I’m climbing down the ladder after my shower when I hear odd scratching and tapping noises coming from somewhere nearby. Swiveling my head around the space, I try to brace myself as a rush of adrenaline soars through me. It was just starting to sprinkle when I got in the shower, but the downpour is heavy now.

I turn, working my way in a slow circle as I listen closely for where the sounds are coming from. I’m facing the kitchen when I hear more scratching, followed by a whimper. I lean down to peer around the kitchen counter, spying the shadow behind the plastic entrance of the doggy door.

A breath leaves me in a relieved whoosh.

Lacey.

My stomach twists with emotions I’m too conflicted to make much sense of. I love that Lacey’s here, that she knows she has a place to come to in the rain. I would never turn her away. But selfishly, I hate the fact that the reasons she’s here are less about me than they are about Jaxon’s deceit. He’s been coming for the past year, at least. Maintaining the place, possibly even renting it out. Who knows how many others have been here in all my time away. Why didn’t he just tell me?

It’s still early in the evening, but the cloud cover makes it feel later than it is. With Jaxon still out of town until tomorrow, I’m glad Lacey knew she could come here. I go to unlock the doggy door for her, and she pushes her way in as if this is something we do every single day, her tail wagging happily behind her. I smile through fresh tears and find the dog food and water I purchased just in case she decided to visit me again. I set it out for her and pour myself a glass of wine.

I start a fire in the fireplace, bringing it to a perfect flame before curling up on the couch with my wine. My phone is dead, and I’ve made no attempt to replace it. What’s the point? I’d rather not be that accessible, and I have internet access through my computer. I’ll get a house phone for emergencies, and I have the café phone during the day if I need it.

Lacey pads over to the couch as if she can sense my anxiety, asking permission to join me with a nudge of her nose into my legs. I laugh and pat the empty spot next to me. She jumps up and wraps herself in a ball at my feet, her chin on my ankles and her beautiful blue eyes staring back at me.

“I’ve missed you too, baby girl.” I scratch her head, watching her eyes fight sleep until they fall closed and stay there.

Time passes, I’m not sure how much, but the downpour outside is steady as I finish my wine and set the glass on the side table, too tired to get another and too wrapped up in all the reasons why Jaxon could possibly choose to omit something so incredibly important. I don’t want to feel this way, like he’s poisoned everything we’ve started to rebuild, blistering my already bruised heart. I don’t want to question him after everything we’ve been through. But how else am I supposed to feel when the entire reason I’m back in Balsam Grove suddenly feels like a setup? I’m not entirely sure if I’m mad that he gifted the cottage to me, though. I guess it depends on his intentions.

A knock on the door startles me and wakes Lacey from her nap. I have every intention of ignoring it when I catch a glimpse of Jaxon’s eyes peering in through the glass. He’s drenched from head to foot, and he’s pointing to the door to let him in. Did he ride on his motorcycle in the rain? From Asheville? He’s not supposed to be back until tomorrow.

My heart pounds in time with his fist against the door, and then I hear his voice over the rain. “Aurora, it’s me. Let me in.”

No. After an odd look or two from Lacey, she leaps from the couch and walks lazily to the door, pressing her nose against it, then pawing at it. I take in a deep breath and follow her, debating my next move. I wasn’t expecting him tonight. I thought I’d have more time to come up with something to say. To tell him I know about the deed and that I’m angry as hell that he kept it from me.

“It’s not a good time right now.”

“What? Why? I’ve been trying to call you since last night. I’ve been worried.”

“I’m fine, Jaxon. And Lacey’s fine, too. She can stay if she wants. Let’s talk tomorrow, okay? It’s late.”

“Can you at least open the door? I’ve missed you.” His voice cracks as he lowers his boom to something softer.

I let out a breath, slamming my lids together and holding onto my resolve a little bit longer. “No, Jax. Tomor—”

“Damn it.” His fists slap the door, jolting me upright. There are a few seconds of silence before he speaks again. “If something is wrong, can you just tell me what it is? We don’t need to play this game, Aurora. Not after everything we’ve been through, okay? Why are you avoiding me?”

With an angry breath, I pull the door open, letting it stop hard against the chain. “I have nothing to say to you right now.”

His eyes grow wide, and his face twists in confusion. “What? Why?”

“You lied to me. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The deed, Jaxon.” His face crumbles instantly. “My father didn’t give me the deed. He couldn’t have. The bank repossessed it and auctioned it off to the highest bidder. To you.” My eyes blur with tears, and I wipe them away angrily.

I watch his face morph from realization to guilt. I almost fall to my knees at the confirmation. “I can’t believe you. You’ve been lying to me this entire time.”

He shakes his head, throwing his hands against the door and then shoving off from it when he realizes he can’t get closer to me. “It’s not like that at all. Just let me in and I’ll explain.”

Hot tears fall from my eyes, and for a moment, I consider opening the door. Maybe I pause too long because he stands straighter and opens his mouth to speak.

“Fine. Keep me out, but I’m saying what I need to say before I leave. Christ, Aurora, is it so awful I wanted you to have your home back? Does that make me a bad guy? This cottage belongs to you. And I didn’t tell you it was me who gave it to you because I wanted you to decide for yourself what to do with it. All I did was leave it in your hands. I didn’t know you were going to come back here. Did I hope you would? Yes. Was I still fucking pissed at you for pushing me away years ago? Yes. Did my heart almost split open when I saw you that night in the storm? Yes, goddammit, yes. Because I didn’t think you were real. I had convinced myself I would never see you again, but there you were, standing in the window like a goddamn ghost. You came back. On your terms. For your own reasons. All I did was hand you the keys to what already belonged to you. If you need to be mad at me, fine. You know where to find me if you want to talk.”

He pushes off from the door again, his face flushed with passion.

It’s so easy to trust him. To forgive him. I wish it could have been that easy years ago. Maybe he should have told me about the deed, but he’s right. It doesn’t matter how I got here. He didn’t force me to come.

“Wait,” I call. My hands move quickly to unlock the chain and open the door, leaving just enough room for him to walk in. He doesn’t look at me as he slams the door behind him and kicks off his shoes, petting Lacey as she shoves her nose between his wet, jean-clad legs. I take his rain jacket from him and eye his black button-down shirt.

“You’re back early.”

He nods, jaw hard, like he knows I’ve forgiven him, but he’s still pissed at me. “I tried calling you yesterday and today, and when Claire said you seemed upset and went home early today, I got worried. I thought maybe something happened.” He swallows, and my heart drops to my feet.

A new reality dawns on me. “You thought I left?”

His stares at me, and his throat moves as he swallows. Then he looks away as if he’s ashamed of his thoughts. “It crossed my mind.”

I guess there was a part of me that considered it, so I can’t fault him completely, but is this going to be the conclusion he jumps to every time he can’t get ahold of me?

“I’m sorry for thinking the worst,” I say quietly. “I just—I didn’t understand why you would keep that from me. But that’s not why my phone is off. I dropped it in the hot tub last night. It’s done for.” I cringe with embarrassment. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

“You are?” He looks doubtful.

“Yes, Jax. You should have told me about the deed, especially when I brought it up the other day, but I understand your reasons for gifting it to me.” I swallow. “Thank you. It’s actually pretty sweet of you.” I catch a hint of his smile break through that gorgeous face of his.

My heart twists in my chest. It feels so natural to want to wrap my arms around him in a hug, but he’s soaking wet. I laugh.

“Maybe you should take your clothes off.” He raises his eyebrows in amusement, and my cheeks flush at my words. “I can throw them in the dryer,” I add quickly, and then I point to the fire. “I have a fire going, so you’ll be warm enough. And I just opened a bottle of wine. If you’re hungry, we’ll have to get creative, though. I don’t really have anything—”

“Not hungry, but the rest sounds good,” he answers gruffly, his eyes drinking in my body. I’m dressed in thin, dark gray sweats and an oversized white muscle shirt. Nothing sexy at all, but the way Jaxon’s looking at me now makes me feel beautiful.

I clear my throat as he strips and, with a smug grin, hands his clothes over to me in a crumpled-up ball. I avert my gaze and take the two steps to the open door of the laundry room to toss his clothes into the dryer. When I walk back out to the living room, I find Jaxon moving some logs in the fire. Two fresh glasses of wine sit on the coffee table behind him.

He turns and greets me with a tired smile. I fight to keep my eyes from dropping down to take in more of his sculpted body and red boxer briefs. Ugh. Jaxon always did get my heart revved up when he wore red. It works well with his tanned skin, turbulent eyes, and wild hair. But now, standing in my cottage, which suddenly feels too small, he looks…dangerous. And not in a bad way.

We meet each other in front of the couch, and I wrap my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry,” I say softly as I peer up at him. “It’s just—when I’m around you I turn into, like, this teenage girl again. I’m just a bundle of nerves I have no clue what to do with.”

He shakes his head, chuckling at my confession. “I should have told you when I saw you, or at least when you brought it up the other day. But you were adamant that the deed was some sort of sign. I didn’t want you knowing that I gave it to you to change any of that, because it changes nothing, Aurora. I don’t regret doing it. You needed to make the decision to come back on your own. I’m sorry you didn’t find out the truth from me, though.”

“So, we’re even?”

He smiles. “I’d say we can call a truce.”

I remove my hand from around his waist and offer it to him with a laugh. “Good. Truce, then.”

He shakes his head, then tugs my arm forward and wraps it back around his waist with a grin. “I think we’ve moved past handshakes, don’t you think?”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he kisses me, slow and sweet. And just like that, here in his arms, I’m transported back to the second time we ever kissed.

It was two long years after we first kissed on the rock at Hollow Falls. I was seventeen. We had met in the same spot on the bridge every single day for ten days, just the two of us. Catching up. Apologizing for how he’d pushed me away two years before because he was afraid of his own feelings for a girl too young for him to pursue. Playing with Lacey. And then one day, when I was laughing at something he said, he gave me a look that hit me deep in the chest. He leaned in until I could feel my heart crashing inside me. And then his lips touched mine.

I was buzzing. All I could feel was the spray of water coming off the rocks and a rush of adrenaline like I was leaping into the falls. I knew, without a doubt, he would be there to greet me after the fall. He still is.

I’m left winded when our kiss ends, and my cheek falls to his chest.

“You’ve changed so much,” I say, my palms moving up and down against his back. I look up into his eyes and swallow, wondering if I’ll ever get used to seeing Jaxon with a beard. I run my fingers over it, and something warms in my belly. Yes, I think I’ll get used to it just fine. “As soon as I saw you on my back porch, I knew it was you. It was your eyes.” My lips turn up shyly. “Other than that, nothing about you was the same.”

“I thought I was dreaming,” Jaxon confesses in return, his forehead dropping to mine as he pulls me tighter, closer. “I’d wished for you to come home for so long, Aurora. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. But then I saw you in the café staring at our painting.”

I smile, my heart skipping like rocks across a creek. “You always did call them ours. Those are yours, Jax. Your hard work.”

He shakes his head. “Anything good I ever created was inspired by you.”

“That’s not true.” I wish he wouldn’t give me so much credit. Jaxon was painting masterpieces before anyone had ever seen his work, but he always insisted that I was the inspiration for everything he was proud of.

“It is true. I would have never had the courage to show my work to anyone if it wasn’t for you. Every piece in Creek Café was inspired by you. I can’t imagine creating anything great that you’re not a part of in some way. Can’t you see it when you look at them?”

I look at him with questioning eyes.

He breathes out and tries again. “You’re the shadow in the falls, and you’re the one who tipped over the canoe. It was your shoe that slipped off at the top of the mountain. And you were the one that picked that flower that fell in the creek. I’ve only ever been truly inspired to paint what you’ve already brought to life. I just tried to hold on to those memories the best way I knew how.” A teasing smile flashes across his face. “It’s a good thing you came back when you did. I was beginning to run out of memories.”

The way he’s looking at me now with such honesty fills my chest to the brim. They say before death, life flashes before your eyes. But what about before life begins again? Because in this moment, here with Jaxon, with our pasts wide open between us, it all comes back to me in a rush. The good parts of it, anyway. The first time we met, our adventures together, the way he looked at me when he knew he shouldn’t. The first time he held my hand. Our first kiss. In a tortured youth filled with far more responsibilities than two kids should ever have, we found each other and fell into a deep, irreplaceable kind of love.

“I think I need my wine now.” I laugh, feeling shaky from the gale of memories. It’s like I’ve just been given legs after a lifetime of searching for a way to stand on my own.

He pulls us onto the couch and hands me my glass of wine. I curl up beside him, bending my knees so they fall over his lap, tucking my toes beneath me. His free hand rests on my thigh, tracing circles with his pointer finger as we drink our wine and stare into the flames in contented silence. Lacey pads around the couch to the fluffy rug outside my old bedroom, and it’s just the three of us again.

Jaxon’s fingers leave my thigh and weave through mine. “Hey,” he says gently. I turn to meet his eyes.

“What is it?”

The look he’s giving me now isn’t comforting. I hold my breath for another wind to come in and sweep our newfound peace away.

He squeezes my hand with his. “I want you to know I saw Val last night.”

My damn heart stutters, then restarts, telling me to trust him instead of jumping to conclusions again. “Okay.” I let the word linger on my tongue.

“It wasn’t planned,” he assures me. “She was at the bar after the event. I was leaving, and she was getting a drink. She stopped me. She wanted to talk.”

“Jax,” I say, shaking my head. “You don’t have to tell me anything. It’s none of my business.”

He tilts his head. “Bullshit, Aurora. I’m telling you because I don’t want any secrets between us. A couple months ago, I found out she was married, and I ended things between us. She was angry because I’ve been avoiding her ever since, and Val doesn’t handle being ignored well. That’s why she came by the shop the other day. To confront me. She confronted me again in Asheville. And she didn’t like what I had to say, but at least she knows where I stand.” There’s a pause while he exhales slowly. “We both have our pasts, Aurora. Good and bad. But I’m here with you now. I’m not going anywhere, and I sure as hell am not letting Val come between us.”

A relieved breath fills my lungs. I smile and lean in, touching my forehead to his. “Thank you.”

My hand falls to his chest a bit timidly. Being so close to Jaxon now is just as nerve-racking as the first time I touched him. Even after our day together at the falls, this seems more intimate—and not just because he’s sitting beside me in nothing but his underwear, staring at me like he’s imagining himself inside me. We’ve come a long way, the pain of all the years before us only making what we mean to each other so much stronger. I can feel it between us. The heat. The strength. But there’s newness to it all, too. We aren’t seventeen and twenty-one, making out behind trees and in abandoned cabins. He isn’t taking my virginity in the dark basement of his house while muffling my screams of pleasure with his palms. It’s been so long since those days, but unlike Jaxon, I haven’t been intimate with anyone else.

My fingers skate across his chest on a mission to memorize every inch of its landscape, chiseled like the rock bed of a waterfall. He lets me have my fun until my eyes flick up to find his tortured ones. He clears his throat as if I’ve just walked in on him touching himself. Caught.

“Do me a favor.” His plea is gruff, his breath hot against my neck.

“Anything.”

He smiles. “Does that stereo work?”

I turn toward the bookshelf that holds my Bluetooth stereo and shrug. “Yeah. Want me to turn it on?”

He nods, then reaches for his phone on the coffee table in front of us. “We need some music.”

I cross the room and power on the speaker. A few seconds later, an acoustic song I don’t recognize pours out. I walk back to Jaxon, who takes my hand and pulls me between his legs, his long lashes batting against his brows as he peers up at me.

“That’s better,” he says with a smile. His fingers stroke my kneecaps for a moment, and then he continues up, skating up the thin fabric of my sweatpants. When he gets to my waist, his eyes light up and he looks back up at me. “I’m feeling a little underdressed here, Waterfall Eyes.”

It’s an invitation. A bold one that sends every inch of hair on my body standing on edge, begging for more of his touch.

The lump of nerves in my throat is thick, but I swallow it. He wants me to strip for him. I can do that, just as soon as I remember what underwear I put on after my shower tonight. A black lace thong, I think, with red polka dots. That’ll do.

My insides clench with excitement. For the last seven years, no man has seen me naked, yet I’m about to strip down to my undergarments for Jax like it’s nothing.

My fingers grip the bottom of my tank top in response. He sucks in a breath as I lift the cloth up and over my head, my hair dropping around my shoulders in long waves.

“Fucking beautiful,” he says, tracing the lace of my demi cup bra with his eyes. I look down too. I want to know what he’s seeing. My breasts fill the cups, threatening to spill with each heavy breath. It’s no more revealing than my bathing suit from the other day, but there’s no water to hide me now. There’s no towel to wrap my wet body in.

My hands move to my sweats next, untying them and then hooking the elastic around my thumbs. My limbs shake and my breath catches, but I ignore it as I peel the fabric from my hips and slip it down over my hips, thighs, knees, and feet. My nerves are hard to hide now that I’m standing here in front of him, his eyes sweeping over every inch of me appreciatively, hungrily. But he makes no move to touch me. Not yet. I can almost feel the twitch of his palm. The need, fierce and heavy, hangs in the air between us.

The fire from the stove warms my skin as it sparks and crackles behind me. And then his hands begin to move. His fingertips, featherlight against my skin, float up my leg, skimming the lace fabric of my underwear before digging in at my waist.

“Turn for me.” It’s a demand, dark and controlling. Heat rushes to my belly as I turn for him, focusing on my breathing rather than what Jaxon’s next move might be. I’m facing the fire, but my lids are pressed tightly together.

“I still can’t believe you’re really here.” He blows out a breath. “I thought I’d go crazy never getting to touch you again. So many nights I’d lay awake thinking about those tiny earthquakes your body would make.” A gentle pressure floats along my skin, the pads of his fingers dragging up the sides of my legs. I can barely breathe. “And the other day at the falls,” he rasps, “I wanted to feel you again. I wanted to feel you tighten around my fingers until you had no choice but to erupt.” A palm wraps a section of my ass and squeezes hard, dragging a moan up his throat. “I wanted to sit you on my cock and sink inside you so deep your cries would carry into town.”

My knees tremble. I look over my shoulder, my lids feeling heavy with want. It’s like he’s drugged me with his words. But as doped up as I am, his eyes still pin mine in place.

“I need to touch you, Aurora. Do you understand?” His words are so desperate I almost fall to my knees.

Instead, I swallow and respond with a step backward. His legs widen for me, fitting me there so the backs of my calves hit the front of the couch. I have to press my knees together to keep them from shaking.

My next inhale is sharp as Jaxon’s cool lips find the plump skin of my ass where he just squeezed. He swipes his tongue over the pressure, kisses it, then bites down. I moan at the feel of my skin between his teeth, his hot breath washing over me. It stings for a second—the good kind of sting. The kind that makes me want his teeth on every inch of my skin.

He curses again before squeezing my other cheek with his free hand. “Sit,” his raspy voice demands.

I swallow and bend my knees, letting him guide me onto his eager lap. He’s so hard beneath me, strained against his red briefs as he leans back on the couch, pulling me with him.

“You’re making me crazy, Waterfall Eyes,” he murmurs into my back before dropping soft kisses from my neck to mid-spine. Then he sighs, like he knows he should stop himself, and adjusts my positioning so that my legs fall over his and I’m pressed into the corner of the couch. I look up at him curiously.

He seems to be focused on something, deep in his thoughts as he watches the lick of the flames in front of us. The firelight whips shadows against the wall as the seductive smell of ash and burning wood scent the air. Jaxon’s hand travels over my thighs and stomach, his touch light against my hot skin.

I try to breathe evenly.

I try to relax.

I try not to think of where I want him to put his hands.

He’s obviously got something on his mind.

“Can I ask you something?” His voice awakens the silence, his tone husky with fatigue. “It won’t change anything. I just thought I’d ask. You know about Val, but I haven’t asked you about…you know. You said you’ve dated, but…”

My brows bunch together, hating that with every reminder of Scott, guilt comes along for the ride. “There’s been no one else. Not in that way.”

“Okay,” he says with a squeeze of my thigh. “I don’t need any other details. I was just curious.”

I smile and let my head fall to his shoulder. “If it helps, I can’t imagine another man’s hands touching me.” My eyes flicker to his lips. “Or another mouth kissing me.”

He returns my smile as his fingertips tilt my chin to align our mouths. “That’s really good to hear since I can’t stop touching you.” His fingers begin to trace circles around my navel.

Desire stretches through me, hitting every nerve, burning every surface. “Never stop touching me, Jaxon. Never again.”

His eyes blaze before he leans in, pausing only a second before covering my mouth with his. Blood rushes through my veins like a wild river, causing my mind to swirl in a fog of endless bliss.

Jaxon’s always been so gentle with me, like I’m fragile glass swept up in his hurricane— but instead of destroying me, he takes me along for the ride. He’s needy in the way he touches me, testing his limits with soft kisses and vocal warnings about what he wants to do to me next.

His hand slides down from my navel, teasing the fabric of my panties before slipping his hand beneath them. My core aches, yearning for what was so rudely taken from us the other day at Hollow Falls. Nothing is stopping us now.

The fire crackles in the background as my head falls back and Jaxon’s lips move to my neck. My skin burns hot beneath his kisses, his fingers still on the descent, brushing over my body like a paintbrush on canvas. And then he’s there at my core, sweeping a finger down the center of my lace, slipping between my slick skin and teasing the magical bundle of nerves that reaches every part of me.

His mouth moves back to mine, swallowing my surprise as he pushes a finger inside me. I gasp at the fullness, breaking our lip-lock.

“How’s that, babe? Good?” he rasps with eyes half-closed.

My hands move to his curls in response, grasping handfuls and tugging him deeper into another kiss. More, my hands say. Deeper, my tongue begs.

He manages to pull me onto his lap, his chest pressed to my back as he spreads me wider, his heels hooking onto my ankles. I let my head fall onto his shoulder, trying to focus on my breathing while his fingers continue to fill me like it’s his job. His other hand grips my waist, rocking me against his stiff lap until every part of me is sparking, hot and alive.

We’re sticks and friction, wind and smoke, and we fight our way to each other to feel what once was ours. I feel greedy nips and kisses on my shoulder and upper arm as he angles me back to curl his finger even deeper. Again and again, his pushes inside me like he knows I’m close and he’s taking his time on purpose.

I relax against him, submitting to his touch, and that’s when I feel the very first catch of the fire.

“Jax,” I warn, my voice begging him for more. And he gives it to me.

His free hand moves to my breast, gripping it for leverage as he pumps against me while quickening his hand’s movements. I arch and release my back, filling his palm with more of my chest while he stretches me with a second finger. I rub wildly against him, letting the fire build around us, just waiting to be doused in gasoline. I climb higher and higher with each lick of the flame until I’m finally exploding, shooting off wild and hot sparks, becoming featherlight as I continue to ride out my release on Jaxon’s hand.

Finally, the smoke clears, and Jaxon’s finger slips from me. He moves me to my back, lying beside me on the couch and pressing his lips to mine in a long, lingering, shaky kiss. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one affected by what we just did. Our breaths are as wild as the fire he just put out in me, and I feel his hard length pressed into my stomach.

“Stay the night.” My invite probably wasn’t needed, but I can tell Jaxon appreciates it when he nods into my mouth and smiles.

“Yes, ma’am.”

His mouth moves to my neck, and I giggle when I feel the scratch of his beard against my sensitive skin. “What’s so funny?” He nuzzles into my neck again, causing another fit of giggles to erupt.

“Your beard. I kind of love it.”

“Kind of?”

I laugh again. “Kind of a lot.”

He chuckles and nuzzles into me again. “Wait until you feel it between your thighs.”

I smile as he lifts me from the couch. It’s one single movement of strength and agility that makes me wonder how much time Jaxon spends working out. He was always strong, fit, and tall, but time has worked well for him.

He sets me down at the base of the ladder, never taking his lips from mine. He’s still kissing me as I take the first step but releases me when I continue to climb toward the bedroom. “You’re beautiful, Aurora June.”

I smile over my shoulder. “There’s a better view from up here.”

He wastes no time climbing the ladder and moving me to the bed, lowering his body on top of mine. I crawl backwards as he follows in a short chase of cat and mouse. When my head is close to the window that acts as my headboard, he dips down to kiss me long and hard.

We’re breathless when he sits up, his eyes scrolling over my body. “You’re right. It’s a much better view from up here.”

I bite my bottom lip, taking Jaxon in too. He’s so hard, and based on the way he grips his length through his briefs, I imagine it’s becoming painful. And then his expression changes, and he groans, this time in frustration. “Please tell me you’re on birth control.”

I swallow and nod. “You don’t have—?”

He shakes his head, eyes still shut. “I wasn’t expecting anything to happen, and I came straight here from the show. I just wanted to see you and make sure everything was okay. I haven’t been with anyone in months, and I’m clean. But we can wait.”

My heart melts. Seriously, I feel my insides turn to mush. I sit up on my knees so I’m eye level with him. “Jax, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure? I’ve never forgiven myself for going in raw with you that one time. We got lucky, but it was stupid. So fucking stupid. I was selfish with you. I’ve always been selfish with you.”

I let out a laugh, not because it’s funny, but because Jaxon’s version of what happened back then is completely different from how I remember it. “Jax, stop. We made that stupid decision together.”

When he relaxes again, I smile and lean forward, pressing my lips to his. “Jax, I trust you. Will you please fuck me senseless? I’ve only been waiting seven years for this.”

His lip curls before he presses his mouth to mine. “Since you asked so crudely. Your wish is my command.”