Page 34 of Pucking Forbidden

“Jordan,” she whispers, staring in awe. “You did all of this for me?”

“Told you that I intend to spoil you, princess.” I cup her cheek, brushing my thumb across her lips. “What part of that didn’t you hear?”

“I just…” She shakes her head like she’s in disbelief. “You’re full of surprises, Jordan Silvestri.”

“You mean because I’m supposed to be an asshole?

“Well…I mean…” She gives me a cheeky grin.

I chuckle, leading her toward the table. I don’t let her sit, though. Instead, I pull her down onto my lap. It’s where she belongs.

Her gaze runs over the table again…all of her favorites. It lingers on the massive piece of German chocolate cake with cherries on the side. “You remembered,” she says softly.

“Yeah, I remembered.” I touch my lips to her throat. “I never forgot a damn thing about you, Sutton. You’ve haunted me for five years.”

She turns those wide eyes on me as I pull a plate toward us and start loading it up. “You haunted me, too,” she whispers. “I, um…I used to tell myself that I only looked you up to make sure you weren’t causing problems, but it was a lie. I looked you up constantly, just to feel close to you. Just because I couldn’t let you go.”

I groan softly, flipping my arm over to reveal the Ferris wheel tattoo hidden on my forearm. “I got this for you.”

“The carnival,” she whispers, reaching out to run one fingertip across the lines of ink.

“It took everything I had not to kiss you in that bucket that night,” I murmur.

“I wanted you to do it.” She licks her lips, looking up at me. “So damn bad. It was the whole reason I begged you to ride it with me. I was going to kiss you when we got to the top.”

I groan quietly, curling my fingers around hers. Neither of us mentions why that didn’t happen. Vanessa convinced Jamison to get on the ride at the last minute. They ended up in the bucket right beside ours, able to see everything we did.

But up there that night? With the wind blowing in her hair and the sky around us? It still felt like it was just the two of us. I wanted to stay there with her. Instead, we finished the ride and got off. Two weeks later, the whole fucking world came crashing down around us.

I’ve thought about that night a thousand times over the years, wondering how things might have been different if I had kissed her.

“You’ll just have to make it up to me,” she says.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmhmm. A redo.”

“I can make that happen, princess.”

She grins, happy in a way that looks too fucking good on her. I can’t resist pulling her into another kiss, this one longer, more intense.

“Fuck,” I groan when I break away, panting. “I can’t get enough of that mouth.”

“Well, too bad,” she teases. “You promised me cake. You have to feed me now or I may waste away.”

I chuckle, shaking my head before I finish scooping her favorites onto the plate. She reaches for a fork, but I quickly grab it.

“Let me.”

Her eyes darken, smoldering, as I scoop up a bite of pasta, lifting it to her lips. They close around the fork with her eyes locked on mine.

I chuckle through a groan when she pulls it into her mouth, and her eyes immediately widen. “Holy shit. That’s good.”

“Surprised?”

“Um, yes. I did not know you could cook.”

“I picked up a few skills.”

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