LITMIR.BIZ

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a rough whisper, he said, “God’s truth, darlin’, I don’t mean to ride roughshod over your feelings, but I need to see you again.” And before she could react to the hunger in his tone, he added, “I don’t suppose we could put this little confrontation on hold long enough for me to appease my curiosity?”

      Curiosity? He’d already seen her in great detail throughout the long night. He hadn’t been shy about looking, either.

      Where Trace and Dare treated her with kid gloves, Jackson just treated her like a woman he wanted. It was sort of nice in small doses…when he didn’t go overboard.

      In light of all that had transpired, his outrageous suggestion was way over the line. Alani threw the clothing bags at him.

      The packages landed against his chest and then hit the floor.

      He barely flinched at the assault. “I take that as a no?”

      “No!”

      He cocked a brow at her outburst and then caught her as she tried to shove around him. He was so big and so solidly muscular, it proved too easy for him to wrap her up in his arms and lock her in close, her back against his chest, his forearms under her breasts. “Shh, baby. Don’t.”

      Those sultry memories, along with his heat and scent and sex appeal, enveloped her as surely as his body did. Desperate, almost panicked, Alani demanded, “Let me go.”

      She felt him flinch, wrapped tight around her. “Sorry, love. Can’t.”

      Love. He would dare to use that word now? Her throat tightened in a panic. “Jackson—”

      His breath moved past her ear as he whispered, “Give me just a sec, okay?”

      She heard the pain in his words, and that calmed her struggle.

      “Better,” he breathed and relaxed his hold.

      Worry overtook outrage, and she tried to twist to see him. “What’s wrong?”

      The tension intensified, and then he said, “I don’t remember a damned thing.”

      “About what?”

      He rocked her a little, and his voice lowered even more. “Everything. I’m…blank.”

      She didn’t understand, but she picked up on his agony, so she stopped straining away from him. “What are you talking about?”

      “I don’t know what happened, honey. With us, with anything.” He hugged her, his chin on the top of her head. “Yesterday is just…gone.”

      Disbelieving, Alani jerked around to see him. Standing in the circle of his arms, her hands on his chest, she had to tip her head way back to see his face. “What do you mean, gone?”

      Ill at ease, he shrugged. “All I remember is waking up with the king-daddy of all migraines, a wallop of confusion….” He shifted, drawing her closer to his body. His voice went hoarse. “And there you were, in the raw beside me.”

      Her heart almost stopped. “But…” She shoved him back accusingly. “You told me you hadn’t been drinking.”

      “Did I?” He ran a hand through his dark blond hair, then pulled off the sunglasses. “Because I don’t remember that, either. Hell, I don’t even remember talking to you.”

      Immediately sidetracked, Alani strangled on a breath. “Oh my God, Jackson.” Never had she seen eyes so bloodshot. Sympathy welled up. “You look—”

      “Like shit, I know. Feel like it, too, believe me.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezed his eyes shut a second, then snapped them open again. “We had sex?”

      Good grief, he had a one-track mind. But then she’d found that out last night. She winced as she took in his expression. The whites of his eyes looked blood-red, making the green seem more vivid. But even miserable, his direct gaze managed to keep her snared. “You honestly expect me to believe you don’t remember?”

      One large, warm hand hooked her nape, lifting her to her tiptoes so he could kiss her once, hard and fast. “I woke up with my vision dicked, my brain on fire and my guts brawling. And then I saw you, in bed, beside me.” He went gruff with arousal. “You looked so incredible, it’s a wonder that didn’t send me right over the edge.”

      “But it did, remember?” She went nose to nose with him and prompted, “You threw up.”

      Rather than retreat, he moved in until he surrounded her with his size and his determination. “Woman, there is no way you think you were the cause of that.”

      She should have put space between them, but it felt so good being close to him again. It seemed that last night had left her addicted; all morning long, her body had mourned the loss of his scent, the heat of his touch. With less conviction than she intended, she asked, “No?”

      “Hell, no.” Restless, his hands kneaded her back. “You looked so hot, I wish I’d taken a photo. I wish I had you painted on the ceiling. Looking at you buck-ass might revive me, and it’ll definitely give me wood, but it would never repulse me or—”

      Flustered by his brazen language, Alani smashed her fingers over his mouth. “Just…stop.”

      She felt his relieved smile.

      And then she felt his tongue.

      Quickly, she tucked her hand behind her. When his strong fingers wrapped around her wrist, keeping her in that vulnerable position, she realized her mistake.

      “Let’s put it to the test.” He leaned in, his hot breath brushing her cheek, the top of her shoulder. “Let’s get you out of this little dress and we’ll see how I react.”

      “Oh, for the love of—”

      “I swear, darlin’, I might implode…” His mouth opened on her shoulder in a stirring love bite. “But I won’t be ill. Not even close.”

      “Jackson, please.” She tried to retreat two steps—and he reluctantly released her. “I don’t understand any of this. You need to give me time to think.”

      “Maybe you’d think better naked.” He touched the hem of her dress and murmured more to himself than to her, “It’d be pretty easy to get you out of this—”

      Infuriated, she slapped his hand away and glared at him.

      “Okay, okay.” Frowning, he gestured his subdued agreement. “Think away.”

      How could he not remember anything? What he’d said, what he’d done… All the things she’d said and done, the things she sort of regretted now.

      “How is this possible?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “So just like that,” she asked with skepticism, “you’ve lost the details of last night?”

      “That’s about it.”

      Humiliation hung with her, but knowing he had no memory of it alleviated a big part of the regret. She gave him a sideways look. “This is sort of convenient.”

      He shook his head. “I hear the suspicious tone, babe, but I’m not firing on all cylinders today, so you’ll have to spell it out for me. No way in hell does any of this seem convenient to me.”

      Could he be telling the truth rather than dodging responsibility for his actions of last night? Maybe. After all, she’d left him with no obligation, and she’d promised not to tell anyone. He had no real reason to pretend he’d forgotten it all.

      Thinking aloud, she said, “It’s just that it’s so unreal.” What would explain such a thing?

      “Tell me about it.” Gaze hot and far too intense, he bent his knees to search her face. “Did I get inside you, sugar? I’m dying to know.”

      Wide-eyed, Alani turned to give him her back. Jackson’s

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