Page 57 of Bad Reputation

I look down into her eyes. “It’s decided.”

She peers up at me. “Is it?”

I give her another kiss, then turn her loose. I look to Ally.

“I have to call my finance guy, but this is the house.”

She looks surprised, but pleased. “Okay. This is the house! Yay!”

Emma and I follow her back through the house, and I feel immensely satisfied.

21

Emma

Jameson rolls over in my bed in the middle of the night, rousing me. “Hey. Wake up.”

“Hmmm?” I ask, drowsy. My eyes are closed, though I’m not fully asleep yet. He only let me go to sleep half an hour ago, but obviously I’m the only one who did a lot of resting. “What?”

“I have to tell you something, and I need you to be totally awake when I do.” His voice is low and urgent.

I crack my eyelids, looking at him. He looks messy and yummy, if only I wasn’t quite so exhausted. Actually, now that I think about it,helooks tired too. “Are you okay?”

He smiles, but he seems nervous. “Yeah. I just… I love you.”

His words steal my breath away. I stare at him for a second, trying to decide if my sleep addled brain made up this little bit of fantasy or not. J looks uncomfortable for a second.

“Are you going to say anything?” he asks.

“I— Are you sure?” I ask. I desperately want to tell him that I love him, but only if he’s one hundred percent certain.

He frowns. “Am I sure? What kind of question is that? Of course I’m sure.”

My eyes immediately well up, and my voice grows thick. “You’re really, totally sure?”

J wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close. “Absolutely, completely, totally sure. I love you, Emma. I think I have loved you for longer than I care to admit, even to myself.”

“Oh my god,” I whisper, my eyes overflowing. “I love you too. I’ve loved you since I was old enough to know what love was, I think.”

I press my lips to his, aware of the tears flowing down my face. His taste is so familiar to me by now, and I find that more comforting than anything.

He rolls me over so that I’m on top of him, and I straddle him. Even as I cry happy tears, I pull his cock inside me, riding him as intensely as I know how.

He kisses away my tears as best he can and thrusts up inside me, using his hand to rub my clit. We come together, crying out, emboldened by the words we’ve just learned to say to one another.

As Jameson and I lie together, our breathing still ragged, I test out the new phrase.

“I love you,” I whisper into his jaw.

He looks at me. “And I love you.”

I slowly drift off to sleep with a smile on my face.

It’s justdinner with Gunnar, I tell myself nervously. As Jameson leads me into the casual dining restaurant, I straighten my skirt and try to remind myself to play it cool.

I look around at the brightly painted walls and the many leather booths. The hostess brightens when she sees Jameson and waves us on into the dining room. Apparently Jameson and his brothers know this Mexican place pretty well.

“Hey, you two,” Gunnar says, sprawled out in one of the back booths. His eyes drop to where Jameson holds my hand, widening for just a moment.

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