Someone called, “Cut!” from across the set, the word sharp and foreign against the rush in his veins. He should have stopped and pulled back. He should have remembered where they were and what this was meant to be. He almost did, but then Liamwhimpered, blanking out his mind completely.
He pushed Liam back a step, then another, until his shoulders met the wall. Jacob caged him there with one firm hand at his waist while his mouth devoured him. Teeth grazing just enough to leave a sting. Liam let him and took it all, giving himself over in complete surrender. It made Jacob want to ruin him, claim him, and own him in ways he had no right to.
“Cut!” Louder this time, the word cracking through the haze.
Jacob stilled, breath ragged. His grip lingered even as his mind clawed for control. He forced himself to let go and step back, though every fiber of his being screamed to stay pressed against him, to keep taking more.
Liam stood in front of him completely wrecked; hair mussed, lips swollen, eyes wide and dazed. For a dangerous second he just stared, caught in the wreckage they’d made together. Then he turned and walked off set.
He forced himself past the cameras and out the nearest door. In the hallway, he pressed both hands to the wall, his breath harsh and uneven. His palms trembled—not from nerves—but from the restraint it took not to walk straight back in and claim Liam in front of everyone.
He was still trying to calm his breathing when he heard footsteps behind him. “Jacob,” a PA called, “we need you back. You good?”
He swallowed the chaos down, forced his body into stillness, and straightened his shoulders. When he spoke, his voice was flat and professional, giving nothing away. “Yeah. Coming.”
He walked back in like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t just lost control in front of half the crew.
Chapter 13
Liam
The set emptied around him piece by piece—lights cooling, cables being gathered, voices dropping low with the drag of exhaustion—until only shadows remained. The kiss scene was finished, played out again and again until Liam’s mouth felt raw and his chest ached with every breath.
And Jacob? Gone.
No goodbye, no explanation. One second he was standing there, jaw tight, face unreadable, and the next he’d vanished, leaving Liam with the taste of him still clinging to his mouth.
Liam didn’t think. He didn’t plan. Heat and instinct carried him across the lot, shoes striking against asphalt, the air cutting sharp through his lungs. The trailers loomed ahead, hulking shapes in the shadows. He didn’t knock; he just opened the trailer door and stepped inside.
Jacob stood near the kitchenette, one hand braced against the counter, the other curled around a bottle of water he hadn’t even opened. His shoulders were taut, his head bent like he was holding himself together by sheer force of will. He didn’t turn around right away, but when he did, the guarded mask was back in place. As if nothing had happened. As if Liam hadn’t spent the entire afternoon being kissed like it meant something.
“Liam.” His voice was flat and gruff. “Don’t.”
Too late.
“You kissed me,” Liam said, shutting the door behind him, the sound too loud in the small space. “You pushed me into that wall. More than once.”
Jacob’s jaw ticked, the muscles pulling tight as his knuckles whitened on the counter. “It was a scene.”
“Bullshit.” Liam stepped forward. “That wasn’t a scene. You think I don’t know the difference by now?”
“You’re not thinking straight.”
“No,” Liam snapped, voice breaking. “I’m not. Because you kissed me like it meant something, and then you walked away like it didn’t. And now you’re fucking hiding again.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Jacob’s voice was tight, as if each word was pulled through his teeth.
“Says who?”
Finally, Jacob’s eyes met his, and it landed like a punch. His face was all cold restraint, but his eyes gave him away—the heat, the hunger, the wanting he couldn’t hide.
Liam stepped closer. “You don’t get to do that. Don’t stand there and pretend I’m the crazy one. You were there too.”
Jacob didn’t answer.
Liam stopped just in front of him, close enough to feel the tension vibrating off his body. Close enough to remember those hands gripping his waist and hauling him in. He had never felt so completely claimed by someone else’s need.
“You felt it too,” Liam said, and it wasn’t a question.
