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“Look at me, Jess,” he demands as he tears his mouth from my neck. His breath is coming out in sharp, little pants. His eyes hold mine in a steady and unrelenting stare. “You’re mine, and you know it, but I need you to say it. I want to hear it come from your sexy lips.”

I want to deny it again, but I can’t. I won’t continue to lie to myself, and I won’t lie to him, either. I’ve been his since the moment he first touched me.

He needs to hear it, but even more than that, I need to say it. I tighten my legs around his waist and kiss him hard, just once. “I’m yours, Dax. All yours.”

“And when you’re with me, no one else touches you. Say it.” His tone is both pleading and demanding.

The fingers in my hair tighten, pulling at my scalp as he waits for my answer.

“No one else touches me,” I promise. “I only want you.”

Like a tightly stretched rubber band, Dax snaps. Whatever leash he had on his control is gone. He pulls my face to his and takes my lips in a brutal kiss that stings and burns yet has me begging for more.

“I can’t help myself around you, Jess.”

He thrusts his tongue into my mouth, stifling my moans, just as he slams into me again and again. I try to meet each of his thrusts, but he’s like a wild, untamed beast who’s lost all control. His frenzied and crazed movements fuel the fire in me.

I close my eyes, and all I see is Dax. All I feel is Dax. All of the feelings and emotions buried inside me come raging to the surface, threatening to spill over.

My climax hits me hard, and I feel like I’m bursting into flames. The sudden ecstasy that explodes within me has me shaking and yelling out. I’m holding onto Dax as though he’s my lifeline. Without him, I know I’ll shatter into a million pieces.

As the spasms rake my body, he buries himself hard and deep into me once more. I feel him shudder, then go rigid as he yells out and pours into me.

My lungs are straining, unable to take in enough air. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I can only feel the heavy weight of him inside me, his arms around me.

We stay wrapped around each other for several moments as we both try to come back to some semblance of reality. I don’t know where his heartbeat ends and mine begins. We’re still fused together, and neither of us is in a hurry to change that.

Eventually, though, reality begins to seep in.

I slide down from Dax’s hips and look for my discarded dress and panties. Once dressed, I crumble to the ground and lean my back against the rock for support. I fold my legs up and wrap my arms around them. Dax fixes his pants and plops down heavily beside me.

A warm arm suddenly snakes around me. Dax pulls me closer to him, and I rest my head against him.

The enormity of what happened hits me. This was supposed to be fun, spontaneous, lighthearted sex combined with a hint of danger. Instead, I completely lost myself. I let myself forget that he’s just a temporary distraction.

I let my emotions take over, and I don’t know how to stop it from happening again. I’m not even sure I want to stop it. I thought I was somehow different from the other women he dates, the ones who vie for his attention. It turns out I’m no different, after all.

Dax breaks the silence. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I knew I was too rough. I knew we should’ve waited until I had a chance to calm down more.”

“You didn’t hurt me,” I say softly.

“No, it’s okay. Don’t try to make me feel better about it. Your back was up against that hard rock, and I . . . I just lost control. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I’m telling the truth. You didn’t hurt me.” I pause. “I mean, my back might be a little sore tomorrow, but seriously, I’m good. Your arm protected me from the worst of it. Besides, I wouldn’t trade this night for anything.”

That last part slips out unintentionally. Even though it’s true, saying things like that isn’t a smart move. Our temporary love affair is already destined to end in heartache. I certainly don’t want to open the door to Dax thinking he has to utter reciprocal sentiments to me, especially since they wouldn’t be true coming from him.

Dax reaches up and tucks an errant curl behind my ear. “I wouldn’t either. I don’t know what it is about you, but I think you’ve bewitched me. I’m caught in your spell; I’m not so sure I want to be released.”

This is all feeling a little too real, a little too relationship-y. And if I learned anything from the whole Anthony debacle, it’s that you can’t allow yourself to fall in love with someone who will never love you back.

So, I won’t fall in love. I’ll fall in lust. And in another two weeks, Dax and I will never see each other again, and things will go back to normal.

Everything will be just as it should be.

Chapter 17

Dax