What is going on? What is wrong with me? Am I really flirting with my ex-fiancé’s brother?

Hell, it’s not just flirting. This is thick. It’s heavy. If he leaned down and kissed me right now, I’m pretty sure I’d need a ‘wet floor’ sign because I am turned-the-fuck on.

His hand on my hip is doing crazy things to my body. His fingers sink into me a little bit more, and my knees feel weak. The way he smells is making my head spin. I still remember the way he looked without a shirt on, with that angry white scar carved across his chiseled chest and water droplets falling down his rippling muscles.

My hand drifts up to the area on his chest where his scar must be. He watches my hand run over his shirt and I hear—no, I feel him growl. His heart is beating just under my hand, and it’s racing as fast as mine is.

God, he’s sexy.

This is so wrong.

What am I doing? I literally just broke up with Jesse’s brother. I got my heart shattered! And now I’m standing here, chest to chest, fantasizing about crushing my lips against Jesse’s?!

So, so wrong.

“What are we doing?” I say, tilting my chin up towards him. “I shouldn’t be talking to you. If Elijah knew…”

“He’d be furious.” A smirk floats over Jesse’s lips, and the heat between my legs grows hotter. His hand squeezes my hip. I press my thighs together as my cheeks burn.

Why is that so hot?

It would be hate-sex. I know it would. If I slept with Jesse, it would be me trying to get revenge on Elijah. Maybe that’s why I’m more turned on than I have been in years.

Right?

I mean that, and the fact that Jesse’s body looks like Michelangelo himself carved it from marble. His eyes pierce through me like a dagger. I take a deep breath, but instead of calming me down it only makes my knees weaker. He smells like sex and danger.

Jesse’s hand drifts up my side and rests on my waist. He squeezes it gently and a current of electricity goes through me. I wonder if Rachael is watching this happen right now.

Probably.

I don’t care.

Jesse puts his drink down on the bar and then gently takes mine out of my hand. His hand floats to my jaw, and he tilts my chin up towards him.

I’m like a doll in his hands. He’s turned me to putty. He can do whatever he wants right now, and I would melt into him.

This doesn’t feel like a hate-fuck. It feels like the very opposite of a hate-fuck. Elijah doesn’t even register on my radar right now. Getting back at my ex has nothing to do with what’s happening to my body right now.

But Jesse just looks at me, and it sends a shiver running down my spine. I take a deep breath and gain some sort of control over my body.

“I’m not going to sleep with you,” I say as confidently as I can manage. I’m not sure if it’s true, but it needs to be said.

Jesse smiles, sliding one hand around to my lower back.

“That’s okay,” he growls. “You don’t have to sleep with me.”

“So what are you doing?”

“I’m doing what I’ve wanted to do ever since the first day I laid eyes on you,” he growls. He pulls me closer, pressing my chest against his.

I feel his hardness against my stomach, and I gasp. His other hand brushes along my jaw as he runs his thumb over my lip. I part my lips, closing my eyes as he touches me.

It’s electrifying.

I don’t care who sees. I don’t care where I am, or who he is. The way he’s touching me is making my whole body thrum with desire. My nipples are hard as rock as I press them against his muscular chest. I curl my fingers into his shirt as my breath gets shorter.

His thumb brushes along my cheek until his fingers slide around the nape of my neck.

When I open my eyes, he’s staring at me with his deep, steel-grey eyes. Flecks of blue shine in his irises and I watch his pupils dilate with desire. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, and another wave of heat washes through me.

“I want to kiss you, Farrah,” he growls.

“Yeah?”

His chest rumbles, and my panties soak through.

“Yes. But I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

My eyebrows shoot up. I can feel the tension in his body. He’s coiled tight. His body is rigid and strong against me. His hands are powerful as they pull me into him.

And yet, he’s gentle. He’s asking for permission. He’s letting me decide.

That’s something Elijah never did.

I uncurl my fingers and run them up his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck. I press my chest into his, gasping as I feel his length throb against me.

“I want you to kiss me,” I say, breathless. I want him to do a lot more than just kiss me.

His eyes flash. His grip on my neck tightens, and he crushes his lips against mine.

My heart explodes. My body is on fire. I wrap my arms around his neck as he pulls me into him. Vaguely, I hear whoops and hollers around us, but nothing matters.

Nothing matters except his lips against mine. His hand drifts down to the cleft of my ass and I roll my hips into him. My head is spinning.

Somewhere, in the depths of my consciousness, I know I shouldn’t be doing this. I know it’s wrong. I know it’s exactly the opposite of what the responsible thing to do is.

But I don’t care.

After three years under Elijah’s thumb, it feels good to be bad.

Maybe it feels good to do it as a ‘fuck you’ to him. Kissing his brother is the ultimate insults. But somehow, I think it’s more than that.

Kissing Jesse feels right. His hands wrap around my body as if he’s known me forever. He kisses me softly, then hard, and then soft again. His tongue spreads my lips as his kiss becomes more insistent. He groans when I slip my tongue into his mouth, and then sinks his fingers into my ass.

It’s like he knows all my buttons. He knows how to push them, and when, and in what order. It’s more than a kiss. It’s electric. It’s pure passion.

And it feels incredible.

When we pull apart, I’m panting. Jesse runs his fingers through his hair and then grabs his drink, finishing it in one gulp.

I take a sip of water, trying to cool down my burning cheeks.

I glance over and see Rachael staring at me with wide eyes. She has a huge grin on her face and she shakes her head from side to side.

Shut up, I mouth to her, and she just starts laughing. One of the players touches her on the shoulder and she winks at me before turning to him.

I glance back at Jesse. He’s staring at me, and I start laughing.

I can’t help it. It’s such a ridiculous situation. A smile twitches over his lips until he’s chuckling with me, shaking his head.

“That felt better than winning the Super Bowl,” he laughs.

“Wow, that may be the best compliment I’ve ever gotten.”

“It’s true.”

His eyes search mine, as if he’s waiting for me to say something, or do something.

But I don’t know what to say. All I know is that I want him. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. The voice in my head that says ‘this is wrong’ is getting quieter by the second.

“You want to get out of here?” He finally asks.

I inhale, chewing my lip.

I know what that means.

If I leave with Jesse right now, I’m going to sleep with him. I know I will. I won’t be able to stop myself. He’s too sexy, too irresistible. He’s too perfect.

I’m going to sleep with my ex-fiancé’s brother a week after we broke up.

I’m going to be that person.

“Why couldn’t I have met you before him?” I say with a sad smile.

His eyes close for a moment and he shakes his head. “I know,” he says in a low voice. “I’ve thought of that so many times since I met you at the cabin.”

“Mansion,” I correct.

He laughs and shakes his head again. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop being so goddamn perfect.”

“I’m far from perfect,” I grin.

“You’re perfect to me.”

Words escape me. A lump forms in my throat and a fire ignites in my stomach. It feels like my heart is breaking all over again. I’m staring at an alternate reality—one that didn’t end up with me being cheated on. Jesse has all the qualities I loved in Elijah. He’s charming and confident. He’s got the body and the chiseled face with the cute little dimple. He’s got the raw, alpha-male power coursing through his veins.

But unlike Elijah, Jesse also has a heart of gold. He’s kind.

I chose the wrong one, and a part of me feels like it’s too late.

“Farrah,” he growls.

“What?”

“I know what you’re thinking. I know that this seems like a bad idea, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

“I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“I know.”

“And I don’t…” I sigh. “I don’t want to be that girl. Imagine what they would say about me if I slept with you! God, how many people saw us kiss!”

His hands wrap around me again and I sigh into the comfort of his embrace. He rests his forehead against mine and we sway side to side.

“Forget about all that,” he says. “I’m not my brother. Fuck everyone else. Come home with me.”

My heart skips a beat. I gulp. His eyes blaze through me as the heat of his body makes my heart race. Finally, a grin lifts the corner of my mouth.

“Fuck it,” I say. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Jesse’s face breaks into a smile. He tilts my head up and kisses me tenderly. It’s slower and deeper than our first kiss. When he pulls away, he slides his hand to my lower back and then leads me out of the club. I look over my shoulder to see Rachael’s jaw drop, and I just shrug.

Like I said, what’s the worst that can happen?