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She releases a sigh before her shoulders slump. “I’m not saying no. But you should know I’m pretty boring. I keep to myself, and I like it that way. Coming here has been terrifying, but…”
“But?” Jagger pushes.
“But it’s made me feel alive. I’ve been going through the motions for so long that I don’t think I even realized I was doing it until I came here. In trying to keep myself safe, I stopped putting myself out there. Taking risks wasn’t worth the inevitable heartache.”
“And now?” I ask softly, needing her to take this risk. But it has to be her that takes the first step.
“And now I’m questioning everything. You said it yourself, I’m like a fairy tale character. Only I’m the one who locked herself away in a tower.”
She bites that damn lip of hers before she nods, coming to a decision.
“I’d like to get to know you both a little better before this goes any further. I told you a little about my past with men. Well, I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger. The worst was punishing myself for things that weren’t my fault, no matter what other people said. I drank, I smoked, I even dabbled in drugs. And when I was high or drunk, I believed every pretty boy who promised me the world. When the haze would lift, all I’d be left with was a handful of broken promises.”
It hurts her to admit it—I can tell by every rigid line of her body. I’m surprised she said anything at all.
“They were never worth your time. But if you think you’re the only person who did a lot of fucked up shit when they were younger, you’re wrong,” Jagger tells her.
I tense at his words, waiting for him to reveal shit about me that I’m not sure I’m ready for her to know, but he doesn’t.
“But if you need time to get to know us, then take it. We’re not going anywhere, Astrid,” he tells her before leaning closer.
“Okay,” she whispers.
“Okay?” he confirms.
When she nods, he closes the gap between them and kisses her. His hands slide into her hair and hold her in place as he seals the deal. It might not be as slow as she wanted, but then she should have been more specific.
When he pulls free, I swoop in, not wanting to give her a second to think.I yank her hips down and move her against my hard cock as I fuck her mouth with my tongue. She doesn’t fight it, despite her initial hesitation. When her hands move to my shoulders, and she grabs hold of me instead of pushing me away, I growl in appreciation.
Yeah, it would be really easy to fall for a woman like this. And that scares the shit out of me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Astrid
I stir when I feel myself being moved. Opening my eyes, I see Jagger looking down at me as he lifts me into his arms.
“I fell asleep?”
“I think your brain hit its clown limit,” he teases. I shudder when I picture Pennywise’s sneering face.
“I just don’t understand how other people don’t sense the evil in them,” I mutter, snuggling into him.
I vaguely remember telling them I wanted to take this slow and get to know them better, but I’m too comfortable to protest. I’ll take the diet approach and start tomorrow.
Jagger carries me to the bedroom and sits me on the side of the bed as Slade calls out that he’s going to lock the house up.
“You need help getting changed?”
I shake my head. “I’m okay. Can you pass me my suitcase so I can find something to sleep in?” I ask, taking off my glasses and placing them on the nightstand.
He doesn’t pass me my suitcase, though. Instead, he pulls his T-shirt off over his head and hands it to me.
Slow Astrid. Slow, slow, slow. I can repeat the mantra as many times as I like, but seeing all that bronze skin in front of me and that freaking V that leads down to the Holy Grail… Yeah, no. I’m going to fail this diet like I’ve failed so many before.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” His voice sounds like liquid sex.
“I need help not breaking this diet,” I mutter as I reach for the T-shirt and slip it over my head. It smells like him, which, of course, makes me want to curl up and purr like a contented cat. I’d be pretty disgusted with myself if I wasn’t busy fighting the urge to rub myself all over him.
