After our intense discussion, I felt closer to Jordan than I thought possible. It’s hard to fathom what he and Sawyer went through as kids, but there’s not a doubt in my mind Jordan understands what I experienced. The two of us curled up together and shared a couple of tender kisses before falling asleep in each other’s arms. In the middle of the night, I woke up to his thrashing around and screams. At first, it scared me, but I remembered what he said about waking him gently.

Placing my hand on his chest, I rub slow circles over his heart. “Jordan, wake up, please. It’s just a bad dream.”

Jordan stops yelling but is still moving all over the place. Moving my hand up to his face, I cup his cheek and press my lips against his. “Wake up, baby. It’s only a bad dream. Come on, J, wake up.”

I slide my free hand down his chest, and he opens his eyes. “Did you just call me baby?”

“Um, I’m not sure. Maybe? I was just trying to wake you up.”

He traces my lips lazily with this finger. “Allie, that might be the most pleasant wake up from a nightmare I’ve ever had. Keep doing that and you can call me baby all you want.” He pulls my hand to the waistband of his boxers. “Don’t be shy Allie cat, I know you want a feel.”

I move down the bed and pull down his boxers. “I want to taste more than anything.”

Jordan groans as I position myself between his legs. I wrap my fingers around him and stroke his length. Drawing lazy circles around the tip of his dick with my tongue, I taste him for the first time.

“Fuck, Allie, your mouth was made for my cock.”

Spurred on by his sexy words, I open wider and take him as far as I can. He weaves his fingers through my hair and pushes with a gentle pressure. I’ve only ever done this with Evan, and he wasn’t this well-endowed. As Jordan gently arches into my mouth, I find my rhythm and take him deeper. With a mix of my hands and my mouth, I bring him close to the edge, and he pulls away.

“Enough. As much as I’d love to come down your pretty little throat, I want to come inside your tight pussy instead.”

Jordan flips us over and pulls down my pants and underwear at the same time. I work on getting my shirt off so I’m completely naked before him. Even with the dim lighting in the room, the look in his eyes is unmistakable—he wants to feast on me.

He drops between my legs and spreads them wide. “Do you know how badly I’ve wanted to taste you again? How hard it’s been not to toss you up on the bar, pull down your pants, and bury my head between your legs?”

His filthy words and husky tone set me on fire. I’m drenched, and he hasn’t even touched me yet. “You’re serious?”

“I don’t joke about sex, Allie. First, I’m going to fuck you with my mouth, and then I’m going to have you screaming when you come again on my cock.”

Before I can say a single word, he dips his tongue inside me, and I’m putty in his hands. My body arches off the bed as I writhe under the expertise of his tongue. “Oh God, Jordan, you, I … oh …”

Evan had a problem with the taste of pussy, or so he said. But Jordan’s mouth? Totally worth the wait.

He slides a finger inside me and circles my clit with his tongue. When he adds a second finger, I practically bolt off the bed. “I’m so close, J.”

Jordan swaps his fingers for his tongue again and teases my clit with his thumb. Taking off like a rocket on the Fourth of July, I scream his name and continue chanting it until my body has calmed and he kisses his way up my abdomen.

“That was so incredibly hot. I can’t believe your ex missed out on that.”

“How … did you know that?”

“What do you mean? You told me– Shit, Allie, please tell me he at least gave you oral even if he was bad at it.”

Dammit. He’s got me in a stupid sex haze. I can’t believe I slipped on that one.

“Fuck, Allie,” he caresses my cheek with his thumb, “that guy was an idiot.” He moves his lips to mine and quickly deepens the kiss.

“Hm,” I say when he pulls back.

“I hope that’s a good hm because I plan to do a lot more of that. Your pussy should be in my mouth as much as possible. You’ve got a lot of lost orgasms to make up for, and I’m happy to help you do it.”

“A lot, huh?”

He lowers his mouth to my breasts and takes turns licking and sucking my nipples into stiff peaks. “Mm, a few hundred at least.”

A few hundred orgasms with J? Yes, please, sign me up.

“Are you on the pill?”

“Yes, but we still need to use a condom.”

Jordan rolls to the side and pulls a condom from the bedside table. Tearing it open, he rolls it down his length. “I completely agree. It’s just nice to be double covered.” He nudges the head of his cock inside me and hisses. “Relax, Allie. You’ve got to loosen up if you want to do this.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his face to mine. “Kiss me, J.”

As soon as our lips lock, my body relaxes and he inches in slowly. Jordan groans once he’s fully seated inside me. He pulls out and leisurely pushes back in again.

“J …”

He nips my lip with his teeth and lowers his head to my breasts before taking a free hand and lacing our fingers together. We move to a perfectly timed erotic dance. Our bodies flush, fueling off each other’s cries and moans. The sensuality is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and I wonder if it’s always like this for him. He shifts on his leg and hikes my hip higher as he pistons into me.

“Damn, Allie. You’re amazing.” Our eyes meet, and seconds later, so do our lips. As our kiss deepens, my body explodes.

“Jordan!” Breaking away from our kiss, I let the sensations take over.

He continues thrusting deeper and harder until our bodies are covered with sweat and I’m a weeping mess. Just when I think I can’t take anymore, he thrusts one last time as he bites my nipple, and I detonate again.

We both cry out for the other in the moment, and when it’s over, he pulls out of me slowly before tossing the condom into the trash and collapsing next to me.

“That was … intense,” I gasp.

He chuckles and brings my hand to his lips. “That’s definitely a good word for it.”

“I’ve never had that many orgasms in a row.” I’m in a sex haze.

“Get used to it, Allie Cat, and my orgasm cup won’t be the only one running over.”

Groaning, I throw my arm over my head. I can’t believe he remembered that. “Can we let that one go? I was totally drunk.”

He pulls my arm away and rolls on his side, hovering above me. “No way. You say the best shit when you’re intoxicated. I’ve met a lot of drunks in my life, but you are hands down the cutest one.”

I move for changing the subject because compliments from Jordan make me feel way too good. “How did you end up with the bar? Did you not want to be in the band with your brothers?”

Jordan lies on his back and pulls me into the crook of his arm. For someone who is so standoffish in so many ways, I’m surprised at how cuddly he is in private. Or when he thinks people aren’t paying attention, like when he laid one on Ty on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m not at all musically inclined, and even though I love my brothers, my musical tastes lean more toward Eli Watts than Bastards and Dangerous.”

“Aww, I’m sure they understand.”

“They tease me sometimes, but it’s all right. They tried to get me to tour with them, offered me pretty much every position on the tour, but that’s not the kind of life I want to live. Besides, loud noises, fireworks, cars backfiring … it all still affects me.”

I squeeze his hand, and he returns the gesture. “My biological father’s brother owned Just an Illusion. It was called Chuy’s before the shooting. My dad owned a small stake in the bar, helped Chuy open the bar originally. When he died, Chuy was lost. He had no idea my dad had a secret life and was fucking around on his family.”

“If this is too much, J, you don’t have to tell me. We’ve had a lot of revelations tonight.”

“Nah, it’s cool. This is actually the good part. My parents and Chuy came to an agreement, and I was able to spend some weekends with him and time in the summer when I wanted. We were close, and he was nothing like his brother. He treated my brothers and sisters like his family. We shared holidays at times; my parents are good like that. They didn’t want me to lose him too.”

He runs his fingers through my hair, and I sigh contentedly.

“Chuy closed the bar for a few months after the shooting and bought the industrial building it’s in now. He changed the name to Just an Illusion because that’s how he felt about life and his brother. And then he posted an ad for local street artists to come show off their skills. He paid them to keep it artistic and not paint any kind of gang affiliations into the designs on the outside of the building. Every few years, he’d paint the building white and let people come paint again. I still do that. It keeps us relevant, and it brings a sense of community to the bar.”

“That’s amazing. Local artists must constantly be watching out for the building to go white again.”

Jordan kisses the top of my head, and my heart flutters. I’m going to be in so much trouble with him.

“They do. It’s not due for another change for a while, but I’m already excited for it. Chuy died from cancer seven years ago. He took out loans on the bar to pay for his medical care, and when he died, he left the bar and the debt to me. When I couldn’t get a loan to cover the half-million-dollar price tag, Noah and Sawyer paid off the bar and essentially became my bank.”

“And that’s why you were arguing at the bar.”

“Yes. I know we’re family, but there’s still part of me that will always feel indebted to them for taking me in and making me part of them. It’s stupid, and it’s my hang-up, but it lingers and I can’t get past it.”

I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him. “It’s a little different, but I get it. I left D.C. because I was tired of constantly hearing about my trust fund. My dad has control of it until I’m thirty. Evan was the last straw. The money doesn’t matter to me, and it never has. My sanity was more important, so I got out.”

“You know, I did read your application. You could have a lot better job than being a waitress at a bar and make a hell of a lot more money. Why did you come to us?”

“Because I wanted happiness. Sasha makes me happy, and your bar makes me happy. People go there because they want to have a good time. They want to dance and listen to music, play pool or darts, and eat good food. Sure, maybe they want to drink their sorrows away at times, but the happiness far outweighs the bad. That’s the kind of environment I want to work in, not some uptight office with a bunch of rich people in suits who are all part of the one percent club.”

He yawns and kisses me again. “I’m glad you chose happiness.”

“Me too.”

The following night at work, there’s a definite sexual charge between Jordan and me. He comes up behind me and cages me in between him and the bar as I’m making Rory a drink.

“You’re coming home with me tonight, right?” His lips are against my ear, and my knees are instant jelly.

“I hadn’t thought about it.”

It isn’t exactly the truth, but I’m not going to come off as needy. I can handle a fling, and I have to keep that as my mindset for now. Jordan presses his front to my back and nips my neck with his teeth. His hardness presses against my ass, eliciting a groan from me. Thankfully, the bar is slow right now.

“Thinking about it now?” he murmurs against my skin.

“Yeah, we should do that.”

He slides to the side, keeping his erection hidden, and inclines his head to his sister who is watching us intently. “Better get that to Rory and prepare for the inquisition.”

With a smile plastered on my face, I deliver her drink. She pops a cherry in her mouth from the dish Jordan had given her and cracks a grin. “My brother is so into you it’s not even funny.”

“We’re just … testing the waters.” That’s a good answer, right? After all, it’s what we’re doing.

“More like testing the bed, or would it be the bar?” She laughs as my eyes widen.

Rory’s bold, but with her brothers, she probably has to be, especially since she’s the youngest Weston. “It’s casual, Rory. He’s still figuring out his situation.”

“Jordan doesn’t look at you like it’s casual. He watches you like you’re his prey and he’s going to enjoy devouring every bit of you. I wish someone would look at me like that.”

Does she have blinders on? Eli looks at her exactly like that. I’m not sure I want to get in the middle of that one. With a noncommittal shrug, I wipe off the counter in front of her. “Sexual attraction is one thing, but history is another, and someone else has me beat there.”

“Ugh. Tyler, right? Don’t get me wrong, I like him. He’s a nice guy, but he’s not Jordan’s forever and never has been. Tyler is the guy you pass the time with, not the guy you say ‘I do’ to.”

I bite my lip and debate engaging her further, but my curiosity wins. “Why do you think that?”

“Look, J is tight-lipped about everything, but those two are like a broken record. They date, then they date other people. Rinse and repeat. At some point, the redundancy is going to get to him. I hope it’s soon because Jordan has been through a lot and I’d love to see him find his person.”

Rory pauses and looks toward the door, her eyes wide. “Oh snap,” she says. “It’s like we summoned the devil himself.”

I’m trying to keep my cool, but after last night, it’s harder than I thought it would be. Jordan leans across the bar and says something to Ty, and then Ty heads toward Jordan’s office.

“Excuse us for a minute, Rory,” J says and tugs me to the side. He tilts my chin up and looks directly into my eyes. “This doesn’t change anything.”

“It’s fine, Jordan. I knew what I was getting into.”

“Listen, I’m going to talk to him, but that’s all. In five minutes, I want you to take your break and meet me in the back room. Okay?”

“Sure.”

While J is in the office talking to Tyler, I busy myself making drinks for the customers at the bar. By the time I circle back to Rory’s end of the bar, it seems like the longest five minutes ever. I wonder if they’re talking or if Ty is on his knees again.

“You like him,” Rory muses.

Her comment pulls me from my thoughts. “I’m trying really hard not to. I’ll be right back.”

J’s office door is open and he’s sitting behind his desk when I pass. Tyler’s voice echoes into the hall. “Is it serious?”

I pause. I know I shouldn’t, but they are talking about me. “It’s new, Ty. I’m not sure.”

“But you like this person?”

“Yes, enough to want to give it a shot. She’s special, Ty.”

“You’re dating a woman …”

Poor Tyler sounds crushed. I can’t listen to anymore—it isn’t right. I feel like a total jerk already. True to his word, Jordan meets me in the back room a few minutes later.

“Hey, are you okay?” He moves toward me and links his finger through the belt loop on my jeans, pulling me to him.

“I’m fine. Are you? Is Tyler?”

“He’s not happy, but he gets it, and I’m great. This isn’t a hardship for me, Allie. I’ve wanted you since you stepped into the bar. You looked at me like I was the big bad wolf. I wanted to eat you up. The way you bit your lip as you watched me put on my shoes. Fuck, Al, I could practically smell your arousal from where I was sitting, and it was hot as fuck.”

My breathing increases as he tells the story. I’m transported back to that day, and the memory hits me hard. Jordan was everything I didn’t need in my life and suddenly all I wanted.

“What happens next?”

“You come over tonight and we pick up where we left off this morning. I want you riding my cock and screaming my name until I’ve wrung the very last orgasm out of your sexy little body. And we’ll talk, keep getting to know each other. That’s the point of this, right?”

“Yeah, sure, but what about Tyler?”

With an arched brow, he moves his arm around my waist before dropping a sweet kiss on my lips. “Nothing has changed. I’m with you right now, and he knows it. We’re still friends, we’ll still talk, but I don’t anticipate he’ll be hanging around the bar anytime soon.”

“Okay.”

“It’s that easy?”

“I’m not your girlfriend, Jordan. Of course, it’s that easy.”

He bends down and kisses me until we both need to come up for air.