Page 27 of Fake It Til You Break It

We both laughed, easing the pressure so I no longer felt like my soul might vibrate out of my body. “In that case, would it be okay if I jumped into the shower?”

Sadly, I didn’t mean it as an invitation, and I wasn’t trying to seduce him. I just needed a moment to myself and some hot water to wash away the lingering self-doubt. But with Beckett, I didn’t worry about rejection, or that I had just ruined everything by asking.

He didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. Come on, I’ll show you where everything is. Do you need a change of clothes?”

I didn’t know his history. Maybe he had always been single. Maybe he’d had a couple of serious relationships. He could be divorced thrice over for all I knew, and I couldn’t have cared less. In fact, all I felt was gratitude to whoever had let him go so I could find him.

“A change of clothes would be great. Thank you.”

He helped me up from the sectional and led me past the kitchen to his bedroom. “Bathroom is this way. Feel free to use whatever you want.”

Unlike most apartment bedrooms, his boasted two external walls, both lined with the same ribbon windows as the living room. City lights spilled through the uncovered glass, gleaming off the slatted headboard of the king-sized bed and casting shadows across the beige comforter.

While he continued into the en suite, I stopped in front of the windows and stared out at the skyline. I didn’t regret my move to the suburbs. The chaos and noise of the city had always been too much for me.

I did miss the view, though.

“Jazz? Everything okay?”

I smiled, but I didn’t turn to look at him. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Coming to stand behind me, he placed his hands on my hips and rested his chin on my shoulder. “Yeah, it’s one of the main reasons I chose this building. There’s something peaceful about being so high above the city.”

He turned his head, his lips brushing the side of my neck, and I responded with a full-body shiver.

“I know what you mean.”

Strong hands dipped beneath the hem of my shirt and smoothed up my abdomen, leaving a trail of fire and need in their wake. “Do you still want that shower?”

I dropped my head and groaned when his warm breath fanned across my ear. “This is coercion.”

Beckett chuckled as he tightened his arms, altering our positions so that my backside pressed against his groin. “That’s a little harsh. I was thinking more like persuasion.”

Oh, I certainly felt persuaded. “It’s cheating. That’s what it is.”

“I want you, Jazz,” he said, dropping the pretense. With one hand still pressed to my stomach, he dragged the other over my waistband and cupped my erection through the denim. “I know you want me, too.”

I jerked in his arms, my hips thrusting without permission as I pressed into his palm, seeking more friction. “I do,” I admitted. “I’m just nervous.”

He trailed kisses down my throat and nipped the sensitive skin at the apex of my shoulder. “Just say yes. I’ll take care of everything else.”

Pushing out of his arms, I spun around to face him, captivated by the way the prism of lights reflected in his heated gaze. “Yes. Of course it’s yes. I want—”

My words ended abruptly, and my back thudded against the window he slanted our mouths together in a blistering kiss. Gone was the gentle, passive man from my office who held onto his control by sheer will. This was Beckett, unfettered and unfiltered, and I couldn’t get enough.

His broad frame pressed against me, his weight anchoring me in place as our mouths crashed together. I gasped, trying to catch my breath, then moaned when his tongue plunged between my lips.

I had been kissed before, but never like this. Never with so much need. He didn’t ask permission or make allowances. He took what he wanted, sucking at my lips and pillaging the depths of my mouth until I was trembling and breathless.

We didn’t undress each other. Nothing so tame as that. We pulled and tore at the fabric with feral, uncoordinated movements, but the results were the same, and a deep groan burst from my lips when his naked body pressed against mine.

I pawed at him, kneading the hard, corded muscles in his arms and shoulders, needing to feel more of him, desperate to be even closer. In all my life, I had never felt so out of control, so completely undone. I didn’t care about image or propriety. I didn’t worry about being enough or too much. I just wanted more of him.

Beckett spun me around again, pressing me against the windowpanes as he blanketed my back, the heat of his body enveloping me and driving my need higher. I braced myself onthe sill and tilted my head, my panting breath fogging the glass as he nibbled wet kisses across my shoulders.

I felt him shift behind me, heard rustling from the dresser to my right. Yet, I didn’t register the meaning until Beckett fisted my erection, dragging his slick hand along the length from root to tip. I hissed at the cold gel against my overheated skin and rocked my hips, thrusting into the circle of his hand.

“Fuck, you are so sexy. I love the sounds you make.”

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