Jagger smashes his lips to mine, surprising the shit out of me, and boy oh boy, is it a good thing my split lip is mostly healed. My utter shock only lasts a second until I melt against him. Parting my lips, I let him explore every inch with his tongue. Biting. Licking. Sucking. My knees buckle, and the world spins around me as his arm finds my waist, but I don’t miss the gentleness in his touch. If he was anyone else, I have no doubt he would’ve forgotten my sore ribs, but Jagger? Nope. Not a chance. He tugs me into him even more, holding me up while kissing the ever-living shit out of me. And the worst part? It’s even better than I remember. The feel of his lips on mine. In the hallway at his house, he was so careful, so soft. But this? This is demanding and greedy and desperate and so damn raw, I can barely think straight.
When he finally rips his mouth from mine, he growls, “There.”
My eyelids flutter as I try to piece together what the hell just happened. “What?”
“Someone had to shut you up.”
Someone had to shut me up? My brain feels like a short-circuited hard drive as it takes a second to reboot from Jagger’s kiss. Someone had to shut me up? When the words finally compute, I shove at his chest with my free hand and raise it to slap the asshole, but he grabs my wrist instead.
“And here I thought we were making progress,” he growls.
“By shutting me up with your mouth?” A maniacal laugh escapes me. Seriously? The audacity of this man clearly knows no bounds.
His eyes fall to my still-tingling lips. “Something like that.” Another twinge hits his jaw as he drags his attention back to my eyes. “Is that all, Little Thief?”
Is. That. All?
Oooo, I want to knee him in the balls right now. Hell, my knee is itching to, just like it did the first night we met. Instead, I pull my hand into a fist and stand on my tiptoes, getting all up in his grill the same way he’s gotten into mine on more than one occasion. “If you ever decide you want to have an actual conversation, let me know.” I try to yank my wrist free, but he holds firm.
“I had to,” he grinds out as if something has finally snapped inside of him.
“Had to what?”
“Had to act interested in her when I wasn’t. When I’m not.”
What is he talking about? Oh. Right. The girl from the classroom. The pit of jealousy in my stomach doubles in size. The way she smiled at him. The way he looked at her when moments before, he’d been looking at me like I was nothing but a piece of shit on his shoe.
“Why?” I demand.
His lips are nothing but a thin line as he analyzes me, though I have no idea what he’s searching for. “You want the truth?” he finally says.
A humorless laugh escapes me. “Wouldn’t that be refreshing?—”
“Because if people find out I like you after you walked away with the haunted house earnings, they’re gonna think I favored you.”
Favored me?
I glare at the ground, unable to look him in the eye as I attempt to process what he’s saying. One, because he said he likes me, and two, because he’s afraid of what other people think? No offense, but someone like Jagger Harden is the last person I’d ever assume would care about other people’s opinions of him. “Let me get this straight,” I murmur. “You’re acting like a dick because you feel like you have to?”
His hand drags along my arm and collarbone before finding my chin. He tilts my head up, the tension so strong, I swear I can taste it. “I’m acting like a dick, because if I don’t, it won’t only fuck me over. It’ll fuck over my brothers, too. And I can’t let that happen.”
I don’t want to believe him. I don’t want to fall for his lies. But no matter how little I really know Jagger in the big scheme of things, I’ve seen the way he interacts with them. His brothers. They might like teasing each other and getting under each other’s skin, but they’re his family. I know he’d do anything for them. And if I had a sibling, I’d be the same way. But if that’s the case, how did we wind up here? Alone? If he’s supposed to stay away and act like he’s interested in anyone but me, why were his lips on mine two minutes ago?
“Why did you drag me into this room?” I breathe out. “If you’re supposed to pretend like you aren’t interested…” I swallow past the cotton coating my mouth and wait for his answer because dammit, I deserve one.
Reaching for my laptop, he sets it on one of the empty desks, and I’m too hypnotized by the bastard’s eyes to care. “Don’t askme how you do it, Little Thief, but you have a way of stealing all logic.” His icy gaze drops to my mouth. “You make me feel insane.” His movements are slow as he bends forward, and I can’t help but wonder if…
Holy shit. Is he actually going to do it? Is he going to kiss me again? My breath catches, and I lift my head a little higher, closing the distance between us. When his lips finally skate across mine, I let him in, tasting him.
His fingers tighten against the dip of my waist, and I lean into his touch, letting him take my weight. This is it. This is the kiss I was waiting for. The one I knew would wreck me, though I’m too far gone to care. I grab hold of his bicep, and part my lips a little more. He slips his tongue inside me, so I drag my own along his. Tasting. Teasing. Testing. With a low groan, Jagger nips at my bottom lip, then sucks on my tongue. Stepping us backward, my back hits the wall behind us, and his grip tightens even more, then slides lower. He grinds against me, letting me feel exactly what I do to him. Every. Single. Inch. My stomach tightens with anticipation, and I trail my hands along his arms, then shoulders, finally lacing them around his neck and tugging softly on his short hair at the nape. I can’t help it. I want him closer. I want more.
“Damn, Little Thief.” He nips at my bottom lip again. “Gonna steal my fucking orgasm too?”
I smile against his mouth and tilt my head, giving him a better angle to take what he wants, knowing he’ll return the favor in spades. Dipping lower, he peppers kisses along my jaw, then neck, sucking on the sensitive patch of skin beneath my ear. Tingles spread along my body, my clit pulsing as I fight for friction. For more. Seriously, it has been way too long for this girl. Add in the chemistry I’ve felt building between us for what feels like months, and I’m freaking desperate.
“Jagger,” I beg. “Jagger, I need?—”
“I know, Vi.” He slips his hand into my pants, cupping my sex and letting me rub myself against him with a lack of shame and remorse I’ve never felt when it comes to sex.
