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I lose track of how long we sit there kissing before I remember I was supposed to leave. Every reason I had when I started to head home is still true, but none of them feel important enough to make me move now. I was so afraid of what saying yes would open me up to that I never let myself think about what I might get to have on the other side of it, and I’m nowhere near ready for this night with him to be over.

Jubal must see something change in my face because when I look at him, he’s watching me. “You still need to head home?”

“No. I want to stay.”

Jubal’s eyes search mine before the tension around them eases, and when his arms close around me, I lean into him carefully enough to protect his bruised ribs. His mouth moves over mine with the same unhurried tenderness as before, but staying with him is another choice I don’t need more time to think through. I deepen the kiss, wanting him to feel the certainty I couldn’t give him when he asked me to be his girlfriend.

His breathing changes against my mouth as his hand spreads across my back, and I move closer. The familiar heat between us comes alive quickly, but there’s nothing uncertain about it now. I know what his mouth feels like and what his hands can do to me. I know how badly I want both, but tonight I also know the man touching me.

My mouth leaves his and follows the edge of his jaw, finding the warm skin beneath it while my fingers curl against the back of his neck. His head tips enough to give me more room, and I take it, kissing lower as the hand on my back tightens.

“Pea.”

The roughness in his voice makes me smile against his skin. I lift my head, expecting to find the same hunger I can feel in the way he’s holding me, and it’s there, but he’s watching my face closely enough that I know he’s waiting for me again.

“I want you.”

Jubal’s hand slides from my back until his fingers find mine, and when he stands, I go with him without letting go. He leads me away from the living room and farther into his condo than I’ve ever been before, his thumb brushing over mine as we make our way down the hall. The last time we did this, I knew I was leaving before morning. Tonight, I’ve already decided I’m staying, and the difference follows me all the way to his bedroom.

I know which room is his as soon as we reach the doorway. Jubal turns toward me, but I close the remaining distance before he can reach for me, sliding my free hand up his chest until my fingers curl around the chain at his neck. His palm settles against my hip when I kiss him, and I pull him closer because I don’t want him wondering whether my saying yes to being his girlfriend changed what I want from him. When his eyes meet mine, I already know what he’s going to ask.

“Are you sure, Pea?”

“I’m sure.”

Jubal kisses me, and whatever care he’s taking with me doesn’t keep the kiss from deepening when I reach for the hem of his shirt. He helps me pull it over his head, and my hands move over his chest before slowing at the fading bruises along his ribs. They’re better than they were after Houston, but I still avoid the darkest patches as I trace the rest of him. His eyes stay on me until my fingers catch around his chain, and the hunger that replaces everything else in his face when I use it to pull him back to me makes me smile against his mouth.

We undress without getting far from each other, and when the backs of my legs meet the mattress, I take him down with me. I want his weight and his warmth and every part of him I can safely have against me. His mouth moves from mine to my neck and lower, and I sink my fingers into his hair as his kisses travel down my body.

He takes his time once he reaches my thighs, and anticipation has me shifting toward him before his mouth finally finds me. The first slow stroke of his tongue makes my hips lift, and the sound he gives me in response sends another rush of pleasure through me. My fingers tighten in his hair as I move against his mouth again. Jubal follows immediately, giving me more pressure when I ask for it and lingering when my body gives him a reaction he wants.

“Fuck, Pea.”

I look down just as his eyes lift to mine. The hunger there makes me move toward him again, more deliberately this time, and I watch his expression change when he realizes exactly what I’m doing.

“That’s my good girl.”

The praise hits differently with his eyes on mine. He’s said those words to me before and knows exactly what they do to me, but tonight I finally understand what I do to him. I saw it in his face when I said yes, and I can see it again now as his mouth closes over me.

I don’t look away. My grip tightens in his hair as pleasure builds, my hips moving with him instead of waiting for him to give me what I want. Every response I pull from him feeds the next movement until I’m as caught up in what I’m doing to him as I am in what his mouth is doing to me. The pressure inside me sharpens until there’s nothing left to hold on to except him. Jubal’s hands tighten against my thighs when my rhythm falters, satisfaction unmistakable in his eyes.

“Come for me, Pea.”

My body answers before I can. I arch toward his mouth as the orgasm tears through me, holding on to him while he stays with me through every shudder. He eases me down slowly, his mouth gentling when I become too sensitive. The kiss he presses against my thigh afterward feels almost indecently sweet considering what he just did to me.

I’m still trying to catch my breath when he kisses his way back up my body. I reach for him as soon as I can, pulling him the rest of the way until I can kiss him again. His chain slips against my skin as he settles over me, and I wrap my legs around him carefully, keeping the worst of the pressure away from his side.

I can feel how hard he is between us, and when I roll my hips against him, his mouth stills against mine.

“Pea.”

The warning tone in his voice only makes me want to push him a little further. I roll my hips against him again, slower this time, and Jubal groans as his forehead drops against mine. The sound sends a rush of satisfaction through me because I know exactly what I’m doing to him, and I like that he knows it.

His hand closes around my hip before I can move again. “You keep that shit up, I’m not gonna last long enough to fuck you.”

Heat rushes through me as he reaches toward the nightstand. I give him just enough room to roll on the condom before pulling him back to me, and his mouth finds mine as he settles between my thighs. My hips rise when I feel him against me, chasing the pressure until he catches at my entrance. The first push inside me pulls a moan from both of us. Jubal slows, giving my body time to take him as he sinks deeper, and I hold on to his shoulders while the stretch gives way to the familiar fullness I remember from Houston. What I don’t remember is knowing him well enough to recognize the exact moment his control slips or understanding why watching it happen turns me on so much.

“Goddamn, Pea.” His jaw tightens as he presses deeper. “You feel so fucking good.”