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MOONSTRUCK

Emma

A t least we didn’t get kicked out of Nebula.

Though, after Jack’s lips touched mine, I’m not sure either of us would have cared. I don’t want to think about what’s on the security feed.

Especially the cameras in the elevator.

Jack paid the bill and tossed the bartender two Benjamin Franklins.

Wow. Jack is a big tipper. It was either for the good service or for not kicking him out when he first sat down.

It better not have been a tip to make up for his bad manners. There’s no amount of money to make up for a lack of please or thank yous in life.

I know Jack enough to know that would never be the case. If anything, he was overly polite to my mom when we were growing up. So much so, she’d roll her eyes and tell him to quit sucking up.

Still, we couldn’t get out of the bar fast enough.

When Jack pulled me into the elevator, I had no idea where his room was, but we went up and up and up, so many floors past mine that’s being paid for by the station. So high, he had to use his keycard to select the floor.

Jack pinned me to the elevator wall and claimed my mouth more possessively than he did in the bar.

Damn.

Was he holding back down there?

If Jack ruins sex for me forever, I’ll kill him myself.

We were all hands and lips and desperation with a dash of teenage angst from back in the day.

I was able to push my hands between us enough to yank his dress shirt from his trousers and make quick work of the buttons. When I placed my hands on his bare, muscled chest for the first time, my head swam and goosebumps spread over my arms.

How many times have I seen him like this?

Working out.

Swimming.

After a lacrosse match back in high school. If they won, Jack would rip his jersey and pads off and go caveman in celebration.

He’s always been one to demand attention. I was always happy to give it to him, but quietly.

Secretly.

From the sidelines where no one knew.

When the elevator doors part, Jack doesn’t move other than jutting his muscled arm out to hold the elevator and focus his bright blues on me. “You sure you want this? Say the word, Em. I’ll walk you back to your room. We’ll forget this ever happened just like that first kiss back in the barn.”

I slide a hand up his abs, over his peck, and flick his nipple with the blunt nail of my index finger.

His lips part, and his breath fans my face. His thick, dark hair isn’t perfect and styled like it was when he surprised me at the bar. It’s disheveled and mussed and looks like he’s already had sex.

“Don’t you dare take me to my room.”

He stares down at me like he doesn’t believe me or is trying to talk himself out of this.

“Jack,” I call for him. “I’m not fifteen. I want this.”

He leans down and presses his lips to mine once more before he aims a heated gaze at me that looks more like the Jack I know.

I get a smirk and a chin lift.

I think he just melted my panties.

He pushes away from the wall and claims my hand in his big one. “It’s go-time, baby.”

Okay.

Panties?

What panties?

Officially disintegrated.

I bend to grab my blazer and the bag I dropped to the floor when I needed all ten fingers to get a head start undressing him. He takes my bag from me and heads out of the elevator, pulling me with him.

Jack is on a mission. I laugh when I’m forced to skip to keep up. “And here I thought I was done running for the day. Had I only known I needed to conserve my energy for this.”

A playful smile hits me when he looks back as we turn a corner and head to the end of the hall. “It’s Vegas. We won the big game, and I get you. I’m on a winning streak, baby. There’s no stopping us now.”

He stalks all the way to the end of the hall and digs a keycard from his pocket one last time. I think my nipples go hard, or harder, when the door beeps and the lock slides open.

Me and Jack.

I’m really doing this.

And I can’t fucking wait.

The hotel door bangs against the wall in a rush of sexual energy.

Holy shit.

This is nothing like my room.

I have no idea if this is a suite or a penthouse. Everything about Nebula screams class, money, and sophistication. I thought my room was elegant, but it’s nothing like this.

I hardly have time to look through the vast living area through the floor to ceiling windows. We’re not on the Strip, but I can see it lit up on the horizon framed only by the mountains and full moon.

I love the moon at every stage. Dad always said I was moonstruck when I was little. I remember thinking it would follow me wherever I went and always return, no matter how big and fat it was or skinny or disappeared altogether. It always returned to me.

Some people check the weather daily because of the sun.

I want to know if the night sky will be clear.

In the whirlwind of the last few days, I haven’t checked once. I forgot that tonight was a full moon.

After my entire life of loving the moon, tonight feels different. Like it showed up just for me.

Surprise, Em. I’m back.

Congrats on your big break.

You made it.

And you’re even bagging Jack Hale in the same day.

Look at you soar, just like me.

There’s something so beautiful and not Vegasy at all about the view. Like I’ve fallen into an alternate universe where reality isn’t a concept and I’m someone I don’t recognize.

Like being a runner.

And hooking up with my brother’s best friend.

Jack tosses my bag across the room, and it lands next to the full bar with a thud. His suit jacket isn’t far behind, leaving him standing in the middle of the opulent space looking like a mouthwatering delicacy with his rumpled dress shirt hanging open.

Unimpressed with the moon and view, his focus is solely on me.

He claims my face again, and I can’t get over how good it feels. “Anytime you change your mind, say the word.”

I shake my head, but my words are very different. “This could get messy.”

He hikes a brow. “Oh, this is the dirtiest cluster I’ve ever gotten myself into, and I’m me. The thing is, I’m here for it as long as you are. Maybe longer if I have anything to say about it.”

I press myself to his bare chest and tell him the truth. “This is crazy.”

His dazzling smile hits me. I’m sure it’s won over women like me, charmed old ladies, probably gotten him out of trouble more times than he can count. Jack is so full of life, he brims with charisma.

But right now, high in the sky in the Vegas desert with only my moon as a witness, he’s all mine.

I’m not sure what will happen after tonight, but I don’t care.

“I’ve never wanted anything crazier.” When he says it, it sounds like an admission. Like it’s something out of his reach or something he thinks he doesn’t deserve.

I wiggle out of my shoes, kick them to the side, and push up to my toes. He meets me halfway for a kiss that’s different than the few we’ve shared so far—the bar, the elevator, and even the one in the barn years ago.

Its intensity is deep. Its tenderness is meaningful.

It’s more than a kiss.

It feels like a promise.

But no kiss can guard against how crazy or messy this might get.

Only my heart can do that.

And, still, there’s no way I’d stop.

I lose his hands on my face. He wraps his arms around me.

Jack stands at six feet tall, and from the feel of him, he still lifts like he did in high school. I feel like a feather when he picks me up. We never break our kiss when I wrap my legs around his trim waist and my arms around his wide shoulders.

My focus isn’t on the view, his suite, or asking why he needs such an elaborate room in Vegas.

The only thing I can think about is this. Jack, me, and his long, hard cock pressed between my legs.

His hands on my ass squeeze, his fingers digging into my flesh through my pants.

And it feels so damn good.

He breaks our kiss just long enough to reach for the hem of my cami with the built in bra when my feet hit the floor. He pulls it up and over my head, leaving me bare from the top up.

His gaze stutters on my breasts, but his fingers don’t miss a beat.

They go straight to my waistband.

“Best day ever,” he mutters before looking up at me as he makes quick work of my button and zipper. “And I’m going to make sure it ends even better for you.”

He pushes my pants down, taking my panties with them.

And, just like that, I’m standing in nothing but my jewelry and a couple random tattoos I got in college that you can only see when I’m in a bikini or naked.

Like now.

He rips his dress shirt down his arms followed by his belt. But he never takes his eyes off me. “Ask me what my goals were before I walked into that bar, Em. It was to have deals signed for shoes, a cell carrier, and maybe beer. Ask me what my goal is now.”

I can’t answer. All I can focus on is watching him rip open his trousers and reach inside his boxers to adjust himself.

He doesn’t wait on me to make a guess. “My new mission in life is to rock your world. And I’m going to do it more than once.”

My eyes widen as my gaze shoots from his bulging boxers to his face.

Jack Hale has a personality bigger than a super moon. Part of that is his sarcastic, smartass humor.

But there’s nothing funny about him now.

He’s dead serious.

“Jack—” I start, but he surprises me when he picks me up again.

This time, we’re nothing but skin on skin. My breasts to his pecs. My sex is bare and open and pressed to his abs. This time when his hands come to my ass, they don’t just squeeze, they roam.

“Damn,” he hisses. “You’re so fucking wet. I can’t wait to taste you.”

I suck in a breath from his words and his actions. My head falls back when he spears me with two fingers and spreads my wetness to my clit.

I draw my knees up to sink down onto his hand.

Instead, I lose his touch when he tosses me on the bed. I land with a light bounce on the soft mattress and luxurious bedding.

Every nerve in my body is aware of the sensations happening around me.

There’s a lot going on.

I fist the white duvet as Jack drops to his knees at the side of the bed and parts my legs. I barely get to glance down my bare body when his mouth lands on my sex.

“Oh my—” My choked words call out through the quiet space before my gasps and moans take over.

My thighs are lifted high and wide, his fingers this time biting into the skin of my hamstrings where he holds me in a vise.

His lips and tongue.

Talented and strong and full of energy.

He fucks me with his tongue before lapping his way to my clit.

I get a circle.

A flick.

A suck.

I have a vibrator. I’ve even had a couple long-term boyfriends. But nothing has been like this.

This is new and different.

And we haven’t even done the deed yet.

Every thought of what’s to come escapes my brain. Maybe I should be embarrassed that I’m too anxious or merely turned on by the thought of being right here with Jack. But when my orgasm washes over me from top to toe, I can’t think of anything other than what’s going on between my legs.

It’s all consuming.

I hope the walls of Nebula are soundproof, because when I call out, I don’t care how loud I am. All I can think about is the feeling of falling off the ledge and Jack not letting up.

Jack doesn’t allow me to move. He’s driving my orgasm at his own will.

And his determination is second to none.

He finally lets up when my body is limp and one with the bed. I jerk when he surprises me and nips the inside of my thigh. Then, what I’m quickly learning is that Jack has a whole side I don’t know.

In a complete one-eighty from the bite on my delicate skin, his lips make their way up my body in soft kisses.

Like a breath, teasing me, making me want more.

His chest covers mine as his big hand smothers my sex in a grip that’s possessive and is like nothing I’ve ever had before.

“So fucking sweet,” he murmurs against the skin of my neck where his nose and lips hover.

I drag my limp arms up his body and run my fingers over his lats. His back is as rock hard as his chest, and his skin is smooth.

He presses his lips under my chin before looking down at me. “If I don’t have a condom stashed away in my shaving kit, put me out of my misery fast so I don’t die a slow painful death from a case of Emerson-induced blue balls.”

He has me pinned to the bed so I couldn’t wrap my legs around him if I wanted to. “Do you mean to tell me the Jack Hale doesn’t travel with a mega-sized box of condoms?”

He narrows his eyes and gives my sensitive sex one more squeeze. “You’re not the only one who’s grown up. I’m fucking selective.”

“Well, then.” The effects of my orgasm slowly wear off. I drag my hands up his sides, over his shoulders and neck, until they land on his face where I frame his strong, square jaw. “I’m the lucky one.”

He shakes his head before pressing his lips to mine.

He’s a cocktail of bourbon and me and a dream.

The tip of his finger flicks my sensitive clit before he says with a demand laced in his tone, “Do not move. Not one fucking inch. I want to see you just like this when I come back.”

My fingers tense on his jaw. “God’s speed. If you die of blue balls tonight, I’ll feel really bad.”

A smirk touches his lips as he releases my sex. I let out a yelp when he gives me a smack on my left ass cheek. “Women have all the fun.”

“Only with generous men like you,” I amend, giving credit where credit is due.

He kisses me one more time before I lose his heat, and he stalks through the dim space to the bathroom.

I don’t obey his orders. I tuck my legs into myself and pull a pillow into my chest.

I lift my head when I hear him return to see a satisfied expression.

I also see nothing but Jack holding up a square foil between his index and middle fingers.

And when I say nothing, I mean nothing else.

I toss the pillow to the side and push up to my forearms to get a better look.

Because Jack naked deserves my undivided attention.

Jack has always been a brute. There was a reason he was a goalie in high school. There’s nothing lithe or lanky on him. He’s solid, thick, and rugged.

And as he stalks toward me with nothing but a condom and a promise, I’m taken aback by all that is him.

I can’t tear my eyes away.

His wide shoulders, chest, and waist narrow down to a V that points directly to his erect cock.

It bobs and sways as he stalks toward me. The closer he gets, the details of his beautiful body become more defined.

A vein.

A bulging tip.

And manscaped everywhere.

Jack is not lacking in any department.

I lick my lips and squeeze my thighs together.

He bites the foil between his teeth and rips. When he rolls the condom down his thick shaft, jealousy eats at me.

“I want to do that next time,” I admit.

“Next time, we’ll play. Go slow. I’ll savor you.” He bends at the waist, and his hands land on either side of my head. He dips and takes my mouth one more time before gazing into my eyes. “I haven’t even had you yet, and I can’t fucking wait for next time.”

I try to bite back my smile.

I fail.

I don’t know what’s happening or where this is going. If it ends here, it is what it is. I didn’t chase Jack to his fancy suite with any thoughts beyond tonight.

I was too caught up in the moment. Jack has a way of demanding that from everyone around him.

But tonight is different.

The energy crackling between us feels different.

He doesn’t break our gaze when he hooks an elbow under my knee. I feel his engorged tip right where I want it.

Jack gives me an inch, then stops.

I pull in a breath, anticipating him. All of him.

“Emma,” he calls for me, as if he doesn’t have all my attention into the next decade.

“Hmm?” I hum, not able to form words.

His hand comes to the top of my head to stroke my hair as his next words hit me low and gruff. “Mark my word, there will be a next time.”

He doesn’t give me a moment to let that sink in.

He surges into me in one go.