And that was just the beginning. How much they’d loved each other. And in the end, how much they’d hated…
It happened every day to tons of couples. Never would he do that to himself. To Kimmy.
Besides, he realized as she wrestled his grasp and grappled for his cock a second time, and protested vehemently, “It won’t!”, that there were other issues at hand. Kimmy really had no idea what she was getting herself into, hoping to hop into his bed. “I’m not the man you believe I am.”
“Are you kidding? I know you inside out and right side in.”
“Not entirely you don’t.”
He let those firm, unyielding words settle in, not prepared to elaborate. But then the vixen slinked beneath his arm, heading back to the party. “Fine. Like I said, since you don’t want me…”
She was playing him, he knew.
If he had half a brain about him, he would let her go.
But neither of those thoughts came as first instinct. Grabbing her did, hauling her back to him, this time with her facing the wall and that perfect little ass arched against his groin.
God, what was he doing to himself? “You’ve never been in my bedroom, Kimmy.”
“I want to be.” She wiggled, rubbed, nearly pushing him over the edge, tempting him with that beautiful butt of hers. God, how he loved a tight ass…
Jackson should have been walking—no, running—away. Instead, his perverse mind twisted to the locked closet in his bedroom. Shelves of toys. Nipple clamps. A vibrating sex clamp. Anal plugs.
Restraints.
Blindfolds.
Paddles.
And all the wicked things he’d love to do to her, his Kimmy. Jackson barely managed to clear the knot from his throat, the husky words he could not believe he was uttering. “What if my tastes…what if they’re more than you bargained for?”
“Like what?” Damn her, why’d she have to thrust her ass like that, as if inviting? Why’d he have to go and pinch it, inciting a strangled cry?
“You know, I could spank you for how you’ve acted tonight.” The words, unbidden, just slipped out. And there it was, his dirty desires exposed. To the one woman he was supposed to love cleanly.
Did she hesitate? Did she take offense? Offer up even the slightest amount of shock? No…not Kimmy. Not tonight. The hellion simply rubbed that behind against him seductively, invitingly. “Suppose I’d deserve it.”
No! No, she wouldn’t. And that was just his point.
Enlisting all his willpower, he paced a wide step back, hitting the opposite wall. This had to end. Now. “Seriously, I’m not doing this.”
With a sigh—or was it a moan—she turned to face him. In the hall’s dim light, those shimmering brown eyes danced, daring him, and she roved a slow tongue over supple lips. “Fine. I’ll go back to my original plans for the evening.”
She barely moved an inch and he blocked her. “Like hell you will!”
“Are you going to stop me?” she mocked, and Jackson found himself faced with a woman unshakable, glaring up at him. “So you know, I was offered an internship.”
His immediate reaction should have been joy. Instead he felt himself go cold inside. “What? Where?” he barely managed to ask.
“It doesn’t matter where. Either I’m yours, Jackson, or I’m not. Decide for once. Tonight, you want me or someone else will have me.”
Those words rang true. Already this had gone too far between them. Wasn’t reversible.
It was now or never, take her or leave her. No longer would Jackson have the best of two worlds, Kimmy in his home, his life, his…but not quite. Years he’d kept her at arm’s length but still in reach. Now she had something better to move on to and while he wanted that for her more than anything…
There was no mistaking her meaning. Either he pulled her close or pushed her away completely.
And God help him, Jackson knew what he had to do. Even if he didn’t want to.
Even if he really did.
Chapter Three
The clothes really had made the difference. Heels, as she’d discovered, weren’t really that difficult. Not if she concentrated hard enough…
Never had Kim felt bolder…sexier. Had no idea how she voiced aloud half of what had come out of her mouth tonight, much less gotten up on that table.
But she had. And it’d changed her world completely.
Okay, she’d had a drink or two. But one look at Jackson, unspoken needs smoldering in his eyes, and she’d been knocked dead sober. Now her future—theirs—tilted on an axis and the only weapon Kim possessed was his jealousy. There Jackson stood, obstructing the hall, angled jaw locked, those golden eyes licking with flames. So resilient. Such a liar. A total scaredy pants.