“I didn’t promise. We made a bet, and your underhanded tactics disqualified you.”
“Harsh.”
“But true.”
“I won’t be able to sleep, Jordyn.” He changes his approach and reaches out, sliding his fingers beneath the thin strap of my top. “I’ll toss and turn, thinking about you being just a few feet away.”
My toes curl in response to his light touch and his words. “You managed last night.”
“Barely. I want you in my bed. Your scent, your feel. I want you to leave a part of yourself here with me.”
Never mind my toes, my heart, my stomach, all of me is fluttering. “Your grandfather—”
“Won’t know or care.” Stiles takes my hand and kisses the palm. “Come to bed with me.”
I make a small sound of assent when his mouth finds mine. If I could have formed words, I might have confessed too much.
He leads me into his room and closes the door, enveloping us in the moonlit darkness. I can only make out the large bed and Stiles in the shadows.
“There’s no rush tonight,” he whispers, undressing me slowly, one garment at a time, our gazes locked until both of us are naked.
When we crawl into bed, it’s all hushed whispers and quiet sighs. As he gathers me against him, I feel as cherished as I’ve ever felt. We kiss, not hot and fast, but warm and leisurely with long, gentle touches. Our bodies move together in a slow, sensual dance, our moans harmonizing like a love song.
His fingertips and mouth find all the sweet spots, sending me into blissful madness. Then facing me, both of us on our sides, he lifts my leg over his hip and slips in seamlessly, our bodies puzzle-made to fit together. In a dreamlike trance, I caress his face, his cheekbones, his beard, and look into his eyes. It’s different…beautifully different. We’re making love for the first time.
My world becomes only him, the textures of his muscles and skin against my flesh, the rocking of our hips moving in tandem. He watches me in the silver shaft of the moon—his eyes on mine, my eyes on his.
A fresh shock of pleasure ripples through me, and his mouth captures my gasp as we both hurtle off the edge in a tumble of shudders, trembles, and melting moans.
“Stay with me tonight,” he whispers.
“Yes.” I lie in his arms, floating as his hand strokes down the bend of my leg to my calf and ankle, then all the way back up. He traces the side of my thigh, my hip, my ribs, my breast. He just seems to touch for the sake of touching. This time he’s in no hurry to move or put any space between us.
I snuggle into him, into this newfound intimacy. I press a kiss to his lips and to his neck. I lay my palm on his chest, reassured by the steady beat of his heart. “Jasper?”
“Hm?”
I take a risk, a leap of faith, and dive head first. “I’ve fallen in love with you.”
IFREEZE. MY HANDS GO STILL, numb, my body rigid, as if her words are liquid nitrogen. I want to make her take them back. I want to tell her she’s wrong, mistaken. She’s just gotten caught up in this weekend, like I have. She’s confusing our intense chemistry with love.
But I know that’s not the case.
Jordyn wouldn’t have made that confession lightly. She wouldn’t have put herself and her heart out there unless she meant it.
Dammit. This is what I feared. That we’d bend the rules so far they’d snap apart.
Fighting the weight of Jordyn’s emotions and mine, I flee, not far, just off the bed, where I can think and breathe again. I pull on my shorts without looking at her, trying to sort out what the fuck to say. Jordyn beats me to it.
“I realize this isn’t what either of us planned.” She gathers her pajama bottoms off the floor and slips them on. “But you don’t have to act like I just handed you a fate worse than death.”
Topless and tousled with hurt in her hazel eyes, she grabs my heart in a chokehold.
“I was caught off guard. You’re an incredible woman that any man would be lucky to have—”
“Please...” Her hand shoots up. “Spare me the platitudes and the wholeyou’re greatroutine.”
“You are great, Jordyn. I’m flattered—”
