“Listen,” I start, “we need to talk.”
“I know.” Jake stops me. “That night at the gala, I was way out of line.”
“No!” I protest. “It was me! I should’ve trusted you more—I was just worried you were only in it for the chase. I was scared that once you had me, you wouldn’t want me anymore.”
“I’ll always want you, Lizzie.”
I look up, stunned, and find him right there beside me. “I mean it,” he insists. “I don’t care about what happened with Todd. You’re right, it’s none of my business. I just want to be with you.”
“You don’t care that I slept with him?” I search his face, unable to process what I’m hearing. “How can you not care?”
“Well, sure,” he says, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. “I’ve planned a dozen elaborate revenge scenarios against him. But, it doesn’t matter now. I understand why you needed to do it and get the whole strike out of the way. Everything that happened is in the past. I want a future with you, Lizzie. Our future.”
He pulls me into his arms, pressing his lips to mine, and damn, nothing else matters. He wants me!
I give in to the feel of his mouth, hard and hot and so good, I never want it to end. But even though I’m already backing him towards my bed and peeling off my robe, I know there’s something I have to say, even though I really, really don’t want to right now.
“Jake.” I come up for air. “Since we’re laying everything on the table here . . .”
“I was thinking the bed, but sure.” He grins.
“No! I mean, yes, please, but I have to tell you something.”
“Can it wait?” He kisses down my neck, dipping his tongue in the hollow of my collarbone, and god, this is a really bad moment to come clean.
“I never slept with Todd.” I rip off the band-aid.
His head jolts up. “What? But you said—”
“I lied.” I wince. “I’m really sorry, I was just so hurt and angry after hearing you with Dylan.”
“You were testing me.”
“Maybe?” I gulp. “But look, you’re here! And you just said, it’s all in the past!” I pause, nervous. “Can you forgive me?”
“For not sleeping with Todd?” Jake grins. “Yeah, I think I can manage that.”
He suddenly picks me up and swoops me over to the bed. We collapse back in a tumble, and I reach for him, hungry to have that hard body pressed against me, where it belongs.
And god, inside me. At last!
“Wait,” Jake pants, pulling back. “I nearly forgot. I have something for you.”
“I bet you do.” My hands slide lower, tracing the hard outline of his cock through his pants.
Jake stifles a groan. “That too.”
He tears himself from me, and goes to retrieve his jacket from the floor. He pulls out a velvet jewelry box, large and flat. “I got you something. I was going to give it to you after the gala . . . but, well. Here.”
The smile on his face is pure, boyish triumph, and I open the box slowly, no idea what’s inside.
“Holy shit!”
Jake laughs. “Does this mean you like it?”
“But . . . how . . . ?” I gape, totally lost for words, because staring back at me, nestled in the velvet, is the one piece for the show that eluded us, the infamous necklace from Bring Me the Stars. Diamantes sparkling in elaborate rows.
“You said . . . You didn’t . . .” I stutter, disbelieving. This is the necklace that graced the neck of one of the most famous starlets in cinema. It’s spawned conspiracy theories and decades-long hunts. It’s HISTORY.
“Want to try it on?”
Before I know it, he’s fastened it around my neck where it glitters coolly—against my ratty blue terrycloth robe.
“Oh my god,” I say when I can finally speak again. “How did you find it?”
“Never ask a magician to reveal his secrets,” he says with a grin.
I reach up, feeling the weight of the stones in my hand, and all of a sudden something occurs to me. “Wait . . . there were two necklaces made: the fake, and the real diamonds . . . This is the prop one, right?”
Jake pulls me back into his arms. “Who knows?” He smiles, tracing the outline of the gemstones on my skin. He leans closer, and nips at my earlobe “Now get undressed. I want to see you naked in it.”
He peels off my robe, until I’m lying there wearing nothing but fabulous historic costume jewelry. Either that, or a breathtaking amount of diamonds. But none of that matters, not with Jake looking at me like this, like I’m the center of his whole world.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispers, closing the space between us. I strip off his shirt and pants, and then he’s naked right along with me. Fuck, how long have I waited for this? To taste the contours of his body, and feel his hands running possessively over every inch of mine? I’m in heaven, totally lost to the moment as he licks and teases my breasts, dipping one hand between my thighs to stroke at my wet core. I press against him, squirming with need. My desire feels like it’s taking over me completely, like just one touch could make me explode.
I find his cock and fist him in my hand, loving how hard he is. For me. Jake groans and begins to kiss his way down my body, but I pull him back.
"No," I gasp. “I need you. To fuck me. Right now.”
His eyes flash with lust, and fuck, it’s so hot, I can’t wait even another second. I reach blindly for my nightstand, and hallelujah!, I find a condom in the drawer. I roll it on him, and then he positions himself above me, braced on his forearms. He’s kissing me hard and deep, like he can’t get enough, but when he thrusts inside me, it’s slow. God, so slow, I feel him filling me up inch by hard, thick inch.
Oh. My. God.
Jake stills for a moment, just looking down at my face, but I can’t stop from flexing around him, and it’s like some kind of release. He groans into my mouth, pulling back and then pistoning hard inside. I moan, drawing my knees up to my chest so he can fill every inch of me, even deeper. So fucking deep.
He thrusts again, and I arch up, meeting him stroke for stroke. I’m clawing at his back, and he’s burying his face in my neck, fucking with all the pent-up abandon we’ve been holding back until now. He shifts position, and then YES, he’s stroking up inside me at a new angle, hitting my clit with every thrust and drilling deep all the way to— Holy fuck, is that my G-spot?
“Yesssss!” I scream. “Oh my god, don’t stop. Don’t ever fucking stop!”
But Jake suddenly changes the pace, slowing to longer, deliberate strokes. I thrust, trying to get back that hard, swift rhythm, but he grabs my wrists and pins me to the mattress.
“Not so fast,” he says, a glint in his eye, and fuck, it’s so sexy. I love the feel of him holding me down.
He thrusts into me again, slow, so sweet I feel it everywhere. I whimper.
“That’s right, baby. Take it all. Every fucking inch.”
I shudder. Dirty talk, too? God, I love this guy.
I love him.
Oh.