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pull any part of myself away from Jagger.  
    "How are you feeling, sunshine?" he whispers in my ear as his free hand reaches under my hair.
    "Mmm. Better now." I moan, wrapping my arms around him and adjusting my body against his so that we're chest to chest. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."
    "A promise is a promise."
    The air's sucked from my lungs. That single word leaves me disappointed. Deflated. I pull back, meet his intense stare, and nod, trying not to release the tears pricking the back of my eyes. "Yeah. Right. You promised."
    I look down. That sobered me up. Shit. I didn't tempt him, and he didn't scare the other guy off because he wants me for his own. I let my defenses down and he almost crushed me with that one stupid word. Promise. That's why he's doing this, why he's watching me like a hawk. Because he promised.
    I almost let on to how good it feels to be close to him, to have his hands on me and his eyes watching my every move. Almost. But I didn't. Which is good, because this isn't good. Me and Jagger. There can't be a me and Jagger. Ever.
    "Allie, is there something you want to tell me?"
    I take a long moment to stare at him. Do I want to tell him? Could I say all I'm thinking about is how wonderful he feels and how good he smells, and how I want nothing more than to be closer to him? No. I don't want to tell him any of that. And I especially don't want to tell him that I'm contemplating standing on my tiptoes, wrapping my hands around his neck, and reaching my lips up to meet his.
    I shake my head. "No. I'm good. How about you?"
    He presses his lips into a thin line and looks off to the side. It feels like something's wrong.  Like I upset him. "I'm tired. What do you say we hit the road?"
    I nod and allow him to lead me by the hand out of the bar. His thumb strokes the skin over my knuckles, making me tingle from the inside out. My hand feels right in his, comfortable, like a cashmere sweater.
    I let him set the pace. He's moving slow, taking his time, and I want to believe it's so we can spend an extra few minutes together. An extra few minutes before we head home, and away from everything I want to pretend is happening.
    Standing by the passenger side of his pick-up, Jagger doesn't unlock the door. He's frozen in place, holding my hand, staring into my eyes with only inches between us.
    He closes his eyes tight for a moment, then smirks. My heart nosedives into my stomach. Something is up, and I don't know what it is. I'm half expecting him to tell me that after seeing what a tease I am, he understands why Bailey cheated on me with Slut Face. But I wasn't trying to tease the other man, I was trying to entice Jagger.
    "Maybe it's wrong for me to say this," Jagger starts, breaking into my thoughts. "But you looked amazing in there. You were the sexiest little thing I've ever seen. I had to get you out of there fast because you had every guy in there salivating, wishing he was lucky enough to take you home."
    "Every guy?" My stomach swirls with nervous anticipation. I can't fight the spark of hope he kicked up inside me. It's there, burning.
    Fanning.
    Flaming.
    I look up at him through my lashes as I lean my back against his truck. The cool metal feels good on my overheated skin.
    "Yes, Aleena," he says, using my full name as he brushes his knuckles down the side of my cheek, and I love the way it sounds. I never heard the beauty of my name before now, before Jagger Evans said it. "Every guy," he confirms.
    "Really? Cause there's only one guy," I hold my pointer finger up and touch it to his chest. The alcohol is making me brave, or flirty. Or downright slutty. Whatever it's doing to me, I like the way it feels, the way my head is swirling and all I can concentrate on is Jagger.
    The way he looks.
    The way he smells.
    The way his hard body feels against mine. And I'm really getting off on the way he can't pull his eyes away from me. "Just one guy out of everyone in there that I wanted to turn on. But I'm