He flips me onto my back and gazes at me with an intensity so fierce my heart skips a beat. He rolls on a condom and I take a deep breath.

“You have no idea what you do to me, how you make me feel,” Jackson says as his jaw ticks, trying to control some unnamed emotion. “I’m going to take you now. Make you mine.”

My eyes widen and my mouth drops open as he slowly enters me. Bliss—complete and total bliss. I can die a happy woman from this moment on. Nothing has ever felt this good. Every inch of my body is alive as Jackson claims me. I will never recover from him no matter how hard I try. “Oh my God,” I say in a breathy moan.

“Not God, baby, but pretty damn close. Now open those sexy brown eyes and watch me.” His rough voice is strained as he sinks deeper.

“Jackson.” I sigh and try to keep my eyes open, but the pleasure coursing through my body is driving me insane. “More. Please,” I beg, desperate for all of him.

“Just feel me. I want you to feel this moment every time you close your eyes.” He pushes deeper, eliciting a strangled sob from my mouth. “Feel how deep I am inside your pu**y. Feel how f**king hard you make me.” He rears back and slams into me. “Feel it, baby.” There’s no way I couldn’t feel it if I tried. He’s everywhere—every sense, every breath, and every heartbeat right now. He owns me.

Jackson reaches between us and applies pressure to my clit, making me cry out and claw at his back. I grate my nails down and he pounds into me harder and faster. We’re both becoming frantic, desperate. Meeting him thrust for thrust, my eyes are locked on his as I cry out and shatter into a thousand pieces. I ride out my orgasm, unintelligibly yelling as Jackson follows with his head buried in my neck.

I rub my hand down his back languidly for a few minutes before he rolls over and heads into the bathroom. I look over at the clock and stretch. What a way to wake up. Jackson walks back over and I take a minute to appreciate the man before me. He oozes sex and confidence and for some reason, he’s attracted to me. Out of all the females he could choose, he wants me? I shake my head as he gets closer to the bed.

“What?” he says, smirking.

I smile and bite my lip, embarrassed for being caught staring at this glorious man yet again. There’s so much more to him than just looks, though. He makes me laugh and compliments me. He consoled me in the car after I got the news about my father. Unlike most men I’ve had in my life, he seems to care about others before himself. He climbs into bed and raises a brow. I sigh. “Nothing. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“You. Me. Us. I don’t know. Everything.” My heart is pounding as I relay more than I wanted to. It’s like he forces the truth out of me without even doing anything.

“Don’t overthink this. We’ll take things as they come.” He pulls me against his chest and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I want us to spend time together and stop fighting what we feel. I want to kiss you and not feel like I’m doing something wrong. I know we have a lot going on, and the fact that I’m your client complicates things. But we keep it professional at work and when I have you alone”—he drops his voice so it’s low and seductive—“I make no promises.” He rolls us on our sides so we can look at each other.

“I don’t want this to affect my work. When we’re in the client-publicist role, I need you to let me do my job.” I smile and rub my hand across his stubble. “My career matters to me. I need to know you understand that.”

“Do you think my career doesn’t matter to me? I own and run two companies, one of which takes me away for periods of time. Though, I didn’t want the cosmetics company. If it weren’t for Danielle, I would have sold it by now.” His admission takes me back a little. If he didn’t want the company, why does he own it? And why does Danielle matter in that equation?

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Danielle is a long-time friend of the family. She’s worked extremely hard to make Raven what it is today. She helped run the business when I was tied up with the security company, but her heart is in the lab. She really didn’t want to handle the business end.” He rolls back and puts his hand behind his head. “I entered the Navy when I was twenty-two. I did eight years, saved every penny I made, and invested it well. When—” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “Anyway, I got out of the Navy and invested in the security company. I didn’t know it would do so well.” I lie with my head on his chest and trace the tattoo there. I sense there’s more he’s not telling me about why he got out of the military. I can’t put my finger on it, but I felt him tense when he got to that part.

I rest my hand on his chest and put my chin on it. “Why a security company?”

He smiles at me with a glimmer in his eyes. “I figured that was obvious. I mean, I’m pretty badass. I have to keep this persona.” Jackson grins and taps my nose.

“So humble.” I roll my eyes. I run my hands down his chest and give him a playful smile.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing, Mr. I’m a Navy SEAL who’s charming, endearing, oh, and God’s gift to women.” I smile and remember his bullshit reason to get me to dinner with him. I sit up and pull the sheet around me. “Hey! You made me a bet, Muffin. I want to know my time from that insane course yesterday.”

He pulls the sheet down, exposing my br**sts, and rips it farther away when I try to grab it. “Muffin, huh?” He leans up and I try to hold my ground and not back away. “Are you sure you want to call me that?” His one brow raises and his eyes darken. Oh shit. I’m in trouble now.

Mustering my courage, I respond, “I’m pretty sure I already did. Now I want my time!”

Jackson crawls toward me and I scamper backward. I’m smiling, but I know I’m going to pay for this. “Where are you going? You started this game, baby.” I try to scoot back but I’m going to be off the bed in about two seconds.

“You owe me my time and a spa day.”

He smiles and lunges for me. I laugh as he starts to tickle me relentlessly. “Jackson … stop,” I try to say through fits of giggles. “Oh my God … Stop!” He doesn’t let up.

“Will you call me Muffin again?” he asks while I try to catch my breath.

“Yes!”

The mischief is back in his eyes as he begins tickling me again. I squirm and writhe on the bed. He stills suddenly and I realize he’s extremely turned on. I’m gasping for air as he brings his mouth down, stopping right before his perfect lips connect with mine. His eyes crinkle in the corners and I try to kiss him, but he backs away. So not fair! “Wanna rethink your answer?”

Two can play at this game. I raise my arms over my head and stretch. His eyes shift to my br**sts and I smile. Good, it’s working. “What if I called you a different muffin?” He doesn’t respond, so I tilt his chin so he’s looking in my eyes. “Jackson?”

“Huh?” The confusion is evident as his gaze shifts back to my exposed body before returning to my face.

I raise my eyebrows at his question.

Seeming to recover, he smirks and leans toward me again. “What kind of muffin are you referring to?”