Page 42 of Whiskey Promises
"Like I said, you don't know what you're talking about."
"You've never slept with him."
"So? That doesn't prove anything. There are plenty of virgins in the world."
"Yeah, I am one," Jareth growls.
"Seriously?" I gape at him.
"Is that so shocking? I told you before you came all over my face that I'd never done that before."
"I thought you meant that specifically, not all of it."
"You thought wrong. And you're still full of shit. Connor is gay."
"Whatever you say. Can we please just get on with this tasting so I can get back to my boyfriend?" My head is spinning. Jareth is a legitimate virgin. I did not see that coming.
"Hell no," he snaps, his eyes flashing with deadly intent. "Yourmanis right here."
I open my mouth to argue with him and then snap it closed with a shake of my head. "It's too early in the morning to argue with you, Jareth."
"We wouldn't be arguing if you'd admit that you're wild about me already."
"You know what?" I growl, tired of denying it. Tired of fighting it. Just…tired. I am so damn tired of resisting this man when it feels futile. When he feels inevitable. "Maybe I am. Maybe you're all I think about anymore. And maybe it's driving me freaking nuts! But it doesn't change anything."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm leaving in ten days!" I cry again. "I go back home, and you'll be here. And eventually, we both end up heartbroken. Is that really what you want?" It's better to just end it now before I get in even deeper and can't get out. Italreadyhurts knowing I'm leaving in ten days, Nadia was right about that. But I cannot deal with falling harder, just to lose him later. I wasn't built for that. And maybe that makes me a coward, but I'll wear that label because the way this man makes me feel scares the hell out of me. He feels vital to me. I can't lose myself in him and then lose him. I'll end up right where Nadia was for the last six years, and I've already seen what that's like. So, no thank you. I'm opting all the way out of that pain.
"You aren't hearing me, Zoya," he says softly, his gaze locked on my face. "I want you. Whether you're here, in Tennessee, or on the other goddamn side of the world,I want you."
I groan, burying my face in my hands. He's relentless. And I'm so damn weak because every time he says something like that, my defenses crumble.Icrumble.
"This is going to end in disaster," I mutter.
He pries my hands away from my face, pulling me into his arms. "Or maybe it ends up being the best risk you've ever taken." His lips brush my crown. "Stop fighting me, baby. I know it's fucking killing you to pretend you don't want this."
"It is," I admit, my heart in my throat. "But…Connor."
A displeased growl rumbles in his throat. "Fuck, Connor, Zoya. You don't belong to him."
"He's important to me, Jareth."
His eyes flicker across my face before his expression softens. He groans, pulling me into his arms to kiss me. "You're lucky you're so goddamn beautiful, princess. You have until the end of the day to talk to him before I do it myself."
"Thank you," I whisper, not entirely sure what I just got myself into here.
Please, God, don't let him break me.
Ispend all daytrying to slip away to talk to Connor, but every time I think I'm in the clear, I get pulled into another wedding-related activity. It's like the whole world is suddenly conspiring against me again, only instead of trying to throw me into Jareth's path, it's trying to keep me out of Connor's.
By the time dinner rolls around, I've helped make catering decisions, gone over security protocols with Oliver and Trystan, helped my mom convince my dad that he can't just move the family to LA to be close when the baby arrives, and helped make last-minute decisions about where to put the handful of guests Nadia and Teo invited. I've also convinced Innessa not tostrangle Maddox. The only thing I haven't done is see Connor all day.
I set off in search of him, only to bump into Jareth. He immediately pulls me around the side of the restaurant, his lips coming down on mine.
I groan into his mouth, kissing him back with the same desperation. I can't help myself. Now that I've admitted defeat, I feel almost…giddy. I'm still scared as hell, but I shove those little whispers to the back of my mind, slamming a lid closed on them.
"Have you talked to Connor yet?" he growls, his hands all over my ass.
