Free JACKED by Sasha Gold Page A

across her skin.
    “What?” she breathed.
    He brushed his lips across the curve of her neck. “You can either walk or I can carry you out of here.”
    She tried to will her hands to push him away, to keep him from unraveling her thoughts or crushing her defenses. He would take her back to the house, undress her, murmur sweet or dirty things and she’d fall completely under his control. Even now, her body betrayed her, wetness gathering between her legs and the impulse to press against him almost overwhelming her.
    “I don’t want to make love with you,” she whispered. “Not tonight.”
    He chuckled softly and nipped the tender skin under her jaw. His hand slid down the wall and he set it on her hip, a casual gesture, but one that communicated dominance. It was probably totally obvious to him she was lying. Her breathing was faster than normal. A shimmer of arousal skimmed over her skin. She should just give in, let herself slip under the spell he was weaving.
    “Inside everything feels raw and hurts.”
    He froze and after a moment lifted to look at her. The predatory gleam that had been there when he came through the cottage door was gone. In its place was a searching look. His eyes softened and in his gaze she saw a flicker of tenderness. He cupped her face and she thought he might kiss her, but he didn’t.
    “Okay,” he said. “Come home with me, though. You’re done living out here by yourself. Now you live with me.”
    She nodded. “In your house.”
    He lifted his brow. “In our house.”
    When she didn’t respond, he took her hand and wordlessly led her to the door. He shut off the lights and pulled the door shut. They walked along the path, following it as it wound through the gardens, past a gurgling fountain and beneath a bower of honeysuckle. The flowers’ perfume hung in the air, carried by a gentle evening breeze.
    He led her inside the main house, locked the doors while she waited for him, standing in the middle of his kitchen. She felt like a guest, waiting to be told what to do, where she would sleep. She’d only been in his house once and it was with the rest of her family. It felt foreign. The kitchen looked immense. The marble counters looked cold and she shivered for some reason.
    He came back to the kitchen, flicked off the switch and led her upstairs to his room. Their bags were already there, sitting side by side and she unpacked just what she needed to get ready for bed. Teeth brushed, dressed in a night gown, she padded across the room to the bed and found him waiting, sprawled across half the bed.
    He wore a pair of pajama bottoms, a draw string pair of grey flannel pants. He kept his gaze trained on her as she rounded the bed.
    “Come here,” he said. “I want you right beside me.”
    She crawled to his side and he gathered her in his arms, pulling her close. It came as a surprise that he wanted to hold her, but the comforting gesture was exactly what she needed from him. She closed her eyes and sank into his arms. Resting her head on his chest, she fell asleep.
     

Chapter 10
    Jack sat at his desk in his study and turned the small, velvet box end over end. The earrings had been an absurd gesture now that he thought about it. Who the hell celebrated a one week anniversary? When had he turned into such a romantic?
    The earrings were sapphires, gems that matched the blue of Savannah’s eyes and also happened to be her birthstone. They’d gone for brunch that morning and he’d planned on giving them to her then. He imagined making sure she drank a few glasses of champagne before he presented them to her and after brunch they’d come home and spend the afternoon in bed.
    His blood heated and he stifled a groan. The thought of leisurely lovemaking made his body harden. She sat cross-legged, across the room, in a pair of yoga pants and a sweater, studying a textbook for next semester. Yoga pants… she was trying to torture him.
    But Savannah hardly spoke during the meal that