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and butterflies fill my stomach. You steal a woman s sanity and it s really not fair. He grinned down
at her. Then we re on equal ground here, pet, because it s the same for me. Neither of them said
another word. They simply lingered in the tub until the water turned cold, enjoying the moment. As
they toweled off, Jackson waited for Grace to say something, anything, about her feelings. To give
him at least a hint at what she felt for him. As she started to dress for the conference, his frustration
won out. He snatched her blouse out of her hand and held it above her head. Whoa, that s it?
You don t have anything to say?
Her brows shot upward. What do you mean?
Don t play with me, he gritted out. You know what I m talking about. We just shared something
incredible and you re going to go into work mode without a backward glance? She pushed her hair
behind her ear. I loved what we did, you know that. It was wonderful, but I don t know what more
you want from me.
Jackson took her chin in his palm and forced her to meet his gaze. I want a relationship with you. I
want to belong to you and I want you to belong to me. I won t accept anything less. She placed her
hand against his cheek, her expression one of concern. I m not sure it s smart, but I think I m falling
for you. He started to lay his own feelings on the line, but she placed two fingers against his lips,
forestalling any declarations of love everlasting.
You should know that I didn t want to care about you. I tried really hard not to, in fact. You aren t
the type to settle down. I ve seen you with other women. You don t stay with a woman for more than a
few months. I m not interested in being dumped once the newness wears off. If you can t offer me
more than a short term sexfest, then we end things now and be glad for what we had. She took a deep
breath and went on. After the car accident, when I was told I d have a hard time bringing a baby to
full term, I sort of convinced myself I didn t have much to offer a man. I m still uncertain. There are a
lot of ifs involved there, but I do know that I m tired of worrying about what may never be. Jackson
took her head in the palms of his hands. First of all, if we have kids, great. If not, that s okay too.
Giving birth doesn t make you more of a woman in my estimation. Second, I ve not had a serious
relationship because the only woman who could ever fill that spot is standing in front of me. I ve
watched you for over a year. We ve been driving each other crazy dancing around the issue, but the
truth is, I don t think either of us was ready. I love you, Gracie. You and only you. I m too damned old
for you, and you deserve someone who can be sweet and gentle, but I won t give you up. This isn t a
sexfest. Although that does sound intriguing. She elbowed him in the ribs, and he chuckled.
Seriously, baby, this is the real deal.
Jackson was horrified when Grace s soft blue eyes welled up. He d rather lie on a bed of nails than
watch Grace cry. This is the real deal for me too, she admitted shyly.
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Anne Rainey
He swiped at a tear that trickled down her cheek and whispered, Good. Now, let s get this damned
conference out of the way so we can get back here and play with that rope a little more. Her cheeks
turned pink. You want to bind me again? Jackson reached around and smacked her ass, causing her
to yelp, before handing her blouse back to her. There s twenty-five feet of rope there, pet, I can do a
lot of tying with that much. She went up on her toes and whispered, You are so depraved. Their
lips touched, and suddenly the conference was forgotten again.
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Epilogue
Three weeks later&
Merrick, I m not turning in my expenses, and if you suggest it one more time, I m going to blow a
gasket. I didn t do a lick of work the entire time I was in Vegas. It was more or less a vacation.
Grace was getting good and tired of having this conversation. From the time they d arrived back in
Ohio, Merrick had been all questions. When she d finally relented and told him that Jackson and she
were now an item, he d started threatening Jackson to within an inch of his life if he so much as made
her sad.
Now he wouldn t let up about reimbursing her for the Vegas trip.
You aren t taking advantage of me if I want to pay for the damned trip, so turn in your expenses.
She won t change her mind, trust me. I should know. Grace pivoted on her heel to find Jackson
lounging against Merrick s office door, a devilish grin on his handsome face. His tan pants and black
polo shirt showed off his muscular body. Her mouth watered as she remembered how they d started
out the day. She d woken in Jackson s bed, his mouth between her thighs. She d reciprocated, of
course.
Earth to Grace.
She turned at the sound of her cousin s annoyed voice. What? Merrick waved her out of his office.
Go, it s no use trying to talk to you when you have that glazed-over look in your eyes.
Jackson stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her waist. Ready to go home? She nodded. I
just need to grab my purse. I ll meet you by the elevators. She started to move away, but he was
faster. His head descended, their lips met. It was too brief, and Grace badly needed more.
Tease, she muttered as she stalked from the office, his chuckle trailing after her.
As she approached her desk, one of the other female employees came up to her. Marty was it? No,
Marly. She d never cared much for the other woman. Her catty gossiping in the break room had grated
on her nerves more than once.
So, you and Jackson have been pretty hot and heavy for& what? Three weeks now? Grace had no
idea where this conversation was leading, but knowing Marly, it wasn t going to make her happy.
Uh, yeah, I guess. Grace took her purse off the back of her chair and turned toward the woman.
So, that means you have about a week left before he boots you out of his bed. Anne Rainey
Ah, here it came. Envy, and it was never pretty. You think? The woman looked down her nose at
her. Grace had never actually seen someone physically do that, but Marly was quite capable,
considering she was six-foot-three. He never keeps a woman longer than a month, she sneered.
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