I’m stunned as he turns the knob. He’s actually going to leave after laying down an ultimatum he has no right to deliver? I’m no longer amused and instead highly pissed off.
“You can go to hell, Jackson,” I snap as I lurch off the couch.
His hand falls from the knob, and he turns to me with an incredulous look on his face. He’s actually shocked that I’m refusing to obey. I can tell it’s not a position he likes to be in.
“What did you say to me?” he asks, his teeth almost bared like a feral animal ready to strike.
“You have no right to tell me what to do,” I sneer. “That includes who I decide to fuck and when. If I decide to take a different man every night, I’m going to do it. And while you won’t be invited into my room to watch, you are more than welcome to press your ear against the door.”
His expression darkens and his eyes flash with fury. I know I’ve crossed a line, but rather than being scared by his reaction, a thrill races up my spine. Jackson takes one long stride across the suite and comes toe-to-toe with me. I have to tip my head back to look up at him as he practically snarls in my face. “You are not a whore to go spreading her legs for some random guy every night. You can do better than that, Princess.”
I step back and laugh with condescension. If he intended to hurt my feelings, he missed the mark. I rake my eyes down the length of him and back up again before I sneer, “And who might volunteer to do better by me? Certainly not you.”
He doesn’t respond. I can tell I’ve put him between a rock and a hard place. I’ve thrown down the gauntlet once again and basically dared him to make a move. If he doesn’t, he better be ready to leave me the fuck alone.
After the silence stretches, I murmur quietly, “Maybe Paul will do it for me? He’s a very handsome guy. I don’t think he has the same scruples that you do.”
Jackson’s hand strikes out faster than a snake, and he grabs me by the back of my neck. My knees go weak from the domineering move, and a long sigh whispers past my lips.
Jackson’s hand tightens on my nape and he pulls me closer, his face again hovering over mine. “You will not solicit any man.”
“Any man?” I whisper.
And that is when I see his surrender.
“Any man other than me,” he growls, the words rumbling out of his chest.
Then he crashes his mouth down on mine, and it’s the hottest, deepest kiss I’ve ever felt in my entire life.
If he gives me nothing else, this is absolutely enough.
That’s how good the kiss is.
CHAPTER 13
Jackson
I tear my mouth away from Camille’s and actually push her back, as if she has me under some spell that needs breaking. Her eyes flash with disappointment, then confusion, and settle on anger. None of those emotions make me jerk her back into my arms, hand once again on her nape to hold her in place.
It’s purely because I want it—and nothing else—that has me kissing her again.
What the fuck are you doing, Jackson? She’s a goddamn princess. You are being paid to protect her, not ravish her. You could be fired for this. Hell, she’s royalty… you could be placed in the guillotine. Your career could be finished, and your father’s disappointment would sink to depths you’d never recover from. Everything about this is wrong.
All those voices are screaming at me to push her away again, because this is so very wrong.
And yet, nothing has ever felt so right.
Camille’s hands come to my chest, fingers bunching the cotton polo as she digs her fingers tight to hold on. As if she’s afraid I’m going to push her away again.
But I’m not.
I’m going to continue to kiss her.
That’s all.
Just kiss because that’s all she’s asked of me.
Unless she asks for more, then I’ll give it to her. If she doesn’t ask, maybe I’ll give it to her, anyway.
Camille moans low in her throat, and the sound goes straight to my balls. Once again my lips free from hers, but I don’t push her away. I move my hands to the sides of her head to hold her because she’s trying to step into me, trying to force me to kiss her again, but I hold her in place.
My breathing is ragged from just a mere kiss, and that freaks me out. But I manage to say, “There’s your kiss. Now you have it, and it needs to stop here.”
Some of the hardest words I’ve ever had to say in my entire life. Almost as difficult as telling my father I wasn’t reenlisting.