My heart softens slightly. “And I was way too stubborn.”
“Seeing Jessica was...”
“Yeah.” I scoot closer. “That’s why I was trying to get rid of her without you knowing. I didn’t want to ruin your flow.” I laugh shortly, without humor. “Although I managed that anyway.”
“What did she tell you?”
“We don’t have to...” At Jack’s expression, I trail off, shrugging. “She said what she did to you wasn’t that bad because you were using her, too. To get her to put in a good word with her parents.”
His eyes shut briefly. “That’s true. I didn’t hesitate to get a sense of what could be next for my career.”
“Jack, I like how driven you are.”
He shakes his head. “You say that now.”
“I mean it. You ask so much of yourself. You ask it of me, too. No one ever has before you, and it means...” I break off, giving in to the urge to kiss him. “It means everything, Jack. I swear.”
His arms come around my waist, and I sigh with relief against his lips. “But I thought we were a team,” I continue. “‘Your friends’? None of those people were my friends. Not really.”
“I know,” he says with a grimace.
“What were things like with her?” I can’t help but ask.
“What do you mean?”
“It was good, right? Before you realized what she was doing? You said it felt serious to you.”
He nods reluctantly.
“You’d have stayed with her? If she didn’t...”
“I don’t know.”
“You worked for her dad,” I say carefully. I saw the look on his face when he noticed us side by side, and I can’t not ask. It’s been gnawing at me all night. “You were stuck on a different kind of desert island with her.”
He’s quiet for a moment, gaze flickering over me. “I know what it looks like. But you’re nothing like her.”
“No?”
“Not at all.” He leans in for another kiss, teasing the seam of my lips until they part on a gasp. “Understand me?”
“Heard.”
He buries his face in my shoulder. His damp hair tickles my bare skin. I inhale the scent of his shampoo, melting into his warmth, trembling as he breathes in once, sharply. He mumbles something, but cuts himself off.
“Let’s go downstairs,” I whisper. I rub his back. “Celebrate with your girlfriend.”
He scoops me into his arms. I cling to him, legs wrapped around his waist, arms clasped around his neck. He balances carefully on the narrow staircase, holding me firm in his grip.
And then he brings me to bed.
“You’re the quiet one now,” I tease as we undress. He takes his time sliding his sweats off his hips. I ease my shirt over my head, feeling my pulse in every inch of my body: throat, fingertips, core.
We make out messily, naked bodies sliding against each other. He kneads my bottom with firm hands. I run my nails down the sensitive part of his back. He kisses a path from my mouth to my tits, pausing to nuzzle at the hollow of my throat. His weight pushes me against the mattress. My toes curl, and I let out a whimper when his clever tongue catches one of my nipples between his teeth. The burn of his beard on the underside of my breast has me arching my hips.
He strokes a hand down my side. “You were brilliant tonight.”
“So were you.” I sink my hands into his thick hair, petting it.
