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  He slid his hand behind her head. Her breath stuck when he grabbed that fistful of hair at the base of her skull. Oh, God. The receptors in her brain that doubted everything shifted off, leaving her floating in the quiet of him.

  He held her like that for a long peaceful moment before he spoke. “Come.”

  Just like that, she came. Her orgasm burst free, shattering her from the inside out. She gasped, searching for air as she finally let go. Her release blazed from her core to scorch her with its intensity. Years of pent-up frustration poured out of her, rolling on a wave that wouldn’t crest.

  And Jacob never looked away. Not as she writhed beneath him. Not when she dug her fingers into his arms. Not when she cried his name, too overwhelmed to hold back.

  Not when he powered into her twice more before coming himself.

  The awe in his expression registered in her fuzzy thoughts before the next emotion could take hold. Hunger? Desire? Longing?

  She couldn’t be clear. No, she didn’t want to be clear.

  This was it. She’d had her night.

  She closed her eyes, cutting off her wild thoughts with a turn of her head. She had no right to hope for anything more than this. Life had taught her that.

  Chapter Six

  Curses hammered Jacob in the raging confines of his head.

  Bailey turned her head, her closed eyes saying more than words. But he’d seen the wonder and longing when she’d come. The trust she’d given the entire night. The hunger for more that matched his own.

  He swallowed hard, the searing sting in his throat barely soothed. Bailey. His sweet, wild, hurting Bailey. He brushed a kiss to her temple, his heart stuffed with emotions he could no longer ignore.

  He blew out a long breath, inhaled before he released his hold on the back of her head. Her quiet whimper almost gutted him. He missed her sweet warmth immediately when he pulled out. She was so much better than he’d dared dream. The entire scene had been a revelation.

  He glanced up, taking in the others before he quickly cleaned up and disposed of the condom. He grabbed the blanket he’d brought and laid it over Bailey. She curled onto her side on the table, her eyes still closed, knees tucked up. She looked so vulnerable in that moment, more so now than at any point during the scene.

  That was normal. He’d seen it before, had been the caretaker for many women as they came down from a scene. But he’d never been this invested. Never worried or cared the way he did now. Bailey was his responsibility, and he had no problem with that.

  No, he rather liked it.

  Kellan’s slow smile and knowing look said he understood. He raised a brow as he stepped up to the table and nodded to Bailey.

  That possessive thing unfurled to merge with the pride Jacob held for her. He hitched his chin, amazed at how simple it’d been to slip into the dominant role with her. To be that guy for her. He didn’t want to stop either.

  Kellan leaned down to lay a kiss on her shoulder. “Thank you, Bailey. It was a pleasure.” His gentleness contrasted sharply with the crass demands he’d leveled during the scene.

  Kellan nodded to the other men, grabbed his suit coat and left the room. Drake finished buckling his belt, his smile a bit too casual given the nerves taking flight in Jacob’s stomach. But then, Drake had no stakes in this game.

  And this wasn’t a game.

  Not for Jacob. Not even a little.

  Drake strolled from the room, his expression softening when he passed Bailey. “You were perfect, Bailey. Thank you.” The smirk he aimed at Jacob was layered with speculation.

  The scene was over, but Jacob wasn’t finished. Not with the scene or Bailey.

  Trevor remained in the back corner, his stare drilling into Jacob. He hitched a brow and pushed away from the wall. “Take care of her.” He delivered his statement with the same even tone that moderated most of his interactions before he left, closing the door behind him.

  Silence descended with the heavy weight of responsibility, but he didn’t regret it, not even a little. He gladly owned everything Bailey had given him.

  He slid his hand around her shoulders and urged her up. She barely acknowledged him, but she didn’t resist. She seemed almost smaller somehow, like she’d crawled into herself to consume the least amount of space as possible.

  What did I do?

  Doubts lashed him, leaving open wounds that bled with his fears. In his own way, he was a runner too. An avoider who masked it by stepping up for everyone else without committing to anything of his own. Networking had expanded his connections and landed him in multiple successful jobs since he’d started calling the Bay Area home almost two decades ago.

  Yet he was still single, still alone.

  “Come here,” he whispered, the words scoring his throat on their way out. He swallowed, but it didn’t help the ache. “I’ve still got you,” he added when he tucked an arm under her legs. Her soft little whimper pierced his heart, opening another wound. “I’ve got you.” Always.

  Would she accept that? Want it?

  He lifted her with ease, the few short steps to the chair executed without a peep of resistance from her. She curled into him, defeat screaming from every pore when he sat down. Bailey.

  He wrapped her in his arms, drawing her to his chest until he could bury his nose in her neck and will his own demons away. He dug his fingers into her hair and curled them into a fist at the base of her skull. Her muffled sob gutted him, but he didn’t let go.

  Slowly, almost tentatively, she wrapped an arm around his neck and held on. The exhaustion hit him then, the relief so profound he choked on it.

  Breathe. Just Breathe. That was all he could do in the moment. Just keep breathing until the ache slowly loosened. The subtle scent of flowers and heat fed into him on each inhalation. This was Bailey. The woman who’d grabbed his attention from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. The one who danced with abandon and took on the world without a hint of fear.

  She charged in—before she ran away.

  Just like him.

  But he wasn’t, now. Not with her. Not after all she’d given. He’d never abuse her trust like that.

  His kisses started off as hard presses filled with longing, wishes and possibilities. I’ve got you. I want you. He trailed them up her neck in slow beats so each one could sink in. The promises came next. I won’t hurt you. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always have you. He spread those down her jaw, each one becoming a little quicker, a bit more desperate.

  The pleas came when he reached her lips. Don’t push me away. Don’t run. He brushed his lips over hers, waiting for a response. “Bailey,” he murmured, every agonizing doubt infused in her name, along with a smattering of hope that continued to grow the longer she held on.

  Her lips parted, a little sigh escaping. Desire curled an insidious path around his heart that tangled with the longing he’d finally acknowledged. He kissed her again, tiny touches that sunk so deeply he swore each one kicked another hole in the wall of defenses that’d been useless against her.

  “How?” she whispered, her lips grazing his as she spoke the breathy word.

  “How what?”

  She lifted just enough to brush her lips to his. The gentle touch shattered him even more. “How are you still here?”

  The true wonder in her voice inflicted another wound. She’d expected him to dump her? Run away? “How could I not be?”

  He kissed her long and deep before she could respond, each slow swipe of his tongue a declaration and confirmation. A lazy hunger wound through him on the rise of the damn hope that continued to grow as she met every stroke and offered her own.

  She slid her hand around until it cupped his cheek in a hold so tender he almost broke. Yes. This. Her. It was right. All of it.

  Her skin was soft beneath his palm, the curve of her back as inviting as the swell of h
er hip. He couldn’t stop touching her, tasting her, holding her, so he kept going. The kiss became a declaration and question rolled into one. He cared so damn much for her. Did she get that? Understand it?

  “But,” she finally mumbled between kisses, “I...”

  Fear spiked hard and fast at her hesitation. “I what?” He forced himself to ask when he didn’t want to know. Her breath brushed his lips as he hovered just above them, still unwilling to separate even a little.

  Space provided distance for her to run.

  His hold on her hair tightened incrementally before he realized what he was doing, but he didn’t loosen it when he did. His heart hitched, his dread jacking higher the longer it took her to respond.

  Her tongue grazed his lips as she wet her own. Her eyes finally fluttered opened to reveal the doubts, hurt and longing she kept locked away from the world. “I made you do this.”

  His scowl was instantaneous. He shook his head.

  “I did,” she jumped in before he could speak. “I know I did. You didn’t want to, but I hounded and pushed and—”

  He cut her off with a hard kiss, one that stated his disagreement. “No,” he insisted when he relented. “Just no. You don’t get to take the blame for what I willingly did. For what I wanted.”

  “But—”

  He kissed her again, deeper and longer until she melted into his hold. Only then did he ease up, dragging his tongue over her lips as he parted. “I wanted everything you gave me tonight. Don’t you dare doubt that.”

  Her fingers glided over his cheek, her eyes softening with her expression. “I’m yours tonight.” His stomach twisted at the last word. Just tonight? “I trust you and that.” Her lips quirked in a quick smile. “You had me the entire time.”

  “I still do,” he quickly amended. And he would for as long as she let him. Did she understand that yet? He slid a hand down her thigh, lust mixing with the control he still held. He could take whatever he wanted, but that wouldn’t be right, even now.

  “I want you, Bailey,” he confessed. Always. Forever. “I want to feel your sweet heat around me.” Every damn day. “I want to feel you clench me as I watch you come.” That wild free expression caused by him, just him. His voice lowered before he added, “And I want to come when I’m buried so deeply within you that you’ll have no doubt I’m still here.”

  That I’ll always be here for you.

  Chapter Seven

  “Yes.” The whispered word mirrored the tentative hope blooming within Bailey. She lifted, drawing him down for a kiss that she owned. He was so much more than she deserved. But who had planted that thought in her head? Why did she devalue herself that way?

  Maybe it was time she stopped running from her past and embraced the future instead.

  “Yes,” she murmured again as she struggled to sit up. “You’re still here.” The confirmation was for herself. She’d hold that close and take everything he was offering, even if it was just for tonight.

  Their kisses barely paused as she maneuvered around until she straddled his lap. Hunger, desire and need all merged into a desperate race to claim everything he was offering. He hadn’t left her, but more importantly, she wanted him to be here.

  She wanted him.

  And she couldn’t get close enough.

  She scrambled to undo the buttons on his shirt, not bothering with his tie. She just needed skin. Heat. Contact to confirm he was real. That this was real.

  Her sob halted in her throat when he released his hold on her hair. That simple touch, his firm grip had been another confirmation. He’d had her through the entire scene.

  And he was still here.

  She didn’t question the frantic pace of her heart or the frenzied rush pushing her. For once she embraced the hope and raced to claim it.

  His chest was firm and perfect beneath her palm. She swirled her tongue with his, frustration mounting. It wasn’t enough. She ached to be filled, and she cried out when he finally cupped her breasts. The hard pinch and twist on her nipples brought her sore ass into full focus. Heat blazed on the tender skin that now chafed against his trousers. But instead of lifting away, she ground down. The pain intensified everything, made it all bigger. Every graze or hard grip, each kiss and brush of his clothing.

  She was bared to him, completely, and she wasn’t afraid.

  “Bailey,” he mumbled as he trailed kisses to her breasts.

  The first hard suck on the tender tip rocked her back. Passion raced on a direct path to her pussy. Her cry was a wild mix of relief and desperation that had her fumbling at his pants.

  She’d gotten his zipper down when he switched to her other nipple and bit down. The piercing shot of pain left her gasping and wanting. Her head spun, thoughts focused only on him. Jacob. Her Jacob.

  She fisted his erection, stroked it with the same frantic energy that buzzed through her. Only this was different, centered when it was usually disconnected. She had only one goal and that was to feel him in her.

  He ran a finger through her pussy as she lifted. Any thought of their awkward position was shoved aside by the blast of sensation that swooped in on his touch. He rubbed hard and quick on her clit and yanked another cry from her.

  “I need you,” she croaked. So much. Too much.

  “Yes,” he agreed as he shifted down so he could slide into her.

  The first long descent filled her each slow inch by inch. It contracted in her stomach and swarmed her chest with wishes and dreams she’d never dared release. But she was unable to hold them back now. Not when she looked in his eyes and saw the same emotions reflected back at her.

  Wonder, ecstasy, hunger and the tender thing that’d stolen her breath before and caught her heart now.

  The world seemed to stall when he was fully seated within her. He stretched her walls and filled the ache that’d chased her for years. She hunted for air that wasn’t there, lost in the emotions fluttering to life.

  He cupped her neck, drawing her down until his lips touched hers, just touched. That simple, little act was more impactful than every deep kiss and hungry claim. It wove through her on a gentle grace that managed to quiet everything. Each doubt and worry. Every criticism and flight of fancy she’d dashed after.

  “I’ve still got you.”

  She embraced his soft declaration with a freedom she’d never experienced before. She trusted him and his words. She trusted this.

  “Thank you,” she mumbled before she gave in to the pulsing need bursting for release. She rose, savoring the glide and the confirmation that he was there. She rode him, taking, giving and meeting him halfway as her orgasm built.

  His kisses became hungry, his thrusts harder. She lifted and fell until her thighs burned and her breaths were short gasps. His hands seemed to be everywhere. Running down her back, up her sides, cupping her breasts, squeezing her ass. Then he stroked her clit. The firm rub shot her over the top and had her soaring before she’d processed the shift.

  “Jacob!” His name broke through the room on the lust-filled sob that tore from her chest. Her muscles pulsed, clenched and trembled through her release, pleasure soaking every nerve ending until she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

  Couldn’t let go.

  “Fuck, yes!” Jacob gripped her hips, ramming hard before he tensed, grinding into her on a growled groan. “Bailey. Fuck. B.”

  His words were mumbled into her neck as he held her tight. Her breath returned in ragged hitches that clawed too close to the pained emptiness she’d feared for so long. Would this be it? Was the night done now?

  Were they done?

  She dug her fingers into his hair and held on with everything she had. For the first time ever, she didn’t want to run.

  And she had no idea what to do with that.

  Chapter Eight

  Jacob clung to Bailey until hi
s breaths evened out and his head cleared, but he was reluctant to let go. She was pressed as close to him as she could get, his erection still buried in her, and it wasn’t enough.

  He inhaled, taking in a full draft of her subtle flower scent along with the heavier undercurrents of sex. Her spine was a long line beneath his palm that he couldn’t stop rubbing. Time ticked by on a silent beat until the sticky realities of sex demanded they move.

  “Hey.” He tried to nudge her away, but she shook her head and tightened her arms around him. His heart swelled as it broke for her. “Aw, Bailey.” He wrapped her up, pressing a kiss to her neck.

  “If I let go, the night is over.”

  Her mumbled admission gutted him a little more. Her hurt ran so deep, but it didn’t scare him away. Not by a long shot. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

  Her hitched scoff held a lighter note. “I don’t think Trevor would take it very well if we’re still here in the morning.”

  And there was the breezy distance she wielded on a flash and spark of charm. It littered her tone and foreshadowed her departure better than an actual goodbye.

  “Don’t.” He forced her to shift back, catching her face in his hands when she tried to look away. “No. You don’t get to run from me. Not after...this.” She rolled her lip between her teeth, her vulnerability spilling out on the simple move. “I’ve still got you, and I don’t want to let go. Not now. Not tomorrow. Not...ever.”

  His heart lurched at his admission. He’d put it all out there, and he had no desire to take it back. He could only hope she wanted to stick with him after this.

  Her jaw trembled, then stiffened. “Jacob.” Her voice broke before she’d finished. She swallowed, resting her forehead to his. “I don’t know how to do this.” Her breath kissed his lips with each word. “I don’t want to run, but I don’t know how to stay.”

  Hope leaped forward as he drew her in for a gentle kiss. “I’ve got you,” he whispered, willing her to believe him. “You just need to trust that.”