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Jacob thumbed it away, his eyes never leaving mine.

The intensity behind his stare burned into me, and I knew I’d never love another man the way I loved him.

It wasn’t just the things he said that melted my heart; it was the complete absence of irony or embarrassment.

He didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion, and he wasn’t concerned about what anyone thought of him, his brothers included.

Jake’s love for me was loud and proud, and he didn’t care who saw it.

He may not have possessed a poet’s soul, but he possessed an artist’s one, and I loved that about him.

It was becoming clearer every day that if I didn’t have Jacob, I wouldn’t have anything worth living for.

The music, the fame, and the fortune wouldn’t mean anything without him by my side.

He was my muse, and if my muse disappeared, so would all the beauty in everything I did.

The best songs on the last album were penned from our one fleeting night.

I could only imagine what a lifetime spent with Jacob would inspire within me .

“I need to get you inside before you freeze to death,” he murmured.

“I’m always warm when I’m with you,” I whispered.

Jacob grinned. “You fucking blow my mind. Who the fuck plays slutty cheerleader? You, that’s who. You’re full of surprises.”

I laughed softly. “Did you like that?”

He lifted one eyebrow. “Did you feel how hard I came, baby? Thought my head and my dick were gonna explode at one point. I’ve filled you with my cum.”

“Just as well we got our tests back.” I giggled.

“Babe,” he muttered. “You think I wouldn’t have a wrap on me? If there’s one thing I’ve established in the last few weeks, it’s that I’ve always gotta be prepared when it comes to you.” He slid his arms around me, and I lifted my chin to meet Jacob’s soft kiss, my heart flipping over in my chest.

“I love your road name by the way,” I told him when he pulled back. “Why Iceman?”

He grunted a laugh. “My old chapter reckoned I’ve got a look of Val Kilmer from the old Top Gun movie.”

I cocked my head. “I don’t see it. I thought it was because your eyes are icy blue.”

“Nah. Those boys wouldn’t go that deep, but you’re right, it is a cool name, so I wasn’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. A few of the others that were suggested weren’t so cool, so I took it and ran.”

I put on my slutty cheerleader voice. “You’re such a big, bad biker.”

He glanced downward and I followed his gaze to see his cock twitching again.

I choked out a laugh.

“Jesus Christ,” he cut out good-naturedly. “What the fuck am I gonna do with you?”

I laughed harder .

His hand cupped the back of my skull, and he leaned down to kiss me. “She keeps me on my toes,” he murmured against my lips.

“You better believe it,” I murmured back.

Jacob’s lips moved over mine insistently, and I marveled at their strength, but at the same time, their softness. Nobody had ever kissed me like he did—full of feeling and intensity. Just like everything Jacob did, he did it with meaning and gave it his all.

He pulled back, his eyes hooded as he took in my expression, which I knew conveyed how visibly he affected me. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get to bed. Wanna take a shower and spoon my ol’ lady.”

My eyes followed him sauntering across the room to retrieve the clothes I’d tossed when we played our little game. When he turned back to me, his eyes were soft and languid, probably from the force of his orgasm, and all tenseness had left his body.

He looked younger, boyish even, and my belly swirled with the knowledge that I did that. I took away his stress, and even if it only lasted until morning, it was worth it.

Jacob dipped and threaded my panties back over my sneakers, followed closely by my shorts. He lifted me from the desk, placing me gently on my feet, and pulled them over my ass. Then he grabbed my bra and tee and dressed me as if I were a child.

I nodded down at his still semi-hard cock he hadn’t tucked away, and gave him an exaggerated, cheeky wink, “You sure you want that to go to waste?”

He burst out laughing and pushed his dick back inside his fly before zipping up. “Upstairs, shower, bed, then we fuck again. In that order.”

I saluted him. “Yes, Sir.”

He grinned, shaking his head as he gazed down at me with so much love in his expression that my bones quivered. “Maybe that could be our next game.” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Lieutenant and new recruit.”

I lit up from the inside, but on the outside, I just nodded approvingly. “Niiiice. Maybe I’ve been a bad, bad girl and put the rest of the recruits at risk, and you have to punish me for it.”

His hands went back to his fly, and he adjusted his crotch. “Fuck me. You carry on with this shit and I won’t last until we get upstairs. You’re gonna be the fucking death of me, Saint McClure.” His face descended, and he kissed my neck.

My body shivered from head to toe. “I love you,” I whispered.

Jacob lifted his head, nuzzled my nose with his, and muttered, “Love you, baby.” He took my hand and led me out of the office and back into the workroom of the auto shop.

Then he hooked his arm around my neck and pulled my body into the side of his so snugly that his forearm hung down over my chest.

Something sparked inside my belly, warming me. The scent of Jacob’s cologne washed over me again, and I sent up a word of thanks to God for bringing this beautiful soul into my life because he’d made my heart open again.

All my life, I’d felt like I wasn’t enough. Not sweet enough, not obedient enough, and certainly not religious enough. Jacob had flipped that on its head, and I knew now I was enough, and I always would be, because he saw something in me that made it that way.

Nothing could take this or him away from me; I wouldn’t let it.

Whatever happened, I’d fight. I’d kick, scream, and claw to keep Jacob by my side.

I’d give up anything and everything for him, and the reason I’d do it happily lay in the knowledge that I knew he’d do the same for me.

But the real joy came from the fact I’d never have to, because he’d never ask .

I wasn’t stupid; I knew it wouldn’t all be moonlight and roses, and I also knew we’d have challenges to deal with because that was life and it threw curve balls all the damned time. Navigating the world was hard, but navigating it with Jacob was going to be my honor and my privilege.

And I couldn’t wait to get started.

He made me so fucking happy.

We slipped out of the auto shop, giggling like schoolkids who’d secretly sneaked into the janitor’s closet for a make-out session.

Jacob pulled me to face him, his hands resting on my shoulders, and he pressed his forehead to mine. “Wanna go for a ride tomorrow?” he asked. “Want you on the back of my bike where you belong.”

I almost squealed with delight. Instead, I bounced on the balls of my feet excitedly and breathed in the style of Chandler Bing, “Could you get any better ?”

My man chuckled, his grip on my shoulders tightening as he pulled me in and touched his mouth to mine before asking, “My songbird likes motorcycles?”

“I’ve never been on one.” My gaze locked with his, and I took in the icy blue eyes I loved so much. “But I do know that as long as I get to hold onto you, I’ll love it.”

He turned me to the side, his beautiful big bicep cuffing me to his side again as we headed around the side of the hotel. “Come with me. Wanna show you somethin’.”

“I’ve heard that before,” I replied drolly, laughing along with his chuckle as Jacob pulled me around the front of the building and up onto the hotel steps.

His feet faltered and he dropped his ass onto the top stair, pulling me down to sit across his lap before gently turning my face toward his with his forefinger.

“I’m gonna show you the last piece of me,” he murmured. “The one piece you haven’t seen yet. I’m gonna do this here before we go inside because it doesn’t belong in our room with us, but it’s still an introduction that needs to happen before I let it go for good.”

My eyebrows pulled together curiously, and I watched as he reached into the inside pocket of his cut and retrieved his wallet. Flipping it open, his fingers went inside, and he pulled out a couple of small photographs.

“Saint,” he said, his voice suddenly husky with emotion. “This is Allicent.”

My sharp intake of breath was audible. “Jacob...” I began, but my voice trailed off when he held up the first picture.

“This was her on our wedding day,” he explained gently, holding the small square image out.

With trembling fingers, I took it from him, and pulling in a deep breath, I braced and turned the picture to study it.

A pretty blonde woman smiled up at me. She wore a long, white, capped-sleeved dress, and her pose was exaggerated, as if she were pretending to be a model.

“I sneaked that photo just before the ceremony,” Jacob told me, his voice soft. “I wasn’t supposed to see the bride before the wedding, but I didn’t care. I waited for her bridesmaids to leave and then broke into her room and made her kiss me before she headed out to the church.”

I laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me about you, Jacob.”

“Her dad caught us, but I swore him to secrecy. It cost me a two-hundred-dollar bottle of whiskey.” He chuckled. “Most expensive kiss in history.”

I smiled down at Allie Irons. “She’s beautiful.”

“She was,” he agreed. “I loved her until the end of her life, and I will until the end of mine. But I’m in love with you. Allie was incredible, but I’m not holding onto her anymore. I’m holding onto you.”

“You didn’t need to do this,” I whispered. “I don’t expect you to switch your feelings for Allie off. If you were the kind of man who could, you wouldn’t be the right one for me.”