“Evan.” My voice was barely a whisper, as if volume might push him out the door.  “We both want it.  I do, and I know you do, too.”

He stood up, then turned to look at me.  I dragged the covers up to my neck, needing to keep at least part of me hidden.  I’d already exposed too much of myself to him.

“Don’t you?” I pleaded when he said nothing.  My voice was laced with a note of insecurity, and I hated myself for it.  I watched the expressions shift across his face like clouds upon the wind, and fear slashed through me.  “You’re not seriously going to stand there and tell me I’m wrong?  I felt it, Evan. I felt you.”

His expression was flat, but his eyes were like a storm when they met mine. “I have done and will do a lot of things that you probably find reprehensible.  But I will never, never, lie to you.”

I shook my head, confused and wary.

“Last night was a mistake,” he said, and with that single word, I understood everything.  Whatever he’d seen in me—whatever he’d wanted—I’d managed to destroy it.  I was dragonbait—some weak female who needed rescuing.  But it wasn’t a princess that Evan Black wanted.  It never had been.

“A mistake,” I repeated dully.  I thought of the way I’d felt in his arms.  The way I’d slept through the night.  The way I’d felt whole for the first time in a very long time.

Yeah, maybe that was a mistake.  Because he’d given me peace—and I damn sure didn’t deserve it.

 

 

Want more Wanted? You can pre-order right now!

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Wanted
more retailers coming soon!

And pre-order buttons for Heated: A Most Wanted Novel are starting to pop up!

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More retailers coming soon!

Did you miss the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Stark Trilogy?  Click here to learn all about it!  And for Stark fans, a Stark novella is coming! Take Me will be available December 3, and you’ll even get to meet Evan Black in the story! (No pre-order button yet, but I’ll shout out when it’s up!)

And, in honor of Take Me, I’ll be starting #StarkOnSaturday again soon, too!

That’s all for now!

XXOO

J.K.

[signoff]