Page 84 of Beyond the Temptation: Vol 2

I take a step back, pulling in a shaky breath. “Stop. We can’t.”

He levels a gaze at me, one full of adoration. “Do you know that I’ve loved you since I was six years old?” His quiet voice cuts across the space between us. His brown-eyed gaze roams over me, and my heart stutters within my chest. “You probably don’t even remember.” He absentmindedly looks off to the side as if picturing the memory, and then he returns his gaze back to mine. “I first saw you at the Independence Day parade. You must have been nine. You were wearing some big poufy dress. You wore a sash across your chest from winning Little Miss South Carolina or something. And you sat on the back of a fancy red convertible as the driver slowly led you down Main Street. You waved and handed out candy to all the kids in the town.”

A small smile forms on his lips, lighting up his eyes as he continues. “It had actually been a horrible day,” he scoffs. “My old man was drunk and pounding on everyone in the house, like he always did. He and my mom had passed out, wasted. My little sister was napping, and I just had to get out of the house, to breathe—you know? So, I found myself watching this parade where all the kids from town were decked out in their brand new red, white, and blue attire, waving little flags with big smiles on their faces. Whereas I stood back in the shadows in my holey jeans that were two sizes too big and a T-shirt that was more black than the original white it was meant to be.

“The other kids approached the convertible as you tossed candy into their hands. I didn’t dare move from the shaded brick wall I was leaning against, but you saw me. You told the driver of the car to stop, and you hopped down. I almost bolted as you approached me, but you looked like an angel or a princess coming toward me, and I couldn’t turn away.” He smiles, hesitantly searching my eyes as he speaks, “You were so beautiful, the most gorgeous person I’d ever seen.”

“I remember.” My heart twists a little. “I gave you the bag of candy I was holding. You just looked so sad.”

“You smiled and turned away to go back to the parade. I took the bag of candy and ran home. I hid it inside a punched out area of the drywall of my bedroom. I shared it with my sister over the next few months, especially when it had been a bad day. Believe it or not, that was the first time either of us had tried candy.”

No words are spoken for a moment. The air between us buzzes with something more than lust, an awareness of something greater. After a few seconds, he says, “I watched for you after that. I spent a lot of time throughout the years hanging out in town, hoping to get a glimpse of you. I got to see you a lot, actually. You were always following your busy mother around. You know, I should have hated you or at least the idea of you. You are someone who has been given everything that I’ve always wanted. You’ve had love, opportunities, and protection your entire life. I’ve had none of that. We have nothing in common, yet you’re all I think about. You’re kind, smart, beautiful, and utterly enchanting.”

His stare continues to hold mine. “Last night, I held my little sister as she cried in my arms. She’s suffered more than a person should ever have to. While my dad liked to take out his anger on me with physical aggression, he used my sister for something else. The memories haunt her every night while she sleeps, causing her to wake with agonizing screams.”

I inch closer to him and take his hands in mine. “I’m nothing like the other guys here,” he says, his brow furrowing. “I’ve lived through things that douches like Jeremy could never imagine. I couldn’t care less about high school sports and hooking up with attention-starved girls. I worry about making enough money with my side jobs to feed my sister. I get nervous every morning when I check in on my mother, hoping she didn’t OD the night before. I focus on my schoolwork and grades because I want to earn a scholarship to a local university. I’m going to be better than what I was raised to be. I’m going to take care of my sister. I’m going to be somebody.” Sorrow lines his voice, so tangible that my chest clenches.

I cup his cheek in my palm, rubbing my thumb across his face. “You’re already somebody pretty great.”

His powerful gaze captures mine with an intensity that penetrates to my core. “Do you know what I thought about last night as I held my sister?”

Dropping my hand from his face, I bite my trembling lip with a mild shake of my head.

“I thought about you. Savannah, you are my salvation. You have been for thirteen years. I’ve held on to visions of you to get me through it all. I don’t know why.” His head moves back and forth with a sigh. “It’s nothing that I can explain, exactly. All I know is that you are good. You’re everything a man could wish for, and your heart is as beautiful as your appearance. I want you. I need you.” His last thought drops down to a whisper.

A surge of helplessness consumes me. “But I’m your…”

“I need you.”

“But I’m…” My quivering voice is barely a murmur.

Jackson wraps his arms around me and buries his face in my neck, “I. Need. You,” he says breathlessly against my skin, each word a staccato.

A torrent of emotions crashes down around me, yet I no longer care about right or wrong. I just care about him.

His soft lips trail kisses along my neck, causing my skin to practically vibrate with pleasure. His mouth moves up across my jaw, and after a kiss to my cheek, he pulls away just enough so I can gaze into the deep green depths of his eyes that stare at mine in question.

He’s giving me an out.

But I don’t want it.

Locked in this space—my face so close to Jackson’s that the air from our breaths dance as one between our parted lips—is the only place I want to be. As a witness to his agony, my heart aches for the beautiful little boy who was forced to grow up way too fast. At the same time, my desire throbs with need for the sexy, determined man he’s grown into despite his circumstances.

I close my eyes on an exhale, my final answer to Jackson’s unspoken question.

In an instant, his lips collide with mine. Tongues clash. Moans resonate. My fingers grasp desperately at his back, pulling him closer. The world fades away as my mouth moves against his. This is the definition of euphoria—complete and utter bliss.

I knew kissing Jackson would be incredible, but I wasn’t prepared for this. There isn’t a word to adequately describe the way his mouth on mine makes me feel.

Without taking his mouth off mine, he pulls my skirt up to my waist. I step out of my thong as he fumbles with his jeans. I hear the crinkling of a condom wrapper, and then his arm is around me, lifting me onto my desk.

In one powerful thrust, he’s inside me, and I can’t stop the cry of pleasure that comes from deep within. Ripping my lips from his, I throw my head back, and he continues to push into me.

“Oh my God,” I chant over and over, relishing in the sensations coursing through my body.

This is everything I ever needed and never knew I wanted, and I know that once will never be enough.

The reality of this situation resides in the foggy distance, but all that matters to me is the soul-shattering connection I’m currently experiencing. I can’t summon the strength to care about the future when all of my energy is needed to absorb this magnificent gift of the present.

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