CHAPTER 34
CLAYTON
Clayton shut off the bathroom light and eased back into bed, the sheets cool against his skin.
Jamie had already drifted off, her body warm and relaxed beside him.
The faint scent of her perfume—vanilla with a trace of something floral—still clung to his skin, mixing with the lingering musk of their bodies.
They hadn’t planned this. Hell, neither of them had even hinted at it before tonight. But after a few too many drinks and how she’d looked at him—like maybe he wasn’t just her sparring partner, a thorn in her side, but something more—resisting had been impossible.
And damn, it had been better than anything he’d ever imagined.
The way her breath stopped when he first touched her.
The heat of her mouth, the softness of her skin, the way she moved with him, against him—like they’d been made for this, for each other.
But it wasn’t just about the physical. It was how she looked at him, bare and vulnerable in a way she never allowed herself to be.
He’d spent so much time convinced she hated him, yet tonight she’d touched him like he was the only thing that mattered .
His chest ached at the thought. He should have told her. Should have admitted what had been clawing at him for months, maybe longer.
He shifted closer, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. His fingers skimmed her cheek, warm and smooth, and a soft sigh escaped her lips.
Leaning in, he let his breath touch her skin before whispering, “I love you.”