“We should have been doing it your way all along,” Jacob said.

“My way is fun, right?”

“It’s not fun. It’s just…right. I’m going to take you home and fuck you,” he said and kissed her. Hard and wet. Tongue and his body up against hers. He was hot and she was on fire for him.

“You can fuck me here,” she whispered.

“I want to take you home. I want hours with you. Days.”

“Years,” Zilla said and kissed him. Hard as she could. With all of her heart.

Jacob grabbed the phones out of her hand, putting them in the pocket of his coat. And then tucked her hand into his elbow, like they were two partygoers. As they walked by a tray of champagne he grabbed a flute and handed it to her. A tray of little quiches went by and she grabbed two, one for him. One for her.

“Zilla!”

Poppy, her sister, her bright red hair hanging loose down her back in big waves, stood in the doorway to one of the rooms wearing a showstopping silver dress. “You came!”

“I did,” she said, smiling thinking of Jacob up in that room, fucking her against the wall. A pulse of heat went through her. “But we have to go.”

Ronan came up behind her, a dark and handsome and terrifying blade of a man. “Zilla,” he said, her name so different in his Irish accent. “What’s the craic?”

“Jacob and I are leaving,” Zilla said.

“You just got here!” Poppy cried but pulled Zilla into her arms anyway. “Are you okay?” Poppy whispered in her ear.

“Does it always feel like this?” Zilla whispered in her sister’s ear.

“What?”

“Love.”

“God,” Poppy said with a huge squeeze. “I really hope so.”

“Zilla,” Jacob said, touching Zilla’s elbow. “We need to go.”

“Is there a problem?” Ronan asked.

“We took care of it,” Jacob answered and the two men shared a “we’re badass motherfuckers” nod.

Zilla and Jacob turned out the door, ran down the steps. Jacob handed the valet the ticket for his car.

“One second, sir,” the valet said and then he vanished. In the dark shadowy night, for the first time the silence between them was awkward. Strange.

“Thank you,” Zilla said. “Jacob. Thank you for helping—”

He put an arm around her back, bending her backwards, kissing her like they were on the cover of a romance novel. “I will always help you,” he said. “I will always be there for you. I will be behind you and in front of you and any other place you want me.”

“Inside of me.”

He laughed against her mouth. “I can do that.”