Chapter 43
Jacob
The punching bag rocked beneath his fists, the leather snapping back on its chain with every hit.
He didn’t count anymore, just kept moving, his body running on muscle memory while his head spun in circles it couldn’t escape.
His knuckles ached, sweat tracked down his spine, and still he kept going.
It had been three days since New York, and he was still trapped in that elevator.
Touching Liam again, tasting him after so long, had been too much and not enough all at once.
The moment had been inevitable, and leaving afterward had taken everything he had.
He kept reminding himself it had been the right choice, though part of him couldn’t help wishing he’d been weaker.
He threw another punch, hard enough to send pain straight up his arm. It grounded him and kept him from doing what he wanted most—driving across the city, pounding on Liam’s door, and taking what was his.
Jacob’s divorce had been finalized yesterday.
No noise, no fight, just the quiet end of something that had never been built to last. He was only starting to see that now.
What he and Caroline had was comfortable and convenient, but it had never been enough to build a life on.
He finally understood that being stable wasn’t the same as being happy.
He had given Caroline everything she asked for—more, even. It was the least he could do. She would never have to worry about money again.
The bag swung toward him and he caught it with both hands, steadying it against his chest. His arms trembled from exertion, and his shirt clung damp to his body, but the restless energy inside him wouldn’t settle.
He pressed his forehead to the bag, trying to steady himself, but Liam’s face was there every time he closed his eyes.
The doorbell rang, catching him off guard; he wasn’t expecting anyone. He pulled the gloves off, dropped them on the bench, and wiped his face with the towel before heading to the door.
When he pulled it open, the world narrowed to one thing—Liam.
He stood there with his hood up, shoulders hunched, hands jammed into his pockets like they might give him away. He looked exhausted, caught between bolting and breaking. He was so fucking gorgeous that Jacob’s chest clenched hard enough to hurt.
Liam met his eyes. “Hi.”
Jacob just stepped aside, letting Liam pass without a word, the door clicking shut behind them.
“I shouldn’t be here,” Liam said after a moment.
Jacob leaned back against the hallway wall, arms folded across his sweat-soaked shirt. “But you are.”
Liam ran a restless hand through his hair. “I was going to wait.”
Jacob’s brow furrowed. “For what?”
“To tell her first. To do it in the right order. But I couldn’t stay away.”
Jacob’s chest pulled taut, the question burning through him before he could stop it. “You’re leaving her?”
“Yes.” His voice was certain. No hesitation. “It’s not working.”
Jacob held his gaze. “What changed?”
Liam swallowed. “Nothing’s changed. That’s the problem. It’s been three months since I broke this off and you’re still in my head every damn day. I wake up with you there. I go to sleep with you there. I can’t scrub you out, no matter how much I try.”
The weight of it landed between them, honest and heavy.
Jacob pushed off the wall until he was standing in front of him. “So what are you saying?”
Liam’s jaw trembled. “I love you.”
The words ripped through Jacob, leaving him shaken, and for a long, suspended moment he could only stare.
His hand rose without thought, finding Liam’s jaw, his thumb tracing the line of it with a reverence too deep for language.
The touch was quiet, carrying everything he’d never managed to say.
Liam’s eyes fluttered shut, undone by the contact, as if Jacob’s hand alone could unmake him.
“Are you sure about this?” Jacob asked.
“Yeah.” Liam’s voice broke, but his certainty didn’t. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
The dam inside Jacob ruptured. He caught Liam by the neck and crashed their mouths together—three months of restraint gone in a heartbeat.
Liam clawed at his shirt, dragging it over his head before pulling him close, like he couldn’t bear even a breath between them.
Jacob was no better; his hands were everywhere at once.
He couldn’t stop. Every touch was hunger, every inch not enough.
Liam groaned desperately against his mouth. “God, I missed this.”
Jacob bit his lip and kissed down his throat, voice breaking against skin. “Then don’t leave again.” The next words were a growl. “You’re mine.”
Liam’s breath shuddered, his reply immediate. “I am.”
They didn’t make it far. Clothes were shoved down in frantic tugs and shoes kicked off as they slammed into the nearest wall. They couldn’t be bothered to look for a flat surface; there was no time.
Jacob’s hand wrapped around both of their cocks, squeezing hard, as Liam broke against his mouth with a moan that sounded wrecked. It made Jacob want to press him harder against the wall and take everything.
They moved like they were starving, their hips grinding into Jacob’s fist. Their cocks rubbed together, leaking pre-come, the mess only making it better.
Each grind became more frantic, hotter, the need ratcheting higher.
Liam’s nails raked through Jacob’s hair, bit into his shoulders, and scored down his back, leaving marks wherever he could reach.
Jacob’s grip was ruthless, pumping them both with a rhythm that gave no space for thought. He wasn’t chasing tenderness. Not now. He wanted Liam undone, needed to feel him spill over his hand—to know that nothing could erase this bond between them.
Liam broke first. A loud cry tearing out of him as he jerked forward, coating Jacob’s fist and cock in heat.
Jacob groaned at the feel of it, at the cum covering his hand.
He used it to work them faster, fucking into his cum-slick grip until the friction tore him open too.
He came with a rough groan, adding his own release to the mess.
Jacob slid two slick fingers into Liam’s mouth, making him suck them clean and taste them both.
He felt a fierce satisfaction watching Liam swallow it down; every drop was proof he still owned him, marking him from the inside out.
He kissed Liam deep and absolutely filthy, tongue chasing the mix until he could taste them too.
They stayed pressed together, panting into each other’s mouths. Jacob’s hand spread across Liam’s back, holding him close, while Liam held on like nothing else mattered.
Jacob pressed his lips to Liam’s temple, still breathing raggedly. “I’m not letting you go again. I’ll burn the fucking world down to keep you.”
* * *
Liam lay on his stomach beside him, one arm crooked under the pillow, his skin still flushed from everything they’d just done—again. The air was thick with sweat and breath and something that felt dangerously close to peace.
Jacob took in the slow rise and fall of Liam’s shoulders, the damp hair curling at his nape, and the parted lips that said he was still drifting in the afterglow. He reached out, fingers trailing lazily down Liam’s spine.
Liam’s voice broke the quiet. “I kept hoping I could make it work,” he murmured. “That if I just tried harder, held on longer, it would click back into place.”
Jacob stayed silent, listening.
“But she feels it. The distance. Every time I pull away, every time I can’t meet her eyes. I see it hurting her.” His breath caught. “She deserves someone who’s all in. And I’m not. I’ve tried, but I can’t be what she needs anymore.”
Jacob’s hand stilled as he shifted onto his side to face him. “That doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“Tell that to the internet when they figure this out.”
Jacob leaned close and pressed his lips to his shoulder. “Let them talk.”
“It’s not just our families we’ve hurt. There’s going to be fallout. Professionally. Personally.” Liam turned his head, eyes catching his. “You know that, right?”
Jacob didn’t look away. “I do.” His voice steady. “I don’t care.”
Liam blinked, searching him. “I’m serious. Once this gets out—the timeline, the rumors, the headlines—it’s not gonna be pretty.”
Jacob’s gaze didn’t waver. “Then we deal with it. You’re worth it.”
“Our PR teams are going to have heart attacks,” Liam laughed.
“Then they can bill me.”
Liam shook his head, almost smiling. “You’re impossible.”
Jacob reached across the small space, his thumb tracing over that infuriatingly perfect mouth. “I’m not half in. If you’re here, it means you’re mine. I’m not letting you go. Nothing else matters.”
Jacob could see the way his words landed—Liam’s shoulders relaxed and his breath evened out, as if he’d finally found solid ground again.
“I’m telling her tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll find the words. I just… needed to say it out loud first. To you.”
Jacob kissed him then, not with the sharp edge of hunger, but with something steadier—a promise that they were finally stepping into something real. The beginning of them.
When he pulled back, his voice was low. “Say it again.”
Liam knew exactly what he meant. His gaze caught Jacob’s and held, love shining clear in those beautiful brown eyes.
“I love you.”