rolled her eyes. " He's not that bad I guess. I can stand being kinda close to him for aa while. He at least smells good. And he's warm."

Her mind drifted to that night, that horrible night she couldn't get out of her head. How his fingers seemed like a resource of pleasure, how they tugged at her hair in a way that made every muscle in her body loosen. Not even mentioning the feel of his chest against her back-

" He feels great too."

Um.

The fuck.

For once Jasmine was thankful her mother couldn't respond or see her , because she would have laughed excessively at how red Jasmine's face had gotten – how her hand fled from her mother's hand to slap against her mouth.

The fuck was she on about ?

That was exactly why she didn't think about that humiliating night.

" Uh, forget I said that mom." She stammered, eyes racing to her watch. " Anyways, I gotta go mom. I need to meet my boss in front of my job in half an hour." Jasmine stood up, straightening her shorts. She leaned in close to her mom, brushing her hair to side to press her lips swiftly to her mom's temple. " If I am going to get my revenge on that infuriating man I need some caffeine in my system."

" You are quieter than usual."

His eyes caught the sudden tenseness in her shoulders. He didn't think them hunching up more was even possible. " I'm fine Mr. Freeman." She brought her coffee to her lips swiftly, leaving red gloss in her wake. " Just a little tired."

Huey dragged his eyes from the gloss her lips to check his watch. It was nearly time to board – they had a 5 hour flight. He was upset that he didn't think to use his private jet – it would have been perfect, to put as much space between them as possible. But if there was anything he learned early on in his wealth, it was not everyone needs knowledge of how vast the wealth was. At the end of the day he didn't really know the woman that stood next to him – and if her attitude was anything to go by, he want to bother trying. He had already made the mistake of letting her into his home once.

He wouldn't let whatever guilt was eating at him to let her in any more than he already has.

" Let me carry your carry-on Ms. Dubois." Huey reached his hand out expectantly. She looked so tired it was beginning to slightly worry him. The bags under her eyes were heavy, the green in her eyes dull. She was clutching her coffee like a lifeline, and her shorts hugged her tightly, exposing smooth slightly freckled –

Her shorts had nothing to do with her being tired. Get it together Freeman.

She glared suspiciously at him before surprisingly complying, plopping her bag in his hand.

He the weight. " Did you need to pack for a football team Dubois ? We're only there for three days."

The woman didn't respond at first – she gathered her hair raising it up for a second to expose her neck. Her eyes closed slowly – it was very hot in the airport- and she quickly did her bun up in a towering bun, leaving her neck exposed.

Huey looked away.

" A lot can happen in a few days Mr. Freeman."

Huh ?

" Excuse me ?" he hissed sharply, but she was already walking to find a seat by their plane interval. Bun bobbing, hips swaying. His eyes focused on the side of her exposed thigh, at the jaguar that he now had the pleasure of seeing twice.

Pleasure ?

He knew he should have chosen another employee.

Jasmine's heart was thundering. Granted, she was usually very anxious after seeing her mother, but she knew her heart was pounding for reasons other than that specific anxiety.

She had done everything Cindy said.

The shorts, the aloof attitude, the double meaning responses – everything her friend said would wring at any man's patience and lust drive.

She needed to prove that Huey Freeman was not nice for the sake of niceness. No rich man was, especially one as arrogant as him.

He wanted her. Not her specifically – but he was a lustful asshole who used his money to get whatever he wanted.

No way he was nice because of genuine motives. And once she proved that, she would expose him. She just needed evidence.

Yet nothing was working.

In fact, scarily enough, all of her actions seemed to only be affecting her, to her great horror.

She was sitting next to him, much to her chagrin, but only to take notes on some of his paper work ( apparently work was ever present with him). The plane they were on was suspiciously empty, so Jasmine w as quite annoyed that she seemed to never be able to escape him even when the escape felt so close. So tangible.

Like his lips-

No. Stop it.

She frowned at him, hunched over her laptop as he casually sprinkled peanuts into his hand. He was eating them like a ravenous beast, not in act because he was honestly a very neat man, but Jasmine knew he was a beast internally so every move he made matched that ugliness inside of him. He was wearing his glasses like her, nike jogger suit free of any crumbs or dust despite how many fucking peanuts he was putting away. Ever quiet, he rubbed his jaw – he needed a shave- and brought his hydro flask to his lips. His rings glistened ; his adams apple bobbed ; Jasmine watched the water around the rim collect slightly on his bottom lip before he pulled it away. Having the nerve to lick the water excess.

She gulped.

" Do you need water Dubois ?"

Her eyes snapped up to his. His head was leaning against the window chin against his hand. He looked at her as blankly as he has the whole time they've known each other.

She forced the words out of her mouth. " Yea, one could say I'm VERY thirsty."

Good God Cindy this shit better work.

His brows raised slightly, but his expression never changed. " I see. How about I…"

Jasmine leaned in slightly, holding her breath. The recorder in her pocket slid uncomfortably in her hoodie pocket.

Here it was. She had him. It was only a matter of –

" Flag down the air lady to grab you a drink."

He narrowed his eyes slightly despite the hospitality he offered, his arm raising to catch the intendant.

Jasmine slumped.

So close.

" You are acting strange Dubois."

Jasmine's eyes trained themselves on her notes, on the way the stickers on her laptop glittered.

They felt stupid so close to him.

The attendant had arrived, eyes growing low and soft as Huey asked for a water and a cranberry juice.

The attendant graciously placed both in front of Jasmine, rudely reaching over to put her hand on Huey's shoulder, asking if there was ANYTHING else she could do for him.

He barely glanced at her. " No. Drink Jasmine. We have a meeting right out of the gates of Kennedy an you need all the strength you can get."

Grumpily Jasmine drank from her cranberry juice he rudely assumed she wanted. The tang of it felt cool and replenishing.

The attendant glared at her, which she returned with a smile. For some reason she felt a pride glow in her chest. " And more peanuts too ma'am."

" We're sharing rooms ?"

Huey felt his eyes ache from how much he's been rolling them all morning. Conjoined. We have a whole door separating us. And a lock.

He felt her glare burning into his skull, but when he turned to her her smile was sweet, syrupy. He frowned, suspicious.

" Um… It's cool when things…conjoined."

He couldn't wait till that door closed to separate her from him.

" Are you reading from some script all morning Dubois ?"

He couldn't help the smirk that tugged on his lips at her flushed face. She was quite the wreck this morning.

" Which room is yours sir ?" she gritted.

" Pick whatever room you'd like Dubois. I'll see you tomorrow morning for our next meeting."

Shee blinked slowly at him, green eyes wide and processing. He waited for her jet lag brain to finally catch up to her, and when it did she frowned at him, giving a curt nod before grabbing her bags and heading to the conjoined room. The door fell closed with a soft click, and Huey heard the sound of the key going in place[KDD1] .

Finally.

He turned to begin unpacking his suitcase – he was tired from not only the plane and Jasmine's antics, but also from sparring for hours the night before.

His brother insisted that his sedentary work would make him lose the mobility he needed for their other business endeavors – and as much of an idiot as Riley was, he was right. Other issues – like the infuriating woman roomed right next to him – had for some incomprehensible reason led him to be rougher in sparring than he usually was.

Now his body was paying the price for it.

With a long exhale, Huey rolled his neck, feeling the pleasant burn drag along the muscles in his back. He would order room service. Catch up on some of his work. Maybe rent a Star Wars movie. There were plenty of things to distract him from his current situation. He will survive the next few nights even if he had to stock up on melatonin to get him through-

A loud crash.

Huey's eyes sprang open.

The yelp that followed the crash made Huey's stomach fall to his knees, and he rushed to the door adjoining his room to Jasmine's.

" Dubois ! Are you alright."

He didn't get a response, though he could hear the low sound of the shower running.

" Dubois !"

The door was locked, and he yanked at in frustration. He needed to find the spare key, the bellman had mentioned it was somewhere near the –

He heard her. A soft and subtle whimper of pain.

Looked like he would have to add hotel damages to his hotel bill.

The door splintered as he kicked it open, and he bolted to the bathroom.

As he expected, The shower was running – she must have slipped and fell, the clumsy girl.

" Jasmine."

Huey yanked a towel from the bathroom rack, closing his eyes tightly as he struggled to turn off the water and throw a towel over her. He had still gotten no response – she must have fainted. Huey cursed, keeping his eyes to the ceiling as he carefully grabbed at her hips, lifting her up. She fell against his chest, still whimpering, and the sound tore at him in a way that was even more frightening then their current situation. Fixing the towel to cover her completely, he carried her to his side of the adjoined rooms. His head seemed anchored to hers as she continued to shudder, his own voice rasping as he softly shushed her.

He laid her on his bed, quickly grabbing a shirt from his luggage to fix over her head.

" Jasmine. I need you to wake up."

He was considering calling an ambulance if she didn't come to.

Pulling the shirt down more, he pulled her up to a sitting position, head leaning on his chest. " Jasmine."

She groaned, slipping backwards. His hand rushed to her back to anchor her to him.

" Come on Flower. Talk to me."

His hand snaked up her back to grip her neck gently, pulling her head back enough so he could see her face. She looked pale – and he remembered suddenly that he hasn't seen her eat once their whole journey.

Fuck.

He was gonna tear himself apart for this later.

He watched her eyelids flutter – she was so close, almost coming to. His other hand moved to grip her hair and yank her head back slightly , hoping the slight pain would be that final push she needed. She moaned for him, slightly wincing as her eyelids finally pulled apart, the slightest of emerald shining between them.

" There you go Flower."

Huey couldn't even begin to acknowledge the crap spilling from his mouth – his heart was thundering hard enough to drown out any logical thought. He reached for the water on his dresser, lifting it to her lips. " Can you hear me ? Drink, please."

Jasmine's eyes were still struggling to stay open but he left no room for negotiation as he held the bottle to her, watching her take small gulps.

Her eyes seemed to be filled with questions – what had happened, how did she end up in his room.

Why he was acting… how he was.

He chose to answer the questions he knew the answers to.

" You fainted in the shower. From possibly dehydration. Or hunger. Have you eaten anything Dubois?"

She flushed , flinching away – he turned to look at the wall as she hurriedly put her arms through his shirt sleeves. " We were in the air for a long time – you can't just not eat anything. Plus your shower water was boiling, which can dehydrate your body-"

" I'm fine!" she snapped- or at least tried to. He raised a brow at the shake in her voice.

" Just… go away. Please."

He watched her curl into herself, nearly hyperventilating. She was gonna cause herself to faint again at this rate.

" Dubois if youre worried I saw anything I –"

" I said beat it !"

Okay fuck this.

" Watch how you talk to me girl." Huey snarled back, standing fully up.

She cowered away, rushing to cover herself with the blanket. But he couldn't even give her the decency to look away now.

She had obliterated his patience.

" I've been dealing with your mood swings and irritation all day. Do you think I wanted to nurse you awake after fainting ? Do you think that was my plan to spend my time getting over jet lag?"

Jasmine bared her teeth at him, opening her mouth to speak, but he was done. Slamming the bottle down on his dresser, he grabbed her chin, pulling her towards him.

" You're gonna sit your foolish ass down and wait for room service. And youre gonna shut the fuck up and get over your attitude. I'm tired of you taking me out of my professional stature – either you get your act together. Or I'm shipping you back to Illinois, red slip in hand."

He snatched his hand from her shocked face and with no warning tore off his shirt – he was heated, and needed to cool off.

" Mr. Freeman what the hell are you –"

" I'm taking a shower."He grabbed the phone on the dresser and half threw it at Jasmine, letting it plop into her lap. Order some food, and I'm not playing with you. And get me a veggie burger. You know how I like it."

Whether it was due to shock or embarrassment, Jasmine couldn't move from Huey Freeman's bed. The sound of his long ass shower was the only thing gracing her ears as she stared at the ceiling.

The only time she got up was to open the door for room service – she wouldn't dare piss him off again so soon- and after picking at her chopped salad slowly for a few minutes she went right back to staring – now at the splintered door that led to her own room.

He had broken the door down for her. And she yelled at him.

She knew she was right still – he was an evil even if he didn't realize it, with just as much lustful crappy desires as any other men with his stature.

But after everything she didn't even really care to prove it anymore. Even to herself.

The warm strength of his fingers still seemed to be seared in to her skin. On her shoulders, her back.

Her chin, the back of her head…

And of course, her mind, her horrible, stupid mean mind, reminded her of the other time his hands was in her hair – and her embarrassment increased ten fold.

The list of things she would never live down just seemed to keep piling up.

Though not as much as her guilt.

Tears pricked her eyes as she took in the broken door. He really was trying to help her. She was stupid for not eating – really she had been too nervous to eat anything but still. That man, for the umpteenth time, had moved to help her and she treated him like scum. She had set out to show his horrible intentions – but maybe she was the one that was horrible.

And to top it all off, he probably saw your boobs.

Now her face was flushed for other reasons, but thankfully her brain didn't have time to linger as she heard the water stop.

She held her breath as the bathroom door finally opened, and she forced herself to meet his eye.

"Hi."

He said nothing as he looked at her. His hair was still wet, sticking to his neck in what looked like soft tendrils. The chiseled chest he forced her to see was covered in a black pajama tee, but she cursed his free arms and their sculpted muscles. His Pajama Pants were black, checkered, and fell loosely around his bare feet. He looked like he walked out of a male sleepwear commercial.

" Give me your eyes Dubois."

In shock Jasmine's eyes shot back to his – at the cool maroon rock he called his irises. He was clearly still upset. And it appeared being upset made him bold, as she was sure he would never talk to her like that in their normal dynamic.

"My burger."

Jasmine pushed the tray to the edge of the bed, looking down as the bed dipped with his weight.

Guilt was gnawing at her again – she wanted to apologize so badly her heart ached. She wanted to ensure him she wasn't like that – but she couldn't. Her eyes traced the patterns on his comforter as he ate.

" Miss."

She frowned at the nickname. Surely he wasn't talking to her.

He sighed, and she slowly looked towards him. His eyes were on the door, just like her own were not long ago. " Eat more. And then go to your room. We both have to get up early tomorrow."

Jasmine inhaled, grabbing her tray and walking to her side of the adjoined rooms. The door was now open – leaving no privacy. But she couldn't even worry about her privacy in that moment. She made it to the threshold before speaking , looking over her shoulder. " Huey ?"

He didn't look up at first ; patiently eating his food and swallowing before dragging his eyes to her face.

She gulped at his lack of emotion. " Thank you. And I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was scared and acted in anger. " She sighed. " That wasn't fair to you, especially with your kindness to me. I hope you have a good night." He said nothing, but she felt his eyes on her as she crossed the threshold into her room, ignoring the lack of barrier between them.