Page 24 of Burn With Me

“Like he owns me? Yeah,” she scoffs.

Staring at her as she does her best to not look at me, I reach back over and pluck the untouched champagne from her hand, handing both our glasses to a passing woman wholooks at me incredulously, but takes them, and continues walking away.

“Well then, let’s fix that.” Holding my hand out to her, she finally looks at it before lifting her gaze to mine.

“What are you doing, Jackson? What do you think you canfix?” she argues. The lights from the skyline and the pier light up the water, reflecting in her eyes as she stares up at me—the same look from Saturday night shining in their depths. Only now, there’s a hardness to it. She wants to be saved. Scarlett isn’t too proud to admit it.

Ginny is.

Stepping into her, I shift to shield her body from the majority of the room behind us, letting my hand drop to her waist where her brother gripped her earlier. She sucks in a breath as I gently stroke my thumb up and down her skin there, her hands moving to circle my forearms.

“I think that the only way I can erase his touch from your body is to take you out on the dance floor and spin you around for a few songs.Thatway, he can’t make a scene. And later, if he does, you can tell him you secured a million-dollar donation with just a few dances.”

Shock dances across her face for a moment before her demeanor relaxes at my words, body growing slack beneath my touch. “Why are you being nice to me?”

My brow furrows and I pull her into me, turning to go back inside. “I’ve never been mean to you, Ginny.”

We catch a few pairs of curious eyes as we pass through the crowd. There haven’t been a lot of couples dancing tonight, but the DJ switches the house music to smooth jazz as soon as our feet hit the floor. Looking over, I see Stacey standing at his podium, and she raises a glass to me nonchalantly before striking a conversation with a random woman.

Ginny sees the exchange and sniffs as I pull her into my arms and start swaying us to the rhythm of the alto saxophone drifting over the room. “Fuckboy,” she mutters under her breath.

My, my, green is alovelycolor on her.

Gently I pinch the skin of her waist, earning me a startled yelp, her eyes growing wide with an anger so tangible I swear there’s red in the depths of her blue orbs. “What the hell, Jackson?”

“She’s my secretary. And she’s married…to awoman,” I tell her pointedly.

The shock on her face wears off quickly. “Whatever, I don’t care.”

Pulling her flush against my body, I dip my head so that my lips hover closer to hers. “Your body language says otherwise. In fact, your body is telling me that you want me just as badly as I want you. So why don’t you cut the bullshit and stop lying to yourself.”

The crowd parts at the edge of the dance floor as I look away from the incredulous look she gives me. Her brother is standing with an older couple and two other men, his back to us. The woman, who bears a striking resemblance to him, keeps glancing over at us worriedly, and every time Chris moves as if he’s about to turn around, she finds a way to keep his back to us.

“Go out with me.” My eyes cut back to Ginny, a plan forming in my head that will make me seem like a bastard, but that’s nothing new. She already thinks the worst of me.

Rolling her eyes, she turns her head away and says, “No.” Her eyes catch on her brother, uncertainty bleeding into them as she watches to make sure he doesn’t see us.

“Something tells me your brother doesn’t know you work at Decadence.”Or at Désirer.“Go out with me, or I’ll march over there right now, and tell him that we do, in fact, know each other. And I’ll allude that we know each otherquitewell.”

Spinning her away from me, I check to see that his attention is still occupied before pulling her back and holding her tightly to my chest. “You wouldn’t dare,” she whispersangrily, clutching my shirt in her hands to stop me from spinning her again.

Lowering my mouth to her ear, I whisper, “Try me.”

Heat radiates from her body, searing my skin as the tension crackles between us like static electricity. Our dance has become a game, both our eyes continuously darting over to her brother, neither of us wanting to admit defeat.

Letting go of her, I shrug with a smirk. “Your choice.”

I’ve only taken a few steps when I hear her let loose a conquered sigh. “Fine!” she snaps at my back.

Such sweet victory.

Turning back to her, I flash her my charming smile. “You’ll go out with me?”

She smirks, her eyes lighting up as she saunters toward me. My smile falls, uncertain of why exactly she’s looking at me likeI’mprey thatshe’shunting.

Scratch that. She’s looking at me as if she’s already caught me.

“On one condition,” she counters.

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