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I gulped before whispering, “You have no idea what I can handle.”

My heart was ready to explode out of my chest by the time his breath hit my face, his eyes darkening, filling my world, stealing my control before finally, there was nothing to do but close my eyes and lean in, holding my breath in the last second before our mouths touched.

It was like a bomb going off, completely obliterating everything in its path besides this. Want. Need. I let out a soft whimper as his lips brushed mine gently, softly, before he stopped and pulled back slightly.

My eyes opened in surprise and disappointment, only to find him staring at me. Frowning. Searching.

Until an animal growl stirred in his throat, and he pushed me back against the counter under the mirror. One of his hands sank into my hair while the other cupped my cheek, holding my head in place so his tongue could probe and plunge.

And it was all I could do to hold on, to clutch him, clawing at his shoulders before running my hands through his hair and kissing him hard enough to hurt. So good, almost too good, pleasure bordering on pain immediately flaring to life between my thighs.

He tasted the way I remembered, like coffee with too much sugar. I drank in his taste, one kiss after another, breathless, giddy, and dizzy by the time I sat on the counter and pulled him closer with my legs. His body. The way it came to life under my hands, just like mine did under his, caressing and fondling, exploring. Only he had ever brought me to life like this. Only he could make me forget everything I knew and everything that mattered in favor of taking what I wanted.

Every stroke of his tongue against mine undid me a little further, making me grunt and moan into his mouth. My nipples tightened, brushing against his chest, sending sizzling sensations racing through me almost as fast as my blood raced through my veins and pounded in my ears.

This needed to stop, but I couldn’t be the one to do it. Not when my clit throbbed, my lace thong stuck to my folds, and I wanted so much for the ache to go away. Only he could make that happen. “Please…” I whispered when he broke the kiss so his lips could trail down my throat, setting me on fire, making me moan and pull him in closer with my legs around his hips. The hardness pressing against my heat made me move my hips. I had never wanted anyone or anything more.

His hand ran down my neck, over my chest, before cupping one of my breasts and molding it against his palm. “God, yes,” I almost sobbed. It had been so long, too long, since he or any man touched me like this.

But nobody had ever touched me the way he did. Nobody knew my body—four years hadn’t been enough to make him forget what I wanted, needed, craved. I rocked my hips against his erection while running my nails over his shoulders and on his back, yearning to strip him down. It would be so easy. Nobody needed to know.

“I have no idea where she went.”

My heart stuttered at the sound of the voice coming from the wings. Oh, no. Don’t, please, don’t ruin this. I pulled him in even closer, holding him tight against me, ready to beg for more of what he was doing with his tongue as he lapped at my neck.

“Winter?” someone called out. “Where is Winter? Is she outside?”

Dammit. I groaned while Jackson went still, tightly pressed against me. The only thing either of us did for a few moments was breathe hard, fast, giving regret time to leak into my thoughts.

“Shit.” To my surprise, it was Jackson who pushed himself away from me and not the other way around. “I shouldn’t have let that happen.”

“It’s okay.” It wasn’t anywhere close to okay, but that was the kind of thing people said in situations like this. What else was there to say, anyway? Your mother paid me to stay away from you? She warned me about ever letting something like this happen again?

I had never so wished I could turn back time, which was ridiculous because I had gained so much from the arrangement. I couldn’t pretend otherwise. That money had changed Mom’s life. It had given me a new start, helped me afford what it took to mount my first-ever production. I couldn’t have done it without her.

It’s funny how none of that mattered to my longing, aching body, especially when I watched Jackson adjust what was left of his raging erection. Looking in the mirror, he combed his hair back from his forehead with his fingers, letting the slightly too long, sandy waves fall into place before straightening his blue button-down shirt.

There was nothing I could do but sit on the counter and wonder how I spent the past four years without doing that and more, so much more. Now that I’d gotten a taste of forbidden fruit, I remembered how sweet it was and how easy it was to become addicted. What was that saying alcoholics used? One drink was too much, three wasn’t enough?

That’s what I was going through by the time he glanced my way. “Do something about Naomi,” he rumbled. “Or I will. There’s too much riding on this. I don’t need to tell you that.”

Seriously? That’s all he has to say?

Actually, I was almost glad he said it because all it took was those two sentences to remind me that while the taste of him hadn’t changed, so many other things had. Time had hardened him, made him angry and sharp in ways he never was before.

And he blamed me for it.

It was better not to say a word, so I didn’t, waiting until he was out of the dressing room to lean back against the mirror and release a deep, resigned breath while waiting until it was safe to emerge.

9

JACKSON

What the fuck am I doing here?

Not at Sebastian’s restaurant, per se. I had been here more times than I could count until Sebastian joked about dedicating a table to me with a plaque and everything. There was a time when I was convinced he would actually go through with it.

That wasn’t the problem, any more than the exquisite food or the inviting atmosphere.