Page 88 of Just Like That

“I may not know exactly what I want”—her eyes searched mine—“but what I do know is that I don’t want this calculating, cruel version of you that you pretend to be. It’s not real. I’ve seen the man you hide behind the mask. I want the real you. I want towatchyou fall apart. To give in. To finally take something just for yourself.”

I barely recognized my own voice as I stepped closer and crowded the last inches of her space. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I know exactly what I’m asking, you’re just too chickenshit to show up and let me in.” Hazel spun, her rose gold hair whipping me in the chest as she turned.

Her and that fucking irresistible mouth.

My hand shot out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from pulling away. Hazel’s chest slammed into mine as I turned her.

She arched into me and the last thread snapped. My hands cupped both sides of her face as I looked down at her. Our breaths sawed in and out, filling the night air.

She held my glare as a war of emotions waged in my brain. I was standing on a cliff, wind in my face and unsure if I’d survive the fall.

“Fuck it.”

My mouth crashed to hers as I swallowed her moan. I poured every ounce of yearning into that kiss. Her soft lips opened for me and my tongue swept over hers. My teeth tugged on her lower lip before diving back in to taste her again.

I stepped forward, banding my arm around her back and pressing every inch of her against me. Her hand slid up my back, and her nails scraped against my scalp. I moaned into her, driving my hips forward.

Hazel murmured and heat crawled up my spine. Since our first accidental kiss, I’d wanted to taste her mouth again. Every inch of exposed skin was soft and warm. My hands explored while my lips burned a path across her jawline and down the column of her neck.

We hadn’t even made it into the house, and all I could think about was sliding into her and letting the world dissolve. For a man who’d spent his entire life treading water, all I wanted to do was drown in her.

My mouth found hers, and I bent to grip the back of her thighs. Her arms wound around my neck as I wrapped her legs around my waist and stomped toward the house. Hazel arched and continued kissing me as I dug the keys from my pocket and thrust open the door. It slammed against the wall, and she had the audacity to giggle.

I kicked it closed with my foot and shot her a wicked grin. “You think that’s funny? I’ll destroy this entire house as long as you don’t stop making those sexy little noises.”

My hand slipped up her flirty little skirt to toy with her panty line. Against my fingers, her pussy was hot, and I knew the bedroom was too fucking far.

I set her onto her feet. Desire flushed her skin the prettiest shade of pink, and I couldn’t wait to see if my teeth would make the same marks. She cocked her head at me in question.

I looked over her shoulder toward the stairs and grinned. “Run.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

HAZEL

Run.

Panic and desire coursed through me as I turned and bolted toward the stairs. It was a sick, primal thrill, knowing he was steps behind me as I sprinted toward his bedroom. I wanted him to chase me.

To catch me.

Behind me, his heavy footfalls echoed on the hardwood floors.

My heartbeat ratcheted higher as he closed in on me. He scooped me up in his arms, just as I made it to the threshold of his bedroom. His heady laughter rumbled through me, and I braced myself against him as he carried me toward his bed. He released his grasp, and I fell onto the mattress.

JP stepped back to look at me. His shoulders were tense, and his blue-green eyes were dark in the dim bedroom. “You like to push me, woman.”

My teeth sank into my lower lip. “Maybe.”

He moved between my knees. “Why?”

I smirked, despite the nerves simmering beneath my skin. “Because you like it.”

“You have no idea how pissed off and turned on and utterly helpless I feel in your presence.” He exhaled as he dragged a hand through his dark hair, unraveling the uptight man in a single movement. “It’s a spell, isn’t it?”

A giggle formed in my throat at how surprising and sweet he could be. I lifted a shoulder. “A hex is more like it.”