JACK: Las Vegas Bad Boys(21)

Jack runs his hand over his jaw. “Fuck, Tess.”

“I can’t let him find me, Jack. I can’t. When I left … it was bad. I ran away in the middle of the night, and he followed me for weeks. But I finally got away. He thinks I owe him something, but I don’t. I gave him plenty. I gave him way more than I ever should have.”

I shake my head, tears falling down my cheeks. The last person I expected to be showing the parts I’ve buried is this mega-star, this man I’ve crushed on so hard, who I fantasied about being close to—never in those dreams did I confess the truth of why I’m in Vegas.

Now, for the second time with him, I feel exposed. Last night, when he saw me naked, I felt beautiful. Now all I feel is empty. All I feel is alone.

“Oh, baby,” he says, pulling me into his arms. My hot tea spills on my pants. “Fuck,” he says, taking the mug from me and setting it down. Then he returns to me. “Here, come here,” he says, folding me into his arms.

I know I need to run. It’s the smart thing to do, the only way I can guarantee I won’t have to return to the compound.

Or worse.

But right now I don’t want to run. In this moment, all I want to do is stay.





Chapter Nine





JACK


Holding her in my arms feels like the most natural thing in the world. I feel like shit for putting her at risk, and pissed if Emmy and Claire were right about Ashley putting the fucking press up to this.

I kiss the top of Tess’s head, promising myself I will fix this for her. I will set things straight.

Tess leans into me and I can’t help but breathe in her soft scent. Smelling her hair reminds me that she used my shampoo this morning, that not so long ago we were tangled in one another’s arms, in my bed.

Now we’re wrapped in one another’s arms again, but this time we’re in her bed.

Not the time for my cock to get hard. But damn, this girl drives me crazy. Her story makes me just want to make everything better for her, pick up the pieces of her life and fix everything. She deserves to be happy, to smile. A girl like her shouldn’t be running from some shitty father.

And what kind of horrible family must it have been, to have her running, to have her so damn scared?

“I feel like I shouldn’t have mentioned anything,” she says, her face resting against my chest.

“Don’t do that,” I tell her. “Do not minimize anything.”

I want to ask a hundred fucking questions, but I don’t want to push her over the edge when she already seems so vulnerable.

“Thank you, Jack. For making me feel less alone.”

“I’m the one who started this mess,” I tell her. I pull away from our embrace so she can see my eyes, see my sincerity. “I feel like shit.”

“You didn’t start anything. That was my dad, and it began a long time ago, when I was just a little girl. Probably when you were still learning to play the piano. Believe me, you are not the one responsible.”

“How do you know I play the piano?” I ask, smiling.

“A lucky guess.” She blinks, and her thick eyelashes mesmerize me as they flutter. “But the grand piano in your apartment helped.”

“Right. Forgot about that.”

“You just play for fun then?”

I shake my head. “I play when I’m stressed out.”

“I get that. I make tea when I’m stressed.” She smiles softly, and I do too, remembering the way she navigated her tiny kitchen with such care. “So then what do you for fun, if isn’t playing the piano?”

“I think you could make a few wild guesses.” I look down at my pants, where my growing cock is not so discreet. This girl, all up in my arms, is getting me hard.

“Are you flirting with me, Jack, in my time of need?” Her eyes widen.

“Oh, shit, sorry. Am I coming on too strong?” I ask, pulling away from what I hoped was going to become a kiss. “Seriously, that’s not cool of me.”

She grabs my tee shirt with her hand, pulling me back to her. “I was joking.”

I relax. “Good. Then you won’t mind this.”

I kiss her softly at first, my lips brushing against hers. When she meets my mouth with a hungry desire, I deepen the kiss, finding her tongue, circling it with mine in a growing passion.

Holding her face with my hands, I fall with her, back into the pile of pillows on her bed. There I kiss her nose, her neck, her cheeks. I kiss her mouth again, wanting more of her.

Wanting all of her.

I kick off my shoes, and she unbuckles my pants. I pull her sweatshirt over her head, and she shimmies out of her sweats. In minutes I’m stripped naked and so is she, save for her panties and bra.