Before she even has a chance to knock, I’m pulling her inside the hotel room and wrapping her in my arms. She melts into me, squeezing my body tightly as if I’m her anchor.

“It’ll be okay,” I whisper in her hair.

“It won’t be okay. Nothing will ever be the same.” She fists my shirt in her hands and buries her face in my chest.

I soothe her, rubbing her back, and I kiss her head tenderly. “I’m sorry,” I tell her because I don’t know what else to say in a moment like this. My hands tangle in her hair, resting at the nape of her neck, and I stay silent.

She peers up at me with glassy eyes, tears ready to fall. “I knew my father was a jerk, but I didn’t realize what an asshole he really is, Jude.”

I hold back my laughter. Most people know Stan Preston isn’t a good man—he’s a politician and one that’s been in the system for far too long to keep his nose clean. But even if the world knew it, his daughter hadn’t processed the information. She looked at her father with rose-colored glasses. It’s hard to see the imperfections in our families, even if they’re obvious to everyone else.

“I’m so mad right now, I want to…”

“I know,” I say, tightening my arms around her.

“I feel like my life is spinning out of control, and no matter how hard I try to stop it, I can’t.”

Pressing my lips against her forehead, I whisper. “I’m sorry.”

She looks up, meeting my lips. “You’re the only person in my life who brings me joy.” She smiles softly.

My hands move to her face, cupping her cheeks in my palms and I return the smile. “I feel the same.” Leaning forward, I brush our lips together, relishing her softness.

She stands on her tiptoes and snakes her arms around my neck. “Kiss me, Jude. There’s nothing more I want than to get lost in you tonight.”

“Are you sure about that, Reagan? There’s no going back.”

“I’m sure,” she whispers, looking me straight in the eyes without blinking.

This isn’t how I planned our first time to take place, but after months of kissing, flirting, and heavy petting, I can’t resist. There’s also something undeniably hot about knowing I can make the rest of the world go away for her.

I crush my mouth against hers, inhaling her breath and mingling it with my own. In this moment, everything else in our lives begins to fall away and the only thing that matters is us.

Her hands glide under my shirt, sending chills down my spine from the scrape of her fingernails against my skin. My hands sweep down her body, cupping her ass in my hands as I lift her against me and carry her toward the bed. Our lips never leave each other, the need to stay connected and lost stronger than ever before. There’s nothing soft and gentle about this. We’re needy, greedy, and hungry for the other.

Gently, I place her on the bed underneath me and settle between her legs. My cock’s already hard, straining against my sweatpants and aching to be inside her.

The tips of my fingers find the straps of her cami, sliding them down her arms to expose her breasts. I’m not ready to break our kiss; the air she feeds me is far too sweet to stop.

My hand moves from her arm to her chest, grasping her bra-clad breast in my palm. Her heart’s beating wildly under my fingertips, matching the rapid rhythm of my own. The tiny moan she’s making has my brain going haywire, telling me to go faster than I want to, and I ignore it. I’m going to savor every moment I’m touching Reagan because I don’t know when I’ll have another chance.

She’s clawing at my skin and moving my shirt up my back. When her hands are between my shoulder blades, our lips part while she pulls the shirt over my head.

As soon as my head is free, my lips drop to her neck and blaze a trail to her chest, yanking her breast free from her bra. Her back arches off the bed as I pull her nipple into my mouth and begin to toy with it. The hardness mixed with the lush softness of her body drives me wild with lust. I need to taste her, explore her entire body, and claim her as mine.

Working her sweatpants down her legs, I rip her panties down too before pushing myself up. I settle back on my feet and stare down at her, dragging my fingertips across her smooth skin. “Give me everything tonight, Reagan. Work out all the hurt and anger against my body,” I tell her as I slide her pants off and climb off the bed. They get tossed to the side, joining the pile of clothing already on the floor.

Her fingers are gripping the comforter and her legs have closed slightly, but I nudge them apart as I climb back onto the bed and nestle in between them.

“Jude,” she moans. “It’s never been like this for me. With you, everything is so much more.”

Tears shine in her eyes and I feel a catch in my throat.

“For me, too,” I say, clearing my throat. “But it’s hard to put into words.”

“Don’t say anything,” she says softly. “Just show me.”

I splay my hand across her stomach and bring my mouth down against her, gently licking her with the flat of my tongue. Her back arches off the bed and she gasps for air, fisting the comforter tighter. My mouth comes down on her again, needing another taste of her sweetness. She moans and flattens her feet against the mattress, letting her legs spread farther.

I’m hungry for her, hungrier than I ever remember being for anything in my life. Her fingers twist into my hair, holding my face against her pussy.

She’s moaning my name and tugging on my hair, driving me crazy with lust as I feast on her body. My tongue is sweeping against her, and her moans grow breathier and higher pitched the harder I suck.

When her breathing turns ragged and she starts to chant, “Yes, Yes,” I know I have her on the brink.

My hands slide under her ass, lifting her body so I can get a better angle. I bury my face against her.

“Yes. Oh, my God. I’m so—” she grunts and goes silent just as her body tenses in my hands.

Her thighs close, trapping me in paradise, but I don’t stop. I could die here and be a happy man. There’s no sweeter death than this. I’m moaning my happiness against her clit, giving her a new sensation as her body’s quaking against me. Her cries of pleasure make my cock throb with need, but there’s something more powerful than that happening inside me. It’s like I’ve already emptied myself into her, in a way that’s more than physical.

She sucks in a breath before collapsing against the mattress. “Fuck.” She blinks repetitively to clear her haze.

My eyes are still locked on hers when I lift my face and lick my lips clean. “That was so fucking hot. There’s nothing like watching you come apart because of me.” I’m climbing up her body and kicking off my pants. When my dick nudges her opening, I stop. “Fuck, I don’t have a condom.”

I start to think of how to remedy the situation. Would the concierge deliver one? I’m sure that would make the tabloids by morning.

Her fingers are stroking my shoulder muscle. “When were you tested?”

“Last month, but it’s been months since I’ve been with anyone. I always use protection and every test has been clean.”

“Me too,” she says, locking her ankles against my ass. “And I’m on the pill.”

Her soft skin and faint amber scent test my already fading control. I’ve never fucked a woman without a condom.

“Reagan…you could tempt a saint.” I want to stay still and memorize the way she feels in this moment, but my body’s screaming at me to crawl inside of her.

“Good thing you’re not one.” She smiles up at me lazily and digs her heels into my ass, pushing my cock against her. She lifts her head and captures my lips with hers. Our tongues tangle together and all thoughts of waiting evaporate. “Fuck me,” she whispers into my mouth.

I may be cautious, but I’m not an idiot. When the woman you’ve fallen in love with tells you to fuck her, you do.

Reaching between us, I guide my cock through her wetness before inserting just the tip, careful not to hurt her. She gasps and tenses underneath me. My vision blurs as I push deeper.

Her warmth surrounds me, and I’m lost. Our bodies move together, grinding against each other slow and purposeful. Our lips are inseparable and our hands are roaming the other’s body as we move in sync.

I’m not banging her like a porn star. This isn’t about showing off or proving my manhood. This is something different—something more.

Our bodies are connected, and our souls are fusing together—becoming one.

When she comes apart beneath me, panting and crying out my name as she milks my cock dry, I know I’ve just lost myself to her forever. And it feels damn good.

We lie side by side with our limbs tangled together, both sweaty and satisfied.

She rolls slightly, curling into my body, and I wrap an arm around her back. “I just want to stay here forever,” she admits.

“Me too, Reagan. Me too.” I kiss her forehead and pull her closer.

She peers up at me, her cheeks pink and flushed. “What happens now?”

“Fuck if I know.” I blow out a breath and think about the answer to that question.

What happens when two people who are supposed to hate each other feel the exact opposite? Before tonight, there was enough on each of us to end both of our political careers, but now… Now there’s more than just a job on the line.

Reagan Preston has made me feel things I have never felt before. No one has ever captured me the way she does. No woman has made me fall in love so quickly and completely.

She not only got under my skin, but she worked her way into my heart.

Neither of us has looked ahead or thought about the consequences of our actions, but I’m sure we’ll find out sooner rather than later what type of ramifications we’ll face.

I don’t even care. At this point, if it’s Reagan or a Senate seat, I’m choosing her.