Page 176 of My Five Daddies

“Nah. Besides, Lionel isn’t mytype.”

“I know, you told him that. Do you know why the whole set got quiet when you saidit?”

He shakes his head. “I figured they just don’t have a sense ofhumor.”

“No, they do. It’s more that Lionel is famous for histemper.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Is he really? See, that’s the sort of thing I need helpwith.”

“Consider this a free lessonthen.”

“Thanks,” he says, smirking. “How much do the other lessons cost? I have a lot of money now, youknow.”

“Oh, I heard all about it.” I look away from him and go back to what I’m doing. “You can’t afford myrate.”

He laughs and leans up against the wall behind me. “So was that scene really that bad?” he asksme.

“No, at least I didn’t think so,” I say. “Maybe a littletense.”

“Yeah,” he grunts, “that’s what I was afraidof.”

I turn and cock my head at him. “Why would you be afraid ofthat?”

“Never mind,” he says, smirking at me. “I’d rather talk about how jealous youwere.”

I pause, a little surprised. “I wasn’t jealous,” I sayquickly.

“Yes, you were. I saw it all over your face. You didn’t like me kissingHolly.”

“It’s a movie, Jackson. It’s all fake. I’ve seen plenty of actorskiss.”

“Sure, but this isn’t fake.” He pushes off the wall and steps closer to me. “Like the other night. You were going to kissme.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I definitelywasn’t.”

“Come on, Tara. You’re telling me that out on the dance floor, getting close and sweaty, you didn’t want to taste it one moretime?”

I shake my head but we both know I’m lying. My heart is hammering in my chest and he’s coming closer to me, and I’m not backing off. In fact, I turn toward him, looking into his sultry, gorgeous eyes. There’s a slight smile on his face but the tension between us is electric and incredible. It’s nothing like what I saw out on the stage earlier today between him andHolly.

“You’re jealous. Just admit it,” he says to me softly, stopping inchesaway.

“No,” I say. “You’redelusional.”

“I’m a lot of things, but delusional isn’t one of them,” he says quietly, reaching up and slowly running his hand down through my hair. He stops and grabs a fistful of it, tipping my headback.

I should get the hell out of here. I know what’s coming next. I should stop him, say something, push him away. I need to remember what he did to me all those yearsago.

And yet… looking into his eyes right now, his hand in my hair, his body so close, that old pain is softer, almost muted. It’s like being near him sucks away the hurt that happened so long ago and makes it better again. I don’t know how, since seeing him should make it worse, but it doesn’t. Being near him feels like something I can’tdescribe.

He leans forward, and I know I’m lost. He presses his lips against mine and kisses medeeply.

I moan softly into his lips as I kiss him back. His taste floods my mouth, so familiar. It’s insane how I remember everything about this and how nothing’s changed. As soon as he kisses me, I feel like we’re back in high school again, and it feels so damn good. That rush of good feelings tears through me as he presses his hand against my lower back and pulls me closer to him. I put my hands on his chest and lean into the kiss, letting myself enjoy it, not think aboutit.

Slowly, the kiss ends, after what feels like forever. He releases my hair but he doesn’t release my body as he looks down at me with a smirk on hislips.

“Like I said,” he whispers softly. “You want me to kissyou.”

“Get out of here,” I say to him, shaking my head, but I can’t stop the smile on myface.

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