Jameson's Salvation

by Riley Edwards

  “I know you keep saying that. But I’m lonely and you’ve been promising for years you were done going back to her.”

  “It won’t be too much longer, pussy cat,” he sweet-talked, and Holden made a choking sound.

  “I just miss you when you’re gone.”

  “Give daddy some sugar before I go. I’ll be back in the morning and I’ll take care of your…”

  “LaLaLaLa,” McKenna chanted and covered her ears.

  There were some slurping sounds before the line went back to static.

  “Ohmygod,” McKenna breathed. “I couldn’t take another second of that. I think he was going to try dirty-talking her.”

  I grimaced at the thought. Good thing McKenna had started with her LaLaLas because I liked when Jameson talked dirty to me, and if I heard Reggie’s version of it I’d be turned-off for life.

  “Why do women fall for that shit? He’s a lying cheating asshole.”

  “Women who have self-worth don’t,” McKenna started. “They see through the lies men tell and they’d never take another woman’s man to bed. But women who are starved for attention will buy into the lie and live the fantasy because the alternative is loneliness. And for some, it’s the thrill. They want control, and making a man fall in love with them and divorce his wife or leave his girlfriend gives them the power they crave.”

  “That was a rhetorical question, McKenna,” Holden deadpanned.

  “Well, now you know.” McKenna shrugged.

  Holden threw his head back and roared with laughter. Nixon and Chasin walked in and looked around the room before they both broke out in wide smiles.

  “Hey, babe,” Nix greeted McKenna and made his way to her side and kissed the top of her head.

  “You guys just missed the show,” she told him.

  “Before you tell them, I want it on record I had Chasin’s back,” I announced.

  Chasin looked over at me and smiled. “Good to know.”

  “But she did throw Weston under the bus,” Holden added.

  “He’s used to it. It’s fun to watch him heave.” Nix chuckled.

  Holden filled in Nix and Chasin about Reggie and Deloris and Chasin put his hands up.

  “No fuckin’ way am I listening to that shit. I’m still recovering. Weston can review it. It’s not like he has to smell anything, which is his issue. It’s damn well his turn.”

  My phone rang and I fished it out of my back pocket. Seeing it was Jameson, I answered.

  “Hey, Jameson.”

  “Hey, babe. Did Holden tell you?”

  “Yes. Good news.”

  “It is. One step closer. I’m going to be a while at the station. You have a couple of options. Stay at the office until I’m done, Chasin will take you back to my place, or you can go with Nix and McKenna to their place. But I may be done in time to pick you up myself. Weston decided since we were closer to Deloris’s that he’d go follow Reggie. But he’ll be at your mom’s tonight.”

  I noticed he didn’t give me the option to go back to my house and I wasn’t sure if I was grateful he hadn’t pushed, or upset with myself for freaking out and tying his hands.

  “I think I’ll stay here for a while and keep McKenna company as she listens. It’s mostly boring when he’s not trying to get some…you know.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Jameson chuckled. “I heard it was bad.”

  “So bad. And then at the end he totally sweet-talked her. The whole thing was like a bad porn movie.”

  There was silence before he asked, “You watch a lot of porn?”

  “Enough to know the difference between the bad stuff and the…” I stopped and my skin heated when laughter broke out in the room.

  Damn. damn, damn. How could I have forgotten I was in a room full of people?

  “Right. We’ll talk about that later when we’re in private.”

  I felt the heat rise into my cheeks. “No, we won’t.”

  “Yeah, babe. We totally will. Now I have to know what you think qualifies as good porn. Though I think I already have a clear understanding of what turns you on.”

  “I’m hanging up now, Jameson.”

  “Kennedy?”

  “Yeah?”

  I was met with a beat of silence before he exhaled and said, “Never mind. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  Home.

  “Okay. Be safe.”

  “I will. You, too.”

  Jameson disconnected and I looked around the room. “Not a word.”

  “Touchy, touchy.” Holden laughed. “It’s not like we were going to ask you to swap porn collections or anything.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Chasin said. “Mine’s pretty sparse. I was hoping she’d have some good recommendations.”

  “Don’t look at me.” Nixon shrugged. “I have no need to watch that shit.”

  “Good answer,” McKenna mumbled, and once again the room was filled with raucous laughter.

  McKenna caught my eye and shook her head with what was meant to show her annoyance. But instead all it showed was her adoration for a group of rowdy men who held nothing back. Not their loyalty, not their care and concern for their team, and not their inappropriate comments.

  Nothing was off-limits. If they liked you, they teased you. If they didn’t, you’d never get close enough to them to see them for who they really were.

  A team of men who stopped at nothing to protect the ones they loved.

  23

  Jameson

  Last night, Jameson actually got a few hours of sleep. With Peyton Marshall behind bars some of the tightness in his chest had loosened. But until Reggie Coleman joined his son, Jameson couldn’t fully relax.

  He’d also fallen asleep thinking about what Weston had said to him. He was still grappling with the knowledge that he was going to have to push Kennedy today, but knowing his team had his back had made his decision easier.

  Part of what had taken Jameson’s time yesterday after Peyton’s arrest was the phone call to the Eastern Shore Beekeepers Association. Originally Jameson had called to get information on the materials he’d need to build her a proper hive. But when he’d called and explained the situation, he found that Kennedy belonged to the group and had attended their bi-monthly meetings since she’d started keeping bees. The president of the club, Harold Ward, was personally meeting him and Kennedy at her house later that day.

  Harold had given him a list of materials Jameson needed to purchase at the lumberyard and Harold was bringing the bees. The man had explained that it was best to start a hive in the spring, but being as Kennedy’s land was appropriately prepped for bees with its field of bee-loving wildflowers, it should work out with a little added glucose to help them winter over.

  Yesterday when Jameson arrived at Kennedy’s to clear the old burnt hives and drop off the lumber, he was happy he’d been alone. He hadn’t expected such a violent reaction to the area. But when he saw the blood trail, his step faltered and it had taken him several minutes of reminding himself that Kennedy was alive and safe before he could continue.

  His gut still rejected the idea that Peyton had simply been arrested and Jameson didn’t get the chance to knock his head off and teach him a lesson. But Jameson could not bring himself to beat the man even after what he’d done to Kennedy. It would make him no better than the scumbags he despised. He prided himself on being a better man.

  Kennedy stirred in his arms and he laid still, enjoying the feel of her pressed against him. Her thigh hitched higher and brushed his morning hard-on and he tried to adjust her leg away from his throbbing erection.

  It had been the best kind of torture waking up with her half-naked form against him each morning. And showering with her, washing her from head to toe, not being able to take it further had been the true test of his self-control. But he wasn’t going there with her until her doctor had given her a hundred percent clean bill of health. And after that he still might wait a while longer. It wasn’t that he couldn’t be gentle while he ma
de love to her, but he knew she liked to test his limits and beg him to go harder, and he wasn’t sure if he could deny her. It was better not to let the bird out of the cage, so to speak.

  “Babe,” he warned when she moved her leg over his dick again and started to rub back and forth.

  “Jameson,” she whined. “It’s been long enough.”

  “You’re not ready.”

  “I’m really tired of hearing that,” she retorted.

  Jameson couldn’t stop the smile that formed at hearing her annoyance. He was happy to know she was as needy as he was, but he wouldn’t dare let her catch him gloating about it.

  “Soon, Kennedy. And I promise to make up for lost time.”

  “Yeah, sure,” she grumbled and he gently reversed their positions so he was on top of her looking down at her sleepy eyes.

  “I swear it’s absolute torture for me not to be able to touch you the way I want to. The way you want me to. Not to be able to feel your breath on my neck when I’m moving inside of you, or hear you pant my name when you come for me. I need that connection with you—need it—not just want it. I crave the intimacy of us coming together.”

  He brushed back a lock of her hair. “But, I’m enjoying a different kind of intimacy, having you in my arms every night and just talking until we fall asleep. I’ve never experienced this. I’ve never wanted to know everything about someone before. So while I can’t wait to finally get to bend your tight ass over and take you from behind, I’m good with what we have. More than good, actually. I love getting to know more about you.”

  Kennedy was now wide awake when she groaned and said, “Please don’t talk about bending me over. All I can imagine is—”

  “Don’t say it,” he cut her off. “I’ve been dying to take you from behind so you’re gonna have to find a way to get over hearing what you did.”

  “Well, I’m sure when the time comes, I won’t be thinking about anything but what you’re doing. However, until that time comes, we shouldn’t talk about it. Because really, the images I’m thinking about are enough to make me need a shower.”

  A shower was exactly what they needed. They’d slept in and were now running low on time before they needed to get to Kennedy’s.

  “We should get up,” he told her.

  “’Kay.”

  “But before we do, I need to tell you something.”

  “Oh-kay.”

  “I invited your mom over for dinner.” Kennedy started to smile and he hated to do it but he had to. “Her and Janice will be at your house at five.” The grin that had been forming faded into a scowl and she started to shake her head. “Yes, babe. Today we’re going to your house to sort your beehives. Then your mom and Janice, Nixon and McKenna, and Chasin, Weston, and Holden are staying for dinner. Your mom and McKenna are bringing sides and I’m grilling burgers.”

  “I don’t want to be there,” Kennedy protested.

  “I know you don’t. That’s why I’m going to be there with you. Nixon and the rest of the guys will be there around noon. But I wanted you and I to have some time alone there first.”

  “Why are you doing this? I thought you said I could stay here for as long as I needed.”

  Her question sent pain radiating through his body.

  “You can stay here until you’re ready for us to go back to your place. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to face what happened, and part of that is going back to the place where it happened.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Do you think I’d let anybody hurt you?” he cut her off.

  “No.”

  Thank God, her answer was firm and quick. He hadn’t realized how much he needed the confirmation that she trusted him, especially knowing he was about to make her do something she didn’t want to do.

  “Then trust me to take you home. We don’t have to stay the night. We’re going to go over there, get a new bee house set up, and see what needs to be done in your garden. Nixon said something about getting the ground worked up for a fall crop. I don’t know jack shit about farming. But I’m willing to learn anything you’ll teach me.”

  “I don’t have the money to do that,” she seethed.

  “Your new investor does.”

  “Jameson, that’d be a bad investment.”

  “Says you. I happen to think it will be the best investment I ever make.”

  “Seriously—”

  Her face was becoming redder by the second and she’d dug her nails into Jameson’s side. Not exactly the kind of pain he liked when he was on top of her.

  “Kennedy, stop and take a breath. You’re getting all worked up for nothing.”

  “I can’t breathe. I can’t think. What if I do plant a fall crop and Reggie just comes and destroys it? Or what if it doesn’t matter because no one will buy my produce? It wasn’t like I was making a killing before; I was just making ends meet. That’s how I live. Some years I make a little more and put money in the bank. Other years are lean and I have to skip where I can.”

  “One thing at a time. You’re looking at the big picture instead of solving each problem.”

  “I have to look at the big picture. I’m going to lose my goddamn house.”

  Now she was pissed and trying to wiggle out from under him. He used his weight to pin her to the bed, the effort doing wonders to keep his temper in check.

  “You really think I’d let you lose your house?”

  “You can’t stop it from happening.”

  “Kennedy, I’d pay off the fucking mortgage before that happened.”

  “We’d have big problems if you paid off my house. Or better yet, you’d be living in your brand-new house without me there.”

  “You think I give the first fuck you’d be mad? Either you’d get over it or I’d live my life alone knowing you had something you loved.” Jameson felt no remorse when he pulled out the big emotional guns. “At least I’d know you still had a piece of your dad even if you hated me for making sure you didn’t lose it.”

  She sucked in an audible breath and her eyes widened in shock.

  “You’d do it, wouldn’t you?”

  “Damn right, I would.”

  “Even if you lost me?”

  “I’d pray it didn’t come to that, but yes. And every night when I got into a cold lonely bed, I’d know you were lying in yours in the house that you love, knowing you still had what your father worked hard to give you and your mom. And it might make the pain of losing you just bearable—maybe.”

  Tears leaked from her eyes and rolled down her temples. The sight was painful and Jameson struggled to find a way to make it better.

  “I can’t talk to you right now,” she whispered.

  “You don’t have to talk to me but you do have to get up and shower. Harold Ward will be at your house in an hour.”

  “Harold Ward?”

  “The president of the Eastern Shore Beekeepers—”

  “I know who he is. Why will he be at my house?”

  “Because he’s helping us build your hive and he’s bringing you five pounds of Buckfast bees. He said that’s what you had before.”

  Kennedy stared up at Jameson wide-eyed and in shock. “I can’t…I need to get up. Please.”

  Jameson rolled to the side and watched Kennedy walk to the bathroom attached to his room. She gently shut the door and when the lock snicked, he knew she’d locked him out. His bent arm rested over his eyes and he really hoped he hadn’t just fucked up the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  While Jameson was waiting on Kennedy to finish in the bathroom, he went downstairs to find Holden already up and in the kitchen.

  “Thank God,” Jameson muttered and went for the already-brewed coffee.

  “I take it Kennedy wasn’t happy with today’s plans.”

  “Unhappy would be an understatement,” Jameson answered and took a sip from his mug.

  “You know she has to rip the Band-Aid off. The sooner the better. We’ll all be there.”
/>   “I know that, but man, you didn’t see her. I just gutted her. She seriously doesn’t want to go over there.”

  “Give it a few minutes. She’ll understand.”

  “I sure fucking hope so because if she doesn’t, I have a feeling I’m screwed.”

  Jameson heard the water upstairs turn off and wanted to give Kennedy enough time to dress in privacy. He didn’t think now was the time to try to talk to her when she was wet and naked, even if he wanted to rush upstairs and tell her they could forget their plans and stay in bed all day.

  When the hell had he turned into a pussy?

  “Has Weston checked in this morning?” Jameson asked.

  “Yeah. Lola and Janice made him pancakes, eggs, and sausage. He said he might be late because he could barely roll himself out of the kitchen. You have no idea, brother, those two women are like the food police. Only instead of telling you not to eat something they don’t let you up from the table until you have three helpings. They’re goddamn food pushers. And damn if the food’s not good, so you wanna eat it, but you know they cooked it with a pound of butter so it’s gonna sit in your gut and coagulate. And don’t get me started on the sweet tea. Christ, there’s so much sugar it doesn’t all dissolve,” Holden explained with a smile.

  “Other than bitch about his food coma, did he have anything else to say?”

  “No. Reggie Coleman took his wife to a fundraiser at the fire station then went home and didn’t leave. It was after ten and Weston wanted to get to Lola’s. She said she stayed awake until around eleven and he didn’t want to wake her when he got there.”

  “McKenna hasn’t called with an update?”

  “Not yet.”

  Kennedy came down the stairs wearing a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. Before Jameson could remember she was mad at him, he moved in her direction but stopped when he caught the sad look on her face.

  “I’m ready,” she announced even though she didn’t look anything of the sort.

  “Let me grab my keys.”

  Jameson jogged up the stairs thinking he better figure out a way to fix this fast or he was going to lose her.