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I spent the next day wandering around the house, trying to keep busy with chores, reading, TV, anything to get my mind off what had happened the night before. The way his lips had felt against mine, and how badly I wanted to do it again.

Except no matter what I did or how I tried to distract myself, all I could think about was that kiss. It had reignited everything I’d been trying to suppress since Jackson walked back into my life. No matter how hard I tried to deny it or pretend otherwise, I was still attracted to Jackson. I still wanted him. It had taken all of my strength to break that kiss, except I knew I had to. I couldn’t let myself fall for the same tricks. Not again.

I had run out of the room because I knew if I stayed a second longer, I would have given in to those primal urges. I couldn’t let myself do that.

I pushed those thoughts from my head. Or, I tried to. Every time I closed my eyes, I could feel his lips on mine, and my heart pounded with longing.

I needed to get out of there. Which was how, ten minutes later, I found myself running through the woods, chasing after prey as I tried to let the smells of the forest clear my head. I stayed out for well over two hours, just letting myself enjoy the fresh spring air and being out on my own. My wolf relished the chance to run and be outside. She’d felt cooped up lately, and I was happy to let her run free for a while. As I tracked a hare, I let my mind go blank as my wolf’s instincts took over.

By the time I finished, I felt more like myself, and more relaxed about the entire situation. At first, I thought maybe we could put the kiss behind us, and it would all be forgotten. We could simply move on.

I realized how stupid that hope was almost the instant I walked in the door and heard laughter echo from the living room. Wandering that way, I felt my stomach lurch as I saw Claire and Jackson sitting cross-legged on the floor. Claire’s brow was furrowed in concentration as she stared at two cards in her hand. Jackson had an intense look on his face before he solemnly put down one of his own cards with a hand far larger than Claire’s. The way they were acting, you would think that whatever they were doing was a life-or-death situation.

“Let’s see if this trips you up,” he said.

Claire’s face lit up. “Annnd Uno!” Claire declared as she plopped down her second-to-last card.

“Hmm…” Jackson drummed his fingers against his cheek as he studied his cards and then his opponent. His eyes narrowed in scrutiny. The look was so startlingly similar to one I had seen Claire give me on a number of occasions that I nearly took a step back.

“You’re a worthy foe,” Jackson said in a sinister, melodramatic voice that made Claire giggle. “But can you defeat… this?! ” he slammed down one of his cards.

Claire’s triumphant smile told me everything I needed to know. “I win!” She put down her final card.

“Ah, dang it!” Jackson threw up his hands theatrically as his eyes crinkled. The cards that had been in his hand flew up, then fluttered to the ground. “I’ve been defeated.”

“Told you!” Claire cried gleefully. “I’m the best at this game.”

He gave a deferential bow. “I shall never question your expertise again. At least when it comes to Uno.”

Their smiles at that moment were identical in every way, right down to the single dimple on their right side. No wonder Reacher had figured it out. It was a miracle Jackson hadn’t guessed yet.

“Want to play again?” Claire asked hopefully.

Jackson glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow. “Let me see if your mother needs help with anything first.”

I waved a hand. “I’m good.”

“You want to join us, then?” he asked.

“Mom’s terrible at games,” Claire grumbled.

“Hey, now,” Jackson said. “Just because she’s terrible doesn’t mean she can’t play. Besides, if she needs help, I can give her a few pointers.”

I shot him an annoyed look. He winked back with a roguish grin that almost made me laugh. God, when had it become so hard to resist his charm again? I had put up so many walls, but I hadn’t realized how many of them he had chipped away at.

“I’m going to get dinner ready, anyway,” I said. “You guys have fun.”

As I fixed dinner, I listened to the two of them as they moved from game to game. Jackson won a few, but Claire won more. I wasn’t sure if he let her win or if the wins were legitimate, but it didn’t seem to matter. Every time I glanced over while I stood at the stove, they both had wide, genuine grins that were infectious.

I had never pictured Jackson as good with kids. Watching him play with Claire told me I had been dead wrong. It should have made me happy. Claire was getting along with Jackson, who was likely going to be in our lives for the foreseeable future. Instead, it made me uneasy.

What was problematic was that seeing him play with Claire this way, seeing him accept her as if she was his own daughter, made me even more attracted to him. Not just physically but emotionally as well. Despite myself, I could feel that I was falling for him again. I wanted to be near him, to lean against him, to taste his lips on mine once more.

Those thoughts that I had hoped the hunt had eradicated had come back in full force. They plagued me all through dinner, and after. I kept finding myself looking at him without being conscious of it, my thoughts drifting toward what it would feel like to melt into his arms like that one fateful night. No matter how hard I tried, they kept resurfacing. How good he was with Claire. How he’d treated me with kindness and compassion since coming here, letting me heal on my own, but offering to be there when I needed it.

It was getting harder to hate him. But the memories of what he had once done are still there, and they still hurt.

Later, after Claire had gone up to bed, Jackson came over to where I was finished cleaning.

“Doing okay?” he asked. “Thanks for getting that rabbit for dinner. It was great.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I said.

He took the rag from my hand, his fingers brushing against mine. “Here, let me.”

I did, barely breathing, part of me yearning to inhale his scent. I hesitated, debating whether to bring up the next topic. Eventually, I bit the bullet. “It seems like you and Claire are getting along,” I said.

He gave a wide grin, one that yet again looked almost identical to Claire’s. “She’s a great kid. Really. You’ve done a great job raising her.”

“I did my best,” I said with a shrug.

“Honestly, I’m surprised.” Jackson scratched his head. “When you said you had a kid, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I like spending time with her.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “I mean, I think it helps that we have a bunch in common, which was a nice surprise. But I’m not sure I expected to get along with her as well as I am.”

I stayed silent, unsure what to say, and worried that anything I said would reveal the truth.

“You all right?” he asked.

I turned, and my stomach lurched as I realized how close he was. It would only take a few half-steps for us to be touching. His scent of oak and vanilla washed over me as my heart worked overtime.

“I’m fine,” I said, my voice coming out smaller than I intended. But all I could think about was how easy it would be to close the gap between us, and how badly I wanted to. But I couldn’t tell him any of that. This was a mistake… wasn’t it? But then why did I want to give in to the temptation so badly?

His hand went to my shoulder, resting there and sending warm shivers through my body. I could feel myself going over the edge, succumbing to the feelings I’d been trying to ignore. I willed myself to hold on, not to give in.

He apparently didn’t realize where my mind was, instead thinking I was preoccupied with something else because he said, “You did a great job raising her, Audrey. Despite everything. And I’m excited to help now and see the kind of woman she grows into.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I couldn’t take the closeness. I was tired of holding myself back. I had wanted him since the moment I saw him again. My wolf had known it. I had known it. I was tired of pretending otherwise.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him toward me. He let me without hesitation, taking the two short steps to clear the distance between us. His hand wrapped around my waist, and he held me against him as our lips met. A fire ignited, a fire I hadn’t experienced since that night eleven years ago. And suddenly everything that had happened—with Reacher, between us, all of the tension and anxiety that had been looming over us the past, however long it had been—none of it seemed to matter anymore. Once our mouths locked together, all that mattered was me and him, together. Nothing else. If only for this short moment.