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For a second, I considered slipping ahile the twohard at each other Then Jax’s ar lanced at me "I’ll bow out and see you at dinner, Gianna Enjoy yourself"

Jax roundedback "You look a lad you approve"

He took the first step and I followed

"Breathe, Gia," he adot you"

"I don’t want to be here"

"Thatbrush of his hand "I hate these things"

"But you fit right in"

His eyes were shadoith an emotion I couldn’t name "I was born into it I don’t live in it"

The heat of his body began to soak into mine Every breath I took was filled with his scent; every h me

"That’s better," he coaxed "Relax into me, baby"

"Don’t"

"You’re in my world now, Gia My rules"

I shookhere"

He pulled me closer, his lips at et that out, didn’t you? I don’t see why Clearly I wasn’t the dirty little secret I thought I was"

"Not dirty" His voice lowered "Except when you wanted h, a lot hard Jesus You used to turn me inside out"

I stepped on his foot on purpose

His low laugh rippled throughthe faint trace of liquor on his breath

"Driven to it" He pulled back, his jaw set "I didn’t know it’d be so daain"

"I’ll et out of here"

"Not yet" His soft ht with your faet to disappear, never to be seen again?"

I really wanted to Cinderella at the ball had turned into the unsuitable girl once ainst ed me closer "That’s the plan"

JAX KEPT ME dancing through twoto relinquish ot the e as loudly as I’m sure everyone else did: I arrived with Ian, but I was noith Jax

At that point, I decided to play my Cinderella role to the hilt I kicked the voice inme for the past two days into a corner and flexed lass slippers

"I want chane," I announced abruptly

Jax eyed ht?"

"Yep"

His eyes took on a wicked glea h the crowd It surged around hiht of a familiar face, beautiful Allison Kelsey--the woht Jax and I together--then the view changed to a brightly lit hallway Fro door into awith activity

I looked around, noting thestations and the black-and-white service unifored a bottle of chaer around the stem of a flute in a practiced movement, then pulled me out a side door into another hallway

"Where are we going?" I asked, still wary of being alone with him I wanted him I’d never stopped

"You’ll see"

The sounds of the party grew louder, and I ignored the pang of disappoint it Seriously, I had to h open French doors onto a terrace overlooking a arden At least it looked that way to ravel pathways and handsohts

"Whose house is this?" I queried

"It’s a Rutledge estate"

The way he said it conveyed ht"

"Pretend we crashed this party," he said, leading me down cobblestone steps to a crescent-shaped ne forall along, doesn’t it?"

Jax swigged straight out of the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, careless and a bit defiant "Maybe I still know you better than you think I do"

"I don’t feel like I know you at all"

"So get to know ed "What are you afraid of?"

I sippedmy wheels and dead ends"

"Can’t you just enjoy the ride?"

Oh, I’d love it A surge of heated yearning pierced me

He set the bottle on the bench beside ht "No, you’re not"

"Try and stop ed to my feet "Jackson--"

"Shut up, Gia" He cupped my face in both hands and took my mouth

For a moment I didn’t move, frozen by the feel of his lips on ue licked along the seam I opened up to him with a low moan and he slid inside

I dropped my flute Distantly, I heard it shatter, but didn’t care My arers were in his silky hair I was drinking hi onto avewith the velvet lash of his tongue, nibbling with lips and teeth, sliding his lips back and forth acrossa si with pleasure

God, I’d rowled, the rough sound vibrating againstth of his erection againstrance of his soapwith the virile scent that was his alone I wanted toin hi my naked body to his until even air couldn’t coruffly, his lips sliding along my cheek "Christ, I want you"