Love Rents A Room
Chapter 119: Smooth Talker

Chapter 119: Smooth Talker

For a split second, something unreadable flickered in Jeffrey’s gaze. Then...

"Pfft."

He spit-laughed. Right in her face.

Joanne blinked, momentarily stunned, before her brain caught up to the utter audacity of it.

"You should’ve see your face!" Jeffrey choked out between wheezes, doubling over with laughter.

Joanne smacked his chest—hard.

"Dumbass!" she barked, wiping her face furiously on his shirt. "You spit on me, dumbass!"

He only laughed harder, his deep voice vibrating against her as she huffed in indignation.

"I knew you didn’t mean it that way," he said, his tone softer now as his arms came around her again. This time, his fingers threaded into her hair, cradling the back of her head in a way that made her breath catch.

And just like that, she understood.

He’d teased her.

Jeffrey teased her because he knew the woman he fell in love with.

She had never, not once, treated him like a man with nothing. From the moment he’d set foot in her world, she had never hesitated to share what was hers—never drawn lines, never made him feel lesser.

Even now when she suggested it, the Audi was "the" Audi, not "her" Audi.

She had fallen in love with him knowing he had nothing. She treated him with the dignity that even his cousins spared him growing up, and yet... he had once thought she was the gold digger.

Joke’s on him. She was so far beyond what he had imagined.

Jeffrey exhaled, his lips pressing against the top of her head in a lingering kiss. He could never let her go. He wanted to hold her forever.

"I like this car," he murmured. "It’s the first thing I ever bought with my own money. I’ll drive it as long as I can."

Joanne sighed, leaning into him, allowing herself to drown in the warmth of his embrace for just a moment longer.

She still thought his car was a safety hazard.

But she understood a little. When he came here, he looked like he had nothing. And this car was the first thing he bought. It might hold some sentimental value.

Joanne let out a long breath, her fingers unconsciously gripping the fabric of his shirt.

Her heart was still racing from that one moment—the fleeting, terrifying second when she thought he really believed that.

That she was ashamed of him.

The idea was so absurd it almost made her angry. As if she could ever be ashamed of him.

She clung to him a little tighter before relaxing into his warmth, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest. His laughter had settled into a deep, satisfied hum, and she could feel it reverberating through her own body.

"You’re insufferable," she muttered, half-annoyed, half-relieved.

Jeffrey smirked, his hand still cradling the back of her head. "And yet, here you are, waiting on the porch for me like a devoted little housewife."

Words couldn’t describe the feeling he got seeing her waiting for him. Everything he went through melted away just by seeing her.

She scoffed, pushing against his chest just enough to glare at him. "In your dreams!"

His gaze softened. "Every night," he murmured.

Something inside her chest twisted—something warm, something fragile. She looked away, biting the inside of her cheek, refusing to let him see just how much that simple confession affected her.

Joanne rolled her eyes, settling for a smirk instead. "So you’re really going to keep driving that junkyard on wheels?"

Jeffrey leaned back against the railing, crossing his arms as he glanced at his car like it was a prized stallion instead of a rusted heap. "Yep. And when I can’t drive it anymore, it’s still staying right here. That car’s mine for life."

His grip tightened around her waist as a quiet thought echoed in his mind—You are mine too.

Everything he had gained after meeting her—this life, these moments, her—he wasn’t going to take a single thing for granted.

Joanne’s smile faltered just slightly. "So easily you lay claim..." she murmured under her breath, her voice barely above a whisper. Then, before he could see the shift in her expression, she pressed her face against his chest, hiding.

And easily you forget...

Once upon a time, he had claimed her just as easily. She had held onto that promise, unconsciously, carried it in the depths of her heart, only to be left with disappointment and heartbreak.

Jeffrey sensed the shift in her, felt it in the way her body tensed ever so slightly. "Did you say something?" he asked, tilting his head.

Joanne shook her head.

Her heart might ache with the weight of the past, bitterness creeping in at the edges—but she didn’t want to let him go. Not now. Not ever.

"Hey, Jo..."

The warmth in his voice made her shiver. He pulled her even closer, his breath ghosting over her hair.

"Hmm?"

"I don’t want to sleep alone."

She stiffened, then pulled back just enough to look at his face. "Huh?"

His hold loosened slightly, just enough to let her meet his gaze. "I couldn’t sleep yesterday," he admitted, his voice dropping into that low, rumbling tone that always did dangerous things to her heartbeat. "I don’t want to sleep in another room."

Joanne blinked.

That was... unexpected. The way he said it—so serious, so needy—sent a rush of warmth through her, coiling low in her stomach. But wasn’t his request a little... childish?

"Jo..." His voice turned softer, more intimate, as he leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. "You smell so good..."

Joanne’s breath hitched.

This man was a walking pheromone machine. A living, breathing magnet designed to pull her straight into his orbit.

"Give me a permanent place on your bed," he murmured, his lips just barely brushing against hers.

Joanne narrowed her eyes playfully. So that’s what this was about? He missed her body, that was it?

Not that she was complaining. She liked that he wanted her, but still...

Before she could call him out on it, he added softly, "And your heart."

Her chest tightened. Her pulse stuttered.

Damn him.

A slow, helpless smile bloomed on her lips, her cheeks turning warm. "You’re a smooth talker, Jeffrey..."

"What? I’m speaking from my heart." He grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously as he started unbuttoning his shirt. "Want to see my heart? Here, I’ll even let you touch it—"

He grabbed her hand, trying to press it against his chest, when...

"Oh, get a room, lovebirds!"

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