Page 75 of Twice as Forbidden

My eyes become hooded as she drags her tongue along her lip. Her nipples become even harder, and I pinch one, then squeeze her tit in my hand. “Mine,” I say, my voice hoarse.

“Yours.”

I lower her legs and lean in, kissing her softly. She melts into me, and I tuck us both under the sheets. As she rests her head on my chest, an overwhelming emotion stirs within me. “Georgia,” I say her name, wanting her to understand the weight of what I’m about to say.

“Yeah?”

“I want you to understand I’ve only said this to two people—my ex and my son. With my ex… when a woman gives you a son, it does something to you. You feel this overwhelming gratitude—this sense of responsibility and loyalty. And in all that noise, it’s easy to confuse duty with love. I convinced myself it was real. That we were building something. But when the smoke cleared, what we had wasn’t love. Not like this. Not like what I feel for you.” I pause, letting the truth settle between us. “With you, it’s not about obligation or doing what’s right. It’s this... constant pull. It’s messy and consuming and terrifying. And I’ve never wanted anything the way I want you. I need you to know that.”

She raises her head, finding the raw emotion in my eyes. Vulnerability. But she has to know. She’s brought me to my knees. And as much as I tell her I own her, she owns me.

“Thank you for sharing that with me. I don’t use those words lightly, either. But my heart knows this is where I’m meant to be. It might not be right, but some things in life are beyond our control. And this is one of them. Like you said, we’ll figure it out. Together.”

Chapter twenty-six

Georgia

Myeyesflutteropenat the sound of Jackson’s phone. I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep. I spot Jackson dressed, standing by the window. “Tell me what you’ve got.” His brows are furrowed, his shoulders tight. “Send me the images. Now!” He disconnects the call and looks over at me. “Did you get some rest?”

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“You needed it. Have you eaten?”

My stomach growls at the question. “Not since breakfast yesterday.” Guilt fills his eyes, and he frowns.

“Fuck. Let’s get you something to eat.”

“What time is it?”

“A little past three. I want you out of this hotel and in something worthy of your presence. Gather your shit.”

I nod and collect my things. Not that I unpacked, but I’d managed to brush my teeth and shower. When I reenter the bedroom, Jackson seems even more tense.

“Is everything okay?” He looks at me, and I have a feeling he wants to lie to me. “No lying. If we’re in this together, no secrets.”

He stares at me for a beat, then nods. “Vince is on a rampage. He sent a bunch of vile messages, none of which you replied to, which sent him into a deeper spiral.”

Shit. My phone. “My phone died. With everything… I lost track of—”

“That useless prick is going to pay for what he tried to pull with you. For now, though, we need to keep him happy until we figure out what he’s up to.”

“How do we do that?”

“I’m not sure. I have a guy tailing him and tracking his phone. He’s made several attempts to get in touch with you, even trying to go through Noah. Luckily, Noah’s been at work all day and hasn’t replied.”

“But he will. He thinks Vince is one of his best friends. What do we do now? Jackson, we should go to the police—”

“This is nothing I want to go to the police about. I plan on handling it my way.”

I step into him. “Jackson, this is blackmail. You should tell them what Burt did years ago. Isn’t that extortion? Theft?”

“Nothing they can do will get justice for today, for that worthless fuck blackmailing you or trying to fuck me over—twice.”

“So, what then?”

“I’m going to take you home, then I need to head into the office to take care of this my way.”

His cryptic answer sends my thoughts into a tailspin. “And what does thatmean? Please don’t do anything that will get you in trouble.”

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