The low growl from Jameson’s chest and his arm locking firmly around my waist signaled I wouldn’t get much of a chance to do that. Not that I wanted to. I would have had to ignore the shift in my body, the tingle against my skin as his hand brushed over the small of my back, the tightening of every muscle in anticipation for being against him again.
“You’re being rude to your brother.”
“Am I? Wasn’t he rude to me first?”
“How? He was a perfect gentleman. He sat with me, told me he’d even let me go back home in the SUV with him rather than on the bike. I’m starting to think I came here with the wrong brother—”
“Don’t make me kill another man this weekend, Darling. Especially not my brother.”
“Stop it, Jameson.” How bad was it that I believed he might actually commit that crime for me, and it sent shivers down my spine? “He asked me to dance so I didn’t have to sit there and be gawked at because I don’t belong.”
“You belong anywhere Franny and I are. He knows that. And he knows better than to touch what isn’t his.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You.” The scruff of his five-o’clock shadow brushed against my cheek as he leaned close. “You’re mine, Mia Darling. And I’ll kill anyone who doesn’t respect that.”
“Your what, exactly?” I asked him. He hadn’t clarified, hadn’t told me this was exclusive, that he’d fuck only me, that he wanted only me. And from Valerie’s display, I wondered if he even considered it. “Your daughter’s teacher?”
“Among other things.”
I looked down, trying to hide how that made me feel, the flutters in my chest, the blush that was rising to my face, and that’s when I saw the blood on his shoes. Still wet. Still fresh. My eyes whipped up to meet his and explain. “It was just a dance with your brother. That’s all. I’m sure you’ll dance with other women too, and that’s fine. We’re not … Just because we had a moment of passion on the roof doesn’t mean you owe me more than that.” But I wanted him to owe me more. I wanted to dive into whatever this was with him and explore it. The thrill, the danger, the passion, all of it. I didn’t want to hesitate.
Not when I was ready.
“Is that all it was? A moment of passion?”
I answered truthfully. “I’m not sure.”
“And is it just moments of idle conversation you have with me through your day? At night? At the country club while you take care of Franny?”
“The country club is for your daughter. I’m on the job. That’s time you spend with her.”
“And the other moments?”
“It could be more if that’s what we want, or it could be just employee-and-boss discussions.”
“Well as your boss, and maybe more, darling devil, I don’t want you dancing with anyone else. I thought I made that clear with Archer.”
I sighed. “It’s only dancing.”
“And yet I’m dancing against you now and this feels like more than a dance. It feels like I feel your nipples against my chest, the heat of your pussy wanting my cock.” My breath caught at his words, and I swallowed down the desire that was starting to overtake my rationale. “And now you’re licking your lips like you want me to kiss you and claim you in front of everyone here.”
I did. But he couldn’t. We couldn’t. We weren’t official. Wedidn’t know where it was going. We needed to think logically. At least, I needed to. For the sake of my family, for the sake of Franny, for the sake of myself.
But then Jameson’s hand slid from the small of my back up to my neck, and he pulled me close. “Stop me if you aren’t ready, Mia. But I am.”
He gave me one moment. That’s all. And I murmured, “I’m ready.”
And then his lips were on mine, searing, possessive, ruthless in their claiming. He was unrestrained there in the middle of the dance floor, in front of the syndicate.
The line was drawn.
I was his for everyone to see, and every powerful person in Paradise Grove now knew it.
The question was whether or not he was mine and mine alone.
Jameson
