Page 44 of My Fiancé's Brother

His gaze sharpened, but he remained silent.

“I thought I had grown out of standing off to the side and watching my friends flirt with the hottest guy in the room.”

I exhaled and pasted a smile on my face.

“Wait,” he paused, thinking. “Am I the quarterback?”

“Shut up.” My voice was devoid of meaning.

“Em,” his quiet voice sounded sincere. “I bet those University guys were dying to come and talk to you, but they didn’t have the balls.”

I snorted. “Trust me. You had to be there.”

He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair off my cheek. “I see you standing off to the side. You're so untouchable to the rest of the world, it hurts.”

I grabbed his thick wrist, and my eyes drifted shut when I felt his thumb gently brush my cheek.

“I bet they constantly thought about kissing you.” His low voice hypnotized me.

I opened my eyes. Green eyes studied my face. His huge hand slide around the back of my neck and then he pulled me close.

My hands fluttered in my lap when his mouth touched mine. He tasted like wine and desire. I moaned, and instantly the kiss deepened. His lips coaxed my mouth, intoxicating me with pleasure. I opened my mouth beneath his while his fingers tangled in my hair. He moved my head, angling it so he could torture my mouth some more with his wicked perfect kiss. My entire body responded. My skin tingled, my body tightened, my heart tumbled. A deep noise rumbled in his chest, and his passion staggered me.

His mouth yanked off mine, and he turned away from me. His breath was harsh. “Oh fuck.”

My body violently trembled. My heart was like a feral bird, fluttering with madness in my chest. I could not believe that I had just kissed Jackson. I was a terrible person. I had just cheated on Matt.Matt, who was working late tonight. I couldn’t even reconcile what had just happened. What had I done?

“I'm sorry,” I bleated.

He tilted his head at me. His look was incredulous. “This was not your fault.”

My eyes were wide. I was still in shock. My body still trembled. Guilt crushed my heart. “It kinda is.”

I watched as he stood up and walked to the door.

I stared at his broad back, wishing my voice wasn’t shaking so hard. “I'm engaged to be married.”

His movements stopped. He faced away from me, but he was listening.

“You need to go downstairs and flirt with someone else. I can’t do that again. I'm a faithful person.”

His body pivoted with control. He looked different. Real emotion moved across his face, a mixture of anger and deep, hot desire.

“Emily.”

“Yes?”

“There is only one other person in this world that I have met that is as good as you. You have no responsibility or guilt here. I kissed you. That was me, taking something that wasn’t mine to take. It’ll never happen again.”

He turned around and walked out of the room.

I thinkI was in shock. I couldn’t even process what had just happened. I held my fingers to my lips. I had never been kissed like that before in my life. I worked to recall kissing Matt, but my mind was drawing a blank. Who failed to remember what it was like to kiss their fiancé?

I washed my shaking hands and pulled a hairbrush through my hair. I wanted to crawl into bed and not come out. Instead, I took a deep breath and opened my bedroom door.

Standing in the midst of his she-pack, Jackson lifted his eyes and watched as I slowly walked down the stairs. I momentarily fantasized about turning off the music and kicking everyone out, but instead, I walked into the kitchen, found my wine glass and poured myself another generous glass.

His mouth covered mine.

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