Hannah shook her head in disbelief. "Jason, what are you talking about? It's already too much. You can't be talking about doing more for me than you already have. You're gonna scare me."
"Why would that scare you?"
Hannah was quiet for a few long seconds, trying to figure out for herself the answer to that question. "Because it's already too good to be true. If you do anymore we're definitely going to jinx it."
Jason tugged her arm, dragging her across the threshold and into the beautiful, wood-accented entryway. Hannah wasn't able to focus on her surroundings, though. She only had eyes for the gorgeous man who had her by the arm. He pulled her into his embrace as soon as they made it in the house. He had on a white, linen button up that smelled good, and Hannah let her shoulder's slump into his chest. Blood coursed through her veins differently when she was in his arms. It was a sensation of being really alive, and she pictured it in cartoon form as if she'd drank some kind of mystery love juice and these were the affects.
He held her at arm's length taking in her face, which made her look to the side shyly.
"Look at me Hannah."
Her eyes met his, and the pain of the last few days was evident in each of their expressions.
"I've been missing you," he said.
She smiled. "You have?"
He grabbed her by the face and stared down at her with an earnest expression.
She was blown away once again by his gorgeousness. His light green eyes in the natural lighting of his entryway were extremely distracting. Judging from his expression, she was in a little bit of trouble, but she didn't quite care because she couldn't get over his face being so freaking gorgeous.
"Hannah, are you here right now because you want to be with me?"
She nodded.
"Okay, then we have to get one thing straight." He paused, but never let go of her face. "I want you to be mine, Hannah, and when you're mine that's something I don't take lightly."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying you can't just go leaving me for every little thing that seems like a threat."
She started to look down guiltily and he made her look back at him with a tiny snap of his wrist.
"Listen to me. I've done some fucked up shit in my life, and you could find out about any part of it on any given day. I'm not always gonna be able to control what people tell you about me, so I need you to promise not to react like that again. You're gonna just have to forgive me for things I've done. You can't fuckin' leave me every time you hear something."
He let his hand drop once it was evident that Hannah wasn't going to look away.
"What are you saying, Jason? That you don't want either of us to see anyone else?"
The question took him by surprise, and he let out a little laugh. "I though that was a given, Hannah. I thought we'd already established that."
"You said, 'I don't want you with anyone else', you didn't say anything about yourself."
"Do you really think I'd ask that you don't see anyone else when I wasn't planning on giving you the same respect?"
She shrugged. "I didn't know. I mean, I know you see a lot of girls, and—"
"Can we not talk about that? I have a past. That's exactly what it is—a past. If you can get over it and love me in spite of it, then let's do this."
"So that's it? Just like that Jason Lane's a one woman man?"
He shrugged. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"Easier to believe than your selection."
He shook his head at her. "I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna be able to let you talk like that."
"What?" she asked, shrugging like a gangsta. "You want me to come out and say what a rock star I am? Isn't it usually better to act unassuming?"
He smiled and pulled her into his arms again. "So, are you mine, or what?" he asked.
"I guess I am," she answered. "Isn't that part of the deal with the car?"
"You know it's not," he said.
"I just can't figure out why you need to ask that question. I don't see a point in making it official like that. Can't we just like each other?"
"No."
"No?"
"No. I don't want that with you. Knowing you like me isn't enough. I want to know you belong to me."
"I just don't know what you mean by that," she said.
It was true, she didn't. She left out the fact that she didn't really care what it meant and the whole proposition sounded glorious.
"What are you not understanding? That I want you to say you're mine?"
"Yeah, what's that mean?" She paused. "Because, you know, I'm happy with my living and working situation as it is."
"I knew you were gonna say that, so I prepared myself for being okay with you not moving in right away even though it's not my ideal."
Hannah couldn't believe how serious he seemed about everything.
"Are you seriously thinking that far ahead," she asked.
He pulled back and narrowed his eyes at her. "Of course I am. Do you think I'm playing games here, or that I'm not serious? Because I'm very serious."
Hannah wanted so badly to run full-force into a serious, committed relationship with Jason. He was everything she'd ever dreamed of in a guy, and she knew finding someone like him was a once in a lifetime thing. She wasn't sure why she couldn't throw caution to the wind and agree to move in with him and be his in whatever capacity he was talking about. She just couldn't make herself believe it was that easy. "I definitely don't want to see anyone else," she said.
He smiled.
"I'm not sure when I'll be ready for something of this grandeur," she said gesturing around them at the entryway of the mansion.
"I'm not trying to overwhelm you, but I need you to know that I have a somewhat uncontrollable urge to protect you. I'm okay with not rushing right into things, but you have to know that I'll be expecting you to move in with me in the near future."
She tried to hold back a smile. "You've already thought about this?"
"Shit, Hannah, I wanted to have your stuff moved in before you got off work today."
She giggled. "Did you ask the Culbertsons about it?"
"They barely even let me get you the little Nissan," he said. "I thought it might be a bit much asking them to help me load up your things."
Hannah continued to giggle, imagining the Culbertson's reaction. The beauty of it was that Hannah didn't need theirs or anyone else's permission to move in with Jason. Sure, it might be a terrible decision, but at least it was hers to make, and she liked knowing that.
Part of Hannah wished he had moved her things in. Part of her didn't want to leave his house or his side ever again. Even though it still seemed unreal, she felt a genuine sense of happiness thinking about Jason wanting her to live in that beautiful house with him. In the midst of her general feeling of elation, there was one little worry that kept popping up in the back of Hannah's mind, and she voiced it.
"Jason, I'm scared you'll get bored of me because I have so much less experience than you."
"Are you kidding? I love that you don't have as much experience as me."
"You do?"
"Obviously, my past isn't a selling point for you, so why would you think I'd want you to have a ton of experience?"
"I don't know. I guess I just thought it'd get boring or something after whatever you're used to."
He searched her eyes. "Hannah, don't you know how different you are? You're unlike any girl I've ever met."
Instead of answering him, she reached out and put her lips on his in a quick, gentle kiss.
He caught her up behind the waist and pulled her tight against him, kissing her again. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew being with a guy like Jason was a gamble at best, but at that moment, she didn't care.
"Jason?"
He put his mouth to her ear, nipping at it with his lips. "What?" he whispered. His hot breath on her ear made her knees want to buckle.
"I want to be yours."
"I know,"
he said.
He squeezed her tighter and breathed in the smell of her hair. It was a mixture of fruit scented shampoo and coffee, and it drove him crazy.
"I guess I didn't take much convincing," she said.
"I mean, I think it's pretty obvious that we belong together," he said. "I was just acting like you had a choice in the matter when what I really shoulda said was, 'You're mine, Hannah Garrison, and I don't really care how you feel about it'."
She laughed. "I might have been okay with that."
He took her head in his hands and stared into the depths of her dark brown eyes. "I love you."
She smiled. "I know."
Of course, she was teasing him for saying 'I know' a few seconds earlier when she told him she wanted to be his.
Jason didn't acknowledge her little joke even though he loved how feisty she was. It made him want to tame her—like she was a wild horse or something. He returned the smile as he searched her face. "I don’t know if I'll ever be able to figure out why you affect me the way you do," he said.
"Please don't try," she said. "Cause then it might go away."
Chapter 24
Jason used the next thirty minutes to show Hannah around his beautiful home. He said several things during the grand tour that led her to believe he thought she'd be living there soon. Hannah never responded to those statements. Although fantasizing about being the lady of the house was tempting, she didn't dare. This day crossed the line of reasonable expectations quite a while back, and Hannah's brain couldn’t take any more.
"Do you want to?"
Hannah had been daydreaming, and hadn't heard the original question.
"Do I want to what?" she asked.
Jason laughed. "Go swimming."
She'd seen the pool, and yes, obviously she wanted to swim in it. "Yeah, sure—but I don't have a bathing suit or anything."
"I have a few upstairs."
She smiled and shook her head. "Of course you do."
He shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, I have no idea who they even belonged to. Nick and Cam have had girls over here too, and I have no idea who those things belonged to." He paused. "I just put them all in a drawer upstairs since I hated to toss them. They're probably expensive, but you can throw them in the trash if it bothers you or anything. I seriously don't care."
Believe it or not, the fact that Jason didn't remember what specific girls they belonged to actually made her feel better. Hannah didn't see any reason to throw away swimsuits—especially if there was something in there she liked.
"I guess it's time for me to go shopping," she said.
"That's probably a good idea. You wanna go to the mall? Actually, I know someone who owns a little shop that's closer than the mall."
Hannah started laughing. "I meant I was gonna go pick from the ones upstairs. You know, free shopping."
Jason grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. He tickled her, and because she was really ticklish, she wiggled, squirmed, and yelled. Once he finally released her, they went upstairs to seek out the swimsuit drawer.
"Oh my God, Jason, how many girls have been to your house, and why did they all leave their swimsuits here?"
He gave her an innocent shrug.
"There must be twenty bathing suits here."
He breathed a laugh. "There are not. Ten at the most."
"There are way more than ten."
Hannah held up a scrap of black fabric that reminded her of one of those resistance bands her dad used for his physical therapy one time. "Does this go to something? Or is it it's own thing?"
Jason shrugged as if he'd never laid eyes on the thing in his life, which was obviously the best thing he could have done in that situation.
After matching up sets and setting them out on display on one of the guest beds, Hannah picked up the tiny black scrap again. "I don't think this goes to anything," she said. "I think it's independent."
He smiled and lifted his eyebrows. "I think you want to wear that one," he said.
"I do not."
"Why do you keep talking about it, then?"
"Because it's amazing that this covers anything."
He gave her a presumptuous smile. "Why do things have to be covered—necessarily?"
She held up the resistance band on one finger. "I don't even know if I could figure out how to… apply this thing."
"I'm sure you could if you tried."
She looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if he seriously wanted her to try it on. He gave her a little nod telling her to run along and make it happen, and to her own horror, she did. She scurried off to the adjoining guest bath.
"I'll meet you downstairs," he said as she closed the door.
Jason was sitting on the side of the pool with his legs dangling when Hannah made her way outside. He had on a pair of white swim trunks with stripes going up the side in different shades of blue.
His body was like something straight out of a magazine, and she had to remind herself to watch where she was going so she didn't trip over something.
"That one looks good," he said.
Hannah had on a blue swimsuit that covered a lot more ground than the black one.
Jason didn't know she had the black one on underneath.
"I thought you'd get all bent out of shape that I didn't wear the black one."
"There are some things I'll get bent out of shape over," he said, "but seeing you in that, isn't one of them." He gestured to the swimsuit she had on.
"Well, that's good," she said. "That gives us this one for now…" Hannah pulled back the edge of the blue bathing suit revealing the black one underneath. "…and this one for later."
Jason massaged his eyebrows dramatically as if it were too much temptation for one man to handle.
Hannah laughed. She was standing at the opposite end of the pool, and without warning, she approached the edge, dove in, and swam the entire length of the pool underwater. She took a big breath when she surfaced a few feet shy of where Jason's legs were dangling in the shallow end.
"That was longer than it looked," she said, smiling and blinking the water out of her eyes. She doggy paddled the rest of the way to him even though it was shallow enough to stand. When she reached him, she grabbed on to his legs and rested her knees on the bottom of the pool. The water was deep enough to cover her chest.
"Where'd you learn to swim like that?"
Hannah laughed and wiped at her mascara. She assumed her makeup situation wasn't that bad because she didn't wear much of it in the first place.
"Molly's next door neighbor had an in-ground swimming pool, and they worked long hours, so we could use it anytime. We pretty much lived in it every summer for the last ten years."
"I think it's hot that you swim so well."
Hannah cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to get me out of the blue one already?"
"Of course I am," he said. "If it were up to me you wouldn't have one on at all."
"Really? Well, why didn't you just say so? We wouldn't have had to waste all that time picking one out."
She was just messing around, but Jason looked at her like he was taking her seriously. He reached out for her hand, and when she gave it to him, he lifted it, forcing her to stand. "If you're gonna take it off, don’t just do it underwater," he said. "I should at least get the pleasure of watching."
She lifted her eyebrows at him. She was standing and the water came up to just above her waist. She moved close enough to him where he had his legs on either side of her. "What? You want to watch me take this off?" she asked innocently.
"Yep."
"This old thing?"
She pulled off the top of the blue one leaving the black one in place. She started to step out of the suit while she was standing in the shallow end, but he stopped her with a disapproving sound.
"I thought you said you were gonna let me watch," he said. "I can't see anything under there."
"Am I supposed to get completely out of the w
ater?" she asked.
He shrugged as if to say it'd probably be a good idea.
She loved that he knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to ask for it. So what if she was totally unschooled in the art of striptease? Improvisation is everything, right? She waded to the stairs a few feet over and stood on the second one. The water came up to her knees, and she decided that's where she'd stay to finish the job of undressing.
Now that she was standing there in the open, she felt so exposed. She wondered why in the world she'd volunteered to shed her clothes in the first place. She stood there, leaning against the rail, looking at him as if she were gauging her feelings about continuing.
"You trying to get shy on me?"
She shrugged.
"Aw, come on, I've seen you before."
"Yeah, but I feel like I'm right out on display out here." She looked around.
"Nobody's coming over here," he said, "and the neighbors definitely can't see, if that's what you're worried about."
Hannah reminded herself to act confident even if she wasn't feeling it. She stepped out of the blue suit completely, and threw it onto the concrete. When she turned around to throw it, she leaned over the rail. She tried to make it look like she was just doing it to make a better toss, but she was totally doing it on purpose. Jason was smiling at her when she turned around. His expression turned serious, and he studied her intently. "I'm still having trouble seeing some things, though," he said pointing at the black swimsuit.
She shrugged, acting even more innocent than she was. "Should I just go ahead and get rid of this, then?" With her pointer finger, she knocked the string off of her shoulder, letting it fall.
She enjoyed watching Jason's face as she did it with the other side too, and stood there completely exposed from the waist up. He was staring at her like he wanted to eat her alive—an expression which looked really good on him.
It took her the better part of the next minute to finish the job. She very slowly pushed the black suit off of her legs and threw it to the side of the pool next to the blue one.
She had leaned over the rail again when she turned to throw it, and the sight left Jason no option but to swim over to her. He could have just walked over to her on dry land, but he chose to swim. He hopped into the pool before going under and swimming the distance between him and the stairs. By the time he made it over there, she'd walked down the two stairs. She was standing in the waist deep water next to him when he came up. He put an arm around her back and pulled her next to him with his strong arm. Water was dripping off of his face and hair, and the beautiful, muscular curves of his body. She felt limp in his grasp as her body molded to his.
You're Dangerous Page 18
