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“I don’t need any help from the likes of you,” she shot at him. She was uncorked and ready to let loose on him, like a glass bottle of pop shook up and exploding when the top was popped off.
The other men startled. Up until this point, all the banter had been teasing. Her line was definitely angry, feisty, sassy. Whatever anybody wanted to call it, it wasn’t friendly.
She dropped the stick on the table, ducked under his arm, and ran for the stairs. “Goodnight,” she hollered to the other men, catching the look of frustration and longing on Jagger’s face.
Longing? Oh no. She loved him and longed for him, too.
No! She pumped up the stairs toward the sanctuary of her room.
Footsteps moving much faster and louder than hers pounded behind her.
“No!” she screamed. She reached the main level and rushed up the next set of stairs. Running down the short hall to her suite, she shoved the door open.
Jagger darted in front of her and blocked her entry into her own bedroom. The absolute gall of the man. She couldn’t catch a breath and he didn’t even seem winded.
“Bee.” He put up his hands. “Please. It’s fourteen years past time we talked this all out.”
“Oh, you think?” She shoved at his chest. He kept his hands up and slowly backtracked into her room. Belinda followed him. She wanted to start ranting and raving at him, but she remembered the stupid cameras and how they weren’t supposed to even know each other.
Jagger wrapped his strong arms around her, tugged her away from the door, and kicked it shut with his foot.
Belinda had already been out of breath from her sprint up the stairs. Now she lost all ability to breathe or recover from her lack of oxygen. She was in his arms. Finally. This was her spot. The best spot on earth. It had been too long, but instantly she was in the safest and happiest place on earth. Jagger’s arms were a thrill ride with a perfectly fitting safety harness and the highest safety rating available. There was no danger here, only exhilaration and love and fulfillment.
“Bee,” he murmured, lowering his head to hers.
All Belinda wanted to do was kiss him. But then she remembered the agony of him ditching her and the ensuing heartbreak and attempting to recover for years.
The kissing was a no. She was mad and confused and couldn’t even see clearly to know how to deal with him being here this week or being brought back into her life. She also hadn’t caught her breath from her sprints up the stairs. She needed some oxygen and space to think clearly.
“Don’t!” she yelled, yanking away from him. “Get thee hence, Satan.”
His eyes widened and thankfully he let her go. She’d never be able to escape if he wanted to pin her down. Pin her down? Dang, that sounded appetizing.
No. It was still a no.
“Satan?” He cracked his knuckles.
“Don’t do this to me,” she shot at him, backing into the nearby wall and dragging in deep gulps of oxygen. “I can’t even breathe right now.”
Jagger didn’t advance on her. He rubbed a hand over his short hair and shook his head. “Bee. This is a mess. We’re a mess. I can’t pretend I don’t know you. I can’t hide the feelings I have for you. One look, one touch, and I’m right back to lov?—”
“No!” she hollered. “You are going to have to hide your feelings and stop looking at me and touching me.” She was loud enough, the cameras in the hallway were probably picking all of this up. “I’m not ready to rehash the past. I need some space.”
Jagger took a deep breath and just stared at her. Her room was dark, only the lights from the beautiful patio outside lighting it. He looked appealing and handsome, and she’d missed him for far too long. She was a moment away from forgetting their past, at least long enough to kiss him desperately.
“How’s Mike?” he gritted out.
“I’m sure Mike is doing just fine,” she snipped back.
Jagger studied her. “You married him?”
“Yes,” she said, wondering what he knew or didn’t know. No way he knew that she’d been trying to give Mike a chance the summer it had all imploded for her and Jagger. Did he know she was divorced? For some reason, she didn’t want to tell him. She really didn’t want to talk about Mike.
“How’s Mercedes?” she threw back at him, folding her arms across her chest to protect herself from him.
“At the moment, she’s quite manipulative.” He rolled his eyes. “But I love her, so of course I can’t tell her no.”
Bee’s eyes widened and her entire body hurt. He’d admitted he loved Mercedes. She’d never fallen in love with anyone else, hadn’t even truly loved the man she’d married, only like a brother. Jagger loved Mercedes and the poor lady was so sickly she couldn’t even come to the show.
