Wicked Ties(120)

told me she loved me. On that video, she told him three times in eight minutes. Ever

since, I’ve wondered if maybe…maybe I don’t have that something a woman needs in

order to be happy.”

The way his intense gaze gripped hers made her breath catch. In those dark eyes,

lurked the fear that she could never love him. Of all the things she’d expected, this would

have been dead last on the list.

Warm, gooey feelings exploded in Morgan’s chest. She cupped his stubble-rough

cheek in her hand, thumb caressing the hard thrust of his cheekbone. His vulnerable

frown tore at her heart as he kissed the inside of her palm and watched her with a gaze

scraped raw by need.

“Have you ever told anybody else about your ex-wife?”

“No.” His tight voice sounded somewhere between a whisper and a mutter, then he

cracked a pained smile. “Well, I told Deke after one too many hurricanes.”

This proud, dominant man had just laid bare his fear and pain. For her. To help her

understand why he’d walked out.

“You have everything necessary to make a woman love you.” Her voice shook. “After

all, I’ve been fighting the dangerous urge to fall in love with you for three days.”

Jack’s eyes widened, heated. He stalked closer, against her, greedy fingers curling into

her hair, hungry gaze eating her up. “Did you succeed?”

Morgan hesitated. Answering this question gave him so much power… Yet,

intertwined with a ragged catch of emotion, she heard that subtle command in this voice,

the one that never failed to rouse both her body and her instinct to submit. She saw

apprehension tighten his bold features. And couldn’t stay silent.

“Not well enough for my peace of mind.”

A smile broke across his face, white teeth flashing in Cajun-dark skin. Chocolate eyes

melted. That expression…so brilliant, so happy. “Good. I shouldn’t be in this alone.”

Then he covered her mouth with his, a soft urge for entry with a hint of demand

beneath. Tender control. Silken mastery. Her cold lips warmed under his touch, quick as

a whip’s lash. Her body melted, heated, ached. The brush of his lips, the sensual dance of

his tongue, and suddenly her head swam with everything Jack—his scent, the hard

breadth of his chest, the flavor of his mouth, the way he held her, as if she was…

everything.

Breathing harsh, he pressed a light kiss to the corner of her lips and backed away.

“This fantasy of yours, it’s important to you, isn’t it?”

She could do without it, couldn’t she? It wasn’t that important. After all, she’d been

doing without it for years. Why pursue it if was going to cause him more distress? Why

risk hurting him, a man who’d already known pain?

“The truth, Morgan. Not what you think I want to hear.”

If she lied, even for the sake of his feelings, there would be hell to pay. That message

wouldn’t have been any more obvious if he’d paid to put it on a neon billboard.

Morgan crossed her arms over her chest. How important was it? Blowing out a breath,

she tried to sort out the tangle.

Well, she’d had nothing but miserable relationships since she discovered men. And

Jack had known why by looking at her the first time they met: She hadn’t been listening

to her needs, giving her psyche what it required to unlock the key to her pleasure. No

denying she’d sacrificed her wants, burying her desires, for the greater good of those

lousy relationships. Instead, ignoring her submissive nature had killed those

relationships.

Big admission for her, and she had Jack to thank. He’d taught her not to hide, forced

her to face the fact it was impossible to build happiness on a lie.

And the truth was, of all her wicked midnight fantasies, the idea of two men taking

her, at once, had been the most explosive. And yes, she might be able to renounce it now,

for a while. But how long before denying her desire caught up with them?

“I—I wish I could just make it go away. But I’m afraid I’ll never feel truly…settled

and satisfied until I have it, at least once.”

He frowned, nodded, turned, and paced to the other side of the room.

A silent implication that she wanted more than he was willing to provide. The truth

hurt, ripped her insides like an industrial paper shredder. But she’d done what she had

to do. Lying wouldn’t work. Ultimately, the fall out would only be more painful. She’d be

doing them both a disservice. Being engaged to Andrew without being honest for too

long had proven that.

Besides, better that they crossed this bridge now, rather than later, after she

convinced herself to stay and lie…and surely only grow more attached to him.