“I have something I want to talk to you about later, too. When we get back to the hotel. We’re going to need wine. Maybe two bottles.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah, maybe. I’m not sure. I went out to dinner with Cade two months ago.”
“You have dinner with Cade at least once a month.”
“Not like that,” Addison said. “I think it was a date.”
“You couldn’t tell?”
“Well, it was the same as usual except he was nicer and he didn’t interrogate me. And, he kissed me goodnight.”
“Cade kissed you—are you sure?” Jenna asked then giggled. “Of course you’re sure. Wow, that’s amazing. I can’t believe he kissed you. Did he kiss you on the mouth? Was tongue involved?
Addison nodded. “Yes to both but since then he’s sort of avoided me. Or, if he has to see me, he sticks to business then he rushes away. Three weeks ago I was in his office and a copy of my guardianship papers were on his desk. He had circled the expiration date, which is my twenty-fifth birthday, and there was a sticky note that said, ‘Dinner and dancing with Addison.’”
“He’s never taken you dancing.” Jenna knew she couldn’t hide her worry from Addison but she didn’t want her getting her hope’s up only to be hurt when Cade didn’t follow through.
“No, he hasn’t. I know I gripe about how strict Cade is, but the truth is I’ve done everything I could think of to test him and drive him away. He’s never let me down, Jenna, not once.”
“You mean like your parents let you down?”
“Yes, but more than that. I know that no matter what Cade will never abandon me, and he’ll always keep me safe.”
“We have a lot of talking to do when we get back to the hotel tonight. We’ll need chocolate.”
Addison nodded then smiled. “The good dark kind, but in the meantime let’s have fun and see how many of the business people I can avoid. Mr. Johnson has already caught me once today and tried to get me to invest in his latest invention.”
Laughing, Jenna led the way around the yard, the two of them waving at people and then moving on before Addison could get cornered again.
“Are you looking for Jackson?” Addison asked.
“I am not one of your matchmaking projects so don’t even go there. I just like looking at him. Who wouldn’t?” Seeing Addison’s wide smile, Jenna knew the warning had come too late.
“Well, then”—Addison lifted her glass in the air—“here’s to looking at lickalicious men. Especially lickalicious Ramsey men.” Laughing, the two of them clicked their glasses together. “If you change your mind and decide to look for a husband, I can help you with that. Matchmaking is in my blood, you know?”
“No. Meddling is in your blood, and besides, I’m not getting married for a long, long time. I’m enjoying my life away from the watchful, disapproving eyes of Rendezvous, Texas.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Everything I do gets reported back to Cade, but nobody will tell me a single thing about him. It’s a big bummer.” Addison glanced around at the growing crowd. “It must be about time to eat because all the brothers are showing up. There’s Cade.” Addison pointed to the deck where Cade stood talking to a group of ranchers. “He’s got nerve, I’ll say that much for him. He always has some blonde dressed in the most delicious outfits on his arm, and to hell with what the people of Rendezvous think.”
“Yeah, but have you noticed he’s only ever seen with blondes or brunettes. Never a redhead?” Jenna glanced at Addison’s reddish-gold hair. “Makes a person wonder, doesn’t it?”
“The only thing I wonder about is where they all shop.” Addison grinned. “I’d love to show up in an outfit like that for one of the interrogation dinners he makes me attend.”
Jenna laughed. She just couldn’t help it. “I dare you to tell him what you call those dinners.”
“No way. I’m always in enough trouble with Cade.”
“Thor said he was going to let you move to Dallas but not in with me?”
“The dirty rat’s already made my living arrangements in a high-security building. It will be like living in a fish bowl with people watching everything I do and reporting back to Cade. He thinks I don’t know he’s always had a security detail on me, but I can spot one of those guys a mile away. Last year he hired a woman and she showed up at my gym. Another one showed up at a dance class I attended.”
Jenna smiled. “Well at least we’ll both be in Dallas, and no matter what we do we’ll be the safest two women in Texas.”
Addison smiled then narrowed her eyes. “Look at Cade! Flaunting his girlfriend like that after buying that horrible car for me.”
“I don’t blame you for the car thing. That’s one ugly car.”
“He said there was no way he was letting me have a Porsche ever again.”
“Well, you did total the first one within an hour of receiving it.”
“That wasn’t my fault. How was I supposed to know the road ended?”
“Maybe by the great big signs saying it was a dead end?”
“Well, I didn’t think they really meant it. Who knew that roads really do end just like that?” Addison snapped her fingers. “It doesn’t make sense. I mean did they mean for it to end, or did they change their minds? Where was the road supposed to go? It just makes me wonder.”
“I will never figure out how your brain works,” Jenna said.
“That’s what Cade says. You should have heard him when he got the bill for my latest shopping spree.” Making her face stern, she mocked in Cade’s deep, gravelly voice. “How the hell could you spend ten thousand dollars on shoes, Addison? Are you buying shoes for the entire town of Rendezvous, Addison?” She grinned. “Jackson tried to defend me by telling him what these kinds of shoes cost.” Holding out her foot, she admired her new Louboutins. “The dirty rat said I could go barefoot and then he took my credit cards away!”
“No way. He took your cards? Are you going into plastic withdrawal? Should I get a doctor?”
Addison pursed her lips then smoothed her hands down her long, reddish-gold braid. “First, he bought me a grannie car then he cut my shoe allowance. What’s next? If he messes with my pastry addiction, I’ll go PMS on him!”
Jenna was laughing and looking around at the other guests when she finally spotted Jackson. He was standing in the open patio doors. Believing that the sun was in his eyes, she allowed herself the luxury of watching him, absorbing every masculine inch of his tempting frame. “There’s Jackson. I can’t believe it. Two Ramseys making an appearance at the same time. The world must be coming to an end.”
Addison shook her head. “No, it must be halftime or something.”
Jenna nodded absently as Jackson stepped out onto the patio and was immediately surrounded by a group of men. While the men talked to him, the women with them tried their best to get Jackson’s attention. The cynical part of herself, the girl from the poor side of town, gave a silent snort of derision as she watched the hussies shift closer to him. They were so obvious, playing with their hair and fluttering their lashes as they tried to draw him away from the tall, slender brunette at his side. Damn, she thought. I will always hate seeing him with another woman.
She tortured herself by watching as he pulled his date closer to his side then looked around the yard. The sun turned his sage-green eyes to gold as his gaze swept over her. She smiled as he looked into her eyes, and a wave of heated longing flowed through her. He stared at her for a moment, and then, without acknowledging her in any way, he turned back to the brunette by his side.
His dismissal stole her smile as she watched him bend down to listen to the woman by his side then tip his head back and laugh. Even from where she stood across the yard, Jenna could hear that deep gravelly laugh, and it had the usual effect on her. Her belly muscles fluttered and the crotch of her barely there thong became damp as her heart rate sped up.
Like all the Ramsey brothers, Jackson was self-assured and commandi
ng. Seeing that his hair was longer than usual, she felt a rush of joy and relief as she decided the rumor about him leaving the military must be true. The longer length went well with his square jaw and full kissable lips, and it was just the right length for a woman’s fingers to comb through it.
Besides being her idea of the perfect man, Jenna admired Jackson’s ability to control his emotions and actions no matter the circumstance. Even when she’d been deliberately annoying, he’d just smiled and ignored her. Biting her lower lip, she decided his calmness really pissed her off sometimes.
The only time she’d seen him rattled was when she was nineteen and she’d been involved in a pileup on the highway. Jackson had arrived just as the last car had gone into the ditch, barely missing her car as it slid past her. Before the ambulances and police cars had arrived, he’d had the chaos under control, the uninjured sitting with the injured, and the gawkers moving on so the emergency vehicles could get through. But, before any of that, he’d checked on her first, his face almost frantic as he’d run his hands over her, making sure she was all right. It had been the last time he’d smiled at her.
Then two years ago he’d been home on leave from the Marines. She and Addison had been walking home after spending the day tubing on the river when they’d caught Jackson skinny-dipping. Dropping behind a tree, they’d watched and smothered their giggles as he’d splashed around in the river. Every now and then his butt had risen above the water and given them little glimpses of his well-shaped bronze ass. When he’d moved into the shallower water and stood up, the water at his waist, Addison had mumbled an “ick” and taken off, but Jenna had stayed, unable to miss the chance of seeing Jackson naked.
Her heart had nearly pounded out of her chest when he’d walked out of the river, shaking his head and spraying water out around him. He’d been the most beautiful living work of art she’d ever seen, and she’d wished desperately that she’d had her camera with her. She’d watched as he’d stroked his hands over his body and imagined it was her hands stroking over him. When he’d slid his hands down his belly, she’d licked her lips and watched his hand close around his cock and begin stroking it. Her own arousal had grown as she’d watched him masturbate, his cock lengthening and thickening, the head turning red and glistening with pre-cum.
Her lungs had strained to draw air into them. Her heart had pounded until all she could hear was the sound of her own pulse as her nipples had beaded and pressed against her bikini top. Beneath her knees, twigs and tiny rocks had dug into her skin but she hadn’t cared. The crotch of her bikini bottoms had become soaked with her own arousal as her clit had pulsed with the need to be touched.
Watching him in the sunlight, pleasuring himself, she’d slid her fingers beneath the crotch of her bikini and stroked her fingers over her swollen, wet clit. She’d had to bite her lip to hold back her own cries of pleasure. When Jackson had stiffened and thrust his hips forward and stroked his cock faster, she’d slid her fingers over her clit, matching his rhythm. Finally, when she’d felt as if she was going to lose her mind, Jackson had groaned then bellowed his pleasure to the sky as his cum had exploded from him in long spurts. She’d pressed hard on her clit, her other hand digging into the rough bark of the tree as she’d exploded, and a gasping cry of need and relief had torn from her throat. She’d fallen against the tree, the rough bark scraping her cheek.
Immediately Jackson’s eyes had zeroed in on her and she’d froze, her fingers still on her clit, as she panted out her orgasm. Before she could move, he’d been standing over her, his hands on her shoulders, lifting her to her feet. His scent had surrounded her and she’d turned her head and seen his cum on his fingers. She’d licked her lips, wanting, needing to taste him. When she’d tried to pull her hand from between her legs he’d slid his cum-covered fingers over her hand and mixed their essences together.
His sage-green eyes had stared into hers as his other hand tightened around the back of her neck and held her still as he lifted their entwined fingers to his mouth. She’d panted and moaned and almost cried with newly building arousal as he’d licked their fingers clean. When his mouth had covered hers, his tongue pushing between her lips, she’d tasted the two of them together. For the first time in her life, she’d wanted to drop to her knees and take a man’s cock into her mouth. His mouth had devoured her mouth, and his tongue had claimed her, pulling her into his world until she didn’t know where she ended and he began. Then suddenly he’d let her go and walked away.
Jenna had watched as Jackson had lifted his jeans from the tree branch he’d thrown them over then shook them out before stepping into them. She’d stood mute, her hands by her sides, and watched him pull on his socks then stomp his feet into his boots. He’d grabbed his wide belt and tucked the large buckle into the front pocket of his jeans then grabbed his shirt and shrugged into it. As he began to button it he’d told her, his voice gruff, “If you’re still there when I turn around I’m going to use my belt on your ass, Jenna.”
She’d hesitated then fled, running for two reasons. First, because he had meant what he’d said, but more importantly, because something in her had responded to that threat. She’d wanted more than anything for him to bend her over and use that wide belt on her ass until she was begging him to fuck her and screaming with pleasure.
Addison shook Jenna’s arm. “You okay? You seem distracted today.”
Blinking, Jenna pushed her memories away and made herself smile. “I’m okay. Just upset that our plans to share an apartment have fallen through.”
“Well, you never can tell. If I pester Cade enough, he might get fed up and let me have my way.”
“Well, then, I say let the pestering begin.” Jenna looked at Addison. “Your shoulders are turning pink. Let’s find some shade.”
“Sometimes being a redhead sucks,” Addison grumbled.
“Being in Rendezvous sucks,” Jenna said. “I can’t believe the difference between living in Dallas where I’m free to do as I please and nobody even notices, and being in Rendezvous and being treated like trash because my family was poor.” Jenna glanced around and frowned at the people watching her and Addison. “Look at them. They act like they think I’m going to do something scandalous at any moment. Maybe I should spit on the ground just so they can say ‘told you so.’”
Addison giggled then said, “I’ll spit first.” She smiled at Jenna. “I really appreciate that you agreed to come today. I tried to tell Cade I just wanted a quiet dinner with you, him, and his brothers but he insisted on this three-ring circus.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jenna said. “It’s not every day a girl earns a master’s degree. We had to celebrate it.”
“I know you’ve had to put up with a lot over the years with the gossips of Rendezvous, Jenna. But, rest assured, I’ve taken action,” Addison said, the expression in her eyes grim.
“Oh, my, god,” Jenna said, slightly alarmed. “What have you done?”
“Let’s just say I’ve decided to accept a few social invitations but only if certain people who will remain un-named aren’t in attendance.” Addison winked, and then smiled.
“You didn’t have to do that, Addison.”
“I know, but it suddenly occurred to me that I should have taken action a long time ago and made it clear to the gossips in Rendezvous that as my best friend you were off-limits.”
“Uh, Addison, you do realize that you’re one of the biggest gossips in Rendezvous?”
“Yes, but I never, ever use what I know to hurt someone. I only use the information to help them.”
Jenna smiled. “I know you do and I admire you for that.”
“Which brings me to another bit of information I’ve been avoiding telling you.” Addison took Jenna’s hand. “Now, I don’t want you to worry but I’ve taken over my mother’s charitable foundation.”
“But only as an advisor or something, right?”
Addison shook her head. “No. Over Christmas break I went on a five-week tour of Af
rica so I could see firsthand what’s been going on. Since then I’ve been making a lot of changes to how things are done. Mostly making sure my money goes to the children and not into someone’s pocket.”
“I can’t believe Cade let you do something so dangerous” Jenna tried to keep the alarm out of her voice and off her face but knew she failed when she saw the expression on her friend’s face. She still remembered the day Addison had told her how her mother had been killed by rebel forces while on a similar tour.
Addison looked down and Jenna knew she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear. “Well, Cade may not have known what I was planning to do.” “He wasn’t very happy when he caught up to me and we had a hell of an argument, but for once I managed to hold out against him. I showed him I had made my own arrangements for security and he could go along with my plans or he go home.”
Amazed that Addison had stood up to Cade, Jenna shook her head, asked herself will wonders never cease, then laughed and asked, “Where did he find you? What did he do?”
“Cape Town. A lot of cursing, yelling, and threats but he finally approved my security then added a few guys to the team. Then, he stuck around and ruined my fun.”
“Typical,” Jenna said then asked, “Is that the only trip you’ve taken?”
Addison shook her head. “The foundation was a mess when I took over and I’m really mad at Cade for not paying more attention to it. I’ve been to South America several times on short two-to-three-day trips. Jackson went with me once when Cade couldn’t go. I think Jackson has a crush on you. He kept asking me questions about you and he told me again that he really hates that you cut your hair.”
Jenna glanced at Jackson and caught him looking their way again. “Well, he has my number, and he hasn’t called, so he can’t be too interested.” Changing the subject, she asked Addison, “When are you moving to Dallas and what are we going to do first to have some fun?”
Chapter Two
Jackson felt Jenna’s gaze following him as he escorted Kelly, his companion for the day, from one group to another. He tightened his arm around Kelly’s waist and forced himself to avoid looking in Jenna’s direction as he nodded and chuckled and listened to Kelly chatter to their friends. What he really wanted to do was grab Jenna and take her up to the playroom, restrain her then play with her for hours.
Jackson's Sub [The Doms of Club Mystique 2] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 3
