Page 86 of Surrender

The bathroom door clicks, prompting my eyes to open. Steam billows out into the dimly lit hall. Jack steps through the mist, and I nearly groan.

He’s shirtless. Even from a distance, I can see lingering water droplets cling to his skin. As he moves, they lose their hold and drip down over the ridges of his abs into the waistband of his gray sweatpants. His inked bicep bunches as he towels off his wet hair, cell phone extended in his other hand.

“Hey. I have news.” He quickly crosses the room. I’m too busy ogling for the words to fully register.

“News?”

“Sutton Stone just called. He said they pulled CCTV from the businesses in town. Devon was seen leaving the morning after he showed up at the bar, and he hasn’t been seen since.”

A stone settles in my stomach as my shoulders sag. “He’s gone?”

Jack’s jaw clenches as he swallows. “It appears so.”

“He could come back.”

“Since they got him driving, they now have a make, model, and license plate. He has a warrant out now. I think it will be difficult for him to keep sneaking around.”

I close my eyes and blow out a breath. I finally might be able to put this nightmare with Devon to rest. But that means this situation with Jack will be over before it begins.

Popping the sucker in my mouth, I twirl the stick. I focus on the strawberry flavor and not the way my heart feels like it’s ripping into two.

“Can I ask for one last favor?”

“Of course.”

I remove the sucker and spin it in my fingers, looking at the way the red candy glints in the light from the fire. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like it if we could stay until after Christmas. When I tucked Lucy into bed, she mentioned how excited she was for Santa to see all our decorations. I mean, if it’s too much, you’ve already done more than I could have ever asked for, and I appreciate it—”

“Whitney.”

Two heartbeats pass before I drag my eyes to Jack’s face. The intensity there is startling. Brows drawn close and low, eyes hooded. He scans my face in search of something.

“Please,” I ask quietly as the silence stretches. The corners of my eyes begin to burn.

“I want you here for Christmas. I’m not asking you to leave.”

“It’s sort of implied, isn’t it?”

“Is it?”

My lips part.

“Do you want to leave?” he asks.

Shock permeates my body, but right on its heels is the first threads of hope. I lick my sucker to buy time. “No.”

The floorboards creak beneath his footsteps. He draws near. Slow. Predatory. “Have I given you any indication I want you to go?”

Not trusting my voice, I shove the sucker in my mouth and shake my head. Because right now I’m on the verge of telling him how I really feel, and I’m not certain that’s the best idea given everything that’s going on right now.

He stops in front of me. His bare feet in my line of sight.

“Have I?”

Agile fingers grip the end of my sucker stick. He draws the candy out of my mouth. The strawberry rubs along my tongue, and I give in, allowing my muscles to relax. My eyes flick up to his. He gazes down at me intently, watching my mouth as he draws the sucker toward my lips. Just before the candy pops out of my mouth, he slides it back in. Out. In. The gesture is obscene, yet I can’t help the way my nipples tighten beneath my shirt as he runs the sucker around my lips.

On the next outward glide, he takes the candy from me and pops it into his mouth. “I want you to stay.”

My breath rushes from my lungs, and I drop my gaze, only to come face-to-face with the bulge in his sweatpants. What an opportunity to waste. He wants to play with my mouth? Turn me on?

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