Twopartnersnow.
The thought of her being taken again made me sick to my stomach. She was just down the hall and already too far away.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to explain it to me.” Shawn’s deep voice was muted. “For once, I understand.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“That thing you’re feeling.” He grabbed his coat and tie. “If I don’t see you again before I leave, stay as long as you want.” His heavy footsteps took him to the door, where he turned to add, “I can’t say I blame you. She’s beautiful.”
29
LAUREL
Under the streamof hot water, my thoughts drifted to the invisible clock in my head. How many hours did I have left with him?
Don’t think about it, he’d said.
I’d have to shove it down in the same place where I’d had to put all the other stuff I wasn’t processing. The parking garage. The realization my career was over. The night a team of men came and Derrick died protecting me.
There wasn’t any room left for me to put away my feelings about Jason.
After my shower, I dressed and left the bathroom, intent on finding him—except he was sitting at the foot of the bed as if he’d been waiting for me.
“We need to talk.” His gaze was on the carpet.
Why are you surprised? You knew this was coming.
“You don’t have to say anything.” My voice sounded much stronger than I felt. “I chose to give my whole life away to get where I wanted to be.” I sat on the bed, leaving a comfortable amount of space between us. A professional distance. “I think you know a little about that, and so I’ll do whatever I can to help you keep your job. No one will know what happened between us.”
Except, of course, his brother.
“And I’ll make sure,” I forced the words out, “that mistake doesn’t happen again.”
“You think it was a mistake?”
His hurt reaction was like leaping into the air and the ground had been taken away. There was nowhere to land.
“Wasn’t it?” My question was a whisper.
“No.” His voice was loud. And sure.
He moved so fast, it was stunning, and then he was kissing me with such intensity it caused tears to well momentarily in the back of my closed eyes.
What on Earth was happening? His soft lips pressed to mine and asked for more.
“Jason.” I tried to turn away, but his strong hands cupped my face to prevent it. I wrapped my hands around his wrists and peered up at him. “I didn’t have a choice about giving up my career. But you do.”
The hands holding my face didn’t fall away. His eyes clouded with confusion and doubt, but then those emotions disappeared, like a decision had been made. His shoulders rose with a deep breath, and he gave me a look I hadn’t seen from him before.
It turned my insides into liquid and obliterated every thought. All that remained was the hope that he’d chosen me despite everything.
He used his hold to tilt my head to just the right angle so he could cover my mouth with his, and my heart went into overdrive.
Oh, God, his kiss. He didn’t stop me when I climbed into his lap; this time he welcomed it. His arms banded around me, pressing me deeper into his intense kiss, and for the first time in days I felt like I might be able to survive.
Like nothing could harm me in this moment.
He slipped his tongue into my mouth, caressing mine, and I sighed with contentment. But I was greedy, spinning out ofcontrol. Desperate to connect with him in every way. I reached over his back, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and pulled it up. I needed it to be gone, nothing between us.
