Page 37 of Beneath the Hood

Not willing to part with the girl that I’ve had all day, I blow out a breath and try again. “I don’t mind, princess.”

“But I do,” she whispers.

My stomach churns, wondering what happened from the time she woke up to now—what was said that stole away the girl who’s been my catharsis and brought back the Blakely everyone else gets to see.

Turning my body until I’m facing her, my finger dips under her chin, pulling her eyes up to mine. “Can I have Blake back?” I ask.

Her brows furrow. “What?”

“This” —my free hand gestures toward her body— “isn’t the girl I’ve been with all day. This is the Blakely the rest of the world gets. I don’t have any interest in her.”

She flinches, trying to pull away, but my hands reach out and cup her jaw, gripping tight enough to make her stay. “I want the real you, Blake. Let me have her.”

I realize after the words leave my lips how they sounded, but instead of taking them back—the way I know that I should, I let them linger in the space between us, my stomach clenching and releasing while I wait for her to react.

Her eyes gloss over, her teeth clamping down on that pouty bottom lip, forcing my gaze to follow the movement. There’s a heaviness spinning around us, winding the strings of our energies tight, and ifsomethingdoesn’t happen, I think I might break in two.

I’m tired of breaking.

So I decide not to.

Her eyes flare a millisecond before my lips meet hers, our mouths colliding like lightning clashing in the waves of stormy waters.

Damn, she tastes good.

Groaning, my hands move from her jaw, sliding down her arms and cradling her waist, dragging her body into mine until every inch is pressed together. She gasps, allowing me to dip my tongue between her lips. My cock lengthens, throbbing from the taste of her in my mouth and the feel of her perfect body in my hands.

Her palms slide up my chest, leaving sparks in their wake, her fingers tangling into the strands of my hair. She lifts her leg, wrapping it around me, my hips falling effortlessly between her thighs. My hands fumble down to her ass and grab firmly, capturing her moan with my tongue, the headiness of her breath making my dick pulse against the fabric of my boxers.

Suddenly she breaks away, stumbling back and covering her mouth with her hand, eyes wide and frantic.

Shit.

I step into her, grasping her hands, wordlessly pleading for her to stay with me in this moment. Leaning down, I lightly peck her lips, enjoying the hint of berry from her ChapStick.

“Stay,” I whisper the words against her mouth.

She blows out a steady breath, her hands trembling as she links our fingers. “Okay.”

A torrent of relief rushes through me, knowing that she feels it too.

Whateveritis.

I couldn’t put a name to it if I tried. All I know is that it’s strong, crashing through me like a hurricane, obliterating everything I thought I knew.

Everything I thought I had felt before.

Her fingers squeeze mine as she drops her head to my chest, rolling her forehead back and forth. “Jackson,” she rasps. “What are we gonna do?”

My heart falters, afraid she’s going to tell me we have to stop. That it’s not worth it.

ThatI’mnot worth it.

“Let’s worry about that later.” I push her hair behind her ear.

“I need us to...” She pauses, chewing through the skin of her lip. Withdrawing my hand from hers, my thumb reaches up and tugs, the pad of my finger smoothing over the rough edges where she’s bitten through.

She smiles, her eyes softening as she kisses the tip of my thumb, her hands wrapping around my wrist. “I need to go slow if we do this.”

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