The Reluctant Romantics Box Set (The Fall, The Mind, The Heart)

I could turn and walk away. She would never know, and we would both heal with enough time.

And still, everything inside me wanted to hand her the rest of me so she could cut me deeper, even if it meant there would be nothing left.

She traced her fingers on her desk in thought, and I saw her posture stiffen and then slump as she saw the book. Picking it up, she studied it, and I knew I could no longer walk away the second she whispered my name.

Rose

“I wanted to congratulate you today, but you were busy.”

Cajun

I took in a sharp breath to keep from bursting into tears.

I turned around, drank in Jack’s tuxedo-clad body and neatly combed hair as my nerve endings fired up in appreciation. My aching heart pounded in my chest.

“The lights,” I said softly. “They’re beautiful, thank you.”

“I really wanted you to see them,” he said as he kept his eyes low.

“I called you,” I offered and then realized it was shit. I should have left a message begging him to call me back. I should have tried much harder, but my pride got in the way. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

“I’ve been out of town workin

g,” he offered as an excuse, his hands in his pockets. I became jealous of those pockets, wanting to feel nothing more than his soothing touch. It was all I could do to keep from tearing into him. He looked better than any man in a tux had the right to. “Lubbock cell service is always horrible.”

“You’re lying.”

He raised his brows but said nothing in his defense. Hands still in his pockets, I resisted the urge to go to him. Something about his demeanor screamed anger and I wasn’t sure I’d be received well.

“I wanted to apologize.”

“You did that the last time I was here,” he said absently, taking in my dress. I’d let the two Js doll me up in hopes Jack would find me irresistible, which seemed a moot point at that moment.

I was in a long black dress with a silk corset and a healthy slit down the front. It was ‘elegant with just the right amount of sexy’ Jamie had declared, forcing me into heels. Jules had pinned half of my hair on top of my head and left the rest trailing down the v-shaped back. I’d felt confident and sexy when I left my house. That confidence was draining by the second as Jack stood in my office, openly glaring at me.

“Why are you so angry?”

“I don’t know,” he said, taking a step forward.

“Jack, give me a chance to—” He brushed past me, and I blew out a frustrated breath, ready to do whatever I had to make him a captive audience. Regardless of how angry he was, I had to tell him how I felt. I misjudged his move to leave when I turned to stop him and saw him lock the door. In a flash, he was in front of me, his hands pushed through my hair, his mouth slamming down onto mine. I gave in instantly, opening wide and taking his punishing tongue. He lifted me off the floor and carried me to my desk as he sat me on the edge while his tongue coaxed mine.

Wet and eager, I reached for him and was forced on my back as he hovered above me.

“I missed you so much,” I panted as he reached beneath my dress with caressing hands and shredded my panties. Without a word, he pinned me with one hand as he pulled out his hard length with the other and stroked himself as I writhed beneath him. His fingers found purchase in my ready sex, and seconds later, I was filled with him as he slammed into me. I gasped in surprise at his rough handling, and my back arched off the desk with each angry thrust.

Desperate for our connection, I looked up at him in a plea. “Jack, please.”

“Please what, Rose? What do you want?” he pushed out with frustration.

“Just you,” I promised as he stroked me harder and picked up his pace. “Please.”

“Please,” he said with menace. “Please what? Make you come? We both know I can do that.”

“No,” I said as my voice shook with hurt.

“No? You didn’t have a problem with it while I was fucking your brains out the last three months.”

“Please don’t,” I said, taking his punishing licks. Minutes later and dripping with sweat, he scooped me off the desk and took me with him to the chair. Still connected, I moaned on impact. He sat back, unmoving and expectant as I straddled him, his length buried deep inside of me.