said such sweet things without even knowing he was saying them.
“Maybe I want you to need me, too, Jax,” I muttered.
“You have no idea how much I need you, Harlow,” he rasped. “You’re the first damn woman who’s even seen me, and not the billionaire mogul with the Montgomery name. Do you really think there’s a ton of women out there who give a damn what kind of food I like, or what restaurants are my favorite? Do you think they believe that training dogs for veterans with PTSD is a good way to spend my free time? Hell, you’re actually the first woman I’ve even told about that. Most of the women in my social sphere aren’t dog lovers, and I guarantee all of them would be bitching about dog hair on their new designer clothing if I introduced them to Molly or Tango. I don’t fit into that world. Maybe I never did. But I grew up in it, so it’s what I’m used to. I did the club scene to see what else was out there, but I told you how that turned out. When I met you two years ago, there was something there. I can’t explain what the hell it was, but I’ve never been drawn to a woman like I was to you.”
“I felt it, too, Jax,” I told him breathlessly. “We…clicked. I never should have blown off that instinct.”
“I don’t blame you, Harlow. I didn’t look like a good risk to you, and I get that. But for fuck’s sake, please don’t ever think that I don’t need you. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
I slid off the table, straddled his lap, and hugged Jax close to me. He locked his arms around me, and rocked me while we clung to each other like we never wanted to be pulled apart.
I wasn’t exactly sure how long we stayed like that, but it was quite a while before he got around to finishing his tour of Last Hope Headquarters.
Jax
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to want a woman until your balls turn blue?” I asked my golden retriever as he watched me pace around my bedroom restlessly. “Nah, you probably don’t since you got yours whacked off a long time ago. Sorry, buddy.”
Tango tilted his head and looked at me from his position in the middle of my bed. I wasn’t sure if he was sympathizing with me, or pissed off because he no longer had balls.
“I can’t do this shit anymore,” I mumbled, not even sure who I was talking to anymore.
There was nobody in the bedroom except me and Tango.
I’d said those same words every single night, but I’d always managed to get through the following day without getting Harlow naked.
Because every damn morning, I remember that she deserves better.
She wasn’t a damn one-nighter, or an occasional screw.
She needed more romance, more fun, more time before I lost my shit and dragged her into my bed like a caveman with absolutely no finesse.
Because…yeah….I already knew that once I really touched her, it was over.
Goodbye, sweet seduction.
Hello, unbridled carnal lust.
So I’d waited, because I’d wanted to be with Harlow, take her on real dates, make her understand that I wanted a lot more than just her body.
Harlow had also been through a hell of a lot, and the last thing I wanted was to push her away by asking for more than she was ready to give.
I’d lasted seven damn days with nothing more than a kiss and some very mild groping.
I’d told myself over and over that making her happy was even more important than my need to be burning up the sheets with her every night. And that was no lie.
But once we’d said goodnight, and Harlow headed off to the guest suite? My mind and body went into full-on fantasy mode because I had way too much time to think.
Maybe if I could see some kind of sign that she wants more.
It wasn’t like I didn’t know that Harlow was attracted to me. It was obvious every time I kissed her.
What in the hell did I want her to do—seduce me?
If that was the only thing that was going to convince me that she was ready, I could be waiting for a hell of a long time.
She’d expect me to make that move.
I was Jax Montgomery, celebrated playboy and seducer of women. I was the guy who’d been around the block more than a few