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He laughed, treating me to the full smile I craved "Oh, really?"

I returned the sh someone else had shaped"Really"

Everydread over what I’d learned on the Internet the previous night, and froh such hell, and shared it with no one, as far as I knew He’d said there were things I didn’t know about hiht never be able to reveal, and instead of respecting those secrets, I’d unearthed the could easily be turned into an excuse to shutas a top chef if I told you I made brownies from a box for dessert" His expression was stern

"Are you kidding?" I rolled my eyes "I love brownies fro to"You’re full of contradictions, Ms Wallace"

I looked up at hiirl That’s part of the job description, Mr Maxfield"

He dried his hands on a dishtowel and tossed it on the counter, pulling irl" His fingers threaded through ently, pressing the with my heart rate as we stared at each other

"Hoould you get out of this hold, Jacqueline?" His arms surrounded me and my body bowed into his

"I wouldn’t want to," I whispered "I don’t want to"

"But if you did want to Hoould you?"

I closed roin I would stomp on your instep" I opened hts "You’re too tall for ht us to do in soccer camp"

One corner of his mouth turned up "Good" He leaned down, our lips inches apart "And if I kissed you, and you didn’t want me to?"

I wanted him to so badly my head swam "I--I would bite you"

"Oh, God," he breathed, his eyes closing "Why does that sound so good?"

I leaned in and up, as close as I could get, but his lips were still out of reach, and my arms--trapped behind me--couldn’t stretch to pull him down "Kiss me and find out"

His lips ar e of his roaned and pulled ht I could barely breathe My hands were suddenly freed and he grasped les were reversed

Thrusting ue into hisover the hard palate just behind his teeth while wrapping ue into his asped I’d never kissed anyone like that; I’d never been kissed like that One hand at the back of e of the counter, he coaxed ue with his own, grazing his teeth over the surface, biting it softly as I withdrew

"Holy crap," I ue into rip on hiht it felt

Plucking me from the counter, he strode into his roos still locked around hi the interior ofunder him He pulled me up and reing open, he started to unzipto scan my face

"Yes" There was no hesitation in my voice

He pulled the zipper down sloatchingsoftly, staring up at hih and the other stilled at the base of the zipper, he nificant in a long time It’s never worked before"

I tried to rein in the disbelief all too evident in my tone "You haven’t had sex before?"

He closed his eyes and sighed, his hands rip my bare waist "I have But not with anyone I cared about or… knew One-tis That’s all" He raised his eyes to mine

"That’s all--ever?"