Page 56 of Octane

The door closes, and I swing the bar lock into place, but I don’t turn around yet. I need to work up the nerve to tell him that we can’t go any further than we already have.

“Jackson, I’m glad you’re here.”

I turn around, finally, and join him in the center of the room. The passion I see in his eyes causes my resolve to splinter.

No, Sawyer. Say what you need to say.

“You are?”

“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other day.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that, too,” he smirks.

He takes a step toward me, and I take a step back.

“I heard what you said in your office, about not wanting to cheat.”

“Mmhmm?”

He takes another step forward, I take another one back.

“You’re right,” I continue. “We can’t start an affair.”

“I don’t want to start an affair with you, Sawyer.”

With a dangerous look in his eye, he takes another step forward. Shaking with need more than nerves, I take another step back.

“Okay,” I reply, and my heart breaks, knowing it’s over before it even began.

I look down because I can’t bear to look him in the eyes any longer, but then he speaks again.

“I want you all to myself.”

My head snaps up in surprise just before my back hits the wall and his lips crash into mine. Just like that, what’s left of my resolve crumbles, and I wrap my arms around his neck. His hands run down my ribs, over my hips, and grip my ass. He lifts me up, and I curl my legs around him.

“We can’t,” I protest with my lips against his.

“Uh-uh,” he agrees.

“It’s not right,” I explain as he lies me down on the bed.

“Definitely not.” He’s at the foot of the bed, unbuttoning his shirt as he stands over me. My legs are bent and hanging over the edge, which is exactly where it feels like I am right now: on the edge. I don’t know if this is the beginning of something incredible or if I’m about to make the biggest mistake of my life. But once his shirt hits the floor, I don’t care about anything else.

The sight of him shirtless, tanned, tatted, and ripped has me instantly wet. Leaning over me, he tugs on the hem of my shirt, so I sit up just enough for him to lift it over my head. He stares down at me appreciatively before whispering kisses over my stomach.

He makes quick work of the button on my jeans, and I grip the comforter beneath me. Slowly, he tugs on the zipper of my pants and makes a show of pulling it down. I bite my bottom lip as he runs his finger softly along the waistline of my panties. Just as he’s about to explore what’s underneath the silk, my phone rings.

My head shoots to the night table to the right of the bed.

“Ignore it,” Jackson commands.

“I can’t.”

“You can,” he stares at me pointedly.

“Jackson, if it’s Daniel and I don’t answer…”

Jackson takes a deep breath and tightly fists the comforter. Then he moves away from me and grabs his shirt from the floor as I sit up. I glance at the screen and see that it is Daniel.

---