Tate had a long day. Baxter had been busy finishing loose ends so he could have an uninterrupted wedding and honeymoon. She stopped short when she approached her apartment.

"What are you doing here?"

Her ex sat on the floor leaning against her door. "I need to talk and you never answer my calls."

She had been rejecting his calls, because he refused to listen to her. "So you flew to Boston. I thought you spent all your money on your business."

He shook his head. "I saved some."

She opened her door and reluctantly let him into the home they were supposed to share. "Make this quick. I've had a long day."

"Your friend ruined everything. My dream is over."

"Your dream was stupid."

"Jimmy liked it at first."

She scoffed. "He gave you what you wanted in exchange for what he wanted."

"What did he want?"

Revenge. You to pay. "Dawson Sports."

"He owns it. The Sinclair Group owns the majority of our family business."

Tate stomped in circles. "I told him not to. I tried to warn you and now I can't help you."

"I want my business, can't you lend me money?"

"Are you kidding? I'm not throwing money at your stupid idea." Tate threw her hands up in the air.

"I thought you loved me."

"I was wrong about that. Very wrong."

"But we were going to get married."

"Listen to yourself. You married someone else. Sorry it didn't last."

"He won't let me work in the stores. He'll listen to you."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I saw him."

Tate sighed. "Saw him what?"

"Look at you."

Her belly flopped. "So he has eyes, and he's not blind."

"It was at one of those events where I had to wear a tux. I watched him watch you and it wasn't like your brother. I wanted to punch him."

"Listen to yourself. Punching people is unrefined. Thank you again for stopping our wedding."

"You don't mean that?"

"I do. Leave town before Jimmy finds out you're here."

She shut the door behind him and listened to her heart pounding. What had he meant about Jimmy?

Jimmy! Truce over! He stole Dickie Dawson's business. She picked up her phone.

An usually cheerful voice answered. "Tate!"

"What did you do to Duncan? He showed up on my doorstep."

"He what? I warned him."

"I warned you not to take over Dawson! Truce is over!"

She hung up and turned her ringer off. She paced around trying to calm her anger. If he really cared, he could have stopped.

A knock at her door made her jump. Who kept letting Duncan in? Just because he used to stay with her. She pulled open the door and immediately pushed on it to close it. His strength kept her from succeeding.

"We need to talk. Please."

"Fine." She let him step in before a neighbor snapped photos.

Jimmy looked at her silently for what felt like forever. Under his open coat, he wore his suit trousers and a wrinkled white shirt. "Jesus, I just flew in."

"He beat you."

"Why was he here?"

"I don't know. He wanted money. That I remember."

"Don't give him any. His entire business is a sinkhole."

"I'm not stupid."

"You are anything but. I've always thought after Kasper, you might be the next smartest."

"You did not. Not compared to Baxter."

He shrugged. "We can't have hostility for the next three days."

"You should have thought of that before you started crushing dreams and stealing livelihoods."

"He kept pissing me off. I warned him."

"You sound like a ten-year-old making up an excuse for punching some kid."

"I wanted to punch him."

"Grow up!"

"He shot his mouth off about you."

"Me! I'm not involved in your business."

"He put you in the middle when he told me things he did with you."

She froze. "He what?"

"He felt the need to tell me his mouth had been all over you. I wanted to lash out and tell him that mine had been too, but I stopped. I'm not a pig like him."

"No, you're a different pig." She pushed on his chest, but he grabbed her hands, trapping her, unless she wanted to put him on the ground which he deserved. Before convincing herself, his greedy mouth was on hers. Her mind couldn't control her response, because heat and urgency took over.

She felt the solid door at her back and the solid man pressed into her. His coat fell to the floor, as he let her feel his want. Too many times she wondered what it would be like if things had gone differently in Vegas. Certain body parts were on his side. They were extremes. Jimmy: hot or cold. Tate: love or hate. Did she ever hate him or just wished desperately she could?

Duncan and Dawson Sports flew out of her brain with all coherent thoughts. Jimmy's hand gripped her behind. As her shoulder blades pressed into the door, her lower half, the part alive and humming, pressed into him. She had two choices and one involved dying of frustration. If he let go, she would tumble to the floor. Her warm, wet core hoped he would never let go.

His demanding mouth was sensual and bruising. As their hot tongues met, he let out a guttural groan. His hand moved, but she didn't fall; she clung to him and his mouth became more intense. His hand found its way up her skirt to the front of her and pushed her thong aside. The garment was a useless barrier. As his finger swiped, he smiled without releasing her mouth. Their mouths had been connected for minutes, hours, it didn't matter. She was certain this had been more than one dream both day and night. Maybe she was asleep, but she didn't dare pinch herself. She was too alive to be asleep with her heart pounding in every pulse point. His finger had found the perfect place until he stopped abruptly. She tried to move her lips to complain but he wouldn't let her.

His hand cupped her bare bottom and lifted her off the ground. As she wrapped her legs around him to keep from falling, his large, swollen hardness pushed in like a train through a tunnel. Only when he was inside her did his hot mouth leave hers. "God, you are better than my memory."

His midnight blue eyes held hers captive as his hips moved, taking her higher and higher until she came with a force she had only read about in steamy novels. Maybe two years of satisfying herself had heightened her response. She felt boneless as he carried her to the sofa and put her down.

His raw, red, wet appendage was still stiff as he looked down at her. Her skirt bunched up at her hips and a thin veil of sweat dampened her brow and lower back.

"I've never. Not like that."

He looked like he was in a boardroom. His face not the rest of him with his pants riding off his hips. "Me either. I didn't know until it worked."

"Maybe the movies aren't fake."

He smiled amusingly. "I couldn't stop. I couldn't let go."

Her brain kicked in. "This changes nothing except you'll be less uptight."

"Me. You're the one who called me yelling." He fixed his pants and Tate wondered if she would see it again. She pulled down her skirt. With all genitals covered, she could continue the waylaid conversation.

Jimmy sat down beside her. "Are you ready to listen without slinging accusations?"

"Did you bury Duncan's business?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yes, for the good of all humankind. I lost millions, but it's not the first time and won't be the last."

She looked in his eyes and saw the young Jimmy she knew. "I never knew the shark didn't get what he wanted."

"I'm not a shark and what I want isn't always what you would expect, Sometimes it surprises me."

"Like what we just did?"

He chuckled. "It might surprise me you didn't put the brakes on, but I wanted you in Vail, in Vegas, and every time I've seen you in between."

Her heart danced until she remembered there was a difference between want and love. Or want as in sex and want as a life partner.

"Don't frown. You're right I do own Dawson Sports. Although your ex almost pushed me to, I'm not selling it."

"You aren't? Why?"

"Because. Because I'm not the asshole you think I am."

"So what does that mean? He said he couldn't work in the store."

Jimmy smiled. "I could have imploded the deal when he pissed me off instead I banned him from working for me."

"What about Dickie?"

Jimmy smiled. "He's growing on me. Hell, he was smart enough to see the writing on the wall."

"That he lost his lifelong work?"

"No, he still has shares and will earn profits accordingly. He needs to go along with my team's plans to right the ship."

"So you didn't seek revenge?"

"Of course, I sought revenge. The asshole made it easy with his stupid scheme. It was worth the loss, plus it helps offset the gains on my taxes."

She frowned. "This. Nothing has changed."

He shook his head. "I disagree. The last time, you were jilted and heartbroken. You aren't anymore."

"But we can't keep doing this." Her words hurt her heart, but without his love it would feel worse in the long run.

He smirked. Cocky Jimmy kissed her forehead. "You know they'll have cake at the wedding and I like to eat cake." She let out a frustrated growl and threw a pillow at him.

In a flash, his arms pinned her against the sofa. "I was ready to call a truce and leave, but you made me hard again."

His lips found hers erasing the sweetness of the forehead kiss. She was helpless to stop him.

When he pulled out, he stood up and adjusted his pants. "Truce. See you at the rehearsal."

She laid panting and watched him pick his coat up off the floor and leave. How could she ever move on? As much as she wanted to blame the cross, she had loved him before she ever fastened the clasp around her neck.

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