AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That you love me, too.”
“I…” She opens and closes her mouth a few times, as if to admit I’m wrong—or right—and thinking better of it.Say it, Jaclyn.With swirls of pain etched in her irises, she whispers, “You should get ready for the auction.”
I take a step back and make a show of adjusting my bowtie. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m ready… Though it’s false advertising, seeing as I’m no longer single.” I lift my left hand, showing off that I’m still wearing my wedding ring.
“Alex,” she breathes, reminding me of how all of this started.
I take her chin between my thumb and forefinger, then, not giving a fuck about the consequences, I swipe my thumb along her full, cherry-stained bottom lip again. “The game has changed, my little wife; this isn’t pretend anymore. I know you feel this between us. You’remineas much as I’m yours. I’m not going to stand by and be happy that you’re on my brother’s arm. Because in the end, you know it’ll be you and me.”
There’s a knock on the door, and I quickly steal a chaste kiss from her. I’m desperate to taste the one woman I’ve been unable to get out of my head since I left Hawaii—since college, if I’m being honest. Licking along the seam of her lips, she eagerly opens for me, allowing my tongue to dance with hers briefly despite her initial hesitation. If time was on our side, I’d explore every inch of her, reminding her that this is all real between us. I can’t stop. She tastes too fucking good.
Whiskey, cherry, a hint of bitters.
“What were you celebrating?” I ask against her lips. My chest aches to be closer to her; kissing her feels like home. “Why are you here, Jaclyn?”
“Don’t do the auction.” As she pulls back, she briefly tugs my bottom lip between her teeth. “I know it’sselfish of me to ask, but it’ll hurt too much to see you…” She doesn’t need to finish her sentence—it’ll hurt to see me with another woman. Hope settles in my chest; this isn’t over between us.
The door knocks again, but I’m sure as hell not letting her slip through my fingers. “I’m busy,” I growl at whoever is on the other side.
“Too busy for an old friend?” Finn asks, and I still.
“I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes,” I call to him, and as I hear his footsteps retreat, I whisper to Jaclyn, “You were worried about a web of lies and deceit? There are bigger things at play than my brother murdering a woman. We need to talk and figure out how to get you far away from all. Meet me after the gala?” Needing her more than I need to breathe, I capture her lips, roughly kissing her a second time. Her sweet hum is all the reassurance I need that she’s still mine.
My mouth travels to the opposite side of her neck that my brother shamelessly branded. She sucks in a breath, likely knowing exactly what I’m doing.
“You deserve the Oval, Alex, not him.”
“I don’t want it. It’s yours.”
“Mine? No, we talked about this.” She pulls back. “Alex, I?—”
“Go, my beautiful wife. We’ll talk about this later.” I kiss her forehead, my lips lingering. “You have the gala and, in a couple of hours, men to auctionoff.”
“Which is supposed to include you.” Jaclyn playfully pokes my chest, making me chuckle. When the soft laughter fades, her deep blue eyes dart between mine in question.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I’m going home with you, princess.”
“You know that’s not possible,” she sighs in defeat.
I need another taste. Not giving a flying fuck who might knock next, my lips crash into hers yet again, and I steal her moans. With each swipe of my tongue against hers, she willingly gives me this small piece of her, and I intend to fucking keep it. There’s no way in hell I’m giving her up.
Not now, not ever.
When we break apart, a soft whimper escapes her, and I rest my forehead on hers. “Trust me, princess, I love you.”
Chapter 36
Chris
“You’re not running,” Mickey insists, dramatically sipping his whiskey, keeping his eyes pinned on me.
“The fuck I’m not. You had an agreement with my father,” I growl. “The whole point of me marrying Jaclyn was to guarantee my place on the ticket.”
“‘Was’ is the keyword there, Mr. Blake.”
I fucking hate that he calls me that. We’re practically the same age, it’s condescending as fuck, and it makes him sound like a movie villain.
Setting his drink down and slowly tracing the rim of the glass with his middle finger, he continues, “That was before we had to bring in myassociateto clean up your mess. Couldn’t keep your cock in your pants on your wedding day? You got lucky Cara didn’t bite off your dick when you crashed.” I scoff, making him chuckle darkly. “It’s quite curious that you had a heart attack; you’re only thirty-six andappearto be in the best shape of your life.”
