Turning I stormed out of the living room and down the hall to my room. When I went to slam the door, it was forced back open before being slammed shut by Jack. Never before had I wished for a bigger room than I do right now. With Jack in here I just couldn’t breathe.
“What do you want, Jack!” My voice was shaking.
“What do I want? What do I want?” He looked at me, walking slowly up to me cupping my face in his hands. “I want you.” He whispered, lowering his head down.
Just as his lips were about to reach mine, I whispered, “Please don’t stop.”
“I don’t plan on it,” he breathed before taking my mouth with his.
The kiss was gentle this time. His lips moved against mine before I felt his tongue run the seam of my lips. With a sigh, I opened my mouth granting his tongue entrance. With a little hesitation, I met my tongue with his. His tongue pushed against mine with such tenderness that it sent a buzzing feeling straight down my spine. Jackson’s hands moved from my face and traveled down my back, wrapping around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
My hands fisted in his shirt holding on tight. The kiss deepened further. A moan filled my ears, but I don’t know if it was from me or from Jackson. He moved his hand up to my neck, running his thumbs back and forth. Then slid them down my shoulders, pushing my jacket off, I let it fall to the floor. Slowly he lowered me down to my bed, crawling on top of me, never breaking the kiss.
Jackson moans loudly as his hands travel down my sides. He breaks the kiss, trailing kisses down my neck. One hand starts to run up my leg pushing my skirt up.
“Jackson…” I breathe.
“Hmmm,” he moans.
“Jackson, this is too fast.”
Resting his head against my shoulder, he starts laughing. Pushing his shoulder, he falls to the side laughing harder.
Sitting up on my elbow, looking down at him. “I don’t see what is so funny here, but if you feel the need to keep laughing at me then you can go home!” I hissed climbing out of bed, leaving the room to find my purse.
When I reached the living room, he wrapped is arms around my waist, pulling me back into his chest. Jackson lowers his head and nuzzles my neck, placing a few kisses across my shoulder.
“I wasn’t laughing at you. My laughter was because of me. It’s been a while since I’ve even kissed a woman, so I got a bit carried away and almost embarrassed myself.”
“It’s been a while for me too. I’m sorry, but I’m just not the type of person to rush into things like that.”
“Hey,” he says softly as he turns me around. “Don’t ever apologize for that. We’ll take this slow. I’m just as nervous about it all, but I can’t push you away anymore.”
Just as he began to kiss me again, my phone started to ring. Even without looking at it, the chill that ran down my spine was enough to tell me who was on the phone. Jackson noticed my tension.
“Who is it?” He asks.
“I don’t know…”
Jack let go of me and walked over to my phone looking down at it. His confusion coming across his face. “It’s coming up ‘Mom’.”
I nod my head. “Whoever it is calls and says they are my mom then blames me for killing them.” Tears well up in my eyes.
“No, don’t cry. Everything will be okay. Let’s ignore these calls and get you in bed. Then I’ll see you tomorrow to get you moved into my house.”
Looking down I bit my lip, “Jackson?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you mind staying here tonight? I know I took sex off the table, but…”
He put his finger over my lips. “I have no problem with it. Do you want me on the couch?”
I shook my head. Biting my lip, I looked up at him through my lashes. “No.”
He groans. “I’ll share a bed with you if you stop giving me that look. I’m struggling with control as it is.”
I laugh softly. “Deal.”
We head to my room. Changing in the bathroom, I walked back into my room to find a half naked Jackson already laying in my bed. The sight was a breathtaking and heart racing vision. He pats the bed next to him with a smile on his face. Walking over, I crawl into bed. Jackson wraps his arms around me. We both sigh contently. Slowly, I drifted off into the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had.
Tomorrow was going to be different. Tomorrow would be the first day of a different life for me. A life that I’ve finally found. A life I never thought I’d have. Tomorrow, I can freely kiss Jackson whenever I want and not worry about ruining our friendship. For the first time in a long time, I look forward to tomorrow. Snuggling in closer, I sigh again.
“You need to stop that. Especially when you’re barely clothed as it is. Trying to picture you less sexy is impossible.”
I laughed and he joined in. “Goodnight Jackson.” I whispered.
“Goodnight, Beautiful.” He pressed a kiss to my head pulling me closer.
Chapter Fifteen
Jackson
Having Shannon in my arms was far more than I thought it would feel like. She had me wrapped around her damn finger and she didn’t even know it. Part of me didn’t want to sleep. I was afraid of waking up tomorrow and it all being a dream. That I didn’t have the woman I’ve loved more than anything in this world, in my arms. My heart couldn’t handle that disappointment. Sadly, the little sleep I got last night won out and I fell asleep.
Movement in my arms, woke me from the best sleep I’ve ever had. Opening my eyes, I’m met with the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever came across. She smiles shyly at me, biting her plump delicious lip. Unable to hold off any longer, I lean over and seal my lips over hers. When I tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled back.
“Good morning, beautiful.” I smiled, running my knuckles down her cheek.
“Good morning. Um,” she said, not meeting my eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, raising up on my elbow.
“I’m just wondering… I mean is this…,” she sighs. “What is this?”
I laughed. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but you look so cute when you’re nervous.” I press a soft kiss to her lips. “This is a start. We’ll move slowly. Both of us need to adjust to this new idea of being a couple, but that is what I see us as.”
“You do?”
“Yes, so tell Scott to back off.”
“He already is. We decided that last night.”
“But I saw you kiss him,” I say nervously.
She laughs softly. “That explains the caveman kiss. He kissed me. He wanted to see if he could get me over you.”
“Oh.”
“Okay, I need to get up and get breakfast started for the boys. You can go back to sleep if you want.”
Climbing out of bed with her, “How about I help you?”
We both got dressed and walked into the kitchen. Together we made pancakes and some fruit bowls with Greek yogurt. Shannon asks me to go get the boys. Opening their bedroom door, I froze, then laughter escaped.
“What?” The boys asked in unison.
“Nothing,” I laugh harder. “Come on, it’s time for breakfast.”
I’m still laughing as we walk into the kitchen. Shannon looks up and smiles. “What’s so funny?”
“The boys were still in their bedroom,” I said laughing.
She archs her eyebrow in confusion, “Okay?”
“We were helping.”
I start laughing harder. “They have started packing.”
“I’m struggling to find the humor in this.”
Laughing still, I tell her to go look. She leaves and comes back in. I watched her mouth twitched, struggling to hold back laughter. Shannon walks to the counter, leaning on her hands. Standing next to her, I have tears in my eyes from trying to hold it in. When she looked up at me with the same face, I lost it. Sinking to the floor laughing harder than I’ve ever laughed before. Shannon places her hand on my shoulder, still trying to hold it in. Pulling her down in my lap, she loses it.
; By the time we pull ourselves together, the boys are looking at us like we are crazy. Shannon rested her head on my shoulder, her body still shaking with silent laughter. I look up at the boys.
“I’m glad you guys are excited about staying at my house for a little bit, but um…”
“Guys, you can’t tape up your clothes,” Shannon finishes.
The boys look back and forth between each other. “We can’t play in the bags, glue is too messy, it was all we had left.” Sebastian says seriously.
Shannon holds out her arms and they climb in our laps. “You should have waited. Now we have to untape your balls of clothes in there so we can pack them properly.” She pauses a moment. “Are you guys okay with staying at Jack’s for a little bit?”
“Yeah!” They squeal.
Unsure if I should say something or not, “I’m excited to have you guys there.”
“Guys, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.” Shannon says.
“What?” Atreyu says.
“Well, Jack and I… We decided…” She tried.
“I asked your sister out and she finally said yes, but we will only date if you guys are okay with it.”
“Yeah!” They scream.
“Okay, get your plates and go to the living room.”
They grab their plates and start leaving the room.
Atreyu asks Sebastian, “What’s dating mean?”
“I don’t know, but Jack’s going to be around more.”
“All right!”
I look at Shannon and we both start laughing. Those boys were something else and I loved them more than anything. I’d jump through fire for them.
The day went by in a flash it seemed. It was about four o’clock before Shannon was actually stepping foot inside my apartment. As we stand in the elevators, my stomach started doing flips. I worried she wouldn’t like it here. The only thing that was brought here were clothes.
“Are you sure this is all we need here? I’d hate for the boys to mess up something of yours.”
Cupping her face in my hands, “It’s fine. I purchased some toys for them. There’s a game room that we’ll be playing Minecraft in,” I wink at her.
“Jack…”
I put my finger over her lips. “Stop. I wouldn’t have offered if I was worried.”
“They can be so much…”
“Hey,” I lifted her head in my hands. “I love those boys. Don’t worry about it.”
She takes a deep breath, “Okay. I’ll try not to. When will the boys be here?”
“Eli asked that if it was okay with you, he’d like to keep them for the night.”
“Oh, um… I’ve never been without them.”
“Eli loves them just as much as I do. I promise they are in good hands. You wanted them to have others outside of you. Give them this chance.”
“Okay, I guess.” She said nervously.
I texted Eli the go ahead then showed Shannon around my place. Now it was my turn to be unsure, when she asked whose room was whose.
“Do the boys need separate rooms?”
“No they both do better together, but their play area needs to be separate from their rooms or they will not sleep.”
I swallowed hard. “Do you need your own room?”
She stopped and stared at me. “Jackson…”
“I know it’s fast and we just crossed that line into dating, but last night was…”
“The best night’s sleep I’ve had in a year. For the first time, I didn’t have nightmares.”
“Are you saying you’ll share a room with me?”
“Are you asking me?” she smiled shyly.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
We both laugh. When I finished the tour, we walked into the living room to sit on the couch. Wrapping her in my arms, we just sat there quietly. Honestly, I was scared. I’m working hard to push my anxiety away and just enjoy the woman in my arms. One day she will ask. One day she’ll want to know, but I’m not sure right now if I’ll be able to tell her. To tell her my shame, my guilt, I just wasn’t sure I’m ready to disappoint her.
“Hey Jack?”
“Hmm,” I hummed nervously.
“What do you do when you’re home?”
“Daydream about you,” I said without thinking. “Uh, I mean…”
She starts laughing against me. Then she lifts her head, looking in my eyes. “Did you really or was that just something you said?”
“Embarrassingly enough, it’s true.” I groaned.
“I don’t get it. If you… Why have you been pushing me away?”
Wow! That was a lot sooner than I thought it would be. “Will you settle with me telling you that I’m fighting with a past and I’ll share that with you soon?”
“Fair enough. So other than dreaming about me… Since you have me here, what do you want to do?”
“Mmmm, I could think of something,” I wiggled my eyebrows as I leaned over her until she laid on her back.
Laughing, she rests her hands on my shoulder. “Too soon for that.”
“Hmmm, then how about a little torture play then?”
Leaning down, I kiss her deeply. “Yes, I could go for some of that.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down to her. I moaned loudly as she massaged my tongue with hers. Pushing myself up on my arms, I moved my hand under her shirt. She moaned softly and I couldn’t help but grind myself into her.
“Damn Jax. Did you forget I was still staying here?”
Groaning, I sit up and pull Shannon up with me. “Yeah I did.” I grumbled.
“Oh Shannon, hi. Damn Scott and my brother! Do I get a piece?” He half slurs.
“Jake, I think you need to go sleep it off before you get hurt,” I growl.
“No, how about I work it off,” Jake thrusts his hips forward, laughing.
“Jake! This is the reason why you need to seek help brother. I’m not going to sit here and let you talk about my girlfriend like that.”
Jake starts to stumble backwards. I move quickly to him. “I’m not feeling well Jack,” he says slowly, his eyes wide.
“What’d you take Jake?” I asked worried.
“Jack, please…”
I turn to tell Shannon to get my bag, but she was already gone. However a few moments later she comes back into the room with a vile of something and hands it to me. Looking at her confused.
“Don’t ask right now, just trust me.”
“Go get my bag from my room. It’s by the bed.”
She left and rushed back. As I was preparing things, she started talking to Jake. “Jake, look at me. I just gave Jack something to help cure you. You’ll feel better in a minute, okay?”
“Okay…”
Confused as to what was going on, I injected Jake with this stuff. She ran her hand through his hair, shushing him. She kept telling him that it will work real soon. Soon enough Jake started calming down. With Shannon’s help, we got Jake to his room and in bed. Once we got out in the hall, I pulled her into my arms.
“Care to explain what I just blindly injected my brother with?”
She laughs. “Nothing. It wasn’t anything. My uncle had a drug addiction and my mom was the only one that still let him come around. He was always needing a fix or would come over so tore up by something that mom just started carrying around that stuff and telling him it was whatever he needed at the time. It worked. She said his mind told him that it was whatever he needed and he relaxed. So I figured it might work here.”
“Thank you. You do know that he’s not like that…”
“You don’t have to apologize for him. He won’t even remember saying it tomorrow.”
“What do you say we just go to bed. We’ve both had big days. You have an appointment tomorrow. I told Eli to keep the boys until after the appointment so you and I could really talk about Sebastian. Okay?”
“Okay, but can we not bring doctor stuff home. Please?”
“Agreed.
Just wasn’t sure you remembered bout the appointment is all.”
“Let’s go to bed.”
After some more fooling around, we went to bed. If too much more of this fooling around stuff continued, I may disappoint her. But I can say, I do love going to bed with her. Unfortunately, time seemed to fly by and before I knew it, we were headed into the office. After much convincing, I told her to drive my car today.
“Shannon it makes sense. You have to be here for an appointment. Then you’re meeting with Nick about the house. Just please do this for me.”
“Ugh! Fine, but I don’t like it.”
We arrive at the office and I tell her to just park in front. Just as she got out of the car her phone started ringing. Kissing her on the cheek, I walked inside to give her some privacy. My office was small for the amount of business I do. The waiting and reception area was the smallest area in the building. However, I wanted it like that so I could prevent long waiting times and not over schedule. But as I grew, I had to hire help (Rachael) and now I am contemplating on expanding the space.
“Good Morning, Jack,” Rachael purred.
“What have we talked about?”
“Ugh, why must we use such formalities all the time?”
Just as she started to walk around the counter, the doors to the office jingled. Turning I saw Shannon’s smiling face walking in. How the hell did I get so lucky?
“Hey,” she smiles.
“Hey,” I say leading her into my office. “Since the boys aren’t here today, we can meet in my office.”
Once I get the door closed I walk to my filing cabinet and pull out Sebastian’s folder. “Please have a seat on the couch,” I said as I sorted everything out, then made my way over to her.
“You have a cozy office. Doesn’t surprise me though, your house is just the same.”
“Thank you. Now, about Sebastian…”
“Please don’t tell me anything about another trial program…”
“Shannon, I love that boy just as much as you do. Surgery is a huge risk. There are factors that would be out of my control. Risks that may not need to be taken that would be there with surgery. Why are you so set on surgery?” I asked softly.
Tough Love (Hidden Secrets) Page 11
