Page 78 of Discretion

As desperate as I was to kiss her, I hadn’t waited this long to rush it. I was going to savor every fucking second.

I searched her gaze, drinking her in. The way she looked at me. The feel of her in my arms. She brushed my hair away from my face, and I closed my eyes, overcome.

“What is it?” she asked, tracing the lines of my face with her fingertip.

I let out a shaky exhale. I couldn’t tell her the truth—not yet. But I could tell her part of it. “I’ve never wanted anything more than I want you.”

She tilted her head, her expression softening. “I want you too, Jasper.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I don’t think I ever stopped wanting you.”

With one hand on her back, I used the other to cup the back of her neck, guiding her mouth to mine. When her lips grazed mine, my entire body felt as if it had been jolted back to life. And as we danced and devoured and claimed each other, I knew that it had all been worth the wait for this moment.

Months of pent-up longing poured out of me. I wanted her. I’d never stopped wanting her. And I had a feeling that would always be the case. I would never get my fill.

We couldn’t seem to make up our minds. One second, wewere gentle. The next, our kiss turned feral. Greedy alternating with playful and tender.

My hands were in her hair, on her ass. Everywhere I could reach. I’d never been more grateful for the soundproof walls and locked door.

She rocked against me, and I gritted my teeth. My cock was already aching to be inside her, but I was determined to stay focused. Meanwhile, she seemed just as determined to get me to lose control.

I cupped the back of her neck. “Say it again, Halle. Tell me you’re mine.” Because fuck…my restraint was so close to snapping.

“I’m,” she gasped, gliding over me with just the right amount of friction, “yours.” She gasped again when I pinched her nipple, and I let out a satisfied sound. “But should we really be doing this here? Now?”

I followed the direction of her gaze. To the door and my family beyond. I kissed her again. I didn’t fucking care.

“We’re playing with fire,” she said.

“And you fucking love it.” I unzipped her dress, pushing it aside to reveal her to me. “Tell me you don’t. Tell me you want me to stop.”

She shook her head. “Don’t you dare stop, Jasper.”

I stood, carrying her over to the couch, and she squealed. I chuckled and lowered her to the sofa, bracing myself over her. The turbulence had long since passed, but there was no way we were leaving this room. Not until the wheels were back on the ground. Halle was mine, and I was going to take advantage of every moment we had together.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I couldn’t help but watch her. Revel in her. “Fuck, Halle.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.” Her smile was dazed, her cheeks flushed with color, eyes wild. “We should do that.”Fuck.

“I, I—” I lost the ability to communicate. Words. What were words? What need was there for language when she made me feel like this?

“Fucking stunning,” I said, taking her in.

She wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me down to her so her breasts brushed against my chest. My cock was hard and aching, and I needed to be inside her. But that would have to wait—for now. I wanted all my attention to be on Halle—her desires, her needs, her everything.

“Oh god.” She moaned. “This is even better than my dream.”

“Dream?”

Was that what this was? A dream? Because after all this time apart, I couldn’t believe she was in my arms once again.

Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of pink. She sucked in a jagged breath, though I wasn’t sure if it was from my words or our position.

I ran my nose along the shell of her ear, dipping my finger into her bra. “What happened in this dream of yours, love?”

She turned away as if trying to hide from me. From the truth. I wasn’t sure.

“Halle?”

“I dreamed that I was on the auction block last night. And you…”