The room suddenly feels smaller. The walls closer. The air heavier.
“You don’t know who it was?”
He shakes his head. “No, and I blocked the address as soon as I got home that night. I didn’t want them fucking with me anymore.”
It’s a small relief knowing that Jackson was self-controlled enough to do that, that his curiosity didn’t press him to fall deeper into that hole.
“That was smart,” I tell him. “Thank you for telling me.”
For the first time in five years, I feel a small sliver of my guilt being chipped away. Someone was pretending to be Dylan, which means there might be a good chance that whoever it was had something to do with Dylan leaving.
Maybe it wasn’tallmy fault.
Of course, that little bit of guilt is only replaced by something darker, a threat hanging over our heads. Jackson may have blocked the address, but I don’t expect for a second that means whoever it was is done.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” he says.
“You told me now.” I close the distance between us again and hold his face between my hands. “And now I need you to promise me that if anything out of the ordinary happens, anything at all, you’ll let me know. So we can figure it out together.”
“I promise.” His eyes roam my face as a faint, hesitant smile curls his lips. “Is it weird? That, you know, he’s my…brother?”
“Maybe a little,” I admit. “But it’s not an issue with me if it’s not with you.”
His smile reaches his eyes now. “Not withus, but…I mean, it’s a little weird knowing I have a brother at all.”
“I’m sorry your father kept that from you.”
He shrugs. “I don’t want to think about it right now.”
“Maybe I can help take your mind off of it.”
I need to takemymind off things too.
His breath hitches, and for a moment, it’s like the world stops pressing down so hard.
Because even if everything else is falling apart around us—his family, everyone’s history with Dylan, the ghosts that refuse to stay buried—he’s still here.
And I won’t ever let him go.
Moving one hand to the small of his back to hold him close, I slide the other to the back of his head and tangle my fingers in his hair. I press my lips lightly against his, savoring how soft and full they are. The moment I start to deepen the kiss, the corner of my mouth stings. I hiss as I pull back to touch the spot.
Jackson grins. “What happened to acting like adults?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Careful, Mr. Ellis. Throwing my words back at me like that might get you punished.”
A shiver visibly races through him.
“But you’re not entirely wrong,” I tell him as my expression softens. “Your dad got a good hit in, but I had it coming after attacking him in his own office all those years ago. I admit that wasn’t my proudest moment. Among others.”
“For the record, I never started any of those fights with Pierce.”
“I’m well aware of that. I’m not proud of how I handled that either. I apologize that I made it seem like I was out to get you. I was attracted to you, and I thought keeping distance between us was the smart thing to do because I was so scared of the past repeating itself.”
A wicked little glint glimmers in his eyes. “You could always make it up to me.”
My arm that’s still around his waist tightens, and I tug his hair by the roots to tip his head back, skimming my lips up his throat and across his jaw.
“I’ll fucking worship you, sweetheart.”
