Jackson

by Jackson (retail) (epub)

  He couldn’t promise her tomorrow. But here and now, he could show her how much her choosing to share herself with him meant. He didn’t take it lightly, and if he were honest, it wasn’t merely about the physical pleasure he knew being with her would bring him. There was something in the way she melted under his touch, the way she moaned, like he was vital to her existence in this moment, that tripped the circuits in his brain and made his desire for her feel more like an essential life element than simply something his baser self wanted to indulge in for a little fun.

  He moved down to the curve of her neck, alternating between kissing and biting as he made his journey to her shoulders, then down until his mouth was covering a large brown nipple. He gave it a gentle lick, and she placed an insisting hand on the back of his head, giving it a firm press. “I won’t break, Ranger. Delicate doesn’t really do it for me. I need a man to be deliberate and purposeful in his actions. I’m giving you permission to take what you want.”

  He shivered, his arousal cranking up from interested to nearly painful. God, a woman who knew what she wanted—and apparently held no qualms about sharing that with her partner—was so refreshing.

  Her decisiveness wasn’t only a quick guide to getting her off. No, it was an aphrodisiac that set Jackson’s blood on fire and made his desire to have Aja squirming beneath him in pleasure burn like kerosene-soaked paper.

  “God, woman. I’m doing everything I can to make this last, and you’re pouring gas on the flames by letting slick words fall off your tongue like that.”

  Her body stiffened beneath his, drawing his vision to her face. Aja’s eyes were wild with excitement as she took in the sight of him. “Who said anything about making this last, Ranger? Foreplay was downstairs on my couch. I need the main event right now.” Her voice was deep and raw, as if every word was a struggle to produce, and watching her wrestle with the want shining in her bright eyes made his dick so hard, he feared he’d hurt himself.

  He crawled up her body, the predator in him slightly disappointed he wouldn’t get to play longer. But when he joined his lips to hers and let his weight sink on top of her, the only thing his body cared about was how soon he’d get to slide his aching flesh inside her.

  He broke their kiss, his head a little dizzy with need as he pulled away from her. “Have it your way, darlin’. I had this entire seduction planned. But if hot ’n ready is what you want, I can oblige.”

  “It is” was her only answer. “Jackson?” The slow drawl of his name pulled him out of his trance and brought his eyes to her face again.

  When he saw how slick her fingers were from playing in her folds, how easily they slid around that beautiful nub, how deep they slipped inside her opening with no obstruction, he released the light grip he had on his dick and covered his length with the condom.

  “Close.” She forced the word through clenched teeth on a short, choppy breath, and the fire in his blood flared. His cock twitched, a physical plea to put them all out of their misery. Unable to hold back any longer, he positioned himself at her entrance, rubbing his stretched tip against her opening. Even with the layer of latex between them, overwhelming sensation rippled through him.

  Aja was right; this wouldn’t last. He pushed inside at a painfully slow pace, fighting the instinct to bottom out until he was balls-deep inside her. She canted her hips, silently asking for more. The desperation circling in the depths of her hickory-brown eyes clutched at him, called to him to answer with the relief of unity. He responded. A long growl climbed from the pit of his stomach up through his chest and out of his mouth as he pushed forward, spearing her depths one glorious inch at a time until he was buried inside her to the hilt.

  God, she wasn’t lying about being close. As soon as he was fully seated, the snug grip of her cunt on his cock became impossibly tight, choking him, milking him, as the first waves of her climax crested.

  “Dammit, Aja.” He hooked his arm under her knee, giving himself more room to work and deepening the angle while planting his other hand near her head for leverage. Fighting the instinct to let the electric sensations that covered his skin consume him, to join her in bliss, he snapped his hips until he found a rhythm that would satisfy her but not drive him to completion.

  He plowed into her, delighting in the ravenous sounds coming from her as she met him stroke for stroke, falling into her pleasure headfirst with no regret or hesitation.

  “That’s it, sugah. Take what you need.” His encouragement, coupled with the deep, hard strokes he rendered, drew louder moans from her. He marveled in the beauty of both her and her orgasm. Each was powerful, demanding, striking in ways that made a man want to sit and watch with an unobstructed view of her strength and allure for much longer than one night.

  When her spasms subsided, he leaned down to press gentle kisses to her cheek and lips, to draw her back to him as the fog of bliss cleared. Her hands slid up the length of his back, pulling him to her, wrapping him in her embrace like a warm blanket to chase away the cold. She held on to him like he was treasured, necessary, and once again, he was reminded of what this woman’s superpower was. Her ability to make a person feel worthy was intoxicating, and right now, he almost felt like he deserved to be here with her, sharing her body. She was a goddess, and he was a lowly mortal who shouldn’t dare to raise his eyes to glimpse even the smallest vision of her. But in the glow of her satisfaction, he felt invited, beckoned, as if this was where he was supposed to be all along.

  The gravity of that realization washed over him like a deluge of desire and fear mixed together, and he couldn’t figure out for the life of him if this was good or bad for him. Instead of thinking about it further, he gave himself over to the pleasure her tightness around his cock offered him.

  He forged deeper, wanting the delight of her spasming walls to bring him to oblivion. In the bliss of release, the perils of crossing ethical lines wouldn’t be present, and his past and the terrible lapses in judgment he’d had with women wouldn’t dog him like the incredible failure he was.

  No, their joining was nirvana, a blissful place where nothing but pleasure existed. He’d think about the consequences of his actions later. In the twilight, that strange hour where day and night met in perfect unison with no end or beginning to either, Jackson would let himself think about nothing but the delicious heat of her cunt wrapped around him and the godlike feeling of pride that slipped through his bloodstream every time she called his name and begged him for more.

  This time, when she placed a firm two-handed grip on his ass as she tumbled over the precipice of climax again, he allowed the viselike hold of her walls to pull him into the free fall of pleasure. And when his muscles burned as he struggled to reach satisfaction, and he gave every remaining bit of strength he possessed to his thrusts, he heard her whisper, “Baby, please. Give it to me.”

  It was as if the softness of her words took control of his body. His rhythm faltered as his heart pounded in his ears. His balls inched up and his climax spiraled around the base of his spine. He struggled to hold on, but he made the mistake of glancing down at the wicked smile that curved the corners of her luscious mouth into something sinful and dirty in the best of ways, and he lost his control.

  Like a brittle twig, his will snapped and his climax soared up the length of his cock, so powerful that his arms struggled for purchase to keep from crushing her. Her hands slid up the globes of his ass to his shoulders where she gave him a gentle press, telling him it was okay to let go. He fell gracelessly into her arms as every muscle of his body tightened, his release tearing everything from him.

  He buried his face in the curve of her neck, fighting for every bit of oxygen his greedy lungs could snatch from the air, and he realized something more dangerous than any criminal he’d ever faced. He never wanted this moment to end.

  Chapter 19

  Aja turned to her side and gave in to the full body stretch her achy limbs
demanded. She instantly came up against the hard wall of a man’s body. Her smile bloomed as she realized Jackson was still in bed beside her. When he’d wrapped her in his arms a few hours ago and demanded she go to sleep, she hadn’t been sure he would still be there when she woke up.

  He tightened his grip on her and pulled her against him until their bodies touched at almost every point. “Morning,” he whispered as he nuzzled into her neck, giving her a sweet kiss there that made her skin prickle with excitement. “You feeling okay?”

  She savored his nearness, too afraid to move for fear of ruining the coziness of the moment. “Are you searching for compliments, Ranger?”

  “No, I’m trying to make sure my moment of selfishness didn’t cause you more harm than good.”

  The worry in his voice made her uneasy. “Jackson, if you’re going to ruin this by bringing up my attack, I’m going back to sleep.”

  “This isn’t something to joke about, Aja. A day of baking and a night with me won’t erase what happened.”

  She grabbed the pillow next to her and hugged it tight. “I know. Is it so bad I don’t want this to become the focus of my life?” He rubbed his hand up and down her shoulder, generating a much-needed warmth. “I don’t want to think about this, Jackson. All I want to focus on is how great last night was.”

  “Aja—”

  “I guess that means it wasn’t that great for you if all you can focus on is the attack?”

  He pulled at her shoulder, coaxing her to turn around. He rested on his back and pulled her in to his side, using his finger at her chin to lift her gaze to his. “You are the sexiest woman I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with. I would be out of my mind not to treasure every moment of bliss you gifted me with. I could never dismiss or forget what we did, Aja.”

  Relief bled through her body as she let his words soak in. Knowing they shared the same perspective on their time together eased the tightness building in her chest.

  “But even though it’s important to me, I can’t be blind to how you might not be ready for all this. Maybe talking to someone might help.”

  “You mean like a therapist?”

  “Yeah.” He reached over to the nightstand, picking up his phone and tapping on the screen. “I just sent you a text with the number of a friend of mine who works with us in Austin. She’s a counselor. She helps survivors work through their experiences.”

  She smiled, slightly overwhelmed by his concern and his persistence but comforted too. “Thank you for trying to look after me. I promise you I’m fine.” When he raised his brow, she laughed. “I promise, if anything changes, I’ll reach out to her.” He shared a smile with her and the easy mood she’d awoken with slowly returned. “Thank you for comforting me last night.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “If you want to see it as comfort, fine. But being with you was all about indulgence for me.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and squeezed her with his strong arms again. “We’d best get up and get dressed. We have a lot of work ahead of us today.”

  She gave in to his embrace before rolling over onto her back. He slipped from the bed, moving around the room to pull clothes from the chest of drawers. He left the room with a handful of folded items, leaving her to wallow in the warm spot he’d left on the bed next to her.

  Yeah, it was time to get up and get back into the normal flow of things. But before she did, she would lie here for a few more moments and enjoy the scent of him on the sheets.

  * * *

  Jackson stood in front the coffee maker, sifting through recent events in his head. He’d slept with Aja—a euphemism for screwed like bunnies until their bodies demanded sleep. He’d found one more condom in his duffel, and they wasted no time putting it to good use.

  Note to self: Pick up more condoms or you’re gonna be in trouble. Other note to self: If you think not having a condom at your disposal in this scenario is the potential threat and not the fact that you screwed—and apparently are planning to screw again—a principal in your case, then you’re worse off than you realized.

  Jackson sighed into his cup of coffee. As much as he should, he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about spending the night with Aja. Oh, he knew he should regret it. But he felt no remorse over giving in to the thing he’d wanted since he first laid eyes on her.

  He didn’t know what to do with that. He should care; he should be ashamed for giving in to his need repeatedly. But as he remembered the taste of her flesh, the sensation of her coming as she rode him, all he could find within him was the renewed need to experience it all again.

  * * *

  Aja fiddled with the bandanna tied around her neck. With most of her wardrobe still sealed behind the police tape on her bedroom door, she was lucky to find enough clothing in her laundry room to piece an outfit together. Finding a bandanna she would usually wear on her head that actually matched the outfit she’d scavenged meant an angel was smiling somewhere near her.

  She looked in the mirror hanging on the back of the guest bedroom door and assessed her appearance. With her hair down and the scarf artfully tied to rest comfortably inside the collar of her shirt, the bruised flesh on her neck was camouflaged. She looked like her normal self, even if everything about her world had upended so much over a short amount of time.

  The sabotage on her ranch, the attack, it all felt so separate, so foreign. She could hardly reconcile herself with those terrible memories.

  “Get it together, Aja. Fake it ’til you make it. As long as you act like yourself, no one will be the wiser. Not Jackson, and not anyone else.”

  She stood in front of the mirror for a moment and thought about the counselor’s contact information sitting on her phone.

  “There’s no time for that, Aja. There are too many things and too many people you need to worry about right now. You’ll be fine.”

  Aja tugged at the bandanna one last time and decided it was as good as it would get. Playing in the mirror wouldn’t make it any better, so she should at least get downstairs and get her day started.

  She made her way to the kitchen, took one look at the large empty space, and decided she was too tired to pull out the usual stops for breakfast. They were closer to the midday meal anyhow, so a large breakfast made little sense in her estimation.

  She made herself a quick bowl of oatmeal, sprinkled a few raisins and cranberries for garnish, and poured herself a large cup of coffee. Breakfast was done.

  She sat at the counter, savoring the first spoonful. Aunt Jo was right; all you needed was a hot meal to chase the cold away. Is that what chased the cold away for you last night?

  Determined not to give the issue any more thought, Aja made it halfway through her meal and poured herself another cup of coffee. By the time she was sipping her second cup, she heard the familiar voices of Seneca and Brooklyn nearing her back door.

  She walked to the door and leaned casually against the doorjamb, trying to exude as much normalcy as possible. If only normal was something I remembered how to be.

  “Morning, ladies. How y’all doing?” Aja stood there forcing a wide smile on her face, attempting not to look strange—or worse, suspicious—in front of the two women climbing the few short stairs up her back porch.

  Seneca and Brooklyn looked at her, then each other, a puzzling expression passing between them. “Morning?” Brooklyn asked as she stepped through the threshold. “You’re about six hours late on that one. The newbies met us in the stables this morning to tell us you’d be skipping our morning meeting and breakfast. Everything okay? This is the second day in a row you’ve been MIA.”

  Aja chose that moment to walk back inside the house and sit in front of her coffee again. “With all that’s been going on, I needed a day off to veg and bake. You know how I get. Everything is fine. The security and construction crews are starting today. I needed to get a few things organized th
is morning before they arrived. We can have our daily meeting after lunch.”

  Aja tried to smile and felt her lips tremor slightly as she pulled them into the false grin. Too afraid she’d give herself away, she dropped her gaze to the cooling oatmeal and picked up a spoonful. She busied herself with the act of eating the rest of it and hoped that would be enough to satisfy the two women standing in front of her.

  “All right. We’ll get back to it then.” Brooklyn’s apparent acceptance loosened the uncomfortable tightness in Aja’s limbs. Lying to her workers—no, her friends—was something she’d never wanted. But right now, it couldn’t be helped. “We came to check in, but I also needed the final blueprints for the construction foreman. You have them?”

  Aja pulled her eyes from her bowl and turned her head to the right. “Yeah, they’re on top of the desk in the corner over there.”

  Brooklyn didn’t move. Instead, both her and Seneca’s mouths hung open in shock. “What’s wrong?”

  “The fuck, Aja. What happened to your neck?”

  “Shit.” The curse slipped from Aja’s lips as she realized her carefully tied bandanna had slipped when she turned her head, exposing her very bruised neck to Seneca and Brooklyn. “I promise, it’s better than it looks.”

  She fumbled with the piece of cloth, trying to ignore their reactions.

  “Aja,” Brooklyn continued. She could hear the reprimand in the stern way Brooklyn spoke her name. “Your neck looks like someone tried to choke the life out of you. Now unless you’ve got an asphyxiation fetish you didn’t tell us about, you get bruises like that one way. What the hell happened? And before you come at us with that bullshit security drill nonsense the newbies threw at us two days ago, know we’re not leaving until we get the truth.”

  Aja looked from one to the other, hoping she could find less scrutiny in Seneca’s eyes than Brooklyn’s. No such luck. Seneca’s critical glare collided with Aja’s, and she knew she’d have to come clean.