don’t want to.”
Jackie rolled onto her side, dragging a fingertip across his chest like she was tracing an invisible map. “It’s okay. I don’t usually bring it up. And, well, considering we’re basically strangers…it’s not like we’ve had a ton of time to talk about the fact that I’m an orphan.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.”
“How did it happen?”
Jackie gnawed on her bottom lip, her finger trail pausing momentarily. “I don’t remember it. I’m told my mom dropped me off at fire station when I was three.”
Hurt slashed through him. He turned to look at her, and found an oddly stoic expression on her face. “At age three? Do you know anything about why she had to do it?”
Jackie shook her head. “I have no idea who she is…or was. Or why. Or any of it.” She lobbed a sigh. “Trust me, I’ve wrestled with this my whole life. Anyway, I was put in the foster system and that was where I stayed. I never got adopted. I had a few good families, a couple great ones, and several really bad ones. But that’s what made me the punk pixie princess you insist on calling me.”
He smiled, but it faded quickly. He couldn’t even imagine what her childhood must have been like. The pain, or the wondering, or the questions, and the rage. He scooped his arm underneath her, bringing her crashing into him for a hug.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said, mouth smashed into his side.
“I know. But I’m still sorry. Is that why you’re trying to become a social worker?”
She nodded, cuddling up to him. Even though their skin was sticky with cooled sweat, he didn’t mind the feel of her pressed up to him. In fact, he wished they could never move from this spot.
“Yep. If I can survive a childhood like I had, I want to help other kids make a go of it too. I just want to help people. That’s the only way any of us can make it through life, you know? Helping each other out. It’s all I have to give. And I’m going to give it.”
Daniel pressed a kiss to the top of her head. If he’d been enamored by her before, now he was practically head over heels.
“But hey, that’s enough about my tragic childhood,” Jackie cracked. “Let’s hear about yours!”
Daniel chuckled, tightening his grip around her. “I wouldn’t call it tragic. Just…lonely.”
“That can be tragic in its own way. And something I definitely relate to,” Jackie said.
“My dad is kind of obsessive about work, and winning. And, well, it got in the way of a lot growing up. It’s why we could never have a dog. He said pets, and friends for that matter, were unimportant.”
“Ouch,” Jackie said. “I’d argue they’re what makes life worth living.”
Daniel sighed, feeling the familiar pangs of frustration return to him. He’d been having this battle with his father all his life. “Yeah. When my mom passed, my dad about blacklisted me from the company because I chose to fly home for the funeral instead of staying in England to close a deal I’d been working on.”
Jackie gasped, looking up at him with watery eyes. “Oh, my God.”
“I try to accept him for who he is. And honestly, I try to see him more as a business partner than my father. It’s not great, but it’s what it is.”
Jackie nodded, humming her agreement. “Yeah. Sometimes, your deepest suffering comes from trying to change things, instead of just accepting them as they are. It’s taken me my whole life to really understand that.”
“You’re wise beyond your years,” Daniel murmured into the top of her head. The floral scent of her made his head spin, especially when combined with the mind-blowing sex and the sweet intimacy of simply being here in bed with her. “I still don’t think I fully understand that.”
She grinned up at him. “Then maybe it’s a good thing you walked in on me using your bathtub, huh?”
Warmth spread through him. There was something so beautifully innocent in her words. All he could do was get lost in her gaze and snag her lips in another kiss.
“I think coming home early from Seoul had a few benefits,” Daniel teased, smoothing his lips along her jawline. She shifted against him, pressing her thigh between his legs. His cock rose to life again, swelling until it pressed against her low belly.
She inhaled sharply, lifting a brow. “Is that…?”
“Yes, it is.” He couldn’t