“Where is she? Tell me, right now. What did you do to my Alison?”
“Who?” Lucy asked trying to scramble away from the man’s accusing glare.
As the shroud of sleep lifted, Lucy realized she was in Jaxon’s bedroom. But she still couldn’t place the intruder. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Did he just wander in off the street? And where the hell was Jaxon?
The guy continued his charade. “Ali? Alison? Where are you, honey?”
“Dad!”
Lucy turned at the sound of Jaxon’s voice. He’d suddenly burst into the room with two gigantic yellow labs at his heels.
“Dad, come with me.”
Dad? Lucy’s heart fell to her feet. This was Jaxon’s father?
Jaxon reached for the man, but he shirked him off. “No. She’s hiding her. I know it,” Jaxon’s father bellowed, pointing a finger at Lucy. “Where’s my Alison?”
“Alison is dead, Dad.”
The man’s dark eyes swiveled to Jaxon and understanding flashed there, instantly replaced with despair. Then he crumbled into Jaxon’s chest and began to sob, murmuring incoherently, while Jaxon comforted him.
“I know, Dad,” Jaxon said quietly. “I miss her, too. Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”
Lucy watched in horror as Jaxon assumed the role that should be his father’s. When they’d left the room she pulled her knees to her chest, wanting to cry. Jaxon had mentioned that his father hadn’t dealt with the accident very well, but she’d never imagined anything like this.
She felt completely horrible. How did Jaxon manage all of this? All this time he had been worrying about her, helping with her recovery and taking care of his father. But who was taking care of Jaxon? A sick feeling settled in her stomach. Lucy had no idea what to do for Jaxon, but she knew there was no way in hell she was going to let him continue dealing with this on his own.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Jaxon said, finally returning to his bedroom. “I thought Conner was home. It’s his day. We have a strict schedule about who takes care of my father. That doesn’t normally happen,” he said, rubbing that back of his neck sheepishly.
Was Jaxon seriously apologizing? He had nothing to be sorry for. This wasn’t his fault and he shouldn’t have to take care of his father at all. It was supposed to be the other way around—parents were supposed to take care of their children.
Emotions swept through Lucy like a tidal wave. Was this why she felt such an indescribable connection to Jaxon? They’d both been let down by the people who were supposed to always be there to take care of them.
“Jaxon,” Lucy started, her voice tight with sympathy. “Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?”
He shrugged off his sweatshirt and climbed back into bed, waving away her concern. “It’s not. He just gets confused sometimes.” He pushed an unruly wave of hair out of her face and kissed her lightly, already moving on like this wasn’t a big deal.
“Jaxon.” Lucy made herself pull away from his kiss even though she didn’t want to. She knew he was trying to distract her.
“Hmm?” he asked stroking her cheek tenderly.
“It’s not right.”
He grinned. “This feels pretty right,” he said, pulling her closer.
“No, not us. Your father. You can’t take care of everyone in your life. That’s not your job.”
Jaxon
Jaxon sighed, pulling away to scrub his hand over his face. It figured his father would choose today to pull a stunt like this. He was normally comatosed after having spent his day chasing whatever he thought lay at the bottom of a bottle. But still, Jaxon wasn’t one to gamble. He purposely hadn’t ever invited Lucy over to his place to avoid this very situation. He didn’t need his messed up family scaring her away.
If he’d been thinking, he wouldn’t have let her stay last night. He would’ve insisted they go to her place. But Jaxon was beyond thinking last night. Lucy had chosen him, and for a few blissful moments everything else faded away.
He looked at her sitting in his bed. She was still topless, his gray sheets tucked under her crossed arms, her pink lips pressed together in a firm line. Goddamn she was sexy when she was being stubborn. “Lucy, we don’t need to get into this right now.”
“Jaxon, yes we do. You can’t avoid problems or they just get worse, trust me.”
He knew she was referring to Alex. And he knew she was right. Plus, it didn’t seem like she was going to drop the issue so he finally gave in, flopping back against the mattress. “Come here,” he murmured tugging her closer. If he was going to get into this then he wanted Lucy by his side. Everything just felt better with her next to him.
She settled against his side, looping her good leg over his and slipping her slender arm across his bare chest. His arms encircled her and Jaxon closed his eyes reveling in the feeling of warmth and calm that settled over him when he held her like this. She was only wearing a pair of lace panties beneath the blankets and he was having a hard time focusing on what he needed to say. He took a deep breath. “What do you want to know?” he asked.
Lucy kept her head pressed against his hammering heart. “Everything,” she whispered. When Jaxon didn’t say anything, she looked up at him, her eyes full of compassion. “There’s nothing you can tell me that will change the way I feel about you.” Her voice was soft and steady. “I promise,” she said holding up her pinky finger to him.
Jaxon huffed a laugh, his lips quirking into a grin. Shit! Why was everything she did so damn adorable? He linked his pinky with hers and kissed her. And then he let it all out—as much as he could get through, anyway.
Talking about his parents was never easy, but with Lucy, it wasn’t as bad as he feared. She listened without interrupting as he told her about all the drama that transpired before the accident and the fall out that continued after.
His parents weren’t perfect. They were human, and people made mistakes. His father just happened to make more than most. He’d always had a drinking problem and it put a strain on his marriage. Jaxon’s mother was constantly after him to get it under control, threatening to leave if he didn’t shape up.
Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it seemed like his father actually made an effort to quit. But a few months before the accident his father was working a rough case—a double homicide. His drinking always got worse when things at work were stressful. When the drinking escalated, so did the fighting in Jaxon’s home, and this time his mother wasn’t bluffing. She packed up her things, went to stay with some friends and asked for a divorce.
Jaxon didn’t blame her. He knew that she tried to shelter him from a lot of their fighting. She must’ve felt so much unhappiness being married to his father while he chose alcohol over their family time and time again. But it never stopped her from being a good mother. She put up with a lot to take care of Jaxon and Conner when they were young. Jaxon loved her for that, but he also felt guilty. Like maybe she would have left their father earlier if she didn’t feel she needed to stick it out for her children.
“I guess twenty years or so putting up with my father’s addiction was all she could take.”
“So they got divorced?” Lucy asked.
“They never got a chance. My father was determined to win her back. He really seemed to be getting his shit together, too. He quit drinking, took on less cases at work, saying he wanted to prove he was committed to his family. Then the accident happened.”
Lucy stilled in Jaxon’s arms, waiting for him to continue. He wanted to go on. But every time he tried to get the words out it felt like an icy hand had reached into his chest and wrapped around his heart. Sensing his struggle, Lucy stroked her hand soothingly down his chest, helping ease some of his tension. Reliving the accident was still torturous, but Lucy being so close made it easier.
“We were broadsided on the way home from one of my basketball games. My father drove separate and by the time he got to the scene, my mother was already gone. I think . . . I think not being able t
o make things right with her . . . it broke him. He just stopped caring. He didn’t go to work, he didn’t pay the bills. All he did was drink and that’s how we ended up here. Conner called Uncle Steven and we moved here to try to pick up the pieces.
“Dad still has bad days, but they’re less now. Uncle Steven got him to see a doctor. He’s taking something for the depression. We’ve got a good routine going. One of us is always around to check on him. He still hasn’t kicked the drinking, but Steven says he’s gotta want to do that one on his own.” Jaxon shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe he’ll hit rock bottom one of these days and finally see he’s wasting his life. It just sucks, ya know?”
Lucy nodded.
“That accident changed my life. I wish everyday that it didn’t take my mother from me, but I can’t change that. All I can do is learn from it. Which is that life is short and we have to go after what we want and not take anything for granted.”
Lucy reached up and stroked Jaxon’s cheek. Her own were tearstained. “I love you,” she whispered.
He pulled her close. “I love you, too. So much.”
35
Lucy
Lucy spent the rest of the morning in bed with Jaxon. She couldn’t seem to find the will to tear herself away from him after he’d shared his heartbreaking story with her. She just wanted to make it better and kiss him until every last trace of hurt was gone. So she did.
Jaxon was the most incredibly strong, giving and selfless person Lucy had ever met. She had no idea how he’d endured so much at only seventeen years old and still managed to find a way to have a positive outlook on life. It made her feel like a completely self-absorbed ingrate for complaining about her life.
She made a decision right then and there to stop pitying herself. Her parents weren’t in her life. And yes, it sucked. But things could be so much worse. Her father may or may not have been set up by Alex’s family, but at no point in time had Lucy ever truly been left to fend for herself. She hadn’t been expected to care for the people who were supposed to care for her. She’d lived in the lap of luxury, wanting for nothing. Her only complaint was that her boyfriend had gotten too famous and didn’t have time for her anymore. When Lucy compared her problems to Jaxon’s they were non-existent.
She propped herself up on her elbow and gazed down at him, his eyes were closed, his breathing steady. Lucy liked seeing him like that—peaceful. And it didn’t hurt that it gave her a chance to stare at him unabashed. He was so incredibly gorgeous—inside and out. His thick brown hair was messy and she couldn’t stop herself from running her fingers through it.
Jaxon’s dark eyelashes trembled, finally giving way to the slivers of deep sapphire they hid. Pure joy coursed through Lucy when he opened his eyes and grinned up at her with delicious affection.
Jaxon
Being woken up by Lucy was possibly Jaxon’s new favorite thing. The way she smiled down at him, a curtain of auburn waves falling around her bare shoulders—it sent shockwaves pulsing through his body, leaving parts of him aching with desire.
He pulled her on top of him and kissed her slow and deep. Good God, he wanted her. He knew he should wait. He knew this wasn’t the perfect, special moment their first time deserved, but the way she kissed him back made him not care. And those noises . . . the soft little moans she made when his hands roamed her body drove him wild. He could listen to her make that sound for the rest of his life. But another sound interrupted them.
It was the hungry growl of her stomach. Lucy stilled, looking mortified. Then her stomach growled again and Jaxon couldn’t contain his laughter. “Damn, Smalls. When was the last time you ate?”
“Lunch . . . yesterday?”
Jaxon sat up pulling Lucy with him. “Well that won’t do.” He kissed her wild hair. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” she called when he pulled his clothes back on.
“To get you something to eat.”
“Wait, I’ll come with you.”
“Nope, I’m never letting you leave this bed again,” he said tackling her back onto the mattress playfully and peppering her with kisses until she was squealing with laughter. “You’re mine now,” he teased.
She grinned. “No arguments here.”
“Good. Now stay put while I bring my girl breakfast in bed, okay?”
“Okay.”
Lucy
Lucy sighed as she fell back against the fluffy pillows on Jaxon’s bed. She could get used to this. She stretched, trying to relieve some of the pent-up desire still tingling through her veins. That boy . . . he was like a drug, and she worried she’d always want more. It was a strange feeling. It had never been like that with Alex. They just sort of ended up together. There had never been this kind of connection and passion. She realized in that moment that she only thought she’d loved Alex. But Lucy was now positive she’d never been in love before—not like this.
Her heart had never stopped just because someone walked out of the room, or picked back up when they reentered. Her pulse had never thumped in her ears like a kick drum just from a look, a smile. And her body had certainly never swelled with heat so intense that she was sure she’d burst into flames just from a touch, a kiss.
Lucy wrapped her arms around herself trying to hold onto the feeling growing in her chest. This was love—and it was terrifyingly wonderful.
The bedroom door creaked open and Lucy sat up, excited to see what Jaxon had whipped up. But it wasn’t Jaxon’s grin that greeted her, but an eerily similar one.
Conner waltzed into Jaxon’s bedroom and Lucy shrieked pulling the covers up to her neck. Great, now Jaxon’s whole family had seen her almost naked.
“Hey, Smalls.” Conner beamed. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yep, I’m here,” she said trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks.
“Cool. Actually, I’ve got some news about the case for you.”
“Oh good, so you’re here on official police business then?”
If Conner caught her sarcasm he didn’t let on. Instead he sat down on the foot of the bed. “Where’s baby bro?”
“Downstairs. And, um . . . I’m sorta naked under here,” she said holding the sheet tighter around her. “So maybe give me a minute?”
Conner waved her off like it was no big deal.
Lucy scowled. “Does the LAPD normally conduct official police business in bedrooms?”
“Smalls, this is LA. All kinds of weird shit passes for official police business. This doesn’t even come close to making the list of the scandalous things I’ve seen.”
Just then Jaxon walked back into his bedroom. He smacked Conner on the head as he walked by carrying a plate of waffles.
Jaxon
Jaxon shot his brother a dirty look as he put the waffles down and settled on the bed behind Lucy. “Bro, there better be a good reason you’re harassing my half-naked girlfriend.”
It was the first time he’d officially called Lucy that. And goddamn it felt good. The way she leaned against him and smiled made him think she liked hearing it just as much as he liked saying it.
“I was just getting to that,” Conner said. “I’ve got news about the case.”
“Good news?” Jaxon asked linking his fingers through Lucy’s.
“Good and bad,” Conner said. “Which do you want first?”
“Good,” Jaxon and Lucy said in unison.
Jaxon smiled at her. They’d both had enough bad news to last a lifetime.
“I got a tip from a local body shop on a car matching your hit-and-run’s description.”
“That’s great! Right?” Lucy asked.
“Possibly,” Conner replied.
Jaxon frowned. “What’s the bad news?”
“We still haven’t gotten any hits in the databases matching the sketch composite. And I ran it through multiple times.”
Lucy chewed her bottom lip. “What does that mean?”
“It means that your guy doesn’t have any p
riors. Or at least none that stuck. If he had a record he would’ve lit up the database like a Christmas tree.”
“But we have the car,” Lucy added. “That’s good, right?”
“We don’t have it yet. It’s just a potential match. But we can’t subpoena the driver without concrete evidence. That means the damage has to match what was consistent to your vehicle’s damage.”
“Which is nearly impossible,” Jaxon grumbled. “Especially since that asshole slammed Lucy’s Jeep down the side of a mountain where it caught fire.”
Jaxon felt Lucy flinch in his arm and immediately regretted his word choice. He didn’t want to upset her by dredging up the accident. She’d been doing so well since she’d finally started talking to a therapist. Jaxon rubbed a hand up and down her arm and she relaxed a little bit.
“It’s not the ideal situation,” Conner admitted. “But, it’s not the end of the road either. Give me some time to explore the lead at the body shop. If there’s something there I’ll make sure my guys find it.”
“Thanks, Con,” Jaxon said giving his brother a nod of faith. There was no one Jaxon trusted more to follow this through. Conner knew how important this case was, and how much Jaxon and their whole family could use a win.
“Always, little bro.” Conner stood and looked at Lucy. “Keep your chin up, Smalls. Oh and say hi to that sexy roommate of yours for me.”
Lucy balked. And honestly so did Jaxon. Why the hell was Conner talking about Brooke?
Conner caught their reaction and laughed, rubbing his five o’clock shadow proudly. “She didn’t tell you about us, huh?”
“Why would she?” Lucy asked.
Conner smirked. He was loving this. “Oh, no reason. I just took her out a few times.”
Lucy’s jaw dropped. “You’re dating Brooke!”
“Whoa, Smalls, why ya gotta go puttin’ a label on it? We’ve just been having fun.”
The Accidental Boyfriend: A YA Contemporary Romance Novel (The Boyfriend Series Book 7) Page 24
