Chapter Two
Lola
Jackson made me feel things I shouldn’t. Like butterflies and that strange clench between your legs that left you drenched. It was desire that he made me feel, and I didn’t even know the man. I just knew he was strong enough to protect me from whatever evil was lurking out in the world.
Evil, like my ex-boyfriend Roger. I knew running was my only option and that if I stopped, I would be back in his clutches, never to escape again. That’s why when I saw the driveway I jogged down it, thankful as hell when I noticed a large burly man outside splitting wood. The second our eyes connected, I felt like he was the one for me. Almost like we had an instant connection. He didn’t look at me like a piece of meat, but like a woman, who was strong and capable.
I stood behind a tree close to the cabin door where he told me to go, watching as he put his entire body into splitting wood. His muscles were taut and tight in all the right places, stretching his flannel shirt out. My mouth watered just watching him.
This is a mistake, Lola. My conscience tried to tell me, as I looked at him with a longing that I didn’t understand. I shouldn’t be so trusting of a man that was twice my size and clearly powerful enough to split wood by hand. Still, any fear I had of the man went out the window when he told me I could stay. I was naïve but even I knew a good man when I saw one and Jackson was a good man.
“Anyone ever tell you staring is rude, sweetheart?” Jackson’s deep voice rumbled straight through to my core. I was so busy inside my own head that I hadn’t noticed him heading towards the house until it was too late. I was watching him when I should’ve been inside getting ready for dinner like he said.
“It’s only rude if you aren’t admiring the beauty of what you’re staring at…” I wrung my hands together and followed behind his large frame as he pushed open the large wooden door of the cabin. The place seemed small on the outside, but once inside, things were different.
High ceilings with large windows that let in the light from outside were placed in the wooden ceiling. Everything was crisp, clean, and homey. A fireplace was in the center of the room against the wall, and a kitchen was off to the left side of the house hidden under what looked be a loft. I couldn’t stop my eyes from moving over all the items in the house, from the homemade furniture that looked as if it cost a fortune, to the roominess the cabin had.
“Stew is on the stove. I know it’s warm outside but I had some left overs and, well, that’s what we’re having.” Jackson shrugged. I didn’t care if I was having shit on a shingle, as long as I had something warm in my belly.
“Thank you….” I paused for a moment, just as Jackson turned around to look at me. “For not sending back down the road and for giving me a chance to prove myself,” I thanked him, our eyes meeting once more. I could see the curiosity lingering in his dark brown ones, and I wondered just how deeply he wanted to get to know me. Was it on a level we both would appreciate?
“I’m not an evil man. I don’t take pleasure in hurting people, and if you don’t want to go back to wherever it is you came from, then I ain’t going to push you to go back. There’s more than enough room here. Now follow me. I’ll show you to your room.” He gestured in the direction of the hall off the kitchen and I followed behind him, not wanting to miss a single thing. I couldn’t take my eyes off his strong back, or the way his cargo jeans clung to his ass.
Before I realized it, I was running smack dab into him, my chest colliding with his warm back. He turned on me in a flash, his hands gripping me by the arms gently, as he moved me back a pace so that he could fully turn around.
“I’m so sorry, I was looking down and not up and…” I started to mumble, but stopped the moment he clasped me by the chin and brought his face to mine. I could see the tiny flecks of gold in his eyes, and the smell of sweat mixed with woods clung to my senses.
“There’s something about you… something that makes me want to know you… something that I can’t explain just yet, not even to myself.” I was mesmerized, his hand on my skin sending waves of pleasure through me. Yet his touch was gentle and kind, unlike any touch I had ever felt from a man before.
“I feel the same way…” I blew out a breath. The air between us grew hotter as we stood with our hands on one another for a second and then another. Then something seemed to snap inside Jackson and he was releasing me and brushing away whatever feelings he was just having. The moment between us was gone, and so was the fire that had sparked between us.
“Um… Here‘s your room, the bathroom is down the hall. I need to go take a shower… I’ll umm...” Jackson moved around me, refusing to even brush up against me as he all but ran in the direction of his bedroom without even finishing his sentence. A part of me was offended, but another part of me knew that he was probably surprised by my reaction to him.
Silently, I opened the bedroom door, taking in the contents of the bedroom. A large queen sized bed was set up in the center of the room. To the right was a huge window letting in ample light and a tiny nightstand below it. I walked over to the closet and opened one of the doors, revealing space to put my belongs- if I had any.
Everything about this place felt like home, from the landscape outside to the coziness inside. I left the bedroom and went back out into the living room, exploring it alone while I had the chance. Bookshelves lined one side of the fireplace, and on the other side were pictures and small knickknacks. My fingers slid across a dusty photo of two elderly people. They were looking at each other instead of the camera. The love they felt for one another slammed into me, making my knees weak.
I stared for a long time at that photo, wondering who the couple was and how their story went. Placing the photo back on the shelf with wobbly hands, I turned around, coming face to face once again with Jackson.
Air rushed from my lungs at his presence. He was quiet for such a large man, and I clutched at my chest with my hands when he reached, out brushing away a few strands of hair in my vision. He’d changed clothes and he smelt clean, but still very much like the outdoors.
“This was their home, my grandparents. When they died, I inherited it and decided this is where I wanted to spend my life.” My heart came to life then, beating furiously inside my chest.
“They look so happy, so in love…” I smiled up at him even though he looked at me as guarded as he possibly could.
“They were happy, and very in love. They died together right here in this house.” The sadness in his voice told me he missed them, and I wondered if he wanted a life like they had, or if he just planned to stay out here all alone for the rest of his days.
“Do you wish you had what they did?” I blurted out the question, not thinking of the possible repercussions until after I had already spoken. Surprisingly, Jackson didn’t lift his hand or sneer at me. He simply shrugged and walked in the direction of the kitchen.
“I think we all wish for a love like what they had. Whether we get it or not is entirely up to fate.” I was right on his heels, listening to every gruff word that came from his mouth. He opened the cupboard and retrieved two bowls placing them on the counter while lifting the lid from the pot that must’ve contained the stew he was warming up for dinner.
“What my grandparents had wasn’t something that could be bought or even made up. It was true love at it’s finest. I choose to live the simple life, as did they, regardless of whether or not I have someone to share that life with. I live this life because I want to. “ He handed me a bowl of piping hot stew and my belly growled loudly.
“Thank you for all of this. I’m not sure I’ll be able to repay you ever.” I plucked the spoon from the side of the bowl, staring at the contents inside it. The stew was hearty with vegetables and meat mixed throughout and it exploded with flavor against my tongue. I moaned loudly as I licked the spoon before digging back into the bowl.
“That right there was enough thanks…” Jackson snorted with laughter at my moan of pleasure. He devoured his own bowl in seconds getting, more before I could even finish half of my own.
“What do you do out here all by yourself? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking that is?” I was curious what it was that he did for a living. I heard about mountain men, and people that lived out in the woods because they didn’t like city folk, but Jackson didn’t seem like that type.
“My grandpa’s had a long standing relationship with the people around this area. I harvest and split wood for them and they pay me to do it. It’s a simple job really…” Jackson eyed me with the same curiosity I was him.
“Since you’ve been yacking at me, asking all these questions, let me ask you something…” He leaned into my body, even though we were only a few feet from one another in the small confines of the kitchen, and spoke. “Why are you running?” I blinked, having realized he finally asked his question. His body sucked all the air out of the room, and his size, well, it should’ve scared me but there was a part of me deep down inside that clung to the need to be close to him, because I knew if anyone could protect me from Roger, it was Jackson.
“If I tell you, you can’t freak out okay?” Jackson lifted an eyebrow as if to say, Seriously?
“Roger, my ex-boyfriend, dropped me off out here on the side of the road, probably hoping to leave me for dead. I don’t want to chance him finding me, and honestly, I feel safe here with you. So, I’m not running, at least not really. I’m standing in place until I can figure out where to go from here,” I whispered the last part about feeling safe with him, my cheeks warming with heat and desire as I said the words.
Jackson seemed just as taken back by what I said as I was, because he placed the bowl on the counter and was on me like a lion sinking its claws into its prey. His large hands gripped me by the hips gently, as he lifted me and placed my ass on the edge of the counter. My entire body was on fire, and the look in his eyes said he didn’t plan on doing anything but fan the flames.
“This Roger guy is going to come back for you…?” He tipped my chin up, a darkness looming in his eyes as I nodded my head up and down. Roger would, I knew it. If anything, he would come back to ensure that I was dead.
I could see the strength in his jaw, and wanted to run my fingers along the edge to see if it was as sharp as it looked. His teeth ground together as a contemplative look took over his features. What could he be contemplating? Before I could even digest what was happening, his lips were on mine and they were strong and tight as he kissed like a man that was tasting water for the first time.
My hands moved up his large arms and onto his shoulders, where I pulled him tighter to my chest. I could feel his hard erection poking me in the leg as he moved my legs apart, and I wanted more than anything to unleash the beast inside of his pants and see what he was made of.
“You taste like sunshine, Lola,” he whispered, nibbling on my bottom lip. He had no idea how good he himself tasted.
“Well, you taste like a man… A real man.” I placed my hand against his chest, right over his heart, against the flannel button down he wore. I could feel the strong thud of his heart just beneath the surface. I knew my own would be beating the same way if I felt it right this second, and it made me wonder if fate could bring two people that needed each other together. If fate had brought Jackson and I together?
“Do you believe in fate, sweetheart?” Jackson asked, his voice just above a whisper. I could feel his fingers running through my hair. The simple gesture making my body, melt into a mushy pile of nothing.
“I believe that there are mysterious things in this universe, and that maybe whatever is happening between us is one of them. I know I should be afraid of you, of a man that I don’t know all that well, but that I can’t be. Not when everything about you seems perfect. Not when I know for some strange reason you won’t ever do anything to hurt me. I’ve known you all of five minutes, Jackson, and I trust you more than I have anyone ever in my life.” I snuggled my head into his chest further, wishing I could burrow myself deep inside him.
I couldn’t explain the way he made me feel, not accurately anyway, but I needed him to understand that I knew what it was he was feeling and that he wasn’t alone in whatever emotions were running rampant in his mind.
“Strangely I feel the same way, Lola, and I think that is what makes all of this that much more magical. We don’t know each other, but we still feel that connection. We still feel the tingle, the zap, and the sting of what could be….” I had never felt this way before, not even with Roger, and the longer I stayed in that position against Jackson’s chest, the more I could see myself with him. There would be no running, no fighting, no hate or shame, it would just be Jackson and I.
And I wanted that. I longed for it, and if I thought about it long enough, I knew it could become a reality.